#Everything in this picture is canon according to me

[froggyinfear]

[lecliss]

I'll never be able to take the theory that Vincent is Sephiroth's real father seriously cuz I cannot stress enough how important I think it is to the plot that Vincent wanted to fuck Lucrecia and did not get to.

[chaussetteblanche]

and they were roommates pt. 2

pairing : Spencer Reid x fem!student!roommate!reader summary : the BAU team works the case, you get to help word count : 2.3k warning : canon-typical violence, mention of violence and sexual violence A/N : thank you all so much for all the love on part 1 of this !!! I love getting feedback, it's incredibly motivating ! I will probably do a part 3 :)) Also, my cat is sitting next to me as I write this, which I find quite funny

part 1, part 3, part 4

Back at the police station, Spencer had trouble focusing on the case. His mind kept wandering over to you, wondering what you were doing, how you were doing. He was on edge and the entire team could feel it. Hotch pulled him to the side to ask him if he wanted to give you a phone call. Reid refused, but settled on sending you a text, something he never usually did while working. Something he never usually did because he wasn't the biggest fan of technology and also because he couldn't decipher how you were actually feeling without hearing your voice and all the quirks in the way you spoke which gave away your real feelings.

Sent by Dr. Ironed Socks : < Hey. How are you doing? > Sent by You : < Ok, I'm having a tea on the couch. Geoff is in REM sleep on my lap. Thx for checking <3 >

Your text was followed by a pixelly picture of your slightly overweight (Spencer couldn't use that term to describe Geoffrey around you or you'd get upset) orange cat sprawled out on your lap, legs and arms askew, fast asleep. Spencer felt a small wave of relief spread through him. You were okay for now. Geoffrey was looking after you. Later, he'd help you process and give you all the tools necessary to get over such a traumatic event and move on. It was almost as if that was in his job description.

Returning to the room where the BAU team had settled in, Spencer sent Hotch a grateful nod. Hotch moved his lips in what resembled a small smile, Reid couldn't be sure. "Okay," Garcia's voice resounded from the speaker sitting in the middle of the round table, "I've contacted all of Mary Goldman's professors and it turns out she didn't go to class today. Her first class was at 11:30 but she never showed up." "None of the students we interrogated on campus had seen her after 10:15," Emily spoke up. "Spencer's roommate saw her between 10:30 and 11:00," Rossi intervened. "Okay, we'll get her to come in," Hotch affirmed. Spencer's whole body tensed. You had been the last person to see the victim. His mind was so busy reeling, thinking about everything you'd have to go through as the most promising witness, that he missed Morgan's question.

"Reid?" Derek raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sorry, what did you say?" "What was the time of death according to the coroner?" "14:30," Rossi answered. "It was 14:26, actually," corrected Reid. Rossi rolled his eyes. "Okay, so the unsub has his victim between around, let's say 11:15, and 14:26," Rossi shot a pointed look at Spencer, "that's about three hours and 11 minutes. In those three hours, he had time to take the victim someplace where neither of them would be seen or heard, beat and sexually assault her, and finally dump her in smack-dab in front of the university." "He's definitely organised and wants to send a message," Emily thought aloud. "But what is he trying to say? Look at what I can do? You can't stop me?" "Friends," interrupted Garcia, "I'm going to need at least some information before I even try to get anything out of a search. He's taking and leaving them on campus, so I'm guessing he doesn't necessarily need a vehicle. Does he live in the area?" "Yes, he's local or knows the area, he knows these women and he most likely knows the campus. Search for white males, early twenties with a record of violence and sexual misconduct. Cross-reference that with victims of reported abuse and sexual abuse in the last twenty five years. Run background checks for all university staff. Also have a look at similar victims and MOs in this area in the last five years. This may not be his first time," spoke Hotch. "On it, I'll get back to you when I've found something." "Thanks, Garcia."

You'd taken a shower as soon as you'd arrived home. The water was too hot and you'd scrubbed your skin too hard but getting out, you felt a slight bit better. Heavily disliking the way you still felt, you opted for a cup of Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar. Settling on the couch with a steaming cup in your hands, you tucked your legs beneath you and sighed.

Images of Mary's dead body were printed onto the inside of your eyelids. You still couldn't believe it. Your mind reeled as you tried to think of an explanation for it all. Whichever path you followed, you came up empty. You could not comprehend or imagine any reason of taking the life of an innocent person, especially in such a violent way. Luckily for you, you still didn't know the extent of the violence.

A familiar noise pulled you from your dark thoughts. Geoffrey had just jumped down from his cat tree. You watched him stretch and languidly walk over to you. He meowed once before jumping onto the couch, right next to you. You moved your legs so that you were sitting cross-legged and scratched his head. He purred in delight and pressed himself against you. He sniffed at your tea with an unimpressed look before climbing into your lap before letting himself flop down on his side, stretching out his appendages. You cooed as his pink toe-beans stretched too and laid a hand on his belly, scratching gently. The vibrations of his purrs had a calming effect on you. "Are you trying to make me forgive you for biting my ankle the other day when I wouldn't give you any more treats? You know Spencer says you're a bit overweight, I was just trying to get him to stop body-shaming you, my love..."

A few minutes later, you get a text from Spencer. About thirty minutes after that, you get a phone call from him. "Hey, would you mind coming to the station? It turns out you're the last person to have seen the victim."

"I'll do the cognitive interview." "Reid, I don't think that's a good idea." "Look, yes I'm invested, I know that. But I also know her and-" "Reid, no. This is the reason we such have procedures." "But I-" "Reid." Hotchner's tone translated finality. Spencer's shoulders sank in defeat. He had figured that if he had been the one conducting the interview, maybe it would have been less traumatic for you. He hated the idea of not being there for you, with you, during such a trying moment. He bit his bottom lip.

"I'll do it," volunteered Morgan. Reid felt slight comfort at that, Morgan was one of the few people he would entrust his life to. He could entrust you to him for the interview, even if he didn't like it. Hotchner nodded. "Reid, you work with Garcia, focus on finding other victims with the same MO to help build the profile." Reid nodded and went to find his colleagues.

When you entered the police station, it was almost like he could feel your presence. He came to find you straight away, not wanting to leave alone even for a second. "Hey." "Hey." Reid immediately pulled you in for a meaningful embrace, burying his face in your hair. The smell of your shampoo, conditionner and body wash were bliss to his nostrils. They were a promise that you were here, you were safe, you were okay. Morgan watched from afar, a small smile playing at his lips. He knew Reid, and the hug you exchanged was both too hasty and too tight to be anything casual. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry to have to make you come in, but they're going to do- well I wanted to do it but they wouldn't let me, so it's-"

A slightly older, very muscular and gentle man stepped forward, holding out his hand to you. You shook it. "I'm Agent Derek Morgan. I'm one of Spencer's colleagues. I'll be the one conducting the interview, seeing as there's a conflict of interest with you and Spencer. I hope you can understand that." You introduced yourself and looked at Spencer before answering Derek. "Yes, I understand, it's- it's not a problem." "Great, if you could just follow me, please?" You licked your lips and sent Spencer a look, which he answers with a nod of reassurance and a small smile, before following Derek.

"You can close your eyes if it makes you more comfortable." You were sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair. The light above you was ticking at uneven intervals and the room smelt of worry. You didn't know how you could get any more comfortable, but listening to Morgan's even, alto voice helped a bit. "Okay." You closed your eyes. "You told Agent Rossi that you crossed the victim somewhere around quarter to eleven. Is that correct?" "Uh, yes." "Where did you cross her?" "In the main hall." "Where were you going?" "Um, I had just been to the bathroom and I was heading to my Anglo-American Literary Survey class." "Okay, can you describe to me everything about the moment when you crossed the victim? What you saw, what you felt, smelled, heard? Was anything out of the ordinary?" You opened your eyes.

"Um, I'm sorry, but could you stop referring to Mary as the victim, please? She has a name, which is Mary Goldman, and a victim wasn't the only thing she was." Derek was slightly surprised at your comment but understood where you came from. Separating from the name was a way for profilers to gain some distance from the horrendous violence. Personally knowing the victim, you didn't have such luxury. "Of course, I apologise. What did you feel when you crossed Mary? Was anything out of place?"

You nodded in thanks and tried to bring yourself back to that moment. It seemed unreal, how such a small interaction suddenly held such importance. "O-Okay, uh, my hands are still a bit wet. There weren't any towels in the bathroom. I saw her after she saw me and we exchanged a smile. I thought she looked really pretty today, but I didn't tell her. We really don't know each other that well." "Okay, that's good. Was she wearing anything out of habit for her?" "Uhh, no, she was wearing a pleated skirt and a sweater vest. She often dresses like that, I don't know exactly why I thought she looked pretty. I guess she just looked happy. Nothing was out of the ordinary." "Good. Could you hear or smell anything?" "Yeah, well, there were the voices of other people in the hall. I can hear girls laughing. I smell Mary's perfume when she walks past me. She always wears the same one, it's Chanel, Mademoiselle Coco specifically, she told me once at a party."

"Okay, do you know where she's going?" "I- yeah, she's heading for her Behavioural Neuroscience class." "Is she walking in the right direction?" "Uh... Yes, yes, she is. She's not in too much of a hurry, though, she doesn't like the teacher." "So why is she heading there already, then? The class only starts at 11:30." "She likes to reread the material from the previous week before the class starts." "Why doesn't she like the teacher?" "No one does, all he does is read off his slides and he's a jerk when it comes to grading."

Morgan suppressed a smile at your comment. "Okay, thank you so much, Y/N, this was very helpful." "Was it? I didn't feel like-" "Yes, I promise you've just shared some crucial pieces of information." "O-Okay, if you say so."

All eyes were on Morgan as he entered the briefing room. He put his paper coffee cup down on the table and looked at Hotch. "Nothing was out of the ordinary. Mary was wearing habitual clothes and the same perfume she always wore. She was heading to the same class, as she did weekly, at the same time. My guess is this guy knew her routine and did a blitz attack. Y/N gave me the number of Mary's best friend, and according to her, Mary didn't have any guys in her life except for her dad and brother."

Hotchner nodded. Spencer couldn't help but feeling proud of you for being able to go through with the interview and to provide such useful information, too. He'd have to congratulate you when he got home. "Pretty boy and I found three similar victims in the last three years. They weren't connected to this case because they were in another university, just on the other side of the state line. Last year, three girls, university students, were killed, same MO, all disappeared for about three hours before being found dead in front of the university, they attended," Garcia spoke from the speaker. Spencer nodded in agreement to her words. "What did the police find back then?" asked Emily. "Nothing, they- uh, did all they could during the month that the three murders happened but after the third victim, the unsub stopped," Spencer answered. "Stopped?" Emily repeated, brows drawn together in confusion. "Yeah, he just- stopped killing and disappeared. Our best guess is that something triggered him then and that the same thing triggered him now."

"Oh, another thing," Garcia sounded reluctant to share the information she had, "I looked at all the victims' pictures and... well, I'll just send them to you, that'll be easier."

Spencer's blood ran ice cold as he stared at the four girls on the screen. They all looked exactly like you.

Taglist : (all those of you who wanted a part two <3) @princess-ofthe-pages @usuck @theylovemelody @empressgraytea @xx-spooky-little-vampire-xx @lillianacristina

[yourmidnightlover]

the sun

pairing: bucky barnes x fem!reader

summary: after the events of the snap, you find out news that's both heart wrenching and warming. what happens five years later when bucky's back?

warnings: death, mourning, pregnancy, childbirth, canon-typical violence (not much but just adding to cover all the bases), loosely based on end game and infinity war (as in ignore my mistakes lmaooo), if i failed to mention any warnings PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

wc: 2.6k

a/n: dude idk why i've had an urge to write such heart wrenching angst lately. i'm actually in a decent place rn. i tried to cut this fic down bc originally it was SOOOO long i felt like a lot of it was just filler and i feel like shorter fics of mine tend to do better... ANYWHO! this does have a happy/hopeful ending so no worries! also picturing this beefcake for this story is AGHHHHHHH!

you never thought two lines on a stick could ever break your heart the way they did.

tears clouded your vision as you gripped the counter, trying not to crumble or succumb to your grief.

