#Also I just really strongly had to get this out

[writingwithciara]

blinking lights -quinn hughes-

summary: with planes grounded for the holiday due the snow storm, y/n & quinn are forced to spend christmas together. but oddly enough, neither of them seem to mind much

word count: 3.4k

pairing: quinn hughes x roommate!reader

note: i LOVE writing roommate quinn honestly

"i'm sorry mom. i won't be able to make it home this year. all flights out of vancouver are cancelled." y/n looked at the website opened on her laptop. her mom was sighing on the other end of the line. "i know. i'm sorry. but i should be able to visit in the new year. i promise."

"it's okay honey. i'm just glad that you'll be safe." her mom sighed again. "are your roommates stranded too?"

"i'm not sure. quinn left earlier to catch a flight so it's a possibility."

"well for you sake, i hope you're not alone for the holidays."

"i hope so too, mom." y/n looked up when the door opened. "gotta go, mom. quinn's home."

"okay sweetie. i'll call you tomorrow."

"alright. sounds good. love you."

as y/n hung up, quinn sat next to her on the couch.

"no luck?"

"unfortunately." y/n sighed and closed her laptop. "i'm guessing the same goes for you?"

"yeah. it kinda sucks. it's the first christmas i won't be able to see my family."

"at least neither of us will be alone this year."

"fair point." quinn chuckled and turned on the tv. "what should we watch?"

"frosty the snowman. always makes me feel better."

"got it." quinn smiled and put the movie on. he glanced around the bare apartment. "since we'll both be here for christmas, why don't we decorate? we can also combine traditions and do them together."

"i guess it beats sitting in an empty apartment. we definitely need some christmas spirit in this place."

"strongly agree. we'll go out tomorrow to get some decorations and we'll make a day of decorating and traditions."

"alright." y/n turned her attention to the tv screen. "my mom is supposed to call me tomorrow and she may want to talk to you."

"why?"

"i don't know. i suppose it's because i talk about you a lot but i think she's not sure if you're a guy or a girl. never really specified, honestly." she smiled. "i'm only telling you now so you're not completely shocked when she calls."

"alright." he smiled. "should i expect any questions?"

"she'll probably asked why i'm living with you and stuff like that."

"okay. i think i can handle it." quinn smiled.

after the movie, they both went to their rooms to get some sleep. decorating their apartment was going to be a huge task but if anyone could do it, it's y/n & quinn.

the next morning, y/n woke up early and sent her mom a text.

hey mom. i'm going shopping with quinn today and we're gonna be decorating our apartment after. i'll call you later, alright? love you <3

the second she heard quinn moving around in his room, she smiled and put on a pot of coffee. y/n watched him walk into the kitchen slowly. he smiled at her and sat at the counter.

"ready to shop for decorations today?"

"you bet." y/n smiled and poured them each a cup of coffee. she was excited to spend more time with quinn than she was used to. for the past 3 years, she had been harboring a crush on her roommate but the timing to tell him was never right. he was almost always in a relationship and his girlfriends barely liked her. they tolerated her, at best. and that was why she didn't spend a whole lot of time with him.

when the time came, quinn drove them to the seasonal store downtown. they went their separate ways once inside so they could get the decorations faster and have more time putting everything up.

while walking down the 'gifts for her' aisle, quinn saw something on the shelf that he knew y/n would love. it was so perfectly her that he just couldn't pass it up. he couldn't help the way his heart beat faster just thinking of what her reaction would be. he was so far gone for her but didn't want to risk pushing her away. especially not when she was finally spending time with him again.

it took 20 minutes to get everything and quinn insisted on paying for everything. he didn't y/n to see the gift he was getting her.

when they got home, quinn quickly hid the gift in his room, deciding he would wrap it tonight and give it to her in the morning. by the time he made it back to the living room, y/n had all the decorations sorted out in piles based on each room they were going to work on.

"so i figured you could get started in the kitchen while i worked out here. fair warning, i may need your help after."

"then why don't we work together?" he chuckled. "wouldn't that make more sense?"

"well i was going to play christmas music and when i dance, it looks weird."

"i highly doubt that." he smiled. "i've seen you dance before."

"that was always choreographed or because i was drunk. but i'm sober and don't want to make a fool of myself."

"y/n, i don't think you're capable of doing such a thing. just let me help you out here."

"alright, fine. but no judging me on my dance moves, hughes."

"i would never." quinn smiled and grabbed a box of lights. he grabbed the necessary items to get started while y/n put some music on the speaker. "wanna start on opposite ends and meet in the middle?"

"yes sir." y/n grabbed the other decorations and went across the room. halfway through the 3rd song, quinn was done hanging lights. he turned to look at y/n. she was dancing and in her own little world and quinn couldn't help but admire her more. how could she think she'd look like a fool? he thought she was beautiful and one day, he was going to get the courage to tell her.

when y/n turned around to grab something, she noticed quinn staring at her. it suddenly made her self conscious. "what?"

"nothing. i was just watching you dance."

"oh. i'm sorry about that. i told you i looked like a fool when i dance sober."

"quite the opposite actually. it was pretty cute." he chuckled and headed to the kitchen to start decorating, leaving y/n to stare with red cheeks.

it took her a minute to follow but when she finally got to the kitchen, quinn was already halfway through decorating.

"wow. you work fast." y/n smiled and instead of offering to help, she just leaned against the counter and watched him.

"yeah. sorry about that. i just couldn't help myself. i know you wanted to help with the decorating."

"no. it's perfectly fine. i like observing." y/n smirked and pulled out a mug. she poured herself some hot chocolate and sipped it while quinn went back to work. while he worked, y/n climbed onto the counter and smiled. this was the perfect way to admire quinn without feeling too guilty.

by the time quinn was finished, y/n had a mug of hot chocolate made for him. when she handed it to him, their fingers brushed against each other, causing y/n to draw her hand back quickly. the moment was interrupted when y/n's phone was ringing. she glanced down at the caller id.

"it's my mom." y/n showed him the phone and hit the 'accept' button. her moms face filled the screen in seconds. "hey mom."

"hey sweetie. how's your day?"

"it's good. quinn and i have been decorating for an hour. the place looks amazing. wanna see it?"

"in a minute. i want to meet your roommate."

y/n looked up and held the phone out to quinn. he took it and moved to stand beside y/n so they'd both be on the screen.

"hi. it's nice to finally meet you."

"oh my. you're certainly not what i was expecting."

"y/n informed me that you would say something like that." he smiled.

"how's it going, living with my baby?"

"mom!" y/n turned her face into quinn's shoulder while he chuckled.

"it's great. we're having the best time." he couldn't stop smiling. y/n's head fit perfectly in his shoulder. it was like a dream come true to have her this close. "she's amazing and probably my best friend."

"i'm glad she has such a good friend, honestly. i was so worried about her."

"you don't have to worry about her now. she's in good hands." he chuckled and threw his arm around y/n's shoulder. she grabbed the phone from him and smiled.

"alright. we gotta finish decorating. i'll talk to you later. bye mom. i love you."

"bye you guys. love you too."

after she hung up, y/n turned to quinn. "i'm your best friend, huh?"

"yeah, actually." he turned to stand across from her. "and it kind of hurt when you distanced yourself a little bit over the last 2 years. thought it was something i did. but i'm really glad you're coming back around."

"yeah i'm sorry about that. but none of your girlfriends liked me so i thought it'd be easier for your relationships if i wasn't around a whole lot."

"why didn't they like you?"

"i don't know." y/n shrugged and turned to refill her mug. "but for the record, you're my best friend too."

"glad to hear it." quinn smiled slightly before walking out to the living room. although he had just called her his best friend, he didn't like hearing the word come from her mouth.

"quinn," y/n called out after him as she followed him into the living room. "i'm never going to distance myself from you again, okay? it was hurting me too."

"i'm sorry you felt like you had to give me space. and i'm really sorry they didn't like you. i don't understand why they didn't. you're one of the most likeable people i know."

"i try to be. and i don't understand why they didn't. but it's all in the past and i've learned from my mistakes." y/n sat and looked at him. "i can never stay away from you, quinn. it'll probably kill me."

