#I think it took them a season to get a grasp on how to draw the characters
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Funny how the little snippet/trailer of the green witch arc that we got was better then the entirety of season 4.
#I’m joking#but also not really#like the suspense and the music and the pacing is just better#maybe I’m just excited so it making me biased 😭#I’m kinda hopeing they have a bigger budget the second time around#I think it took them a season to get a grasp on how to draw the characters#(im talking about Sebastian)#black butler#kuroshitsuji#sebastian michaelis#ciel phantomhive#black butler season 4#black butler season 5#black butler public school arc#black butler green witch arc#black butler anime#black butler manga#my post
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I think alot more people would enjoy the show if they learned to see Rhaenyra and Alicent as Unreliable Narrators, and characters who are supposed to have glaring flaws and weaknesses.
Mandatory preface- There are Issues™️ with season 2 that are its own other ask- but the complaints ive seen about character assassination on both women kind of tells me ppl just wanted to see the two just GirlBossing around, not being tragic characters trapped in their own circumstances.
For Alicent specifically- she just isn't written to be Cersei 2.0, and while it was really interesting to see motherhood from cersei's point of view, its already been done!! I actually prefer seeing Alicent's mercurial clinging to and abandoning motherhood- its interesting!! She was made a mother at what- 15? An age where you truly arent mentally developed enough to raise 3 kids, AND be a child bride, AND be a queen, (AND be a lesbian).
Alicent is interesting to me because she's stunted at 15 years old, she's an adult woman who talks to and sometimes bullies her kids as if they are her peers, and is obsessed with her childhood crush(es). She hasn't built any new relationships* past the ones she was entangled with as a teenager, she's obsessed with both acting out to make SOMEONE see that shes suffering, (she's honestly pretty blatant for someone who prides themselves on being the Temperate Voice of Reason) but also to erase herself and reset to before she had to marry the king, before aemma died.
I think most of her 'bad out of character' decisions are just these two impulses winning out, her trying to force a reset, go back to a time where none of this had happened yet, when things were simpler and she had love and every day wasn't the worst day of her life™️.
She sleeps with cole, the man she thought was pretty at 15 (her last uncomplicated attraction just before it all went wrong and aemma died) -she doesnt seem to like it that much, but she does seem compelled to seek him out, esp when upset- shes obsessed with, and desperate to reconnect with Rhaenyra, her childhood best friend (and first love) and get back to where they were as kids, AND she still treats and asks her father for absolution as if he's still the only authority that matters to her just like she did at 15. Alot of her 'victim complex/bewildered they took it so far' behaviour in the plotting of rhaenyra's usurption reads to me like a teenager in over her head, she talked big game and now its real and shes panicking!! She's tragic BECAUSE she's still a teenager- so stunted shes unable to meaningfully grow up and learn to make healthier choices for herself, or move on and stop trying to grasp at the 'if i could just go back' urge.
As a mother, I think this creates an interesting dynamic as well, and I do like that in the casting even, she seems closer in age to her kids than rhaenyra does to hers. I think the contrast ppl are drawing with Alicent Protecting Her Kids in season1 compared to her giving them up in season two isn't bad writing to me, just massive differences in context. Sure she protected Aemond in driftmark, but we cant ignore that she probably felt humiliated by her husband choosing rhaenyra's side over hers in front of everyone, did it seem like a grown woman fighting for her son?? or a teenager furious with her ex winning one over her again? or both!! both sides twisted together is still interesting! When she protected Aegon from Rhaenys, is stepping in front of her son the king to protect him from the enemies dragon fire not the most romantic daydream of a deserving death a child bride could come up with?? Was it the impulse to protect the son she couldnt decide if she loved or hated, or was it to have the most heroic death possible to escape the reality that she sees coming. And if Rhaenyra hears about how Brave she was in the face of a dragons maw, and cries about it forever and feels sooo bad and regrets it til the day she dies, thats an added bonus. I think Alicent loves her kids, but is teenager selfish about HOW she loves and protects her kids, and is unable to be a mature, consistant, protective mother to them when she also sees them as having ruined her life. I think in season 2 when she 'gives them up' shes relieved, and once again following the compulsion of 'if i reset to when Rhaenyra was heir, i had no sons, and i wasn't married or queen, everything will be better'. I think theres complexity to it, i think she does love her sons and feels insane about it, but I think Alicent has been trying to Go Back in more and more Intense ways ever since she got married, and we might be giving her sanity more credit than it deserves when it comes to the need to wipe the board clean and go back to being 15.
hey anon are you trying to get married to me or what
#answered#anonymous#house of the dragon#hotd#rhaenicent#alicent hightower#EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT#every time we remember that alicent is a stunted teenager who married a man twice her age another angel gets its wings#even rhaenyra is nowhere NEAR as stunted as alicent who was popping babies at 15#her relationship switches from protecting mother to a sneering older sister to HER OWN KIDS#because shes emotionally stuck at the age her life went to complete hell#thanks again otto for the lifelong trauma
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Debunking the Myth about Stolass' Lack of Awareness
Justifying Stolass' harassment by his ✨unawareness✨ is such a popular tactic of the stans. "He didn't know his behavior makes Blitzø uncomfortable!" they say. "He was sheltered all of his life!" they say. Some of them are bold enough to headcanon Stolass as autistic even.
However, what if I say there's the scene - the one single scene - that wrecks all those statements about Stolass' unawareness? And just the one shot expresses the whole essence of my point. Do you want to see it? Okay, here it is:
If you didn't comprehend it (maybe you forgot this moment from the series) that's fine. I was going to analyse this anyway 🔎
Here's the context: S2E4, "Western Energy". Stolass, Stella and Andre-blah-blah are sitting at the cafe for privileged jerks and discussing S&S' divorce. Then Striker breaks into the building and fires a series of shots at the prince (all missed the target). Right in the middle of the shooting Stolass turns to Stella, looks at her evil smirk... and he gets it all! Immediately! This is literally what's happening. Stolass understood that his wife has put a hit on him. And how did he come up with that conclusion?
He! Just! Read! Facial! Expression!
The line that's addressed from Stolass to Striker confirms this unambiguously:
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So what is the unawereness we could talk about after all this? No, really! Stolass not only identified Stella's emotion (schadenfreude) correctly but also connected it to the current situation and his wife's general attitude towards him from which he deduced the reason for Stella's emotion (she craves his death, therefore she's the one who put a hit on him). And all this in a matter of seconds. To the whistle of angelic bullets!!! Like usually people become less analytical in moments of danger. But here's Stolass suddenly showing us miracles of emotional intelligence! Bravo!
So why can't he apply the same tactic to Blitzø or Octavia? Why is he able to grasp emotions of his abuser - who he hates and despises - very easily; but he stays unaware for so long when it comes to his loved ones? Why it took him almost a whole day to see that Via doesn't enjoy being in Loo Loo Land (although she openly said this from the very beginning)? Why it took him nearly a year (!!!) to see that Blitzø doesn't enjoy being his "impish plaything" (although he made it clear constantly)?
Isn't he able to understand them? Or maybe just doesn't want to?
Draw conclusions by yourself. And those of you who wants a few more thoughts of mine - I'm gladly inviting you under the cut!
You know what's the funniest part? This little detail doesn't have any impact on the story! At all!!! You literally could cut it off, change the dialog between Stolass and Striker a bit and TA-DA! Nothing would've changed. Because Stolass doesn't remember that his wife tried to kill him. He doesn't take any precautions even! Like, apparently, Via spends almost the entire second season with her mother.... and Stolass' totally OKAY with this?! Huh?!?
Why was that moment pushed into the series regardless? Well, I think Viv just wanted to praise her babyboy.* Like, "Oh, look how smart and cool he is, not like that stupid cow, Stella!" But ironically this decision has exactly the opposite effect.
I mean, it's a normal thing not being able to understand something in a few seconds in an emergency. Just a normal thing. Honestly, see no reason for judging. But if you, Stolass, have actually realised your abusive wife's desire for unaliving you and then you don't do shit preferring to chase your butty call while your precious daughter lives with that abusive wife of yours... Then I have a question:
Besides, as I just said, this all levels the whole "Stolass' unawareness" excuse to the ground. And you can't fix this by making excuses below your own video, Vivienne 🙄
If you want your audience to grasp something, then you should follow the "Show, Don't Tell" rule. Also it wouldn't hurt you to try and not contradict yourself. This time you had every chance to do so but you've just missed it... Congrats?
So what was the point?!
*By the way something similar was showed at "Oops" when Stolass stayed with Ozz (for some unclear reason) and explained to him - the Deadly Sin - how deals with the Deadly Sins are working! Yeah, what a nice fellow Stolass is, saved helpless dumb Ozzie from losing everything! Isn't that adorable everytime Stolass needs to look smart somebody must lose all of their braincells? Looks like somebody doesn't beat the Gary Stu allegations, huh?
#helluva boss critical#vivziepop critical#anti stolas#stolas critical#fandom critical#observation#analysis#important!!!#i think not enough people are talking about this#maybe im the first one?#idk
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Jayvik headcanons
hello jayvik nation im dumping these here bc im almost done with the second chapter of my fic and these have been stewing a while
Viktor
has the most beautiful curly calligraphy handwriting ever but it's so curly and fancy you genuinely can't read it
Ibuprofen allergy. source: my twisted mind
fidgeting with stuff all the time. paperclips, pencils, clips, rubber bands, the buttons on his vest
bonus to that one: he messes with his vest buttons so much that Jayce is constantly having to sew them back on when they come off
chronic nail biter
big sweet tooth
great cook but a shitty baker
"get even" kind of person; probably holds grudges from the second grade
doesn't cry very often but can be sensitive in the sense that he cares very much how his closest friends view him and internalizes their opinions
love languages are words of affirmation and acts of service
likes to be touched but not held (autism)
hates winter because it makes his joints hurt, summer is unbearably hot and he can't stand it, he has spring allergies; default fall enjoyer
animals really like him and strays tend to show up at the lab or follow him around
children like Viktor. Viktor doesn't like children back
kids will sometimes randomly talk to him and tell him things in public and he doesn't have the heart to be mean to them or ignore them so he just sits there like "mhm ☺️" while they talk until their parents apologize and walk off
probably has a pet reptile (a turtle or some kind of lizard methinks)
cold natured and wears seven hundred billion blankets to bed every night no matter the season
identifies as male in the sense that he was born a man and just never bothered to think much about it but doesn't fully grasp the concept or purpose of gender. could tell you what makes a man a man or what makes a woman a woman but doesn't understand why nor care
interested in jayce from the beginning but never felt as if he was in competition with Mel
sorry they can pry the JayMelVik love triangle out of my cold dead hands ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
not very affectionate because he doesn't know how to discuss his own feelings but very good at soothing other people
Jayce
dysgraphia (i think that's the term?) – not many issues with reading but not the best with writing
viktor is hyperlexic so it works out alright
AMAZING at drawing. like if he didn't have the passion for science he would be an artist. he draws out all their diagrams and blueprints and Viktor labels them
can cook pretty well but doesn't like to do it; if he stays at Viktor's place then Viktor always cooks for him
likes baking because he controls every single thing that goes in and it's very exact
both he and Viktor have chronic pain in their hands (carpal tunnel) from spending all their time taking notes and working with small delicate parts
he doesn't complain about his even when it bothers him because it feels silly knowing how bad Viktor's pain is every day 💔💔💔💔
10,000 step haircare routine but Viktor's looks better anyway
used to be prone to acne as a teen (if accutane existed in arcane he would have been an accutane kid)
(i was an accutane kid and im projecting)
shaved regularly pre-hexcore because his father had facial hair and he looks a lot like his dad anyway; he was always a little worried if he grew it out it would remind Ximena too much of his dad and make her sad
took entire days off of work and pushed deadlines back when Viktor got bad just so he could stay with him when Viktor was in too much pain to do practically anything
used to deliberately sleep in the lab because Viktor would stay late and he didn't want Viktor to be alone in case he passed out or something happened
love languages are physical touch, gift giving, and quality time
money doesn't exist to him when he's buying other people things. can't do secret santas at Christmas bc he constantly exceeds the budget
simultaneously one of those people who legitimately cannot accept gifts and feels bad when people give him things
was genuinely so in love with Mel; used to have dreams about marrying her and living somewhere quiet with her
most definitely forgave her for manipulating him on the council and understood her but it was just never the same
bottom. argue with the wall
OUGHHHH my shayla 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
guess my favorite character challenge level impossible (it's so unbelievably obvious)
#arcane jayce#i love arcane it definitely didn't ruin my life#arcane league of legends#jayvik#jayce talis#jayce x viktor#viktor arcane#viktor league of legends#jayce league of legends#arcane#arcane s2 spoilers#mel medarda#mel league of legends#my favorite character is jayce btw#it was definitely obvious#viktor nation
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Vaincre
June part i
~
Hope you all enjoy! Maybe all of Finn's superstitions in this chapter can go towards helping me beat this cold I've got...
Also, it's beginning to look a lot like ficmas...doo doo doo doo doo...:)
~
Ain’t it funny how I’ve wanted this all my life?
It started with a no look pass. That’s when Remus felt the buzz. Sirius had nearly put one in from James, who had kept his eyes straight ahead, drawing Saint’s attention. And it had almost worked. At least it had brought the promising feeling of a win. The click of the team. Remus shouldn’t be thinking like that. They were six minutes away from the first period's horn and this game changed at the drop of a hat. Logan had collided with Kota at one point, and there was something there now. Quiet hostility. A they were mine first type of deal. Remus could see it all over Logan’s face, no matter how much Kota loomed over him.
Now the Rangers had a high sticking penalty. Remus took his mouth guard out as the whistle blew and shoved it into his glove. Sirius was on the other side of the ice, on the tail of one of the referees and talking a mile a minute, gesturing to James and his bloody lip. There was a kid at the glass just behind him with a sign that said Nuts for Knutty! and he was still clutching the puck Leo had thrown him earlier. Remus almost wished the game would just pause for a moment so he could take it in properly. If this was to be the last game of his first season in the NHL, he wanted to remember it.
“Ouch,” Remus said to James as they circled close for the face-off.
“You bet,” James said, dabbing at his mouth.
Coach kept him on for the penalty kill. Sirius faced off against Zibanejad and Remus darted backwards when he won it. It had that game six feeling: All of them just wanting it to be over already, the slog of knowing that, if the Lions wanted it to go their way, they had one more full game stretch after this one to push through. Maybe more. Play-offs meant there was no over-time, and no shoot-out, just endless periods until someone gave in.
The puck was stuck in their zone and Thomas was beginning to look gassed. Kasey was up in the net, shifting with every ebb and flow of the Rangers’ passing. Remus poked the puck out from Kakko’s grasp and hoped it was clean—he’d nearly felt like he’d hooked it, but the whistle didn’t go. He managed to get it out of the zone and saw Thomas and Olli race off towards the bench gratefully.
He and Sirius didn’t say anything once they were seated next to each other, just caught their breath and watched. Pascal delivered a sound slap-shot, but it went just wide. Logan got the rebound, easy, and sent it to Fox. The horn went just before they put anything real together.
“D’accord,” Sirius said, tapping Remus’ thigh. “We’re not good, but we’re not bad.”
“What an endorsement.”
Remus handed off his gloves off to be dried as they walked down the tunnel. He could hear fans shouting their names as they passed by the glass that looked into the VIP lounge. There was a small girl standing there in a BLACK jersey. Remus watched as Sirius smiled down at her and touched his glove to the glass. The girl grinned and a woman who Remus thought must be her mother promptly burst into tears.
“Jesus.” Thomas laughed from behind him.
“Just me, actually,” Sirius said, and Thomas shoved him.
The locker room already had music playing so Remus guessed that Coach had decided to let them be, or perhaps Sirius had requested a players only break. Remus sat back in his stall and yanked his helmet off. He cut through the beat up tape of his stick with a short blade and sent a look towards Leo, who had a towel around his neck. He was leaned in close to Kasey, who was talking quietly to him.
“Kind of thought Coach was going to say something,” Thomas said. “Is Cap…”
“I didn’t hear him ask,” Remus said, but looked towards Sirius. He was glancing towards the door, too. It opened, and Remus expected Arthur or one of the assistants, but to his surprise, Alex O’Hara slipped through. He was in full gear, only a backwards hat replacing his helmet.
“Oh,” Remus breathed. He looked towards Kasey and Leo. Oh.
“What the hell,” Thomas said. He opened his mouth, obviously ready to shout something at Alex, but Remus put a hand on his thigh to stop him. Thomas looked over at him. “What?”
Kasey had already seen Alex and Remus watched his chest rise and fall in a quick, uneven breath. He put a hand on Leo’s knee, gave him a short smile, and then stood just as Alex reached him. Alex put a hand on his waist, but they said nothing. Kasey simply held his gaze for a long moment, and then turned to the room.
Oh.
“Hey, boys,” Kasey said, voice raised. “Boys, can I…” He’d taken some of his padding off, his hair pushed back from his face. “Can I talk for a second?”
It took everyone a moment to quiet down. They were a little surprised, maybe. Kasey wasn’t one to make speeches, even if it was a players only meeting, but he walked slowly to the center of the locker room.
“Sorry,” he smiled, but it was shaky. “I know we’re all focused on the W. I’ll be quick.”
“Don’t worry, Bliz. What’s up?” Sirius said, and Remus saw that his gray eyes were already somber. They darted to Remus’. If Remus had to guess, Kasey had asked Sirius to keep the room clear for him. Maybe even to have someone get Alex.
“Well. Thanks, Cap.” He looked around at them all. “Look, I know our season’s not over, boys, but I just wanted to say…God.” Kasey cleared his throat, looked down so his hair fell back into his face some. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, Kase,” Alex said softly from just behind him.
Remus couldn’t describe how difficult it was, watching Kasey, Kasey of all people, get choked up. Watch him work to speak around tears. He watched some of the others realize what was probably about to happen. Thomas’ face fell. Leo stood, like he was going to go to Kasey.
“There, uh,” Kasey cleared his throat, tried for a smile. “There isn’t much I love more than you guys. Really. These years have just been the best of my life.”
“Bliz…” James breathed, took a step forward. The realization was slow around the room, but it was there. This had been in the air for so long that it felt strange to see it properly.
“Really, they have.” Kasey said. “I mean…God, lock me in this room, see if I put up a fight. I won’t. But. But it’s not good for me. I don’t want out of this game, I really don’t, I just—my body can’t do it anymore, boys. And I have to see that. I have to respect it.”
Remus put a hand to his chest. It was the strangest thing, he couldn’t remember ever having any sort of conversation like this one with his college teammates. Sometimes, he thought he had forced himself to forget moments from that time. Pushed them out of his mind. Now, he tried to remember. He tried to think of saying goodbye, or good game, or even being in the locker room with his sling. He couldn’t remember, but he wanted to help Kasey and so he tried. All that came was a blur of pain and dark rooms and a young, young Julian.
“I just…I have a feeling that…” Kasey wiped at his eyes. “Fuck. I know I shouldn’t have done this in the middle of a fucking—elimination game, oh my God.” It drew a small laugh out of most of the team. “You know, this isn’t gonna be our final game of the season, no fucking way, but it could be mine because it’s hard out there and—” His voice pitched up and he cleared his throat. “And I didn’t want it to happen, I didn’t want it to end, without everyone knowing, which is probably—maybe at one point in my life I would’ve called that selfish but I don’t think it is now.”
And then Leo was at his side, hand on his shoulder. He was crying, too, blue eyes vivid.
Kasey smiled and wrapped an arm around him. “And look whose fucking hands you’re in, all right? You’re good as golden.”