6 weeks ago, the avengers lost. everything.

half of the world, gone in a moment.

in one moment, your world collapsed. seeing bucky fade to dust right in front of you...

sobs wracked through your body as you crumbled to the ground.

this was supposed to be a happy moment. there should be tears of joy, not sobs of sorrow. your heart should feel full of love, not like there's a super-soldier sized hole in it.

"y/n," nat's voice rang outside the door, giving you a moment to yourself.

"just-," you tried to level your breathing before she opened the door, knowing but not understanding the grief you were feeling.

she wrapped her arms around your body, tucking your head into her neck as she gently rubbed your back soothingly. steve leaned against the bathroom door, glancing on the counter to see what they had all expected.

a positive pregnancy test.

you were having bucky's baby.

without bucky.

you gripped his dog tags that you had been wearing since the funeral. they were the only thing that could truly ground you.

they brought back happy memories of cuddling in bed, the cool metal shocking your skin for only a moment before realizing that it was only bucky and smiling at the memory.

god, it hadn't even been two months.

how were you supposed to do this alone?

"we're here for you," steve's voice called from the doorway, as if he could hear your thoughts. "you'll never be alone. not in this... not ever." he shook his head, his brows furrowed in a serious, straight line.

eventually, your sobs subsided. you stood with nat from your seat on the ground, wiping your own eyes mustering up a pathetic smile before she left you and steve to work out your grief together.

"we didn't even know it was possible," you shrugged. "it's like he sent me them..." you placed your hand on an invisible bump before facing steve, his teary eyes reminding you that he had lost his best friend, too. "he sent us this baby."

you reached your hand out for steve to hold. he took it gratefully and pulled you into his arms, hugging you tight and letting only a few tears slip his waterline before pulling back.

"if you'll let me, i want to be there for you for everything," his chin wobbled. "buck would kick my ass if i let you go through this alone." a genuine laugh left your lips for the first time in nearly two months.

"i would be so grateful for that," you nodded as you let go of his arms. "part of me still can't believe that it's real. it's like part of me still expects him to walk into the compound from a long mission or something..." you shook your head. "i know that sounds so stupid."

"it's not," he shook his head with a smile. "it's what i wish was true, maybe it's your subconscious trying to preserve your mind?"

"maybe," you shrugged before continuing, "i should probably talk to tony and bruce, huh?"

-

you knew you were around eight weeks along.

according to the doctors' tony had enlisted, however, you were already 12 weeks along, which was impossible.

bucky had been gone on a mission at that time... but it's whatever. you got to hear the heartbeat. steve went with you, too. you both bawled together. you kept three copies of the ultrasound and he kept two.

banner had already offered to do some testing on the dna of the baby, noting that the serum would likely affect the pregnancy (as it probably already has).

you had talked to tony about retiring from the whole superhero gig for the time being. you needed to mourn and prepare for a new life simultaneously. tony had promised to provide anything you needed at the drop of a hat, and he sure as hell delivered.

within no time, your pregnancy was being measured at 20 weeks while only being pregnant for 12. banner was concerned for your body's ability to keep up with the rapid rate of growth of the baby. he had you on a strict, hefty diet with two different prenatal vitamins in attempt to help your nutrition.

in spite of your best efforts, you were always exhausted and in pain. but you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. this was bucky's baby. you didn't care how much pain you went through when you had half of him growing inside of you.

you couldn't walk for long without feeling like passing out, which banner chalked up to low iron. steve had grown progressively more worried for you and the baby the longer the pregnancy went on.

as a result, he had moved into the spare room that was in your and bucky's house. truly, it just made it easier for him to help you finish up the nursery anyway.

he was very handy about it all, painting, building furniture from scratch, the whole deal.

"i've been thinking... and if it's a girl, i want to name her evangeline james barnes," you informed steve as you ate the steak he had been making for the past few weeks of your pregnancy, as ordered by dr. banner. that with carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and for dessert strawberries, blueberries and raspberries over ice cream. "and if it's a boy, cyrus james barnes. evangeline means good news, and cyrus means sun."

steve placed his hand over yours, "i think buck would've loved them." he smiled warmly as you downed the food in a few minutes.

you had begun showing soon after you found out you were pregnant, but now, it felt like it was impossible to hide. nat had been wonderful about helping you keep up with the changes your body was going through, getting you new maternity clothes every week.

she even made sure to get you every single craving that wasn't in accordance to banner's hefty diet. not that he didn't want you to eat more, he thought it was best you did! but he also wanted to make sure that with all that you did eat, your body got as many nutrients as possible.

just to be safe, he kept you on other vitamin supplements anyway.

you couldn't help but imagine what bucky would say or do about everything now.

he would hold your body closely, pressing firm kisses to your bump every chance he could get while whispering some sickly sweet sayings to your unborn child, words that would melt the winter soldier's cold exterior.

he would whisper words of encouragement any moment you felt worried about your abilities to be a mom. he would say how beautiful you were, in spite of being bloated in places you didn't know could bloat.

he would be wonderful, and in your mind, he was still alive and vibrant. well, as vibrant as bucky ever was, at least.

truthfully, that's the only way you were able to keep going on like this. steve was wonderful, but you couldn't help but want the love of your life by your side as you tried to navigate this new chapter.

in a couple more weeks, you were projected to be at 32 weeks. bruce and tony were talking with your doctors about the safety of inducing so early, both for you and the baby.

oh, and you wanted the gender to be a surprise.

and within the week, you were having your baby.

steve and nat were by your side during the birth, whispering encouraging words and compliments of your strength.

"i need him!" you screamed in pain as you held one of each of their hands, sobbing in agony. "i need james! i need my bucky! i can't do this alone, i can't-i can't!"

"you can," nat reminded you. "this baby needs you," she held your face to look at hers. "bucky is a part of this baby." you swore you could see tears in her eyes before turning to face steve.

"remember what you told me when you found out you were pregnant?" he didn't bother wiping the tears from his face. "bucky sent you-sent us this baby. he knows you can do it." you sniffled before nodding at your two best friends, pushing with one last scream and a second later, you had...

"cyrus james barnes," the nurse called to you. "it's a boy, congratulations mom."

-

the next few years went by quicker than you could've ever imagined.

crawling, first words, first steps...

you missed bucky. not a day passed where you didn't miss him.

but, having cy helped a lot. he looked just like his father. dark brown hair, icy blue eyes, a cute little nose... not to mention his father's stubbornness.

you made sure he knew who his father was. you took him to the museum often, showing him the statue of his father and his background in the world war, him saving the world so much. you told him how you fell in love with him.

how you fell for the quiet man before ever really talking to him. how you were partners on a long-term, undercover mission and that's where your love ignited from the sparks.

not that cy understood any of what you told him. you just felt it was important to know that his parents loved him, and each other dearly.

you never took off his dog tags, either.

steve was a huge help the whole time. he kept working for the avengers, so he was gone often, but he provided a good male role model for cyrus. after all, he was his uncle steve. he already taught him how to throw a ball, albeit a little softball, but it counts!

you made sure to document everything that went on in yours and cyrus's life.

banner had said that cyrus was growing at an exceeding rate, but nothing to be concerned about. in fact, cyrus was turning five in almost half a year, meaning the anniversary of bucky's death, or disappearance or whatever you called it, was coming up.

then, you got a call from tony and banner.

it all happened so quickly, from testing to planning to the execution. pepper watched cyrus for you while you went back with steve, scott, and tony to get the tesseract.

of course, the men being men had to come upon a few hiccups, but eventually, after going as far back as the 70s, you brought back the tesseract.

the only thing is that nat never came back...

next thing you know, bruce is snapping his fingers and clint is getting a call from his supposedly deceased wife. your eyes fill with tears, hands searching in your pockets for your phone to see if you've gotten anything yet.

is it possible he wasn't brought back? he was the first to... disintegrate. die. maybe that meant something in the eyes of the stones?

then, you felt a buzz in your hand.

although, you didn't have any time to try to grasp what that meant, because more aliens came to earth.

shocker.

after yet another war, one that you weren't even prepared for, after losing more people, again. after losing tony...

but amidst the chaos of the aftermath of the fight, with screams of joy and shock and grief surrounding you, tears streaming down your face, your eyes met the blue ones you only saw in your son.

he slowly walked towards you as the tears sped up. you didn't even realize when your feet began running towards him.

when his arms wrapped around your waist, you finally felt the home you thought you had come to terms with never feeling again. your arms wrapped around his neck, your face buried in his shoulder as you breathed in the scent of gunmetal that had overtaken him in the battle.

"oh my god," you cried into the leather of his jacket. he lifted you off the ground, your legs wrapping around his waist as you felt his smile on your cheek. "i can't believe you're really here."

"i'm here, doll," his hands cradled your head so tenderly. "i'm not ever leaving again. never."

you pulled back before your eyes widened in realization. "you've gotta meet someone, jamie."

his brows furrowed in confusion, just smiling and nodding along with whatever you said.

within the next few hours, simply being held by bucky before steve stole him away with a hug, you finally brought him home.

"so, steve moved in," you started as you pulled your car into the driveway, turning to see bucky looking at you with an incredulous look. "you'll see why." you reached to hold his hand before he brought yours to his lips, pressing a kiss there.

you told him to wait in the car as you went inside to relieve the babysitter for cyrus. after giving him some cash, he went outside, knocking on your car window to let bucky know he should make his way inside.

upon entering, he saw you sitting on the floor with a little boy with striking blue eyes that seemed so familiar to him. his nose, too. his lips though, they were all yours. he had a slight grin plastered on his lips, one that matched yours to a t.

"daddy?" suddenly, it all clicked.

his heart, his mind, his fucking soul, everything made sense now. the pain, hydra, the mind washing, the torture.

meeting you. falling in love. dying?

his son.

he started walking closer to bucky before the steady walk turned into a run. bucky knelt down, wrapping the boy in his arms, cradling his tiny frame in his arms protectively. his son.

"cyrus james barnes," you said with a teary smile on your face. bucky, without breaking the hug with his son, looked up at you with a smile that matched yours. "cyrus means 'sun', and i thought it was fitting. he brought me so much light and hope after you..." you choked up before he stood up with cy in his arms, walking towards you before wrapping you in the big, family hug.

"i love you so much, both of you."

[umeji-writes]

Okay, but let's talk about Balam's hair for a hot second

(Yes, it may have become one of my fixations) You know, the guy not only cut it radically - and we know it's because of Iruma - he also let it grow back, and now he grooms it much better than before. Why? While my wishful thinking headcanon is that Kalego offered to brush it after they declared their feelings for each other (they are definitely introduced as best friends, but c'mon, look at them here)

...I also recognize this is not canon, so it can't be the actual reason. So I was wondering: why this difference? IMO it signifies personal growth, but what caused it, if Iruma led to the haircut? And then it hit me. Meeting Iruma, again - but in a deeper way than I thought at first. According to Balam's own words, he decided to cut his hair to appear more approachable. But why not brush it and style it as he's doing now? Everything we know about Balam's past points to him being treated like a weirdo and marginalized, not only because he likes picture books, he was also hyperfixated with the existence of humans.

This went on all his life, from bullies at school to his own students. He was likely wounded, full of self doubt and possibly shame, so he withdrew into himself, and his hair was messy because why bother if people avoid you anyway. So imagine finally having tangible proof that you were right all along. That's life changing, not only because of the discovery itself - it can make you reevaluate your whole story, and yourself. A radical cut was a logical thing to do, to break with the past. But why letting the hair grow back then? I speculate that Balam is most comfortable with long hair after all, and he feels more like himself this way (I mean, he had medium-to-long hair in all flashbacks). I like to think that his personal grooming is a metaphor for his newly found self confidence and self love: he can be himself to the fullest, he likes the demon he is, and he's not afraid of showing it to everyone else now, by making his hair prettier. He was right all along, and everybody else can shut it.