"well i'm glad you're sticking around because it would probably kill me too, if i'm being honest." he turned to face her and smiled. "so, are there any traditions you have with your family that we can do tonight?"

"my mom and i usually bake cookies and eat some random take-out while watching home alone or how the grinch stole christmas. but we don't have to do that."

"why not? it sounds like fun."

"you'd really want to bake cookies with me?" y/n's eyes widened and she couldn't help the way her smile grew.

"of course. if it makes you happy, then i'll do anything."

y/n tried to ignore the way her heart wanted to beat out of her chest. never in her life had she met a guy so willing to do anything she had asked. it took everything in her not to launch herself across the couch and kiss him. she had to keep reminding herself that they were just friends.

while they baked cookies, both of them enjoyed the closeness of the other. side by side and covered in flour. usually, quinn hated messes but with y/n, he didn't care.

when they put the cookies in the oven, quinn wiped his hands on a towel.

"i'm gonna go take a shower. you order dinner and pick out the movie. i'll be out in a bit." quinn didn't wait for her to reply. he just headed into the bathroom to shower. he spent half an hour in their and when he got out to get dressed, he realized that with his quick exit, he forgot to grab a new shirt from his room. the one he was wearing was covered in flour but luckily the rest of his clothes were fine. he put on his shorts and walked out into the hallway.

y/n looked up from the couch and watched quinn walk into his room. she only got a brief look at him but she was still speechless, regardless of having seen him without a shirt many times. she quickly turned her attention to the tv when he came walking back out to join her on the couch.

"food should be here in 10 minutes and i decided to go with home alone this year. is that okay?"

"it's perfect." quinn smiled and threw his arm around the back of the couch. the couch was big enough for at least 7 people but they were sitting on the same cushion. not close enough to be touching but close enough to feel the heat radiating off of each other. and every few seconds, quinn's thumb would rub against y/n's shoulder. but neither of them seemed to care.

when the food arrived, quinn went to grab it. and when he sat back down, he was closer to y/n than before. as they ate, y/n tried not to focus on the closeness of her best friend. it was hard but she was able to do it.

until he swung his arm back over the couch. he may as well have just placed it across her shoulder with the way his hand was resting there. as they watched the movie, quinn had moved his arm down to where it was actually resting across y/n. she looked at him with an innocent smile, which he adored, then went back to watching the rest of the movie.

when the movie was finally over, y/n stood up and stretched. "well i'm gonna get ready for bed."

"before you do, i was wondering if you wanted to take part in one of my family's traditions."

"it's not going to be something weird, is it?"

"no." he smiled. "unless you count wearing matching pajamas to bed on christmas eve."

"oh my gosh. my family does the same thing." y/n giggled. "wait, do we have matching pajamas?"

"yeah. i bought them a few days ago and was intending to give you a pair before i left for the holidays but i guess it was just meant to happen this way. be right back." quinn smiled and ran to his room. he returned seconds later with the pjs. "i hope you like them."

"they're a gift from you, quinn. i always like those." y/n smiled and headed into her room to change. quinn did the same and they managed to come out at the same time. all he could so was admire the way the clothes fit y/n perfectly. "how did you know my size?"

"because i know you." quinn chuckled, not wanting to admit it was because he stared at her so long that he memorized everything.

"you're the most perfect roommate, quinn." she smiled and threw her arms around him. "thank you."

he immediately hugged her back. "you're welcome."

"okay. well it's bed time now. i'll see you in the morning. good night quinn." y/n ran off the her room to try to get some sleep. but she knew that would be impossible, due to the overwhelming attraction she was feeling. if she didn't tell quinn soon, her emotions were going to shut her down.

as quinn sat at the desk in his room, he couldn't stop thinking about how excited y/n had been when she came out in the pjs. he had seen her happy many times but there was just something different this time.

he wrapped her gift neatly and set it down beside his bed. it was going to be the first thing he grabbed in the morning and he hoped she would love it as much as he loved her.

when the sun rose the next morning, quinn grabbed the box and headed out to the kitchen. y/n was normally a morning person so he was surprised that she hadn't woken up yet. he set the box on the counter and began making coffee. just as he was adding the finishing touches to y/n's coffee, she walked out of her room.

"good morning, quinn."

"good morning, y/n" he smiled and handed her the coffee. when she took a sip, her whole body instantly warmed up.

"this is the best coffee i've ever tasted. thank you." she grinned and continued to drink it as they both made their way onto the couch.

"so what else does your family do for christmas?"

"we stay in our pjs all day and spend time together. it's pretty boring but if you're around the right people, you can have the best time."

"well then that's exactly what we will do today." quinn smiled. "oh, before i forget, i have a present for you. close your eyes." he got off the couch and grabbed the gift from the kitchen before returning. "i hope you like it."

y/n unwrapped it carefully and opened the box. she pulled out a teddy bear with a canucks jersey on. and not just any jersey. a demko jersey. he even came with mini goalie pads and a helmet.

"i know how much you love thatcher so when i saw this, i just knew i had to get it for you."

"i love it so much. thank you, quinn." y/n set the bear down and hugged quinn. "i didn't get you anything. i'm sorry."

"it's alright. you being here is enough of a present for me." he rubbed her back and smiled. when y/n pulled back a little, her whole expression had changed. she was still happy but there were tears in her eyes.

"i appreciate that, quinn. but i feel like it's just not enough to make you truly happy."

"y/n, you're more than enough. you are the perfect gift."

y/n smiled and placed her lips on his. he was shocked at first and just as y/n was about to break the kiss, quinn pulled her closer and kissed her back. they stayed in that position for a few minutes before either one of them wanted to let go. when they separated, quinn rested his forehead against y/n's and smiled.

"if i had known that would be the outcome, i would've told you those words a long time ago." he smiled and held her face. "i've been wanting to say it for as long as i've known you but the timing was never right. you had steven and i had my own relationships. but i guess that's kind of a cowards excuse, huh?"

"nothing about you says 'coward', quinn." y/n smiled and closed her eyes. "you're the most kind, patient and sweetest man i've ever known in my life. these last 3 years of random relationships and hook-ups have all brought us to this exact moment. the moment where i can finally tell you that i've had the biggest crush on you for the past 3 years. i know it sounds insane but i like you a lot quinn. and maybe that's why your girlfriends were always jealous. they could probably tell how i felt and they didn't want me around to screw up their chances with you. that's why i had to keep a distance from you. i didn't want to have to make you choose between me and them because it would've been a losing battle for me."

"if that had ever happened, you would've won every single time. i never really cared about all those other girls. the only one that matters to me, is you. and i hope i conveyed that well enough in that kiss."

"seems pretty evident now." y/n smiled and finally opened her eyes. "guess that was kind of stupid of me, wasn't it?"

"not at all." quinn smiled. "like you said, the last 3 years of random relationships have brought us to this moment right here. the most perfect moment." he placed a kiss on her lips again but didn't give her enough time to reciprocate. "i love you, y/n. everything about you is so perfect and it's been driving me crazy for 3 years."

"i can't believe that the planes being grounded are the reason we're here together."

"me either. but i wouldn't change it for anything."

"i wouldn't either." y/n leaned up to kiss him again. "for the record, i love you too."

[welcome-to-green-hills]

I really want a spin off so we get more background on Shadow and Maria. Why did Maria move to the military base? Was Gerald her only living relative? Was she the only child on the base? Was she lonely and curious and wanted nothing more than a friend? Was shadow the only friend she had? Did she play guitar because she was a huge fan of the beetles? Did she want to teach shadow how to play guitar?

Also, my HCs of Maria playing guitar and dancing with shadow are canon now and I’m so freaking happy

Hi Hon!❤️✨

I think that we’re all hungry for some more Shadow and Maria content after the third film. I mean, can you blame us? It’s all great content! I’d 100% be open to more SCU!Ark Sibling content!

