#BUT IT'S NOT TO SHOW OFF TO YOU *SPECIFICALLY* GOSH clearly you're just the most convenient thing here

[curiouschaosstarlight]

Random silly thought, but since Dottore's...pretty lowkey desperate for validation, I imagine he's very weak to being complimented or praised

Which is a great basis to ship him with Literally Anyone, they just have to say he's pretty smart once (1), and then he's probably going to feel pretty inclined to tsun around them as many times as he has excuses

[delusional-day-dreamer]

First. Love. Part¹ - p.b

playlist. next part.

‣ paige bueckers x oc (reader?, tbh i'm not sure how it works!)

‣ wc: 1790

‣‣ synopsis: people say in life, you have your FIRST love and your first LOVE, but what if paige was both?

‣‣‣ a/n: y'all i'm SO SORRY for my inactivity, summer classes and morning practices are awful. i promise i will try to release more fics on a more regular basis. For the sake of the FICTIONAL story, pazzi simply does not exist, they are best friends but denied the rumors during azzi's freshmen year and she has a boyfriend. Songs that are underlined are linked to tiktok covers just because I love them!

Us Weekly : Tuesday June 13th, 2023

Just this friday, upcoming singer-songwriter Jenna Smyths performs her own song, Means Something and an instrumental cover of Holy Ground by Taylor Swift at BBC Live Lounge to introduce her soon to be released debut album, Eternal Us (not my most creative moment I know ��). The young singer has just graduated from UCLA after completing her three-year Bachelor's Degree with a double major, her focus being Business Economics with a minor in Film, Television, and Digital Media.

This Friday was Jenna's first televised performance, and her constantly sold out small-venue concerts have been applauded all over social media and by celebrities for her vocal maturity, depth and intricacy within her song lyrics, and her ability to convey raw emotion through her performances. However, this song cover was announced by the singer-songwriter to be particularly special to her, as she mentions that this song "brings back specific memories".

The twenty-one year old kept her composure throughout both songs, yet fans on various media platforms have pointed out Jenna's seemingly tear filled eyes during Holy Ground. The artist addresses the emotions she felt during the song during her first appearance on the Jimmy Fallon Show after performing her first released single, Promise, which is prominently featured as it’s one of her most popular singles.

The Tonight Show: Monday June 12th, 2023 "Please welcome to The Tonight Show, Jenna Smyths," Jimmy introduced you as you walked onto the set of the show, the live audience cheering loudly as you took your seat on the couch.

"Thank you so much Jimmy, it's such an honor to be here, sitting on this sacred couch," you joked, bringing some of your recently curled hair over your shoulder in hopes of disguising any traces of anxiety the crowd or camera may pick up. Thankfully, it worked as you heard the stir of laughter on set, allowing you to relax further into the couch, it actually was quite comfortable.

"It's incredible that we have you sitting here, I mean almost two years ago you blew up on TikTok for your incredible song covers, and then you started playing live in a bunch of LA venues, then you started releasing your own music, and now you're a UCLA Alumni sitting here," as he summed up your rise to fame, the audience began another round of applause.

"Oh my gosh I know right," you giggled, overjoyed that the audience was showing so much support towards you and that your first big interview was going so well. "I swear it was like two weeks ago I was singing on TikTok and then freaking out about my notifications and somehow I just teleported here," you laughed off the slight tinge you felt in your heart.

College had gone by far too quickly, and you were constantly consumed with stress regarding your future. Up until a few weeks ago, you had no idea what you were going to do with your life. What if your album flopped? What if you never made it big? How would you move on and get a regular job from there?

"Yes yes, I remember seeing some of your earliest covers on tiktok. In fact," a smirk appeared on his face, he clearly had something hiding up his sleeve. "We just so happen to have a little video edited together of your old covers, for old times' sake just to show how far you've come," he laughed at the nervous expression on your face and the crowd's enthusiasm.

"Oh god, some of those are from questionable times," you mumbled, raising your right hand to slightly cover your mouth as the video played.

Clips of you singing in your old college apartment bedroom appeared, switching in between guitar covers and piano while singing Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, We Can't Be Friends by Ariana Grande (yes pretend it was out at the time), Bags by Clairo, to the Man Who Can't Be Moved, and a few others. You watched your younger self, heartbroken and healing, singing songs to post on the internet just for your friends to watch, and yet somehow your voice had reached millions of people.

"Well you can see it here clear as day folks, Jenna has clearly always had a knack for those gut-wrenching songs, the ones that make you wonder if you're depressed or the artist is just incredibly good at what they do," you knew he was introducing your live performance with this, sneakily rubbing your sweaty palms over your jeans. You weren't nearly as scared as your BBC performance, but the combination of fear and adrenaline before any performance was overwhelming compared to logic at times.

"So what do you guys say, because I think we need to hear it live to determine which one it truly is," the small crowd erupted at Jimmy's rhetoric, eager to watch your performance.

"Well when you ask so nicely how could I ever refuse Jimmy?" You grinned, standing up to make your way over to the performance area with the live band.

With your guitar in your hands, you let the unique sense of calmness and security wash over you as you adjusted the mic in front of you. Music had always been one of the biggest parts in your life, and even know it never failed you. Not in your best moments, and not even in your worse.

"This is Promise from my new album, Eternal Us, out June 30th"

***Post-performance part of the interview***

"Jenna, you know I have to ask you this, because so far the songs on your album, your covers, and even your performance at the BBC Live Lounge were all fairly depressing songs," Jimmy insists. The two of you had been joking and answering the interview questions with a sense of ease after the performance aspect of the show. The audience was eating up the playful energy the two of you seemed to have, despite the twenty-seven year age gap.

"Please, ask away Jimmy," you quipped, enjoying your time on the show. The steady laughter from the live audience had long soothed any remaining nerves. Growing up, you always felt as if you were born to perform, and this type of live interview was right up your alley.

"And I swear I'm being serious with this, but does the emotion in your music affect you the same it affects your listeners? Because after your cover of Holy Ground aired, you blew up on social media even more then you were before. But one of the things your fans noticed was that it looked like you were gonna cry?" Jimmy inquired, you could hear small murmurs from the audience section at his question, no doubt intrigued to hear your answer.

"You know Jimmy," you began, "Honestly it was just a heat of the moment kinda thing. Like obviously I changed the song in a different key and sang it that way intentionally you know? Taylor is known for her ability to write the most gut-wrenching lyrics and then syncing them up to a catchy beat in a pop song and boom, it's a hit," you explained to both him and the crowd.

"But when I was offered the opportunity to go on BBC Live Lounge and I was trying to decide what song to cover, the lyrics of the song just really stuck out to me in a personal way and I wanted to convey to my listeners the emotions I felt reading and experiencing the lyrics, not listening to it as an upbeat pop song. But don't get me wrong, it's an incredible song just the way it is!" You ended your ramble enthusiastically, trying your best to not delve into the deeper emotions laced within your statement.

"Of course, I mean it was your first televised performance and to a Taylor Swift song no less, but this song has a very meaning to it, unlike some of Taylor's other doctorate-level essay worthy songs you could spend hours analyzing," Jimmy jokes, lightening the mood as always before asking the hard hitting question you had been dreading the entire interview.

"Why did you choose to sing a song about reminiscing of a past relationship, an ex lover if you will. I mean, a good majority of your songs follow the heartbroken post-breakup theme, but the media isn't aware of any relationships you may or may not have had during your time at UCLA, was there someone before?" He questions.

"You're right, I didn't have any actual relationships while at UCLA. My only serious relationship was during my last two years of high school, and a lot of my songs I'm releasing now were written during that time or even earlier, I've just polished them a lot. And of course, my earliest covers are from my freshman year of college, so the wound was still pretty fresh you know?" You skimmed over the topic, keeping the discussion as light-hearted as possible.

"Oh my god, all of that was from one person?" Jimmy jokes, unaware of how hard his statement hits home for you.

"Yeah I mean, I guess your first love will just do that to you, you know?" You joked back. You refused, refused, to let Paige Bueckers affect you in this way on national television. It had been three years for god's sake, you needed to get a grip of yourself.

"Well, they must have been one heck of a first love to be such a long-lasting muse for you," Jimmy pried, and you could tell he was waiting for you to give more details about your relationship.

"Nah nah, cut the cameras, I think we're out of time for tonight right," you nervously laughed, jokingly leaning over to gesture in an over the top manner to the camera crew to stop filming, which roused hefty laughter around set at your antics.

"Don't worry Jenna, we'll leave that topic for next time yeah?" Jimmy chuckled at your immediate refusal, using his perfected charm to continue the interview without any bumps or awkward conversations.

Before you knew it, the interview had been long over and you were laying in your hotel's bedroom. In your opinion, the NYC suite was luxurious and was far too large for just one person to reside. But fortunately for you, you were used to the sense of loneliness you felt in the empty room. To think that you were only a few hours away from Paige, your first love, your first everything, and yet you had never felt more separated from a person you used to love with your whole being.

Thank you for reading all the way through! Part 2 of So High School will be out soon I promise, this series just happened to randomly inspire me and I want to finish it asap before I lose motivation or hit writer's block!

[softxsuki]

HAPPY 1.5K HAN!!!!! 🥳 Your blog is getting so big already! IT MAKES ME SO HAPPYYYYYY!! 😁

Ahem- okay, so... if you're up for it, could you do the trope #1. enemies to lovers with BNHA? 🙏

Take your time, I love you! 😘

1.5k Follower Event Trope #1 My Hero Academia

Trope 1: Enemies to Lovers

This event is now CLOSED. You can view the masterlist for the event here.

| Pairing: Bakugou x Gn!Reader | Genre: Fluff? Hurt Comfort? idk | Post-Type: Oneshot (...) | Word Count: 1.5k (idek how I did that tbh) |

Warnings: Slight curses from Bakugou, reader is hurt, blood

Note: Thank you so much! Sorry for the longish wait. Hopefully it was worth it! I had a lot of fun writing this one. I still can't believe I wrote 1.5k words, my gosh. Love you <3

Everything was a competition between the two of you; having gone to UA together and now working at the same agency as Pro Heroes, you were always racing to see who was the best.

Whenever a villain report was announced over the ear pieces you both wore, it would be a race to see who could get there first and take down the villain the quickest. During patrols, you’d both compare the number of civilians helped and received bonus points for any villains caught during patrol as well. You and Bakugou were rivals, but deep down there was something more that both of you refused to pursue. 

It was almost natural now for Bakugou to see your smiling face, racing him to see who would arrive on scene first when you were both dispatched. So, he felt his heart falter slightly when he showed up that one specific day to catch a villain but you never appeared. He can’t help the feeling of disappointment that fills him upon not seeing your face, he could have sworn he also heard your name in his ear piece being called to aid in taking down the villain in front of him now…not that he needed your help or anything.

Shaking himself off, he quickly takes down the villain, handing him over to the police and doing any paperwork they needed from him before returning to the agency. It wasn’t the same, and he hated how upset he felt just because you weren’t there.

His journey back to the agency was torturous. He was getting antsy now that he had  arrived back to the agency and still didn’t see you anywhere. Where were you? Why didn’t you show up and why weren’t you at the agency? He hadn’t heard anything about you being dispatched elsewhere. 

Bakuogu fought back the voice in his head telling him to ask someone about you, so he could find out where you were. But he couldn’t do it, the last thing he needed people to think was that he was desperate or needy for you; he did NOT like you…right?

Minutes turn into hours and still no sign of you, Bakugou was starting to lose his patience. It was a particularly slow day at the agency, very few villains were appearing that night, which most of the interns that were around for the day could easily handle the ones that did decide to cause chaos. He had finished all his patrols for the day and Ii anything, he probably should have been home by now, but he remained, trying to look busy at his computer and grumbling a response to anyone that dared to bother him. Why the hell weren’t you back yet?

He had enough, with a rush of energy, he jumps up from his chair and storms out of his office to head to Kirishima, his friend, and try to nonchalantly ask about you. But he freezes in his place at his office door and he sees you hobbling down the hallway.

Slight relief fills him as soon as his eyes meet your form, yet even more questions arise in his mind when he takes in your state; you’re covered in blood and hobbling as the hero beside you guides you by your arm, helping you to the medical room they had in the building. 

A gruff grunt escapes Bakugou’s throat as anger bubbles inside him upon seeing the rando beside you. But what gets him going is that damn smile on your face, the one that never seemed to leave it even now when you clearly were in terrible shape.

His feet seem to move before his mind can keep up as he’s in front of you in a matter of seconds, glaring at the guy holding your arm before shoving him away.

“Leave, I need to speak to Y/N about a mission,” He lies, hoping the guy wouldn’t suspect anything, but he’s speeding off in another direction before Bakugou has a chance to say anything else to him.