Such a small detail in the grand scheme of things, yet enormous for the single character. I love this manga so much ♡

[achedelatto]

This is kind of elaborate comment on my first impression of Dr. Watson in Granada version of Holmes

Finally, after lots of hesitation on my side, i started my watch of granada holmes today. Right now, actually. I’m watching it, paused to write this, being halfway into the episode. I’m watching what is presumably the first in the series - A Scandal in Bohemia. I really hope it’s that, because, according to the wikipedia, the order of episodes is rather strange.

Based on what i gathered from the other adaptations i watched and from the acd original, from where i stand at the moment, i expect granada version to be the most accurate in portrayal of its main characters- Sherlock and Watson, in terms of appearance, personality and their dynamic. And thats the goal i was guided with while beginning this series.

In pinterest i stumbled across a lot of screenshots from the show, and from Watson’s looks i’ve already pictured for myself how he would be. He looks incredibly serious , with furrowed eyebrows and intense look and looking quitee. Okay im not gonna try and cherry-pick my wording - dude looks like a total hunk of a man, bro got SHAPES. Which has immediately stricken me as a difference from Soviet Holmes (and any other adaptation i’ve seen, for that matter), where Watson appears as a rather wiry individual. In acd he also first appeared as thin. However, in the book and in soviet holmes he had just returned from the war, while in granada, as we find out from Watson, it’s been several years since he moved in with Holmes (im getting incredibly curious with each second about why they didnt choose to savor the sweet moment of their first meeting) , i was quite happy to see this him evidently getting more healthy. That was the first thing i noticed while watching and what, consequently, has endeared me.

So yea, back to the seriousness. I presumed he would be a man who takes no shit from anyone, stubborn, and the one who keeps it to himself. Or calm as the universe like some major mcnabbs, who agrees with everything and never gets surprised with things (or so it seems). However, when he entered that appartment in the series, i was astonished to discover how…incredibly silly he is. Not only has he a higher voice than i expected (I’ve got nothing against it, it just subverted my expectations more than i could predict), in his conversation with Holmes about the case i caught that childlike wonder! He’s so fascinated!! He also - very, very much - acts like a mom friend. He is a mom friend! While he, not without a bit of gentleman’s prudish manner teaches his friend about the dangers of cocaine, i could see that he really, really cares about Holmes. What a protective lot i see. And he is also made awkward pretty easily, that i also noticed. Silly, as i said. Heavens, how delighted i was to invite that vision with his rather intimidating looks. He still takes no shit from others, thats true, but he is simultaneously so… he seems like he has a simpler approach to life than i could ever imagine.

In conclusion - i find Watson quite canon so far, and like his portrayal. Although i felt like canon Watson thinks more of himself. If you know what i mean. Please, continue, Granada series, happy to get to know you at last.

This comment would probably be followed by a post on Sherlock from this series, then by the post on their dynamic in particular, because both things need to show themselves more, as i proceed with the series.

Thank you for your attention, hopefully granada fans, if they ever find this, wouldn’t be too enraged with some of my takes that could be problematic, after all, i just started the show and mean no harm:)

[gallavichthings]

Gallavich Masquerade

Welcome to the first ever Gallavich Masquerade!

This is a brand new event, so feel free to ask any questions you might have.

In a Masquerade, fic authors will write one-shots anonymously. These one-shots will all be revealed at the same time on December 21st - our Masquerade Ball! - and readers (who may also be other writers) will have a bit over a month to attempt to guess who's behind each mask, that is, who wrote what. And the writers, of course, will try to fool everyone!

Details after the read more, but don't forget to please spread the word. This will be fun!

Fic requirements

All fics must have between 2,000 and 5,000 words.

No theme is required or forbidden, but, as this is an event in which the goal is to have as many people reading your fics as possible, writing fics in niche categories is not advised.

I don't know what to write about!

You can get inspiration from anything you want. It can be canon-compliant, canon-divergent, after the show ended, AU...

But, if you still need some ideas, you can find some here, here or here (not to mention @callivich always has tons of prompts lists).

Sign-ups

Signing-up is required and can be done here. For this event, sign-ups can be done up to the time of posting. Unlike other events, this is one where you will need to sign-up only at the end, after the fic is done. You'll be required to add your AO3 username, the title of your fic, the word count, and possible categories under which it falls.

What are the categories for?

In case there are too many fics and I feel like people won't be able to read everything, I'll divide the fics into categories, which will depend on what we get as well. These may be according to fic size, canon or AU, with or without smut, etc., as long as the amount of fics or words in each category is pretty much the same. But it all remains to be seen.

What if I don't have an AO3 account?

Then I'm very sorry, but in this case, you won't be able to participate (as a writer). For his event, having an AO3 account is mandatory so that you can post in the collection. That being said, a lot of people have AO3 invites, so ask right now and someone may be able to send you one.

Posting

Posting will be done on AO3 and AO3 only! This is because the Masquerade Collection will be unrevealed and anonymous. All posting must be done until the eve of the Masquerade, so December 20th. On December 21st, all fics will be revealed and available for the readers. The fics will remain anonymous until January 31st, when the game ends. On February 1st, the authors' identities will be disclosed (and your fic will appear under your account just like any other fic).

As an author, all you have to do is, when posting on AO3, choose to do it under the Gallavich Masquerade 2023 Collection (as in the picture below). I'll take care of the rest. It's important to do so when posting and not after, or it won't work.

Voting

Voting will be done via a new form, which will be disclosed only after the fics are posted. All fic titles will be displayed and readers will chose from a menu who they think the author is.

Points

There are two ways of winning this game, as an author and as a reader.

Authors are awarded 1 point for each person who correctly guesses their fic and 3 points for each person who wrongly guesses it. That's right, you get more points if you're actually able to deceive everyone!

Readers are awarded 5 points for each fic the guess correctly, but they lose 1 point for each wrong guess. (This is to discourage people from guessing on fics they haven't actually read, as we do want people to read as many fics as possible.)

Authors can also be readers, so they have twice the chance of winning. In case categories are applied, each category will have an author and a reader winner.

Prizes

Winners will get boasting rights! XD Plus, of course, a special post for them.

If anyone would like to make fanart or edits for the winners, please let me know, that would be super nice!

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Part 2 of this (diavolo & lucifer being very gay in canon) because I ran out of space in the first one

1. The entire Devildom thinks Diavolo & Lucifer are dating/in love;

2. It just sounds cute okay

3. Diavolo apparently notices when Lucifer's pupil dilates by 2mm 😐

4. Diavolo probably has a 500pg book about how great Lucifer is

5. Remember how much Diavolo gushed about Lucifer's butler uniform, took a lot of pictures of it etc? Apparently he saved that uniform or had a new one made, then took the first chance he saw

6. Cottagecore?

7. Diavolo finds Lucifer sneezing cute😬

8. Diavolo prioritises Lucifer over everything, even his own kingdom & the way Simeon keeps poking at it & Diavolo keep avoiding directly answering him + Simeon later teases Lucifer about Diavolo liking him in S3👀

9. The snow sculpture which looked incredibly realistic and had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas

Can't have more screenshots so here's some important conversation word for word:

10. Diavolo, after meeting Lucifer for the first time, Lucifer tries his best to act like an ass to make Diavolo hate him but Diavolo still treats him kindly. Lucifer despises Diavolo at the moment because he's a Demon who according to Lucifer & the Celestial Realm can't even have a "well-ordered society". Diavolo somehow in a single night manages to form a crack in Lucifer's prejudices & make him doubt his Father who he holds in very high esteem. Diavolo also uses chess to prove his point about creating peace and a balance between the three worlds. This is the conversation that follows:

Lucifer (an angel): I see. ...Diavolo. Your strategy truly is fascinating. Do you think we could get together sometime? I'd like to learn more about it.

Diavolo: Are you talking about chess now? Or the nature of our relationship?

Lucifer: Heh...

^The ambiguity Lucifer uses when talking gives that old queer feeling of: Our relationship (whatever it may be) is very forbidden and anyone catching wind of it will be bad so for plausible deniability I'm going to tie the true meaning of this conversation to something more innocuous

11. Conversation they have after this^ flashback/particular conversation:

Diavolo: ...That's when you finally held out your hand to me, and we shook. The way you radiated charm as you smiled at me. I still remember it like it was yesterday. When I saw the look on your face I was convinced. You were fair and righteous, someone who would be able to lend an ear to anyone, to listen to what they had to say. Someone who had a truly beautiful spirit.

In other words Diavolo has the worst case of rose-tinted glasses, specially considering Lucifer was choking Mammon & trying to rip his arm of while Diavolo said all this.

12. Diavolo (in demon form): Back when he was an angel, he was so divine, so awe-inspiring that it was intimidating. But now he's attractive in a different sort of way. He draws your eye toward him and then doesn't let go. He truly is worthy of the moniker "Morning Star"! Even steeped in the darkness of the Devildom, he shines just as brilliantly as ever!

Lucifer (in demon form), blushing: ...Diavolo, could we change the subject, please?

Lucifer (in demon form): I've told you that it embarrasses me when you shower me with such excessive praise in public.

Diavolo (in demon form): Afterall you're already beautiful enough as it is!

a.) This is Gomez Addams level of devoted jfc

b ) Diavolo was straight up reciting poetry at one point

c.)......What's with "in public"....so it's fine in private?

d.) Diavolo gushing about Lucifer has the same energy as Mammon gushing about MC

e.) What do I have to do for someone to be this in to me?

13. Diavolo has multiple copies of Lucifer in a swimsuit saved in different places (not the swimsuit he wears around MC & his brothers btw but the one he wears around Diavolo which is actually just trunks and & an open hoodie/shirt)

14. Diavolo might actually have a whole file of rare pictures of Lucifer? He's got the butler ones, the swimsuit ones and the candid glasses one that he threatened some poor guy to delete after saving a copy for himself

15. The ship in a bottle that Diavolo gave Lucifer, that he loves so much he keeps it in a place where he can always see it

16. Lucifer: No, that scream was far too vile to have come from Diavolo.

....so you know what he sounds like when he screams and you think it sounds good...?🤨

17. Diavolo gives a flustered Lucifer a piggyback ride around RAD

[pastorfutureletthembe]

Down into the VORTEX: the Curve Theory

I mentioned the Curve theory in a meta before but I wanted to dive even deeper into the fuckery of it.

I'll remind you what I call a Curve so you're all up to speed (cf: Rick and Morty):

The curve basically walls off the infinite number of universes, in which INSERT CANONICAL NODE happens, from the rest of the infinite multiverse. A model often used to explain is that the definition of a Finite Curve has no set parameters; it's just wholly random and infinite therefore can be represented as a repeating, immeasurable shape modeled with a circle. A Finite Curve would then present a finite collection of dimensions.

How is it relevant to Link Click? Well, I'm glad you asked.

I argued in the past that cakes on promotional artworks could represent curves and each curve would have hypothetically 12 repeats to offer. This is a conclusion I came to after my treasure hunt for the 5th timeline (for which I keep finding daily proofs of, by the way).

For the sake of understanding exactly how it can apply to Link Click lore, let me walk you through the basis.

Rick&Morty season 6 // Link Click BREAK! PV Note: I'm using this analogy because it is the most accurate way to bring you where I want.

By the way, we kinda already saw what resembles a curve according to the LCverse

BREAK!

If you count the circles, you'll find that five different rings turn around Saturn in BREAK! PV.

This being established, since the purpose of a Curve is to put a set of timelines sharing the same parameters together, I will argue the LINK here is a canonical unchangeable node. You guessed it:

Cheng Xiaoshi's death.

