#I should've connected the dots

[witchcraftingboop]

I was today years old when my grandmother finally revealed how to pronounce her name... my grandfather called her by the wrong name for 12+ years and passed the pronunciation down to his sibling, nephews, son, and granddaughters and this woman said not one word about it. I had to find out from her talking to a cashier about reward points. Good god.

[fairylando]

i just got reminded of when lewis went on italy's hit late-night show Che Tempo Che Fa hosted by fabio fazio and played adele's "someone like you" on the piano in december 2017.

make of that what you will.

(you can watch it here but it's worth mentioning that people dressed as mechanics brought out the piano with pitstop sounds 😭😭 peak cringe momento italiano ma ci amo per questo)

[calkale]

what if there was a shot of slider looking at mav at ices funeral that lingered a little too long and after mav learns he's no longer teaching the daggers he goes to ices grave to tell him but he can't get it out he just falls to his knees at ices headstone and slider comes up behind him and he puts his hand on mavs shoulder before mav stands up and slider pulls him in for a hug and puts his hand on the back of mavs head pulling him in as close as he can and mav tells slider he can't do this without ice he's never going to fly again and slider tells him thats bullshit mav is the one to decide when he's done not him not ice not cyclone not anyone and he's the only way these kids are gonna survive the mission

[respectthepetty]

Plant Daddy Dome

Round 3 of I-Should've-Just-Binged-This-When-It-Was-Finished!

Find Round 1 and Round 2 here.

Many people have pointed out that the same flower Khatha first sees Dome with is the same flower that Dome gives Anthika. This flower, Lily of the valley, represents rebirth and happiness. The lotus on Anthika's card and tattoo also represents rebirth.

However, Lily of the valley is a very biblical flower. The flower symbolizes the tears Eve cried when she was banished from Eden, the flower is used for gauging someone's pureness at heaven's gate, and it's poisonous.

Adam & Eve

In the bible, Adam and Eve aren't separated. They are banished from Eden, but Midnight Museum offering up the tale with the now-humans being separated seems intentional. Throughout this opening sequence, Dome narrates how God won't help those who don't help themselves and how God gives us what we need in unexpected ways.

Because I'm my own worst enemy, Khatha seeing Dome with the Lily of valley as Dome exits the flower shop would be similar to Adam watching a crying Eve leave the garden of Eden. Dome returns to Eden the shop only to encounter the serpent Anthika who he gives the flowers that represent rebirth and pureness. Ton and Anne should be Adam and Eve, but...Khatha is immortal. We don't know how long he has been immortal. If he was lonely, a gift from a God could have come in a small boat. However, these two could have done something to upset God, and they were separated.

Cursed Objects

June told Khatha they are similar. She didn't state how, but June's grief over her betrayal of her lover drowned her and made her a ghost. June's cursed object was the wedding dress. When Dome entered Zone 16, the dress was the first item to go missing (the mannequin is no longer wearing the dress).

The typewriter was the next to start acting out

When Jib and his crew rob the museum, all the remaining cursed items were taken

June commented that the moths were the only objects that were alive, and Anthika told Ton he didn't deserve life.

However, June, who is attached to the dress, is alive. The writer who couldn't finish his story was attached to the typewriter. Ton had a heartbeat and so did Anne.

These objects aren't objects. They are people who have been cursed...through their own doing. That's the curse. God won't help them until they help themselves. June said immortality is a curse, and her and Khatha are the same. Khatha said he wasn't cursed, but at the end of episode six, who doesn't have a heartbeat? Dome.

What if Adam and Eve were banished from the garden and separated, not just in space but time. Both cursed, but one can never die, and the other never really alive.

And what if they have what they need to not be cursed since God delivers salvation in unexpected ways?

Stray Thoughts

Khatha offered Ton controlled freedom. He told Ton that he had to go back to the museum but he didn't have to stay contained in Zone 16. June is currently living this situation, but why is Triphop there? In the pilot, Triphop exhibited some supernatural powers and the shadow people lurked around him.

Is he also cursed and that is why his grandfather brought him to the museum?

The kids in the fifth episode (salt) transported to Anthika's place, where we saw the salt lady and the piano teacher merge into Anthika. The kid in the fourth episode (evil round stone) ran to her place, and the other kid had the same tattoo as her. The kid stated they needed to tell the museum owner about the stone. The incident that happened in episode four was briefly mentioned in episode five.

Tay's character told Anthika he had tested Dome several times. Jib wasn't the one to pick up the museum's card in the alley; it was a gloved hand. The antique shop owner stated he wasn't purchasing the stolen goods, but a MAN had left the lotus card in case anyone wanted to sale some odd items. Dome saw an evil presence in the mirror.

Tay's character made sure Jib got the card to rob the museum. He made sure that the cursed items would find their way out into the world (with no intention of getting them himself except for the bbq body), so they would test Dome. Also, we know Anthika, and possibly by extension Tay's character, can change appearances, so have they impersonated other characters?

The issue with the tests are the human aspect of them. Anthika only saw Ton as an object. The salt lady and the piano teacher (who were possibly Anthika) only saw the daughter and stepmother as pawns in their game. Anthika is collecting worshipers and sacrifices not people. Anthika wants servants.

Khatha worried about what would happen to the boy with the stone when Bam said he would go to jail for murder. It seemed as if Dome resurrected Rin to give Moth what he wanted. Dome and Khatha helped the writer finish his story. Khatha saw Ton's humanity.

Anthika's followers were in maid outfits and asking people if they were happy or felt like they belonged. The stories so far have dealt with loss of love, finding happiness, and a sense of belonging, but Anthika is offering an escape from all of that.

I don't think Dome is an alien, but if he is, is he showing that humanity is worth the hassle?

And the way to beat this new god is leaning into the human parts of themselves. They must love each other and work as a group. They must find happiness.

Because to beat a god, Dome and Khatha have to be human. Will Khatha have to give up his immortality (a rib) to make Dome human since God helps us differently than what we expect?

[saudebazi]

i miss my cousin's wedding day

[bredforloyalty]

watched some of the always sunny dub because you know me i like to uuhhh dub it up all over the place you know how i get. and first impression was it sucks major ass, second impression it could be worse but something about it was really fucking with me and i figured it out: the guy that does dennis is the same guy who did dean

[alteredphoenix]

Been entertaining doing a series of Lumi drawings based off Gordon Ramsey memes where on one half August is doting over Michelle because she's the Replacement Goldfish of his daughter and in the next half he's beefing it with Celia because she's close to Michelle and Celia ping-pongs between being completely bewildered, offended, and pissed.