There was a heartbeat of silence. No one seemed to know what to say. Leo hugged Kasey, eyes closed and fisting the back of his jersey. Sirius walked forward next, and it seemed to break the spell.
“Don’t tempt me about locking you in here, Bliz,” Thomas said as he strode forward. “I just might do it.”
Kasey laughed as Thomas pulled him into a tight hug. He thumped Kasey on the back. “You going back out with us, right?”
“I want to,” Kasey said. “I think I can.”
“We’ll get this for you,” Sirius said. He put a hand on Kasey’s shoulder. “This is still yours, all of it. No matter what. You know that.”
Kasey looked at Sirius for a long moment. “Cap. Thank you. I don’t think my career would be the same without you.”
Sirius brow drew together and he shook his head. “Non. It’s all you, man.”
His eyes went behind Sirius. “And Dumo…” He pressed his lips together, unable to finish. “I…You’re…”
“Bliz,” Pascal smiled softly. “I’m probably not too far behind you in this case. I know that.”
Remus walked forward and put a hand on Sirius’ back.
“All I can say is that it’s an honor to play with you at our backs,” Pascal said.
Someone let out a whoop, and then they room was sort of clapping, sort of crying, and at least one strand of tension broke.
“I’m feeling a group hug,” Thomas said. “No, Cap, don’t pull that look on me. C’mon. Everyone, get your ass up.”
Remus couldn’t help but laugh, tearful as it was as he let Sirius wrap him up on one side, Thomas on the other. Timmy, Olli, Kota, Leo, Kris, Pascal.
There was a little jostle after a moment as a final person enthusiastically joined.
“Alex,” Pascal said without opening his eyes. “You should absolutely be here, but get your elimination game Ranger blue out of our hug.”
“My bad.”
~
Finn didn’t like being home alone. He didn’t like that he couldn’t watch the game. He didn’t like saying goodbye to Leo and Logan, knowing they weren’t going to the same place—or even if they were, to different teams. He wanted to be in the room. He wanted to play, he wanted the burn of his muscles. He wanted to press his shoulder up against Logan’s, or Alex’s, he wanted to defend Kasey and fight anything that even touched Leo.
Instead he was sitting on the couch with all the lights off and the shades down, listening to the crackle of the radio broadcast come from his computer with the screen turned away from him. He was waiting for period two to start, not in the tunnel to the ice, but when a a plate of what felt like the first truly solid food he’d eaten in weeks. Logan had given him a big kiss when he’d asked for Leo’s spicy chicken and rice burritos. Leo and hummed away happily in the kitchen making them and served him one with a gentle kiss to his forehead.
Okay, being taken care of wasn’t that hard.
His phone rang and he knew it was his mom without having to check.
“Hi,” he said around a mouthful, flipping the screen down towards the couch.
“Hi, baby. Just checking in. Fast game, huh? You doing okay? Eating dinner?”
“Mhm, I’m good. I mean—you know. As good as I can be. Listening.”
“Aw, sweetheart. I know.” He could hear the buzz of the stadium behind her, picked out Natalie’s laugh. “I know this isn’t how you pictured it at all.”
Finn sat back against the couch. “Yeah. Did you see Al?”
“For a second before the game. And Logan. He said that if we talk to you during the game to say he loves you.”
Finn smiled. “Mm. Good. How’s Leo looking on the bench?”
“Oh, they showed just the cutest shot of him like a little turtle—well, no a very tall turtle, with his mouth and nose in his jersey. But he seems good. Kasey seems good, too. He’s made some incredible saves.”
“They sound incredible,” Finn said. “Got your whiskey?”
She laughed. “Oh, you know it. Oh, baby, we’re starting. Gotta go, but I love you very much all right? Your dad, says so, too.”
“Love ya, bud!” came his dad’s voice from a little farther away.
Finn, honestly, felt a little choked up. He blinked the tears away and looked around the dim room. They would only make his head ache. “Love you guys, too.”
He heard the phone disconnect and rested his head back against the couch, suddenly not so hungry anymore. He wrapped his plate up for later and squinted an eye shut at the bright refrigerator light. He put the kettle on—could nothing be easy while using one hand?—and steeped some mint tea. When he came back to the couch, throwing a blanket over his legs, the commercials were over.
No, let’s be honest, if Kasey Winter hadn’t made those saves in the first—I don’t know where the Lions would be right now. Sitting in their dressing room and making fucking long summer plans, that’s for sure. Instead, this is a close game, a competitive game, and most importantly, both teams are still in the game.
I agree with you, Matt. Let’s go to the bench now, for an interview with Rangers’ Logan Tremblay.
“Oh, hi, baby,” Finn said softly.
Thanks, Matt. This is Cassie Baker here with Logan Tremblay—
Finn sat bolt upright. He knew—He knew that voice. Cassie. God. Cassie fucking Baker.
Logan, how do you think this period is going to shape up based on how aggressive that first period was so far?
“Holy fuck.” Finn couldn’t help but laugh. “Holy fuck?”
To Logan’s credit, he sounded just as shocked, as if he’d simply turned around and found Cassie there waiting for him. Cassie Baker. Finn remembered bouncing blonde curls and that god-damn Greek temple of the girl’s sorority house at school. Logan kissing her neck in the hallway. Harz, can we have the room for a bit? Coming back from a cancelled class and hearing—
Finn put a hand over his mouth and laughed again. “Okay. Oh man.”
I think we are two teams that want this badly, Logan was saying. Oh, he sounded so good. It’s going to be a fight, but hopefully entertaining for the fans.
How does it feel to possibly have the chance to eliminate your old team?
“Oh no,” Finn let himself fall sideways into the couch, right onto his shoulder. “Fuck.”
Logan’s laugh, disbelieving, still surprised, filled the room. Um. Intense.
Thanks for the time.
I—thanks.
Finn sat back up, holding his shoulder. Never had he ever wanted to talk to them more. He wanted to see Logan’s face. He wanted to see Leo with his chin tucked down against his chest. He didn’t want Leo sitting on the bench alone all game, watching the others work.
Zibanejad and Black on the face-off. The Rangers have a majority of these under their belts now, but Black wins in and it’s knocked back to Lupin. Remus Lupin, quite the surprise, the secret weapon, there are Olympic rumors, and Walker brings it right to the net—and scores! Oh, this game finally has some action!
“That makes one of us,” Finn said aloud to the room. He wasn’t sure he usually talked to himself this much. Maybe it was only that he couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d been alone. The hospital room, he guessed, but even that had been for mere minutes, not hours. He tugged the blanket farther up his chest and pressed his nose into his sweatshirt. Leo’s. He held his mug close to his face. The mint. Logan’s.
Dumais to Reyes, oh, in a near miss! It’s pitched out of the zone by Fox and picked up again by Goodrow—
Finn winced as the thought that he didn’t care who won the game filtered into his mind. He just wanted them to come home.
~
Luke caught onto Logan’s look the second he was sat back on the bench, breathing hard.
“What,” Luke said. “What the fuck’s that look?”
Logan wasn’t sure where to begin. He risked another glance towards the ice tunnel. Cassie was standing there with the cameraman. She looked the same. Her hair was a shiny dark blonde, blue eyes bright, forget-me-not. She carried herself the same. She was talking fast to the cameraman, directing him with her hand that wasn’t holding her microphone. Confident. Easy. She dressed differently. Smart, well-tailored navy suit that made her short frame look taller. Their eyes met, and she sent him another nervous smile.
“Fuck,” Logan said. He flashed a quick one back and turned away.
“What?” Luke asked.
Paul, Rangers PR, had said nothing more than, Tremblay, you’re ESPN’s interview and then Logan had looked up to find…
Hi, Logan. Yeah, probably should’ve warned you a little better… It’s been a while.
Luke punched him in the arm. “Logan.”
“Ex-girlfriend.” Logan swallowed.
“Girlfriend?” Alex asked, perking up. “You, girlfriend?”
“Ouais.”
“Oh my God, show me.”
“The ESPN reporter.” Luke and Alex both whipped their heads around and Logan closed his eyes. “Don’t look.”
Alex ignored him. “The blonde?”
“She’s cute,” Luke said.
“Stop looking.”
“Didn’t she just interview you?” Alex asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you know?”
“Obviously not,” Luke said. “Dude, you look fucking rattled, what did she do to you?”
Logan didn’t really want to think on it now. They had been good. Happy. For months, really. But she hadn’t had all of him, and she’d figured that much out quickly, if not who the rest of his heart was with.
“It’s more… It’s more what I did to her.” Logan shared a glance with Alex. “Or what I felt like I did to her.”
“Huh,” Luke said. “This is transcending bench talk.”
“Ooh,” Alex said. “Big word.”
“Fuck off.” Luke smiled a little, though. “Can you play with your ex-girlfriend watching, Tremzy?”
Logan hit Luke’s helmet with his stick. “Fuck off.”
Alex snorted as he pushed off the bench with Logan when Coach tapped their shoulders. “Are we gonna talk about the Leo Knut tendencies you seem to have always possessed?”
“Big word.” Logan shoved him so hard that he actually fell over, laughing all the way down. That was sure to be on Twitter somewhere later.
~
And Tremblay shoves O’Hara down. Laughing. Wonder what was so funny.
Finn sighed. “You and me both, bud.”
~
“Dev!”
Logan caught Luke’s back-pass and found himself trapped in the corner with Pascal, the puck between their two stick blades. Logan laughed a little, thought he heard Pascal do the same, but it was over too quickly to say anything. Logan knocked it out to Luke again who drew his stick right back and slammed it towards the goal. Kasey lunged for it, the odd, acute angle, but it went right under his glove.
“Yeah!” Logan put his hands up with a grin. He tried not to look at Pascal out of the corner of his eye.
He tapped his glove to Luke’s helmet when he skated into the celly, Percy slamming into their other side.
“Fucking finally, eh,” Percy shouted. He bumped his fist against Luke’s chest, then Logan’s. “Killer pass. Gorgeous.”
There was a buzzing in Logan’s ears. The crowd. Faces that were familiar but not from now. It was like someone had put a filter over his life and all the colors were different. His eyes found Leo on the bench. He was watching the replay on the big screen.
With ten minutes left in the second period, it did feel right that they had finally scored. Tied up, one-one. Logan skated to the bench and hauled himself over it, watching Panarin’s line go out.
He squirted water down the back of his neck and hit Luke’s thigh. “Good.”
“Yeah, well.” Luke wiped his visor clean with a towel. “Let’s just try and keep it up and end this round.”
Logan didn’t say anything. There was that feeling again. The one he couldn’t quite admit to himself. It was real once this round was over—or even realer than it was now. He wasn’t a Lion anymore. He was someone who ended the Lions’ season.
Panarin’s shot went wide twice and Trouba shot one over Kasey’s shoulder that got overturned for interference. Kasey stood with his back to the ice while the referees reviewed it. He had his helmet up and his water bottle in hand, but he didn’t drink. Logan knew Alex had gone into the Lions’ room. He knew what Kasey had announced. He wished he had been there. He wished he had known before Alex went so he could come. Kasey might not be on his team anymore, but he was still Kasey. He had wanted to stand next to Leo and hold his hand.
Six minutes left in the second. 1-1.
Logan jumped the boards right as the puck soared into the netting above the glass and the whistle went. Logan headed towards the Lions’ zone, but stopped when no one else did. He looked around.
“What’s up?” asked Will.
“I don’t know,” Logan said, frowning as Coach Arthur held up a T with his hands and Kasey started skating towards the bench. “They’re calling a time out.”
~
“Come on,” Finn said aloud to the dark room. “Come on.”
The more time went by, the more superstitious he seemed to get. He kept switching up his position on the couch. He’d even taken the computer into the kitchen while he finished his dinner, hoping they might have more luck if he was in a different room. He was putting his plate in the dishwasher when—
And looks like Leo Knut is taking Kasey Winter’s place in goal for the second game in a row.
Finn turned. “Le.”
Why the sudden switch, we’ll have to wait and see but one could only guess that it has something to do with Kasey Winter’s injury struggles this season. Well, recent seasons, I should say. I gotta feel for the guy, he’s one hell of a goalie.
Finn shut the dishwasher with a beep and cursed. As the final minutes of the second period wound down, he tried to picture Leo there. Wary of Logan. Trying to forget that it was Logan. Just number 71.
Tremblay with a high shot. Finn closed his eyes. —Goes wide of Knut. Kakko picks it up.
Finn listened to the third leaning against the kitchen island with his fingers against his lips. Waiting to hear Logan’s name, or Leo’s. LoganLeoLoganLeo, forced to go against each other.
Instead, it felt like all he heard was Remus’.
Lupin has had ten shots on goal alone in these last two periods. None of them have gone in mind you, but that fact is impressive and—oh that’s from Walker straight to Lupin’s tape and carrying, carrying, back to Walker, no look—and he scores! Remus Lupin with a five-hole on a beauty of a no looker from Thomas Walker! He brings it up to 2-1 Lions.
“Yeah!” Finn shouted, rising to his feet. “Fuck yes!”
He wanted to turn on the TV. He wanted to see. He wanted to watch them celebrate, he wanted to skate across the ice and hug Remus because he would have been on the line. He would have. He could have helped.
“Fucking sling,” Finn whispered, tugging at the elastic strap. Most of tea had long gone cold, and he wanted a popsicle to suck on and dull out the ache in his head a little. Or, really, he wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep but he couldn’t do that. Not before the game was through. It was only 9:30 for fuck sake. Though he did find himself wishing that it wouldn’t go to any OT periods. If he stayed standing he’d stay awake.
He paced to the window as the puck battled between zones. Logan was feisty tonight. He’d come close to blows with Kota twice it sounded like. The Rangers went up on a power play when Kota tripped Logan and Finn nearly cheered before remembering that it was the Rangers. Finn walked around the couch as the whistle blew for another Rangers icing. Whoever kept dumping was only doing the Lions a favor.
“C’mon,” Finn mumbled. “I’m tired and I miss you, c’mon.”
Logan on power play one. Logan, Alex. Back to Logan. Finn was too tense, he really wasn’t supposed to be this tense, he was supposed to be firmly relaxing. But Leo. God, Logan and Alex in front of Leo’s net, glove save against Alex, Logan’s shot going wide. Logan was pulling back, Finn could feel it. He was trying, trying, and then seeing Leo. And he was going to get so much shit for it. Finn sat down, rubbed at the back of his neck.
“Fuck,” he whispered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
He should have been praying for a win, but he was praying for this game to be over.
O’Hara to Tremblay, back to O’Hara—and he scores!
“Yeah!” Finn said then cursed. “I mean, no.” He groaned. He had to stop doing that. “Fuck.”
Alex O’Hara with a very clean tip-in off of an assist from Tremblay, Knut didn’t have a chance. 2-2 now this is a tight game and the scoring has picked up tremendously. The puck drops Jesus Christ, Lupin again! Christ almighty! Lupin again! Right off the face-off! 3-2 Lions!
“Loops!” Finn stood and laughed through the word. They were ahead now. God, the announcer was rambling, the pile up on the ice must be insane, celebrating. There was a short enough amount of time that this could be it, it could be, especially with the crowd the way it was, God, Finn could hear it, he could see it, even if he couldn’t. The pounding of hands on the glass and his teammates shouting right beside him. The way Thomas and Evgeni jumped up and down, making the bench rattle.
There was three minutes to go. They were ahead, and Logan was trying. God, Finn could feel him. The way he moved, the way he breathed. He’d spent his entire career watching him, waiting for him, tracking him even when he couldn’t see him. Catch a pass, catch a mistake. Finish a goal, pretty or dirty. Alex was trying his best but twice they’d gotten their pocket picked by Sirius and it made Finn hide a smile. No one could play with Logan as well as him.
It didn’t stop him from scoring though. Of course it didn’t.
That is one slick wrap-around by Tremblay.
Finn closed his eyes. He wanted that highlight. He wanted it bad.
Knut didn’t look like he even knew where the puck was.
Finn put his head in his hands. He could hear the celebration. “Le. Aw, baby, it’s okay, it’s okay…”
The Rangers even it up again with forty-six seconds on the clock. Oh, the Lions don’t like that. Arthur Weasley doesn’t like that, but he’s used his timeout. Gryffindor will have to figure something out.
“Come on,” Finn whispered. “Come on, boys…”
It was a blur of phrases and images playing behind his closed eyes.
God, impossible save by Knut! He’s gonna get famous for that poke-check of his, we saw it last play-offs, and look’s like we’ll be seeing more of it—
Finn wanted to be there to scoop the puck up from Leo’s waiting stick, clear of the blue paint. He wanted to feel Leo at his back, defending him, letting him risk a more risky pass.
The clock had to be dangerously low now and Finn’s head ached with how he was squeezing his eyes shut, but he couldn’t help it. He was so tired.
Knocked away by Knut, hard shot by Trouba—
“Good.” Finn whispered, thumb nail between his teeth. “Good, Le…”
What a take away by Black and he’s going—Lupin catches up with him and it’s two on one, Black and Lupin against Luke Deveaux—Black sends it over to Lupin, Lupin back to Black, and a third time—GOAL! Goal! Goal!
Finn shouted. There weren’t any words in it, but a sheer sound of relief and joy.
Lupin with the hat trick! Hat trick! With twelve seconds on the clock! Twelve seconds! Three goals all scored within—Jesus, how long?—that’s insane, that is just magnificent, insane—
~
Remus heard the crowd. Deep, collective—for a split second, he thought they were booing. But then he pieced it together, right as Sirius slammed into his chest and shouted right in his ear. Not boos.
Loops.
~
My God, Remus Lupin is on fire tonight. God, what a shot! What a shot, this place is going wild. This place is on its feet because the Lions are going to a game seven. I repeat, the Gryffindor Lions are taking the New York Rangers to a game seven—
~
Long, drawn out, Loops and then reorganizing into a chant, and then dissolving into cheers. Hats showered them. Completely, it felt like. Raining, pouring, drenching the ice in hats. So many Remus wondered how all of them made it to the ice. He couldn’t stop laughing. He thought maybe he was crying a little.
“Game winner!” Thomas was shouting. “Game fucking winner, fucking winner, fucking natty hatty, oh fuck, Remus!”
“Jesus, what’s in your water, Lupin!” Percy Marshall shouted from near Saint’s goal.
He just looked up at Sirius. Sirius laughed and then ducked down and kissed Remus’ cheek—or tried, but it was really just their visors knocking together. “I love you. I love you, love you, I love you so much—”
“Julian,” Remus said. “You think Jules saw?”
Sirius just pressed their visors together, while Thomas all but crowed to the sky. “Yeah, baby, Jules saw.”
Remus looked up towards the Lions box as he skated towards the bench, as he skated down the line tapping gloves. He couldn’t see much, but he would have been able to pick out that wildly jumping figure any place, any time.
~
Logan went looking for Cassie. He wouldn’t deny it. He smoothed his wet hair back from his face and tugged at his tie. He smiled shakily at a few members of the press who passed him on their way to the pressroom to write their stories. Post-game interviews had been rough. You guys could have had it, what will you do differently to pull through next game?
It was a fairly normal question. Definitely expected. The hard part, Logan guessed, was answering it truthfully—even to himself. Pulling through meant taking the Lions out, and Logan couldn’t think about that too hard.
But even worse: You seemed to have…bad puck luck when Knut came into goal. What do you think happened?
Logan could have punched the guy who asked that. He’d stared at him hard enough to make him take a step back anyway.
“Tremzy!”