Turning to you, he replaces the guy's hand on your arm and continues to help you walk to the medical room, making your eyes widen slightly at his unusual gentleness, but your smile still remains despite the pain searing through your entire body.

“Where the hell were you?” He asks gruffly, looking straight ahead, feeling a little awkward. “You okay?”

“Why, were you worried?” You tease, trying to ease the awkwardness you felt running through him. You weren’t okay, he could see that and so could you, but he didn’t know what else to ask, so he remained silent…weirdly enough. 

You sigh and explain your situation to him. “They called me in for a secret mission, said my quirk was ideal for it, but obviously I couldn’t tell anyone else about it. Guess I wasn’t strong enough though…I would have been a goner had Deku not shown up when he did.” You mumble, feeling ashamed at how weak you had been against that villain, you needed to get stronger. Though you shake off your negativity, and flash Bakugou your infamous grin, “But I’m okay now!”

“You’re plenty strong, you can keep up with me, and that says a lot,” Bakugou almost whispers back, he was acting very strange and unlike himself, but you felt your heart skip a beat at his attempt to console you. 

Not wanting to embarrass him though, you change the subject as he continues to guide you to be evaluated. 

Little did you know the fiery blond beside you was doing everything in his power to not push you into one of the empty offices you were both passing so he could inspect your injuries himself. He needed to know how badly you were hurt, but he held himself back as soon as the medical room came into view. You’d be okay.

He remains outside the door through your whole examination as someone with a healing quirk works on you. There’s only so much they can heal though, the rest was up to your own body to heal on its own. But Bakugou stands there, arms crossed around his chest the whole time.

As you’re dismissed and given specific instructions from the nurse on duty, you thank her and leave the room, your eyebrow arching up in surprise at the sight of Bakugou still standing there, doing his best to avoid your eyes. With a shrug, you walk away, heading to your office to collect your things before leaving the agency for the night. The nurse had stated you’d need to rest for a few weeks before you’d be ready to get back into action, but coming to the office to do paperwork would be more than okay to do.

You could feel the presence of the blond following your every move as you exit the building, walking in the direction of your home with him hot on your tail. Frustrated, you spin around, which makes him pause.

“What are you doing?” You ask, eyeing him.

“What? I live this way.”

That was a lie, you knew it was a lie, Bakugou lived in the complete opposite direction of you, but you could see the look of discomfort on his face, so you let it slide, spinning back around as you continued to walk, with him following your every move.

Bakugou knew what he was doing was strange, but he couldn’t help the sense of protection he felt in his chest at that moment for you. Crime in the city was slowly on the rise, and you clearly weren’t in any condition to defend yourself at the moment, so he just wanted to make sure you got home safe.

And that’s exactly what he did. For the whole two weeks you were healing, he walked you home, sometimes walking by your side as the two of you engaged in some conversation. Other times, you’d feel his large hand rest on the small of your back as a few people got too close, and he’d use his body as a shield so they didn’t touch you.

You were beyond confused, yet the way your face heated up and your heart picked up its pace told you, you were okay with it. Perhaps a little too okay with it, because once you were back to normal, your heart dropped, knowing he’d no longer walk you home. Your little two weeks of bliss with Bakugou around to aid you would be over.

So, at the end of the day when he appeared beside you like usual, your brows furrowed.

“What are you doing? I’m fine now,” you explain calmly, trying not to let your disappointment leak through your tone.

Bakugou smirks at you, tugging the bag his hero suit was in further up his shoulder. “Walking you home, what does it look like I’m doing?”

This continued every night after your shifts together, but some nights he’d invite you to dinner or his pinky finger would find its way to yours, holding it gently.

You two were definitely still rivals, nothing could satisfy Bakugou’s excitement for competition like you could, but now there was another layer of excitement that existed inside your hearts. One that could only be satisfied with little touches and quality time spent together, perhaps it would grow into more, the longer you both fed it with each other’s company.

Posted: 1/8/2024

[a-star-that-burns-brightly]

david probably sees hu in him a lot. david thinks hu is easily manipulated because of her kindness, i think he’s projecting. as in he used to also genuinely love helping others and sticking out for people. that is, until he realised that his kindness doesnt pay and that people only take advantage of hin for it.

on that note, i think the same thing can apply to him and arei. arei is very cynical, she believes that if people dont take advantage of others, they will get taken advantage of in the end. during david’s mini break down in ep 10 (i think), he clearly pities arei for trying to befriend someone even though she’s someone with no experience with friendships at all. and he pities her for wanting to change. he definitely sees her in himself a lot. deep inside, he wishes he could change, but he stopped believing in himself a long tome ago

imo his ‘facade’ isnt 100% fake, there definitely some parts of him we see that show who he really is inside.

GODDDD you are so smart anon David is constantly projecting himself onto the people he grows close to, and I think in his four most major relationships so far (Xander, Teruko, Hu, and Arei) you can see a part of himself and what his true desires and feelings about himself are through how he interacts with them. As I explain more in-depth in this post, Xander is very much the kind of person David wants to become. someone who's compassionate and helps others and has hope and not only has faith in a better future, but actively seeks to bring it closer. Xander is David's idea of a good person, an idea that gets shattered after realizing that Xander too is not immune to being deceitful and cruel Teruko and Arei are both people that remind David of himself, specifically the cynical black-and-white way he thinks about the world. But the way he treats both of them is vastly different. The glimmer of light that shined then broke with Xander is re-lit with Arei, because Arei not just shows David a reflection of his own mindset, but a person who wants to change from that mindset. Like you said, David unquestionably saw himself in Arei, specifically his desire to change. Meanwhile in his eyes, Teruko shows no such desire and is forever dead-set on her path

David: Gosh. Teruko Tawaki. David: I know you hate anyone who isn't you, but dragging everyone down with you by getting us all executed is a low blow, even by your standards. David: You're searching for reasons to distrust others, like you always do.

Now we the audience obviously know that Teruko is putting up a front, and if my predictions on how the story will go are correct, I definitely think Teruko will eventually come around meanwhile David will continue on his downward spiral. But that's getting more into theory talk. And as for Hu, David definitely sees his more positive traits within her, specifically the fact that David genuinely wants to help others. That's also something he looked up to in Xander as well, and remember, Xander is David's idea of a picture-perfect good person, the person he wants to be, but thinks he can't be. On the topic of Hu (and this is technically getting into speculation but I think there's enough evidence to support it), I 100% think that she ended up opening up to David about her secret, which is most likely the Hopeless Child one.

Hu: I have to be the one to give everyone guidance. That's the only thing I can do. If no one relies on me, then I won't be useful anymore. Hu: You knew how I felt, and yet you... You... Hu: You toyed with my heart!

And if that is true, that also definitely resonated in David as well considering his own feelings of hopelessness, as well as his suicidal tendencies shown in how he is trying to get himself and everyone else killed in the trial, and also how his hidden quote is most likely referring to himself.

David: I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. I wish you could just die.

And to cap it all off, I too also think that David's 'facade' was not entirely fake. In a lot of David analyses I see, especially right after the release of CH2-11, there's often a lot of focus on if him pre-CH2-11 was fake or not, and if his current behavior is just another fake persona, or if the small hints of tiredness and grumpiness we see from him like in the prologue is the "real David". But in my personal opinion, I think it's a lot simpler than that I think we're always seeing the real David, we're just seeing him through different perspectives.

[youaremycosmo]

《my cutest psychopath》 taemin x reader scenario

Em, first thing - i don't know what i just wrote. It's definitely sth different ^^ Second thing - all inspired just from this photo, actually fiancé Taemin is supposed (you can imagine him as you want ofc) to look like in 2017-2018, but gosh this gaze?? Third thing - if some of you are waiting for smut from me, not worthy at all XD Word count// 974 words (such a shortie)

Pairing// Taemin x you

Summary// Taemin just after your wedding turns out to be a well-hidden psychopath who wants to have you all for himself. But not in real life.

Genre// fluff (?)

Warnings// um, handcuffing, dominance MASTERLIST

It was supposed to be the most pleasant morning in your life. 

The first morning no longer as a fiancée, but as a wife.

Lee Taemin's wife.

It sounded so... unreal. After all those long years, so satisfying and exciting.

You slowly opened your eyes, expecting either a kiss on your forehead and him asking with a hoarse voice if his love was up already, or his handsome face, still deep in sleep.

But you definitely didn't expect this.

- Eh? - you glanced at your hands, placed unnaturally upwards. Were those... handcuffs? Strapped to the bed...? What...?

With an uncomprehending look, you tried to move your legs, but they turned out to be tied too, preventing you from moving.

What the actual hell...?

Your breath suddenly deepened, trying to remember last evening while staring at the bed in nerves. Did somebody kidnap you? Or dropped something in your drink?

Finally, your attention turned to the man who was sitting across from you. 

Taemin, your husband, just sat in a huge armchair, his hands behind his neck, with a face deep in thought.

His eyes, now sharp and piercing, were so different from the warm and loving ones you saw every day.

He didn't speak. Not a word. He just stared. Like a complete stranger. 

- Taemin, what is this? - you said with slight panic, tugging on the cold metal once more. - Why are you sitting there? Free me... Is this some kind of joke? Very funny - you rolled your eyes, as usual, unable to understand his rather specific humor.

But he didn't smile. His face didn't move even an inch.

- Taemin-ah - you raised your voice, trying to correct your position a little. Unfortunately, those handcuffs didn't give you a chance to do that, moreover you could feel how they encroached your wrists causing slight pain.

- I wonder what to do with you, wifey - his deep voice finally cut the air, while his dark eyes moved over your body. This lack of any emotion slowly felt terrifying.

- What a stupid question, take it off from me - you said impatiently, struggling even more. - Okay, we had a laugh, but I feel like peeing... - you groaned, hoping that this would end this stupid joke. Taem never was the best when it came to spice things up, but that wasn’t even entertaining. 

- You're my wife now, so… - he finally changed position, resting his elbows on his tights. You search for any signs of amusement in this gaze, but without any success. - I think it's impossible, when you’re talking to me like that. 

- What is impossible? - you furrowed your eyebrows, disbelieving what you saw and heard. Cold shiver just came along your spine. - Taemin, I need to use the bathroom - you empathized, wanting this strange roleplaying to end.

- I'll consider it if you ask nicely - he replied, showing his extraordinary satisfaction with what he said.

Finally he smiled, but it wasn’t so bright anymore. He clearly derived pleasure putting you in this state, all vulnerable and not able to do anything without his help.

- My wife will ask me for everything now. And if you disobey... you'll spend a lot of time in this position - he shrugged as if it was completely normal. 

Silence. 

There was a long silence in which you wondered if he couldn’t notice you didn’t enjoy it or it was all… serious. You slowly raised your eyes to him again. The air in the room was suddenly suffocating.

Did you... just marry a psychopath? But... Taemin was never like this. He was always... okay, he was always jealous. Maybe a little restrictive. Could he hide for half of his life just to…

- You're mine. Completely mine. Isn't it wonderful? No way out here... - his happy voice melted somewhere in your head, while he stood up, coming to you. 

⋆୨୧⋆

- Wake up, sleeping princess - you heard his lovely voice, while he kissed your cheek like every morning. You groaned loudly in your pillow, wanting to prolong this sleepy state, especially when it was your free day. 

But then you opened your eyes widely and suddenly raised to a sitting position, causing Taem to almost fell off from the bed. You carefully stared at everything near you, searching for things you saw in your dream.

- I know you don’t like waking up, but this was… extraordinary - Tae laughed, sitting again on the bed in a safe place. - You could just say you want 5 minutes more - he pouted a little, reaching to the bedside table for a large mug, probably with coffee.

But you stared at Tae with a lot of caution, even as he tried to hand it to you.

- Something's wrong? - he tilted his head, frowning.

- I... I had a strange dream, you know? - you ruffled your messy hair even more. - I kind of… woke up and… - you bit your lip before saying it out loud. - You were a… psychopath… I… guess…

- Me? Psychopath? - Taemin giggled, leaning on his hand. His eyes were so attentive, like you just said the funniest joke in your life. - What, have I tried to eat you?

- Eat me? - now you tilted your head, not understanding anything.

- Well, if I had to do something to you, I'd probably eat you. You're so adorable sometimes - he laughed even harder, leaning to you and biting the tip of your nose delicately. - But... I would be sad then, who would kiss me? - he asked more to himself, puffing his cheeks.

You chuckled to yourself, staring at him. Taemin definitely couldn't be a psychopath, he was too cuddly for that.