But honeslty, I don't believe that CXS is supposed to die in every possible universe - and for the sake of the argument, let's assume he isn't.

Actually, when we see flashes of him dying in LG's arms, my first thought was the first one to change the timeline and die doing it was probably CXS; that's why LG freaked out when his friend took a shot for Qiao Ling.

But let's review LG's side of everything first, shall we?

LG used up 4 pictures to save his friend

LG's ultimate goal is to save Cheng Xiaoshi's life and he failed four times. Death is supposed to be an unchangeable node and LG knows that by trying to keep it from happening, he will destroy time itself. Does he care? (/rethorical)

We know little about his previous dives, except that either he never made it this far or Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi weren't part of the timelines he knew. And, CXS died in his arms at some point, giving him access to his Back In Time power, alike what happened between Li Tianxi and Qiao Ling.

Here are some theories about them though:

If the Live Action reveals itself to be canon, it could be the Prime Timeline for Lu Guang. (We'll know for sure by the end of the month, I guess.)

In the Manhua, LG is protective and affectionate around CXS, in a very melancolic way. I'm not kidding, he's so soft it hurts.

The Daily Life in Lightime happens in another timeline and we can actually point out the moment Lu Guang dives in.

This time around, LG went and met CXS earlier than in the original timeline. (//Live Action)

It could be a coincidence that Lu Guang's character is more and more bored as we go through these examples. Keep an open mind here.

Lu Guang from the LCLA has dark hair but the promotional poster show one photograph of him with white hair. Why? There are so many jokes on LG's age in the donghua but mostly: he is so frail and remains in a sitting position if he can help it. Just like in Dive Back In Time, where he's the only one not standing. The man is exhausted. I'm just saying, perhaps his white hair isn't supposed to be white and the fact we see him with dark hair only in LCLA, played by a man of flesh, could be THE clue hidden in plain sight that this version is the original.

Note: I purposefully didn't include the musical here. The repetition of the media itself is quite interesting. Every performance is unique but the script itself is the same. It could very well be a curve on its own. Just a idea, nothing consistent.

What tells us LG isn't at his first dive is the music! Now, I won't go too deep into it because I really want to craft ONE post about this particular topic. Dive Back in Time and VORTEX are the most obvious because most of us probably never skip the intro, aaaand we get it: they are doomed by the narrative.

So yeah, this is basically why I call those "chances":

Overthink

3 more to go

Qiao Ling's birthday // Dive Back In Time

If you pay attention to the titlescreen, you'll notice free spaces in the center of the circle. By the end of the opening, one is filled, hinting that this picture has been used.

There are other winks on the number 3:

Cause I'm about to lose my- Cause I'm about to lose my- Cause I'm about to lose my mind >> Dive Back in Time When my friend are holding hands, heading into abyss I ran my lungs out so I wouldn't have missed But I missed, I missed, I missed >> Keep in Mind So what's that sound sound sound Spinning all night long long long Temperature goes down down down Got my mind feelin' drown drown drown >> The Tides

Let's assume that there are three chances left at the begining of the show. We still don't know when the inner monologue at the end of season 2 happens on the timeline, but LG mentioned his "last chance" to save CXS. The synopsis for Yingdu Chapter announced CXS died, as if it was common knowlegde (I love them for their audacity).

Are those the three last chances? To be continued.

The One True Curve

All these timelines happened inside the same Curve. Now, why do I think there ARE other curves to begin with when we already had to work so hard to get this far?

The camera isn't the same depending on who, Lu Guang or Cheng Xiaoshi, is taking the picture. The reflection changing is a way to show alternative timelines, which is different from repeats. It is a common visual clue, FOX used this technique to promote their show FRINGE for example (2 different universes crashing into each other).

There are some visuals with several clocks (I'll make a post per PV one day eventually). The first one shows a lot of different broken clocks and two merged ones as the biggest, central. This is our current curve. Our three protagonists and the antagonists are fighting over it; Light against the Shadows, as bilibili's accounts often dub the artworks. This could be our time paradox. On the second screenshot, the word LEAVE is over distorded clocks, fracturing space. Also a hint on several other realities, which have probably been left behind.

Train Trail // XETROVerthink

About that, the Vortex concept can be associated with a way to travel from one curve to another. Lots of science-fiction tvshows use this tool (Star Gate or SLIDERS).

The general idea is that, in the center of another curve the unchangeable node is different: Cheng Xiaoshi is the one trying to save Lu Guang's life.

There is of course, another explanation, just as valid as the Curve Theory: they are repeating this cycle of saving their friend over and over again. Once they run out of repeats, they die and the other go back in time to save them, completely unaware of the repeats; turning the hourglass over once again. The biggest clue for this one is... Well, the hourglass, for obvious reasons.

Link Click BREAK! PV // XETROVerthink

In XETROVerthink, we have LG appearing in the hourglass, probably in a bad shape, drowning perhaps, and CXS is swimming to him to save him; it's his turn. They are both unaware of their predicament.

By the end of BREAK! CXS's hair also turns white. It implies that he, too, went through many repeats to change their fate.

~

That's all folks! Of course I'm not close to other theories. I find the Curve Theory pretty cool. I would like to see them fight to actually get out of this canonical node, and find a place for themselves when they live their best idiots life.

I also have many additional thoughts about all of it: (Edit: you can find the meta here)

Some character presentations also hint at more than five repeats. Five repeats would be the current score for Lu Guang but Cheng Xiaoshi would have a higher number.

Some PVs enlight V for Lu Guang but X for Cheng Xiaoshi.

Some promotional posters or even VORTEX show LG and CXS as each other's reflection, as if separated by glass or water.

I'll will post more about it but 'nough said for now haha

[littlemissclandestine]

Why I think Russell Adler is going to make a comeback in COD 2024

WARNING⚠️: Contains spoilers for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Disclaimer: This is all just speculation on my behalf of course. I've just tried piecing stuff together for fun because Russ is one of my fave BO characters even though he's a bitch but i need more Adler content stat. <33

Let's get into it peeps. HEAR ME OUT.

Buckle up. Gonna be one hell of a ride folks 🤪

We'll start off with some random/background info.

Russ was born on February 12th 1937 so that would make him 53/54 in the Gulf War era. This actually isn't that old because if you think about it, Woods was about to turn 51 in 1981 during the Cold War campaign. What's a few more years?

We last saw Adler in action post-campaign in Warzone 1.0 cinematics but we've been kept in the dark about Adler's whereabouts post-1984 (after being brainwashed and killing Stitch LOL).

This meanie in a beanie wasn't forgotten about, oh no. He appears in the new cinematic intros on startup for both MWII (2022) and MWIII (2023). See below:

He was also featured twice in the 20 year anniversary video for Call of Duty whereas COD Ghosts didn't even get an appearance (ouch): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL_w5HmxsPI

I personally believe Adler was a great addition to the Black Ops roster and is essentially the new Black Ops 'cover boy' now. Would be such a shame and a missed opportunity not to include a character like him in the upcoming COD. One who is morally grey, does whatever he deems necessary to get the job done - a bit like Cpt. Price in MW. Got the COD fans riled up about him brainwashing and pulling the trigger on Bell too - he's already got the spotlight in both a good and bad way.

Now, let's explore my main reasoning as to why I think Mr Shades 2.0 is most likely coming back in late 2024...

🎖️First up: Gulf War mission list 🔫

Here are some of the campaign missions that will be featured in Black Ops Gulf War. Obviously, this is subject to change, however, going off what we have, look closely...

Credit: @MWIIINTEL on Twitter/X

Safehouse guys...SAFEHOUSE. Takes you right back to Cold War, doesn't it? Ugh the potential.

🕵️ Next up: The campaign for COD 2024 will dive into the CIA's role/the Black Ops timeline 🕘

I took the following snippet from this official article.

From this, we know there will be a huge focus on the CIA and who's a CIA clandestine special officer? Mhm, you guessed it - Russell Adler.

Now, according to the events of BO2, it's evident which characters have the possibility of returning out of our original BO trio - Jason Hudson, Frank Woods and Alex Mason.

💫 Alex is presumed dead after Frank shot him so he's out the picture in '90/91 until 2025 when they canonically meet again.

🪵 Woods would be in his 60s during this time too so I'll let you decide whether that's too old for him to be in GW.

Edit: Woods got SPAS-12'd in the kneecaps on Dec 20th 1989 by Raul Menendez so uh...yeah

🧊 Hudson died on Dec 20th 1989 at the hands of Raul Menendez.

Feel free to check out this website (Call of Duty Wiki) for an outline of the events after CW to remind yourself. Here's a link to the Black Ops timeline from there.

➡️ Gulf War being a direct sequel to Cold War and what that could mean 💉

That brings me onto the rest of the safehouse crew. Since GW is a direct sequel to CW, it would make sense for some characters to carry over if possible:

We, as the player/Bell, get to choose whether Park or Lazar die (or both lovebirds) in 'End of the Line'. It's highly unlikely they'll return unless the devs make one decision canon maybe.

There could be a chance we see Sims again given his bond with Adler (Da Nang etc.), his age (late 40s in GW) and his status (alive).

That leaves the man himself, Russ. Everything from his age to the fact he's CIA and was the deuteragonist in COD 2020's campaign just makes sense for him to have at least a lil cameo or even a larger role, don't you think?

📱Finally: Hints from official posts 🔎

This post from Call of duty's official Instagram account kind of sealed the deal for me.

Oh lookie - they dropped syringe-lover's famous line in a zombies post. Why would COD just drop it so casually like that without a reason and years after CW came out? They could've said absolutely anything else but no, this was purposeful.

And that's all for this episode guys and gals!

Thank you for reading!! 🫂

Do what you will with all this information but I have concluded in my silly little brain that scarface is coming back.

How he's only in one game is beyond me. Won't get a character like him ever again. Seems like a cliché war dude at first glance but dig a little deeper into the details of the CW campaign, peel back the layers and get into his psychology and WOWZERS.

Am I delusional? Most definitely.

But the possibility he might be returning...that little bit of hope is enough for me and i won't shut up about it.

This will age horribly if he isn't in GW. Forgive me for feeding your delusions too in that case. Please?

What are your thoughts? Feel free to share them! 😊

------

EDIT: Y'ALL IT'S HAPPENING 😭😭

[system-to-the-madness]

A Promise Kept - Itadori Yūji x Reader

Pairing: Itadori Yūji  x Reader (can be read as any gender, no pronouns used) Genre: angst (a tiny speck of fluff in the end) Word Count: 3 951 Warnings: suicidal Yūji, self-harm (Yūji), panic attack(?), throwing up(both Yūji and Reader), death, canon typical violence, description of sever wounds and pain, lots of crying, SPOILERs for up to chapter 137 / episode 47 Summary: Following the Shibuya incident, you try to talk to Yūji, who has locked himself away A/N: Inspired by an ask @delzinrowe sent to @just-jordie-things and I got the permission to write it. This is probably not what you guys had in mind, but I had this idea as soon as I read this ask and stuck with it. Also: I usually don’t write angst unless it ends in a lot of fluff, so this is a first for me.

Masterlist

“He’s hidden himself away.” Panda’s voice was heavy with concern. Not unjustified concern, considering ever cheerful Yūji had distanced himself from everyone following the events of the Halloween night.

It was the morning of the first of November. Dust still hung in the air like fog, the first sunbeams of a warm autumn morning shining their light on the destroyed Shibuya. You had not slept at all in the past 24 hours, nor eaten anything in the past 12. Instead, you had thrown up even the little stomach contents you had had left. You had tried drinking something, but none of it was any good, you just couldn’t keep anything down. Not the water the half-curse Chōsō had offered you, not the green tea Yaga had handed you, not the broth Ieiri-sensei had convinced you to drink. You had thrown everything back up.