Logan turned fast. Katie, flying towards him full-force, in Rangers blue with TREMBLAY on her back. Pascal had sent him the video—Katie bawling her eyes out and refusing to move until the removed her father’s jersey and gave her a Tremblay one.
Pascal wasn’t too far behind her and grinned as Logan caught Katie up in his arms.
“Salut, Petit. Oh, what are you wearing?” Logan propped her on his hip and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Is that all for me?”
She patted his tie. “You didn’t win. Papa won.”
“C’est une tragédie, apparently,” Pascal said. “We cannot go home until she finds you, you know.”
“Non, me neither.” Logan smiled at him and tilted his and Katie’s heads together. He switched to French. “I need my little cabbage fix before dinner…”
Katie shrieked out a laugh, knowing what was coming, and Logan dipped her upside down to kiss her cheek with nom noises before bringing her upright again.
“Didn’t you like the Lions hat trick? All the hats on the ice.”
Katie shook her head, brandishing the wrist with her charm bracelet at him like a sword. “Non. I like when you get goals.”
“Ouch,” Pascal said wryly.
Katie put a hand on top of Logan’s head. “Is Harzy okay?”
“Ouais,” Logan said. “He’s doing much better. He misses you.”
“Where’s Leo?”
“I’m going to find him right now.”
She squished Logan’s cheeks between her small palms. “Does he have banana bread?”
“Not with him, I don’t think.”
Katie frowned. “Oh.” Then, she promptly squeezed her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. “I love you.”
“Aw,” Logan said. “I love you, too.”
Pascal mouthed, she’s going to fall asleep, and Logan nodded, half-sure that she already was. He put a hand on her back. She was so warm, so delicate in his arms. He used to be afraid of that, holding onto her too hard. “Past your bedtime, hm?”
They stood silently in the hallway together for a moment. Logan thought of the warm living room at the Dumais house. The boys muting their video game on the TV. Katie sleeping against his chest. Noelle passing him embroidery floss colors to pick out so she could make him a bracelet.
“I don’t think I’ll get used to seeing you in blue,” Pascal said softly, stroking back Katie’s hair, then, after a moment of hesitation, mussing Logan’s gently.
“Me neither,” Logan replied roughly. God, how many homes could one person be homesick for at once?
“No matter what happens next game,” Pascal said. “We love you. You know that, right?”
“Ouais.”
“You won’t beat yourself up.”
“Non.” He sighed. “Well, not too bad. I’m worried about Leo.” He sighed. He had to tell someone. “It’s been hard. This, Finn, Kasey…”
“Archer,” Pascal finished hesitantly.
“Logan?” said a voice.
Logan looked to see Cassie at the other end of the hallway. She gave him a small wave, looking uncertain as to whether she should approach or not.
“Ah,” Pascal said. “I thought you knew her.”
“Quoi.” He smiled back at her, held up a finger. One second.
“You looked, ah, how did Sirius put it…Freaked.”
“I’m not.”
“Here,” Pascal said, reaching out for Katie.
“Wait, wait, wait—” Logan began to say, but Pascal just arched a brow.
“You do not need to hold my daughter for every tough conversation you have.”
Logan rolled his eyes, but eased the sleepy Katie into her father’s arms.
“Go talk to a girl. That can’t be too difficult for you.”
“Dumo.”
Pascal just smiled. “Oh, and guess what?”
Logan sighed. His arms felt cold and too light without Katie in them. “What?”
“Leo is going to be okay. You three are going to be fine.”
Pascal touched Logan’s cheek briefly, then turned away, murmuring softly to Katie.
~
“Remus!”
Remus dropped everything he was holding—his glove, a roll of tape, a tennis ball, and his mouth guard—to turn around and get a stumble-inducing hug by his little brother.
“Did you get any of the hats!” Julian asked. “Oh my God!”
“I think they’re in a bunch of buckets somewhere,” Remus said, and held on tighter even when Jules made to pull back. “No, one more second.”
“I have to see Sirius, too!”
“He didn’t get a hat trick.” Remus squeezed Julian until he gasped for air.
“Death by hug,” Julian coughed out, but he squeezed Remus just as tightly back. “It was so cool, Re.”
“Thanks. It felt pretty cool.” He put his hands on Julian’s shoulders and pulled back. “I can get you a hat if you want a hat. Can’t promise to know whose head it was on, though.”
Julian laughed. “I don’t need a hat.” Remus still sort of wanted to get him a hat. He wanted to get Julian anything he could ever possibly want.
Julian shook Remus lightly by his shoulder pads. “Game seven! Did you always think you were going to go to a game seven!”
Remus shrugged, patting his stall for Julian to sit in. “I don’t know if Captain Superstitious over here would have allowed such a thought to cross my mind.”
“Wow,” Sirius said, stripping off his chest pads and grabbing his towel for a shower. “You make me sound insane.”
Julian and Remus shared a look.
“You might be a little.” Julian pinched his fingers. “Tiny bit insane.”
Sirius rolled his eyes, but tussled Julian’s hair before walking away.
“Hey.” Remus nudged his his foot against Julian’s shin. “You okay here for a second if I shower so we can all get some ice cream before it’s after midnight?”
Julian’s eyes lit up—either at the mention of ice cream or at the prospect of being left to his own devices in the locker room.
“Oh, I’ve got him,” Thomas said. He was wearing his suit pants and shrugging on a white button down. “Noelle chose to go see the Rangers so I, too, am abandoned.”
“Oh my God,” Jackson said from beside him. “She said she’d be back in two minutes after seeing her loser brother.”
“Watch it,” Leo called, passing by.
“Two whole minutes.” Thomas tisked. “Nado, I don’t know what to do with myself without that girl around anymore. Copy?”
“Good luck,” Remus said to Julian, and stripped off his own padding to head to the showers.
James was singing—horribly—but Sirius had secured them the two corner showers. Remus’ favorite. The hot water felt good, but Sirius’ gaze on him felt better. Remus smiled as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back to wash his hair.
“I can feel you thinking,” Remus said.
“If we were alone, you could feel—”
“Oh I’m sure.”
“Well, I was thinking about taking you into another private corner but your little brother was looking at me.”
Remus reached for the shampoo. “This is true.” He looked over his shoulder. “I don’t see him anywhere now.”
Sirius sent a pointed look at James and the few other of their teammates showering around them.
“What?” Remus said with a grin. “I just want a kiss.”
Sirius watched him for a moment, and Remus let himself admire the way the water made his dark hair and eyelashes ever darker. The way the droplets made his tan skin shine. Finally, Sirius went so far as to settle a hand on Remus’ bare, wet hip, and kissed his cheek.
“I love you,” Sirius whispered against Remus’ skin.
“I love you, too.”
“The noodles!” Evgeni shouted, ducking beneath a shower head across the room.
“He means canoodle,” Jackson said.
Sirius ignored them. “I want to re-watch that game.”
“Is that all?”
“No. It’ll never be all with you. I’ll always want you more.” Another soft kiss to his temple. “And more, and more.”
~
“You fucker,” Alex said into his phone, wedged between his shoulder and ear as he tied his dress shoes.
“Ha-ha,” Finn replied. “It was all me.”
“Oh, we’ll get your boys next game.” Alex said.
“Will you now?” Finn said. “You sure about that?”
“Pretty damn sure, I’d say. Lupin can’t be that hot every night.”
“Ha, but Sirius Black can.”
“Bleh.” Alex straighten with a sigh. “I hate how true that is.”
“Hey, Al?”
Alex took his phone, switching ears. “Yup?”
There was a bit of a pause, long enough that Alex looked at the screen to make sure that Finn was still there. It made him nearly miss his first couple words.
“If you can,” Finn’s voice said. “Try not to let Lo take any winning shots against Leo.”
Alex’s smile dimmed. His eyes moved over to Kasey, who was leaning against the wall through the locker room doorway with Natalie, waiting for him. She said something with a smile and he nodded in his soft way, playing with the diamond ring on her finger.
“It’ll hurt them both, I think,” Finn finished softly. “Maybe ask Deveaux, too. If you can.”
“I don’t know if I can help that, Finn,” Alex said.
“I know.” Finn’s sigh crackled like wind. “I know. Yeah, I know.”
“Hey,” Alex said. “But I love you, little Fish.”
There was a beat of silence. “All right, I’ll let that slide just this once.”
Alex smiled.
“Love you, too.”
~
“Hi,” Cassie said.
Logan’s words got stuck for a second.
She had taken her suit jacket off and her white shirt underneath was crisp and clean. Logan remembered her in low tank-tops and knee-high boots. His Harvard sweatshirts and tiny cotton shorts, stretching in his bed and going to his window to check if it was raining. Yes, he had loved Finn for most of their time together, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t appreciated Cassie. She was kind and fun and, God, had she ever taught him what he liked. She had been a little wild like that. He had a flash of a steamed up car window, her uneven breathing against his cheek, her hand fisting the hair at the back of his neck.
“I…hi.”
She smiled, then shrugged and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hi.”
He laughed. “Hi.” She felt the same and he automatically squeezed her waist like he used to. “I—sorry about—I mean on the bench.” They pulled apart. “I was—I wasn’t expecting—”
“No, that’s so on me, I didn’t give you, like, any warning. This is kind of a new promotion for me. I mean, not kind of.” She rolled her eyes, laughing. “It is.”
“Congrats.”
“Thanks.”
“Well—wow, I have to tell Finn.”
“Oh, Finn. I always adored him.”
“He’s good. Uh and, oh, Will and Percy are here, did you…”
“Saw them on the bench, but haven’t gotten to say hi yet.” She tilted her head, teasing. “Didn’t think I was just waiting for you, did you?”
Logan laughed. “Uh, non, definitely not.”
“But it is really good to see you. Really, really good. Seriously, though, is Finn doing okay? That was really hard footage to watch.”
Try being there. “Yeah. He’s—he’s better. He’s getting better. He might be at the next game in New York, if he gets cleared. Not dressed, but, still. Not having to sit in the dark.”
“Right.” Cassie nodded sympathetically. “God, that happened to him in college, didn’t it?”
Twice. Logan nodded. He didn’t expect her to remember. They’d been broken up by the second.
“Well, then I hope I get to say hi.”
Logan wasn’t sure how to talk about Finn with Cassie. She’d broken up with him over Finn, even though she hadn’t known it was Finn at the time. She’d thought it was another girl, just someone else taking up Logan’s attention. By the conflicted look on her face, it looked like she knew now.
“Um.” Cassie tucked her hair behind her ears then crossed her arms. “Listen. This is probably not the time and definitely not the place but I’m not sure—I kind of just have to say this if you don’t mind.” She glanced down the hallway, but they were alone. “I think I was kind of…I know I was hard on you when we broke up…”
Logan shook his head. He swallowed, trying to force the words out quickly. “Non. Non, I don’t think you were hard on me. If anyone was hard on someone, it was me on you. I mean…now you know that…that Finn and I?”
“Were you together then?” she asked, then her eyes widened. “God. No. Jesus, you don’t have to tell me that. That was so rude, wow. I’m sorry.” She laughed a little. “We don’t see each other for years and—”
“We weren’t,” Logan said, but then it was his turn to laugh a bit. “Well—Merde. I mean. We were… We loved each other then. But we…” How to even say it? “We thought we couldn’t.” No, that wasn’t it. “I thought we couldn’t.”
“You seriously don’t owe me an explanation,” Cassie said. “Logan, I was trying to apologize. The second I heard about you and Finn—I mean, I think I just saw a photo of you two on Twitter or something, or Instagram?—but I remembered our fight like it was yesterday and…”
“You thought I was cheating on you. And in a lot of ways you were right. You had ever right to be mad at me.”
“I…I know that now. But I loved you, and I shouldn’t have said all those horrible things.” She let out a breath. “I didn’t mean them. It’s just that I really, really loved you.”
Logan wouldn’t have said any of his heart still belonged to Cassie, but right then it felt like part of it might, in some way. It broke all over again for the two of them. For the quiet mornings and for looking up into the bleachers at games and seeing her there, wearing his sweater. For all the times she’d gone quiet and let him think about what he wanted to say, when she was always so bright and sudden for everyone else.
“Anyway,” she sighed. “I just didn’t know when I would see you again and, you know, knock on wood you’ll be too busy celebrating next game, and I wanted to say that I’m sorry. And that I’m happy for you. You and Finn.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Logan said. “I didn’t deserve you. I was trying to figure me out and…and I feel like I used you but, for the record, I did love you, too. Maybe not like you loved me, but.”
Cassie smiled. “Yeah?”
Logan smiled back. “Ouais.”
“Oh.” Cassie shook her head fondly. “God, I missed your French.”
Logan was laughing when he heard Leo’s voice from behind him.
“Lo?”
Logan turned and found him standing there, handsome in his navy suit. He looked between them hesitantly.
“Le,” Logan held out a hand to him. “Soleil, this is Cassie. Cas, this is my boyfriend, Leo.”
Cassie smiled, then looked alarmed, then smiled again. “Uh. Wait. Um. I mean, hi.”
“There’s two of them,” Logan said and took Leo’s hand. “Finn. Leo.”
“Two?”
“Two.”
Cassie looked between them for a moment, then shrugged. “Jesus, I can’t even find one. You were so great in the third, Leo, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh,” Leo said, a little dazed. Logan tried not to watch too closely as Leo looked Cassie up and down. “Well, thanks, pleasure to meet you. How do you two…”
Logan squeezed Leo’s fingers. “Cas and I were at school together—we…well, we…”
“Dated,” Cassie finished for him with a grin. “For a little while. But then again, I never got called the sun by this one so who’s counting it really.”
Leo looked down at Logan and Logan was so proud of the happy look in those blue eyes he could have kissed him. “No?”
“Nope,” Cassie said. “But I can see why you do.”
“Casss-ieee,” came Percy’s voice from behind them, and then the thump of him running down the hall. He didn’t even hesitate, not even when it had been years, before scooping her up in a hug. She shrieked, but let him spin her once and press a kiss to her cheek.
“Oh my God, will you not ever grow up Percy Marshall?”
Percy just grinned at her. His suit was wrinkled, as usual, and he towered over her, but he looked down at her smile like he was looking up to the blue sky. “Not a chance, Cassie Baker. Not with you to impress.”
“It’s been too long since I’ve been subjected to your flirting.”
“Well.” Percy released her and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Who knows. Maybe I really mean it this time.”
Logan felt Leo nudged him, hip against hip, and Logan leaned his head against his shoulder.
“Home?” Leo whispered.
“Ouais.”
Logan thwacked Percy upside the head as they passed by. “See you next game, Cas?”
“Count on it,” Cassie called, and when she wasn’t looking, Percy mouthed Cassie fucking Baker to him over her shoulder with a lovesick expression on his face.
“So, you dated her,” Leo said. He was trying very hard not to smile.
“Oasis,” Logan said. “But…” He reached up as they walked and traced a blond wave of Leo’s hair, then the gray streak. “I was obviously looking for you.”
“You know Hannah looks just like you, right?”
“What? Non.”
Leo laughed. “Logan Tremblay. Look alive, hot stuff—oh.” Leo’s phone pinged. “Gee, wonder who that could be.”
Please come home I talking to myself (sent with Siri)
Also the doctor is emailed I clear for traveled with to you so New York! Sirius send happy emoji no smile emoji no send smile (sent with Siri)
Leo snorted, Logan let out a loud laugh, then they had to take a minute, leaning against each other with silent laughter.
“What’s wrong with you two?” Remus asked as he passed by with Sirius and Julian.
“Sirius,” Logan gasped. “Send smile emoji.”
Leo crouched, hiding his face against Logan’s hip as his shoulders shook.
Sirius just shook his head and tugged on Remus’ hand. “You need to go home.”
“Send smile emoji!” Logan shouted after him.
Sirius just looked back at him. “What the fuck, Tremz.”
“I’ve got him,” Leo laughed, wrapping an arm around Logan’s shoulder. “C’mon, Harz is talking to himself, we better go save him.”
“He always talks to himself.”
“I don’t think he knows that.”
Leo just hummed in agreement. “She seemed nice.”
“She is,” Logan said.
“This is the girl you mean when you say college girlfriend, right?”
“Mhm,” Logan nodded, and took Leo’s hand again as they walked into the stairwell that led to the parking lot. It smelled like summer. Heat and humidity. Leo stripped off his suit jacket to drive and threw it in the back seat with their bags.
When they were turning the engine on, Logan put a hand over Leo’s. “Le.”
Leo looked up from adjusting his mirrors.
Logan took a breath. He wasn’t sure he actually wanted to talk it all through, but maybe it would get easier. Maybe. And he at least had the short drive home to start. “Want me to tell you about it?” Logan asked softly. “Cassie.”
Leo’s lips parted, surprised. His hair was darker, the ends starting to dry from his own shower. He had taken his tie off, too, and his shirt was open at the neck. Logan reached out and touched the indent of the fleur-de-lis necklace beneath his shirt. It had been passed back and forth between them— Finn had been wearing it for a few days there when he was mostly just sleeping and in pain, but Logan supposed at some point, Finn had slipped it over Leo’s neck again.
“Yeah,” Leo said softly. “I’d like that.”
Logan leaned back in his seat as Leo pulled out of their spot. “I met her my very first night as a Freshman. I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t even have bed sheets. I had met Fish, là, twenty minutes maybe before. I scared the hell out of him in our room. But you know that, anyway, Cassie saved me from sitting by myself all night…”
#vaincre lumosinlove#sweater weather lumosinlove#sports au#wolfstar au#o'knutzy#lumosinlove#finn o'hara#Logan tremblay#sirius black#Leo knut#remus lupin#go lions go
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Mating Season Ends
Pairing: We'ar-ow (Female Yautja) x GN!Reader
Word Count: 3359
Summary: After lasting about 2 weeks, mating season ends and the ship returns to normal. Dwainet didn't get a single female. You begin to learn the life that We'ar-ow leads and all that consists within in it.
Author Note: Slowly working at this while getting to requests, promise! I had to think about how I was going to go along with this story. I think I have it down, we'll see it. Also, I haven't forgotten about the 1k drawing. I'm only four away currently so we'll seeeee
Masterlist
Ao3
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
There’s a smirk among We’ar-ow’s face. Said Yautja is sat upon a single seat chair in her living room, tablet in her grasp. Though, she hadn’t forced you to be out here with her, your room was starting to get beyond boring of just standing there and doing nothing. Instead, you’ve ventured out and explored what was available to you.
A watchful eye was kept on her as you moved around, like a fearful animal ensuring you didn’t anger her. You knew, despite her gaze on the device, she also observed you. Always. You stopped and peered over at the pink Yautja, head slightly tilted. She doesn’t often let loose any expressions but the fact she had a full grin peeked your interest. Yet, you didn’t dare raise a question.
Right as you were about to continue exploring, We’ar-ow grunted. “Do not be afraid to ask a question, pet,” she said, eyes still on the tablet. You tensed up and worried at your bottom lip. “Speak.”
You groaned lowly. “Why are you smirking?” you brought up the question rolling around your mind. Her upper mandibles twitched, clicking against the bottoms ones. You stayed in the same spot by a room you’ve never been in before.
“That male you mated with.” Dwainet. You slightly flinch as his words rang in your mind. “The mating season ends today. Not a single female reported mating with him.” Reported? They listed that shit?! By god’s grace… all of this was so strange and kind of disgusting to be honest. Why would you want someone to know who you… ehm, had sex with?
Disgust fell over your face. “Why do you know this?” you asked another question, feeling uncomfortable about the conversation.