[mahoushoujotechsupport]

well, i was gonna have to do this episode eventually lmao

you know... i don't actually remember now what my expectations were for this episode??? i think we were all still onboard the miorine is going to lose an eye train or something and just knew some shit was gonna go down this ep lol

if we ever get a recap movie i really hope we get to see the whole plan here get told to eri... like i just really really wanted miorine to have a serious conversation with eri for like the entire series lol

gosh, the beginning of this episode is so rough to rewatch lmao. suletta is so damn smitten with miorine. just standing out here waiting since who knows when for her to wake up

man i remember this scene and thinking mio nooo! like of course she doesn't KNOW aerial is literally family, at least not yet... and suletta doesn't fully understand yet either... but it's just ahhhh lmao again there are so many things that happened off-screen that i really wish we'd seen. like what the hell was mio's reaction to finding out that the actual girl who provided the genetic material to create suletta is stuck inside a gundam

suletta you're gonna get bonked by the horny police

gotta wonder how shaddiq was gonna dissolve the benerit group if he had taken the presidency. would it have been as easy as miorine made it out to be? just announce it to the world out of nowhere?

clearly he had no intentions of keeping any of these promises to peil lol

you tell him, bbgirl

hey maybe you should have adhered to that too, shithead

i like that suletta doesnt go all fidgety while rejecting guel and telling him about her feelings for miorine

remember the cours 2 trailer that emphasized suletta saying she'd win until mio's birthday lmao

lol this asshole left with miorine and never did any of this shit. with how much guel fanboys love talking him up as a "good guy" you'd think he'd at least have done this

*smiles in homura akemi*

really incredible stuff that so far we only see lauda and petra barely standing next to each other and suddenly that means they've been dating. however getting married after a whole series finishes means you're just mega friends to some people lol

i do appreciate the ptsd reactions to so many of the characters but now with everything over, it feels like it's lacking in depth lol they just get one random flinchy reaction just once or something and then an episode later they're fine lol

worst of all with guel is his ridiculous determination to make sure jeturk heavy machinery keeps doing it's thing --- that thing being making weapons of war lol

i wonder if bandai knows how much money they'd make if they released options sets for the darilbalde and michaelis upgrades in this cour

then again, its bandai

lmao i don't actually want this to have been shown in the show, but i really do have to imagine what that convo was like when el5n went to go find shaddiq and asked him to hide him

honestly kind of wish we'd had secelia being the one to MC the duels or whatever for the entirety of the show

lmao ok so i definitely remember thinking they were just gonna leave it as this being the only affirmation suletta says outloud, but....

... yeah.

i honestly really love how they cut to everyone's reactions as soon as suletta loses. secelia in particular looks really distressed lol

god, suletta's desperation here just as red birthmark starts playing is so awful lmao i love it

and then the gut-wrenching scream once she loses the holder pilot outfit colors

ahhhhh lmao this episode is definitely the most angsty of them all but god i love yuri angst

lmao fuck all the fairweather miorine fans who hated her the minute this episode finished. she was always my favorite of the two but this episode just solidified that

also i know opening/ending artists get like very vague story line summaries to help them write their songs but i am really convinced red birthmark was written to specifically play at the end of this episode. like sure it was a great decision to have the intro fade in at the end of every ep for this cour, but the FEELS when it starts playing here are like no other in the whole cour besides maybe episode 23

also only slightly related, but i am obsessed with my calibarn. i put it on my desk for work and i just catch myself going full on COOL ROBOT mode during the work day just staring at it lmao

ok will try to get to ep 18 eventually... i've been dragging out this rewatch because i keep getting caught up reading lately

[queerfables]

911 season 4 liveblog part 4x07 through to the end

4x07

Ok I'm obsessed with this "mother plague" band I want to go to all their shows and maybe hook up with them

Oh boy Buck is not having a good date. Come on lady, be nice. It's not like Buck held you at gunpoint to get you to the table. If you're having a bad time just go home.

Ok seriously you cannot order dessert on a date where you're clearly having a bad time and then continue to be bitchy to the person you're there with. Just go home!

LMFAO THEY'RE NEIGHBOURS

Hen saying "Have either of you ever seen me in a dress?" and the random guy chiming in with "I think you'd look lovely in a dress" lmfao not the correct response my dude

Buck and Eddie facing off against a turkey together amazing

I'm enjoying Michael's Rear Window arc

Crying with laughter. I love that when Athena asks Bobby to check on Michael he immediately gets sucked into Michael's nonsense

Bobby is TERRIBLE at undercover operating

"Michael did help me break into a bank vault once" I really love their team ups

Oh my god Michael just snuck into the guy's house??

Holy fuck is he stealing organs??

Oh this is a nice scene with Hen and her mum

LMFAO LMFAO Buck's bad date is dating Albert now that's hilarious

4x08

Crying with laughter over the bitingly false cheer in this flight attendant's voice as she says "you betcha". Poor friend she's having a terrible time.

Why is everyone acting like she specifically is antagonising them on purpose

Honestly her breakdown is totally warranted everyone on that plane was terrible. No jury would convict her.

Oh the cork embedded in the guy's neck had me gasp out loud at the screen love when this show gets me like that

Aw Buck babysitting Christopher makes me :pleading-eyes:

Buck is such a family guy ugh it's soft. it's been super obvious ever since he met Christopher that he is someone who needs to be around kids and one day have his own (and that he adores Christopher in particular ofc). He and Eddie are so alike. This isn't the only way but it's definitely one that stands out to me, because of course Eddie just completely lights up around his kid.

Man, I rode out the worst of the pandemic in one of the most isolated cities in the world (by total coincidence, we had moved there the year before it hit) so we weren't hit too hard by it. But this season is really driving home how lucky I got.

Omg Taylor and Buck gossiping about Buck's love life is really funny. Maybe they'll hook up again but I would love if she just hung around as his bitchy ex who gets drunk with him and dunks on all his life choices

Chanting for the guy to jump? Classy.

"I've met the people you work with. Your life is nothing but meaningful relationships." Only Taylor could make that sound like an insult. I love her.

Oh Eddie. I know that conversation didn't go the way you hoped but the fact that your kid is able to say the words "I'm mad at you" and walk off to get some space speaks volumes about what an excellent parent you are. It's gonna be ok.

Okay when Taylor knocked on the door I thought she only showed up so she could watch the train wreck but actually she had no idea what she was walking into and in revenge she intends to BE the train wreck? That's hilarious.

oh no Taylor you're showing human emotions and vulnerability stop that immediately before I fall in love with you

Oh my god I'm gonna cry, Eddie panicking over Christopher going missing, answering the call from Buck in a total freak out, but it's all OK and Buck is calling because when Christopher is feeling upset and alone and mad at his dad, the person he trusts to go to is Buck? Gosh that's a lot T_T

Feeling very 🥺 about Taylor & Buck friendship

Oh no, Hen and Karen, that is super rough news. I'm sorry, that aspect of fostering must be so rough.

4x09

Omg this is so familiar. My family had pretty much the same experience when our little one was born. "Today's the day" I'm sorry Maddie, today is not the day.

Oh my god I hate seeing kids in distress this car driving the wrong way down the highway is tough

Oh jeeze this accident is pushing everyone's buttons

Chimney and Maddie are so cute

Oh no Albert!!

He better not die I'll be big mad

Then again if he's anything like his brother he'll be fine

Their music choice is not filling me with confidence

Oh thank God

Oh that is a beautiful baby

Oh Hen. "Nia's damn near crying her eyes out and you act like it happens every day" in fairness, she's a toddler, it probably does happen every day. Put yourself in her mother's shoes for a moment. You experienced first hand the fear of losing your kid, this mother actually experienced it. You don't know what she went through that she had her kid taken and you don't know what she's done to get back to a place where she can look after her again.

"You are nothing like that woman" "I am exactly like that woman" Yeah, he is, and as terrible as the accident she caused is, she's still a person just like Bobby is.

Wow this show really can do Themes when it wants to

4x10

Oh, ouch. I know I was tough on Hen for being angry and trying to fight their foster kid leaving, but I also have a lot of empathy. This sucks, and I'm really sad for their son too.

Oh oof I'm crying

This is too sad

Oh now I'm sad about Hen being happy for Chimney even though she's going through something so painful

Oh that baby is soooo tiny

Ugh I love Ann

Oh no Chimney you put your foot in it a bit there

Athena you really need to learn to react to your kids doing things you don't like with a little more chill

Especially if you want them to tell you things and take your advice and such

This is such an emotional episode

Ugh Chimney calling Ann "Grandma"

Oh no Denny is suuuuch a good kid T_T

A big part of the reason I think this show is aimed at people in a slightly older demographic is that every time they do an episode about kids and parenthood it just completely turns on the waterworks for me lol. and I don't think it would have affected me this way before I was a parent but now that I am, it's just really clear that the people making this show know what they're talking about.

4x11

Aw Athena you're learning! That was a great response to May asking for more independence

Josh backstory! I'm so happy

And Sue backstory too!!

This scene between Hen and Athena about their kids and the missing girl and May wanting to move out is a really lovely scene, I have missed Hen and Athena's interactions.

Also it passes both the Bechdel test and several related tests about race, and I appreciate that that isn't even particularly noteworthy for the show. The only reason I thought about it was because I was trying to figure out how to describe the scene and when I laid it out like "the one where Hen and Athena talk about May" it made me smile

Another thing I like about this show is that it's one of the only shows filmed during the pandemic where full scenes are conducted with masks being worn. Other shows I've seen during that time usually gestured to the use of masks but had the characters take them off as soon as they started talking.

Lmfao love Athena showing up like "don't even think about it Buck"

Aaaah Josh just saved their lives!! Listen I don't find this scenario completely plausible but it's so cool it doesn't matter. Heck yeah I'll suspend my disbelief for this.

I really love Josh. He reminds me of a very old friend of mine whose name was actually also Josh

4x12

Message in a bottle is a fun premise

Lmfao Buck is so sad about missing out on the helicopter

Is ok Buck, my kid loves helicopters too

LOL at this guy whose foot is three times the size it should be being like "no no I can tough it out"

Are Taylor and Buck gonna go looking for this treasure together? Amazing

I love the dispatch betting pool

OMG EDDIE WANTS TO TEAM UP TOO THAT'S SO CUTE

I love Taylor so much (though I stand by my initial impression that she is a terrible person) I'm keen for some Buck/Eddie/Taylor screentime

Omg now a Hen and Chimney team up too? I'm so into this

Oh we are so getting a Bobby and Athena team up too

Come on Athena have some fun

Otherwise he's gonna go team up with Michael and you'll have to arrest them both

LMFAO HE WAS NEVER ACTUALLY DEAD THAT'S GREAT

This guy is an ass it's hilarious

Heeee everyone showing up at the same place to find the treasure, delightful

HEN'S EXPLANATION FOR HOW THEY FOUND IT IS THE BEST ONE

"My wife wrote an algorithm that detects changes in satellite images"

Big "what like it's hard" energy

"What, the unnamed cameraman gets a cut?"

"I'm glad we're friends" honestly I wish Taylor and Buck really could be friends because again I think that would be a great dynamic for them

That said I do actually enjoy their relationship as a romance too

4x13

Alright, Suspicion and then Survivors, you're up! I've been informed these are good Buddie-sodes so I'm keen!

Omg they're spoofing that bride who tried to subject her guests to lie detector tests heh

Oh I am SO charmed by the fact that Bobby and Michael usually team up for family game night. Their friendship is everything to me.

Don't be douchey about allergen free food. "What's it made of, air?" If I had a gluten free cookie for every time I heard that 🙄

CARLA!! Christopher's reaction is mine

Eddie stop flirting with the lady falling through the balcony

(Tbh this supports my low-key gay!Eddie agenda. He's jumping from one woman to the next and his primary criteria seems to be whether or not they'd be a good parent to Christopher. Of course that will feature in his calculations but idk. Carla asking him to think about what he wants too was important)

This kid moves around a lot, always going to different doctors, oh jeeze this is a Munchausen by proxy case isn't it?

Either that or they're fleeing abuse or something because otherwise the first thing you want for a chronically sick kid is continuity of care

Oh Maddie is really struggling huh

I bet Bobby is someone's sponsor! I wonder why he's lying about it though

Oh no Maddie, Chimney isn't talking about you, you are a good parent you're just sick and need support

Ah, that's why he's lying about it

Holy fuck, Bobby, that is a huge wrecking ball of a statement to make.

"Who says this marriage is working" do not pull that shit without thinking it through in the middle of a fight because that is the kind of thing that's hard to take back

Oh holy SHIT

No listen I've seen a million gifs of that moment it's the first thing that put this ship on my radar I've been waiting for it forever

I did NOT expect it to manage to blindside me so completely even so!!!

Holy fuck

Ok what's next I am AMPED

4x14

Wow how have I not seen gifs of Buck dragging him to safety

Eddie's glazed "Are you hurt?" looking at his own blood all over Buck

THAT is what I'm talking about

"Are you ok, Buckley?"