[nickelwick]

Not to mention he literally uses a scythe for a weapon...

Cole is so associated with death it makes my head hurt that no one’s really done anything with it (especially the showrunners I think they forgot)

he was a fucking ghost for three whole seasons a fucking ghost I don’t even have any other way to elaborate on that because that should I feal like enough to back up my point and also his mom the previous master of earth is also a ghost bc she’s dead

his element is earth which you think would be associated with plants and life and shit but no. His main colour is black there are no ties with him and nature just what’s below the ground (mostly rocks) but yk what’s also below the ground, specially six feat bellow ground? Dead peaple and yk what peaple wear when they put those dead peaple in the ground black

[luveline]

that spencer x bombshell one you just posted has me giggling and kicking my feet I think I’m in love with YOU 🫵

Now I’m thinking of spencer x bombshell where the team starts to not view reid as unwillingly tortured by her flirting. Like maybe Morgan makes a comment to reid about something he does and is like “don’t torture the poor girl” and he’s like oh shit I’M the one torturing too now?

im in love with YOU !! for you, ty for requesting ♡ fem

“Difficult,” you say, resting your head on the table. 

“I know.” Spencer wiggles his pen back and forth between two fingers, thinking hard. This case is proving to be indecipherable. None of the details want to add up, and no clear profile geographical or otherwise appears. 

“Useless.” 

“Who, me or you?” 

“Us.” You sigh morosely. “Mostly me.” 

You're not being serious. Spencer huffs a soft laugh and continues to turn the details over in his head. You open your notebook and scratch down a couple of sentences with a pen, a visual thinker. Your mind map turns to a second iteration and then a third. You can't connect the dots because they're too far apart from each other; Spencer can't do it either. Not alone. 

He scoots his chair as close to yours as possible, your knees touching, his elbow in your side. “Can I look?” he asks. 

“Of course you can. Sorry about my handwriting.” 

He shakes his head. Your handwriting is perhaps the only thing about you he wouldn't say was one hundred percent perfect. You can't control it like other things. It is perfect, in a way, because it's yours, but you've been writing quickly and he struggles to make out the occasional letter. 

He leans in toward the page. “What's this word?” he asks. 

You lean in to see it. “Coruscated.” 

“The swimming pool?” he asks, lifting his face to yours. You're closer now, and beautiful like this. He can see the powder under your eyes, the lines in your irises, the slight fading of your lipstick at the corners of your mouth. There's an eyelash on your cheek. He lifts a hand to wipe it away. “What's so important about that?” 

“It reminded me of something…” You pause as he touches your face. “Something…” Your voice lilts up in question, half-shudder. 

“Eyelash,” he explains, blowing it off of his finger. 

“Right,” you say, eyes oddly wide and soft at once, your eyebrows lifted at the starts. 

“You okay?” 

“Is she okay? Reid, you're torturing the poor girl. Give her some air,” Morgan says with a chuckle. 

Spencer leans backwards in surprise, no idea what Morgan could possibly mean. Your eyes relax as you regain some personal space, your hands coming together loosely in your lap. You laugh weakly. 

Spencer looks you up and down. He's torturing you? That doesn't make sense. For as long as you've known one another, the team has joked that your flirty ways and feminine wiles are too much for Spencer to handle. You once gave him an apology he didn't want, worried you actually were hurting him by being your playful self, and he'd set that straight immediately. You don't torture him. It's a lot of feelings to be doted on so much by you, and painful isn't one of them. Overwhelming, sometimes, and exciting, sure. 

He never realised he had the power to overwhelm you. Not until that moment. You offer a funny smile far from your usual smirk and try to steamroll Morgan's claim. “Guess I should've made a wish.” 

“What would you wish for?” Spencer asks quietly. 

You still. Morgan shakes his head in disapproval, but he laughs again and stands up. “I think they'd call that a taste of your own medicine, sweetheart,” he says to you. 

You meet Spencer's eye. “I think they would,” you say bashfully. 

For three blissful seconds, Spencer enjoys the reality of having made you flustered. You, gorgeous, confident you, left flushed and a little daunted by his casual actions and simple (maybe slightly flirtatious) questioning. But then he remembers how much he likes you and pushes it away. 

“Sorry,” he says, plastering a smile over uncertain lips, “I didn't mean to do that.” 

“No, it's okay.” 

He turns to your notes, but gives you a look from the side. “I hope you wished for someone to solve the case. We're never getting anywhere like this.” 

“Are you saying you can't?” You rest your chin in your hand. “And here I thought you were more than a pretty face.” 

You have a quick recovery rate, evidently. 

[daemonbrain]

a/n: Shamelessly inspired by the fact I hit a curb, ran a stop sign, and almost hit a mailbox within 5 minutes of each other. So I present to you Graves x reader who can't drive! Feel free to drop a comment 🫶

Phillip Graves who loves exactly three things: His shadows, his truck, and his girl.

The downside? He has to keep the three things as far from each other as possible.

He would be damned if he let his pretty girlfriend know about all the questionable things he did for work. All you needed to know was he handled things, brought home the bread, and came crawling right on back as soon as he could.

But as he sat in the passenger seat of his F-150, he knew damn well he'd tell you every shady dealing or national secret him and his shadows have ever learnt to get you the hell away from the wheel.

He thought it was a joke when you hopped into the drivers seat! You had booked a reservation for some sushi place you liked and he had taken a little too long to get ready, only hurrying down when he heard the yell of his name.

"I'm comin', i'm going!" He mumbled.

You stood ready by the door with a smile. You dangled his keys in front of your face and to be entirely honest Phill didn't pay attention to a word you said.

How could he? Your hair all done up, a nice pair of heels, and a dress he's never seen before but is sure that it's somewhere on his bank statement. Too much time staring at your moving mouth, not enough time on it.

Interrupting you mid-sentance, he pulls you in for a gentle kiss. When your hands went to caress the stubble on his cheek, he responded with a groan and a bite on your lower lip, feeling his heart beat with fondness for the lovely lady in front of him.

Pulling away only a fraction, you look up at him with those eyes he could never resist.

"Is that a yes then?" You said, excitement clear in your tone.

Leaning back in, he presses his mouth to yours again. After a moment he digs his fingers to your waist, causing you to swat at his arm.

"Earth to Phill?! Yes or no?" You repeated. Groaning, he rolled his eyes and reluctantly separated from your body.

"Whatever you want sweetheart."