We’ar-ow raised her device slightly. “We have everything charted. It’s a way to ensure inbreeding does not occur or any diseases appear, we are able to track it down to whom.” Okay… now that made more sense. Still though, you didn’t want your dirty laundry to be aired. “I expected no one to mate with his disloyal ass. I like to know if it was true.”
Her words from when she bested Dwainet rung inside of her head. Right. Since he committed a low crime, not a single female would let them mate with her. Something you also took joy in, just less noticeable. You cleared your throat and softly nodded your head. “That’s… that’s good to know,” you spoke and leaned against the wall close by.
A hum filled the tense air. “Yes. Are you pleased?” Now, your brows furrowed at her words. Why would she care? You just shrugged your shoulders nonchalantly to answer her question. “You still care,” it was more of a statement than a question.
Deep down, you do. You still do. Your heart continuously ached at the heartbreak but he was your first love, true love at first sight. As stupid as the whole situation was, you still cared about the person who smashed your heart without any remorse. Look at you now: a pet to the Monarch of an alien clan. How your world had turned upside down.
“Yes,” you hissed out and stared down at the ground. “I do, okay?”
The couch groaned underneath her as she got up. Instantly, your head whipped up and watched as she made her way over to you. Everything just froze in your mind again, unable to think of way to escape or anything of the sort.
As she stopped before you, she reached out with her hand cupped your chin. Your first reaction was to flinch, but her touch was soft. “Why?” she demanded and tilted your head up to look her in the eye.
A defensive streak rose inside of you. Why did she have to question everything you did? “He was my first love. It felt like true love at first sight,” I said and tried to keep a neutral expression on my face. I didn’t need her to be anger at anything I said.
She hummed once more. A few muscles on your face twitched. Her thumbed swiped along your cheek and drew your attention to something shining on the finger. A tear. You were crying. Why? To save what left over dignity, you tore your head from her grasp. There wasn’t anywhere else to go though so you just stayed against the wall, arms crossed.
“Oomans are so foolish.” You curled more in on yourself. “Love at first sight? There’s no such thing. It is something to nurture and help flourish.” If you had it in you, you would’ve barked out a laugh. As if she or her kind knew of care and kindness.
Rough around the edges. The inside, worse. Just a cactus where their hearts should be. Ugly, heartless, and homewrecker. You kept a heady stare on the floor and grumbled out inaudible words. Not that she would care.
All you wanted was to go home! Fresh, hot tears steered down the lengths of your cheeks and darkened the cloth of your shirt. You bit your tongue; silence was the best answer to any argument. Because it stopped them. She can keep stating her case, breaking your already shattered heart. Here you are, staying quiet and knowing everything she said was the truth. You were foolish and stupid. Look where it got you.
A warm hand tipped your head back up to be face to face with We’ar-ow once more. Your gaze still cast downwards, no matter what she did. The Yautja sighed, a rough sound on your ears, and dropped her head. Then picked her massive head back up to look at you. Her pupils boring an unnecessary hole into you. “I see you have come to realize the truth.”
And the truth hurt. Your bottom lip wobbled.
“That male never cared about you. Not truly. Not the way you wanted. You were something new to his young mind, a new toy if you must. The novelty worn off when realized a ooman mate will diminish his chances of producing a strong bloodline.” Every single word of hers was a gut wrenching, heart tearing, punch to where it hurts most.
Your shoulders trembling at the first sob. Once the damn broke, it was hard to stop. The stress of it all was caving in on you after one beam fell. Your knees gave out and forcing you to drop to the ground. From there, you sobbed your heart out in front of someone you didn’t trust. You backed yourself against the wall and curled as tightly into a ball that was possible.
We’ar-ow stood tall above you, unsure on what to do, arms limp at her sides. Slowly, as if she was hunting, she lowered herself to her haunches, still towering in height and size.
“I wa-was nothing more, more than a play, plaything to him!” you cried into your thighs, body shaking with each pathetic weep. That year with him meant nothing! Nothing to him. While it was thought to be the best time of your life… you were only blinded by the lies and façade.
Coarse, rough skin petted the top of your head and ran down to the base of your neck. You were shocked out of your cryfest as the pain of the mark being touched and hissed. In reaction, you snapped your head up and pinned the limb against the wall. But, that caused it to hurt worse. You jerked away from the wall and reached back to gentle poke at the now blazing mark.
In a whirlwind of emotions and unstable mindset, you snapped at We’ar-ow. “Why did you fucking touch it?!” The mark had scabbed over during the healing process but the skin around it was still sensitive and sore. “You don’t know shit!”
She just sat there, on her haunches, only raising a singular brow at you. “I do not?” she questioned lowly, face revealing nothing of her emotions. You didn’t know what to be more scared after the raging emotions died. Unable to know what she was feeling or how calm those three words came out. You swallowed thickly and curled back into a frightful ball. Maybe she’ll just get this over with and kill you.
Something warm rested under your jaw and forced it up once more. But you don’t look the predator in the eye. That. That is a death sentence. “Pet, I asked you a question.” Again!? Seriously? You could just feel the need to sob your heart out all over again. Why does she keep calling you that? Why not your name? Or something more human than ‘pet’?
For all the energy you had left, you simply just nodded your head. We’ar-ow did not understand your feelings for Dwainet. She never will.
The Yautja simply made a ‘hmpf’ sound and barely nodded her head in thought. “Why do you think that?” she asked. Another question to force you to respond, in any way. Your eyes clenched shut and pushed out any leftover tears. Then, you gulped and took a deep breath.
“I’ve been around your kind long enough. You are a rude, inconceivable species with not a single centimeter of space for love. You, out of everyone, don’t know a single thing about my situation!” Your voice grew in volume the longer you talked. Not that you meant for that to happen.
With her long tongue, the pink Yautja was able to click her tongue and shook her head. The hand under your chin slid against your skin to rest upon your cheek this time. “When I had first found you, my dear ooman, you were a mess of emotions and sorrow. That tells me enough. My age comes into play next. I’m older than you think, gaining experience through my years. I do understand, ooman.”
You snorted through your nose and glared from underneath your brows up at her. We’ar-ow leaned in close, enough for her breath to fan across your wet face. “Why do you think I’ve taken you in as my pet?” Your body tensed, frozen in thought before your shoulders shrugged.
One of her upper mandibles lifted. Her long, pink tongue slithered out and licked up a stripe of your salty tears. “You’ll find out in time.” You jerked your head back only to smack it against the wall behind you, upper lip curling up. We’ar-ow chuckled.
Without a word, you silently pouted and stayed on the ground. We’ar-ow stood back up and offered a hand to you. “Come along, pet.” You scowled at the name but took up on her offer. Just using a sliver of her strength, she pulls you up to your feet. You were yanked up, not expecting the sudden strength or move. The action caused you to bump into her.
One of her arms settled between your shoulder blades and held you steady against the warmth of her body. Blazing heat flashed across your cheeks and raced up to the tips of your ears. You swallowed thickly, entirely form tense and unwilling to move. Neither did she.
The entire time, her gaze was tilted down at you. An alien grin growing on her mandibles, minute. In the state of shock, you didn’t even have time to see it on her features. It was gone as you took all the space you could away from her, back against the wall once more. You took a deep breath in, cleared your throat, and finally looked the predator in the eye. “Where are we going?” you spoke, voice different than before.
We’ar-ow let her arm fall limp to at her side, her eyes still trained on your meek, nervous form. “Out. I have more things to finish before the end of the cycle,” she explained, observed you for a few extra seconds before turning about face and heading towards the door. A scowl fell upon your features at the notion of going out there once more. Paraded as her damn pet.
From the safety of being behind her, you glared fiery daggers at the Yautja and wished you could throttle her. Then, you took the needed steps to catch up to We’ar-ow. The two of you were out the door and shortly on your way to wherever.
The halls weren’t overflowing with the aliens. Today seemed to have calmed down after the season had ended officially. Everyone tired out after the last two weeks had everyone’s hormones thrown into a whirlwind. One that got you caught up in this mess of trouble and rage.
During the entirety of her strutting, you promptly stayed at her six and used her shadows to hide. Pathetic, even with how little Yautjas there were roaming. After everything that has occurred, staying as safe as possible was a necessity to your survival. You don’t know who will challenge the Monarch, as stupid as they would be, for your head. Oomans aren’t well liked upon the predatory species as you’ve come to learn. But here you were, in the lions den with the leader of tribe as your protector. All it takes is one person…
A familiar color caught your eye, feet faulting for a couple of seconds. You accidentally trip over air, barely saving yourself an embarrassing face plant in front of everyone… including Dwainet. Without truly thinking about it, you rushed to catch up once more to the pink Yautja. Your eyes prompt finding the dark metal grey floors far more interesting than the burning rage glare pinned on you.
Cliché enough but if looks could kill, the heat from his gaze would burn hotter than a sun. Death, instantaneously.
One look couldn’t be helped. Eyes flickering for just a millisecond, one too long. You took note that his eyes weren’t on your own. Instead… a little lower, towards your neck. Instinctively, you reached up to touch at the warm leather wrapped peacefully there. A constant reminder to who owned you. If looks could kill… We’ar-ow would be thrown out an airlock and forgotten about.
After that shorter, hair-raising encounter, you stuck to We’ar-ow’s backside like glue. The Yautja didn’t need a leash to keep you this close to her. Just straight terror of what your ex-lover might do to you. Especially learn what had happened to him. He had to be seething from the limited knowledge you had about his species.
The hallway you were taking seemed familiar. Somewhat at least. You scrapped through your mind to remember where this was leading you. Before you had a chance, We’ar-ow stopped in front of a door and imputed a code. Your eyes snapped to her movement, only catching the last three pushes. Three, not bad out of the six you believed was the length of her code.
It opened up to reveal the grand throne room. We’ar-ow marched into the room at her normal strutting pace. Once more, you were left to scramble after her. The Monarch took each step up to the throne chair with pride. You watched as the calm, relaxed Yautja morphed into the leader of her clan. Her face no longer as causal, eyes slightly hooded over as she looked down on the empty space before her.
On the other hand, you went to the spot you had sat at before. Only to notice a soft, plush cushion in place. Despite her gaze on the purple carpet before her, you looked over at her. You were hesitant to sit down on the pillow, unsure if this was the purpose of it. Or something to taunt you with.
A subtle nod came from the Yautja. You released the breath you were holding and thanked to whatever god could hear you for this offering before sitting down.
Instead of the harsh, back breaking metal that once met your bottom, the cushion offered support and relief. You sat easily on the large pillow and crossed your legs, knees bent to sit comfortably. It was definitely an upgrade compared to last time. All you had to do now was somehow find a way to entertain yourself for the time being. Unfortunately.
Yet, something was thrusted into your vision. Your head jerked back, nearly falling backwards and stared at what looked to be a tablet. We’ar-ow held it out, bright iris peering at you from the corner of her eye.
When you didn’t grab it in a reasonable amount of time, she moved it closer to while wiggling it as well. Timidly, you reached out and took the device from her. “Thanks,” you mumbled and inspected the tablet. It wasn’t anything fancy or spectacular but tapping the screen caused it to light up.
From there, you dove more into finding what the item could do in your favor. Plowing through time without even noticing.
It wasn’t until a foot was nudging against your numb legs you uncurled from your shrimp position. We’ar-ow stood before you, regel as ever. You blinked a few times before catching onto what she wants from you. Shutting off the screen and holding the tablet to your chest, you unsteadily got up, legs barely listening to your command.
Like clockwork, the duo had returned back to We’ar-ow’s room. The Yautja walked into the kitchen and sifted through things to gather a couple of items. The entire time, you observed her movements, taking notice how she carries herself while in the privacy of her quarters. Different, relax, causal.
“Are you hungry?” We’ar-ow’s words break you from your thoughts. You shook your head to clear any lingering thoughts.
“Y-yeah, a little,” you voiced and stepped into the living room. Just enough space for We’ar-ow and limited guests if she invites any over. That made you question internally if the Yautja had anything close to a friend. The society of her species highly varies from your own. Was there friendship? Was there relationships? Was there love?
No. There couldn’t be. Not after Dwainet. He taught you his kind was built for love. Just a species morphed to kill. Kill everything in their path, even those who cared about them.
You found yourself settling down on a single person seat that easily engulfed your human body. The tablet was laid comfortably in your lap as you continued to play, mess with it if you must. The things you learned currently were far more helpful than ever.
A map, cameras. All that was needed to show you where their ships were docked, where there was airlocks, emergency escape pods. Everything. From the months you projected to surviving on this ship suddenly turned to days, weeks at most. Freedom was in sight. You could see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it was beautiful.
A plate of assorted fruits/vegetables was placed on the side tablet next to you. We’ar-ow posted her frame to lean against the armrest and peered over you. “Does this give enrichment?” The translator struggled for a moment to find the right word for last part of her sentence.
Nonverbally, you dipped your head as you used an app of sorts to access the internet. Their internet. Strings of Yautja covered the screen, nothing legible. The implant translator only worked with speech, not text. You haven’t found a way to change the language. If there was a way to switch to English…
The Yautja hummed before leaning, showering you in her body heat and pressing a couple of buttons on the screen. Then, voila! Magic. Yautja changed to English in a blink of an eye. “I swear… that male failed you more ways than just the five I count.”
“I have the translator implanted,” you retorted mindlessly and explored the new mode revealed to you. We’ar-ow scoffed once more and used a sharp nail to tap at mentioned device.
“My point still stands.” How much you believe that? Zero. As you’ve come to learn quickly, there was no arguing with her. Instead, you just stayed glued to the tablet and partially ignoring the huge Yautja next to you.
Said predator finally stalked off after a few minutes of watching you. Thankfully. Now, it was time to see what their internet consisted of.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
#yautja#predator#yautja x reader#yautja x you#alien vs predator#predator x reader#yautja x human#predator x you#predator x human#x reader#We'ar-ow
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PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR → A BLAZE OF HORROR
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summary: steve harrington x oc | on ao3
when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.
word count. 3.3k || masterlist
warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.
previous chapter ← → next chapter
a/n: we're nearing the end of season 2! many exciting things to come :)
Sunshine landed on the ground with a light thud as she let go of the rope they had fastened to Billy Hargrove’s stolen car. She found herself inside one section of tunnel that she’d been staring at in drawing form on the walls of Will’s Byers home. The temperature dropped upon entrance, causing her to shiver and pull her jacket closer to her body. She adjusted her goggles over her eyes and made sure the bandana tied around her nose and mouth was secure as she waited for everyone else to drop down into the tunnel after her.
The tunnels looked like they stretched for miles in a terrible darkness that was only made worse by the cut of flashlights. Particles floated in the air, resembling ash, and vines decorated the walls and floor.
“Holy shit,” Steve muttered under his breath as he landed beside Sunshine and took in their new surroundings.
Once all of the kids were there, Mike took the lead with a drawn map in his hands that he had made between the chaos at the Byers. “I’m pretty sure it’s this way,” he said.
“You’re pretty sure or are you certain?” Dustin asked.
Mike sighed and Sunshine was sure he rolled his eyes somewhere under his goggles. “I’m one hundred percent sure. Just follow me and you’ll know.” He began to walk down the tunnel but was promptly stopped by Steve snatching the map from the kid’s grasp. “Hey!” Mike tried to object.
“I don’t think so.” Steve held the map high enough that Mike couldn’t grab it. “If any of you little shits down here, we’re getting blamed. From here on out, Sunshine and I are leading the way.” If they couldn’t stop the kids from doing something stupidly dangerous, then they had to lead the way into danger.
The kids seemed almost unsure of Steve’s authority, and all looked to Sunshine like she was supposed to make the final call. Of course, she agreed with Steve, so she nodded her head, and they all didn’t put up an argument. Then they were off.
As they ventured through the tunnel, drenched in the cold and strange air, Sunshine was struck with Deja vu. The tunnels felt awfully similar to when she and Nancy had crawled through a small gateway in the woods that placed them inside the Upside Down.
The other, terrible world infected Hawkins like a disease. The tunnels stretched for miles, according to Will’s map, underneath the outskirts of the town and threatened to reach the residents unless El closed the Gate and stopped it from spreading. Sunshine couldn’t imagine the kind of hysteria that would come from the people of Hawkins if they were exposed to the Upside Down, the Demogorgons, and the Mind Flyer.
And it was up to them to keep that from happening and keep the world from ending, which seemed wildly unfair. Yet, there was no time or space for them to refute their position, no matter how bad of shape they were in.
All of the events of the night, good and terrible, weighed heavily upon all of them, leaving them beaten, bruised, and tired. Sunshine wasn’t sure if they had another round of monster fighting in them, but she wasn’t sure they’d get a choice in the matter.
As they ventured deeper into the tunnels, they came upon odd plants that grew beside the vines. The plants expanded and retracted as if they were breathing. They stopped to observe the strange scenery for only a moment before they started walking again, but they didn’t get far before a shrill scream came from the back of the group, startling everyone.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Dustin yelled as he hastily pulled down his bandana and began coughing violently.
Sunshine had whipped around at the scream and hurried to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder with panic rising quickly in her chest. “What happened?”
“It’s in my mouth! Some got in my mouth! Shit!” Dustin yelled and coughed while Sunshine shared a worried look with Steve. Neither one of them knew what to do; there wasn’t exactly common knowledge on what to do when someone breathed in otherworldly plant fumes. Luckily, Dustin’s panic faded with his coughs, and settled with a deep breath from the kid before he said, “I think I’m okay. It’s fine.”
Sunshine let out a sigh of relief and pulled Dustin’s bandana back up over his nose and mouth. “Let’s keep going, yeah?” she said. Dustin nodded and the rest of the kids all started following Steve’s lead once more.
After she made her way back to the front of the pack, Sunshine peered over at the map Steve held and tried to figure out how close they were to the hub.
“If we make it out of here, remind me to never volunteer to babysit again,” Steve said.
“When we make out of here,” she corrected. Not making it out wasn’t a choice they had. Sunshine promised to protect all of them, and she didn’t plan on breaking that promise. “I will. But I don’t know how well that’ll go over.” She glanced behind them at the group filing behind them with brave faces and good hearts. “I think they’re really warming up to you.”
Steve shook his head. “They said, like ten minutes ago, they wanted to leave me behind at the house.”
“Well, yeah, but to be fair, they were right about you freaking out in the car.” Steve scoffed. “And I wouldn’t have let that happen. We wouldn’t have left you behind.”
Over the last year, Sunshine had grown a closeness with Steve that she didn’t want to let go of. She had learned what it was like to have a best friend, to have someone who was patient and kind to her without any obligation to do so. Sunshine wanted to hang onto Steve; she liked having him around, whether it was to study at the library or fight monsters.
“I can’t believe you punch Hargrove,” Steve said after a beat of silence. “I bet that threw him off. Most girls in town are trying to get with him, not break his jaw.”
It was her turn to scoff, playfully. “I didn’t break his jaw. I think his jaw hurt my hand more than my punch hurt him.” She flexed her fingers and winced. The way Billy looked at Max and Lucas still unsettled her; the idea that anyone, even an angry teenage boy, would think for even a second of hurting a kid half their size caused rage to flood Sunshine’s veins. Maybe it was her memories of the Lab and how far the violence inside there went, but she refused to let anyone lay a hand on any member of the party. And even though Sunshine had just met Max that week, she still felt a sense of protectiveness over her, considering how she was roped into the mess of their lives.
“I also take babysitting very seriously,” Sunshine added, half-joking.
“I’ve noticed.”
They continued to trudge through the tunnels until they reached a large opening that multiple tunnels spilled into. It was a large space right where Mike had said.
“Alright, Wheeler,” Steve said. “I think we found your hub.”
Mike stepped forward holding a canister of gasoline. “Let’s drench it.” And that they did.