For now, I’m going to go with a couple of my own headcanons:

I strongly think that the reason for Gerald’s closeness with Maria has to do with wanting a daughter. Yeah. This is an assumption, but I think that this is the best idea that I’ve got. If he had all sons like he did in game canon, I think that the idea of wanting a daughter might have made him form an exceptionally powerful connection with Maria.

I think that rather than being cousins, I think that Dr. Robotnik and Maria might have been siblings. It was pointed out a couple of days ago by a lovely individual here (an anon ask) that the movie never confirmed that they were cousins, but it also never confirmed that they were siblings. I’m leaning more towards the idea of them being brother and sister in the films because it feels like it would be a twist for SCU!canon.

I think that Maria wanted to be a scientist and willingly moved to the bunker with her grandfather. Any opportunity to contribute to the field of science excited her. But… being a young soul can be a bit lonesome. Luckily, Shadow was there. He saved her just as much as she saved him. They both were each other’s best friend.

Maria totally picked up guitar from listening to the Beatles. And yes, they both know the lyrics to every Beatles song ever. I think that there was an attempt to teach him guitar, but I think that he might be the most comfortable listening and humming along.

[the-fab-fox]

Okay so this has been something I've been chewing on for a long while. About making this post I mean.

This one is to those who actively ingest fanfiction but seem to think it's okay to just read free fiction that people have put time and thought and crafted prose for your enjoyment and do nothing in return.

All we ever ask for and all we ever want is for y'all to AT THE VERY LEAST hit that kudos button if you like the work. That is the BARE MINIMUM of what you SHOULD be doing. Especially all of you who say you're too nervous to comment or don't wish to be perceived. And if you don't want your account on the list, you can log out and send a guest kudos.

But as I said, BARE MINIMUM. If you loved the fic, if you got something out of it that left you feeling good and energized (or whatever angst does for y'all) then I want to take a moment and strongly urge you to comment, subscribe (if a wip), and bookmark those works. Did you know there's an option to even mark it as a Fic Recommendation? You can put notes in to and say why you liked it and things like that (DO NOT DO A RATING IN PUBLIC BOOKMARKS HOWEVER). And, you can indeed make them private! The writer still gets the number added to their stats but your bookmark we won't see.

Anyway, I now wanna turn your attention to Exhibit A:

This is a list of my best performing fics. Do you see the problem with this? The green highlights are the hits I've received for those fics. The red is the Kudos and comment threads. Now the kudos is obviously right?

Let's look at my number one fic right now, Accidentally in Love (a Malleyuu fic from Twisted Wonderland fandom). It's the seventh fic in a romance series. As you can see, it's doing great as far as hits, right? And I know it's an amazing fic from the comments I have received and just from rereading it myself. Note, I am probably the biggest bully to myself as @sunshineandteddybears and @mellosdrawings and @romantichopelessly can tell you in great detail. So when I am saying it's really damn good, you can probably trust it's gonna be pretty damn good. And yet, a fic that has 4K hits only has 119 kudos. And now to bring your attention to the comment threads. So honestly with how bad readers are on actually commenting (which by the way if you log off you can send anonymously as a guest—you'll have to put in your email address but we authors won't see that)... 107 seems pretty good right? But you guys don't see that. You see what's on the info for the story. Unfortunately, on the fic info at the top of the story, it counts every single comment (including the Author's). (The comment threads is just every single starting comment, i.e. the first comment received from each commenter.)

The thing is, I—and probably quite a few other writers—do respond to every single comment.

So that means where the info on my fic itself says 230 comments, in reality, I'm at half that when I subtract my half of the comments. So that's actually 115 comments from other people. So some people might see that 230 and think oh they got a lot of comments so I don't think they want to hear from me or I can't be fucked and they're already doing good so.

NO. NO. NO. Do not look at the numbers as a guide if a fic is good or not. Do not look at the numbers and think that we don't need or deserve to get any more. And finally WE WANT TO HEAR FROM Y'ALL.

Excuses need to stop.

Speaking of numbers. Here's my over all stats current on AO3.

In the 3 years on this AO3 account (I've had others in the past and accounts on ff.net and live journal. I'm an oldie fanfic writer lol. 21 years of fanfic. My gods. 🤣) It didn't used to be like this guys. Back in the day I'd get 12 plus comments on a chapter and this is on stuff a teenager wrote.

We have got to get back to the point of supporting each other and building each other up. Also while I'm at it, I have a huge beef with the fact that fanartists get so much more positive feedback and replies and comments, but the thing is, even their numbers are skewed. You can go into the notes of a fanart on here that has 10k notes to see they have maybe 100-1K reblogs (if that, I'm being generous) and maybe 10 or so replies (if turned on) and the rest are all likes. EVERYONE has been on here long enough by now to know that likes do nothing to get a post in the algorithm and tags only do so much. Reblogs are the only way their art (or our fanfictions for people who post them on here) gets seen! By sharing!

So y'all gotta get better. Yes, we write for ourselves first, but ultimately a story is meant to be shared with everyone and feedback should not be optional if you're actively reading the fics or viewing the art for free and enjoyed it!

TLDR:

IF YOU FUCKING LIKE A FANFIC. KUDOS AT THE VERY LEAST BUT BE BETTER. COMMENT. BOOKMARK. SUBSCRIBE IF IT'S A WIP YOU LOVE. (Like, comment and reblog if on Tumblr)

IF YOU FUCKING LIKE A FANART ON TUMBLR. COMMENT. LIKE. REBLOG.

DO BETTER AS READERS AND US WRITERS AND ARTISTS WILL GIVE YOU THE WORLD (AND MANY OTHER WORLDS TO BOOT)

That is all. Please reblog the fuck out of this if you agree.

(and tagging my current and last fandoms so this can get in fandom spaces where it needs to be.)

[bwat5-blog]

Quick Response To Some Nonsense

**Spoilers For All Of Arcane**

Hello all, no fancy lead in today just a response to some recent stances taken on Cait/Vi, in particular their breakup. Of course this is simply my interpretation, but I felt strongly enough seeing it that it was worthy of a refutation. As I am keeping this centered on the stances themselves and my responses I won't be doing my usual laying the groundwork, so if you have any questions feel free to ask or check out my other stuff! Let's dive in!

The primary reason Caitlyn shuts down and does what she does is because Vi took the choice away from her after they had agreed on it. And that Caitlyn had lived a life always struggling to be able to make her own choices because of her parents: Okay, on the surface, totally fair. Yes, they had agreed on a plan as to how this had to go down and Vi stopped Caitlyn from carrying it out. However, there is SO MUCH MORE going on here.

First and foremost, Vi's reasons for stopping Caitlyn at this point are irrelevant. Because of Isha. Listen folks, If you have watched these characters all the way to this point, and you honestly feel that either of them would intentionally do something that risks the life of a child, I just cannot agree with you. Caitlyn has only shown herself to be a kind and caring person ever since we meet her. These folks wanted to use two factors to show that Vi would not have cared about Isha being hurt to prove that it was all about Jinx.

A- Vi doesn't have a particular adverse reaction to Renni's son dying

B- Vi doesn't seem to care about hitting Isha and doesn't stop when she does

A: Renni's Son-

This is the boy killed who is working in the Shimmer lab that Jayce and Vi attack. Jayce accidentally kills him with a blast from his hammer. So regarding the allegation that Vi doesn't seem to particularly care. Context, as always, is our friend folks. Jayce is backing out because of the death when they were quite literally starting their attack on Siloc's entire operation. So what does Vi actually say-

"You've always been a part of this, you just never had to look it in the eye. One dead kid? There's hundreds more where he came from, thanks to Silco. And thanks yo people like you, who stuck their heads in the dirt. "

Jayce leaves, Vi very clearly stands over the body and sighs, her eyes wet with tears. And yes she gets back to business. Because as she said. This is about so much more than one dead kid.

B: Hitting Isha-

Okay, I love Isha to. But this is not the first time she jumps in the middle of an adult situation and gets hurt. But anyway, the allegation here is that Vi really had no issue hitting her and didn't stop because of it. Isha quite literally bites Vi on her wraps. You know, the part of her that is probably in constant pain from months of pit fighting and no self care. Also, Jinx and Vi literally stop at the same time when they realize what happened.