Not even a little bit

Oh my god he even said it

That dead eyed "No."

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Woah, was Eddie the target? I guessed that maybe it was a terrorism thing. Targeting emergency workers seems like a great way to inspire panic

"No comment" ok I'm obsessed with the fact that this is Buck's first instinct when confronted with Taylor under these circumstances. I'm really glad that's not why she's there but I love that he thought it could be. Ah, my cut-throat girlfriend 🥰

"You can't go see his son looking like this" I'm really glad that Taylor is there to tell Buck sensible things like that

Oh it absolutely was targeting firefighters

Aw I'm happy Albert is doing better

Oof this is a ROUGH conversation to have with Christopher. Buck is doing a great job but I wonder if he should really have been the one to do it, only because he's so shaken up himself.

Oh no now he's crying T________T

Jesus he must have thought Eddie was dead

Oh the show is doing Themes again

"As scared as we are, it's going to be worse for the people who love us. They're the ones who have to watch us go to work and worry we might not come home."

"There's that thing people say, 'I don't know what I'd do without you' because losing someone you love is such an alien concept you don't want to imagine what it's like"

"And I was sitting in that engine thinking I was listening to you dying and I didn't need to imagine anything"

Right after Buck was violently confronted with the prospect of losing Eddie

Oof

I'm happy Bobby and Athena are finally talking about this though. They really needed to.

The fact that Buck is staying with Christopher through this T_T

Lmfao fucking Buck of course he's already halfway up the crane

Buck's gonna Buck

Oh fuck that glint of light scared the shit out of me

Man this scene between Bobby and Buck about Buck's apparent death wish was really good

Aw that's a pretty cute Taylor/Buck moment

I gotta be honest I really kind of like them

Aaaaah Eddie's ok

"Still, I think it might have been better for Christopher if I was the one who got shot" Oh Buck you're really in it now

And Eddie's face when he said that

Oh no Bobby!!

Oh I love Chimney taking over the scene since Bobby is trapped inside and can't

Athena walking through fire to save her husband is pretty romantic <3

Oh they got to see Nia again T_T what a lovely coincidence

Oh it's The Scene!!

This is the other one I've been waiting for

Oh holy fuck

yeah

Everything about that was Extremely.

Obsessed with the fact that Eddie did not tell Buck about any of this

Why the hell would you make someone your kid's godparent and not SAY something that's truly unhinged

But Eddie saying no one would fight harder for Christopher than Buck T-T and Eddie saying Buck is not expendable!!!!!!

That is like. The thing that Buck wants to hear the most. And doesn't ever fully believe.

So that is a lot

FIREFIGHTER ALBERT oh I'm emotional

[lunar-years]

I mean, I’ve gotta send you Ted Lasso for the fandom asks 😉💖

also @roykentjamietartt and anons who also gave me ted lasso :)

the character i least understand: Beard. That man is an enigma and I frankly just don't care enough to dive into his brain and try to unpack all that LOL.

interactions i enjoyed the most: Favorite ever moments are the Jamie/Roy s2 hug and Keeley & Roy surprising Jamie in the treatment room with champagne. Also: The s1 "Be a Goldfish" speech, Keeley talking to Roy on the treadmill which is my favorite all-time roykeeley scene ("that was for world hunger" "and I believe it was the cure" <33), Jamie teaching Roy how to ride a bike!!, Keeley's "You're a battler" talk with Jamie, TWO COFFEES ONE CUP, Higgins telling Keeley it's okay to leave for new opportunities, the team fixing Sam's restaurant, the s1 bonfire!! Gosh there are so many amazing scenes.

the character who scares me the most: jamie's dad in the wembley scene and again in the scene where he nearly kills Beard.

the character who is mostly like me: Nate, tbh. But I like to think I'm Nate at his very best and not anything like him at his worst :) I just relate to his specific brand of anxiety and burnout and being good at a lot of things but never feeling like there's that one thing you're good enough at that you're meant to do it forever. Also the crippling insecurity woop. The scene where he paces outside taste of athens too scared to go in even though Jade can clearly see him through the window was very me-coded, lol.

hottest looks character: Two-way tie between Keeley & Jamie, clearly.

one thing i dislike about my fave character: S1 Jamie and his terrible defense mechanisms and poor coping skills. Hiding the best parts of himself behind the worst parts to protect the core of him he doesn't want anyone to see. The s1 scenes with Nate & Sam in particular are very much Jamie at his worst!

one thing i like about my hated character: Rupert you suck ass but I guess I appreciate his passion and commitment to being the absolute fucking worst <3

a quote or scene that haunts me: Jamie's dad at Wembley, Ted/Rebecca funeral scene where it jumps between the two of them telling their parallel stories of the same night. God that was True Cinema (TV version, lol). From this season, "It's like I've got that, it's like I've got in my soul" :(

a death that left me indifferent: n/a this ain't that kind of show lol

a character i wish died but didn’t: I wanted Edwin Akufo to die in a mysterious offscreen private plane crash so that he could no longer hyper-fixate on making Sam's life the absolute worst at all times but hey, I guess Sam found a way to get on the National Team even with Edwin shelling out millions to keep him off of it so like, that's even better.

my ship that never sailed: uhhh RJK if you think they didn't sail. Personally I think they did sail so like. I won on ships tbh.

thank you!!

[skyfcx]

     The instinct is to retract his previous ask— were tarot readings something that involved prep time? If Amy's reaction to the question was anything to go off of, it was commonplace to allot a fortnight's worth of time to get the session ready. Excuse the kit's ignorance, but tarot seemed like pulling some cards and stitching together some meaning from the randomization of it all... To need time to set something like that up just wasn't a consideration that passed his mind before making the request...

     —Then again, if someone came up to him and said, 'okay fine, if you're so smart, build a plane right now!', he'd be a little miffed about the drastic oversimplification of what goes into doing what he does. He can build a plane if you give him time, materials, tools, and the blueprints of the specific type of plane you want him to build. So maybe it was a little callous to have Amy cook up a spectacular showing of the arcane arts off the top of her head.

     A hand goes to hold itself up, ready to wave away the notion. But already are a slew of cards being pulled from seemingly nowhere. Once again, a baffling display of sleight of hand... from her sleeveless dress. And there wasn't a glove large enough in the world to comfortably conceal that many cards at once. Oh, he'd just let that one go, he could feel his mind splitting trying to pin logic to such a display.

     "Definitely! I-If you wanna, of course. Kinda rude to put you in the hot seat like that, but... I'd be a liar if I said I didn't wanna see one in action." His unfamiliarity expected an exact telling of his immediate future, but it sounded like it was going to be a loose prediction of a future to come eventually. Hey, he wouldn't start getting picky now. Just her taking out the cards was something special to the young one, clearly there were surprises yet to be made known.

     Speaking of surprises, the kit was just full of them, apparently! "Slightly alive," he'd chuckle, reiterating his point. "I don't think they're growing arms and legs to work a nine-to-five while they're out of our possession, but they have enough to bond with certain people who are tuned into their energies.

     Knuckles never mentioned having any full conversations with the M.E., just feelings and sensations that it gave him. And when it had to be shattered for protection, he spoke on receiving mental images of zones where the shards were. ...Vaguely. It wasn't a pinpoint location. But it helped him start searching somewhere strong instead of having to scan the entire planet from head to toe."

     As for her following question? The usual intelligence that brought forth confident answers wavered that small bit. His response was far from immediate. Like the pink heroine had caught the yellow-tailed genius flat-footed. Sights fell in contemplation, only returning to meet Amy's emeralds once they had some fleck traces of apprehension throughout.

     "...Gosh, I hope not." FOR THE KID WHO COULD SEEMINGLY THINK OF EVERYTHING— "I didn't even think to ask Knuckles that. Um... Well, I mean... probably not?" Probably? "I'm almost certain it wouldn't!" ALMOST. "...Then again, Knuckles never has let me do direct tests involving the Master Emerald... I always just assumed it's because he's so protective of the thing and isn't familiar with too many forms of technology. So the notion was an uncomfortable one for him!

     Gaia, you don't think they're upset by having a little bit of their energy extracted, do you?! Surely the most it would ever be akin to is having blood drawn at the doctor's, right? I'm always sure to be careful and respectful whenever I have the chance to work with a real Chaos Emerald. Even though they're seemingly infinite, I only ever take enough to work with!"

     If he was upsetting the Emeralds in some way, shape, or form, surely he'd know by now, right? Knuckles or Shadow or Sonic or something would've surely told him, right?! "Can your tarot cards tell me if the Chaos Emeralds hate me?" He's only panicking a little.

...IS she losing him? Tails isn't saying anything, but Amy has known him for long enough to pick up on certain quirks-- and his tails betray him right away. She can't tell exactly what is it about her explanation that's troubling him, though...ohhhh, she's really dug herself into a hole, hasn't she? Magic isn't as clean-cut as science seems to be...if she could've had at least time to prepare something instead of winging it like this--

"--A reading? Now?" Oh! Huh. Somehow this hadn't occured to her-- she'd used her tarot cards as a quick example more than anything, but she'd assumed Tails would show interest in THAT aspect of Magic the least. Tarot readings tend to be very open-ended; more than anything, they're a suggestion of the future instead of an accurate prediction of it...but if Tails is asking for an example, she's got no reason to deny him. "O-okay then, guess we'll keep it simple with a general reading. Is that okay with you?"

Another flick of both wrists-- and a slew of cards are shuffled into one neat stack in her hands, 78 in total. And no, it doesn't seem like she's going to elaborate on how she did that any time soon. Have fun rationalizing THAT one, Tails!

That being said, as she works on her arrangement, she continues to listen closely to Tails' explanation. Leave it to the fox genius to find a way to replicate infinite power if he can't find a way to get the real thing. Other people would probably be...concerned over such feats-- but Amy knows Tails. She knows he'd never use his own inventions with ill intent, and thus has no reason to fear. If anything, even if she doesn't quite pick on everything he just explained, she still feels fascinated by it...

...until something in particular catches her attention.

"The Emeralds are ALIVE?" Well, all things considered, she supposes something like this shouldn't surprise her anymore-- and it does explain quite a number of things, in retrospect Particularly Knuckles. No, that's not what really shocks Amy, but rather what it implies. "But...doesn't experimenting on her hurt them or something, if that's the case? Doesn't it...bother them?"

Again, she would never think Tails as capable of something so cruel if it were the case. And yet the thought won't leave her alone now that it's been planted in her overly sympathetic heart-- therefore, an explanation from Tails himself would be greatly appreciated.

[38sr]

#industryQs

What do you think should be in a animation or storyboard portfolio? Like should it be project base or a general portfolio? I’m struggling trying to find out what I should put in mines - Oort Anon

Ooooh! So when it comes to making a portfolio the most important advice I've taken away was the following: • Make it easy to find your work and contact you

• Curate your work to the job you are applying for

• Showcase strong foundation skills

• Do not be afraid to create samples that speak to what fulfills you creatively as an artist Point 1: I think this is self-explanatory. Make sure your website, portfolio blog or whatever is easy to find for recruiters and always make sure your contact information is included. A lot of people miss this step and it's the #1 thing recruiters look for when looking at potential hires. Point 2: Curating your work. Now I understand you might think, "If I show that I can do multiple things then that will widen my chances of landing a job." This isn't the wrong line of thinking (will explain in part 2) but on the recruiters' end it might be confusing for them to discern what you want to do. In 2D TV animation, there really isn't a generalist role (in 3D there might be). So it's best to clearly broadcast the specific skills you have for a specific job so recruiters can place you into a production easier. So if you want to be a board artist, focus on a good storyboard portfolio. It would be confusing for them to get a board artist applicant and then review a portfolio that isn't storyboards or is just a hodgepodge of different skills not pertaining to storyboards. Part 2 of Point 2: So while I do suggest you should focus on one thing rather than a generalist portfolio, there are cases of industry professionals in having portfolios with multiple disciplines (I am one of those people). So if you want to do 2 disciplines I think that's fine since I do the same...but from what I've learned working in these studios is that it's just easier for recruiters to know instantly what you are going for if you're trying to break in. As you gain more experience in the industry and learn more about the pipeline, it does become easier for you to try out different jobs when those opportunities arise. For example if you're a board artist who wants to try BG design, you can ask to join a design breakdown meeting or ask the art director to see what kind a tests are given to potential hires for the BG design team. Those are few ways you can start to learn/try different jobs in the pipeline while also getting a better understanding of the full scope of an animated production. It's one of those situations where once you get over the first hurdle (breaking in), it's easier to jump over the next hurdle and so on. Point 3: Gosh, this is probably the second most thing I suggest when it comes to portfolios. Foundation skills make you a more versatile artist and you will be able to adapt quickly to any production (regardless of its visual style). And I don't just only mean anatomy, color theory, perspective and such. I'm also talking about staging, screen direction, composition, acting and cinematic language. Showcasing that you have a strong understanding of both set of skills makes your portfolio stand out more. You provide your team a strong foundation (haha get it) that they can work with and build off from that making it easier for you to adapt to the show and work on your assignments. Point 4: "So what kind of boards should I make then?" Make samples for genres you would love to work on! If you want to work in comedy, make comedy boards. If you want to work on a show similar to ATLA, make an action adventure board. If you love a type of storytelling, make samples of that! It's also good to showcase you can work in multiple genres but what catches eyes most is when you create work about things you are genuinely passionate about. Don't be afraid to make a sample about your own personal stories (I did that and that's how I got selected for the Nick Artist Program). A lot of people in this industry love to see original ideas. And it doesn't have to be some grand epic. It can be a short scene, no more than 200 panels (unless it's like a chase sequence or something). Give them a little golden nugget and make them ask for more. Showcase who you are as an artist and what stories you not only want to work on but also stories you want to make. Woof that was a lot. I hope this was helpful and it answered your question!