The group worked to soak every inch of the room with gasoline. They worked quickly and tossed the empty canisters aside before they regrouped at the entrance of the tunnel they had come from. They had a straight shot back to the entrance and a quick trip back to the Byers. Sunshine hoped they beat everyone back and then she nor Steve would have to explain why they let the kids out of the house when that was the last thing they were supposed to do.
Steve pulled a lighter from his coat pocket and everyone braced themselves. He breathed deeply and muttered, “I’m in such deep shit,” before he dropped the lighter and caught the hub on fire.
The flames drank the gasoline hungrily, spreading alarmingly fast. Bright orange exploded before their eyes and the heat was felt through their layers of clothing. The vines that covered the ground and walls hissed loudly in pain like they were alive.
“Go! Go! Go!” Steve yelled and prompted the kids to start running.
A final wave of adrenaline gave them one last push to run as fast as their legs could carry them. Steve led the way, remembering each twist and turn even in the eerie darkness, and Sunshine brought up the rear to ensure no kid got left behind. That was a good thing, too, because as they ran, one of the vines snaked up from where it was curled against the ground and latched onto Mike’s leg as he tried to run by.
He was pulled to the ground and Sunshine stumbled to a stop with him. Mike kicked his leg in an attempt to shake the vine, but it encircled his ankle, locking him in place.
Sunshine kneeled beside him and dug her fingernails into the vine, trying to yank it off of Mike, but it refused to let him go.
“Sunshine! Get it off! Get it off!” Mike cried.
She knew her powers were shot, but she thought she’d get lucky again like she had with Billy. Sunshine cupped her hands together, but before she could even think about igniting them, another vine shot out of the wall and curled around her wrist.
An angry scream tore through her throat as she tried to escape and help Mike.
The rest of the group had heard their yells and stopped running.
“Oh, shit!” Lucas gasped, looking between Mike’s trapped leg and Sunshine’s bound wrists.
“Steve, do something!” Dustin demanded, full of panic.
Steve quickly pulled his bat from his backpack and hurried over to the two. He first brought the bat down against the ground, where Mike’s vine squirmed. The nails that had been hammered into the bat struck the vine and cut through its thick skin, causing the plant to ooze black goo. Mike pulled the dead half of the vine from around his ankle and scrambled toward Sunshine. He grabbed a hold of the vine that squeezed Sunshine’s wrists and pulled it taught between her and the wall.
“Hit it! Hurry!” Mike yelled at Steve. Steve swung his bat again and cut the vine.
Mike pulled Sunshine to her feet with a heavy breath.
“Are you okay?” she asked him.
With a nod, Mike brushed the sweaty pieces of hair back from his forehead. “Y-Yeah. I’m fine. But we’ve gotta go.”
Sunshine spun around to resume their journey through the tunnels, but instead of an empty path, they were met with the faceless gaze of a Demo-dog. Instinctively, she grabbed a hold of the kids nearest to her, Mike and Luke, and shoved them behind her. She moved to grab the rest of the kids, but Dustin stepped forward toward the monster before she could.
“Dart,” Dustin said, his voice steady.
Sunshine’s heart dropped violently. “Dustin-” she hissed, but he held up his hand to quiet her as Dart growled.
“Stop,” Dustin whispered to the group. “Just trust me.”
Sunshine trusted Dustin: the kid was one of the smartest she knew, but he and all of the kids acted like they were invincible.
Stepping forward slowly, Dustin kept all of his focus on Dart. Sunshine held her breath and tried to think of the quickest way to get him and everyone else away if the monster decided to attack. There wasn’t anywhere for them to run away unless it was back toward the hub that was burning. The only escape was past the Demo-dog.
“Hey, it’s me. It’s your friend, Dustin. Do you remember me? Will you let us pass?” Dart growled once more in response, but it didn’t seem to deter Dustin. He spoke again, calm and slow, like he was talking to his mom’s dead cat, Mews, and not a creature that wanted to rip them from limb to limb. “I’m sorry about the storm cellar, that was a pretty douchey thing to do.” He reached into the side pocket of his backpack and pulled out a candy bar. “You hungry? I’ve got your favorite, see? Nought.” He tossed the candy to the ground in front of Dart. The monster sniffed it for a moment, and Sunshine feared it would ignore the candy and take to eating them instead.
However, Dart turned his attention away from Dustin and began eating the candy bar similar to how a dog snacked on a bone. Dustin tossed a look over his shoulder at the group and waved them along. “Let’s go.”
As carefully and quietly as they could, the group slid past Dart and resumed their sprint toward the exit. The crackle of the fire faded, and the tunnel was only filled with their labored breaths and heavy steps.
They managed to make it fairly far before another problem was tossed their way. What was supposed to be a quick and sneaky task had taken several turns for the worse.
A steady rumble began to shake the ground and a symphony of howls and growls sucked the nasty air from Sunshine’s lungs.
“They’re coming!” Mike rushed out. “Run!”
Sunshine spared a quick look over her shoulder and saw the monsters’ shadows growing on the wall behind them. She quickened her pace with her heart threatening to beat right out of her chest.
Several feet ahead, the rope came into view, swinging down from the surface as their saving grace.
Steve, having led everyone, was the first to reach the rope and he immediately started ushering the kids up it and to the safety above. Max was the first one up and the second she was out she reached her hand down into the hole and helped the others up.
Together, Steve and Sunshine made quick work of hoisting the kids up, one after another as the monster enclosed around them. Sunshine could hear them coming toward at a rapid pace. As the seconds ticked by, and the Demo-dogs grew closer, she worried they wouldn’t get all of the kids up in time.
Lucas followed Max, and then Mike, Dustin, and Luke all managed to scramble out with the help of one another. All who were left were Steve and Sunshine, but the monsters turned the corner and were only a couple of feet from them.
“Guys! Come on!” Dustin screamed and all of the kids reached out their hands, but there was no time. It was mere seconds until the monsters reached them, not allowing enough time for even one of them to climb, let alone both of them.
Sunshine didn’t even have time to think about dying. All she could think about was the way her sides ached from running and how the kids’ voices all bled together from above. She stared at the incoming creatures, too drained and stunned to fight. All she did was close her eyes and hold her breath. An arm hooked around her waist, and she was pulled into a tight embrace.
For an agonizing moment, she and Steve braced for impact. They were either going to be eaten or trampled to death, perhaps both.
But nothing happened.
The howls came and left with a strong gush of air that nearly knocked Sunshine off her feet if it hadn’t been for Steve. It was like the monster hadn’t even seen them. They slipped away down the tunnel before their very eyes.
Sunshine peeled her eyes open and tried to catch her breath. She had Steve’s coat clutched tight in her shaky hands and he kept his one arm around her waist, while his other held onto the rope. For a moment, they stared at each other, unsure of what the hell just happened.
“Holy shit,” Steve breathed out with a bewildered look overcoming his features. He suddenly grabbed the sides of Sunshine’s face, like he was checking to make sure she was real and that they both were still standing. “We’re not dead. We’re not dead!”
A startled laugh fell from Sunshine’s lips. They should be dead. Why didn’t the monsters attack them? Why didn’t they even seem to notice them?
The kids all called to them, frantically overlapping with each other so that Sunshine couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Steve stepped back and looked up at the series of faces that peered down at them. “We’re okay,” he told them, but that didn’t seem to ease the worry that had overtaken each of their faces.
“Something’s wrong!” Max cried, looking at something over her shoulder. “Hurry!”
Steve hoisted Sunshine up first. She climbed the rope until the kids were within reach, and they helped her the rest of the way up. She fell into the dirt with a deep breath of fresh air.
They only had a second to collect themselves before the kids pulled their attention toward Luke, who sat still on the ground a couple of feet from the tunnel entrance.
“Something’s wrong with him,” Lucas said, nervously glancing between the older teens and Luke.
Luke’s eyes were rolled into the back of his head and a single line of blood dripped from his nose. Sunshine cursed under her breath as she kneeled in front of it. As she did so, the headlights of Billy’s car suddenly burned brightly, nearly blinding all of them. The lights grew brighter and brighter until they switched off, leaving them in the darkness of night in the middle of an empty field.
“El,” said Mike. “She did it.”
Sunshine didn’t know what it was exactly, but she knew he was right. There was something, a feeling that buzzed through the air that quelled the doom that had been thick for weeks. El had closed the Gate. It was over. That allowed her attention to be fully on Luke.
“Luke? Luke, can you hear me?” She didn’t touch him, but her hands hovered close to the young boy. Everyone else crowded around the two of them on the ground. “Who helped him up?”
Max slowly raised her hand, her face blanched. “I did. D-Did I do something wrong? I didn’t-”
“No, you didn’t,” Sunshine said. “When Luke touches someone, skin to skin, he gets a vision. That’s how his abilities work.” That’s why he often curled into himself and kept his hands tucked away in his pockets, but in the chaos of the incoming Demo-dogs, Luke had no choice but to accept the help of Max to get to safety.
“Whoa, wait,” Dustin gasped. “You mean, he’s seeing the future right now?”
Sunshine sighed, “Yes.”
Another couple of quiet moments passed as they waited out Luke’s vision. He returned with a loud gasp and his eyes blinked back into focus. His hand pressed against his chest, and he looked around wildly until Sunshine gently placed a hand on his coat-clad shoulder.
“Hey, Luke. You’re okay,” she soothed. Luke visibility relaxed, but not before his gaze fell onto Max. What Sunshine didn’t mention was that the future he saw was specific to the person he had touched. But he said nothing, and she was sure that meant he needed time to digest the flashes of the future he saw before he could make sense of them.
No one was sure of what to do after that. The cold air nipped at their noses and their heavy breaths were visible in the dim moonlight. Sunshine felt her adrenaline wear off, and she had to resist the urge to fall back into the dirt and close her eyes for the night.
“We should get back to Will’s before everyone else,” Mike said after a moment. Everyone silently agreed and started toward the car.
“Um, is Max driving again?” Lucas asked.
“No!” Both Sunshine and Steve answered simultaneously. Max scoffed, but her attitude was watered down by the night, and she tiredly shrugged them off before tossing the keys she had kept safe in her pocket to Steve.
Everyone fell into their seats, and they started back to the Byers, all ready for the night to conclude.
Tag List. @sattlersquarry , @leptitlu , @echoing-oursong
#stranger things#steve harrington#steve harrington x oc#steve harrington x original character#steve harrington x reader#stranger things fanfiction#max mayfield#mike wheeler#lucas sinclair#dustin henderson#stranger things 2#project sunshine
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Who is showing this "kids show" to their child
(Warning sort of spoilers ahead for Lego Monkie Kid and Ninjago)
I'm here back at it again with another hyper fixation and once again it is a lego show made for children, though honestly I hesitate to say that because seriously who is showing their little child things like Ninjago and LMK (Lego Monkie Kid you should totally watch it if you haven't already).
Now me and my mother have discussed this in detail with her argument being "Well they're kids so they don't gully grasp what's going on, maybe?" and number 1) kids are WAY more perceptive than we give them credit for and 2) EVEN A CHILD WOULD BE SCARED SHITLESS WATCHING SOME OF THIS
Like Ninjago actively ahs sacrificial rituals, genocide and other concepts that are pretty morbid if you think about them too hard, and even visually Ninjago has managed to create some creatures that child me would not want to be having nightmares about! Like come on the end of season five would have ruined me! (Actually that's probably not true since I liked scary stuff even as a kid, but my friend who actually did watch the show as a young boy said that the season 3 ending fucked him up a little)
Now that's not even mentioning LMK, which OH BOY! So I have to watch it on this literal children's app because finding places to watch LMK in the US is really hard, but this app labels it as and I quote: For Boys ages 6-9. 1) I am neither a boy nor ages 6-9 I am a girl and well into my teens funnily enough and 2) WHO THE FUCK IS LETTING THEIR 6-9 YEARO OLD WATCH THIS SHIT? LIKE SEASON 2 AND ONWARD WOULD BE STRAIGH UP TRAUMATIC!
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Like that's barely two and I still think it's enough to ask who the hell is showing their children LMK cause like REALLY? Like genuinely actually who is showing their child (and this is an incomplete list): Murder, PTSD (Sandy's flash backs), just Macaque in general (because while I adore him now young me would have been like HELL TO THE NO), Lady Bone demon in general cause lord she was able to give me chills, the mayor who probably isn't actually the mayor, THE SEASON FOUR INK MONSTERS ARE FUCKING NIGHMARE FUEL!
Like seriously these show can get creepy as hell and there are multiple cannon deaths (obviously for Ninjago that doesn't stick very long but nonetheless) and honestly I want to meet a child who genuinely watched LMK at the suggested age cause like I guarantee unless they're a little adrenaline and fear junkie like I was they're not doing to hot rn lol.
Anyway sorry I haven't been posting much recently, currently I'm having some pretty severe pain in both of my hands so doing pretty much any drawing is really hard a physically taxing + the sickly Victorian child curse took hold again and I'm once again violently ill and now I won't get to see one of my best friends who's going out of country :(
I should hopefully at least be getting SOME (maybe one or two) pieces out for pride (since I am in fact a homoromantic) but idk how much I can promise due to my hands and current status as Sickly Victorian Child, but on the bright side I'm out of school T-T. Thanks for reading!
#ninjago#ninjutsu#spinjitzu#ninjago secrets of the forbidden spinjitzu#lloyd garmadon#cole ninjago#garmadon ninjago#zane ninjago#lego monkie kid#lmk#lmk mayor#lmk macaque#lmk lady bone demon#lmk season 4#kids shows#these kids shows are not for kids tbh
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My thoughts on the Dr. Stone special (“Dr. Stone: Ryusui”)
My thoughts after watching Dr. Stone: Ryusui:
01. A drama club! XD And it looks like the familiar school building with the clock HAS to show up in every anime series, even Dr. Stone! :D
02. Kohaku looks like a serious narrator :O And it's nice to hear her talk this much! :)
03. Taiju and Yuzuriha as themselves, Chrome as Senku, Kinro and Ginro as one single tree... Suika with multiple parts, and they even got a swallow to join! :) Maybe it's the same one Senku first revived, and the one that flew above their expedition caravan in Season Two! :D
04. Kinro and Ginro's shocked acting! XD But they're still better than Chrome during the tournament arc! ...Actually, Chrome's acting has improved a LOT from the tournament arc! :D
05. Yo has really not learned his lesson about laughing at the stone world era folks...
06. What I don't understand about Magma's boat entry is... why are the human figures in the water instead of on the boat?
07. Yo's raft was more impressive in his imagination than in reality...
08. The way Senku's eyes shown as he looked at the first drawing... :) (I don't think he acknowledged the second drawing, haha!)
09. Yeah... with THAT drawing, Senku DEFINITELY wins! Everybody was really impressed! :D
10. Don't worry, Chrome and Kaseki... you have a ton of people who can help you build the ship! :)
11. Looks like Senku still plans on using sextants on the ship!
12. Yay, Kohaku's on the digging expedition! :) But, as she had to remind Senku, she is NOT a gorilla :D
13. I always like it when Senku and Kohaku are in scenes together :) They've both gotten curious about that Ryusui dude...
14. "We won't find anyone who's a more skilled sailor than Ryusui-kun..." Minami's case against Ryusui was hopeless as soon as she uttered those words XD
15. Ryusui's back! :D
16. And Burnout Syndomes is back with Good Morning [New] World! :) It's slightly different from the original opening song - slower, lower, more distorted in parts - but the song still sounds exhilarating! :O A lot of the character images are from the previous two seasons, and about the running scene, I love that Kohaku is in the lead, Chrome gets a burst of energy because of his excitement, and everybody, even Gen (and Ryusui, who's in the middle), eventually leaves Senku and his poor stamina behind... so accurate! XD
17. When I first heard Ryusui's deep voice in the initial trailer, I, like many people, was perplexed and weirded out and thought it didn't suit him at all :D But now, I think his voice makes a lot of sense to be that way - he's older than the MAIN main cast (except for Kaseki), and is going to be a leader in his own right - it wouldn't feel right for him to a have thin, youthful, teenager-y voice :)
18. Ryusui, stop traumatizing poor, innocent Kohaku and put some clothes on! :O
19. Poor Ryusui has no Francois just yet :) Also, how do his fingers end up in that formation after snapping? My fingers don’t look like that after I snap them... :O