Also, lets not forget this handy-dandy little moment where Vi quite literally throws herself in front of Isha to save her from Vander:

Additionally, to allege that the reason Caitlyn reacts to such an extreme agree is simply that Vi robbed her of her choice is to deny the absolutely crushing trauma Caitlyn has been/is dealing with. She is literally face to face with the monster of her nightmares, and is being denied her revenge. Every fight-or-flight, primal, lizard brain part of her is screaming that Jinx is the most dangerous thing in the world, and the woman Caitlyn loves is standing in front of her. I go more into the signs of Caitlyn's traumatic episode in another document but to suffice it to say, it doesn't seem like Caitlyn was really aware of exactly what all was going on in that chamber. Vi called her repeatedly and all Caitlyn could say was "move! she's not getting away again!" never responding to anything else Vi was saying. Caitlyn fired her rifle twice striking Vi's gauntlet once even and was not deterred. She is NOT doing okay

***FYI- I had a lovely conversation with the person who made this first point. I misunderstood them. Their point was through Caitlyn’s perception of the event while factoring her mental state. So I stand by analysis of the scene but calling out this first point was my error***

2. "I thought you were different.. but your not. It's her blood in your veins"- whoo boy. Okay, The users are more or less defending Caitlyn's anger and her saying this as her realizing that ultimately Vi's loyalty is with Jinx because they believe Vi stopped her because of Jinx, and by extension someone who has done A-Z of fucked up things to Caitlyn. Again I am just about the furthest thing from a Jinx apologist but I don't have time for the list at the moment.

I will repeat, did Vi stop it because she saw Powder in Jinx's face, and because her sister told her she was glad it was her killing her? Entirely possible. But ultimately what it comes down it Caitlyn is enraged because Jinx got away, and Caitlyn's solution to that was to take the shot with a hex tech rifle that had been glitching, and could have killed a child.

No as to what Caitlyn actually said, because one of their points was about Vi's comeback. A few points:

A- Caitlyn knows all of Vi and Jinx history by now including Vi's crushing guilt over what happened

B- Caitlyn knows Vi carries the guilt for her mother's death because Vi asked Caitlyn not to shoot

C- Caitlyn knows what it meant for Vi to put on the uniform and come here with her, and still doubts her

D- Caitlyn literally alleges that Vi is no different than Jinx, who has caused all of this pain and suffering, because her blood is the same, tainted in the same way

3. "Than why are you the one acting like her?"- Essentially here they are just saying that Vi was looking to wound, looking for the low blow, and that not enough attention was given to how fucked up this was to say, especially because Caitlyn had tried to do all of this the right way.

Can I do the right thing for the wrong reason? Is it bad that I'm making friends with my demons, and Living by a couple deadly sins Just to make sure I finish what you began And I ain't afraid to lose a life or ten If it means that I get to win in the end (woo) So I'ma do this on my own, step into the danger zone Pull the pin and watch it blow! (Arcane Hellfire)

I am not saying it wasn't a fucked up thing to say. I am saying Yall are missing the point. Vi was afraid of Caitlyn changing because she saw the violence and darkness in her. Because while yes they are doing everything the right way in the lanes technically, for Caitlyn its all for the wrong reasons. She isn't there to help the undercity, she is on a quest for revenge. And as such is surrendering her morals and values alittle at a time.

4. Caitlyn hit Vi impulsively after Vi realized she overstepped/Cait never learned her strength or how to hold back-

As Caitlyn is walking away and Vi says "why are you the one acting like her?!" she grabs Cait's arm firmly at first then relaxes her grip to a more gentle one. Caitlyn sits and breathes for a solid ten seconds before hitting Vi. That's not exactly a reflexive action. Also, Caitlyn has demonstrated a tremendous proficiency with her rifle and with increasing hand-to-hand combat over the course of the show. She knew what she was doing, and she knew where she hit her. Now was Caitlyn also drowning in the middle of a total emotional overload. Yes indeed. But this was not a shock response strike. She chose to.

Now for a few points outside of the breakup that were mentioned:

Vi was wrong to suggest that Caitlyn did not understand during their conversation about Vi putting on the badge-

Well we can do this simply. Lets compare the two.

A- Vi was standing there in sight of her parents bodies as the people responsible were still there stalking around the smoke. The people responsible all dress the same way and their look is a symbol of their institution. Now she is being asked to dress like them.

B- Caitlyn was however far away and only saw the rocket launched and smash into the building. This of course would still be very traumatic. But for better or worse there is only one Jinx and her look is her look. Unless Vi was asking Cait to put on a half-eaten circus tent, I don't think we are in the same area here.

2. Vi has a tendency to dismiss Caitlyn's trauma when something more viscerally related to her own loss is going on-

The example they provided was the conversation I listed above. Vi has literally stayed there to be there and support Caitlyn even after being yelled at by Tobias. She is supportive of catching jinx and wants to help right up until Cait offers the badge. And even after that blow up, in the wake of the memorial attack Vi shelves her own issues and agrees to be an enforcer anyways.

3. Fandom keeps giving Vi a pass like anyone from Piltover can do no wrong-

The idea of this fandom giving Vi a pass is completely and totally laughable. I'm sorry but it is. There is still a whole legion of us who blame a fifteen year old girl kneeling over her father's body, who just saw her brothers die, who just held off a legion of armed Silco goons and barely survived, for ruining Powder during one bad moment and turning her into jinx. Aside from Caitlyn's commander Arc Vi is probably the least understood character in the entire fandom.

PSSSSSST.. If it helps, they don't do redemption arcs for characters who were never in the wrong in the first place. Have a great day!

[wen-kexing-apologist]

QL 2024: Favorite Friendships

Tagged by @lurkingshan, I love my friends so much so naturally I love watching portrayals of incredible friendships on screen as well. So here are my top ten friendships of 2024 in no particular order (did I cheat a little bit? Yes, yes I did and I’m not sorry about it): 

Yako, Nomoto, Kasuga, and Nagumo - She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat 

gif by @musicdramalove

As someone with a metric fuck ton of friendships that started on the internet and moved to meeting in person, I really love that Nomoto met Professional Baby Lesbian Mentor Yako online and that they maintained that friendship for awhile. It was so wonderful getting to meet Yako this season and to see the friendship between her and Nomoto blossom first with online movie nights and then meeting and cooking together in person with Kasuga and Nagumo as well.  I also really loved Kasuga, Nomoto and eventually Yako adopting my beloved Nagumo in to their little found family and being so accepting and accommodating with Nagumo’s relationship to food. I love that while it was Kasuga and Nomoto that Nagumo first confides in, we see a genuine friendship between Yako and Nagumo start growing outside of their ties to Kasuga and Nomoto. 

Latte, Almond, Thanwa, and Peak- Knock Knock, Boys!

One does not watch all these boys collapsed and sleeping together in the living room of their home without appreciating the bonds of male friendship in all its messy glory. I love the ways they show up for each other, I love how distinctive their personalities and their functions in their friendship are. I love that Thanwa kind of mothers all of them, that he’s encouraged to follow his dreams, that they all come together to figure out what is happening with the recorded videos, etc. I love that the romantic relationships between Latte and Almond and also Thanwa and Peak come after a very strong and genuine friendship, so that them getting together is believable. Also, I want to give a special shout out to Jane for how much she cares about Peak and how often she pushes him to stop running and take accountability, that’s love, bitch!

Go Yeong and The T-aras- Love in the Big City

My absolute favorite change from the book to the television show was the inclusion of the T-aras as the bridge between each part of Go Yeong’s life. They work as a litmus test for Yeong’s romantic relationships, who he does and does not introduce them to, how they interact with is partners. They work as a point of comparison between Go Yeong’s ease and joy with them compared to his (brief) experiences trying to maintain het male friendships with people in college. They may not be able to see so strongly through Go Yeong’s mask as people like Gyu Ho but they are there for Go Yeong through all the hardest parts of his life, they are there fighting hospital security to make sure Go Yeong knows he is loved when he wakes up from his suicide attempt, they help Yeong carry his mother’s coffin, and they are there to spread love and joy to Yeong after his breakup with Gyu Ho. 