The pictures of the night kept haunting you, of the curses you had exorcised, of the transfigured humans you had been forced to kill, of Gojō-sensei’s eyes looking back at you from that prison realm in Kenjaku’s hands, of Megumi’s lifeless body leaning against a wall, of Nanami-san’s body being torn apart, of Nobara clutching her face before dying. Now of the four first-years, only Yūji and you were left standing. But you were doubtlessly in way better shape than he was. Sure, you were so exhausted that your hands were shaking and your legs quivering, you had cuts across your arms and face, and bruises all over your body, but Yūji was of way worse than that. He had a huge cut right over his nose, was missing a part of his cheek so his teeth were showing. According to Chōsō, Ieiri-sensei had already healed him, but the scars were red and angry, and you knew it still had to hurt. Not to mention what he had gone through, watching his friends die, just like you had. But you were not possessed by an ancient, evil sorcerer who had used your body to wreak havoc to the city, burn it to ashes. And you knew he blamed himself for all of it.

Now, as you stood where once the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing had been, legs weak from exhaustion and morning sunlight reflecting in the broken glass of the skyscrapers around you, you wondered how you were even still alive. Sweat had dried on your skin, blood crusting your clothes, smears of dust painted your face. The shock of the news you had received about the outcome of the night had not quite settled in, instead it was a slowly creeping terror, that you knew would close its fingers around your heart once you stopped to rest. So it was better not to rest, not yet, not while Yūji was still in distress.

“Where is he,” you asked, turning to Panda, who was climbing over the debris. Somewhere beneath all that rubble the famous statue of that dog, Hachikō, was buried. Along with humans, all of them probably long dead.

“He hid in one of the bathrooms,” another voice answered.

Shielding your eyes from the sunlight, you were met with the sight of Chōsō. Dark circles were painted under his brown eyes, the black tattoo over the bridge of his nose seeming to split his face in two.

“Which one?”

You ignored how strange it was asking the half-curse – whose brothers you had killed – for directions to help your friend… who he also considered his brother. But Yūji was your friend and if Panda’s words were to be believed – why shouldn’t they? – then Yūji needed you. He was your friend. Right? Nothing more than that. And nothing less.

Chōsō looked around for a moment, trying to orientate himself in the rubble, then pointed to the stairwell closest to Shibuya 109.

“Down the stairs, the first bathroom.”

Instead of acknowledging either Chōsō or Panda any further, you began making your way to the entrance of the subway. In the backpack on your bag, bottles of water and bags with food shifted against one another, as you climbed over a piece of a building.

The stairs were almost entirely destroyed, but you made your way down anyway, trying to sort your thoughts out. This was not the time to contemplate your feelings for Yūji, you told yourself. What mattered now was to help him, not because you liked him, but because he needed help. He needed to drink something, something with minerals to avoid cramps later, so Ieiri-sensei had packed sports-drinks in the backpack you were carrying. He needed nutrients and vitamins, also packed in your bag. He needed words of assurance, so you had already thought about what you needed to tell him. That it wasn’t his fault. That without him, many more would have died. That you were glad he was still there. He probably needed a hug or two, and you were prepared to hold him for as long as he needed you to make him realize that you would always be by his side. Because you were his friend. Because you would always stick together.

Now was not the time to think about how you had always felt connected to him, from the first moment on. It was not the time to think about how tight he always hugged you, how close he sat to you during movie nights, how he pretended to serenade you during karaoke or make your favourite ramen for you when you felt down. Nor was it the time to think about how he always made you explain the homework to him, as if he had to force you to do it when really you were thankful for each moment you got to spend with him, especially when it allowed you to gaze at him for minutes on end without him noticing. And whenever he noticed, he would grin at you, as if he were proud of something, and your face would grow warm. One time he had even told you he liked it when you looked at him like this, and you had been unable to meet his eyes for the rest of the day.

And then there were those little touches, the hand on the small of your back whenever he guided you to walk on the inside of the pavement so he was walking at the side of the street. The touches that lingered a little longer than with anyone else. But now was not the time to think about any of that.

The lights in the subway station were flickering, making it hard to see through the dust in the air. On a wall the lit-up advertisement for some sports anime sent flashes of white light into the dark. What you’d give to be the stupid love interest in one of these harmless anime now.

And there was the bathroom.

Stepping through the dark, careful not to fall over any of the debris, you slowly approached the door, your dominant hand at the handle of the cursed katana you had spent the past six months learning how to wield. Listening for any suspicious sounds, you stopped for a moment, before you pushed against the closed door to the men’s bathroom.

It didn’t budge.

Furrowing your brows, your tried again, but the metal of the door refused to swing open.

“Yūji-kun,” you called into the silence.

Something moved behind the door.

“Yūji-kun, it’s me,” you called again, knocking against the door. “Are you in there?”

“Go away!”

Yūji’s voice sounded chocked up and raw when he answered from behind the door, making you exhale in relief. You had found him. And he was conscious.

“Yūji, you need to eat and drink something,” you told him, knocking again.

“Leave me alone, go away!”

“You know I can’t do that,” you refused, trying to suppress the shaking in your voice. He sounded so hurt and lost. All you wanted to do was wrap him in an embrace and protect him from the memories of the night’s events.

“I don’t wanna see anyone right now! Go away.”

“You don’t have to see me, we can keep the door closed if you like. Just-” you sighed, crouching down in front of the door. “Just talk to me. I want to help.”

“You can’t help! You can’t- unless you kill me, you can’t help!”

It felt like your heart stopped beating in your chest, and tears shot into your eyes. You knew Yūji would feel terrible, but bad enough to want to die? You had not expected that.

“Yūji-“

“They’re dead because of me! Because of me Nanamin and Kugisaki-” Yūji’s voice broke off in a sob. “They died because of me! Shibuya is burnt to the ground because of me! So many people died because of me! And Fushiguro- Ijichi-san, Maki-san, Inumaki-san- they all-”

This voice broke off again, and you heard choking from the other side, as if he was throwing up. Or at least trying to throw up. After tonight you were familiar enough with the sound of trying to throw up with an empty stomach.

“Yūji, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have prevented-”

“Of course, it’s my fault. It’s all my fault, all of it is!”

“No, it’s not! If it had been your fault-”

“Stop saying it isn’t! Because it is! All of it is! Those were my hands who killed all these people! My hands who destroyed Shibuya! All of this only started because I’m a vessel for Sukuna! If I weren’t, they wouldn’t have tried getting to me, and all these people were still alive! It’s all burned into my memory! Every time I close my eyes I see them die, over and over and over again-”

He chocked and gagged again, making your own stomach clench, and you squeezed your eyes shut. You wanted to help him so badly, hold him, comfort him. But the door kept you at a distance.

“If I weren’t possessed by Sukuna, they’d still be alive! Gojō-sensei should’ve just killed me! He should’ve just executed me!” From behind the door, you heard a bang, as if he had punched the wall… no, he had hit his head against it.

“Yūji!” You banged against the door, before placing your flat hand against it. Your fingers curled against the smooth, cool metal, your nails scraping against it in a desperate attempt to get to him. Of course, you could have just kicked down the door, but a part of you knew Yūji wouldn’t forgive you if you were to intrude on this space, he had created for himself, away from everyone. “Yūji, stop it! Stop!”

But another dull bang followed your plea, accompanied by his sobs and more retching.

“He should’ve executed me the moment the order came in! I should be dead!” Yūji’s voice was soar from screaming and crying and throwing up. “I should be dead! Then none of this would have happened! I should be dead! They should’ve just killed me! The world would be better off if I were dead! I should be dead! I should just die! I should-”

“Stop it! Stop it, Yūji! Stop it!” Tears were running down your cheeks as you banged against the locked door again, your voice shrill in your own ears. “Stop saying that! Stop saying you should be dead! Stop it, please stop!” You chocked on your own sobs, weakly trying to bang your firsts against the door. “I need you, you hear? I can’t lose you, too!”

For a moment there was silence on the other side of the door, no more screaming, no more head-against-the-wall-banging, no more retching. Only some heavy breathing.

“You’re only in danger around me,” Yūji eventually answered, his voice quiet. “Sukuna could take over any moment and he’d kill you without hesitation. The only way to ensure everyone’s safety would be to kill-“

“Nobody’s killing you! And those who try will have to go through me first! And the same goes for you! If you try to hurt yourself, Itadori Yūji, I swear by my life I will do everything in my power to stop you!”

Again silence spread between you. Long and heavy silence, interrupted only by your sobs and occasional gagging from Yūji’s side. It spread for so long, that you were almost tempted to ask if he was still conscious, when he spoke up again.

“I want to go home.” It was only a whimper, small and pained in the vast destruction of the night, and it made you want to tear down that stupid bathroom door and pull Yūji into the tightest hug you had ever given anyone. “I want to go home. Not to Jujutsu High. I want to go back to my grandpa’s place. And I want to eat his Naporitan Pasta. And sleep in my old bed. And just forget everything. I just want to feel safe. Just once more. I can’t take this anymore. I just-“

“Yūji, I-“

What were you supposed to say? His grandfather had died over six months ago. The apartment that had belonged to him was empty. Even if Yūji went back to Sendai, there would be nothing left of his old life, there was no way he could ever eat his grandfather’s homecooked meals again. What could you do to help him fill this hole, this loss that was so overwhelming? You had lost family too, but you still had a home to return to, some place to feel entirely safe. The thought, that no matter where Yūji went, he would never feel quite safe suddenly hit you. Not as long as he was possessed by Sukuna.

Suddenly anger bubbled in your chest, pushing aside the grief and fear of the night, and the pain you felt for your friend. As long as Sukuna possessed Yūji, he could never be happy. So you had to find a way to get rid of him.

“Yūji,” you repeated, your voice calmer this time, now that you had finally found a proper thought to express. “I promise you we’ll find a way to exorcise Sukuna. And we’ll free Gojō-sensei and deal with Kenjaku. And when all that is over, we’ll sit down with Megumi and Gojō-sensei and we’ll all make Naporitan Pasta together, in honour of your grandfather. I promise you. So please. Don’t give up. Don’t stop fighting. We need you. I need you. Please.”

Your declaration was followed by more silence, but at least he didn’t seem to throw up anymore.

“Do you promise?” His voice was weak and sounded like he was far away with his thoughts.

“Yes, I do. I promise.”

“Can we have pancakes with strawberries and cream for dessert?”

“As many as you like. I know a really good recipe,” you answered, the weight in your heart lifting a little.

“Okay,” Yūji agreed. “Uhm… can I ask you something?”

“Yes, anything,” you quickly replied, perking up.

“When I open the door… can you- would it be okay if we wouldn’t hug or anything?”

Confused you blinked, but nodded your head before you remembered that he couldn’t see you.

“Oh, ahm, sure. Of course.”

“It’s just-”

“You don’t have to explain-”

“But I want to explain,” Yūji interrupted you. “I just feel like, if someone were to touch me now, I’d have another…” he hesitated for a moment, “another panic attack. Because after all that… how could I allow anyone to touch me, when I’m the one who’s responsible for-”

“You’re not the one responsible! Yūji, please, you need to understand-”

“It doesn’t matter right now, okay? It doesn’t matter,” he interrupted you, sounding impatient. “I just- I just don’t want anyone to touch me, alright? I can’t have anyone touch me. Promise me?”

You took a shaky breath closing your eyes before you answered.

“Okay, I understand,” you assured him. “I won’t touch you unless you want me to, I promise. But I’m here for whatever you need, okay? I also got water and something to eat if you want, alright?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Yūji answered from behind the closed door. “Uhm, one more thing…”

Quietly you listened to what he had to say, blinking your eyes open again.

“I’ve taken quite a beating through the night and Ieiri-sensei couldn’t heal all of it at once so… don’t be alarmed, okay?”

You swallowed, trying to get rid of the painful lump in your throat. You had seen Yūji earlier, before Ieiri-sensei had treated him; you knew what state he had been in. If he warned you now about his appearance…

“I’m not looking exactly fresh either,” you told him, trying to sound cheerful, “I’m sure both of us have looked better than today.”