Which is how he finds himself in this precarious position. It was no ones fault but his own and now he was gonna pay big time. You had hopped right into the drivers seat leaving your dumbfounded partner to connect the dots on his own.

He should have objected thinking back, he really really should have. Commander Phillip Graves who has been around the globe, shot at, and knocked around more times than he can count did not want to deal with the fallback of wrangling you out of there.

When you reached your hand out to switch the gear, instead of holding the break like you should've, the loud sound of the engine revving blasted in his ears as you pressed the accelerator. You jolted in your seat, instinctually grabbing his forearm.

"Baby! You hit the gas."

Upon seeing his widened eyes, you couldn't help but chuckle. Laughing it off, you apologize and start up the truck.

At least that incident was stationary. It got so much worse.

"Shit, that was a trashcan."

"Phill turn up the music. That ambulance siren is distracting me."

"Did I just roll that stop sign?"

He was gonna die in this metal box. The two things he loved most were going to kill him. Phillip Graves death by bomb? No, Phillip Graves death by his wonderful girlfriends horrible driving.

In fact, he'd probably have a better chance if he had been in that tank than with you.

"Hon you're uh- this is a 35 zone and you're goin' 58."

You made a pfft sound and waved him off. Gosh he really wished you kept both of your hands tight on that wheel at this speed (at any speed really).

"Those things are like suggestions. This could totally be like a 45." You said.

"You'd still be- oomph!" Phillip was interrupted by his body being jerked against his seatbelt. Without a moments delay, his arm shot across your chest to keep you firmly pressed to the back of the seat.

Without a second of acknowledgment you slap the steering wheel with a scoff.

"Come on, that was bullshit! Hardly enough time to stop." You complained while staring at the shine of the red traffic light.

"Well maybe if you-"

Nope. Not gonna do that. He didn't even have a chance to raise his voice a note higher before you were glowering his way. No thank you ma'am.

"Nothin'. You're right. Bullshit."

He would hide the keys away from you from now on. He'd dig through your purse when you went to the washroom and snatch them up before you'd even have the chance to ask to drive home.

If Phill was gonna die any other way than old age amongst the horde of kids and grand-babies y'all would have together one day, it was not gonna be because you flung him into a fuckin' electrical pole.

Suddenly, the truck began to move faster...

and faster...

The moment he heard your squeal, his heart dropped to his stomach.

"Phill! Phill my heel is stuck-" The panic in your voice was palpable, the sight of cars in the distance coming closer in view by the second. Tears had begun to gather at your lash line in alarm.

With the reflexes as a man with his own PMC, his unclicks his seatbelt and practically flings himself over the console. Grabbing your foot, he jiggles it from the wedge it trapped itself and pushed on to the break you had made no attempt to use.

Another hard stop, but one made just in time before any collision could take place. Snapping out of your stupor, you allow the truck to slowly roll for a moment while a red faced Phillip looked at you with fury that knew no bounds.

"Pull over."

With a grimace, you attempted to reply. Only to have Phill grab the wheel and fully turn you to the side of the road, signaling and all.

Clicking on the emergency lights as he opens, exits, and closes his door while you still reeled from your miiiiinor incident.

Opening your door, his stern expression warranted no argument as he held a hand out to help you down.

"Out right now. No buts or nothin'."

Hastily complying, you slip your palm into his and scampered to the passenger seat.

After you buckled your seatbelt in and Phill had time to huff and rejoin the road, he uses his free hand to grab on to yours and press a tender kiss to your knuckles while keeping his blue eyes stubbornly fixed forward.

…

Safe to say you let him play his own music this time.

[nemisuki]

Intertwined

Dating AU | He wasn’t aware such a small insecurity could affect your relationship that much. Lucky for him, she seems to know how to ease his worries away. 

᧔o᧓ || katsuki bakugo x f!reader, she/her pronouns, no manga spoilers, pure fluff, no smut, no angst, reverse comfort lowkey, aged up to third years, they're both whipped, two idiots in love, wholesome short oneshot, 821 word count

His brows furrow with frustration at the glistening skin - small droplets of sweat already beginning to form at the surface of his palms.

Bakugos mood immediately getting ruined at the sight of it.

He takes pride in many things in his life, one of them being his quirk, the ability to create explosions from mere sweat is truly an odd but valuable power.

One that needed proper training to get used too and eventually perfected. But there was always one problem that remained and perhaps is unavoidable.

Excessive sweating.

At first it was manageable, he simply wiped it away on his pants, not thinking much of it.

Though as time went on, it grew out of control. Perhaps it was a side effect of puberty now that their seniors in highschool, who knows?

What he did know was that it was beyond irritating.

Maybe this was his karma for being too cocky in the past. He assumed his quirk had no downsides he couldn't manage, but the gods just had to humble him.

For an over hygienic guy - this was probably his worst nightmare come true.

Especially now that he has a girlfriend.

"Cmon Katsuki, we gotta return to the dorms before curfew!"

She quickly grabs a hold of his hand, cheerful expression on her face, a bright smile that could battle the sun.

Oblivious to the swirling thoughts in his head.

Dating was a concept he never thought he would experience - til he met Y/N. As a new couple he didn't expect this personal issue to have such an effect on his relationship.

But here we are.

He flinches at her touch, swiftly extracting his hand from hers, simply praying she didn't notice his clammy hands.

Her face instantly falls, switching to one of worry and hesitation, "Katsuki? Hey what's wrong?"

The blonde didn't know what else to do but stay silent, avoiding eye contact with her as he tried to think of something to say, subtly wiping his hands on his school uniform.

Feeling embarrassed to tell her about this 'problem' he's been recently dealing with.

"It's nothing."

Noticing the clear shift in his demeanor, she tries connecting the dots and gives him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry if you were uncomfortable with holding hands! I should've asked first since you hate PDA." 

His head snaps back at her, realizing the careless mistake he just made, "No no that's not what I- uh"

He sighs as irritation begins bubbling inside him, directed at himself for making her worried over something so trivial.

"It's not that dummy. My hands are..." he looks away once again. Feeling self conscious all of a sudden - opening up has never been an easy thing for him.

She notices the tip of his ears burning with a pink hue, rare shyness creeping in his voice, "My hands get sweaty a lot because of my quirk."

A moment of silence passes between them.

"It's been out of control lately so-"

His words waver as he feels her pinky finger slowly wrap around his own. Her eyes soften as she stares up at him, a look of understanding on her face.

"Ah I see. Then this is fine right?" she smiles, tilting her head to get a better view of his face.

 ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ 

"...Yeah sure, whatever" he clears his throat, avoiding her gaze completely.

She giggles at his cute demeanor, not used to seeing him like this, just thinking how soft this blonde truly is under all the walls he put over his heart.

He doesn't say much as they continue their walk back towards campus. His heart doing somersaults in his chest at the contact.

"It doesn't bother me by the way" she mumbles, smiling up at him again, "I just want to be next to you."

"You're such a sap."

He pinches her puffy cheek with his other hand - making her whine in response, trying to distract the effect her words have on him.

A small laugh escapes him as he mushes her face to form pouty duck lips, rolling his eyes at her unintelligible words of plead.

"So fucking dramatic." 

Whether to shush her up or satisfy his own desires, he quickly leans down and presses a small peck to her puckered lips. Letting her face go a second after, making the poor girl flustered and silent with shock.

"What was that for?" she says, fidgeting with her sleeves like a love struck fool.

"Tch, can I not kiss my own girlfriend?"

He spins around to walk away - making her rush to catch up, a knowing look on her face.

"I know but in public? Katsuki you sly dog~" she cooes, trying to rile him up.

"Fuck off."

"Love you too!"

At her continuous laughter and teasing, all he could do was put a fake frown on his face, but only from her eyes - she could see the small smile underneath it all.

✦ ⎯⎯⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨ masterlist || taglist || intro || socials ୧⋆ ˚｡⋆⎯⎯ ✦

a/n ||| im really sorry for not posting much u guys! i kinda lost motivation these past couple of weeks but im finally feeling better. i actually relate to this so much bc i sadly suffer from hyperhidrosis. If you don't know what hyperhidrosis is, it's "a medical condition in which a person exhibits excessive sweating". So im basically bakugo irl u guys! one side effect is that my hands are constantly clammy and it's so annoying, me and katsuki twinning fr. my apologies go out to fellow people like us, this condition sucks so bad *sighssssss* tags ||| @leleyro @zaiban2989 ໒꒰ྀི ´๑  ̫๑`  ꒱ྀིა

[badgalsasuke]

My thoughts on the Naruto ending

So I had said I was gonna post about my feelings and thoughts regarding the Naruto finale that might contain a few hot takes for some people, so here it is.

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG POST.

The Naruto ending is universally disliked, there's not doubt in that. Veteran SNS shippers don't like it because Naruto and Sasuke end up with women they don't love and aren't attracted to, and believe Naruto and Sasuke could've end up "single" with no ships confirmed; younger SNS shippers that weren't there when Naruto was still coming out believe they should've ended up together even though that could have not been plausible due to the manga industry quite conservative practices. Het!shippers on the other hand, believe the ending is bad for two different reasons: the first being that some believe that Narusaku and Sasukarin would've made more sense than SS and NH (some say just Narusaku and Sasuke should've stayed single); the second being that although they like SS and NH and the potential they believe these ships have "but wasn't explored further", Kishimoto can't write romance so he messed up both ships, making them bland and barely romantic.

Another reason why the ending is disliked for non-shipping reasons and mostly by Sasuke stans, is that even though in the couple chapters before the 700th one Naruto and Sasuke talk about changing the shinobi system, we see in Boruto that the system has not been changed at all and instead Naruto and Sasuke are reinforcing it despite all the oppression and suffering they were put through it in its name. We even see Itachi, the man who committed genocide being lauded as a hero for his actions and zero reflection on Konoha as a genocidal State. Oh and the Hyuga clan still practices slavery.

So here I come to say the following: Naruto's ending makes sense.

Now before y'all tear me to pieces let me explain myself. The first time I read the finale I thought it was stupid, one reason being that the ships make no sense no matter the angle you try to look at them and the other reason being that Sasuke was now working for the same State that murdered his clan with Naruto now as the head of that same State and making no changes to the Shinobi system (not a very good look on him, right?), so I thought for many years that the ending sucked.

Then The Last, Boruto and Sasuke Retsuden came out and all I could think was "woah this is all really shit from the butt".

But then one day when I was thinking about the manga as a whole, mostly because I was starting to realize that Kishimoto was being intentional in his writing of Naruto and Sasuke's romantic bond and it wasn't accidental like most of the fandom thinks, I just started connecting dots and trying to make sense of the whole story and seeing how the ending fitted into that. I'm someone that whenever it comes to literary analysis and criticism always tries to think about what was the author intention before I label something as bad because it wasn't my personal preference how something was written.

And that's how I realized what there was theme to the Naruto ending is. It's all about conformity.

Now, don't get me wrong the Naruto ending still has flaws, two big ones in my opinion, which I'll point out further down the post, but what I want to do is show you the forest because I feel the fandom is mostly focused on a couple of trees when it comes to the finale. I want you to see the thread of events Kishimoto created and how he was trying to keep it as in character as possible.

So first things first. If you've read Kishimoto interviews over the years then you would know what was the ending he had envisioned: chapter 698. He talks about how he wanted Naruto and Sasuke to have their final fight, make ammends and change the shinobi system together. He achieved two out those three things he intended.

In a quite controversial interview that most of the fandom likes to ignore, Kishimoto stated that he had no emotional attachement to Naruto and Hinata as a couple and it was Studio Pierrot who had pitched the whole thing about The Last movie. He also states that he decided to make NH endgame after Shippuden had started and he had also considered Narusaku as well, but then in another interview that came later he started saying he had intended to make NH canon since the very beginning. He was constantly contradicting himself in these interviews over the years. Kishimoto has also expressed his distate for SS and Sakura's character in general in different interviews.

So what I personally believe is that Kishimoto's editorial, Shueisha, made him change his statements because saying he had no plans for NH and it was Studio Pierrot idea was quite damaging to the franchise (no wonder the interview got kinda buried too, lol).

I think the biggest challenge for Kishimoto was giving the editorial, the studio and most of the fandom the het!ships they wanted without compromising as much the characters the story of his manga revolves around, Naruto and Sasuke.

So we get to ch. 699 where I believe Kishimoto is laying the ground for the finale we ended up getting.

In ch. 698 it seemed like Naruto and Sasuke had been able to resolve their issues and been able to talk about their feelings for each other. Something Sasuke repeats in ch. 699, a chapter entirely narrated by him. However right at the end of ch. 699 we get what seems to be a regression of what we had seen in the previous chapter.