The Sea Creatures- Marahuyo Project

I had to include them all together because there are a number of beautiful friendships between these kids. Lili and Lorena, and the feelings and protectiveness between them. King and Venice and the solace and support they find in one another as visible, loud, proud queer people. Of all the ways they show up for each other, for the Pride parade they have despite not getting permission to start their club. This handful of queer kids in this small little town are so important to each other and also so important to me.

Wei Qian and San Pang- Unknown 

San Pang has been there for Wei Qian through thick and thin, he’s been the relief support when Wei Qian was struggling as a teenager, and he has been the bridge between Wei Qian and Zhi Yuan as they navigated their growing feelings towards one another. It’s not just the relationship between San Pang and Wei Qian that I love, it’s the way he is important to the whole family. Like the way he looks at Wei Li Li is so important to me, and the conversation that he has with Zhi Yuan when trying to tell Yuan he cannot have romantic feelings for Qian is one of my favorite scenes of 2024. He has been family to them for so long, and I am very glad that even though dating Wei Li Li confirms he has a death wish, I am very glad that he is officially a part of the family. 

The Three Must-Eat-Eers - Cooking Crush 

gif by @save-the-data

These boys love each other so much, and I really appreciated both the teamwork that they exhibit and also the fact that even though they are the best of friends and have been through hell together in school, that the narrative still allows them to fail Unky as a friend and that Unky is not only allowed to be mad about it, but it’s not seen as dramatic or unfair by Prem or Dynamite. They feel really bad about it, and they do what they need to do to make it up to him. I love that their friendship extends beyond school, that they aren’t just friends because they are in the same classes, but that they match each other’s freak, that they have sleepovers, and get together outside of school to watch their favorite show in their matching outfits. 

Makoto and Daichi- No One Cares for an Old Man’s Underwear

An important part of any relationship is reciprocity and I do believe that Daichi and Makoto have one of the best examples of reciprocity in their friendship. I love that their friendship starts with Makoto making a homophobic comment and Daichi literally laughing in his face. He is so patient and kind with Makoto as he navigates this brave new world he is uncovering, and yet he does get annoyed and angry and upset. Neither Daichi nor Makoto are perfect people and they do not have to be. Daichi is there to help Makoto when he stumbles, and Makoto is there to help Daichi when he’s upset about his dad’s homophobia. I also just think it is really important to see friendships with big age gaps like this one, because people can be friends at any age and it feels important to remind people of that. 

Kakeru and Hasegawa + Kakeru and Karina- No One Cares for an Old Man’s Underwear

Just as I think it is important to demonstrate conflict in friendships like Unky, Dy, and Prem’s, I think it is vitally important for Kakeru to learn that having conflicts with people does not mean that people hate you or do not want to be your friend. I love that Kakeru’s reasons for not going to school have nothing to do with him being bullied and have everything to do with him feeling uncomfortable with the way his teammates talk about/treat women. Karine is an intense and passionate person who really loves what she does, and when Kakeru is first introduced to her, he avoids her like the plague because he doesn’t want to be in conflict with her. But once she corners him and forces him to talk with her, she speaks her mind about Kakeru giving away his makeup advice for free and cutting her out of her little in-school business. Their friendship begins with conflict and quickly moves past that in to a genuine connection over a shared interest. Karina helps teach Kakeru that not only can he speak his mind to his friends, but that he has a literal obligation to do so. 

Meanwhile, Hasegawa is a really wonderful example of Kakeru making assumptions about the people he is around and how that can negatively impact his ability to maintain friendships with them. Yeah Hasegawa was a part of that conversation around women that caused Kakeru to leave school for awhile, but he also see’s Kakeru’s interest in makeup and looking cute and immediately goes to him for skincare advice. He tells Kakeru when he thinks something is cool and later on in their friendship he tells Kakeru when he thinks something Kakeru is doing is lame. So while Karina and Kakeru’s friendship started with conflict and moved on. Hasegawa and Kakeru’s friendship started with connection and had conflict, but that did not implode their relationship with one another and Kakeru did speak his mind with the baseball team when they started talking about girls in a way he didn’t like and the world kept turning and his teammates did some self reflection and immediately agreed that what they were saying was kinda shitty. I believe it is a profound act of love from a friend to hold the people you love accountable and to help them become better people, to love themselves, and to learn and grow in general and I think Kakeru’s friendships with Karina and Hasegawa are really beautiful examples of that. 

___

For the last two on the list, I want to talk about some complicated friendships that I absolutely loved this year: 

Lee Do Hoe and Ha Hyeon Ho- Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

I really enjoyed Ha Hyeon Ho’s relationship with Lee Do Hoe. It makes perfect sense in a town like they grew up in, in the time that they grew up in that Heyon Ho would be present for and engage in physical conflict with Do Hoe. And, it also makes perfect sense that Hyeon Ho would do what he could to protect Do Hoe from getting seriously hurt or injured. I think one of the most important tiny moments to me in Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo was when Hyeon Ho’s other friends shoved Do Hoe to the ground and Hyeon Ho stuck his foot out to catch Do Hoe’s head before it could hit asphalt. 

There is something so beautiful and so tragic about Hyeon Ho sticking around Do Hoe in adulthood with some hope that Do Hoe might one day reciprocate his feelings. I love that he keeps all of these secrets for Do Hoe because he loves him and believes that he is helping, but all it has done is hurt Do Hoe. I love that Do Hoe knows why Hyeon Ho sticks around and strings him along. I love that they are friends for this long and that they hurt each other, and that they know it and that they can’t stop. I really appreciate how sympathetic they made Hyeon Ho, and that Hwang Da Seul really demonstrated that Ju Yeong was the right person for Do Hoe because Ju Yeong knew how much it was eating Do Hoe alive to live in this lie, even if Hyeon Ho believed he was doing the right thing. 

Venice and Archie- Marahuyo Project 

God talk about a complicated fucking friendship. This is such a raw and real representation of the ways in which love, care, grief, and fear can hurt ourselves and the people we care about. Venice and Archie’s friendship is also a beautiful example of what radical empathy looks like. Archie undoubtedly, repeatedly, and somewhat unremorsefully hurts Venice. He misgenders her, he deadnames her, he deadnames Christina. He pushes himself further and further into the folds of religion, internalizing his homophobia so deeply that it literally makes him so uncomfortable in his skin. But the hurt that Archie causes Venice is borne from a place of love and fear for her and her life and her safety. And despite how terrible Archie treats her throughout the show, Venice takes it in stride, and she talks with him, and laughs with him, and cries with him over a monumental loss. I do not believe for a second that Venice would tolerate the way Archie treats her from anyone else, but she knows exactly what is causing Archie to react this way towards her, and so she tolerates it, and she treats him with kindness and compassion and patience. She knows that Archie is scared and alone, and trying to run from the feelings he has.