[inkykeiji]

hi clariiii! just popping in to say i loooove your touya-nii universe (and all others lol)! 🥺 i have read all your works, and i think your writing is both so raw and beautiful at the same time…and just captures the needy/desperate?? and all-consuming relationships your characters have. the imagery you use to describe a feeling too…its just 😌…

like the way you utilize touya’s “blue flames” from the actual show/manga and use it has a descriptor & just in general the use of fire/smoke/heat to describe his feelings towards y/n. also another moment i liked was when he licked y/n tears and you described how he swallows them to be protected by his heart and “cage of bone”…just like asfsedf i loved that bit of writing…! your writing is just sooo unique on here and one of my favorites 💕!

reading your latest piece really reminded me of a song im also obsessed with atm! not sure if you listen to keshi, but his latest song touch realllyyy just vibes with it i feel like! i recommend a listen! keshi also just had a way with words and melodies that are so smooth/soft and heartbreaking (but like heartbreaking in that good way if ya know what i mean?! lolol) at the same time that just feel like…i could hear playing in my head while i read your writing.

your writing also single-handedly made me want touya when i had never before lolol. honestly all my fave characters now, i love because a creator on here got me to love them haha.

anywhos! i am rambling... thank you for your writing and gifting it with us all <3 i hope you were able to get some rest after workin so hard to get that our for us! you genuinely are such a sweet person & i appreciate you and your writing ✨ - rin

hello!!! <3

first off, i want to apologize for taking a few days to get to this. because it was so thoughtful and thorough, i wanted to make sure i gave my answer the same attention and effort as you gave your ask, because you deserve that (and also to fully listen to the song!). i want you to know that your support honest to god means the entire world to me and for you to take the time to write out such a beautiful response means more to me than my words could ever tell you <33333 thank you so much for this, i'm sorry i'm responding a little late. i appreciate you so much!!

secondly, wow!!!!!!!!! thank you thank you thank you from the very bottom of my heart for such incredible feedback!!! 'raw and beautiful is SUCH a fantastic compliment!! it makes me so insanely happy to hear that the obsessive, rabid relationships i write come across so clearly; all-consuming is absolutely the most perfect word for it, because that's exactly what they are. such a 'love' devours each characters soul from the inside out until they've fused together, constantly reliant on each other to survive.

aaaah hehehe honestly i just really love fire and water/ice. they're interesting elements to me and i like the way they look hahaha. but i also find them to just be fantastic to describe the physical FEELING of specific emotions, and i'm literally beyond happy that you've picked up on my tendency to do that in my work!!! i also just really love rib cages HAHAHA i think they're super cool and just like,,, intriguing??? because they're supposed to protect all of your vital organs right? idk i won't ramble on about that hahaha but WOW that means a lot to me, thank you <333

i have never listened to him before, but i can totally see what you're talking about 100%!!! i gave it a listen and i loved it so so so much!!!! just the whole vibe in general is perfect for that piece, i wish i knew about it while i was editing because it really would've been perfect to listen to!!! i'm in love with the can't talk with your tongue in my mouth lyric hehehe <333 this is absolutely going on my touya-nii playlist, thank you so much for recommending it!!!

OH MY GOSH HEHEHE REALLY!? omg i love that HAHAHA i feel so accomplished!!!!!!! that's so funny ehehehe awwwww i'm glad to hear it!! <3

once again, thank YOU for taking the time to write out such a thoughtful response to my newest piece, i appreciate it (and YOU!) so, so much <333 thank you for reading my work!!!

[crazycat-88]

Male Spider Monster Silus x Gender Neutral Reader (SFW)

Note: This is my first piece of writing in a very long time and my first exophilia story. Written for the awesome OkCryptid Collab. Its also the first instalment of a series of stories I’m currently working on.

A huge thanks goes to @thetravelerwrites for proofreading/editing this piece. She’s an absolute star and fantastic writer, who dedicates a lot of her time to this community, supporting other writers and helping readers find exophilia works by maintaining both the OkCryptid Masterlist & the Exophilia Creators Masterlist. So go give her your love and support over on her blog.

Without further ado, here’s 4,124 words of human/monster romance. Hope you enjoy it.

Sitting at your desk, trying to write the newest chapter of your latest novel, you sigh when you her a ping from your mobile. In all honesty, the distraction is welcome; you’ve been suffering from a major case of writer's block and you’d take any excuse to put your work aside.

Checking your notifications, you sigh again when you see it’s from OkCryptid, the monster and cryptid dating app created to help monsters find mates, that you’d downloaded a couple of weeks beforehand. You had hoped it would give you a better chance at finding the one but so far you’d had the same amount of luck that you had with every other app on the market. Which was none.

You hadn’t been on a date in months. Your last relationship was over three years ago and so far things weren’t looking very positive with this new dating app. Since joining, there were very few matches and all the messages you’d received were either from men just looking to hook up for that night or they were dick pics. You couldn’t fathom why anyone thought that sending a picture of their dick would somehow seduce you but they did it anyway.

Taking a deep breath, you check to see what it’s notifying you off and you see that you have a new match and have been sent a new message from a user named Silus. Swearing to yourself that if it’s another unsolicited picture you were deleting the app, you open the message first without bothering to check his profile. No point in getting your hopes up before seeing what he’s sent you.

[Sent: 2:47pm] Silus: Hey, how are you today? I’ve recently just moved to the area and we’ve matched… So I thought I’d just say hi…

Well, that was a good start. It's certainly the nicest message you’ve received so far. Deciding to check his profile, you gasp, seeing that he’s an arachnid, specifically a spider type, which you’d never seen before.

Most arachnids chose to avoid the city, mainly due to their size and their preference for solitude. They weren’t known to be the most social of creatures and, despite being known to the general public for a couple of centuries, were one of the few species that shunned modern society, choosing to remain in forests or caves far from civilization. You weren’t sure if this was because of their nature or due to the fact that they were one of the few monsters many humans, and even some other monsters, still feared. Even those who weren’t outright scared of arachnid type monsters were still wary and uncomfortable around them.

You’re not sure how you feel about them, never having actually met one but you’re not exactly a fan of spiders. While you aren’t scared of them, they did make you squeamish. Shuddering thinking of the large spider you had to remove from your flat the day before, you decide to at least check over Silus’s profile and pictures.

His profile bio was short and sweet: he stated his name, age, and sexual orientation before going on to say that he loved plants and flowers, music, poetry and going for walks in the moonlight. He’d also added that he had just moved to the city and was looking to make new friends and hopefully find a mate. He had a gallery full of pictures, which were mostly pictures of various types of flowers, but he had a couple of himself.

Enlarging the first picture of himself, which was a selfie of just his face and torso, you were pleasantly surprised to find that you didn’t mind his spider features. His head and body was humanoid in shape, his skin incredibly pale and his very long, very straight hair was a shiny white. He had four eyes that were completely black with no sclera, those eyes sat in a row, with two larger in the centre and two smaller either side of those. His mouth was wide and in the photo he was grinning, showing that he had nothing but two large fangs in his upper jaw. His shoulders were broad and his torso was well built, with clearly defined muscles though he wasn’t overly muscular.

Swiping through his photos, you find another picture of him, this one being a full body shot which was clearly taken from a small distance. Here you could see his lower body where is torso ended and joined with his spider half, which looked large and bulbous, black in colour but covered in fine white hair which looked fuzzy. Attached to this body were eight long jointed legs which were also covered in fine white hairs. His legs looked as thick as tree trunks and you couldn’t be sure from looking at the photo but he looked huge.

This part of his body did make you apprehensive, and the more you look at it the worse you feel. Flicking between the two pictures you couldn’t decide if you were attracted to him or not. On one hand you found him incredibly beautiful, with his large pitch black eyes that you could easily get lost in and his gorgeous sleek looking hair and toned upper body. He also seemed sweet natured and had a lovely smile despite the fangs.

On the other hand, his spider lower half gave you the shivers and those long legs creeped you out. You cringed looking at them again and even thinking about those legs in motion made you shudder. Chewing on your lip you debated with yourself; you’d matched with him so obviously you had things in common and you didn’t have to jump into a relationship with him. You could always be friends first and see if it went anywhere. You just weren’t sure you could get over those eight legs…

Ping.

Startled, you look back at your phone which had gone to sleep at some point during your mental debate, and you see you have received another message from Silus.

[Sent: 3:16pm] Silus: I like your profile by the way, you’re very beautiful.... We must have a lot in common, I’ve been using this app for over a year now and I’ve never seen such a high percentage match...

Checking you see that he’s right, you’ve matched with him eighty-eight percent which was much higher than any other match you’d had and from everything you’d heard it was really rare to get a match that high. It was just your luck he had to be an arachnid, he seemed really nice too. Deciding to think further on it and make a decision later, you go back to writing, after all your novel wasn’t going to write itself.

A couple of hours later, feeling like you’ve made a lot of progress, you decide it’s time for some food. However a quick search around the kitchen reminds you that you’ve not been shopping in days. Take-away it is then.

Ping!

Frowning you see you’ve gotten another message from Silus, thinking he’s getting a little pushy, you open it to read.

[Sent: 5:30pm] Silus: Hey again, so I was thinking… I would understand if your not interested, many people don’t like arachnids…. I know a lot of people, especially humans are scared of my kind… But I hope you’ll give me a chance and see I’m not scary at all… or maybe your just busy or at work... Sorry...

Crap! You’d forgotten that your settings had been set to send read receipts. He knows you’ve read his messages and now thinks you’re ignoring him. You wonder how often that happens to him, he sounds so dejected and now you feel bad. He’d said in his earlier message that he’d been using the app for over a year so that meant he’d not had much luck finding someone. A bit like me then, thinking to yourself. Looking at his pictures again, you come to a decision.

[Sent: 5:32pm] You: Hi Silus, I’m good thanks and I was working… I am interested but to be honest I’ve never met an arachnid before and I’m unsure how I feel about it.

Silus: Oh my gosh, you replied :-) Thank you! It’s okay that you feel that way, at least you’re willing to give me a chance…

Silus: Lots of people are afraid of spiders and by extension spider monsters but honestly I wouldn’t hurt a fly…

Silus: …Well that’s a lie and probably a bad example, but really I’m not scary in the slightest…

Chuckling, you rather like Silus’s sense of humour though you’re not sure he was aiming to be funny. He was so sweet and seemed really surprised that you’d replied. Makes you wonder again how many people have ignored him just because of what he is.

You: Lol! I’m not scared of spiders exactly but they do make me uncomfortable… I’d like to get to know you though...

You: So… how are liking city life?

*************

You and Silus spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other. You learn that he works as a florist, that he’s renting a flat in the city centre and is flat sharing with a moth monster. Which did surprise you as you thought that their two species have a turbulent history. He asks what you do for work and then about the novel you’re currently writing.

The two of you end up talking long into the night and at some point you fall asleep still mid conversation. As soon as you wake up you're checking your phone for messages from Silus. You have two, the first answering the question you’d asked just before falling asleep and a second twenty minutes later where he says that he assumes you’ve falling asleep and to have sweet dreams.

Smiling to yourself, you send him a message confirming that you did in fact fall asleep and that you’re sorry about that. You then decide to get up and start your day. An hour later Silus is messaging you good morning and telling you not to worry about it. The two of you spend the rest of the morning chatting until he has to go to work. He messages again once he’s home from work and you spend the evening in the same manner as the night before.