20. Yeah, seriously, how does his middle finger also end up in the air?
21. Ryusui’s kind of like Tsukasa - very quick on the uptake! While Tsukasa’s intelligence took form in not surrendering the protection of the stone until he knew the situation AND using that stone to his advantage, Ryusui’s intelligence was shown in his immediate grasp of the facts after thousands of years of being pertrified :)
22. Thank you, Minami, for giving Ryusui clothing so that he can finally cover himself up! XD
23. Ooh, so Magma considers Kohaku (and Minami) and attractive... interesting information... :D Aww, poor Nikki... and also, with being kicked there, maybe poor Magma, too... :O
24. Wow, Ryusui doesn’t have sailing skills, he has storm prediction skills, too! Which, I suppose, are also included in sailing skills... but still, quite impressive! Way to show his knowledge this early on! :D
25. This is really interesting; four of the five wise generals are out there covering the lumber for the ship! :) Really smart of Senku to test him like that, and I like the detail that Senku’s coat is a darker color because it’s soaked from the rain! :)
26. Ah, a new title for Chrome - resource king! :D Wow... Chrome as the lead explorer, Kohaku and her amazing eyesight, and Ukyo with his incredible hearing... that is an all-star resource expedition team! I think Suika would have made the team even better, but that might have just been overkill in terms of awesomeness XD
27. Ryusui gets an oil field, and the kingdom of science gets currency XD And he has a gold-plated house, hahaha! Ramen, cotton candy, and manga all for sale... just like in the old (current) days... And why does Senku look so evil?! :D
28. Making the link between trust in Senku and trust in his new currency... Ryusui’s a wily one! :)
29. Ukyo’s ears and Kohaku’s eyes... wow, what a combination! :D
30. That’s a GIGANTIC WATERFALL!! :O
31. And poor Ukyo... he’s the only one in their group of three who truly knows what it means to now have a gigantic waterfall near Mt. Fuji... :(
32. Aww, Suika’s wistful bird idea gave Senku an awesome scientific idea! :D And even Ryusui is shocked by Senku and Gen’s tactics! XD
33. It’s really funny that Magma was really aware of what Yo’s reaction might be! :D And this one time, Yo was totally casual and admitted his own ignorance! :)
34. Kaseki was so excited and so pumped up, so read for a long, painstaking roadmap to human flight... but the roadmap only had three stages! XD
35. I LOVE that Senku also depends on Yuzuriha and really respects her skills and is asking for her help! :) I mean, he’s actually bowing to her! I don’t think I’ve EVER seen him to that to ANYBODY! Wow! :O I love their faith in each other and their friendship! :D And they did a high five too; awesome!! :D
36. Kinro’s so diligent, but even he wants the thread spinning to end! XD
37. Magma asked a very logical question... but honestly, Yuzuriha’s response made a lot of sense, too! It IS easy work, just... incredibly tedious... :O She’s so adorable, daydreaming about her little, handheld loom! :)
38. Wow, that’s an incredible loom! I think it even has a seat cushion! And there’s a place for drinks, and a lamp! Not to mention the, you know, actual LOOM part... :D
39. Kaseki isn’t sure if this was what Yuzuriha wanted, and Senku is ADORABLE, wondering if Yuzuriha wanted an electric loom! :)
40. I don’t know how looms work, but I’m glad Yuzuriha does! :D Nikki’s going to dye cloth, and Ginro is so sick of spinning thread... XD I love Suika enjoying how soft the cloth is! :D
41. Oh, poor Kinro is so tired from spinning all that thread! :O Actually, everybody is exhausted! XD
42. It’s really interesting how Senku chooses his scruples XD But it’s nice to think that he’s usually a very ethical person (not being cool with Gen using blank paper to motivate everybody) and saves his evil side for when he’s trying to win a bloodless war (the fake Lilian plan) :)
43. I really like that he went to Yuzuriha again for the department store! :D Ah, so Yuzuriha and Kinro and Ginro are friendly enough to be familiar with each other; that’s great! :) And of course, Taiju would be totally used to this side of Yuzuriha! :D
44. Ruri, Kinro, Suika... they were either embarrassed or awkward, but Kaseki walked like a pro! I’m guessing that they asked the villagers to be their models because the modern era folks would be the main target audience for that modern clothing :)
45. Oh, Ryusui... Oh, Senku and Gen... I suppose it all worked out in the end...? XD
46. Whoa, Chrome just up and RAN as soon as he heard about the flying machine! Wait, why didn’t Senku tell him sooner?! XD
47. Senku with his hot-air balloon mathematics... :O Suika and Ginro are acting like sewing is so normal for them; Ginro doesn’t even look like he’s paying full attention but he’s still really fast and productive! After sewing hard leather all the time, it must be really easy for Suika and Ginro and the others to sew soft cloth! :)
48. Gen’s playing cards for the hot air balloon theory have “Theory of Evolution” and “Natural Selection” written on them; haha! XD
49. “You’ll never get a platinum ticket like that again” - intriguing word choice... :D
50. Taiju, that’s a very, very good question... XD
51. Chrome RAN all the way from Ishigami Village to the kingdom of science’s new headquarters... AND he drew the right card through willpower alone! (Cough, cough; Gen totally didn’t influence that at all...) He’s so happy! :D
52. They’re flying; they’re flying! :O Kasek’s so happy that he cried, and he made ME cry, too! :’) And Chrome so, so, happy... this is an amazing moment for him; for all of them... :)
53. Chrome’s so happy about being amongst the birds! :) But Senku... not so much... wow, that was like a Matrix-style dodge from Senku! His reflexes ain’t bad! :O
54. Ah, so Ishigami Village is a two-day walk away if you’re REALLY in a rush, like Chrome was... and two hours away by hot-air balloon! :)
55. Ooh, Ryusui just called Chrome an AMATEUR adventurer! Those are fightin’ words! :O I really like that Chrome dropped some knowledge about the wind and rivers to back up his status as an EXPERIENCED land adventurer! :D
56. The big antagonist for this special is... a dragon-shaped cumulonimbus cloud XD And, wow, they’re really lucky to be able to keep their balance inside that wildly flying hot-air balloon! :O
57. Oh, Chrome has faced - and run away from - a black/grey bear, with Mister Bear running at 50 kilometers per hour and Mister Chrome running at 30 kilometers per hour... :O And he sort of used his land experience to help him in the air! :)
58. Wow, the revival fluid is helping them even now... and SENKU was blasted out of the hot-air balloon! Scary! :O
59. They did it! They defeated Mister Cumulonimbus! :D And... Senku, with his poor stamina, is still hanging outside the hot-air balloon! XD
60. Aww, Kohaku’s there with the flag! :) And she’s amazed that they’re flying! :O She said Chrome and Ryusui’s names quietly, but she shouted happily and waved when it came to Senku’s name! :D
61. Maybe they were all just taking a break or something, but it’s really nice that everybody was gathered there near Gen and the cell phone, as if they were all waiting for news for the hot-air balloon crew’s safe arrival! :)
62. Nice jump from Kohaku! :O Very twirly! Oh, so it was Ukyo who called Gen! And I’m glad the explanation for the cards and the nature of choice was show here, just at the end :)
63. Chrome was acknowledged by Ryusui as a fellow PROFESSIONAL adventurer! :D And a high- uh, middle-five AND a fist bump between them? Nice! :D And... Senku’s STILL hanging from outside the hot-air balloon, hahaha! XD
64. Senku and Chrome are excited to learn more about the world, Ryusui will take them where they need to go, and Kohaku and Ukyo are eager for them to descend to Ishigami Village! :D Our next goal is to make a map... and after that, to find oil! Congratulations to Ryusui on his (unpetrified) television debut! :O This was a marvelous TV special! ^_^ (And I can FINALLY watch Season Three, yay! :D)
https :// fireflyhwufanficwriter . tumblr . com / MyDrStoneEpisodeMangaThoughts
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im SO pissed i didnt listen to believe for a fucking year bc i heard bad things about it. im never listening to anyone else's opinions again cuz THAT WAS BRILLIANT. THAT WAS EVERYTHING I WANT OUT OF TORCHWOOD i mean it was still a bit shit highkey but it was EXACTLY what i want out of this garbage show. sooo fucking season one core (aka my fav) all sorts of dark horrific connotations and unhealthy dynamics but no emotional weight or responsibility xD once again i cannot tell if the writer was even fucking AWARE of a lot of the things he was implying but what i interpreted as being implied is making me fucking tear up the floorboards im. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
that was so cynical and bitter and awful and miserable and edgy and shitty ITS EVERYTHING I WANTED. i love torchwood being goofy i do but what draws me into the show and the reason it's become one of my most, uh, aggressive hyperfixations ever (which is ridic btw) is cuz its FUCKED UP AND UNHAPPY and that? was fuuuuucked. obsessed.
cult leader jack cult leader jack cult leader jack U DONT UNDERSTAND IT MAKES ME RABID and they ran with it i. stick figure violence stick figure violence. feeling rabid. AND HIS FUCKING SPEECH AT THE END. DOES HE KNOW??? hes so fucking deluded I LOVE IT. ITS FASCINATING he thinks hes good.... he thinks hes good... hes aware n he feels responsible and yet he doesnt SEE he doesnt see he thinks hes doing his best. NOOO it had the be intentional literally "jack tell us what that was about" "later lol" "sure yeah always later" and then hes like "YOU HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY" GRRR JACK. JACK. also faith n believing.... ianto's trust. ianto's trust. you believe me like a god FUCK MY LIFEEEEEEEEEEE
jack always being five steps ahead + being 10x more competent than the team always makes me fucking roll my eyes but at this point i just kind of perceive it as the way tw constantly paints him as a deity figure. he can do no wrong
GWENS CYNICISM. TORCHWOOD BREAKING HER. TORCHWOOD BREAKING HER!!!!!!!!! FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK it's toxic... it's toxic... this job gets inside you THIS JOB GETS INSIDE YOUUU. torchwood thesis statement: this job fucking breaks you.
FINALLY some good fucking tosh x owen food. DONT GET ME WRONG THAT WAS FUCKING AWFUL but that was sooooooo much more compelling than the fucking bullshit that canon gave us. owen being a toxic abusive fucking manchild + doing smth bad enough to tosh that she FINALLY went "wow THATS the man im obsessing over" like g-d i would've killedddd for that to happen in the show i HATE that she wasted herself on him. i hate it. her disgust and anger at him was so THERAPEUTIC for me 😭 idk what it says about me that the way i was grinning when they were arguing n bitching at each other was probs the closest ive ever gotten to actually shipping them HFKJDSF theres smth wrong w me. i just think s2 tosh is too fucking sweet and good and probably naive and i think owen could so easily fuck her up, like i don't think there's a world where he wouldn't hurt her tbh, and i don't want that to happen i adore her too much. like i don't think he's irredeemable, i ship him w other characters who i think could handle him, but i don't think tosh could, and that was validation of that opinion, you know? i'd be more willing to ship them if tosh was firm with him and didn't let him walk all over her, and it sucks that she didn't do that and got herself hurt and THATS what it took to make her call him tf out and tell him how much he sucks. ig a lot of why towen bugs me sm boils down to the fact that im not comfortable shipping someone who's kind of awful with someone who idealizes them and doesn't seem to grasp the scale of how bad they are. that's a recipe for an unhealthy dynamic and if i didn't like tosh i might be intrigued by it ngl HFSKDF but thats my babygirl and the idea of putting her thru Being With Him disgusts me. she deserves better until he gets his fucking shit together. which he never does and she never gets to have something good bc she was waiting for his shitty ass lmao YAYY!!
owen was AWFUL in that btw. and i adored him in it. my fav owen is an owen who's spiraling and destructively fixated on something for selfish purposes to the point that he doesnt care who he hurts to accomplish it. he's so villain coded fhsdkfjdsk he redeems himself in the show and i love that but the audios further explore the fact that he's got such a darkness to him he SO EASILY can be pushed into destroying everything. hes constantly on the precipice of monstrosity and cruelty bc of his own hurt. it's like hes so full of rot it leaks out of him and infects others and he hates it but he cant help it. i will never get over the doctor with poison fingers oh he makes my heart ache. he's just so misguided. he's so broken.
which brings us back to jack's speech. (him talking to the cult leader lady) "They were broken, and you were the person they turned to for help. If you don’t accept their problems, then don’t offer yourself as a solution." literally im gonna think about this for months. HE DOESNT SEE!!!!!!!!!
g-d and ianto's orientation or whatever. that was Fantastic ianto insight. he's so much more interesting when he's away from jack it's almost impressive.
i am just. gdddddddddddddddddddddddd. i am so distraught. help meeee
#sss#txt#torchwood posting#rereading this i did not mean to repeat things twice sm i was just rlly excited HFKDS sorry its annoying oops
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kkkkkkkkkk the image is hilarious kkkkkkkkkk
the note and a few more entries that i accidentally write more if you want to read them.
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Date: Year 1, winter 5th
Today, I awoke within a cave, enveloped by darkness, and was met with the sight of her yellow eyes. Snealer had kidnapped me and transported me to her nest in the highlands. I tried to escape and seek the presence of other people ; however, a snowstorm raged outside, rendering my attempts futile. I find myself in a state of confinement.
In the depths of this darkness, I am gripped by fear. An ancient dread resides within me, its tendrils entwining my limbs and its barbs probing at my mind—close enough to perceive, yet insufficient to extinguish my existence.
While my coat offers some protection against the chill, it is utterly ineffective against this particular monstrosity. In these moments, I sense a longing for a presence beside me; my body craves a weight that is conspicuously absent.
I fear that this may be the place of my demise, as my final days draw near.
Until next time,
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Date: Year 1, Autumn 24st
dear diary,
It has been 2 days since i fell into this strange place. I was unconscious for those 2 days before.
According to Professor Laventon, who was overseeing my health at the time, i was found in the snow by Pearl clan’s Nobel near the coronet highland. bloodied, broken rips and left leg. They don’t know how long i had been there, but it was mentioned that i looked as though i was dead. Due to the insistent prodding by the Nobel, the Clan people first tried to heal me on their own but then they invited the professor and a nurse from the Galaxy halls from Jubilife Village when my conditions worsened.
Just after the professor, the clan leader, the medicine lady and a tall blue sneasle came to see me as well. Through the professor’s help, i was able to understand that she introduced herself as irida and the lady as Calaba. Because i was found in their territory, I’m allowed to have a stay in their settlement until i found my own place or at least that is how the professor translated to me. In truth, i don’t understand their reasoning but I'm not about to take a free stay when i have no plan and nowhere to go.
It was when they asked for my history that we encountered another problem, i don’t remember anything about myself other than my name. Other than the clothes i have on me and my hat, everything else on my body was broken, a golden wrist band with something bulky attached to it, this beat up notebook and a pack of 12 glitter pens which I'm using to write right now.
They also introduced me to my savior which was the blue sneasle, Sneasler. She took a great liking to. The urge to stich her chin was great but having made known of how important this pokemon was to the people, i refrained myself. Snealer didn’t leave with them when it was time to go. She slept with me tonight.
I hope that by morning comes, my memories will return to me.
Write again soon,
Ingo .
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Date: Year 1, winter 1st
dear diary,
A season has passed since i arrived and i still don’t remember anything. Thanks to professor laventon’s lessons, I have had a better grasp of the language and so, communicating with the locals was smoother, though the people are hesitant to talk to someone they considered to be an outsider so i don’t get many opportunities to practice. Since it’s the beginning of winter, Lady Irida asked me to help with finding resources and i agreed.
I didn’t have time to think of it at first, but Irida is a very young leader, closer to the youngest warden than the youngest looking warden. Even so, she’s stern and well respected in the community. It’s a good thing but i can’t help but feel like there are better things she could be doing for someone her age.
Snealer has yet to leave my side since the day I woke up. There would be periods she would leave to do her duties, but she was never out for long. This is a problem because she is supposed to be in the highlands and not down in the meadow with us. I had heard Irida and the wardens were planning to move me to the highlands so Sneasler could do her job properly. I think it’s high-time i moved to the village. It’s better that way, i won’t be in the way of the clan’s system and i would be closer to the only other person that can understand me. But i need to find the right time to tell them.
Write again soon,
Ingo .
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Sept-ingo day 8: books this is set a little bit earlier in their slumber party.the idea is emmet is reading ingo's journal while he was in hisui. while ingo is trying to write about .... sth XDDD lmao idk :"))))
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SAVAGERY
or the attack on titan cast filming season four, episode fourteen.
ft. actor!armin, eren, mikasa, jean, hange, and erwin
author’s note: new series, honeys. writing it completely out of order with a mix of on and off set scenes. send me your ideas. ♡
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perhaps it was always meant to be this way, armin thought.
he and eren were never truly compatible. they were simply both outcasts, both unwanted by the other children on their street. so its was never that the distance between them was so close, but that the two of them were so far from everyone else that they were the only one the other could see.
even now, it felt natural that they would grow apart. that life and aging would only lead to clarity on who they are, who they thought the other was, and just how different those two people were. how different those two people must be.
so it was always going to happen this way—the two of them sitting at opposite ends of the white round table. armin in his uniform, eren not. armin beside mikasa, eren not.
he blinked hard to hide his tears, willing them to save themselves for someone worth shedding over. someone who didn’t abandon him for years without notice. someone who didn’t throw words sharper than daggers at the people who loved him. someone who wasn’t evil.
someone, anyone, who wasn’t eren.
face hot with anger, fireworks of nerves bursting in his chest, armin mustered all the strength he could to sound offended, but unhurt.
“how could you say that to her?”
he pushed himself up from his seat and lunged across the table.
armin has never been good at fighting. he left that to mikasa and the arguing to eren. even after months of training, his body felt weak and out of his control. eren could easily beat him in a match. hell, anyone could. but he couldn’t allow himself to stand by and watch. not this time, not anymore.
so here he was, willing his flailing arms to do something, anything, for once.
his body was jerked back before crashing against the table, his wrists pulled tight behind him in a hold he never learned in the cadet corps. the soft table cloth crumpled beneath his cheek. with one eye pressed into the fabric, armin steadied his clouded gaze on the culprit: mikasa.
eren rose from his seat across the table, his hand leaving bright red stains in its wake. his chest rose and fell, rose and fell, as he observed the scene before him, picking it apart like a scientific paper hange showed armin once.
a smirk pulled at eren’s lips, then he pressed them into a tight line, his hands drawing into fists by his sides. he’s never really been good at lying.
“you guys have to be kidding me. you’re not actually gonna make me do this, right?”
“cut!”
erwin groaned from his director’s chair, hiding his face in his hand, but peeking between his fingers at the scene before him. his eyes flickered to the clock on a nearby wall. they’d been at this for hours now, with eren motivating the majority of the retakes.
armin gently tapped his forehead against the table cloth. his face was hidden, but he couldn’t disguise the soft laugh that shook his body.
“reset the scene. again, please.” erwin glanced at his co-director, hange.
“how many times are you gonna make us do this, eren?” mikasa rolled her eyes, freeing armin’s wrists from her grasp. she rubbed her temples with her forefingers as she took a couple steps back from the table. working with eren was a headache — literally and figuratively.
“as many times as we need to get it right!” hange patted erwin’s knee twice before pushing off their seat to join the actors on the set. “we’ll do this all night if we have to.”
eren leaned over the table, leveling with his blonde co-star. “but how could i ever hurt armin?” with a pout, he lifted his gaze to meet hange’s, “i’d like to see you try to punch him, since you think it’s so easy.”
armin lifted his head from the table, propping himself on his forearms before setting back in his seat. “i would appreciate it if you didn’t.”
“you know, eren,” jean strolled onto the set from behind armin. he adjusted the collar of blond’s jostled uniform jacket before looking at eren. “it’s almost like we’re acting or something. like it’s not real, dumbass.”
jean was lucky (and clearly bored). his scenes didn’t start filming until tomorrow so he had an extra day to lounge around the crew, interjecting with not-so constructive criticism when he saw fit. also fixing armin’s costuming. he seemed to busy himself with that more lately.
“i actually find it comforting that he doesn’t want to punch me,” armin said, gaze cutting from jean’s hand on his shoulder to hange.
“do we need to get you stage fighting classes after however-many years we’ve been filming this? really?” hange looked at eren in disbelief.
eren brought his hands up to his hair, running them through the perfectly styled strands before remembering the fake blood. “oh, fuck.” he grimaced. “sorry…”
“everybody, take five,” hange cocked their head as they looked at the blood stains in eren’s hair. “or fifteen.”
thanks for reading! likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated :)
#aot actor au#aot x reader#eren x reader#armin x reader#mikasa x reader#jean x reader#hange x reader#erwin x reader#armin headcanons#eren headcanons#eren hcs#armin hcs#jean hcs#jearmin#eremin#eremin x reader#jearmin x reader#aot fluff#armin arlert x reader
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sorry to sound annoying but when’s the next part of the Lester x male reader thing ? Sorry to bother you about this
Right now!!! >:)
The hitchhiker Lester Sinclair x male reader part 2 smut
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The two sat starring into each other's eyes.
"Do ya really want this?"
"Yes."
Lester meets their lips together. He sucks on the other man's lips like candy before pushing his tongue deeper into his mouth. He tastes like diner mints and warm soda. They makeout for nearly a mintue before breaking for air
While trying to regain his breathe Lester saw how sweet the other man's neck was looking.
"Damn sweetie ya look like a dessert all pretty on ma lap like this."
He grins.
"I'm all yours to eat Les."
Lester pulled off his lover's shirt and took his left nipple into his mouth. He rolled the bud with his tongue earning moan after moan.
"Oooooooh! Lester please I need your dick!!"
Lester couldn't help but smirk.
"As ya wish sweetheart."
Lester flipped him onto his stomach and slowly pulled his pants off. His eyes tracked every new inch of skin licking his lips in anticipation.
"Ya look as tasty as a five course meal doll."
Lester pulls his neck up forcing his chin up and mutters into his ear with hot breathe.
"And I'm gonna eat you like one."
He grasps feeling Lester rip his underwear straight off and goes tongue deep in.
"LESTER!!! YOURE SOOO GOOOOOD!!! OH GODDDDDD!"
The car filled with the mixed of Lester's sloppy eating and the other man's uncontrollable reaction noises.
Lester tongue fucked him nearly insane.
"LES! I AH! I'M GOING TO OOOH! COME LES!"
He pulls back earning a pitiful whimper but quick replaced the empty ache with his dick.
"Ya ready sweetheart? I'm not sure I can be gentle while I'm high off ya."
He breathed trying to muster enough enegry to reply.
"Yes."
He grinned eyes gone dark with lust.
"Good."
Lester at once set a deep and hearless pace, hitting every nerve and sweet spot in each rushed trust.
He couldn't hear the other man's brainless sludge that dripped from his mouth as he tried to make actual words since he was so deep in riding his own pleasure.