Honestly I really need to watch this show again because I want to sit with their friendship more, and it means so much to me that though Archie is likely going to go down the path of priesthood for longer than he really should given how terrible it has been for his mental and physical wellbeing, to see this change in Archie that allowed him to help with the Pride parade in a way that felt comfortable and safe for him was incredibly important, and a truly beautiful moment of love towards his friend Venice and the community he is a part of, even if he cannot be loud and proud with them.

tagging @so-much-yet-to-learn, @shortpplfedup, @emotionallychargedtowel, and @neuroticbookworm

[alicenpai]

🌟 ART SUMMARY 2024 🥂

this was a year where i didnt draw a lot, despite that, i tried to make every drawing count. thank you all for the support in 2024, here's to 2025 ! 🫶

⭐ [read more starts here]

i continued my goals from last year with regards to perfectionism. the tldr is that i strongly feel my perfectionism kept me away from completing as many drawings as i could, and i had to make an effort to just finish drawings no matter how lukewarm I felt about them. 2024 was a strange year, it came and went in the blink of an eye, even more than previous years! life has been stressful, so i've been trying to focus more on myself and taking time off drawing. ironic, although i think i succeeded in that above goal, i expected to get more drawings out of it, but ended up taking more time off drawing anyways. towards the end of the year, i started feeling more burnt out, and drawing became a slow and arduous process. i think part of the reason was because 2024 was my first year doing 5 events - 2 full weekend conventions (anime north and otakuthon), and 3 single day events (bamtori fall aapi market, toronto game expo, bamtori jinglebam market), when in the past 2 years i'd just opt to do 1-2 local cons. it was also my first time doing single day events, which were super chill! although you have to both set up and tear down on the same day, i felt more casual at those events, had more time to chat and look around. back to my point - despite being fun, doing so many events took its toll on me - especially during the colder months of the year, where i wasn't so used to going to events haha! usually i take fall as the time to rejuvenate and recover from summer events, but i couldn't really do that this year. i kept questioning myself, "does this drawing have appeal? will people buy this?" "is my art hireable?" and it's just not a healthy mindset to have. next year i'll try to draw more of what i enjoy and what's on my mind, instead of worrying too much if it's sellable! *feeling like the HAHA YES sickos meme* - 2025 art goals outlined below: - oc zine (aiming for a character guide with some test comics) - character interactions & poses! e.g. dancing, hugs - generally stuff that's more difficult to draw. my art is more illustrative, but sometimes i wished it was more engaging emotionally? like i want people to smile and cry with my characters... - illustrations that challenge me. when i say illusts that challenge me it's pretty abstract - do research and gather inspiration for every illust.. compositions that are difficult/complex and take a while to draft.. strong theme.. it's more for me to understand AHAHAHA. as the years go by you can see my art becoming more unified in theme and self indulgent... i want to keep going, i want to make art that is uniquely mine. less priority: - get used to sketching! truly miss how i used to fill up sketchbooks every year - sticker sheets (this is on the less priority list bc i will probably fulfill this goal regardless) - oc merch (happy with the stickers i made in the last 2 yrs, let's keep going!) - silly things! e.g. 4koma, silly doodles. comedy is an art, it IS a skill you can study and chip away at (e.g. comedians and comedy writers). make sure i take notes on really stand-out jokes i find funny & why

other various things to try and draw more of: - group pictures - animals - layouts and props. i find layouts and anything with hard surfaces difficult to draw, which is why i draw a lot of flowers and fabric LMAO. one thing i gotta do is start by either drawing characters holding props more (easy baby steps!) and/ or start drawing props around them and make my way towards harder things (e.g. practice drawing a character sitting, i'll start by drawing a simple chair, then a table, then objects on that table). this is also one of my weaknesses - draw the ground they're standing on if possible, e.g. characters standing on a grid - vehicles, if i can. i mostly draw stuff from fantasy series where cars don't exist LOL but i'll try...

[ljblueteak]

Thinking about how Chase getting fired is discussed & seen by Chase, Cameron, House and the candidates for the new team (where Amber, Cole, and Taub separately raise the subject with him).

Chase: Seems to have accepted House’s "Because you've been here the longest, learned all you can, or you haven't learned anything at all... either way, it's time for a change" explanation from Human Error (3x24). He tells Cameron that "[House is] right; it's time for a change” when she meets up with him later in the episode.

He does also tell Cameron that "the why doesn't matter"—it was time for a change no matter what brought it about—but when Cole asks him in Guardian Angels (4x4) whether it was a "mistake" to always "put up with [House's] crap," Chase says "It was irrelevant" and that "He'll fire you either way. Eventually." My read on that (at least right now) is that he realized that he wasn't supposed to be a permanent member of House's staff and he'd have had to go eventually.

House also would have offered him his spot back in The Right Stuff (4x02) even though he had the reputation of going along with House's "crap" when he worked for him, so it seems that having put up with him really wasn't relevant. And Chase probably knew about Cameron's bet with House re: getting Cole to fight him, which is another reason the "putting up with" conversation might not have been relevant. There was more going on than Cole realized.

That's not to say Chase is 100% chill about having been fired. He doesn't want back on House's team and his instinct is to avoid getting involved in any of House's drama. Still, the show makes a point of demonstrating that he's not harboring thoughts of vengeance or out to make House miserable.

Cameron: She tries to reassure Chase in Human Error, telling him, "You know House firing you has nothing to do with you?"

She does also bring up the firing in The Itch (5x07)

Chase: You gonna keep working on this? Cameron: Yeah. I brought in the case. Chase: There is no case. He's gone. You've been tossed. This is totally nuts. Cameron: He's incredibly sick. We don't know — Chase: Forget about the patient. What is going on with you? This is why we left House's team to avoid this constant flood of pure craziness. Cameron: That's why I left House. You got fired.

I'm... not convinced that's why Cameron left. Anyway, she was annoyed when she threw being fired in Chase's face and she was trying to hurt him, but I doubt she was trying to hurt him that badly. If she'd thought Chase considered it an open wound, I don't think she'd have said it. And it's interesting that Chase himself has gotten to the point here where he's glossing over the whole involuntary nature of his departure. He definitely doesn't seem to be licking his wounds.

House: Despite very strongly believing that it's his team/his choice in terms of who's on it, and despite denying to Wilson that he feels guilty about firing Chase, The Right Stuff makes it clear he misses the original trio despite his attempts to deny it. I don't think we're supposed to buy that Chase really is just "someone [House] used to know." Wilson says re: picking a new team, "I think you're going to choose people for reasons that have nothing to do with their skills. I think you're going to choose people just because you can't stand them. Because if you like them, well, that's just, stressful." And House stares somewhat wistfully at the empty space where Chase used to be when he takes off after providing a diagnosis (and shakes his head "no" to the idea of working for House again.)

In that same episode, House tells the people competing to be on his team, "So here we are. The big moment. Which of you gets to live to be abused another day? And which of you goes home and rationalizes being fired as character building?" Sure, it's not directly related to Chase, but it's an acknowledgment that being fired doesn't feel great.

The conversation he has with Amber in Don't Ever Change (4x12) where he accuses her of sticking around in the hopes that he'll change his mind about firing her is also not about Chase, but...Chase is another blond doctor who stuck around Princeton because of his love life after having been fired by House.

In Don't Ever Change, House tries out and rejects the idea that Amber would have stuck around in the hopes that House would realize he'd made a mistake:

House: You just wanna stay in my orbit 'cause you figure I'll eventually realize that I made a mistake and you're gonna be able to rub my face in it. Amber: I can't wait. It's gonna be awesome. House: No, it's not. And you know it's not. 'Cause you know that even if I made a mistake, I'd never admit that I made a mistake. Which means that you're just toying with Wilson to toy with me.

But...he does look like he's ready to take Chase back by 4x02. He's not saying the words, "I made a mistake in firing Chase," but Amber wouldn't have been totally out of bounds in thinking that sticking around might have worked out for her. It would have for Chase. But at this point, both Amber and Chase have moved on anyway. House also considers vengeance as a motive for Amber, but he never does for Chase.

Interestingly, he overhears Cole and Chase talking about Chase's firing and is right there when Taub pressures Chase into performing surgery by claiming he'll spread the (false) word that Chase refused to work on the patient because he was angry about House having fired him and he doesn't jump in with any commentary of his own in either case.

He does yell "I could have you fired" At Chase in 97 Seconds (4x03), but imo it's pretty clear he wouldn't, actually, and Chase isn't phased.

The New Team:

They were probably already having a hard time figuring out what would get you fired and what wouldn’t because early on, you could get fired for sitting in the wrong row but you might *not* get fired for setting a patient on fire or making a mistake that contributed to a patient's death. They must have been really, really curious about what was going on with House and Chase. Chase had been on the team the longest and had been fired because....why? And when they first encounter him, House looks at him to see if he'll take the job back?

House tells Thirteen, Kutner and Taub that they need to stop worrying so much about getting fired in Frozen (4x11), but after the games and after what happened with Chase—and House's apparent nonchalance about the possibility of Cameron getting fired in that episode—how easy would that be to do?