It is implied that Naruto and Sasuke had an argument off-screen hence why Sasuke thought Naruto would not come to see him and bid him farewell before his atonement journey. What was the argument about is never really explained, some fans speculate Naruto was upset about Sasuke going on an atonement journey considering Naruto had pleaded for Sasuke to not be imprisoned and saw no reason for Sasuke to go on a redemption trip. I personally believe it had something to do with Naruto failing to come to terms with his feelings for Sasuke because, as we see right away, Naruto gives Sasuke back his headband and Sasuke says he'll keep it until they have their real fight which is interesting, to say the least, because didn't we just see their real fight the literal prior chapter? basically, we're being told Naruto and Sasuke haven't been able to truly talk about their feelings and put into words what their relationship really is about hence why Sasuke keeps the headband. As long as Sasuke has the headband, it will mean Naruto hasn't been able to truly accept what he feels for Sasuke. In essence, ch. 699 is Kishimoto retconning ch. 698 to give way to what comes later.

After chapter 700 came out we started getting so much content, both filler and canon, that tries to explain how we got there. Let's start with The Last, the movie that tries to explain how the heck Naruto ended up with Hinata.

The Last is sort of a hybrid, it's written for the most part by Studio Pierrot employees who had the idea in the first place and Kishimoto corrected a few things here and there and is also what for me, makes the ending flawed for one big reason: Naruto's character assassination.

Naruto is a shonen manga that's more focused and concerned on it's emotional battles and communicates it to the audience through it's physical battles rather than the powerscaling stuff Naruto dudebros would have you thinking the manga is actually about. So this means that Naruto, its main character, spends the entire manga learning about his feelings and putting them into words. That's what his story is mainly about; learning to love and to be loved.

The Last undoes this in the stupidest way possible. To give Naruto an excuse on why he always ignored Hinata they intend to make the audience believe it's because "Naruto doesn't know what love is" by writing Naruto not being able to differentiate between loving someone and liking ramen. This is absolute nuts. We know that Naruto understands what is love, what is not love and that love doesn't come out of nowhere, we see that when Sakura fake confesses to Naruto, he's able to spot right away she's not being genuine because he understands those three things. So this is the first flaw of the Naruto ending for me.

The second flaw is the dismissal of Kurama and Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki. I find the most embarrasing thing about The Last to be that they had to put Naruto through a genjutsu so he could hallucinate "memories of Hinata being there for him but he was too dumb to notice" but it's even worse once you remember that Naruto canonically should not be able to be put through a genjutsu in the first place. Studio Pierrot had to break rules of Kishimoto's universe in order to give NH some mediocre development and to me this will always be the worst part of the finale. If you can't make a ship work within the universe rules, then why make it a thing at all?

Some people didn't like that Hinata is totally useless in the movie, but for me this is not a flaw, as it is entirely in character with who she is in the manga. Making her a mary sue out of nowhere on the other hand, would be a flaw of the story.

Now that I've talked about what I think are the flaws of the Naruto ending, let's talk about the things that work in The Last (and I believe is where Kishimoto put his input) to make the finale make sense. The first one being that Sakura is the one that pushes Naruto to be with Hinata. In the manga we see several times Sakura is insecure about Naruto and Sasuke's bond and being jealous of Naruto's spot in Sasuke's heart. Even Hinata is baffled by Sakura wanting to help her and asks her why she's doing all that because she knows they're not friends. We then see Sakura think about Sasuke (who's also conviniently excluded from the movie) and simply say "we, girls, should support each other", she wants Naruto out of the picture so she can have Sasuke for herself and she succeeded. It's also important to note that once Sakura got what she wanted she no longer pretended to be a friend of Hinata, she didn't even kept close contact with Naruto either as we see in Naruto Gaiden, Sarada and Naruto don't know each other like that at all, if Sakura was being a genuine friend to Hinata and Naruto, she would've kept her family close to Naruto's but she didn't.

One more thing that I find works about The Last is that Naruto doesn't passionately fall in love with Hinata, but instead is constantly guilt-tripped into liking her, which is more true to his character. You have a man already struggling to accept his sexuality, who also has his deceased mother's expectation of marrying a girl and on top of that is a pathological people pleaser, of course he's gonna marry the first girl that tells him she loves him. It makes sense this all happened while Sasuke was not in the village. Naruto panicked about his sexual identity and rushed to marry an "acceptable woman" in the eyes of the people whose approval he craves, as we see in the special chapter Kishimoto wrote that came out after The Last: the villagers fawning over Konoha's hero dating the Hyuga heiress.

Likewise, Sasuke not attending Naruto's wedding helps the ending not be as contrived or out of character of them. Kishimoto never wrote anything on why Sasuke skipped the wedding as far as I can recall, but in the episodes that Studio Pierrot made dedicated to Naruto's wedding we see a Sasuke completely absent and detached from the event, something Naruto dudebros use to dunk on him because that made him a terrible friend from their perspective, but as usual they're not paying attention to the full narrative Kishimoto is creating here.

Making Sasuke be happy for Naruto and attend his wedding and give him a gift and all that crap, would've made het!shippers and Naruto dudebros happy but it would be at the expense of his character and the story Kishimoto was writing. Remember, Sasuke had kept the headband all these time until he could have his real fight with Naruto, meaning he was waiting for Naruto to be honest about his feelings for him, so him not attending Naruto's wedding is a way to communicate to the audience (at least the part that's paying attention) that Sasuke is heartbroken by the news.

I believe this is why Kishimoto designed adult Sasuke the way he did and makes him dress the way he does as an adult. All black and depressing. I also believe that Sasuke will stop dressing that way the minute he and Naruto have their real fight, if they ever have it, that is.

Additionally, Kishimoto nailed making NH canon before SS would be canon. Naruto, as I stated before, is the one that struggles with his identity and feelings for Sasuke and the one that has the expectations to marry a woman so it makes sense that he would be the one to marry a woman first. SS becoming canon first wouldn't make sense because not only is Sasuke more outspoken about his contempt for Sakura, whereas Naruto remains polite and neutral to Hinata's feelings, but Sasuke also has no reason to be with Sakura if Naruto is still available, in fact, Kishimoto making Sakura be the one to chase Sasuke after Naruto's wedding because Sasuke never came back, as we see it stated in Naruto Gaiden ch. 10, is also in character for both Sasuke and Sakura, instead of writing it the other way around like SS shippers wished, y'know their whole thing about Sasuke coming back to the village for Sakura and apologizing to her because he didn't realize how much he actually loved her because he was trapped in the darkness blah blah blah (I think this is what happens in filler novel Sasuke shinden lol).