A small hum sounded from the other side of the door, before you heard shuffling of clothes, the clinking of porcelain against stone tiles and the sound of shoes on dusty ground.

Quickly you scrambled away from the door, but it swung open before you had gotten to your feet. Yūji was right, he still looked quite beaten up. The two worst wounds in his face were healed to fresh, pink scars, but smaller cuts and bruises still littered his skin, not to mention the blood and dust that stuck to his hair and clothes. A red spot was forming on his forehead, slightly swollen with a few scratches in the centre, where he had hit his head against the wall. Underneath his eyes dark circles, quite similar to those of his self-declared older brother, seemed to have taken up permanent residence. Your eyes dropped to his right hand, fresh blood running down his fingers from cuts on the knuckles and dripping to the ground.

“Your hand-!”

Almost you would’ve forgotten what he had requested of you, but your stopped yourself just in time before you reached out, staring up at him from where you were sitting on the ground instead.

“I punched a mirror,” he admitted, his beautiful eyes looking away from you in shame. “I saw those marks under my eyes and I- I got so angry.”

You swallowed again thickly but nodded.

“Let’s get you to Ieiri-sensei,” you decided, scrambling to your feet.

Up closer to his face, you could see the tear streaks on his dusty cheeks. The longer you looked at him the more your heart ached, and the harder it got to stick to your word of not touching him, when all you wanted to do was pull him into a long hug. He sure looked like he needed it. But he had explicitly asked you not to touch him, so you wouldn’t.

“I’m sure she can do something for your hand and those cuts on your arms and stomach.” You gestured to where his uniform had been ripped apart, showing shallow cuts on his pale skin.

“Thank you,” Yūji mumbled, but when you gestured for him to walk ahead, he didn’t move.

“Don’t thank me, thank her,” you tried smiling, knowing you were failing terribly.

“No, I mean… thank you for coming looking for me. And respecting that I don’t want to be touched right now. I know you want to hug me, or want me to hug you… you deserve it so much after this night but I just can’t right now and-“

“And that’s okay. If I want a hug, I’ll ask Panda. He’s cuddly,” you assured Yūji. “I know you feel like the weight of the world is resting on your shoulders. And maybe it is. And while you carry a lot of responsibility, you don’t carry the responsibility of giving me hugs whenever I want them, yeah?”

A small smile tucked at Yūji’s lips, and he nodded. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Sure thing,” you nodded.

“Hey, you said you had something to drink-”

Quickly you dropped the bag to the floor, and pulled out a bottle of the sports drinks, Ieiri-sensei had packed for Yūji and you, handing it to him. He unscrewed it and emptied it in one go.

“Need more,” you offered, holding a second bottle out to him.

“You first,” he demanded, signalling you to drink first.

Obediently you unscrewed the cap and took a few long gulps, the sweetened liquid running down your throat and washing away the salty taste of tears in your mouth.

“How are you,” he suddenly asked, his dark eyes watching carefully as you drank.

After a few sips, you put the bottle down and handed it to Yūji, who eyed it for a moment but waited for your reply.

“Been better,” you admitted. “Tonight was… a lot. But I’m not as badly injured as you – or possessed – so I can’t really complain.”

“Just because others are off worse than you, doesn’t mean you don’t have a right to feel terrible,” Yūji mumbled, chewing on his lower lip. “I know what you’ve seen. Even if it had just been a stupid tv show, or anime or something… the things we saw tonight are enough to give me nightmares for a lifetime. So, I understand how you feel. Don’t down-play it for my sake.” He lifted the bottle to his lips, finishing it as well, before looking back to you again. “I’m asking again. How are you?”

Trying to keep the tears at bay the shot into your eyes, knowing this time you’d have to confront these feeling inside your chest, pursed your lips before answering.

“Horrible,” you pressed out, sniffing.

Yūji nodded. “If you ever need anything, someone to talk to, someone to wake you up from a nightmare… I’ll always be there for you, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. And I’ll be there for you.”

“You already are,” he answered.

Neither of you mentioned when you handed him some cereal bar and he hesitantly brushed the tips of his fingers against yours as he took if from you, or how he grabbed your arm to pull you off the floor.

As you made your way back to the staircase that would lead you to the surface, you couldn’t shake the feeling that it was important that it had been you, who had come looking for Yūji. You weren’t sure why, but then the backs of his fingers brushed against yours while walking. Instinctively you wanted to draw your hand away, after all you had agreed not to touch him. But then his pinkie brushed yours again, this time linking with it, and you relaxed. For the first time in hours a part of the tension fell away, and you dropped your shoulders, only focusing on the sensation of Yūji’s warm and rough skin against yours. Maybe he wasn’t ready for a hug, but this little bit of contact, contact initiated by him, was more than enough comfort.

At the foot of the staircase he stopped, bringing you to a stop as well.

“I need you, too,” he admitted, his huge, brown, with pain filled eyes glancing over at you for a moment. Confused you furrowed your brows, but then you understood he was referring to what you had said earlier. That you needed him.

You nodded in acknowledgement, taking a shaky breath when you realized that he was not only referring to the war with the curses you were about to face, but to himself generally. The same way you had meant it earlier.

Yūji gently squeezed your pinkie, and nodded back, before you both faced forward again. It would be a long way, to sitting down with Gojō-sensei and Megumi, eating food together, but you would get there, you knew it. And the first step you had to take was up this dusty flight of stairs, Yūji’s pinkie safely intertwined with yours.

[something-tofightfor]

Just Too Good To Be Gone Masterlist

(Joel Miller x female reader insert)

UPDATED 12/7/2023

(Header made by the incredibly talented @stealyourblorbos​)

Just Too Good To Be Gone Playlist:

Listen on Spotify

Detailed info/warnings on individual update pages

Tag list sign up link in bio

While I’m imagining Pedro Pascal as the Joel in these stories, I’m sticking with a few game-canon things.

The outbreak takes place in 2013.

Joel was 29 in 2013, and so in the “present” (when he’s with Reader), he’s 49-50

This series was started BEFORE the Remake came out. Joel’s canonical birthday according to that is 9/26/1981 - HOWEVER I am keeping that he was born in 1984 (like we all thought for almost a decade) just because I’ve gone too far to change it now.

While she isn’t explicitly given a birthday or any physical characteristics, the reader insert was 22-23 at the time of the outbreak - so it’s a 6-7 year age difference between her and Joel.

There will be spoilers from both games in this series.

Story is listed in chronological order on this masterlist, BUT I am still filling things in as I go - so it is not complete.

NSFW/Smut will be marked with an *

- Spring/Summer 2034: 

A Detour in Your New Life - Coming Soon

Still Chasing For That Feeling  (2.1k)

Waiting For This Sky To Fall (11.1k)

Everything’s Changing Now

Part 1: Let It In  (‘Cause I Want You So) (10.3k)

Part 2: We Could Live Like Kings (If We Take A Risk)* (12.5k)

Harder To Find What’s Right (5.2k)

Promise Not To Stop When I Say When (11.3k)

- Autumn 2034

Help Me Get Away From Myself

The Cabins / The Whiskey - (small batch)

Part 1: You Let Me Complicate You (7.9k)

Part 2: The Only Thing That Works For Me* (14.7k)

Everybody’s Waiting For The Next Surprise

Part 1: Take A Chance And Roll The Dice (11.9k) Part 2: This is Halloween* (15.6k)

- Winter 2034/2035

Your Eyes Outshine The Town (9.6k)

- Spring 2035 

You’re Tellin’ Me Something Real (6.3k)

Can’t Swallow What I’m Thinkin’ (5.3k)

Found My Place in The Sun (936 words)

- Summer 2035

Some Things Are Meant To Be (7.8k)

Lessons You Learn From A Past You Can’t Change

Part 1: Constants Like Gravity, Heartbreak and Shame (10.1k)

Part 2: Nothing To Lose Is A Path You Can Choose* (10.6k)

 - Autumn 2035

We’ll Feel It All Tonight * (16.3k)

No One Sings Like You Anymore - Coming Soon

- Winter 2035

More Than You Could Ever Know (5.3k)

- Spring 2036

Make This Old Heart Give In* (14.7k)

Joel at the wedding (art by @/stealyourblorbos)

Summer 2036

Burdened Black Heart - Coming Soon

 - Summer 2037

The Colors I See* (3.8k)

Spring 2038

All I Ever Needed* (12.3k)

Astoria Hot Springs

Men Who Are Fighting To Be Warm (Joel Miller NSFW Alphabet)* (11.8k)

Extras:

Trick or Treat Joel Commission from @valkblue​

Bound to the Smuggler - a birthday surprise by @stealyourblorbos​

Joel and Reader’s love languages (answered ask!)

Joel and JJ (And Ellie and Dina) (answer based on picture ask)

Joel and flower crowns (answered ask!)

Just Too Good To Be Gone Banners (all made by @stealyourblorbos and they are too pretty to not show off!)

Original / Alternate A / Alternate B /

[wofdesignhub]

I’m gonna draw a dragon again soon so quick rant

You know one thing I REALLY hate in wings of fire? There’s a tiny, little inconsistency throughout the books. And that’s the sizes of scavengers to the dragons. Because I’m just gonna say it here: the “canonical” size comparison such as the picture below makes NO SENSE considering how everything else is just conveniently a decent size for a dragon. And trust me, we WILL get to it being “canonical”

A mango can fit a dragons palm when it should clearly be tiny as the actual love I have for this book series. What about cows? How come they’re described to be massive enough to feed a whole dragon? They should be like a candy bar to those things! And don’t get me started on how completely unrealistic it is for a sloth to be big enough to wrap itself around a rainwing’s neck. Like that must be some pretty massive sloths around that should ABSOLUTELY be massive compared to a scavenger.

Also the funny part about that pic I showed you? Yeah well scrap that cuz that’s also pretty inaccurate. We were to believe in the VERY EARLY books that scavengers are like hamsters to dragons. Literally the size of their right toe. Also also the fact that Smolder is like 50 years old AND also also also the fact that dragons keep growing as they age, then that just tells us that these scavenger are way, WAY bigger to these dragons. Especially if Flower here is the size of his FOREARM!

“Oh, but the islands are more suited for dragons! Of course everything will be big!” You cry out! Yet it is implied that scavengers were the dominant race BEFORE The Scorching, and even if that was a whole lotta years ago, then that must’ve been the FASTEST evolution process in the south coast yet.

And it STILL gets worse! Scavengers, even after being concluded to be the size of hamsters to dragons, Tui is constantly and very much maliciously switching the sizes of these scavengers to fit the plot because she has never figured out what she ever wants. Winter keeps Bandit in what’s implied to be some.. hamster cage? Okay, so he must be pretty damn tiny, which makes some amount of sense considering he’s probably a… teenager… I mean, okay, sure, whatever, I’ll let it slide- wait! But so is Winter! Winter is bigger than Qibli, sure, but neither of them are any bigger than other fully grown dragons! Winter is a teenage dragonet! So how small is Bandit?? How small is he compared to a- and let me emphasize- a FULL GROWN DRAGON!!!?? What!!!

And by the way, have you SEEN the actual cover of Dragonslayer??? Look at that and TELL me how completely unrealistic it is if we are to believe scavengers are the size of a dragon’s forearm

Also also also ALSO in book 14 Daffodil is shown tossing and catching Bumblebee who had just hatched and this is just unnatural and biologically confusing to think about. HOW is Daffodil bigger than a newborn dragonet? And this makes even LESS SENSE when you realize that it’s been implied that a newborn dragonet is the same size as a regular sized scavenger ACCORDING to the fact that it’s really easy to pick up a baby dragonet by the hand COMPARED to the size of Flower to Smolder’s hand in the picture??? HOW? Tell me how, Tui!! How is this possible!! And don’t you dare tell me that “oh! Pantalan dragons are smaller than Pyrian!” Because that is just ludicrous to me. I will LAUGH at you if you tell me otherwise because that is just a cheap way to excuse any of this. There has NEVER been any quote of Luna or any other Silkwing, Hivewing, or Leafwing being significantly shorter than a Pyrian dragon. 

