#I think the wings on some are a little odd looking but overall very happy with how they came out :D

[jackdawsdrawings]

Night fury drawing practice :)

[blundergato]

i watched a video where a japanese dude interviewed different japanese people on their perception of the united states and there were two ladies in particular who had lived for a little bit over here who nailed it pretty hard in terms of what its like to be a racial/gender minority in this country specifically.

there was another person who mentioned that the impression they get is that the united states looks down on japan.

and the comments were not happy with it. you had some of the most smoothbrained assholes possible coming out of the woodwork to talk about how we don't look down on them because (insert any japanese stereotype you know here) and how much they love their "culture" aka cultural products and man...you guys are so close to getting it. boiling down a culture to a small slice of its cultural exports that you consume here is absolutely simplifying and looking down on a culture.

and of course, you had people trying to explain away the racism/sexism thing by saying it depends on region, when...no. the way that kind of shit manifests is different depending on where you are, but that shit is embedded into the very fabric of this country and trying to dismiss what these two women experienced when living here or blame it on the wokes (yea those comments were scattered in there too) just makes you a shithead.

the comments just kind of devolved into a bunch of right wing talking points and it made me want to rip my hair out. it was just this weird glorification of japan plus this odd way of trying to justify u.s. racism.

On that note, there were a number of comments about how people in the u.s. love forcing labels on people when that shit doesnt matter; basically implying that it is the fault of people who fall outside of the societal standard (non-white, non-straight) for these labels. you know, every bigots favorite dumbass talking point. but in these SAME interviews the interviewer asked japanese people what they admire specifically about u.s. culture, a lot of them answered "individuality and self-expression"; the ability to fall out of the societal norm and not be immediately ostracized.

now, that idea is not exactly true here, considering that the u.s. is one of the most bigoted countries on this planet because white people cant chill the fuck out, but that sort of idea does sort of exist here by proxy of how diverse this country is overall.

now...you have these morons in the comments idolizing japan for its conformity, while a lot of japanese people (well from the tiny ass sample size of these interviews) seem to at least appreciate how people can self express here and you have a perfect little looking glass into how u.s. americans look down on another country while THINKING that they are admiring/appreciating it.

anyways im pissed off and im going to bed now

[ddarker-dreams]

What would moving in with the yan genshin characters be like? I can imagine scaramouche forcing us to be his house wife while childe will be the house wife himself. But overall who is the most acceptable character to move in with?

gonna be rating this scale from best to worst. as always, even the "best" is still a very unhealthy relationship, i'm just using those words since they're easy to understand hjtrkmegr so here we go ...

zhongli - zhongli’s a weird one in the sense he likes seeing you out and about in liyue. it’s endearing for him to happen upon you assisting qiqi with her chores or giving xingqui pointers on his latest work. gives this old man lots of warm fuzzies, like awe, darling is doing their little darling thing, how cute. while you are stuck with him, you’re not outright confined to staying in a house all day so long as you don’t try anything stupid. zhongli wants to experience the beauty of his nation with you by his side. that’d be difficult to do if you were always indoors, thus a contract was born: you are to stay within the confines of liyue lest you be punished by the lord of geo himself. trying to flee him in liyue is pointless since he’s the one who practically carved it into existence. the rocks and mountains themselves bow to him, heeding his every command. to sum up, just don’t try it. you do have a curfew though — no staying out after dark without him. he gets lonely if he’s home without you. 

diluc - diluc is the most inclined to let you do your thing. there are safety precautions for sure, some of which can feel almost insulting at times (like not being allowed to use knives, meat and such is cut up for you, but other than that, you can do as you please. you wake up and go to bed whenever you want. the west wing of the manor is yours to explore, and there’s plenty to look at. a gallery room filled with paintings, a ballroom, a conservatory, libraries with every book you could ever think of and more... lots to do. diluc operates in a way where you won’t see him unless you want to, since he tries to avoid agitating you. when he’s home, you can find him in his office, and he’ll drop just about anything he’s doing if you initiate conversation. all he wants you to do is be happy (as much as you can be in captivity), and healthy.

childe - childe is similar to zhongli where he enjoys watching you go to-and-fro but for very different reasons. zhongli leaves you be whereas childe always interferes with things. you’re living with anxiety, constantly glancing over your shoulder in case childe may be tailing you. if he is and doesn’t want you to know, there’s no point in doing this, you won’t be finding him. you also aren’t allowed to roam an entire nation. whatever city you’re in is as far as you can go without having childe by your side. a few fatui agents trail behind you in case you want to buy things, or at least that’s the reason they tell you they’re there; you know the truth. childe wants to stop you from fully escaping. he also has times for you to be back home, though that’s subject to change, since he has a chaotic schedule. he’ll take care of most house things out of habit but has an odd fixation on watching you cook. the two of you end up cooking together often as a result. he adores watching you chop things up, trying oh so hard not to look in his direction, clearly weighing the prospects of stabbing him. childe finds it cute. 

albedo - albedo is around you a fair amount. he’s an early riser, up hours before you are, tending to various things for the day ahead. he makes sure you eight hours and maybe a little extra on weekends. he cooks a majority of your meals, and while you’d have to give pointers on seasoning to avoid constantly eating bland food, he’s a quick learner. albedo keeps the area you live in tidy. the one room that’s a mess is his office, with papers and half open books strewn about. what you find the most irritating about living with albedo (aside from the fact you don’t want to be there to begin with), is how he sneaks up on you. you swear you need to put bells on him or something because this man moves like a ghost. you’ll be reading a book, then all of a sudden, albedo is there, making you jump out of your skin. no matter how many times you beg him to walk louder or something, he never does it. he murmured something about your hypothalamus and jotted down notes. 

kaeya - kaeya is the definition of a lazy roommate. while he’s not a downright slob, he forgets to put stuff back where it needs to be, and you have to remind him to do basic chores. he’ll listen to you on maybe the third warning. he bothers you the most after getting him from a long day of work, wanting to bask in every ounce of your attention. say goodbye to whatever you were doing because he’ll throw it out the window if you start ignoring him. his favorite thing to do is picking your brain. kaeya is excellent at getting people to talk, so you’ll be subject to verbal poking and prodding for his entertainment. you end up conversing with him for hours, a fact he’s smug about. 

scaramouche - this man is living in a mindset from like four centuries ago. he expects his spouse to maintain his estate since that’s what he observed noble couple’s doing during his time as a wanderer. so you’re coerced into marrying him, brought to this big house, then given a checklist of things to do. a true romantic. he also likes that if you’re busy, you won’t have time to plot against him. idle hands are the devil's workshop and all that. if you run out of stuff to do, he’ll make things up on the spot. there is an exception to this. when he’s home, he expects, no, demands, your undivided attention. that visit from a diplomat he claimed to be of the utmost importance earlier? forget about it, that person isn’t worth the effort, who cares. come give him attention instead or he starts brooding. there’s a tangible aura of darkness that clings to him if you’re not acknowledging him enough. 