He knew his release was only a few seconds away.
"I'M GONNA CUM IN YOU SWEETS!! I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!"
He couldn't respond other than pushing himself up to get Les some how even deeper.
Lester pushed his lover's head face down into the leather seats as he milk his cock through draw out trusts in his ass. He came buckets leaving a mess of mixed cum from both of them on the seats and floor.
"God we got real messy huh."
Lester smiled coming back to his senses.
"That was the best fuck I've ever had Les."
He shook while trying to pull himself up from the now dirty seat. Lester pulled him up into his arms and tapped his jacket round the both of them.
"I never knew I'd need that."
He sighed relaxing into Lester's warmth. Lester kissed his cheek and rubbed his marked up thighs.
"Ya need anything right now sweet pea? I know I can be a bit wild."
"Well I could really used a nice cuddle season at your house."
Lester flushed.
"And to stay there for the rest of my life. Would that work for you Les?"
"I think you'd make a very handsome house boyfriend."
#slasher thirst#slasher x male reader#slasher x reader#slasher smut#lester sinclair smut#lester sinclair x male reader#lester sinclair x reader#lester sinclair#house of wax 2005#house of wax#house of wax x reader#house of wax x male reader
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Blue Jean button up.
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Max mayfield x female reader
Plot: After the mall fight max always forced a smile, but it wasn’t that way with her girlfriend. She was the only thing in her life that wasn’t faked and actually made her happy. But it even after everything she had lost, there was always something else to lose.
Notes: Time lines are funny, soooo just go with it okay? Also this might be my first fic on tumblr that ends in angst.
Warnings: Spoilers for season 4. Suicide, angst, Kate bush. Also kinda sucks.
Length: Short
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Swaying your hips to the music playing loudly in your room while you looked through your records for something else to play after the song ended.
“I can’t believe you didn’t get those jeans, I mean they looked amazing on you” Max said from behind you sitting on your bed. You knew exactly why she wanted you to get them, so you let out a laugh and turned around to her dramatically.
“And have you draw on another pair? As much as i love that my girlfriend anyways makes my things pretty. If my mom sees one more stain of paint on my clothes she will kill me” You walked aright up to her and started to play with her hair.
“But you looked so good in them” she dragged on the last words in a whine. You chuckle at her whines then while rolling your eyes.
“I have plenty of jeans” You pointed out and walked away from her going back to your records and picked up the new Kate bush album.
“I have a new favorite song and I hope you’ll like it” You took the other record off and replaced it with the new one. You’ve been listening to it for a while so you where to place the little needle.
Max watched every movement you made. It’s been a while since the mall fight and most of the time she had to fight for the slightest bit of happiness. Always forcing a smile on her face but that was never the case when she was with you.
You calmed her. Just being in your present made her feel comfortable just to live in the moment, she always felt protected. During the mall fight and before that you always protected her against anything. And it was no different now.
You smiled as you took of the blue Jean buttoned up shirt that you always wear over your shirts. You put in on the end of the bed as the music started to play.
It took a minute to get to the lyrics and as soon as it did you grabbed your hairbrush and started singing. Your eyes were on max the whole time and start to act like you were performing just for her.
Max smiled at your acts to make her laugh and happy. You danced around your room as the song played on and max actually liked the song.
“What’s it called?” She called out over the music.
“Running up the hill” You went back to singing as you hopped around the room.
“It's you and me. Won't be unhappy” you sang along as she smiled at you and decided to get up and dance with you.
And if I only could I'd make a deal with God
Dustin and Lucas, plus Steve watched as max started to levitate off the ground. They freaked out because they couldn’t stop her or what they thought would help didn’t seem to be working.
And I'd get him to swap our places
Max closes her eyes as vecna put his hand over her head, all she could do if think of all the ones she loved and all the memories they shared.
Lucas
El
Dustin
All the others she held so dear.
And then she saw you, smiling at her. Every moment you two shared together and even the bad ones. That’s when she knew she had to do everything to get away.
To live for you.
Be running up that road.
Be running up that building.
Its been about a day or two since she got out of vecnas grasp. She’s been working with the others to figure out what she saw and how to stop it. She got paired with Lucas to look around the house.
“Who knew Kate bush would be a hero” Lucas said moving his flashlight around the area they had been in. Max only let out a hum in a way to laugh.
“I wouldn’t say that” Max walked behind him flashing her light the other way looking around for any type clue.
Be running up that building
“She saved your life” Lucas turned and looked at her only to see that she frozen up as soon as he said those words.
Lucas walked over to his friend and looked at her feeling sorry. He know how much she’s lost and it was one right after the other.
Say, if I only could.
You..
“It’s funny, I still have her shirt. I wouldn’t even take it off at the beginning because it smelled like her.” She remember when you left your blue jean button up shirt at her house. You told her to keep it and of course she did.
“I decided to wear it on the last day right before spring break. But all I could think of is how she should still be around to wear it” Tears built up in her eyes. She wished you were here.
“I should have seen the signs but she was so good at hiding them. And when I got the news” Max let out a sob as tears spilled from her eyes at the memory.
Max’s mom came into her room and just by the look on her face max knew something was wrong.
You had given up on all the pain of the world and took your own life, hoping the other side of life would be more welcoming.
“So when you say Kate bush saved me that’s isn’t true, Y/n did. She introduced me to that song and because of my love for her that it’s my favorite” Max whipped off her tears remembering what they should be doing.
“She was my hero” Max gave him one last look and walked off to the next room.
It’s you and me.
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#max mayfield x female reader#max mayfield#max mayfield x reader#stranger things x reader#stranger things#steve harrington#Dustin Henderson#lucas sinclair#eleven#angst#stranger things season 4#running up that hill
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Sinful Hymns
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Pairing: Erwin Smith x Fem!Reader
Rating: Explicit (18+ only)
Warnings: Hair pulling, some rough sex, sex on a desk, religious allusions, a dash of authority kink, no spoilers past early season 1
Word Count: 4k
A/N: In celebration of Season 4 of Attack on Titan airing today, here’s a fulfilled request for Commander Handsome 💕 Thank you so much to the anon who requested this, I had so much fun writing this!
You couldn’t sleep. There was a nagging in your mind, shadowy visions of titans ascending mountains, climbing walls—the same nightmares that plagued you ever since you joined the scouts all those years ago. You found yourself in the showers, all alone scrubbing away your sins and torments. But even a cleansing couldn’t seem to quell your thoughts, so you roamed.
The meandering halls of the old scout regiment headquarters were cold, musty, unwelcoming even with Levi’s cleaning. Glimmering lamp light under a cracked door caught your attention, the only light you’d seen while on your stroll.
The Commander was still awake.
You weren’t sure what compelled you to stop, to bring your knuckles to rap against the wood of the door. You’d once been quite close with Erwin, back when you were both cadets and working your way up the ranks, but he’d become quite elusive since becoming the Commander. You’d always been interested in him, found your gaze lingering on him a little too long when was around. There was some kind of irresistible, seductive pull towards him, like if you got close enough, he might let you explore the man under the armor. You wondered if he felt it, too, or if your lust was one-sided.
You were just too curious about what would keep him awake at night. Maybe he struggled with the same miseries you did when the nights felt too dark.
Tentatively, you slid past the open door.
Blue eyes caught your movement, his handsome face tilting towards you from where it was seated in his palm.
He whispered your name, smile tugging at his cheeks.
“Commander Smith,” you acknowledged, “you’re up quite late.”
“Seems I’m not the only one.” There was an amusement in his voice that you couldn’t quite place.
He leaned back in his chair as you stayed in your place, a sudden rise of bashfulness making you bite at the inside of your lip. You were sure you were pestering him; you should’ve just wandered back to your room. Your feet were ready to move, heels pressed against the floor to turn and leave at his behest.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
“I—no, I just couldn’t sleep. Apologies, I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“No, you’re no bother. Rather, you’re quite a pleasant distraction at the moment,” he gestured to his desk, littered with paperwork and books opened to forgotten pages, “come in, shut the door behind you.”
You did as you were so kindly told, clicking the door into place behind you before moving in closer. His office was warm, bathed in dim candlelight from the lamp on his desk, shadows being cast from the bookshelves that lined the walls. You noticed he was in only a white button-down and trousers, his ODM gear placed neatly on a chest behind where he sat.
Your hands came to rest on the chair that was placed in front of his desk for his visitors. You remained standing, not quite ready to be so familiar as to just sit and talk with him. There was humor in his eyes as they scanned your figure, undoubtedly surprised to see you dressed so casually as well, simple pants and shirt being all you brought to wear after taking your late-night shower.
“Tell me, what keeps you awake?”
There were many answers to his question, but you erred on the side of simplicity.
“Nightmares. What about you? What’s kept you awake tonight?”
Erwin sighed, deep and heavy from his chest. You observed how his long fingers gripped at the armrest of his seat, knuckles white.
“Letters. Demands from the Military Police to hand over the boy who turns into a titan, demands from royalty to execute him. But also my own curiosities. I’ve been reading to see if there are any records of anyone else like him.”
“I see,” your tongue clicked behind your lips as you recognized the heaviness bound within his broad shoulders, “anything I can help you with?”
He smiled fully then, white teeth curving against his pretty lips.
“Like I said, you’re a welcome distraction. How have you been?”
Again, there were too many ways to answer his question. But you couldn’t bring yourself to bring your burdens to him, not when he was already carrying the weight of the world upon his back.
“Life isn’t as simple as it used to be,” not that living in this world had ever been easy.
“No, I’m afraid it isn’t.”
You caught an etching of the walls on his desk, details of Sina and Maria partially obscured by a leather-bound book, penciled in lines and notes scribbled around the paper’s edges. Something about it drew you in, had you moving to perch on the edge of his desk, one thigh crinkling pages of ink as your fingers deftly plucked at the drawing.
He watched you with curiosity, eyebrows lifted as he brought a hand to his chin.
Your nail traced against the charcoal lines, gaze scanning the comprehensive sketch of the rounded walls and the cities held within them.
“My father used to think there was some kind of power within the walls; believed there was some unseen magic lingering within the stones to keep us safe…” you trailed off, the rest of your thoughts caught within your throat, “...I’m glad he wasn’t alive when the walls were breached, would’ve ruined the mystery for him.”
“Was he a believer in the Church of the Walls?”
“No,” you hummed softly, “just someone who thought there was more to the story.”
Quite like yourself, you wanted to say, but left the words unspoken. You set the yellowing paper back on his desk, arms crossing.
He rolled his shoulders in a quiet stretch, running a tired hand through his blonde undercut as he looked up at you. You’d always found him overwhelmingly handsome, the kind of man who changed the atmosphere of a room when he walked in. But there was always a warmth to him, like there was always something brewing, churning inside that enticing mind of his.
“I never could understand how people could worship the walls,” he mused, shifting his weight forward, getting a little closer to where you were perched, “not when there are other, more...beautiful things to praise.”
Heat crept up the back of your neck, your too-close proximity to him becoming all too apparent. But he kept getting closer.
His hand found your knee, fingers trailing over the tight threads of your pants.
The act seemed endearing, harmless, but the simple touch had your desire rearing its sordid head again. You felt emboldened, confidence swelling in your chest.
“Then what would you worship, Erwin?”
“I’m a man of too many sins, I doubt there’s any kind of faith that could bring me absolution.”
Your fingers ached to touch him, your hand reaching toward his face before your mind could stop the movement. His cheek was warm, skin soft under the brush of your thumb.
“I don’t believe that. There has to be something beautiful for you to admire…” you felt his fingers tighten against your leg, drifting higher up your thigh, pulling you in, bringing you closer.
“I could start with you.”
The tension snapped, splitting like a tightly strung cord between you. You heeded the call to be nearer, moving your hand to rest against his shoulder for balance as you took the initiative to settle yourself in his lap. For a moment, you worried that you pushed too far, that you’d invaded his personal space and made him uncomfortable. But those fears were battered quickly when eager hands took hold of your waist, palms spread wide as they trailed up your back.
“I’ve always admired you from afar,” he was hushed, breath fanning over your neck, “but you’re much easier to worship up close.”
You kissed him without a second thought. Years of attraction, of adoration, fueled your lips, your hands grasping at his jawline as he met your passion. His mouth slanted against yours ardently, impatient hands slipping under your shirt.
You sucked in a sharp breath through your nose at the feel of his warm fingers ghosting up your skin, now suddenly very aware you hadn’t bothered to wear anything below your clothes—you thought you’d be returning to your room, not wandering into your Commander’s lap. You moaned into his mouth, his tongue slipping past your parted lips to taste you. You were overcome with too much, all your senses now flooding with Erwin, his scent, his touch, his entire being smothering you with all the attentions you had ever craved from him.
His thumbs brushed the undersides of your breasts, a groan leaving his chest when you settled lower into his lap, your thighs draped over his own and your core pressed against his hardening cock.
This wasn’t real—this couldn’t be real, surely you were caught up in one of your dreams again, but his lips against yours felt real, felt hungry, his large hands now cupping and holding the weight of your breasts within his hands. Your fingers carded through his hair, nails delicately raking through the roots to remind yourself that it was him, that this was real.
“You taste like sin,” he praised, peppering kisses down the column of your throat.
Any thought you had of replying disappeared when strong fingers pinched at your nipples, causing a heavy moan to fall out of your mouth as your head tilted back, allowing him more access to your neck. He plucked tenderly at your sensitive flesh, a noticeable smirk growing upon his lips as each tug and roll of your breasts had you gasping, whining. He quite liked that, it seemed, to be able to play you so easily.
You mumbled curses into the air, eyes fluttering closed. You experimentally rolled your hips in his lap, an attempt to get a similar rise from him. He bared his teeth against your throat, canines nipping into your skin before pressing his lips down more forcefully, sucking and lapping at your neck. Heat bloomed from where his mouth met your body, a telling sign that you would have a mark there to remember him by. He was careful, choosing a supple spot below where the collar of your uniform would cover you tomorrow.
Erwin’s hands released your aching breasts, moving down to grasp at the hem of your shirt.
“Take this off,” he demanded, a string of saliva still connecting his lips to your neck.
You dropped your hands from his hair, trailing down his broad chest before meeting his hands and pulling your shirt up over your head. It fell to the floor carelessly, the chill of the room making your skin pebble with gooseflesh.
You took note of how his cheeks were flushed pink, blush faint across his elegant aquiline nose.
His intimidating, icy eyes flickered up to you, making your own flush spread across your body. You felt like he was looking through you, reading your thoughts, hearing your internal screams for more. Then, his gaze fell back to your heaving breasts, hands greedily taking them again, lips wrapping around one of your nipples and making you whimper.
You could feel his cock pressing against you now, harder and thicker than before, the ridge of it nestled against your throbbing cunt. You rolled yourself against it, delighted sounds leaving both of your mouths at the contact. His tongue swirled around your puckered nipple, teeth just barely daring to drag against your flesh. You buried your fingers into his shoulders, feeling his muscles tighten and then relax at your touch.
“Oh-oh fuck, I—,”
“You’re dripping,” he interrupted, one of his hands unclasping from your breast and drifting down your belly to rub at the damp spot between your legs, “I can feel you against me.”
You shivered at the wanton touch, thighs clenching against his legs.
“Did you come here tonight to seduce me?”
He mumbled the words against your breast, tongue flattening against your nipple with a few long, heavy licks as his eyes flashed up to you, waiting for your response.
“No, sir, I promise that wasn’t my,” you moaned as a thick finger slid against your clit through your clothes, “that wasn’t my intention.”
His wet lips left your breast, coy smirk painting his face.
“Shame, that was my plan the moment you stepped into my office.”
You always did fall for his tricks; if only you’d known his hand against your thigh earlier wasn’t so harmless after all.
“And how did this plan of yours end, Commander?”
It still felt strange to call him by that title after so many years of calling him by his name, but there was something sensual about it, something alluring about his newfound authority.
His hands were pushing at your hips, fingers crushing into your skin as he lifted you to move back.
“With you bent over my desk.”
It didn’t take him long to wrangle you into the position he so desired. His hands were unhurried, purposeful as he pushed you to stand, peeling your pants down your legs before pressing your face into the pile of papers on his desk. You felt so exposed, what with him being able to see your pussy on display from behind you while all you could focus on was his touch and the way the flame at the edge of his desk flickered.
Erwin’s fingers spread the folds of your cunt, an appreciative hum sounding from his throat. You mewled at the touch, thighs shaking in your anticipation. The button to his pants popped softly, then you finally felt him, felt his hard, thick cock nudging at your entrance.
Your hands crumpled a few pages as you searched for something to cling to. Your heart was pounding in your ears, suddenly all too aware that the Commander was still fully clothed, while you were laid out across his desk like a naked whore. One of his hands pulled at your hip, the other trailing down the expanse of your back.
There was a boldness coming to life inside you at the realization that he’d wanted you the moment you appeared within his room.
“Worth worshipping, Erwin?”
You ate your words as he shoved himself inside you, stretching you to your limits as your body burned to accommodate his size. You cried out against the mass of papers, eyes blurring as pleasure burst across all of your nerve endings.
He groaned at the feeling himself, both hands now digging into the meat of your hips.
“Fuck,” you heard him breath in deep as he slid is cock out of you before slamming in again, “oh absolutely, darling.”
You hadn’t heard Erwin curse before.
But you didn’t have time to dwell on your thoughts, not with him now moving ruthlessly inside you, hips snapping against your ass with every sharp, deep thrust. Little sounds left your lips with every plunge, blissful tingles stemming from where your bodies were conjoined. You loved how you could feel the head of his fat cock dragging along your walls, thick veins throbbing under silken skin.
You were far past believing this was a dream, now convinced you were actually in the sweet joys of a paradise beyond life.
A coil of pleasure began to tighten within your lower stomach, hot and mean, like it was ready to tear and erupt with a rush of ecstasy. You moaned his name like a prayer, eyes closed tightly as you focused on the intensity of his cock thrusting inside you.
You wouldn’t last long, not with the sinful hymns of his grunts and praises resounding behind you. His sounds were faint, but they were there, little rumbling of “so good, so tight,” kissing at your ears.
God, you could die. You could die and live a happy, full life from this moment alone. You felt so whole with him inside you, felt coated with desire and praise like never before. There were bruises already forming from his grip, you could feel them, skin sore and burning beneath his massive hands.
“You’re beautiful wrapped around my cock,” he voiced, tone deep and praising, brawny arm sweeping up your spine to fist in your hair. Your head jerked with his action, back arching as he pulled at you. You gasped at the discomfort, a dull ache forming from his too-tight grip. But the pain was overshadowed by the rivers of rapture running over your skin. Your breasts bounced with every thrust, your whole body rebounding like snapping elastic from his brutal behavior.
The new angle had his cock slamming against that spot inside you that had your body going almost numb from the pleasure, white hot heat spreading over all your limbs, making your toes curl against the floor. You felt like you were fracturing, that thrilling tendril tightening in your belly to its breaking point. You could feel your walls sucking in his cock, your body pleading on its own.
“Oh fuck, Commander—Erwin,” you were completely lost to the delirium, mind ruined.
“I know,” he grunted, fingers stiffening in your hair, craning your neck back farther, “I feel you, you’re so—you’re so fucking tight.”
You crashed down around him, your cunt clenching and pulsing in waves of euphoria, each crest making your lower muscles spasm. Your chin fell, your head only being held by the might of his hand, your brain so foggy with lust and release that you felt as if you had ascended the walls too quickly and fallen back down again. A fresh, euphoric jolt splintered down your body as he sheathed his cock fully into your depths, making your eyes flutter as your mouth opened in a glorious, blissed out state.