I do love that the conversation with Amber in 97 Seconds establishes that Chase doesn’t think House is wrong even when he no longer works for him:

Amber: Do you think House could be wrong? Chase: I thought he fired you. Amber: No, he fired the men. Chase: I don't think he's wrong. Amber: If he is, how would I prove it? Chase: Just said I don't think he is. Amber: Well, thinking isn't good enough. Chase: You'd have to run a blood test for anti-centromere antibodies.

and also shows that he’s really not feeling vengeful:

Amber: Would you mind running the labs? Chase: You can't. Amber: Well, I can, but... Chase: No, I was making a statement. You've been fired, so you no longer have lab privileges. You weren't coming here for advice, you were coming here to con a favor to save your job. Sorry. I'm not working for him any more, but he can still make my life miserable. Amber: You have a chance to make his life miserable. Chase: I'm insulted. You conned Cameron by appealing to her humanity. Amber: I told her what she wanted to hear. Chase: And you told me what you thought I wanted to hear. Amber: If it's any consolation, I think your motives are more interesting. Chase: I cannot believe he fired you. Go draw his blood. Meet you in the lab when I'm done here.

He knows what Amber's up to from the beginning and winds up being impressed by her and how she gets things done—and that, imo, is what convinces him to do her this favor. He also starts out saying House can still make him miserable—and indeed, House proves he can still make former fellows miserable—i.e. Cameron in Frozen—but that's just an excuse because he generally doesn't want to be involved. He isn't phased at all by House threatening to have him fired later.

The situation with Taub in Games (4x09) is another case where Chase demonstrates he's not vengeance-motivated and is ultimately impressed by someone trying to manipulate him to get on the team.

House: We want to look at his heart. With our eyes. Chase: So I kill the patient on my operating table. You get to keep testing your team and I take the heat from Cuddy. House: If it goes that way, yeah, that'll be excellent. Taub: His respiratory status is through the floor. If there's a vessel and we don't remove it fast, best case, he's on a ventilator for life. House: Granted, it'll be a short one. Who do you think I should hire? Chase: You want me to tell you in front of him? House: It would be rude to ask him to leave now. Taub: If you don't do the surgery, patient will die. You'll have had nothing to do with it. And everyone will know that you had nothing to do with it. And everyone will know that it's because you were pissed off at House for firing you. Chase: You know that's not why I'm saying "no"… Taub: But that's how it's gonna play out. Chase: Keep him and Amber. You'll get stuff done. Prep him for surgery.

I'm wondering to what extent Taub and Amber may have talked, because Taub's trying to impress House here but also possibly trying to impress Chase, who's just given the impression that Taub might not be on his list of hires. If Amber let on in any way that Chase responded well to her coming clean about her attempt to con him, then maybe Taub decided it was a risk worth taking to win him over, too. And it worked. Chase not only agrees to do the surgery but he also recommends Taub and Amber to House and doesn't seem to harbor any ill will toward them for what they pulled (or tried to pull) on him.

He was very possibly not entirely serious about the recommendation and also might not have really thought House would take his advice, but considering that Chase often thought House was correct in terms of diagnoses, he may have genuinely thought that it would be more important to have new people on the team who could clear paths for House. And actually, that would've been a new-ish quality on the team. The original team would do your garden variety B&E and pretend to be the CDC on the phone, but I don't really see any of them, even Chase, doing what Taub did to Chase here or doing some of the things Amber did.

Something like blackmailing a surgeon was something House did to help Chase in The Mistake (2x08) but iirc it was kind of beyond what we saw the original team coming up with themselves in order to get things done (Yes, there was Vogler, but something the Tritter arc cements is the idea that Chase isn't going to feed someone information in order to save himself again, and the Vogler circumstances were very particular.)

And again, no one in that scene between Chase, House, and Taub in Games thinks that Chase is actually refusing—or would refuse—to operate because he's "pissed at House."

At the end of the day, and certainly by Chase (8x12), Chase is probably 98.9% sure House wouldn't ever fire him again. Especially after he murdered someone. But he also knows that even if House did fire him, he'd be okay.

[livingbedroomframe]

⋆⁺₊❅. Confession from a person of the same sex ⋆⁺₊❅.

⋆˚࿔ Itoshi Rin 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

I think we see the worst of this guy because of the place he’s in, but in a normal setting he would be like any other awkward teenager his age.

I don’t see him ever being interested in a romantic relationship, he’s really focused on his football career, but he also wouldn’t be a dick for no reasons. I’ll repeat, ik he’s kinda nasty in blue lock, but in school he looked pretty okay. He was a bit weird when he was in kindergarten, but who wasn’t?

He would be caught by surprise by the confession, he isn’t the most emotional intelligent guy and also pretty awkward, so he would just stare at the poor guy trembling with anxiousness because he genuinely finest know what to say nor react. After the long awkward pause, he would regain his composure and reject the guy with a rushed “I don’t have time to date.” cause he’s also anxious and wants to get out of the situation.

I also believe he wouldn’t mind being confessed to by a guy, he just doesn’t care for romance of any kind.

⋆˚࿔ Oliver Aiku 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

His cheating ass would make the guy that confessed his next victim.

It’s implied that he’s bisexual, so gender is not a problem. Him meeting in a karaoke with multiple dates and saying “let’s all play together” is the problem.

After being confessed to, he would move quickly: invite the guy out on a date even if he doesn’t feel any romantic attraction to him, lead him on until he gets tired, leave him and find someone else. Or cheat on him and find someone else. My guy is a proud hoe lol, I still can’t believe he placed third on “best gentleman” in the Egoist Bible.

The guy who confessed to him would end up on Reddit/AITA writing about his experience like: “Am I the asshole from getting together with the guy my boyfriend was cheating on me? (the other guy also believed he was the only boyfriend cheater had)”.

In conclusion, I strongly believe he is bisexual and would love to receive confession by men.

⋆˚࿔ Ikki Niko 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

The Egoist Bible says his favorite manga is Banana Fish and his favorite anime is Puebla Magi Madoka Magica. He’s truly a doomed yuri/yaoi enjoyer. He would LOVE alien stage.

Anyway, Niko canonically spends his free time binge watching anime, is an introvert, he’s the least aggressive in terms of romance and was bullied because of his bangs. He would not get a confession.

But, in the case he received one, there’s two possible outcomes.

If the guy confessing is someone he doesn’t know well (like an hallway crush or a simple classmate), he would say “Is this a prank?”/“Did they make you do this as a dare?”. On the other hand, if he’s one of his close friends, there’s many aspect to take in consideration.

The Egoist Bible says ”His strength is his cautiousness. His weakness is his cowardice.”. Being in a gay relationship in Japan, a conservative country, takes a lot of courage even if you’re dating in secret. However, it does say his greatest strength is being cautious, so hopefully they wouldn’t get caught. Alas, with a football career in the making, I don’t think he would take such a big risk and put in jeopardy all his hard work.

Overall, I don’t see him ever accepting a guy’s confession, even if the feeling was mutual, because of social pressure and his cowardly trait.

Now, would he be disgusted if a man confessed to him? No, he wouldn’t. Taking in consideration his favorites manga and anime have heavy undertones of queer symbolism and he’s pretty chill outside of blue lock, he would reject the guy in a polite manner and move on with his life.

Do I think Niko is queer? Maybe, but this is discourse for another post.

⋆˚࿔ Hyoma Chigiri 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

A guy could give him the most heartfelt, romantic and sweet love confession after school behind the school gate like every shoujo manga ever and he would answer with “You know I’m a guy right?” or he would laugh and ask “You joking, right?”. Cue the guy running away in tears and Chigiri realizing he was actually serious.

I’m kidding! He’s good at reading the mood in the manga and, after surpassing the fear of his ACL, he’s supportive to his friends. Generally Chigiri is an easygoing/mellow guy, as the Blue Lock wiki describes him. Apart from some sassy remark, he’s still a moody teenager after all, I don’t think he would say something so mean to someone in a normal setting.

Mind you, he would still reject the guy for two main reasons:

1. I don’t think he’s queer. “But look at the way he dresses!!” “Look how feminine he is!” I’m sorry to inform you, neither of this things make a person queer.