If Naruto is not available, then Sasuke is in a very emotionally vulnerable position and Sakura took advantage of that. You see the narrative Kishimoto is creating here? There's a thread to follow on why stuff happened they way it did.

Now, I mentioned before that the theme of the Naruto finale was conformity. Here's where I explain how:

The first thing is Naruto's physical appearance. Kishimoto liked to draw a young Naruto all punk and grunge. He even had already made a design of adult Naruto where Naruto looks, well, cool and HOT.

Yet, for the actual finale he gave us an ugly Naruto, but also a Naruto that looks tired and exhausted. How does this tie with the conformity theme? when Naruto was young he used to go against the rules, defy expectations people had of him, tell authorities to fuck off. Like, when he was told to give up on Sasuke when he was 12, Naruto responded "If giving up on Sasuke makes me wise, I'd rather be fool my entire life", this man was a rebel. But as an adult we see him become the head of State that continues to reproduce the status quo that had once oppressed him. Naruto turned apathetic, his appearance reflects his attitude.

And this is consistent with the narrative Kishimoto's been crafting. Just in the same way Naruto conformed to society's expectation when he married a woman he doesn't love and barely knows, he also conformed and succumbed to the shinobi world status quo. It would *make zero sense* for Naruto to revolutionize the shinobi world while married to princess slaver Hinata Hyuga, that'd be an oxymoron, completely contradictory narrative wise. Certainly, Naruto always struggled to find an ideology, to put it in some way, when it came to Konoha and its ninjas practices and had a messed up perception of its villagers (see: the whole Dark Naruto mini plot) but he still wanted to change the shinobi world WITH SASUKE by his side, once the story established they don't end up together and Sasuke isn't by his side, Naruto doesn't care anymore.

This is why I don't find strange that Kishimoto wrote Naruto oversleeping in the eve of his name day as Hokage, a day Naruto had once dreamt about when he was a child. The spark is gone.

But the spark isn't just gone for Naruto, it's also gone for Kishimoto. Naruto didn't even attend his name day because he was knocked out by Himawari. This is Kishimoto being petty. He spent 15 years writing a story where the goal was to see Naruto become Hokage and he knew how anticipated this moment was and he still went and ruined it for the fans anyway. Naruto dudebros were furious about this, but not once did they stop to wonder about the implications of this, what it said about Kishimoto's relationship with his work if it had gotten to the point he went and "fucked it up".

Naruto cared about the state of the world before he became indifferent to it. This is why when Sasuke stans complain about Naruto not actually caring about Sasuke's trauma but can never really explain why Naruto is like that as an adult. They try to pretend Naruto never cared but this is a lie, kid and teenage Naruto was compassionate to Sasuke's trauma and pain even if he didn't always managed it in the best way possible. So, I always feel like they're missing this particular piece of the puzzle: if Naruto can't be his true self then he cannot change the world and neither can Sasuke.

Because the same thing occurs to Sasuke. One blog once posted that Sasuke not caring about his child is out of character, but Sasuke not caring about Sakura's child is very much in character and I feel that sums up Kishimoto's writing of both adult Sasuke and Naruto. This passiveness you wouldn't imagine from their younger selves, takes a hold of them once they become adults and gradually "get in line" to be a part of the real world. Sasuke doesn't care about his child because he had her with a woman he doesn't even like or respect. Sasuke is stuck in time still holding onto that headband, hoping he and Naruto will one day have their real battle.

Sasuke uses the forehead poke, a gesture he always hated, on his wife and child because he, just like his brother to him, wants to distance himself from them. Sasuke now serves the same village that plotted the mass murder of his clan and family because why not? his brother is lauded as a hero for killing his entire clan after all. Sasuke too, has conformed.

I actually wonder if this is in some way linked to modern Japanese culture. Japanese culture and society are deeply conformist with everybody is always trying to fulfill roles imposed in them, always trying to achieve what is expected of them. It could also be about how adulthood sucks the passion and hopes out of the youth (Kishimoto started writing Naruto when he was 24 and finished when he was in his forties). And of course, the closeting of queer people leading miserable lives as pretenders.

If Sasuke is meant to end up with Sakura and Naruto is meant to end up with Hinata then Kishimoto cannot make them happy marriages and give them happy families, he also cannot keep Naruto and Sasuke as revolutionary outcasts that stand up against the status quo, that fanservice would be out of character and out of theme.

This is what I mean when I say the ending makes sense, once you see the finale is all about conformity the thread of events becomes understandable and more heartbreaking too. You don't have to like it, but I do think we have to understand where is Kishimoto coming from when he wrote it the way he did.

The Naruto fandom wanted black and grey from Kishimoto and that's exactly what Kishimoto gave them, black and grey.

EDIT: I've written more on how the conformity theme starts to become present in the series as far back as in Neji's death, check it out HERE

[riki-dazed]

Thank You, 오빠

suggestive · older reader calls riki their oppa · wc 572 · requested

You look at your screen confused, your eyebrows furrowing at the purchase text confirmation you've just received on your phone. It's from a brand, an expensive one at that, that you don't remember ever purchasing from. You gasp softly, realization hitting you all of a sudden. Did someone get their hands on your credit card information..? Trying to not stress yourself out too much, you hurry into your bedroom to tell your boyfriend about it.

You find Riki sprawled across the large bed, his phone in hand as he mindlessly scrolls through something. He throws his phone to the side in order to give you his full attention when he notices you walking into the room. His face lights up.

"I think I got scammed," You huff, taking a seat on the foot of the bed. Riki smiles, his body shuffing over to where you're now sat. You furrow your eyebrows at his amused expression, "You're smiling!?"

"I had to use your number, sorry for scaring you," He chuckles, placing an innocent peck on your lips. Your demeanor quickly relaxes, you feel yourself suddenly being able to breathe again.

"Oh," You sigh in relief, "That was you,"

"Bought the bag for you anyways," The smug boy winks, the corners of your lips raise a little, tjough, there's a hint of worry behind your voice as you go to scold him.

"You need to stop buying me so many things,"

Riki scans your face, a smirk on his lips, "But you're smiling, no?"

You whack him playfully, the both of you erupting into quiet giggles. Goodness, he loves teasing you. Almost just as much as he loves spoiling you. He'd buy you the world if he could.

You flicker your eyes to his as the both of your giggles settle down, a hint of playfulness washing over your tone, "Thank you, oppa,"

Riki examines your eyes, his gaze dropping to your lips as his head tilts the slightest amount to the side, did he hear that right? He cocks an eyebrow as a quiet 'eh?' escapes his lips.