The rest of the week followed the same pattern, work, eat and chat to Silus. By this point the two of you had swapped mobile numbers and were now communicating via both text and call. He had the loveliest voice and often during calls you forgot that you had to respond. Meeting in person wasn't a subject brought up until exactly one week after you’d first started chatting.

You were just sitting, eating lunch when you heard the ping of your mobile.

[Sent: 2:13pm] Silus: Afternoon gorgeous, are you free this evening? If you are, would you like to get a drink in town?

Taking a deep breath, you think it over, you really liked Silus and were pretty confident now that the two of you could really have something good together. Him being an arachnid no longer made you uncomfortable, at least in theory, but you were incredibly nervous. What if you saw him in person and you couldn’t see past those eight legs, you didn’t want to hurt him. Or what if when he saw you, he thought you weren’t as attractive in person. A previous date had told you that you looked thinner in your photos after all. You sigh, either way you had to know, for both your sakes.

You: Afternoon, I am free tonight and that would be lovely. Where were you thinking?

Silus: Great! :-D My flatmate works in this bar and restaurant which caters for folks like us, called The Bears Den, does that sound okay to you? It’s in city centre.

You: Yes of course! What time?

Silus: 6pm? Shall I come pick you up or would you rather we meet there?

You: 6 works for me. I’ll just meet you there, no point in you leaving the city centre to come collect me :-) I’ll get the bus, will only take me twenty minutes.

Silus: If you’re sure, I don’t mind the extra journey, I’d travel hours to pick you up ;-)

You: Lol, your so sweet but yes I’m sure. I’ll see you there at 6.

Silus: Alright then, I’ll meet you outside the bar. See you later gorgeous… can’t wait.

You: Me either! See you soon!

Checking the clock, you see that it was already 2:30pm and you had no idea what you were going to wear. Deciding your best bet would be to call your fashion-forward best friend and get her advice, your frustrated when she doesn’t answer. Oh well best go raid your wardrobe.

************

Your shaking with nerves by the time you get there and of course your twenty minutes early. Standing outside the bar feeling like an utter twit, you inspect the building. The outside is painted a glossy black and the name of the bar is painted in gold cursive above the very wide, very tall doors. It looked nice. Through the glass in the doors you could see the place already had a good number of patrons despite the early time.

You’re surprised and jump in shock when you hear your name spoken softly from behind you. Spinning around you come face to face with Silus, well more accurately you came face to stomach with Silus, because he was huge. Your breath catches in your throat and you gaze in astonishment at his form.

His large spider lower body was lowered to just inches off the ground and his long legs were arched upwards, their height reached to his human torso before coming back down to the ground. This close you could see that he had three claws at the end of each of those legs. Shifting your gaze back up, you took notice that he was wearing a smart midnight blue shirt before your attention was brought to his hands, which he was wringing togethering in nervousness. Looking to his face you could see that he looked wary but his mouth was turned up into a tentative smile.

It’s only when he quietly says your name and asks if you're alright that you realise that you’ve stood there just staring at him for the past two minutes. Giving yourself a mental shake you manage to give him a nod.

‘‘Yes! I’m good, thanks! Um... hi...’’ you giggle nervously.

‘‘Hi...’’ he replies, smile widening. ‘You still want to do this?’’

‘‘Yes, of course, sorry! Shall we go in?’’ You stammer.

Holding the door open for you, he shakes his head ‘‘No need to be sorry, I know I’m a lot to process.’’

‘‘Um... just a bit, I wasn’t expecting you to be so... big,’’ you stammer, as you pass under his arm into the bar.

‘‘Does it bother you?’’ He asks, as you make your way to the bar.

Shaking your head and giving him a smile over shoulder, you glance around the bar and see the vast majority of patrons are other non-humans. Behind the bar serving you spot a lizardfolk, who looks like a leopard gecko and a white tiger rakshasa. The rakshasa looks your way and raises a brow when he clocks Silus at your side. Making his way down the bar with a large grin on his face, you hear Silus let out a groan and suddenly he leans down to whisper in your ear, ‘‘He’s a harmless flirt.’’

‘‘What?’’ You stammer, but before he can say anything else the Rakshasa is standing in front of you and leaning over the bar to clasp Silus’s hand.

‘‘Ayaan,’’ Silus nods.

‘‘Silus,’’ rumbles the rakshasa, ‘‘It’s been awhile. Who’s your cute friend?’’ He says looking at you and giving you a wink.

Silus makes the introductions and as you give Ayaan your hand to shake, he leans down to kiss the back of your hand and gives you a cheeky grin. You understand now what Silus meant. Turning to Silus, Ayaan asks ‘‘Does Rowan know you’re out on a date?’’

‘‘Yes, and he’s upset he’s not here to see it’’ Silus replies, laughing. You give him a questioning look, but he just shakes his head at you and mouth’s later.

Turning back to Ayaan and ordering your drinks you head to a table towards the back of the bar where it’s quieter. Whilst you sit on a chair, Silus pushes the chair opposite you towards another table and lowers his spider body to the floor shifting his legs to a comfortable position. As you watch him do this, it occurs to you that your not feeling squeamish like you feared you might. In fact, your itching to lean over and see if those hairs are as fuzzy as they look. Giving Silus a smile, you see that he’s gazing just as intensely at you.

‘‘You’re very beautiful,’’ he says, swallowing nervously.

‘‘Thank you. So are you,’’ you reply, blushing.

‘‘No I’m not,’’ he says sadly, fixing you a look. ‘‘I look monstrous, I know that… but thank you for saying it anyway.”

Shaking your head you reply, ‘‘Yes, you are! You’re gorgeous, Silus…. at least you are to me, anyway,’’ you mumble shyly, reaching over the table to grasp his hand and squeezing it briefly.

Silus blushes prettily, looking at your hands shyly. Turning his hand around to clasp yours in a soft hold. ‘‘Thank you,’’ he says, sounding choked.

Hoping to distract him, you ask ‘‘So.. Is Ayaan a good friend of yours?’’

‘‘Oh yeah,’’ he replies shaking his head as if coming out of a daze, ‘‘I met him through Rowan.’’

‘‘And Rowan is? And why is he upset that he’s not here?’’ You ask raising a brow.

Chucking he replies, ‘‘Sorry, Rowans my flatmate and he’s upset because he thinks I’m probably going to make a fool of myself and he’s not here to see it…’’

‘‘Oh. Well... you haven’t, so he’s not missing anything,’’ you smile. “Is it his night off then?’’ You ask.

Shaking his head, ‘‘Nope, he would usually be working now but he’s gone home to West Oaks to attend one of his sister's wedding.’’

‘‘West Oaks? That’s where your from too right?’’ You ask.

Nodding, ‘‘Yeah... we grew up together, best friends since school. Neighbours too. We were both the youngest of all our many siblings so we spent our childhood bemoaning our lot in life.’’ He had a fond smile on his face.

‘‘You have a lot of siblings?’’ You ask sipping at your drink.

‘‘Yep! I’m one of twenty-six.’’ He grins.

‘‘No. Way.’’ you reply, sputtering.

Laughing, Silus nods ‘‘Arachnids tend to lay a lot of eggs... Moths do too, actually, Rowan is one of thirty.’’

‘‘Oh wow! No wonder the two of you banded together,’’ You say stunned.

‘‘Yeah, so when Ro decided he wanted to move to the city, I told him I was coming with,’’ Silus chuckles.

‘‘And.. do you like it here?’’

‘‘Yeah, it’s nice,’’ he tells you nodding. ‘‘Very different from living rurally, of course, and I miss the forest sometimes, but there’s a lot of good things about living in the city.’’

Before you can reply to that, Ayaan is suddenly at your table with a massive grin on his face, startling you both. Silus jerks so badly four of his legs flick out causing Ayaan to snicker loudly.

‘‘You two looked liked you were having fun, so I thought I’d offer table service’’ he says putting another two drinks down on the table. ‘‘Drink up,’’ he says and salutes before strolling back to the bar. You see the gecko behind the bar shaking his head at Ayaan’s antics, catching your eye he gives you an apologetic look before turning to serve another customer.

‘He’s a character,’’ You laughingly say, looking back at Silus.

‘‘That’s one word to describe him,’’ he chuckles jokingly.

You and Silus spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing, as he tells you stories from his childhood and teenage years where he and Rowan would get themselves into trouble. You tell him some of your own stories in return, telling him of the shenanigans that you and your best friend regularly got up to.

The two of you are so absorbed in each other that you don’t realise how late it has gotten until you hear a loud bellow from the otherside of the bar. Glancing around you see that the place is now packed full of boisterous patrons and that you have somehow missed the fact there is now a live band on stage. Over by the pool tables there is a large minotaur and a small goblin having a tussle over a pool cue and a very large orc with a dark scowl, who is obviously security is headed their way. Behind the bar both the gecko and Ayaan are looking harried and have been joined by a harpy and some type of avian.

You and Silus come to a mutual agreement that it’s time to call it a night. As Silus leads the way out of the bar, the other patrons quickly shift out of his way and a few of them stare openly, looking wary. Whilst you enjoy the fact that no one is in your personal space and you have room to move, you also feel sad that people look at him like he might turn around and eat them. You glare fiercely at one particular customer that’s standing staring rudely open mouthed, seeing your scowl they suddenly about-turn and run in the opposite direction.

Outside, you take in a deep breath of fresh air, glad to be out in the quiet. Turning to Silus you see that he’s watching you, a soft smile on his face.

‘‘Is it always like that in there?’’ You ask.

Shaking his head in the negative he replies, ‘‘Not really. It only tends to get that busy at weekends.’’

Nodding, you began speaking only to stop suddenly seeing that another orc, who looks like the double of the one inside, working the door watching you both with a sly grin. Smiling awkwardly, you and Silus start walking in a random direction.

‘‘So... what were you going to say?’’ He asks as he looks down at you.

‘‘Oh,’’ you smile, ‘‘Just that I had a really good time tonight.’’

‘‘So did I,’’ Silus blushes. “Perhaps we could do this again sometime?’’

‘‘Definitely,’’ you grin.

‘‘Would you.. like a ride home?’’

‘‘You drive?’’ You ask incredulously, looking at his spider lower half trying to work out the logistics of that.

‘‘No...’’ he chuckles. “I meant would you like to ride me?’’

Looking at him wide eyed, you suddenly break down snorting in laugher. Confused Silus raises a questioning brow.

‘‘What?’’ He asks completely befuddled.

Trying to calm yourself, you breath in deeply and ask, “Ride you? Talk about innuendo...’’ you grin.

Frowning it takes him a second to register. “Oh! I didn’t mean…’’ he groans. ‘I just meant… um… never mind,’’ he says, shaking his head with cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

‘‘Maybe another time,’’ you smile eyeing his large lower body. ‘I’ll take a taxi tonight.’’ You nod towards the taxi rank across the road.

‘‘Right, well. I guess I have to say goodnight then,’’ he replies, smiling wistfully.

Nodding, you glance between his eyes and mouth, getting the hint he leans down and stops a hair width distance giving you the opportunity to change your mind. You don’t. Closing the distance between you, your eyes close as your lips meet his.

A quick peck leads to another, and then another, before you know it your tongue is in his mouth and you’re carefully exploring his mouth, being mindful with his fangs. One of his hands cradles your head as the other traces patterns on your back. Both your hands start on his shoulders before slowly roaming downwards. As you reach the point where his human torso meets his spider half, you softly stoke him there, feeling his soft hair tickle your hands. Silus suddening pulls away, panting harshly.

‘‘We have to stop,’’ he gasps.

You nod, agreeing and inhaling deeply.

‘‘Text me when you’re home?’’ He asks, searching your face.

Promising him that you would, you wish him goodnight moving quickly and getting in the first taxi. Silus gives a wave as the taxi pulls away and you see him watching you until your no longer in sight. Sitting back in the seat, you touch your fingertips to your lips.

Wow. That was some kiss.

——————————————————————

That’s all folks. If you enjoyed this, please reblog. Comments/likes are always appreciated too. Thanks!

My Masterlist

[daughterofelros]

Hey so I saw your post about Alex and his resilience and how he's rate on a scale and how this relates to his childhood trauma etc and was really curious to know/understand more on the topic and how it manifests with alex but also you mentioned rosa? And the other characters too. If you're happy to elaborate otherwise no worries of course. What interpretations do you make from what we've seen on screen? ☺

Oh my gosh Nonnie, thank you for the juicy, delicious ask!

The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Commonly abbreviated to CD-RISC) measures, in its full version, 25 different statements. Some of the ones that stand out to me in thinking about a bunch of the RNM characters include being able to adapt and change, having close and secure relationships, able to make unpopular/difficult decisions, know where to get help, but they’re all pretty important.

As established in my earlier assessment, Alex Manes = Super Resilient, and that definitely has an effect on the ways he handles the traumas he’s faced over his life.