kazuha - maybe it’s not that bad if you like to travel, but he is constantly on the go, so even if you’re a fan of traveling, chances are you’ll get tired of it by month number five. you’ll be sleeping under the stars (with his arms secured tightly around you to “keep you warm” in the colder seasons), or in a cabin on a rocking boat. here’s to hoping you don’t get seasick because it’ll be hell if you have that and a clingy kazuha to contend with. don’t even think about sneaking off on a rowboat, his senses are unfairly sharp, he’ll wake up at the slightest change in air from you getting up. if you complain about having sore muscles from sleeping on an uncomfortable bed he’s willing to massage you though. for hours. every grievance you have about your living conditions he finds a way to calmly brush aside, coming up with a solution fast enough. 

xiao - xiao is the least adept with understanding your needs (both physical and emotional), from anyone listed here. it’s not that he isn’t trying, he’s putting in more effort than he would for any other mortal, it’s just that nuances are lost on him. he’ll get you most things you want if you can give a good reason for needing them though. you have to have lots of patience to get things through to him. xiao doesn’t require the same things you do, so there’s almost no sign he was ever there if he’s not present. no personal belongings or anything. it’s kinda creepy. if you were to ever point this out to him, he wouldn’t have much of a reaction, but would start leaving trinkets around hoping it’d fix the problem.

[maximons]

Without You

Summary: Everything seems to be going alright for Wanda Maximoff, but a mission gone horribly awry makes everything crash and burn.

Word Count: 3,101

Genre: Angst

Requested?: Yes

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, mentions of blood, burns, scarring

A/N: Alright kids, you ready for angst time? My first full out angst fic, oh boy. This ones got no happy ending guys, so do with that what you will. This takes place during Civil War, so spoilers...? I guess? I’d say Happy Reading, but I don’t think you guys will be that happy by the end of this sooo good luck!

Lagos.

That’s the place where everything in Wanda’s life fell apart. Or at least fell apart even further than it had before.

Some of the team were out on a mission. You guys finally managed to track down Rumlow and his gang after about a year of searching. Everything was going fairly well, yes there was some collateral damage, and things didn’t exactly go according to plan, but overall, it looked like you guys would come out of this with a win.

And then, it happened.

Wanda and you had begun to jog up to Steve’s location, where you saw him stare Rumlow down. Something in you just told you that this wasn’t going to go well. You looked at the scene in front of you, and then your gaze fell onto the building behind it. It was too close for comfort.

“Babe, I’m gonna go check that building.” You turned to your girlfriend. “Looks like there could be a lot of people in there, I’m gonna try to get them out.” She looked at you, and then to the building briefly. Part of her wanted to question why when the fight was happening out here, but she knew in your line of work things can be unpredictable.

She nodded. “Okay, be safe.” You nodded back with a small smile, and pecked her on the cheek.

“Always am.” With that, you ran off.

It was only about two or three minutes after you ran in when things went to hell.

Rumlow pulled a pin on his vest, and Wanda reacted as quickly as she could, capturing him mid explosion in her magic. She lifted him up, trying to get him as far away from the people below as possible, but she couldn’t hold it anymore. The explosion went off.

Blowing a huge hole into that building.

Wanda stood there, shocked for a moment over what just happened. Her hand came and slowly covered her mouth, mind going over all the damage she just caused. She vaguely heard Steve calling for fire and rescue, and then it hit her.

You were in there.

“Y/n...” She whispered, still in a state of shock, but she quickly snapped out of it and sprang into action. “Y/n!” She heard Steve yell for her to wait, but she didn’t care. She took off, flying up and landed in one of the building’s destroyed floors.

She did her best to ignore the carnage around her, carnage she caused. She pushed down the bile that was rising in her throat, and continued her search for you. 

And then she found you.

You were a super soldier, so luckily you didn’t die from the blast, she could still feel your pulse. But you didn’t look good.

You were lying on the charred floor, unconscious. Half of your suit was burned off, leaving nasty burns all on your arm and torso, some even creeping up your neck and face. Blood also dripped down from an open wound on your temple.

Wanda couldn’t bring herself to care about your appearance, though. You were still alive, and that’s the main thing she cared about right now.

“Don’t worry.” She sobbed out, hand gently caressing your unburned cheek. “You’re okay...you’re gonna be okay...” She tore her gaze away from you for a minute, and looked around. Tears falling at the sight of multiple bodies, people who weren’t as lucky as you.

People who were dead because of her.

“...I’m so sorry...”

The next week was chaos.

You were brought to the compound’s medical facility immediately, doctors working fast to try and save your life. They managed to stabilize you, now it was just a waiting game as to when you would wake up. Wanda would visit you everyday, barely being able to leave your side. Steve managed to convince her that she needed to rest, saying that you wouldn’t want to see her neglecting her needs. She hesitantly complied, and finally went to her room to sleep for the night.

The next morning, the news started reporting the incident.

And of course they blamed her.

Logically, Wanda knew this wasn’t entirely her fault. Rumlow was the one who turned himself into a bomb. She was just trying to save the lives below. That thought brought her little comfort though.

She was still responsible for the lives lost in that building. She was still responsible for you, the love of her life, being severely injured and in a coma.

Maybe they were right.

Steve didn’t let her wallow in that thought for too long though, because he shut the TV off. He sat down and gave her one of his hope speeches, and she appreciated the effort, but she didn’t want to hear it.

“It’s my fault.” She whispered. “All of those people, dead because of me...and Y/n...” She trailed off, tears forming in her eyes. Steve placed a hand on her leg, trying to comfort her.

“You know...she doesn’t blame you, I know she doesn’t.”

“Maybe she should...they all should.”

Steve couldn’t get anything else out, as Vision phased in the room and told them of the arrival of Secretary Ross.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, he had told them about the Sokovia Accords. Wanda hated the idea, forcing heroes to register with the government, essentially making them puppets for them. She knew you would hate it too, you never were one to trust the government.

“Look, we understand where you’re coming from, but if it weren’t for us, there’d be a lot more blood spilled.” Sam argued.

“Tell that to the innocent civilians in that Lagos hospital building.” Ross argued back. “Oh wait, you can’t.”

“If it weren’t for Wanda, hundreds of people in the streets below would have been killed.” Steve cut in. “If it weren’t for Y/n, hundreds of more people would have been in that building.”

“And look where that landed her.”

Wanda had enough. She shot up from her chair, and stormed out of the room.

She went straight to your hospital room, your still unconscious body covered in bandages. She pulled up a chair beside your bed, hand going to grip yours. She tried to speak, but couldn’t bring herself to form the words. So she just rested her head on your joined hands and cried.

The next few weeks saw the Avengers falling apart, divided over the accords. Wanda was especially disappointed in Natasha’s decision, given that you two were best friends. 

Wanda hasn’t left the compound. Most of her time was spent visiting you and sleeping as best she could. Your burns had begun healing, but barely. They still left pretty nasty scars. Your breathing had improved, which satisfied the doctors. They had said you could wake up any moment now, Wanda just hoped it was soon.