"I said thank you, oppa," You emphasize, another giggle falling out of your mouth as you lean into your boyfriend to place a kiss on his soft lips, in which are currently hanging open. Riki seems to look everywhere apart from your face as you pull away, the dots suddenly connect in your mind whilst you examine his expression.

"Nishimura Riki," You started, a hint of amusement playing behind your voice, "Did you just get turned on from me calling you oppa?"

The poor boy falls backwards against the mattress, hiding his face. You crawl over to him, grasping his wrists in your hands, revealing his flushed, rosy cheeks.

"Should've told me you were into that," Your voice is hushed, sultry even. His gaze burns into yours as he bites down onto his plump, bottom lip.

You continue to taunt him, "Anyways- I'll keep that noted for tonight, oppa,"

Riki groans, escaping the grasp of your hands as he covers his face in embarrassment again. His reaction sends you into a fit of laughter as you lay down beside him. Your distressed boyfriend reaches for a pillow behind his head, wanting to hide his excited crotch behind it. He's a complaining, flustered mess.

"It's too early for this."

His statement, along with the pillow, only makes you laugh harder into the side of his chest.

...

Copyright © 2024 riki-dazed. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Do NOT edit, copy, translate or repost any of my work without permission.

[tsxkkis]

# tobio kageyama - mosquitoes

a/n = another (kinda) stupid one while i'm actually suffering from all the mosquito bites i have (i'm dying over here fr)

summary = kageyama mistakes your hickeys for mosquito bites.

warnings = hickeys, mentions of making out, 3rd year kageyama being a little stupid as he is

"what happened to you?"

kageyama's curious frame appeared behind you, making you jump on your bed in surprise. for a moment, you almost forgot he was supposed to come over to your house today; only then realizing that your mom probably opened the door for him, welcoming him with a warm smile as usual.

seeing the puzzled look on your face at his question, kageyama sighed as he came up closer, hand pointing to the few small marks on your neck.

"you should get something that will get the mosquitoes away from your room." he explained, face genuinely concerned as he sat down next to you, seeing you open up the camera app on your phone. "aren't there some scents that make them go away or something?"

his question fell on deaf ears as you were more focused on finding out just what marks was he talking about exactly, an annoyed huff leaving your lips when you couldn't get the angle right to see them in your phone camera.

you stood up, walking over to the big mirror standing in the corner of your room, a focused look on your face as you got your hair away to not disturb your view. kageyama observed in silence, a look of confusion on his face when he watched you laugh at the sight of the marks, your eyes finally catching them in the mirror.

"what's so funny? you really should get some window net for those mosquitoe-"

"kageyama, those aren't exactly mosquito bites."

hearing you say his name stopped him from talking, his face softening up a little, only to be overtaken by confusion right after. you could only look at him, waiting for him to connect the dots in his head.

the moment he finally did, his eyes widened as he quickly looked away from embarrassment.

"oh."

oh.

you laughed again, the sound echoing through your room. he was in his third year of high school, he should've realized sooner, shouldn't he? but at the same time, you were his first-ever girlfriend, first kiss, first anything romantically related, to be honest. it wasn't his fault for not connecting the dots right away.

kageyama recalled the situation from the day before, the thoughts making his cheeks glow a deep shade of red; memories of his hands on your hips, lips moving against his eagerly as he tried not to show just how stressed about all of it he was, seemingly confident in his every move.

it felt right for him to move his lips towards your neck at some point, the gasp you let out at the contact only proving him right. he softly nibbled at the skin, hands squeezing your hips tighter to prevent you from feeling just how shaky they were.

he definitely overheard his older teammates, tanaka especially, talking about it in their previous years of high school, boating about how it's the "thing girls love the most" or something of this sort. he couldn't remember the words correctly, as it was almost a year ago already, but he still had that conversation in the back of his head.

only kageyama forgot about the part where it actually leaves marks.

"you're awfully red right now, tobio." your voice abruptly stopped his trail of thoughts, his awkward and embarrassed face making you giggle a little under your breath as you ruffled his hair. "don't worry about it. my mom hasn't seen them."

he let out a deep breath, one he didn't even know he was holding in, body relaxing a bit at the information.

"she would murder me if she found out, wouldn't she?" he muttered, head instinctively going to rest on your shoulder as you sat down next to him.

"probably."

a silence fell over you two for a moment, your hand coming up to gently brush through his hair, kageyama leaning into your touch.

"but you..." the boy hesitated for a bit, thinking of how to word his thoughts properly. "...liked it, right?"

he heard you hum, nodding your head in response, the slightest bit of embarrassment gracing your face, and it was enough of an answer for him.

kageyama's lips curved slightly in a faint smile.

maybe eavesdropping on his upperclassmen conversations during practice those prior years wasn't all that bad for him after all.

taglist: @ox1-lovesick @moonswolfie @wyrcan

[lxvvie]

A Street Fighter!Simon entry:

"I should've killed him," is what Simon grunts out, the first thing he's said since showing up at your doorstep. It made your blood run cold.

You hadn't seen him in weeks (and not for lack of trying on your part) and when he knocked on your door, you... shit, he's seen better days. Poor bastard probably hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while, one eye was bruised and damn near swollen shut, his lip was split, his crooked nose was bandaged, his knuckles bloodied, and he looked somewhere between apathetic and pissed off. Which one, you couldn't tell.

And when he silently walked in, sat down on your couch, and lit a cigarette, you were damn near tempted to rip him a new asshole before he looked at you and... and—"What the hell's wrong with you?" You'll mentally slap yourself for that one later, but the way Simon looked at you—through you, rather—made sure your rant died a quick, painless death.

You've never seen such dead eyes on a living person before.

Simon didn't say anything, he just... turned away. Turned away, nursed his cigarette, and let the smoke burn his throat and hurt him better than any fight ever could. You hesitantly took a seat next to him, torn between wanting to break the silence and wondering if it would be worth the risk, but Simon made that decision for you, well after the discomfort made it all tangible.

"I almost killed him," is the second thing Simon says, and you thought it best to just let your silence speak for itself.

"...The rat fuck didn't think I had it in me. He kept hitting her. Wouldn't stop. Tommy tried. Got hit, too. Then I hit him." You didn't like how nonchalant he sounded. You wanted to ask him what he meant, but—

"I didn't stop." What?

"Simon—" "Shouldn't have stopped. They shouldn't have stopped me." "Simon... what are you—" "—I wish I never stopped—"

"HEY!" You winced at how loud you sounded. Hope the neighbors don't complain about that one but you can't be too sure. It didn't bother Simon none, though. He just... stared at you. Stared as if he'd noticed you for the first time. "What are you... Who are you talking about? What is—What happened to you?" You rambled and it sounded nonsensical to your ears.