I should really cut to the chase but I’ve… never liked Tui’s writing. I don’t like that she avoids criticism of her writing. She has great ideas and is so creative in the world of WOF but for most works she’s either rushing it or coming up with something on the spot. And neither are good if they’re not thought out well enough! All of the endings to the arcs are bad and poorly thought out. The logic in how specific stuff works is just terrible. Arc 3 is just a NOTHING arc full of NOTHING characters (except maybe Snowfall and some of the Leafwings they’re… fine). I’m sorry but as much as I “pretend” to like WOF, and I REALLY mean it when I say “pretend”, but this book makes me get an aneurysm the more I really look deep into it. I am beyond terrified of looking into the guidebook because I KNOW there will be inaccuracies, confusion, and Tui slamming down whatever ideas she has without a second thought. I already know she put the weird and unnecessary mudwing mating rituals!!

Anyways, drawing that stupid blue and yellow rainwing later, I don’t want to go and look for her name now, goodnight everyone, don’t talk to me

[thefreakandthehair]

@eddiemonth prompt, oct 22nd:  First concert | Triumph of King Freak - Rob Zombie | Eager a/n: a missing scene from an older fic, counting stars (when I look in your eyes)! post-canon fix, eddie pov, established steddie, fluff with a dash of angst, mention of eddie's late mother read on ao3 + ao3 masterpost | tumblr masterlist

December, 1988

“Why does your acoustic have that written on it? ‘This Machine Slays Dragons’?” Steve asks as he watches Eddie strum without looking at his hands. It’s a bit mesmerizing, the way his fingers glide along the strings of their own accord. 

The song stops and Eddie slaps the body of the guitar in his lap. 

“This old girl is an homage to one Woody ‘This Machine Kills Fascists’ Guthrie. Ever heard of him?” 

“He did ‘This Land Is Your Land,’ right?”

Eddie claps his hands together and points two finger guns his way. “Ding ding ding, we have a winner. Yeah, he wrote that and a shit ton of other political critique folk music.” 

“I didn’t know you liked that sort of thing. Sounds pretty far removed from Metallica, y’know?”

“Only in delivery. You’d be surprised how much overlap there is in meaning. But yeah, my uh—” Eddie stops and pulls the guitar closer to his torso and swallows the dust in his mouth that’s gathered from years of not talking about his mother. “My mom was a big fan of it. She loved Guthrie, Baez, Dylan, Grateful Dead, Cohen. You name it, she loved it.” 

Steve’s heart tries to claw its way out of his body to run towards Eddie sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, timid smile, and fidgeting hands. 

“That’s really cool, man. She sounds awesome. How come you don’t talk about her more?” 

“It just—I don’t know. It still hurts, I guess. Which is stupid, I was eight when she died so it should get easier, right?” Eddie laughs humorlessly and stares at his strings like they hold answers to questions he didn’t know he had. He wants to crawl on top of Steve, desperate for warmth and comfort now, and looking at him makes the urge damn near impossible to beat back. So he doesn’t look up. 

Steve adjusts his position on the bed, subconsciously making room. “Hell no, that’s not how grief works, Ed. Wish it was that easy but I’ve seen a lot of death personally and with work, and it changes people. You can tell me to fuck off if I’m like, overstepping here but you were a kid. You’re allowed to be sad about her death, and you’re allowed to talk about it.” 

Eddie pauses for a long moment, considering the validation and how much he trusts Steve. He trusts him with his life, his soul, his heart, his  everything. Maybe everything could include his past, too. His voice is wistful when he starts.

“She used to sing Dylan’s ‘Forever Young’ around the house.”

December, 1974

Eddie sits cross-legged on the floor, threadbare couch behind him as he flips through a comic book gifted to him by his Uncle Wayne. The page crinkle with each turn and he traces the illustrations of each villain and superhero, the words a bit lost on him but the pictures jumping off of the page. Varying shades of saturated reds and blues disappear and reappear beneath his pointer finger and grins. He hasn’t read the story yet– he prefers to make up his own first– but he can see that the good guy is about to win. 

Happy endings are just so rare in real life. 

His mom is in the kitchen, singing softly and stirring something on the stove in a corroded aluminum pot. Eddie picks up the delicate scents of tomatoes and peppers, maybe some kind of meat. She’s been in a bright mood today, singing as she cooks, singing as she did her best to clean up the beer cans and bottles that litter the living room. Eddie even heard her singing in the shower that morning.

It’s not lost on him that his dad’s been gone for a few days. Hell, that’s the only reason he’s able to sit in the living room: there’s room for him. 

His dad is always too loud, drowning out the soft soprano of his mother’s voice. Everything she sings sounds like a lullaby, so it’s fitting that Eddie closes his eyes to listen. 

Eddie loves when his mom sings, especially the song she’s singing now. 

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

May you stay forever young

May you stay forever young

She never tells him, but he feels like she sings it just for him. 

November 1990

Steve hasn’t been this nervous to give Eddie a Christmas gift since that first Christmas of theirs two years ago. Funny enough, the gift then had been related to his late mother, too. Maybe he has a pattern. The envelope shakes in his hands as he sits next to Eddie on the couch– their couch, actually. At least as of a few months ago when they’d put down their down payment on the small, one-bedroom apartment in the heart of Indianapolis. 

Eddie glances over and sees Steve’s right hand nearly crumpling whatever his gift is, his fingertips white and his smile tight. Whatever it is must be time sensitive, since he’s insisted on giving it to Eddie so early. 

“What is it, Steve? You look like you’re gonna shit yourself.”

Steve laughs, nervous and breathy. “I actually might, and we just bought this couch, so. Just– here. Open it.”

He pries the envelope from Steve’s hand and tears it open, Steve having to caution him against ripping it in half and voiding the fucking the gift. Three rectangles fall out onto his lap, full of typewriter style font. 

“Oh shit, concert tickets!” Eddie smiles and knocks his knee against Steve’s. “Why were you so nervous? This is awesome!” 

Steve nods at the tickets. “Did you see who it is?”

Eddie’d been too excited about finally getting to a proper concert, one that he doesn’t have to set up and break down with Gareth, Jeff, and Frank. When he looks down and actually reads the headliner, his heart stops. 

University of Dayton Arena Presents: BOB DYLAN TUESDAY, NOV 13 1990 7:30 PM

“Steve… is this…?” He can’t find the words, buried and lodged behind the lump forming in his throat. 

Steve watches him carefully as he traces the letters with one finger, a habit he’s picked up on over the years, and gently rests a hand on his thigh and gives it a squeeze. “You okay?” 

Eddie nods. “Yeah, yeah, I’m definitely okay.” 

Okay is an understatement. He’s bewildered, he’s humbled, he’s ecstatic. When Eddie tears himself away from the small rectangles that sit on his lap like the gold bars they are, he looks at Steve with wonderment. First, the music box. Now, this. How is he ever going to keep up? 

“I know it’s your first concert but I saw that he was coming around and I just figured it’d be cool, y’know? I don’t know who he’s touring with or anything��” 

He does this, Steve knows. He knows that he rambles when he’s nervous or when he’s put himself out there and for some reason, giving Eddie these tickets feels incredibly vulnerable. Even years later, even after Eddie’s constant reassurance that he could never, Steve would hate for Eddie to think that he’s encroaching on special memories. 

Before he can finish his stream of thought, Eddie kisses him. Just leans over, tickets still in his lap, and claps both hands on either side of his cheeks as Eddie plants one on him. Then again. And again. And again. 

Eddie peppers every inch of Steve’s face with kisses, interjecting in between each one. 

“You’re–” Kiss to the nose. 

“So fucking–” Kiss to the cheek. 

“Perfect–” Kiss to the forehead. 

When he finishes, Eddie rests his forehead against Steve’s and wraps his arms around Steve’s neck, feeling them shake beneath him as Steve laughs. “Always so dramatic.” 

“And you love it. But, wait,” Eddie pulls back and picks the tickets back up. “Why are there three?” 

“Do you honestly think Wayne would ever speak to me again if I got tickets for Bob Dylan and didn’t include him? C’mon, man. Christmas would be so fucking awkward.”

[zoe-oneesama]

ONE MORE EPISODE LEFT TO WRITE! CONGRATULATIONS!! 🎉🎊 Based on everything we’ve seen up to this point in-show, what are your thoughts on Nathalie, her Catalyst akuma and Mayura villain persona, and the Heroes’ Day Season 2 two-parter after your fresh rewatch of the episodes?

I'll be watching both parts at once, but since I'll probably have to rewatch part 2: "Mayura" when I finish my own part 1, I'll mostly focus on Part 1: "Catalyst", with some bleed in from Part 2. I'll be taking a linear critique of the episode in a stream of consciousness way.

To start, "Heroes' Day" is not a real French holiday, yet Marinette's parents say it's come again "just like every year", implying that this has been going on for multiple years? Implying that a Hero Day based off your local superheroes have been happening for YEARS while Marinette and Adrien are in the same class, in the same school year....make it make sense.

Of course, this could be a totally in universe regular holiday that USED to be about just doing good deeds for a day that they adopted to theme around their superheroes, what do I know.

About those good deeds...Marinette deserves slack here. She does good deeds for her friends all the freaking time, but the first part of the two episodes puts a lot of pressure for her to not only do a Good Deed but a Good Enough Good Deed, which to me defeats the purpose of a good deed. You're supposed to do good deeds for the sake of being kind and improving the world, not for...recognition. Or maybe they're being graded...

This feels like a dropped plot line, which is a shame because this was actually a decent lesson for Marinette for once about taking on too much and pressuring herself. Except for Chloe, Marinette is the only person demanding Marinette do a Good Enough Deed, to the point of making a promise she couldn't keep. (Though it's dumb she feels pressured thanks to CHLOE of all people, when all the richest girl in Paris is offering is her own autographs). Yet they only go part way and nearly completely drop this plot line in the second half.

You know, instead of that scene of Adrien meeting Marinette on the steps and assuming he's not invited, they could've used that time for Marinette to admit to Adrien that she panicked and is struggling to keep to her word. Marinette could've actually confided in Adrien, showing their friendship by allowing her to be vulnerable with him about how she was feeling inadequate compared to everyone else and how these feelings spurred her into trouble. This also would've been a great lead in for the end of the two parter:

In Part 2, the picnic/taste testing that Marinette promised but had no time for? It still happens. How? According to Adrien at the end of his speech, the class "jumped at the chance to help". Would've been nice to see any of that, or see any REAL conclusion to Marinette's issue in these episodes, which was putting too much pressure on herself and not telling the truth when it became overwhelming. Even her mom tells her that bravely admitting when you've messed up is heroic, but...Marinette never tells anyone.

On screen anyway.

By having Marinette tell Adrien, Adrien could've rounded up the class to make the picnic happen. And Marinette should've been distraught - this was supposed to be HER good deed yet THEY did all the work! She failed! And then the class disagrees. She does good deeds all the time! Checking in on Ivan after he was an akuma! Breaking Juleka's picture curse! Bringing Marc and Nathaniel together! A single day can't compare to the number of things she's done for everyone here! And now it's their turn to do something for her!

And then she's brought to tears and kisses his cheek in thanks blah blah blah you've seen canon. Instead it's treated as a "oh yeah, we did that thing with Marinette in the first part, uhhh, that's resolved now, okay?" What a waste.

Actually I'm sure this is a completely dropped plot line because Adrien says "Like Rose said earlier" when she didn't say anything.

Where were we? Oh right, Lila's first sighting in a whole season.