The next day, Wanda walked into the kitchen to find Vision cooking. She found that odd, since she knew he didn’t eat, but he explained that he was making it for her. You used to cook for her a lot, and after a few disasters, you finally got the recipe down. Vision’s was no where near as good as yours, but she appreciates the effort.

After a conversation about their powers and their fear of them, Wanda volunteered to go to the store to pick up some paprika that would greatly help the dish. Vision stopped her.

“Vision...are you not letting me leave?”

“It’s a matter of safety.”

“I can handle myself.”

Vision stopped her again. “Not yours. Mr. Stark would like to avoid the possibility of another public incident.”

Wanda looked at the synthezoid in disbelief. “I’m not an out of control time bomb. It was an accident.”

“I know. I do, but...you powers are very unpredictable. You are also...vulnerable. My scanners have indicated you are, how you say, ‘on edge’. You have been ever since Miss L/n was admitted in the medical wing.”

Wanda’s gaze turned into a harsh glare. “I know that human emotion is a foreign concept to you Vision, but trust me, if your girlfriend was ever put in a coma because of you...being ‘on edge’ is the least you would be.”

Without waiting for a response, Wanda turned around and stormed off. She headed to the one place that her feet often dragged her to the last weeks. Your bedside. 

She sat and took a hold of your hand. She stared at you for a moment before she spoke. “Hey, baby. Things have been...hard without you to say the least. Not that this wouldn’t be hard anyway, but everything is falling apart. These stupid accords are ruining everything. Tony has become a government pet, Nat joining him, Steve is off doing who knows what, and now...I’m locked in.” She paused. “You know, as much as I wish more than anything that you were awake and by my side right now...part of me is glad that you wouldn’t have to see your family fall apart like this. It’d break your heart...” She stayed for a few more moments, staring at your face and taking in your features once again. She then leaned down to kiss your hand. “I love you.” With that, she left.

Later that night, Wanda was back in the main room of the compound. You still haven’t woken up, she just learned she was essentially on house arrest, so she was trying to find ways to find ways to distract herself. She was reading a book, when she heard a loud explosion go off outside. She walked over to the window to take a look, Vision joining her a few moments later.

“What is it?”

“Stay here please.”

Wanda was left alone for a moment, before she felt a presence behind her. She quickly grabbed hold of the knife on the table, and flinging it towards the new presence. She halted it when she saw who it was.

Clint.

The next few minutes passed by like a blur. Clint was convincing her to come help Steve, Vision came back in but was trapped, Wanda hesitated and Clint gave her one of those hope speeches. She was about to decline, before he said one last thing.

“You know, if Y/n was awake...I know she’d side with Steve, and she’d only hope you’d do the same.”

Was it manipulative? Possibly, but he was also right. You would have sided with Steve, no question. Doing what you could to help. She thought on it for a few more moments, before she nodded. They were about to leave before Vision broke free. The two men fought, and before she knew it, she was sending the synthezoid several floors down and into the ground. 

She went to her room, quickly packing her suit and anything else she thought she would need. She went back out to meet Clint, about to leave, but she stopped.

“Wait! I gotta see Y/n first.” 

Clint sighed, but knew he couldn’t deny her of this. “Alright, make it quick.”

She booked it to your hospital room. You were lying there, same as you have been for a while. She quickly surged forward grabbed your hand, not bothering to sit. She knew they didn’t have time.

“Alright, baby. I’m gonna go out for a bit, okay? I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but...I’m going to do what’s right. I’m going to fight. I finally ‘got off my ass’ as you would say.” She chuckled, but it held no real joy behind it. “I just hope you’d be proud of me...and I just hope that I can come back to see you-”

Wanda cut herself off when she felt you begin to move. All of a sudden your face shifted, and you began to turn your head. 

“Y/n?...”

You began to open your eyes slowly, head slowly lifting off your pillow. Your eyes looked around, trying to adjust to the brightness of the room. Before you could even look at Wanda though, you began coughing. 

Wanda rushed to poor you a glass of water, knowing your mouth would be dry from not using it for a while. She handed it to you, quickly, and you slowly raised your hand to take it. As you began to drink, Wanda couldn’t help but smile. You were finally awake. She was beyond relieved. She was put in a rough spot now, she knew she had to meet Clint so they could go, but...you were finally awake. She couldn’t leave you.

“Wanda, we gotta go!” She heard Clint yell, and without tearing her eyes away from you, she yelled back.

“In a minute! Y/n just woke up!”

She didn’t hear a response from the man, but she heard footsteps quickly making its way towards your room. 

You finished drinking your water and placed the cup on the bedside table. You began to try to sit up, but Wanda rushed to your side to help.

“Here you go, easy.”

When you fully sat up, you took in the appearance of the woman next to you. You smiled. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” She breathed out. You looked her in the eyes, smile still on both your faces. But, Wanda’s smile dropped instantly at the next words that came out of your mouth.

“Sorry, hi, I’m Y/n. You probably already knew that though.” You chuckled nervously. “Are you one of the nurses?”

Wanda froze. No. This couldn’t be happening. The doctors told her that Amnesia was a possibility since you hit your head on impact from the blast, but it never seemed like a real threat. She stared at you, jaw slacked for a few more moments.

“Um, hello?...Oh! Are you my doctor? Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume.”

Wanda snapped out of it when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see it was Clint. You spoke up again before she could say anything though.

“Oh, hey, are you a nurse? Or doctor?”

Realization filled Clint’s face, but he held it together. He simply shook his head.

“Oh...so, is someone supposed to help me or...?” You trailed off. 

Clint looked to Wanda, who was still in shock, tears beginning to form in her eyes. He knew he had to take over, get them out as soon as possible. “Sorry, Y/n. We’ll get your nurse to come and check on you. Glad to see you’re awake.” Before you could respond, he quickly rushed out of the room, pulling Wanda with him.

Wanda finally let herself break down, and cried in the van. She barely had time to process everything before they picked up a man name Scott and flew to the airport to meet Steve.

Steve broke down the plan and the team went separate ways to suit up and get in position. Except Wanda. Steve was about to go get himself ready, but paused when he saw the witch frozen in place.

“Wanda? You okay?” Wanda simply shook her head and looked up at him, he could see the tears in her eyes. “What happened?”

“Y/n woke up.”

Steve raised his eyebrows in shock. “She did? That’s great-” He was cut off when Wanda let out a sob. He then put two and two together, something was wrong. “...What was it?”

“She...doesn’t remember anything...doesn’t remember me...”

Steve sighed. He was saddened by the news as well, you and him were very close, both being super soldiers and all. He couldn’t even imagine what Wanda was going through in this moment though, so he put on a brave face. He went over to the witch and wrapped an arm around her. “Y/n is strong...when this is over, we’ll go see her and start-” Steve was cut off again when Wanda shook her head.