(Do I still headcanon him as bi? Yes, but I’m trying to be realistic for this headcanon).

2. Chigiri would think the guy confessed just because he “resembles” a girl. I don’t think he would ever phantom a man being with him because he also is a boy and not because of his femininity.

But!! If Chigiri was confessed to by another guy in Blue Lock, I think he would say that. That place brings the worst out of every single one of them.

[bybdolan]

thoughts on books i read in 2024

This was kind of an abysmal reading year for me ... i did not read a lot, very few books were truly excellent, and most of what I read was written by white guys (which is on me). Let’s hope 2025 is better on all fronts. Anyway, here’s a list of what I read, and about 4 sentences written in 3 minutes trying to summarize my thoughts on the book.

The Autograph Collector (Zadie Smith) – started the year off pretty strong with this one. It’s been a while since I read it, but what I do remember is that smith is an excellent storyteller and I liked how the themes of grief, dreams, and fame were woven together.

Die Insel der 1000 Leuchttürme (Walter Moers) – eh? I was constantly hoping that this would go in a “horror as metaphor for bigotry” or “small communities with strict rules are fucking scary” (think The Wicker Man) kind of direction, and thus was not on board with the way the plot ended up developing. It’s also way too long and Hildegunst’s neuroses are annoying after a certain point.

Faserland (Christian Kracht) – this is as good as everyone says it is. Full stop. I admittedly just love books about sad young men who are or pretend to be assholes (Catcher in the Rye), so this was perfect for me. Very sad and very pale, but in a good way – it felt clear, like nice winter wind. Also: I couldn’t get the boy to kill me but I wore his jacket for the longest time. Etc. etc.

Das fliegende Klassenzimmer (Erich Kästner) – a classic for a reason!!! Children’s books are at their best when they take their audience seriously, and this passes that test with flying colors. Incredibly fun, incredibly moving. Made me cry more than once. Eisern!

Call Me By Your Name (André Aciman) – this was a really interesting experience for me because I strongly disliked the movie when I watched it, as I was constantly put off by Oliver’s behavior. I think the book does a better job at making you understand the fragile and confusing back-and-forth between Elio and Oliver, and I found myself really really liking it because of that. I also greatly appreciate how unapologetically horny it is. Being horny makes you act fucking weird!!! I love weird horny representation!!! YAY peach scene! The style was beautiful as well, though a bit imagery-heavy at times, which did fit the heavy summer atmosphere.

Rico, Oskar 1 – 3 (Andreas Steinhöfel) – listened to the audiobooks on my way to uni. A very fun time all around. Similarly to Kästner, Steinhöfel has a lot of respect for his audience and also doesn’t shelter them. What other kids’ books can you name where the protagonist’s mom works at a strip club? The representation may not be perfect but I love that he went there. Mama Doretti you are forever famous TO ME.

The End of Loneliness (Benedict Wells) – always pains me to say this because Benedict Wells legit is so fucking sweet and nice in person and I’d LOVE to have dinner with him, but ... he is not thaaat good of a writer. This one essentially is a John Irving wannabe, and despite the “dark” themes it feels incredibly shallow and cliched at times. The female character(s) are particularly offensive. However: at the very least Wells is earnest about it all?

22 Bahnen (Caroline Wahl) – Caroline Wahl who had 2 books on the bestsellers list for over a year now recently complained that she wasn’t nominated for the Deutscher Buchpreis, which is partially meant as financial support for authors whose a) books do not sell well because b) they are good and complex pieces of literature, so I hope that she’ll be at least a bit consoled by receiving the “Book That Made Me Seethe With Hatred 2024” award <3 the writing is ass the story is shallow it’s all just a big fucking cliché and the depiction of poverty and addiction is appalling. I’d be ashamed to put a book like this out into the world.

HOOL (Philipp Winkler) – this still is THE book about violent men to me. I read it 5 times in the summer of 2018 and I am happy to report that it has lost none of its appeal and grit and ugliness. Simply a 10/10 and deeply formative to my taste.

Emil und die Detektive (Erich Kästner) – everything I said about Das fliegende Klassenzimmer is also true for this one. Ultimately I do prefer Klassenzimmer though, simply because the themes of friendships and camaraderie appeal to me much more.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson) – As a thriller this is near perfect, I could not put it down for two days. Larsson manages to do the whole “intersection of faith and violence against women” thing without it feeling exploitative (I’d be inclined to believe he may have started this trend), and I am glad that he allows his female characters to take gruesome revenge. Howeveeerrr unfortunately the narration still has a very chauvinistic edge to it and Mikkel feels like a male mid 40s wish fulfillment fantasy.

The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt) – I bought this in the Mauritshuis after seeing the Goldfinch so :’) it has a nice little sentimental edge to it. And this is another one of those “it really is THAT good” books. Looking back now, I am surprised that relatively little has stayed with me though – I never was that invested in Theo, and I also didn’t love Boris a ton, so a lot of the novel was just me hanging out with characters I didn’t like reading about that much. What stuck with me the most was the love for beautiful things that comes pouring out of every pages. Especially the parts in Hobie’s shop were just awe-inspiring. I’m planning to do a reread where I just focus on the descriptions because they were so unbelievably rich.

Bluebeard (Kurt Vonnegut) – I don’t remember a ton about this. What comes back to me most is my fondness of Vonnegut. He has a lot of humor and warmth in his writing, and I always find myself deeply moved by him writing about people loving one another, as funny or dark or even sad it may be.

The Virgin Suicides (Jeffrey Eugenides) – IT REALLY IS THAT GOOD. I could go on about the genius of that narrator perspective (the boys who watched the Lisbon girls as this big shapeless faceless conglomerate of first person plural) for ages. The prose is embroidery-worthy and the amount of detail and specificity do not only bring the Lisbon girls to life, but also the entire small town ecosystem around them. A beautiful capsule of stifled adolescence. And yet a horrifying read. (Bonus: I read this at the time when my boyfriend was reading Lolita, so when we were reading in public we looked like Mr. + Mr(s). Coquette.)

The O’Henry Prize Winners of 2024 – I love a good short story collection what can I say? I highly recommend these collections to everybody, as they present an array of innovative, diverse, well-told short stories that you may have not heard about before unless you are a literary magazine afficionado. My favorites were “Roy” and “The Soccer Balls of Mr. Kurz”.

Everybody Jam (Ali Lewis) – listen. Nothing hits like a good middle grade book. This one is veeery heavy at times and I was honestly not ready for some of the stuff that was happening, but it still was an engrossing experience and I just love coming-of-age stories that get into the mess of living. I also learned a lot about Australian cattle farming. Yay.

Fighting Ruben Wolfe (Markus Zusak) – another book about men and violence, yay! Finished this one today (it technically is only the first half of my German joint edition of this + “When Dogs Cry” but shhh). The writing was really good for the most part (I read it to get a feel for slightly gritty and simple vocabulary-wise yet rich in imagery narration for a project of mine, and it definitely delivered), however, it is very cut-up and not very subtle at times. I also felt like it was just missing. Something. I wasn’t really satisfied by the end of it.

so uuuh I think my favorite new reads of the year were The Virgin Suicides and Faserland. Maybe I should lighten up.

[hazelcephalopod]

I know it’s not a thing daemons do in this universe as a rule. But I think Agatha -and family- should be allowed to eat Knox and burn down the Congregation. I do enjoy a villain who just fucking sucks to be honest, not for every meal but absolutely on occasion. And I love woman whose ready to tear them apart -and this series has several which is a bonus.

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[sysig]

can i requeeeessstt edgar rescuing scriabin from something |D

Day 6 - There are consequences out here

Bonus, of what he was doing to get stickers in his hair:

[0vergrowngraveyard]

daily internal debate of “am i aromatic or just terrified of relationships”

[averlym]

(click for better resolution, etc.)

[hellaverse-critical-confessions]

(from this video)

[kohakhearts]

anyone else think theres some kinda bizarre love triangle going on between the player and the dlc siblings cause thats all i took away from it lmao. cant wait for part 2 so i can take carmine on a true american date