Alya here says Marinette is jealous of Lila for trying to hit on Adrien (or in the French, "seduce"~ lol). I'd just like Alya to remember that for later when she actually believes Lila when she says she doesn't have feelings for Adrien, but we all know continuity doesn't live here.

Speaking of, I'm not surprised how many salt fics paint Lila's (first) mom as an idiot. Right after Lila tells her mom that Principal Damocles is also stuck as an akuma thanks to Ladybug's "incompetence", a giant floating balloon of Ladybug floats past her bedroom window.

Woman, how you gonna believe that Paris' heroes are incompetent on the word of your daughter while Paris throws a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in her honor? (I also assume this woman doesn't talk to anyone other than Lila despite apparently being out of the house so often that they don't even share breakfast together. Sure ZAG.) But at least I get to enjoy Gabriel deliberately poking the bear by bringing up Volpina when she was completely and utterly irrelevant. That did in fact make me laugh.

Oh, this is something that I only just put together, but Alya says her good deed was going to the Mayor and getting him to sign off on making the school accessible for disabled students, and we see in this episode on-wards that the school has a ramp. I HAD noticed the ramp in Season 3, but I had completely forgotten that Alya talked about it here at the end of Season 2. So, wow! Good continuity detail, Zag! You get one gold star. ⭐

(though that ramp is hella steep)

I was about to also praise the continuity of Gabriel bringing up financing a Ladybug movie, since that seemed to be setting up "Animaestro"...but then he says it's playing that day (on EVERY tv channel?!). But..."Animaestro" was the movie's premiere...So I guess there's another in universe Ladybug movie ( funded by a fashion director?) that we'll never see. U_U

Damn, I was gonna point out the nepotism of hiring your primary sponsor's son to voice act the male lead, but I guess I can't anymore, bummer 😗

I do make a mental note of the things Lila is calling Ladybug as she's cycling through news coverage. "Liar. Traitor. Coward." Just...interesting. Where did Ladybug lie? Where did Ladybug betray Lila? Where did she run and hide? Interesting, interesting, interesting.

And betrayals only happen when there's trust between you, in order for Ladybug to "betray" Lila she would've had to have Lila's trust or loyalty to begin with.

Even here she didn't accept the akuma as willingly as she did in "Chameleon", but she still greeted Hawkmoth like an old friend, and is DELIGHTED to ruin everyone's Heroes' Day and traumatize them with her illusion for a chance to help Hawkmoth succeed, just to get back at Ladybug. Yikes.

Lmao, not the unfinished png photoshop background on the flute. Great quality check, guys.

I do think this is the first time I actually thought Hawkmoth did something smart. After putting all his eggs in the Audrey/Style Queen basket and then handing the basket to Chloe/Queen Wasp, I wasn't too impressed with him, but this plan was actually good. (I mean it should've PARTIALLY fallen apart once people saw both the Unakumatized Ladybug AND Chat Noir now that we know people can reject their akumas, but sure. We didn't know it at THIS point, so it seems smart.)

But all this energy could've just been channeled into making the ultimate doctor akuma. I mean, you literally made a Miraculous Holder Power Booster with Catalyst, so I'm just saying what we've all been saying~

"I know, it wouldn't be very heroic to use my powers on my personal business" - GIRL at this point YOU'VE EARNED IT, SCREW what Tikki says!

This does make it the second time someone's told Marinette to just come clean to her friends. Why did they drop this plot line after pushing it so hard?!?!?!

"You don't have enough cake for me, do you?" Sir, did you pull a muscle with that leap?! I guess the intention of this scene was that Marinette was ABOUT to come clean to her friends but Adrien's excitement put the pressure for her to pull off the picnic back on. Again, there is no solid conclusion for this part of the story, Marinette just festers on it until there's akuma stuff to deal with. Wait, maybe the mass akuma outbreak is how she really got out of it... "Sorry guys I TOTALLY had this whole thing planned, but, you know. Akumas. Lots of them. Couldn't do it."

How satisfying. 🙃

"Heroes' Day is now...meaningless!" This is like in Christmas movies when people say Christmas is RUINED because a tree caught fire or Santa didn't come. Did the Whos in Whoville teach you nothing, that's the not the true meaning of Christmas and Superheroes are not the true meaning of Heroes Day when you set it up as a reoccurring holiday where people go the extra mile to be kind to one another!

Sorry, this is nit picky, like really nit picky, but don't create a fictional holiday that's about joy and kindness and then "ruin" it by something only tangentially related. I know it's totally just to get the plot going forward, but I'm too old and have seen this too many times (mostly in Christmas media) and it starts to grate on you. Just make the holiday a new one in tribute TO the heroes, then it can be ruined by the heroes turning bad, otherwise you're killing your message about the Everyday Heroes doing Good Deeds to Keep the World a Kind and Happy Place by putting all the weight on the SUPERNATURAL EXTRAORDINARY FIGURES THAT NORMAL HUMANS COULD NEVER COMPARE TO!

*huff huff*

So...Sabrina should know what's up with Lila at least a little, right? Since Ladybug firmly believes Volpina was involved, right? Well, based off some spoilers, MAYBE (strong maybe, this is speculation entirely), Sabrina might finally be using this knowledge. You know, 3 Seasons later. Maybe. They've been doing pretty decent at pulling stuff from earlier seasons, even if it DOES feel too little too late, so it's possible that Sabrina will FINALLY remember this moment with Ladybug.

"You're Rena Rouge and you didn't tell me?!" You didn't tell her you were Carapace either, but I see this is where it freaking starts with you young man. I remember this being a funny moment but hindsight has ruined it, so, thanks for that "Rocketear". 🙃

See, THESE are the Adrien/Chloe moments that I wanted: annoying sibling energy 100%. But alas, this is ALSO ruined. Chloe is calling it her Miraculous, give me MY Miraculous, putting down Chat Noir as Ladybug's "underling". This was never going to work.

Wow, Nora totally nailed it: "If he's talking to Ladybug, then Ladybug and Mr. Whiskers are still on the good side!" I thought she was supposed to be the dumb one?

Anyway, that's part 1 (or at least most of what I have to say about it). As a stand alone, this feels like a huge lead up, which I think gets mostly paid off on the akuma side of things...and definitely not on the Marinette side of things. Wah wah.

I don't have many feelings on Nathalie, Catalyst, or Mayura since they're barely in the first part (or not in it lol) and when she is in it she feels very OOC - smiling a lot, shy glances to the side, all in to go full Team Rocket with Hawkmoth. Up until now she's been so peripheral that seeing her main stage (though again, just barely) is so jarring.

Well, we'll see her "shine" in the next part I guess.

[kyouka-supremacy]

Who in sskk would you say has the higher IQ?

IQ as in, conventionally smart? Then definitely Atsushi does. I'm sorry. I've said it many times before, but I don't think Akutagawa is a particularly perceptive person. Or witty. Or intelligent in general. It's due to external factors, he never got the chance to have anything that could resemble a proper education; but it's also a matter of his nature, he's just so impulsive, and narrow-minded, and stubborn, he really has the thickest skull ever. But seriously, especially in a world full of geniuses, Akutagawa simply doesn't shine for sharpness of mind, and is way too impulsive and instincts-driven to be a person that relies on reflection or rationality. Everything that Akutagawa does is the epitome of irrational, it's one of the greatest appeals of the character.

Atsushi is smart,,,, I've talked about this also, and I think it's less sustained by canon than for Akutagawa, but I like to think he's a very observant and perceptive person whose intelligence doesn't show because he's constantly surrounded by geniuses, but still he is smart. When it comes to observations skills, I find it easy for him to have them due to his childhood of ill-treatment and abuse: as a defense mechanism, he learnt to be especially observative of people's behaviour in order to tell what sets people off and be able to prevent any escalation, I think that's a widely shared abuse survivor experience. Something among these lines is shown in chapter 51:

I also think Atsushi is a very fast learner. He's observant, and that results in him constantly absorbing other people's knowledge. He's often asking for explanations for Dazai and Ranpo's reasonings, and although I know more often than not it solves an expositive role in the storytelling picture, there's still the fact that it makes Atsushi a person who's constantly trying to understand the reality surrounding him. Atsushi is also shown to be very cool-minded and calculating in fight: from him sliding under Akutagawa and attacking him from behind successfully eluding having to face him front-off in chapter 4, to him retracting his tiger limbs to escape Rashomon's bonds in chapter 12, to the strategy he elaborated with Tanizaki (and his ability to catch up on that) to defeat Lucy in chapter 16, to his attempt to outsmart Fitzgerald in chapter 34 (that, although failed, was still driven by rational thinking nonetheless), and the list could go on. The way in fight Atsushi is shown to ponder over and implement the advices people like Dazai or Mori offered him further makes me believe he's really good at absorbing information. And Atsushi is probably book smart, too! He's compelled by reading to the point he would even risk the orphanage director's punishment just to sneak into the library and read (not explicitly supported by canon, but I can take a guess). According to the second guidebook, he spends his leisure time borrowing books from the library and studying. Overall, he really seems to be rational in all the places Akutagawa is on the contrary driven by impulses¹.

It's like… A physics law when it comes to sskk, that Akutagawa will have the most despicable trait while Atsushi has the trait that is conventionally considered the best; or at least that's as far as my characterization of them goes. Atsushi is beautiful, Akutagawa is ugly². Atsushi is polite, Akutagawa is rude. Atsushi is pure, Akutagawa is stained. Atsushi is smart, Akutagawa isn't. Atsushi is lovable, Akutagawa is destined to cause repulsion in everyone he meets³. In the end, none of this matters: they're no different where it counts, that is, Atsushi isn't any more morally just than Akutagawa is. Atsushi in not any more good than Akutagawa is (I actually suspect the contrary is true). But as far as appearances go, it's still important to portray them as opposites, because Akutagawa being unlovable and Atsushi receiving all the love Akutagawa didn't get for being his contrary - even though deep down they're the same - is almost everything their relationship is about. It's also a big part of why they act like they do towards each other: it's source of Akutagawa's bottomless envy for Atsushi; it's source of how devoted and loyal he will grow to be for him - reaching the point of giving his life for him -, because he can't see Atsushi as anything but perfection. It's source of confidence and of that certain justified hatred towards Akutagawa Atsushi feels because to his eyes Akutagawa is about the worst person to have ever walked on earth. It's source to their wish to annihilate the other as the opposite they can't exist at the same time of. It's the reason Akutagawa had to die, because he's not the good one. Overall it's also expression of Akutagawa's thematic struggle to be good and unavoidable failure at that because of the constraints of a narrative that never wanted him to be good.

But I also think they can make it work. More precisely, I think sskk can make it work when both of them can overcome and defeat the narrative dichotomy they found themselves stuck into: by recognizing that deep common ground of “we're the same” and that where it matters, in morals, neither of them is better or worse than the other. The Beast universe exemplifies that for us readers, but they don't know Beast, so they'll have to realize it by their own. About that, I think Akutagawa already caught on, because he was faster to call out the hypocrisy of Atsushi's good guy façade, and from that it's a short distance to realizing that, as much as he hates to admit it, at his core Atsushi is not that different from himself. It's taking a little more for Atsushi to realize, because it's harder to get down from that higher moral pedestal he believes himself to be on, but with his whole reevaluating Akutagawa after he stopped killing and sacrificed himself for him (and then saved him again. And then showed him how formidable of a team they are when they find a common ground.), I think he's getting there.

Tl;dr: Atsushi is smart and Akutagawa is stupid and yes it fits their personalities, but way more importantly it's consistent with the themes they carry that translate in what their relationship is like.

¹ For further reading on how Atsushi can be witty, please refer to @/gloomierdays's tags on this post. ² For further reading on how Atsushi and Akutagawa's looks can be used to reflect their characters themes, please refer to this post. ³ For further reading on how Akutagawa being not smart (as far as conventional definitions of smart go) ties to his character themes, please refer to this post.