“Steve...you and I both know this isn’t gonna end with us just being able to go back...” She looked up at him. He was about to speak up again, when he heard Sam in his ear.

“Cap, Tony and Rhodey are flying in now. You good to go?” 

Steve looked to Wanda, knowing she heard him too since they all had coms. She nodded. “On my way.” He turned to leave, before giving Wanda one last look. “Whatever happens, it’ll be okay.”

It wasn’t.

The fight at the airport was beyond tiresome, and they lost. Steve and Bucky got away to handle the other Winter Soldiers, but the rest of the team was captured.

So now here she was, sitting in a cell in a high security prison in the middle of the ocean...with a straight jacket and shock collar on. Wanda couldn’t even be upset about it. She was numb. She’s already lost everything she possibly could. Her parents, her brother, her country, and now...you. She couldn’t bring herself to care whether or not she wasted away in this cell. Maybe she deserved to.

But of course, she couldn’t even have that for long, as Steve broke them out a few days later.

Up on the quinjet with Steve and the rest of the team, she sat alone, staring out the window watching the dark clouds pass by. After a few moments, she felt a presence next to her. She looked over to see who it was. Natasha.

“What are you doing here?” Wanda asked, looking back out the window. 

“It’s a long story.” She answered. “Steve told me what happened, I...I’m not even sure what to say. I am so sorry Wanda.” Wanda merely nodded, not trusting her voice right now. Natasha took a deep breath and continued. “Y’know...I can pull some strings, the ones I have left anyway. Get Y/n relocated to be with us. I know she doesn’t remember anything right now, but-”

“No.” Wanda cut her off, surprising the redhead.

“Wha...what do you mean ‘no’?”

Wanda had thought about it, she’s thought about it the entire time she was in the Raft. She would love nothing more than to see you again, to hold you and help you on your recovery, but...she couldn’t. She was a wanted fugitive now, and you were only in this predicament because of her...she had to be selfless here. She couldn’t bring you into this life, not when you were missing chunks of your own.

“I mean no.” She said, looking up into Natasha’s eyes, tears pooling in her own. “She’s better off.”

And with that, Wanda got up, walking towards the back of the jet to be alone. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself. Preparing herself for a new life as a fugitive on the run. And most importantly...

Preparing for a life without you.

[a-is-for-abel]

“It’s a very odd sensation, standing over your own grave.” prompt from @givethispromptatry

Crows barked, throaty and dry, from their perch high in the gnarled branches of the tree at the head of the cemetery. The letters etched into the granite before him shined and the heavy mist settled over his shoulders, oppressive and thick.

He counted the crows in the tree, a rhyme coming to mind as the black winged birds called into the fog. "One for sorrow, two for mirth, three for a funeral… Four-- Four for..."

A funeral… His brow furrowed. The name on the gravestone drew him back in and he eyed the letters. Bells from the steeple of a church coughed in the distance.

"It's a very odd sensation, standing over your own grave." He turned to see a man leaned against a tall gravestone, a lit cigarette in his fingers. "But you seem to be taking it rather well."

The man flicked a lick of hellish embers off the end and took a long drag. Smoke trailed from his lips and curled over his salt-flat empty eyes. "Say, you haven't died before have you? That'd make this a bit awkward-- See, I don't really do the whole doing someone else's do-over. Those contracts tend to get a little messy, if you know what I mean."

Dressed sharply in a suit jacket and trousers to match, the man didn't stand out quite that oddly against the backdrop of a graveyard. However, with no procession, he was out of place without the rest of the mourners to stand shoulder to shoulder with.

It was even harder not to notice the way he stood a little too tall, a little too pale, and a little too thin...

And the eyes--

He couldn't remember having ever seen eyes like that. Though, he also really couldn't remember how he had gotten here either.

The man frowned, cigarette dangled from his lips. "You're not very talkative are you. That's gonna make this a little hard if you don't at least start asking some questions."

"Who are you?" he asked, voice hoarse.

"Ah, there it is-- Everyone always starts with that one. Never a 'where am I, how'd I get here', it's always the who are you?" The man shrugged. "I got a lot of names, kid. Just make one up, it'll probably be better that way."

Paul. It was the first name that came to mind, risen like the valleys of weathered hands and deep-set wrinkles the name brought with it.

"Paul?" The man hissed, eyes scrunching as he flicked the cigarette onto the ground and ground it out with the toe of his dress shoe. "Wow, you're real bad at this. Look, I'll settle for something like, uh-- How's Paal sound? Good? Great."

Even as Paal dismissed it, he tried to latch onto the name Paul and the hands that came with it. Somehow, he knew those hands had shown him how to hold a chisel and carve with the grain and not against it. That they had smoothed down his hair and lain flat against the crown of his skull as the other drew a new line against the door jamb, and he had childishly smiled at the inch gap that had grown between it and the old one below.

"Well, now that we got names out of the way--" Paal reached into his coat and pulled free a scroll. "Let's get down to business."

The parchment unfurled with a dry cough, ink dripped over the page and rearranged itself into letters that shimmered, ruddy and wet.

"So, for starters, my contracts are pretty straightforward. I don't do all that funny business the others do." Paal pointed to the second line. "The overall payment is going to be your eternal soul, of course. The only exception I'll make here is if you can name something of equal value and I also deem said thing of equal value. Now, don't get all excited. Not a lot of things add up to a human soul. Unless you'll be trading someone's else's soul as your payment. Simple math and all of that."

His eternal soul? He looked at the cross atop the gravestone and wine-dipped stained glass and the pulpit of a church flitted to the forefront along with it.

"We on the same page here? You look a little lost?" Paal asked, tilting his head.

"Sorry, I just--" He furrowed his brow. "Am I dead?"

Paal pointed to the grave. "Is that your body in there?"

"I--" He looked at his hands. "I think so."

"I wouldn't say I'm a genius myself, but I think we can both put two and two together here."

He grit his teeth. "Right…"

"Fantastic-- Now, onto the good stuff." Paal pointed further down the parchment. "So, in exchange for said eternal soul, I grant you a few things. First off, you get to get up on your own two feet and walk out of that grave. A pretty good deal, right?"

"Deals go two ways."

"See, now you're catching on--" Paal pointed at him and then tapped the next line on the scroll. "Alright, so it's pretty damn expensive to bring a soul back to life. Maker's got an idea in mind and tampering with that's always gonna cost you a little extra."

"Do you mean money? I don't exactly..." He held his hands out, the empty state of his pockets hopefully obvious.

Paal laughed. "Money? What the hell am I going to do with money? No, no, no-- I need a favor."

"A favor?" He asked, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah! A favor. something pretty simple, actually. But to get that body back and with all your precious little memories intact, you gotta do something to pay for that. More than just signing off your soul, that is."

"And who exactly am I paying back?"

Paal grimaced. "You're asking questions you really don't want the answers to, kid."

"Fine." He rubbed at his jaw. "What's the favor then?"