Your body threatened to crumple against the desk, but he held you; the space between his palms and strong fingers was one of the safest places in the world, nothing could touch you if Erwin had you beneath his touch. The fierce tightening of your body sent him over the edge. Hot cum poured inside of you, making you cry out at the captivating feeling of being completely filled by him, the Commander’s seed pooling within your pussy. Your snug walls struggled to flutter around the girth of his cock, prolonging your orgasm and leaving you gasping for breath and basking in every dull thump of his cock inside of you.
He gently let go of your hair, letting your spent body rest against the desk as he caught his breath. He smoothed his hands over your hips, a tinge of regret in his chest as he noticed the dark prints of his fingers etched into your skin. Erwin wasn’t used to letting go, to letting lust overtake him so mercilessly.
You stirred after a few moments, straightening your back and finding your balance between your legs. Erwin enveloped you in his arms, hand against your cheek as he trailed his lips up your neck, capturing the side of your mouth with a fervent kiss.
“Are you alright, darling?” Concern laced his tone, hand smoothing over your belly. You shuttered at the gentle touch, your skin cooling from sweat as you leaned back against his chest, cum sticky and crawling down your thighs.
You still felt lost, like you were waking from the dark depths of slumber, his hands calling you to him. One palm wrapped around your neck, stroking at the column of your throat like he was helping you to find your breath.
“Yes, yes I’m…,” you couldn’t think of the words to describe just how you felt. It was like you’d finally been cleansed, every grievous thought expunged from your mind, but also like you’d fallen back into the past, back into your daydreams of wishing Erwin would press you against the barracks wall and smothering his name from your mouth.
“It is yes sir, to you, don’t forget I’m your superior now,” he teased between nips and kisses, a smile brushing against your skin.
You turned in his arms, pressing your naked chest against his wrinkled shirt, the cotton soft against your breasts. You stood on your toes to try and match his height, molding your lips to his, stealing his grin and making it your own.
“I could never forget, not with such a display of power,” you affirmed, seriousness apparent on your tongue. You knew he could take anything he wanted from you, and you were more than willing to lay yourself bare for him whenever he pleased.
You expected there to be a stillness between you, a moment of reflection after such a callous coupling. But Erwin’s hands were greedy, selfish, cupping and kneading at the soft flesh of your ass, of the side of your breast. You were small in his shadow; a miniscule frame being devoured by a starved predator.
“I want to see just how well you obey orders. Go to my quarters and wait for me, I’m not finished with you yet.”
Your head nodded accordingly, your knees ready to kneel to the floor and gather your forgotten garments. But Erwin kept his fingers in your flesh, preventing you from moving from his hold when you tried.
“Ah, I don’t think you need your clothing, not when you’ll just be shedding it again so soon.”
There was a playful glint in his eyes, his eyebrows thoughtfully pressed together as he tried to gauge your response.
“Erwin,” his hands cinched around your body, an acute reminder, “sir, I can’t...walk to your room naked.”
He patted your backside before he sat back into the chair behind his desk, cock tucked neatly back into his pants. There was still a pretty blush tingeing his cheeks, his lips plump and dark pink from all their time spent sucking at your skin. You almost wanted to cover yourself under his scrutinizing gaze, icy irises roaming your body like a piece of art bought and hung on a wall for his viewing pleasure.
“It’s late, there shouldn’t be anyone to find you,” he relaxed, arms crossing across his chest, “but, if you happen to be unfortunate, remind them that you are under your Commander’s orders.”
Erwin took a sick delight in watching your eyes narrow at him, your lips pursing in slight irritation; but he knew you wouldn’t dare disobey him, you’d always been too good of a soldier for that, and now a promising plaything.
He couldn’t help but survey your body as you walked towards the door, delicious curves and marks from his skin on an alluring display, his cum still flowing down your thighs. You’d be a blessed sight to anyone who got the privilege to see you on your journey to his sleeping quarters, a goddess floating down the corridors.
You looked over your shoulder at him when you opened the door, catching his diligent gaze and matching it. He always thought you’d be amusing to toy with and you’d proven that with how easily you could match his intensity.
“You shouldn’t be up so late, Commander Smith, nothing good happens after midnight.”
He hid the smirk behind his hand as you left his office the same as you entered, only bare-skinned and with a new, more suitable destination.
#erwin x reader#erwin smut#erwin smith#erwin smith x reader#erwin x you#erwin smith x you#erwin#aot x reader#aot erwin#snk#aot fanfiction#snk fanfiction#snk erwin#snk erwin smith#aot erwin smith#attack on titan#attack on titan erwin#attack on titan fanfiction#attack on titan x reader
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Predictably adrienette fangirls are vagueposting me and to no one’s surprise they’re being dense and illiterate about it at that so I’m going to repeat myself about what my actual problem with pre-reveal adrienette is and maybe they’ll read it this time before they go on to write another 8 paragraphs about how much they supposedly don’t care about my opinion
I love Adrienette, contrary to how the Adrienette fangirls are trying to frame this is as just being about Side Preference, because considering that people’s upset could be anything more than “they’re just salty it wasn’t their favorite side 💅” is apparently too complex a concept to grasp. You know why Adrienette could never be my favorite side of the square, though?
The problem is the show never let them be what they could be at their best because it always chose to prioritize drama. Things like their adventures in Gorizilla and them joking around together in Puppeteer 2... they never gave me more of it. They always chose cliche contrived drama and drawing out the will they won't they """tension"""" over letting them spend real time together and get close. And that just makes me mourn the fact its only this way because the majority of people think THATS the most interesting part of a ship. Why let Adrienette get to the point of being able to comfortably hang out together as close friends when that "diminishes" the """tension"""" after all??? No one wants to see FRIENDSHIP silly!
This side is always plagued with corny forced drama and manufactured "tension" more than other, which is achieved by not letting Adrienette get close as friends at all costs and throwing in waste my time bullshit like love rivals to extend the runtime of said "tension". Every seemingly promising scene with them becomes a microcosm of this phenomenon. Puppeteer 2 was nice but the comfort and joking around together didn't stick and they cut it short with more of that love triangle "the girl you're in love with?" bullshit. I was excited when it seemed like Marinette was going to join the fencing team in Riposte because their interactions in that scene were cute and I was happy to see them spend more time together and become comfortable while sharing this common interest, only for it to turn out that that was all to introduce a goddamn love rival plot that amounted to nothing besides developing the friendship between the two protagonists and said love rival more than their friendship to .... each other. Again, gotta prioritize the Tension!!1!1!!
I've said if I wanted to watch another generic school romance I'd choose to watch a much better one than pre-reveal Adrienette. One example? Anne/Gilbert. I'm going to talk about the Netflix version here: Anne/Gilbert feels a bit like what Adrienette might've been if the umbrella scene didn't happen and it took longer for Marinette to warm up to him. Anne gets awkward and babbles and puts her foot in her mouth around Gilbert. Gilbert is all smitten smiles and soft looks when he sees her being Anne(TM) and being her weird self or standing up for what’s right. But that's not all. They're good friends. They have a rivalry. They tease each other. They argue. He tells her directly when he disagrees with something she did. They challenge each other’s perspectives. They grieve together. They hold each other and cry after they lose someone important to them. Anne’s the first person Gilbert wants to tell about things that happen to him. Gilbert comes to Anne to discuss his future when he's confused. This was all before they were even together. This is the depth and rawness and realness that I wish Adrienette gave me. Alas, it's Ladynoir that has all that depth and closeness, while I'm not even convinced Adrienette can even be considered "close" at the end of season 4. Three hundred “soft looks” scenes only go so far. They only just scratched the surface of said closeness with Risk, and even that wasn't entirely organic considering it took magic to get it to happen. I hoped that would finally be the start of letting Adrienette get closer as friends and have some real substance and--- oops! They're dating now lol.
Weird as hell that Adrienette fangirls are being like “you all think platonic relationships are less than romantic ones and it shows 💅 one lovesquare side getting together doesn’t kill the others” acting like they really did something when … the whole fucking issue here is that Adrienette needed to develop as friends. Even if we ignore the fact that this is a piece of fucking Romance media and therefore not the place to whine about the value of platonic love when the romantic development is literally the main fucking plot, Ladynoir has had all the depth and platonic development and platonic love built up already. Ladynoir is fully realized. They've struggled and been at odds and reconciled and seen each other at their best and worst and grown together. It’s Adrienette that’s lacking in platonic development, it’s Adrienette that some of us wanted to have developed into a strong platonic relationship first but apparently, for reasons unknown, they’re incapable of being friends and needed to date to have any of that long overdue development. The Adrienette stans KNOW they needed development, they even defend pre-reveal Adrienette by saying they needed the development, but bizarrely y'all think it absolutely had to happen through speed running pre-reveal dating rather than uh..... friendship. Are ladynoir stans really the ones failing to see the value of platonic love here lol
One thing I always hated that this fandom did was treat romantic love as an ulterior motive or somehow shallow. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that once again that theme comes up in the defense of this plot point with “nOw LaDyNoIr CaN bE fRiEnDs wItHoUt uLtErIoR mOtIvEs.” I’m sorry some of y’all think someone wanting to get closer to another person or having affection for them is an ulterior motive lol. Maybe this is the consequence of how hollywood and popular culture has equated romantic love to sexual tension. Maybe this is why I’m having to listen to adrienette fangirls say deranged shit like “ladynoir was meant to be the platonic side and adrienette was meant to be the lovers side uwu” because of course, a deep bond built on real trust and friendship and affection with someone who you can share things you can’t with most others, a relationship reminiscent of what actual healthy romantic relationships look like in real life, isn’t romantic at all, but forced Tension and contrived schoolgirl drama, apparently, is romantic.
In case some Adrienette fangirls are still having trouble with reading comprehension: I love adrienette and everything they could be. I hate how they’re often handled in canon. When I talk about what Ladynoir has that Adrienette does not, that’s me explaining how their writing and development was handled better and how Adrienette isn’t allowed to reach that point, not why one side is “superior” lol. Despite me saying this I know Adrienette stans are still going to take it as a personal attack when I point out the objective fact that Ladynoir has the closer and more developed relationship lol
The past four seasons but season 4 more than any other established these themes of truth vs. lies and secrets and the importance of being honest with your loved ones and how secrets are hurting them more than they’re helping. They were even in the fucking titles of the first three episodes of the season. And it seemed so obviously to be building up to a reveal, of course the culmination of all the interpersonal conflicts and anguish they’re going through would be the two of them revealing their identities right? No, actually, the solution to the question of truth/lies/secrets posed at the beginning of season 4 is ….. for Adrien and Marinette to have sex.
That’s right, folks. Not identity reveal, not for Adrien and Marinette to be honest with each other the way Alya and Nino were, the culmination of this conflict is …. For them to have sex. The picnic blanket date scene where they lay down and try to kiss only for Marinette to be “Not Ready” and for Adrien to tell her that he can Wait For Her <3, which takes place in the same spot as the implied GabrielxEmilie Adrien Conception Picnic, is an unsubtle first time sex metaphor. Fuck honesty and personal growth! Fuck Adrien and Marinette actually saying goodbye to their best friends! "I'll never abandon you" and "never do that to me again" and "I'm afraid of you disappearing for my life" all didn't mean fuck all when it comes to getting fucked on a picnic blanket! The rest of the lovesquare got thrown over because Adrien and Marinette are just so fucking horny apparently :’) This is what the pre-reveal Adrienette stans are calling peak romance and the best season of the show. My god
Though I can’t say this kind of contrived botched unnecessary conflict and nonsensical “development” on the Adrienette side is new to this season. Adrienette stans were noting the Glaciator 2 -> Risk """"development"""" like "look! Marinette stopped seeing Adrien's sadness as an Opportunity to Win him and listened to his feelings! Character/Relationship development 😌✨" Except.... no. That wasn't development that ever needed to happen. Marinette was already capable of seeing Adrien's sadness way back in season 1 (Rogercop) and of caring more to see him happy than about pushing her own feelings on him (the scarf in Bubbler + being his 3rd wheel in Frozer). Then Glaciator 2 decides to introduce this asinine "Adrien is sad now's my chance!!1!1!" moment so that y'all can later pretend Adrienette had a development moment here when it REALLY didn't. That was literally not what was holding her back for the past 4 seasons. That was a solution to a problem that never existed in the first place.
The drawn-out “not being ready to kiss Adrien” conflict this season is a completely new invention too because guess what: We had Chat Blanc! We SAW Marinette was already happily ready to kiss Adrien in full view of her friends back in season 3!!! Pre-reveal Adrienette is repeatedly negating past characterization and past development and past established themes for its forced drama and Adrienette stans are shutting their eyes to that fact because uuwwwu cute Adrienette scenes!!!11!!!1
(And y’all know people can enjoy the scenes/think they’re cute while still disliking the plotpoint/writing surrounding it, right? Or is that still too complex a thought for this fandom)
The fear of rejection has been there for the past 7 years, ready to be tackled at any moment. Those of us that actually paid attention to Marinette’s character, and weren’t just projecting ourselves and our high school fantasies on to her like a lot of these pre-reveal Adrienette stans, were all waiting for it to naturally payoff with a Marinette confession scene, regardless of the outcome. Let her overcome that rejection sensitive dysphoria!!!! Oh, wait, nevermind, now that problem has been gleefully skipped over and apparently the REAL issue is that Marinette can’t kiss Adrien. Fucking Phenomenal. Marinette already knows Adrien loves her and was able to completely skip over the "overcoming her fear of rejection" part but she's still scared for some reason and everyone is going to pretend this is so compelling and soft uwu and not completely lackluster compared to the powerful character moment that could've been if she'd been allowed to confront this fear pre-relationship. The past 4 seasons of her trying and failing to tell Adrien how she feels were actually just more dilly dallying contrived runtime expansion because that issue was never going to be something she needed to overcome through Facing Said Fear, apparently. Adrien had adequate development in realizing he needed to drop the Cat-sanova schtick with Ladybug if he wanted to be seen for who he is. On Marinette's side of the personal growth and development? Crickets. She’s just a scared little animal who needs Adrien to handle it all for her uwu. She never needed to do any growing, it was always Adrien! Adrien’s Feelings were always the obstacle actually! It’s Adrien’s job to make this all happen! Fuck seeing our protagonist taking initiative and overcoming that seasons-long fear in a satisfying confession payoff I guess!
There were conditions under which I actually would’ve accepted pre-reveal Adrienette, like for example actually getting that confession scene, but the way it played out in canon flopped. I thought ML was following the Raimi Spider-Man plot, which it has been in many ways, but even those movies had Peter Reject Mary Jane after she finally realized she loved him, and only let them get together after his identity was revealed and Mary Jane was able to accept that Spider-Man and Peter Parker are a package deal. Here’s another example of an actual good school romance I’d choose over pre-reveal Adrienette every time: Sawako and Kazehaya. The pinnacle of sweet slowburn slice of life school romance. Kurumi, an actually effective romantic rival character, tells Sawako that she’s not worthy of being called her rival if she simply gives up and wallows without ever actually mustering up the courage to confess her feelings to Kazehaya. The love rival got rejected and got her heart broken, only to be the one who pushed the protagonist to confess, and then we got a beautiful, emotional confession scene where Sawako, despite all her shyness and anxiety, puts herself out there and pours her heart out and tells Kazehaya that she loves him, all Without Knowing Her Feelings Are Returned. It was powerful and satisfying and tear-jerking and earned and it put the reigns in our protagonists’ hands. Pre-reveal Adrienette flopped with this. Now I’m going to have to endure the fans acting like this half-season-long contrived drama/first time sex metaphor was the REAL issue all along and that it’s actually a well-written and compelling conflict. Now they’re going to pretend Marinette continuing to be afraid to confess and having to overcome that while already knowing Adrien loves her is in any way logical or satisfying. Who cares about seeing our protagonist take initiative and grow and be rewarded for it!
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the same people who are rallying for this shit are some of the same people who’ve put Adrien salt on my dash and whine about Chameleon on a monthly basis because it was already clear from those salt takes that they clearly do not understand these characters. It was never about character growth for Marinette. Narrative themes never really mattered. It’s all about the self-projection. The people who are happiest about this are the Marinette kinnies who think Adrien needed to learn a lesson and Finally Notice and Appreciate NormalGirl Marinette and/or stop being “pushy” with Ladybug and learn his Lesson to blindly follow Marinette through all Chameleon-esque drama in the future. They love the idea of having that celebrity boycrush romance fall in to their laps with no personal reflection or growth on their own parts and they love their self-insert Marinette having an echo chamber entourage of friends that follow her blindly and never disagree with her if she has personal beef with someone. The inequality and double standard -- that Adrien's original crush was treated as the Obstacle that he had to Grow from and Get Over while Marinette's isn't -- isn't a problem to the Marinette kinnies because to them it's always everyone else's fault for not Appreciating or being Loyal Enough to Marinette of course. It was never about her growing. The real problem was always Adrien ~~~being too blinded by red and black to notice the cute girl behind him in class uwuwuww~~~ or however that cornyass cliche shitty fanfic line always goes.
Pre-reveal Adrienette has framed the rest of the lovesquare, and especially Adrien's feelings for Ladybug, as a simple obstacle that always stood in the way of the end goal of Adrienette, not a completed/fully realized square. Pre-reveal Adrienette decided that the entire point of the season 4 conflict was actually about making Adrien finally ~get over~ Ladybug so he'd ~notice~ Marinette. Pre-reveal Adrienette made it so Alya's entire role in Season 4 was actually just to get in-between Ladynoir to reach this end. Pre-reveal Adrienette started with the two of them bizarrely forgetting about the existence of their superhero best friends and ghosting them to get laid, which, seeing the later eps, was clearly just a summary of how this entire phase of their relationship is going to play out. Pre-reveal Adrienette bizarrely snubs the years-long plotline of Marinette's romantic feelings for Chat Noir after just 3 episodes of exploring them (even the Adrienette stans are relying on pure speculation of future episodes to justify this shit, you know, when they're not relying on their asspull argument that ladynoir stans just "think platonic relationships are less than romantic ones and it shows 💅🤪").
It’s hilarious to hear pre-reveal Adrienette fangirls vaguepost like “you’re just mad it wasn’t your favorite side 💅” when I’ve said multiple times that I would not have been satisfied with pre-reveal Ladynoir either because I Wanted to see that climactic Marinette confession moment and see Marinette’s fear of rejection handled in a satisfying way (and my dream for season 5 was to see all 4 sides openly simping), meanwhile it’s exceedingly clear these Adrienette stans are making a lot of excuses and hinging their defenses of pre-reveal Adrienette on pure speculation (lmao when their justification depends on future, yet-to-be-seen episodes being Better) and retroactively rewriting the past four seasons to ignore the abandoned themes and to tell anyone who doesn’t like it that they're just salty about their own side and were actually hallucinating all the blatant themes in the past seasons and to pretend this writing isn’t completely disjointed and nonsensical because they’re actually the ones who only care about seeing their favorite side be canon 🤷♀️
#ml spoilers#ml salt#ml fandom salt#why is it that every time i see a weird take in some other remote corner of the fandom and decide to comment on it on my blog#one of the self-absorbed noisy weirdos in my vicinity on this website naturally decides it's about them#and then writes a paragraphs-long vague post attempting very embarrassingly to show me attitude while missing the point entirely#please go back to writing y'alls embarrassing chameleon salt instead of giving me secondhand embarrassment through ... this#vague posting me on new years when i haven't even been here in over a week like come the fuck on don't you have a life to attend to#sick to death of this fandom
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