Let me dive into Rosa little bit more first— Rosa, despite not enduring the specific type of abuse that Alex and Michael did as kids, might actually score in a lower percentile than either of those characters on the resilience scale. Part of this is because adverse childhood experiences, though cumulative, aren’t exactly ranked and scaled. Trauma impacts people differently, and you can’t really say whether growing up feeling abandoned by an alcoholic parent in an otherwise supportive context, or never having a safe parental figure, or having a parent die will impact someone “worse”—they’re all adversity, and they all have an impact on our health and capacity for resilience. (Also, inequality isn’t a fixed experience in our brains—for more reading on how weird our brains are in this regard, check out “The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die”  by Keith B Payne).So Rosa definitely has adverse childhood experiences that impact her relationships. At the point when we’re first introduced to her, she’s probably in about the worst place she could be there—Her friendships are being proven to be based on what drugs she can score, her relationship with her mother is shredded, and she’s just learned that Arturo isn’t her father. Even though Arturo’s love and support for her wouldn’t budge an inch, she feels separated from the most supportive relationship in her life, and she’s spiraling. She struggles to adapt, her coping mechanisms mess with her brain chemistry where she’s already contending with dopamine issues due to the mental illness she’s battling , and it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t have a strong read on where to get help (Though she’s willing to accept it—Valenti’s help getting clean, having met once with a therapist, leaning into her artwork).  Pressure doesn’t make her think very clearly, and she doesn’t seem like she takes high levels of pride in her achievements, or trust that she can achieve her goals if she works for them. Traumas are going to hit her hard. They’re not going to roll off her back easily. When she comes back to life, she gets a partial reset button, and handles some big trauma pretty well…but she also is terrified of messing it up, and breaks down if anything gets derailed (see: “I Ruined my Miracle”). I’d say she’s doing a great job coping with what she’s got…but her resilience score isn’t the highest. Things hit her hard.

Let’s look at Michael then. He’s got every reason why his resilience score might not be high. He’s dealt with so damn much. But the thing that’s helped him get through is that his resilience score actually seems like it would be pretty well up there. He doesn’t have good parental figure relationships (understatement of the year)—But he’s got a couple of relationships (Max and Isobel) that won’t abandon him, no matter how he pushes, even when everything is burning around them. Michael clearly believes that working toward goals means he can achieve them. He’s been trying to build the spaceship to take him back home since he was, like, eight. That’s goal-oriented right there! He’s not going to score well in the “getting help” vector at all, but he does work extremely well under pressure (his genius increases when he’s pissed off). Michael also clearly believes that he can deal with whatever comes his way, he ultimately doesn’t give up when things look hopeless (alien pacemaker in 7 hours), and I’d bet my bottom dollar that he would agree that coping with stress has made him stronger. He’d probably rank himself pretty high on the “Can make difficult or unpopular decisions” factor—choosing to take the blame and protect Isobel, volunteering to be the alien who gets turned into the authorities…there are flaws in his reasoning on the last one, and definitely some internalized feelings of his life not being as important…but he shows a clear propensity for being willing to make unspeakably challenging decisions. He probably won’t rank high in the “Pride in my achievements” vector, and that hits up against the things he’s internalized from the ACES he’s had piled on him—from childhood abuse and abandonment right up to Jesse Manes, crippling injury, and covering up murders. His resilience is high, but he’s coping with a lot, and he doesn’t have as many tools to keep coping as, say, Alex does.  We can also see that there’s a pretty debilitating impact when he shifts to the knowledge that his Mom was alive and he watched her die… and then starts to question why she didn’t take him out of the Pod to be with her in 1947. He starts to have thoughts about abandonment that he hadn’t had when he just thought his Mom died in the crash…and that paired with Max’s death really, really throws him. He rejects connections that have ever been tied up in pain and abandonment, and we see him spiraling. His resilience definitely dips when those circumstances occur…and as we see him trust in some of his relationships again, we see his ability to cope return as well. With the right tools and support, he can actually do a lot of healing yet too.

Isobel probably scores pretty high on the scale at the beginning of season 1. She’s had some adverse childhood experiences from waking up from the pods, from being attacked in the desert as a teen., but she’s made it through all of that without a ton of trauma responses (given that the blackouts turned out to be mind control) She’s confident in her goals, her relationships, she’s strong in her decision-making, she believes she’s built herself a good life. She has a supportive family, Max is her person, she’s got Michael, and her husband is amazingly supportive. We don’t see much in the way of friends, but she’s got a Boss-Ass support structure. Until she realizes she doesn’t. That Noah is a thread of rot through all of it, and she’s been deceived on an inconceivable level. And then she loses Max.

Isobel at the beginning of Season 2 would fill this assessment out very, very differently. And the sharp drop in some of the factors of her resilience really make her struggle. Her confidence in herself as a strong person is deeply under review, and she’s leaning a little hard into the god-like powers aspect of herself. Knocking Rosa out with a book is a really alarming manifestation of how her reasoning and coping skills are out of alignment. She’d probably use it as evidence for her ability to make unpopular decisions though. She’d score really high in the vector regardless though—because choosing to terminate a pregnancy in a town like Roswell…that takes so damn much resilience, ability to make decisions under pressure, etc.  She’s still got the resilience that comes from her goal setting and working for things she values though—her training with her powers shows that pretty clearly.

Isobel definitely isn’t going to score high in the “Knows where to get help” vector though. She refuses therapy, refuses help from family, doesn’t seek medical assistance, and almost dies as a result of her abortion, when she would have had all kinds of support from people around her if she’d been able to reach out. Even when she’s struggling, she has a history of resilience to draw on though.

Let’s talk Cam for a moment—we don’t have a lot of info on her childhood, but Cam actually seems to be a character with high scores across the board—for only having 2 years in Roswell, she forms connections pretty readily, goes to people for help, is focused on goals, takes pride in her work. She handles most things with aplomb, and isn’t easily manipulated. Jesse Manes has to work pretty hard on her to get her to bat an eyelash. That’s particularly interesting given the relationship that resilience has in attenuating depression effects and PTSD effects on people with combat experience.

Max is hard to talk about, because we don’t know a lot about where he is this season, and what the trauma of dying and being kept in a pod in constant pain is going to do to him. He seems reasonably able to deal with the hardships he’s faced prior to this, shows a propensity to be able to make unpopular decisions, and is probably the character who is most consistently and intentionally shown investing in relationships. I’d imagine that his resistance score is at least in the middling percentiles. Max is also pretty much the character it’s hardest to wrap my brain around when I’m writing, so that’s why I think I struggle in guessing how he’d assess himself here too.

Kyle is so interesting, because he’s a character who seems to know himself really well, and has maybe also changed the most over 10 years. Kyle these days really values and invests in his relationships—His Mom, Liz, rebuilding a friendship with Alex, trusting Cam. He’s dedicated in pursuing goals, takes pride in his accomplishments, has a reasonably good idea of where to seek help, works well under pressure. He’s had a lot of advantages in life, and while med school definitely tests his resilience and endurance, I don’t know how much his resilience has had to help him get through trauma before this.  I do know that the scene where he almost buys a gun is one of my favorites, because it shows him trying to cope with crisis and handle a lot of stress. I don’t think we’ve seen a full enough arc of how he’s coping yet though—I think there’s more to come.

Maria DeLuca strikes me as scoring relatively high on resilience assessments (or at least the high end of mid-to-upper range). She’s caring for a mother with dementia, runs a business, and deals with racism and misogyny in a town like Roswell, which it’s well-established is renowned for both of those things. Maria has really strong relationships—her Mother is a huge priority, her friends matter deeply to her (fandom drama over ships aside, and whether Alex should forgive her for dating Michael or not, Maria in canon expresses a lot of care for her friends, worries if she’s hurt them, and forgives when she’s hurt herself). She’s close with Arturo, she visits Rosa’s grave once a month. She does a lot of giving, not a lot of getting back, and feels pretty shaken when she’s deceived, but she still has a lot of stable relationships to lean into. She’s…not great at asking for help, or letting on that she needs it- she tries to go everything alone. But she also problem-solves, she pursues her goals, she believes that you get what you work for  (“No one ever accused me of a lack of hustle”),  and she doesn’t give up when she feels hopeless.  She’s probably middle of the road on handling unpleasant feelings—some she handles well, some she reacts intensely to, some she buries. It seems like when a crisis happens, she’s conflicted and struggling in the moment, but processes through things in a reasonably short time. I’d say one of the places that she doesn’t score that high on is the ability to adapt to change. She gets there eventually, but that’s where she struggles the most. The thing is, because of what she’s faced with in daily life, she’s constantly utilizing her resilience. It’s something she leans on all the time.

Liz is brilliant, and amazing, and it’s kind of hard for me to parse this out for her. Strong relationships, she’s got those. She’s great at adapting, great at problem-solving and pursuing her goals. She sees herself as strong, faces challenges, sees the humor in things, bounces back from setbacks, honestly, she would score pretty well in every category. I think there’s pretty clear evidence that with all the things she’s accomplished and all the things she’s endured, Liz Ortecho is a wellspring of resilience, and it definitely attenuates the long-term negative effects she might face from her experiences. She faces some of the same adverse childhood experiences that her sister does, but reacts very differently. Their resilience—despite the similarity of their contexts for nurture—differs substantially…and that’s even before we add in the trauma of Rosa’s death that Liz contends with.

Overall, the characters on this show are a resilient bunch. I’m watching some other shows right now as I make masks for my community, and it strikes me that most of the RNM characters would score higher on the CD-RISC assessment than the characters on those other TV shows (many of whom hold a relatively large amount of privilege).

But notably, the characters on RNM strike me as far more like the people who move through my community every day. Overwhelmingly, my community is comprised of queer people, people of color, homeless and unaccompanied youth, people dealing with mental health issues, sexual assault survivors, abuse survivors, folks with PTSD and DID, and people who would be considered low-socioeconomic status. My community is made up almost entirely of people who deal with adverse experiences, and had intense adverse childhood experiences. Resilience is the norm. Resilience ends up being a key word in almost every letter of recommendation I write. And one of the reasons I love RNM so much is that the characters are brought to life quite realistically. There’s a lot of different truths from experience, and a lot of different paths to similar truth. But overwhelmingly, their responses to these impossible events are grounded in realistic depictions. When it comes to character development, this might just be some of the best writing I’ve ever seen on TV. And for a show that’s solidly in the sci-fi realm…it’s possibly the most realistic show I’ve ever seen.

[akatsukibandhscenarios]