"Bounty hunting. Or collecting, I guess?" Paal gestured vaguely. "Whatever-- Basically, a few folks deferred on their contracts and I need to collect on their souls a little early."

"How early is early?" he asked, squinting.

"Well, I'd say I'm a pretty generous dealer. I give you about how much worldly time you should've had-- Had things not gone absolutely shit for you." Paal held up a finger. "So, in this case, I'd be collecting these souls well before they croak from becoming all ripe and old like they normally would've."

"So, I get my life back..." He chewed the inside of his cheek and glanced at the cross on the gravestone. "Is that it?"

"Is that it?'" Paal mocked and then grinned. "Look at you, already driving a hard bargain."

"You wouldn't have come to me if my soul wasn't worth something."

"Did you come to that astonishing conclusion all by yourself?" Paal said flatly.

He glanced over the demon.

Or devil... Or whatever hellish equivalent he was supposed to be. The lack of the classic horns or even a tail made it hard to pin any kind of fiendish charm to him. Besides the eyes and the pallor of someone who's never seen the light of day, he looked rather ordinary...

And his memories, few and far between-- muddled even-- like he was reliving them from underwater-- As unreliable as those memories were, he still remembered sitting upon a pew in a sun-washed room, a pastor at the head of the church, attesting how the devil would always wager in ways that would seem fair and just, but never were.

"What else do I get?"

"Greedy, aren't you? Fine." Paal rolled up the scroll part way and pointed at a line halfway down. "You can't die. At least while you're contracted under me to collect souls. If you call on me and I deem the request reasonable enough I can and will help you. Think of it like, uh-- Praying to a guardian angel. Except I'm absolutely nothing like that and I'll actually show up."

"And collecting on these contracts? What does that entail?"

"Killing them, for starters." Paal said simply. "I can't exactly grab their souls when they're still kicking around like that. And a lot of them have found ways to sort of, eh-- protect themselves from me. But you're just a bag of bones, maybe a little bit juiced up when I'm done with you, but you'll be human enough."

He didn't feel like picking that last aside apart too much. "So, you want me to kill for you?"

"Yes."

"How exactly?"

Paal flicked his hand and the scroll snapped out of sight with a thwick. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled free a revolver. Six-shot, shined, scarred with engravings up and down the muzzle and wrapped around the barrel. Handle a bone-white ivory, pale and unblemished.

Paal held it out to him. "With this."

Dropped into his palms with little fanfare, he cradled it, as if a newborn lamb. He glanced up from the gunmetal shine after a beat. "I can't shoot."

"Oh, you won't have to. You just have to aim." Paal formed his fingers into a mock-gun and pointed it at his forehead before mouthing ‘pow'. "It does all the hard work for you. Unless you're into that kind of thing, then by all means I'll take the training wheels off of it and let you do the trigger pulling."

"No…" he swallowed, careful to keep the muzzle pointed away from himself. "Training wheels is fine."

"Fantastic. Do we have a deal then? All of this--" Paal gestured to the whole of him. "--for the meager, one time price of doing a simple chore for me."

He stared flatly.

"And your eternal soul after you've lived a long and happy life, but that's just semantics," Paal laughed, waving him off.

He tilted the gun in his palms and glanced down at his pockets. It wouldn't exactly fit very well… "Is there a holster?"

"Oh, right--" Paal patted his chest and fished around in his suit jacket before drawing out a belt. "Here. It's a bit used, but at least it's already worn in, right?"

Mottled stains scattered the edges of the leather belt and where intricate markings had been stamped and tooled into the holster itself.

"Thanks…" he said, pinching it between two fingers while trying to find a good way to hold the pistol with his other hand.

"Woah, don't sound too grateful there, champ," Paal said. "You'd think I wasn't about to do you the biggest favor of your life."

He paused in his inspection of the holster and gave Paal the flattest look he could muster.

"Get it?" Paal's grin dropped. "Not a funny guy then… Noted."

Finally, managing to holster the gun he slipped the belt around his waist and fumbled with the buckle before fastening it. "How exactly do we seal the deal?"

"Eager, are we?" Paal held out his hand. "Just shake my hand and that's it. None of that writ in blood nonsense."

He wrinkled his nose.

Paal flexed his fingers and held his hand out further. "Look, if you really need me to draw up a traditional contract and give you a copy, I can do that too, but it's dreadfully boring and I do enough paperwork as it is. I mean, what do you have to lose, honestly? You're already dead. I'm just offering you a second chance… and a little bit of revenge."

"Revenge?"

"No one ends up dead in a ditch with a pack of dogs eating their face without being fucked over somewhere along the road."

"I don't…" He knitted his brow. "It's hard to remember."

"Oh, it'll be like that for a bit. It gets better once we get everything settled. Trust me though, you've got quite the bone to pick with someone back up there. And I for one would love to see how it all pans out."

"This is a form of entertainment for you," he said flatly, eyeing the still outstretched hand.

"What's the harm in mixing business and pleasure?" Paal smirked. "Plus it'll be fun to see what you do."

"Can you not bring back the memories now?"

Paal tutted. "That's quite expensive, and we haven't made a deal yet."

"How do I know I even want to go back then?"

"Does it even matter who you were before if you get a re-do?"

He looked at the name on the gravestone. "Won't they recognize me?"

"Oh, no-- Uh, see, you're not going back into your original body." Paal grimaced. "I can only repair so much and those dogs really did a number on you."

"Great…"

"Don't worry though, I got a good one picked out for you. Close enough to be uncanny even. Just some little differences, barely noticeable."

He grimaced.

"Don't you humans love taking leaps of faith? What's with all the hemming and hawing? What happened to all that stupid recklessness?"

"Not all of us are stupid."

Paal groaned. "I would get stuck with the biggest coward this side of the Mississippi."

'Look, it's lil' yellow-bellied Bern!'

'Just take it from him. He's not gonna do shit-- He'd flinch at a fly if it looked at him wrong.'

'Pa said he's soft. That his own daddy made him like that.'

He blinked, flinching and scrunching up his eyes at the sudden, sharp jab that needled at his skull. "I'm not a coward."

"Then take my hand."

His head pounded, and if he really was dead he wondered why he could still feel that out of everything. If the sweat pricked along the back of his neck was more memory than actual sensation, or if the way his tongue had grown heavy in his jaw was all made up too. He eyed Paal's hand and the discolored fingernails, the sheet white skin, the odd scarring along the knuckles and on the palms.

'Leave and don't you ever come back here. And if I ever see you again, you'll be begging the devil to take your soul from me first.'

He grit his teeth, fingers curling into fists.

The voice bit across his cheek like knuckles, like blood on his tongue and smattered across his hands. It curled like snake oil and melted wax, like the dust settled over the rafters of an ever empty church and like floorboards stained with drying flecks of rust.

He reached for Paal's hand and Paal grabbed his wrist instead, wrapped his fingers around him and squeezed, hard enough he twisted with the motion. Paal didn't budge, no matter how he pried at him, and the hand burned-- Burned the way laying your palm across a sheet of ice stung and wormed its way deeper and deeper the longer you left it there.