Didn't bother Simon none. Nonsensical was his middle fucking name.

"Does your old man love you?" Simon grunts out, well after staring, well after finishing his first and lighting his second cigarette. That you saw. You couldn't answer that question. Didn't want to answer that question. Didn't want to stir the pot anymore than you already had. Which wasn't much. It was enough for Simon, though.

You let your silence speak for you.

He turned away and exhaled the smoke. He was tired. Tired of this shit. Tired of his family. Tired of the bloody silence. He asked you yet again, wanting answers, wanting to be rid of it all, wanting to break the silence.

"Does he love you enough to stay the fuck away?"

You didn't think you had it in you to answer him, not as you were connecting the dots.

And still, your silence spoke for you.

[mintfullyyours]

Just thinking about arguing with boyfriend!price. This doesn't have a happy ending, or maybe it does? IDK. This is an angsty drabble, not necessarily a fic.

Price would be waiting for you at home. Whiskey in hand as he watches the door knob turn upon your arrival. Downing the rest of his drink, he feels the alcohol burn down his throat.

“Where were you tonight?”

His voice distracts you from your thoughts. You frown, not even given a second to just breathe in your own home.

“Work.” You slip off your shoes and reach for the mail, making your way into the kitchen. “Work held me back.”

“Really?” John asks, following you from behind. “We lying to each other now?” His heart tugs at the thought that you’d be untrue right to his face. What were you hiding? Did he even want to know?

“What?” You chuckle, placing the letters on the countertop. Looking into John’s hazel eyes, you couldn’t decipher the expression on his stone-cold face.

Unmoving.

Your boyfriend meant what he asked.

Two unstoppable forces staring the other down.

Blinking at him to bring yourself back to reality, you realized he was still waiting for an answer.

“I’m not lying to you.” You roll your eyes, “I really was caught up at work.”

“Caught up working at Tattersalls?” He places his phone down and points at the map with your dot at the restaurant. “The same place I took you to on our first date?”

“Hold on.” Crossing your arms, the anger in you bubbled. “You tracking me?”

“Answer me first.”

There was always a push and pull connection you two had. Both of you were forces of nature to be reckoned with and when you both believed yourself to be right, there was reasoning with the other. It shouldn't have surprised you that John was checking your location. Given what he did, your safety came first. But now? It felt like a breach of trust.

“Okay fine. I was at the restaurant.” You admitted, moving past John to head to your shared bedroom. The closer you were to him, the harder it was to process your thoughts. Why did he care so much?

“My boss wanted to impress a new partner and brought me along because he thinks I’m good with people.”

“Bullshit.” he mumbles, following you into the bedroom.

“Excuse me?” You quirk a brow at his statement. “What part of that is bullshit?”

“All of it.”

John hates that you have this control over him. He hates the idea you spent your night with someone else when it should've been with him, Only him. He couldn’t help but feel so trapped by your love.

“Yeah. Sure.” You nod, going into the bathroom to change out of your work clothes. You’d no idea what had gotten into your boyfriend but you didn’t have the energy to find out.

After you changed, you saw him leaned against the doorframe to your bedroom. 

“So then what’s his name?” He presses. His own heartbreaking at your responses.

“We’re still on this? Okay.” You put your clothes away and try to figure him out. “You wanna call my boss? He’ll tell you it was for work.”

“No, I want you to tell me his name.”

“Fine.” Placing your hands on your hips, you knew John wasn’t going to let this go. So you entertain the conversation. He's always so headstrong.

“I was with Simon.”

“I knew it.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “For how long?”

His question caught you off guard. John truly believed you were out with another man. Something was bubbling in you. Your fists curled at your side given John's accusations.

“You seriously believe that? John. Come on now…”

“I don’t know what to believe.”

“Believe me! Your girlfriend.” You state. “Believe me when I say I was at a work dinner.”

“No, I’mma call Simon.” He points a finger at you, "Your story better check out."

“Do it! Call my boss too, fuck.” You push past his shoulder and head anywhere away from him. He always had a way to fill the space in any room & John always thought the same about you.

“What the hell is your problem?” You snap, feeling his presence right behind you. He followed you into the living room like a lost puppy. In truth, John was tethered to you in a way that even he didn't understand.

John takes a step forward and places his hands over his chest, “I don’t have a problem. I’m not the one lying to you.”

“I wasn’t lying, John!” You sigh exasperatedly. There were only so many ways you could tell him that you were always faithful to him.

“Then why didn’t you tell me from the start where you were?”

“Because it was last minute.”

“So last minute you couldn’t tell me?”

“Alright! Fine. I'm sorry.” The apology was just to satiate his tireless jabs. “You’re right. I should’ve texted you at the very least and for that, I’m sorry.”

John has a whole monologue in his head but wasn’t prepared for the words that came from your mouth. It should’ve been enough. He should’ve told you he was sorry too. He wanted to tell you how much he loved you. In fact, he was about to when jealousy got the better of him.

“Okay. Apology accepted" He gruffed out. "But then why'd ya bring Simon into this?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You fancy him?”

“You know what?” You were trying to understand his perspective but none of it added up. “Now I know you’re just picking a fight.”

The fact you didn’t answer his question only riled him up more. Was there something you weren’t telling him? John was a stoic man but one who always fought tired and true for his loved ones.

“Picking a fight?” He repeats. “No, picking a fight would be telling my family you don't want to take on my last name if we got married.”

“Because maybe I don’t want to marry you!”

Just like that the world stood still.

Your chest heaving as though you’d been running from this very fact for so long that it had finally caught up to you.

John could feel the earth beneath him shake from your admission. His world was about to be ripped from him and he had no clue what to do.

Weak knees caused him to take a seat on the sofa. If he could slip through its cushions and disappear forever, he would.

You chewed your bottom lip, with no clue what John was feeling but you were sure your truth just shattered his world. Slowly, you took a few steps closer to him and sat beside him on the couch.

This closeness use to be electric but now it felt like a stranger passing.

Silence filled the air, which was much needed after the fighting words you both shared.

“Do you remember when we first said I love you?”

Silence.

He lifts his face away from his palms and stares ahead. John couldn’t feel and yet, he felt everything at once. But he knew you were waiting for an answer.

“Of course.”

“I never stopped loving you…” You admitted. “I just think the love has changed.”

TO BE CONTINUED