35. When You Find Out You're Pregnant

Updates Pein You had been feeling wrong for the past few days. You felt like you wanted to throw up all the time and certain things just didn’t smell normal anymore. It took you another week to realize that you missed your period two months in a row. You had been so busy that you hadn’t noticed that until now.   You didn’t want to tell anyone so you went to your doctor without telling anyone. Your doctor ran tests and told you that you were pregnant. You were both happy and feeling more of a need to throw up. You weren’t sure how Pein was going to take the news. You went home worried, and thinking. When you got to the hideout, you went right to Pein’s office. He looked almost happy to see you. “Where have you been?” Pein asked, getting up from his chair to go to you. “I have something to tell you.” You said, worry filling your voice. “What is it _____?” “Pein, Iampregnant.Wearegoingtohaveababy.” You said extremely fast. “Say that again, but slower.” “I…am…-” “Too slow. ____ just spit it out already!” “I AM PREGNANT!” You yelled. Pein’s eyes widened and he just stared at you. “We are going to have a baby.” You said a lot less loud. “How?” “Do I really need to explain how a baby is made to a grown man?” You snapped. He glared at you as the news set in. “We are going to be a family? I am going to have a family again?” “Yes and yes.” You said with a smile on your face. Pein hugged you not too tightly and kissed you passionately. “I love you _____.” Pein had never been so happy before. It damn near scared you. “I love you too Pein.” Zetsu You were acting like a total bitch. You had no idea why and Zetsu sure as hell didn’t know why either. After a week of being a bitch, it turned into full blown mood swings. You were crying and yelling and doing both at the same time. It was freaking everyone out. So you locked yourself in your bedroom to give you some time away from everyone. That was when you realized that you weren’t losing your mind, you probably just were on your period. Then you remembered that you had missed your period last month, and were getting close to missing this month’s as well. You left your room to find Zetsu. You told him what was going on and made him go and get you a pregnancy test. When he got back and gave you the test, you refused to take it. You told him that if he found out you were pregnant than he wouldn’t love you anymore or he’d try to eat you and the baby. After he spent an hour of telling you that you were wrong, you took the test. “Zetsu…” You sniffled. He opened the bathroom door to see you on the floor, crying your eyes out while holding the test. “_____ what is wrong?” Zetsu asked, walking to your side. “I’m pregnant with a plant child!” You wailed. It caught him off guard. He helped you stand up and took you to the bed. He saw the test that said you were pregnant. “My baby is going to be part plant!” You kept crying. “What am I supposed to do?” White Zetsu asked, totally confused on how to deal with the situation. “Let’s eat her; it’ll solve all our problems.” Black Zetsu responded. Before white Zetsu could reply, you screamed. “I knew it! You are going to eat me!” You got out of bed and ran. “Konan!”  Zetsu was about to go after you when it finally hit him. “I’m going to be a father…” He stood there in shock. He wasn’t sure what to do. Until Konan came in and hit him with a newspaper for scaring his pregnant girlfriend. Sasori Sasori was the one to tell you that you were pregnant. After a whole month of being sick, having mood swings and just seeming off, Sasori pointed out that is how pregnant people act. You were both happy and confused. You weren’t sure how the hell you were able to get pregnant from a puppet and honestly didn’t even believe him. You demanded him take you to the doctors to find out if you really were pregnant or not. After tests and retests, you finally heard from your doctor that you were pregnant. You started to cry but were happy. When Sasori found out for sure, he was happy that he was right, and that you were pregnant. “I can’t believe it; we are going to be a family.” You said, happily as Sasori took you back to the hideout. You suddenly gasped, which frightened Sasori. “What’s wrong?” Sasori asked. “You are the most impatient person in the world. How the hell are you supposed to be patient with a baby and not like murder it?” You asked, as you began to cry. “Stop crying _____ everything will be alright. I’ll have 9 months to learn some patients. Besides, I wouldn’t kill our baby.” “You sure?” Sasori glared at you for that. You couldn’t help but giggle. “Now we’ll have someone new to teach things to.” “Like making puppets and passing the ones I’ve made down to them.” “Like a family tradition.” You said with a smile. “Making puppets to kill people and living within the Akatsuki…” Sasori looked at you a bit skeptical. “That’s a terrible family tradition.” You both said at the same time. You began to laugh and he just smirked. You knew then that the two of you were going to be just fine and that the baby would be alright as well. ~ Itachi You had been feeling sick and had been throwing up all day. It had been a daily thing for a week. That’s also how long it took to figure out you hadn’t been having a period for at least two months. You didn’t tell Itachi, you went right to Konan crying. She went to buy a pregnancy test without letting anyone see it. She handed it to you and left you in the bathroom. “Oh my gosh…” You gasped when you saw the test and it said you were pregnant. “Konan! Go get Itachi please!” A few minutes later, Itachi knocked on the door. “_____?” You heard Itachi call through the door. “Come in, ‘tachi.” He walked in and looked at your hands instantly. More specifically, the pregnancy test in them. “Is that what I think it is?” His voice cracked. You nodded your head and held up the stick. “I’m pregnant ‘tachi.” You smiled with tears coming down your face. Itachi walked to you and hugged you. “I can’t believe it. I’m going to be a father.” Itachi sounded surprisingly happy. You pulled back to see the rare smile on his face. “We’re going to be parents. We’re going to add another member to the Akatsuki family.” You two couldn’t be happier. Kisame You had felt odd for at least a month. You would crave odd foods and demanded Kisame go retrieve them at that moment. Today though, you craved something that Kisame would probably not want to get you. “Kisa?” You called out. You were in the lounge, and he was elsewhere in the hideout. “Yes, _____?” Kisame asked as he entered the lounge. “I am craving more stuff.” “Alright, what is it?” “Sushi and shark fin soup.” The horrified look that was now on his face made you laugh. “I was joking Kisa. I just want sushi, no shark fin anything.” “I thought you hated sushi?” He questioned confused, and relieved that you weren’t serious about the soup. “Well I want some sushi so go and get some!” You yelled. As you yelled, Itachi had walked in. You and Itachi watched a startled Kisame retreat out the door. “Get a pregnancy test too Kisame. I have a feeling you’ll be needing it.” Itachi informed his sharky partner. It then hit you. You jumped up off the couch to look at Itachi. “Weasel, you’re right! I can’t believe I forgot!” You yelled, nearly frantic. He looked at you calmly. “I haven’t had my period and I’m always on time.” You ran out of the room. You heard an ‘I didn’t need to know that’ from the weasel as you ran down the hall. Kisame brought the sushi and the pregnancy test. You ate the sushi and then took the test. Kisame was right there in the bathroom with you during it. Both of you stared at the test as it showed a very clear answer; you are pregnant. “I’m pregnant.” You gasped as Kisame said “I’m going to be a dad.” You looked at each other and hugged then kissed. You two were so overwhelmed with happiness, so you went to tell everyone about the news. Hidan You were looking at yourself in the mirror. Something just seemed off. You weren’t sure about what it was, until Hidan walked in. “Whoa! _____, damn your boobs have gotten bigger.” Hidan yelled, clearly happy. You turned, covered your body with a blanket and glared at your boyfriend. “Shut up Hidan!” You snapped. You noticed that your breasts hurt when you put pressure on them with your arms and blanket. Hidan put his hands up and walked to the bathroom. “Fuck woman. Are you pregnant or something? I heard that the bigger tits were a sign of that.” Hidan said, totally joking as he entered the bathroom. He was laughing, however, you were not. You stood, staring at the bathroom door. “I can’t remember when I had a period last.” You mumbled to yourself. You sat on your bed, counting and thinking. When Hidan walked out of the bathroom, he saw the scared look on your face. “Fuck no! I was joking! You’re not allowed to be pregnant!” Hidan yelled. “Go buy a test for me. Now!” You growled. Hidan, for once, listened to you. He ran out of the room. Not even ten minutes later, he was back. He threw two tests at you. “Go find the fuck out now!” Hidan growled, he was freaking out now, like you were. You went to the bathroom and used both tests. You saw both results and they were the same. “Hidan?” You choked out. He burst into the room to see you crying. You held up the pregnancy tests. “I’m pregnant.” “Shit.” His reaction brought more tears to your eyes. “No no! Fuck, don’t cry! I’m fucking happy! Stop the damn tears woman!” Hidan did not know how to handle a crying girl. You were still crying, but you smiled and hugged him. “We’re going to be parents.” You whispered, very happy and scared. “There’s going to be a mini us running around soon.” You and Hidan both paused and looked at each other. A mini you and Hidan? “Oh fuck.” Both of you said, now terrified. Kakuzu You felt bloated and you were having bad cramps. It was off to you because you weren’t on your period. You soon realized you were supposed to have had your period earlier in the month. “Kuzu, can I have some money?” You sweetly asked your boyfriend. You didn’t really want to alarm him if you were wrong. You wanted a pregnancy test. “No.” Kakuzu said, counting his money. You frowned. “Please Kuzu. I really need some money. It’s important.” You made a cute face. He couldn’t resist the cute face, right? “No. Now go find something else to do.” You walked out of the bedroom and went to Konan. She was in the kitchen. “Konan. Can you go ask Kakuzu for money? He won’t let me have any.” You asked your blue haired friend. “Sure, if you yell me what you need money for.” You looked around to make sure no one was listening. “I missed my period.” She instantly nodded her head, she understood what you needed to buy. She began walking out of the room. “But don’t let him know that I need the money.” She came back a few minutes later, with no money. “He told me to go burn. I guess he doesn’t want to give up the money.” Konan informed you sadly. “I’ll go…” You paused to deal with a cramp. “I’ll go deal with him. Thanks for trying.” You walked right into the bedroom and went up to Kakuzu. “I need money. Now Kakuzu.” “Why, what is so import-” You then cut him off. “I might be pregnant. Is that important enough to spend money?” Kakuzu froze and looked up at you to study your face. “Very well.” He handed you the money you needed. You left the room to go buy a pregnancy test. When you got back, you took the test. “Kuzu, come in here.” You called sweetly. He walked in to see you with a smile on your face. “I’m going to have a baby.” “Lovely, I’m going to have to spend more money now.” You slapped your boyfriend’s arm. “I mean, yay, we’re going to be parents.” “Don’t say ‘yay’ Kuzu. It sounds scary with your deep voice.” You giggled and hugged him happily. You could tell he was pretty happy about the pregnancy too. Tobi To say Tobi/Obito was afraid of you was a big understatement. One second you were happy, the next you were crying and then the next you were happy. Poor Tobi/Obito didn’t know what to do. “Tobi! Get your lollipop ass in here!” You yelled loudly. Tobi had locked himself in the bathroom to escape your mood swings. “_____ is scaring Tobi!” Tobi cried through the locked door. “Well, I have to pee so open the door!” You sniffled. You began bawling, because you ‘had to pee’ and Tobi refused to listen to you. “Oh, okay. Tobi will open the door then.” Tobi began to open the door. Once it was open, he realized you had lied to him. You grabbed him by the mask and threw him on the bed. “I want to cuddle dammit!” You crawled on the bed and clung to your boyfriend. He quickly entered Obito mode. “_____, have you had your female cycle this month?” Obito asked calmly. You sat up and looked at him. You thought for a moment. “No I haven’t.” You whispered. You looked at Obito and began to cry again. He sighed and hugged you. “I’ll go have Konan get a pregnancy test.” Obito left to tell Konan to get the test. A few moments later, Obito returned. Konan had an extra one from her own pregnancy scare. “I’m afraid Obito.” You clung to him. He then dragged you to the bathroom, pushed you in and gave you the box. He left you alone to do the test. “_____? Are you done?” “Yes.” You sounded emotionless. It worried Obito so he instantly went into the bathroom. “Well?” “You got me pregnant you jackass!” You yelled and attacked Obito. He caught your arms and held you away. You then began to cry. “I’m pregnant!” You wailed loudly. Obito was happy to hear that, but was waiting until you became happy too. “I’m pregnant. I-I’m going to be a mother!” You were happy now. “And I’m going to be a father.” Obito and you hugged and jumped around the bathroom happily. Deidara You were feeling a little off. You were dizzy but weren’t sure why. You figured you had a cold or something and just went about your day. A week past, and the dizziness got worse. Deidara finally began to notice it too. “_____, hm?” Deidara called out into the bedroom. You weren’t there though. Deidara began searching for you and eventually found you, in the kitchen. You were lying on the ground. “_____, hm?” Deidara ran to you and picked you up off the ground. He took you to the lounge and sat on the couch. “What’s the yelling about, Deidara?” Konan asked as she walked in the room. She saw you on the couch and went over to you. “Ow, where am I?” You questioned as you began to wake up. “I found you on the floor hm. What happened, hm?” “I was getting ready to cook dinner when I started getting really dizzy. Then I guess I fainted.” You explained still a little confused. “_____, you’re not sick so why’d you faint, hm?” “Are you pregnant?” Konan asked. Your eyes widened and Deidara’s followed too. You both stared wide eyed at each other. “I do think I’ve missed my period.” “I have a pregnancy test for you to take.” Konan led you to her room and had you take the test. When you saw the results, you screamed. Deidara burst into the room, to get the test thrown at his head. “You four mouthed jerk! We’re having a kid now!” You yelled at him. You then got dizzy and sat down. “We are having a kid, hm?” Deidara asked, a bit unsure if you were safe to be around now. “Yup.” “Are you really angry, hm?” He stepped closer to you. you shook your head. “I’m happy, but are you?” You looked at him, concerned. “I’m happy, hm.” He smiled at you. He was nervous enough. He was going to be a father. “We’re going to be a family, hm.” He and you were both in shock. You were happy, but in complete shock.        

Madara

Madara was clearly growing concerned for you. You had been throwing up and feeling extremely drained for the past week. You weren’t sure why but you also didn’t want to go to the doctor. You had no time and you didn’t like the doctor at all. However Madara wasn’t about to let you neglect yourself, therefore he wrapped you up in a blanket and brought you to the doctor. After about an hour of tests and worrying. You two got an answer.

“Well, I have some good news. You aren’t sick at all. You are 2 months pregnant with triplets.” The doctor explained happily. Madara instantly passed out, worrying you as you were also feeling like passing out.

“Madara, are you alright?” You asked, sitting down next to your boyfriend who was lying on the floor. He slowly woke up and looked at you.

“Did the doctor say what I think he said or was I mistaken?”

“We are apparently having three children. Congratulations honey, you got your wish.” You told your boyfriend, a bit annoyed but also thrilled about it.

“When I said I wanted at least three I didn’t mean at the same time.” Madara mumbled, but was also feeling happy about it. You smiled at him and wrapped your arms around him. You were glad he was finally going to get to rebuild his family. You just hoped that you were going to be able to handle not only three human babies, but also a few falcon babies. That thought was the only thing that concerned you about it all, however as another wave of sickness washed over you, you were regretting letting Madara in your bed in the first place.