He stumbled as Paal released him, clutching at his wrist and hissing. "What the hell?"

"Part of the contract. It'll fade in a second."

The burning stopped and when he let go of his wrist, a coiling band of white took its place. Sat snugly, flat and lined with black, was an ivory snake wrapped three times about his wrist. The head of the serpent rested along the heel of his thumb, eyes a nearly translucent blue. It faded, still standing out against his skin, more like an impossibly pale tattoo and less like the actual snake it was a moment ago. His arm ached dully with it, like he had come in from a long frigid day, and his fingers cramped as the feeling returned to the very tips of him.

"Oh, right-- You'll be needing bullets." Paal grabbed his hand and dropped a freezing piece of metal into it.

More followed as Paal fished around in his suit jacket for them. At the fourth one Paal paused. "What was that little rhyme you were doing before I arrived? I rather enjoy that one. The ending is always my favorite."

He watched where the bullets settled in his palm. The casings a blood-red ebony and the bullet itself the shade of bone.

"And four for birth…" Paal dropped another bullet. "Five for heaven..." Another. "And six for hell," Paal said with a smirk, manually curling his hand around the bullets and patting it. "Now keep track of those, they're not exactly easy to make."

He didn't tell Paal that he didn't finish the poem, that there was still one more line that needed to be said to complete it. Instead, he pocketed the bullets.

"Walk with me a sec--" Paal grabbed his shoulder and nudged him forward.

They meandered along the lines of graves, passing headstones that varied in shape and size, some cared for, with flowers and candles and even worn sepia photos left at their feet. Others were less fortunate. Grown over, dulled, and abandoned.

They stopped before one with a less modest headstone. A large stone cross jutted up from the top and an angel carved above the name of the soul that was laid to rest below their feet.

"You know, I really do think this is the start of a great partnership..."

He raised a brow.

"Marcus J. Bern--" He flinched at the name, not expecting it to fall from Paal's mouth so casually. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

He hesitated, shoulders drawing up, hand coming to rest on the gun at his hip. "Uh, you too…?"

Paal smiled, like he found that amusing. And he hadn't noticed how sharp his teeth looked until he was staring the oversized canines dead in the face.

"Now--" Paal said, placing his hands on his shoulders, dusting them off before squeezing lightly. "This might hurt a bit."

"What--"

Paal shoved him.

He fell and fell and the earth swallowed him whole.

Dirt and silt and death surrounded him. Impossibly endless and vast, the grave didn't catch him as it should have. And the chill that bit at his limbs gnawed feverishly, right down to the core of him until he felt a yell clog up with the hallowed ground packed against his tongue. Further and further he descended, gut flipping and twisting with him, until he thought this would be his new forever. That Paal had lied to him, and he would simply be doomed to free fall for the rest of eternity, until all returned to dust as it had once emerged and longer still.

Light broke up the darkness overhead and he reached for it, arm outstretched. The white snake coiled around his wrist writhed and burned at the first touch of it and dripping with pale ichor, his veins stood out a ghastly silver against him. A venom coursed through him as it wound further and further down, closer and closer to where his heart had thrummed to life and kicked against his ribs in a fevered fit. He clutched at his chest as the ground-- as something-- hurtled towards him.

Breath slammed into him with a rattling gasp and his eyes shot open.

Blinded, he blinked and squinted against the grace of a new day, trembling and shaking where he had woken upon the dirt. The cross of the gravestone cast a merciful shadow over him and he could see the tangled fingers of the tree beyond it.

Raucous caws chorused above him. A murder of crows dotted the grey sky overhead, having flighted from their perches high in the dead limbed oak.

One, two, three, four, five, six--

"And seven for the devil, his own self..." he muttered, hand falling to his hip and the gun now holstered there.

[missbrunettebarbie]

All the Barbie protagonists I know -from best to worst

I feel like starting with a disclaimer that this is just my opinion, which should be implied. Anyway, this list took forever because I kept switching them. Look I am bad at picking favourites. The top 3 is actually pretty interchangable.

1. Eden Starling (Barbie in a Christmas Carol) - I love her with all my heart and then some. I love her design, her backstory, her personality, how unique she is from every other Barbie on the list. (Whoever came up with Barbie as Scrroge is a genius that deserves an Oscar) The fact that I relate to her in some aspects makes her even more loveable in my eyes. Also I think she deserves #1 spot because out of all the characters on this list she's the one I sorted before even rewatching her movie -and the rewatch confirmed the sorting. She's that memorable!

2. Princess Annika (Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus) - I love her too: her determination,her cleverness, her bravery, her justified anger. The "Destroy Wenlock!" speech alone guaranteed her a place in top 3. The fact that she doesn't back down even in the face of impossible odds - or maybe especially because the odds are impossible, her relationship with Aiden and with Brietta and her passion for ice-skating make her a very interesting character. Annika is a powerhouse and her entire journey is *chef's kiss*.

3. Merliah Summers (Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 1&2) - I think what I love about Merliah is that she put herself first, in both movies. Her first priority was her career as a surfer and only later did she come to accept her role as a mermaid princess. Her relationship with her mother is also great, I love them when they get along and I also love them when they don't - probably my favourite mother-daughter relationship from all the Barbie movies. Merliah's initial skepticism, her putside the box thinking and her competitive streak are delightful. Also her and Kylie might my favourite ship in the Barbieverse.

4. Blair Willows (Barbie Princess Charm School) - A Barbie with actual money problems?! Of course I was soft for Blair from the very begining. Her dedication and love to her adoptive family made her an instant fave. I loved that once Dean Privet helped her with her lessons she did her damn best to graduate from the school. She had her clothes torn, was accused of theft and looked in a safe, yet nothing stopped her.

5. Mariposa (Barbie: Mariposa) - I always had a soft spot for her as a kid. Her desire for adventure -for escape- the way she felt like she didn't quite fit in, her love for books, the somehow-anti-social attitude made her a perfectly relatable character in little!me's eyes. The way she refused to believe the rumors and the stereotypes in the second movie makes her even better. I loved her friendship with Catania and her romance with Carlos was cute too. Also her design might be my second favourite after Eden's.

6. Ro/Princess Rosella (Barbie as The Island Princess) - This movie is a goddamn masterpiece and Ro is a huge part of why. First I cannot help but be impressed by how adaptable she is: not only did she survive on a deserted island for ten years, she thrived. And then she had the courage to leave the only home she knew to go with Antonio and find answers about who she is. My heart ')). Then there is the fact that she risled her own freedom to help save the animals or how she was ready to step back and let Antonio do his duty and marry Luciana despite the fact that she loved him. And the ending wjere she finds her mother and starts singing the lullaby? It is what had cemented my love for this film and this character.

7. Corrine (Barbie in the three Musketeers) - In a lot of ways I find her and Merliah very similar -they both have goals they want to achieve and are somehow selfish because of it in the begining- but I think Corrine is a much kinder person: remember when she got that violin bow for one of the girls as a way to apologize? It felt like such a character establishing moment. I love that she took no shit for anyone, even the prince, and never faltered for one second in her desire to be a musketeer.

8. Princess Genevieve (Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses) - In a lot of ways she reminds me of Blair as she's a quieter personality but forceful in her own way. The way she always stood up for her younger sisters, her love for dancing, her relationship with her father and the fact that she was so heart-eyes when it came to Derek -seriously I don't think any other Babrie was so smitten with her LI from the very first moment- made sure she'll have a place in top 10. The only reason why she's not higher is because I love the others more.

9. Princess Annelisse (Barbie as Princess and the Pauper) - I think my favourite thing about Annelisse is that she completely understood her duties as a princess and was ready to sacrifice her personal happiness for her people. I also really like how she never shied from using her royal status- even if it didn't really work- or how she still tried to help the other taylor with the work when she was thought to be Erica, pity she had zero skill. Her relationship with her mom is my second favourite after Merliah-Calissa. Also collecting rocks is such an unique hobby AND she's a cat girl. Of course I love her.

10. Erika (Barbie as Princess and the Pauper) - Another cat girl! And so snippy and unafraid to be herself. Her dynamic with Annelisse is gold: Erika had all the reasons to despise Annelisse but instead clearly ~bonded with her from the very first moment and went along with an insane plan just to help her. Not to mention, she's the first Barbie who explicitly said "I am gonna fulfill my dreams and have the guy I love; what's this nonsense about choosing only one?" and I have to appreciate her for it.

11. Rapunzel (Barbie as Rapunzel) - The fact alone that she is best friends with a dragon gives her major points in my books. Her love of painting and the way she used it as a literal way of escape? Go, girl! The fact that she refused to let Stefan tell her his name just to make sure Gothel won't find out? Impressive and so spiteful! And the disgust in her voice when she realized Gothel had kept her prisoner for years because her father hadn't married her? Perfect.

12. Kristyn Farraday (Barbie in the Pink Shoes) - I really liked her enthusiasm for getting to actually be the characters she didn't even get to dance in the real world, the way her mind immediately internalized the rules of the fairytale-esque world despite how insane it was and how she refused to conform to the rules. I see the movie as an exploration of Kristyn's creepling fear of failure and the pressure she felt as a proffesional ballet dancer and seeing her come out triumphant on her own terms felt really good.

13. Actress!Barbie (Fashion Fairytale and Fairy Secret) - Probably the most three-dimensional of the "real" Barbies. I think what I like most at her is her determination to save Ken in the second movie. What can I say, I love a Barbie-in-shining-armour. I also like that she knew when to step back and let others do their jobs - in fact she doesn't so much in the first movie, just motivates people. If I had to pick a Barbie to have as a friend, I think she'll be my first choice. She seems like a good listener and someone who knows how to solve problems.

14. Elina (Barbie: Fairytopia 1&2&3) - She is an interesting character and one whose stories I do like, but something never clicked for me when it comes to Elina. Buut, this doesn't mean I don't appreciate her desire to save everyone or how she never drowned in self-pity when she was the only fairy without wings.

15. Clara (Barbie in the Nutcracker)- Clara doesn't get the chance to do much, but I love the glimpses of her intelligence we see (how she figured out the Nutcracker is Eric) or how she longs for adventure and excitment.

16. Thumbelina (Barbie present Thumbelina) - I like that she's an inventor and that she is ready to use Mackena to save her home, but overall I found her unimpressive.

17. Liana (Barbie and the Diamond Castle) - I always had a grudge on her as a child on Alexa's behalf. I always felt like Liana dragged her down. This being said, Liana is still a super smart cookie and very devoted to her friends so she avoids being even lower on the list.

18. Princess Lumina (Barbie: Pearl Princess) - The most memorable things about her are how she loooved having a job and how she refused to condemn the woman that may have raised her but had also kidnapped her from her family. Now both these traits should make her an intriguing character, unfortunately the movie is pretty boring and it never taps into Lumina's potential.

19. Princess Alexa (Barbie and the Secret Door) - Look I relate to her: Lover of books? Check. Desire to escape your life full of rules? Check. Not good with people? Check. But Alexa's development was so weird, the movie was very boring and felt like it had no trajectory and it affected the protagonist a lot.

20. Odette (Barbie in Swan Lake) - She just...doesn't do much. I wish we have seen her more involved in her own story. Not to mention I really didn't understand why she was so afraid of being in the spotlight or how being turned into a swan helped her get over it.

21. Starlight!Barbie (Barbie: Star Light Adventures) - I think my opinion of her -and the whole movie- can be summed up in the world "meh". There is simply no spark of life here.

22. Teen!Barbie (Barbie Diaries) - I have such an overwhelming repulsion towards "unpopular" girls wanting the be popular. Especially since I cannot see what exactly is holding Babrie back from being happy? She seems to have everything (great friends, nice life, good grades and music talent!), but doesn't care about any of it. Not to mention, she's the only Barbie who has to settle for a guy that was pining for her while she only saw him as a friend and I resent that.

[vagrantblvrd]

So, that time Rebel Alliance pilot Luke Skywalker was on patrol with Wedge  sometime between ANH and Empire and had a run-in with a pre-Imperial gunship registered as the Razor Crest???

Pew-pew dogfight in which the Crest didn’t fire on them which is always nice, but it sure as hell attempted to evade - Luke and Wedge being like, oh, they’re good - and then surprise!Imperial ships, because I cannot not do ridiculous Drama.

Razor Crest and Luke’s X-wing both get hit, go down over a thickly forested nearby planet. Wedge is forced to break off and report back to the Allince - Imperial ships this close to their Rebel base? Apparently more likely than you’d think.

Meanwhile Luke is surveying the wreckage of his X-wing trying to see what he can salvage and whatnot. He has faith Wedge got away safely, because it’s Wedge and he’s one of the best pilots in the Alliance, but any rescue efforts won’t arrive for days, so.

He manages to get Artoo onto solid ground, tries not to smile as Artoo keeps up a steady stream of complaints the whole time because Skywalkers!!1!, kind of the worst, really.

Sometime later he hears blaster fire and looks toward the direction it seemed to come from, and is like.

Hmm.

Because the Razor Crest and if he survived a crash landing on this planet it’s possible the other pilot did too. (Mainly the blaster fire though, seeing as the planet seems largely uninhabited, and anyway. What are the odds it would be anyone else when they went down in roughly the same area.)

So.

Luke could make camp here, stick close to his X-wing which would make it easier for anyone to come looking for him, but also, also.

The surprise!Imperial ships who shot him down and might come looking to finish the job, and anyway, anyway, he’s got one of his Feelings he should search out the other pilot.

Which, you know, he does.

In spite of Artoo’s protests and predictions of gloom and doom, and anyway, it’s better than doing nothing, so.

Off they go, having little adventures here and there because local flora and fauna and that time Luke had to rescue Artoo getting stuck in a giant spiderweb the two of them getting the hell out of there before whatever made it comes to check on it.

They have to stop to make camp for the night and it’s while Luke’s setting up a fire that they hear blaster fire again, something roaring, and other such ounds that indictate someone is possibly having a worse day than they are.

Luke goes to see what it is, Artoo like what, why, and also Skywalkers >:((((((((( but follows Luke anyway because no way is he going to be left behind.

A rescue is attempted, but Din is being attacked by a large predator (I’m picturing something like a cave bear, but maybe  little bigger???) that seems to be impervious to blasters and determined as hell, and would you look at that? There’s  a handy little cave right over there with an entrance large enough for them and Artoo to fit through but too small for the large predator, and anyway, they’re not dumb.

Luke points the cave out, Din is like ??? because where the hell did he come from, but then the Alliance flight-suit and oh, right, and anyway. Din’s the one in armor so it makes sense that he covers Luke’s run to the cave.

And when the large predator takes a swipe of Din that sends him flying, Luke scrambles to get him into the cave and maybe kind of taps into his Force abilities to knock the large predator away long enough for them to get to safety.

Plot Reasons and all.

From there it’s Luke ~fretting over an unconscious Mandalorian while Artoo mutters to himself and overall it a very odd day indeed.

Luke’s exploring the cave, looking for another way out seeing as how the large predator is still outside and looks like it’s going to wait the out when Din wakes up.

He finds several dead ends and a pool fed from snow melt from the look of it, so they won’t have to worry about water, which is the first bit of good news.

(Rebel Alliance and survival courses and having to relocate bases whenever the Imperials find them so he’s picked up some things since leaving Tatooine, so yes.)

Luke makes his way back to the main room of the cave to find the Mandalorian and Artoo in a  standoff of some sort.

“Oh, good,” Luke says, careful to keep his hands in clear view, and doesn’t make any sudden moves. “You’re awake.”

Din is like.

He’s tired and sore, got knocked around in the crash and then had the bad luck to run afoul of the large predator and now this.

(Also, he’s pretty sure he has a concussion on top of everything, so.)

No love for the Empire and all, but no desire to fall in with the Rebels either, he just wants to go about his own business, live his life and so on.

He wasn’t even doing anything questionably legal when the X-wings slid up alongside the Crest. Was minding his own damn business and just.

Bad day all around.

Still, at least the Rebel pilot didn’t remove his helmet - one of the first things he made sure of, because of course he did.

They muddle their way into a truce/understanding between them for the time being seeing as how they’re stuck in the cave and all.

Din is sure he can handle the large predator, but concussion and all, and anyway, he’s still tired enough that the Rebel’s suggestion he get more rest before he throws himself at it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

Luke shares rations from his emergency kit, and Din likewise salvaged what he could from the Crest before he ran into the large predator.

The good news is they have food and water that should last long enough for any search parties sent for Luke -

And, okay, Luke’s not stupid. Notices the way the Mandalorian goes so very still when Luke says that, just thinking out loud as you do, and sighs.

Guy probably falls more on Han’s side of legal activities than Luke’s, has no reason to be happy about the Rebels coming to the rescue, but he doesn’t know what to about it for now.

(Thinks in the back of his mind that if worst comes to worst, he can always get Han aboard for a tiny little jailbreak. Probably.)

Anyway.

There’s not a lot of talking from them, but it’s not as awkward as Luke thought it might be. The Mandalorian actually answers his questions, when he feels like it

By the third day Luke wouldn’t cal them friends, but they’re not quite enemies and that’s better than he was expecting given the circumstances.

And then there’ the thing where they think it’s safe to leave the cave, but surprise, it’s not!

Large predator is still around and there is a fairly epic fight to chase it off or kill it if that’s what it takes, but Din’s leg gets a little broken and Luke gets a little knocked around and Artoo doesn’t have a great time of it either, what with getting tossed around like a chew toy when he caused a distraction to save the humans.

Anyway, anyway, they end up killing it thanks to teamwork and then it’s a matter of sorting everything out.

Luke’s got bacta in his emergency kit, but not enough to help with Din’s leg or other injuries between them, but Din, okay, Din.

Might have some back on the Crest, but he’s in no shape to make it there now, and no knowing if there are more of those large predators around, and Luke is like.

He’s still mobile, he’ll go.

Din is like, are you that stupid? To which Luke is like, kinda, yeah.

He knows Din’s not fond of droids, hasn’t made it a secret, but the terrain is tricky enough as it is for Artoo, and he’s worried about Din, and just.

He leaves Artoo with Din and goes off on his little trek to the Razor Crest.

Takes him half a day before he gets there and when he does it’s clear the ship has seen better days, but he’s pretty sure it can be fixed made flyable again.

If, you know, Din could get his hands on metal plates to patch up holes in the Crest’s hull.

(Conveniently, Luke happens to know where there’s a crashed X-wing that could be salvged for parts, allow Din to make his way off-planet without having to deal with the Rebel Alliance at all, but that’s a thought for another day.)

Luke finds the bacta and heads back to the cave. Treats Din’s lefg first, the most serious injury to deal with -

“No,” Din says, when Luke’s about to use it all on Din’s leg, because Luke’s got some nasty injuries himself and they’re likely to get infected if he doesnt do something about them, and anyway, it’ll take longer for Din’s leg to heal than any of their other injuries, don’t waste the stuff like that.

And then!

Luke broaches the possibility of fixing the Crest by cannibalizing his X-wing, which has Din looking at him sharply.

The whole Rebel Alliance and underdogs who probably can’t afford to just waste resources, but Luke, okay, Luke.

He just looks at Din and is like, no, no, it’s fine.

(Because the whole survival situation they’re in and risking their lives for one another and this the leas Luke can do for him, alright? So just accept it already.)

Also, it’s been...a little too long since they crashed on this planet and at the very least the Alliance should have contacted him, but it’s been radio silence and Luke would rather not think about why that is. (Yet, anyway, yet.)

Anyway, the next morning Luke sets off to his X-wing to strip it for parts for the Razor Crest. Apologizes, because she’s been good for him, kept him alive since Yavin and the Death Star and thinks she understand, hopes she would anyway, because he owes Din this much, and anyway, anyway, yes.

It takes most of the morning to get everything he can off his X-wing, and then a little longer to fashion a sled to carry parts and whatnot to the Crest.

Stops at the cave to check on Din and Artoo and have lunch. Tell him how it’s going and so on, and Din is quiet as he does.

A little too much, really, even though he’s still not the chatty sort.

“I’m going with you,” he tells Luke when Luke gets ready to head back to the Crest with parts from his X-wing.

When Luke tells him why that’s not a great idea - number one reason being that Din’s leg is still broken - Din shuts him down by saying “It’s my ship.”

Which, not what he means, but Luke gets it, he does.

Thinks Din’s an idiot, but also knows he’d just follow Luke on his own if he doesn’t help him, and just.

It’s less trouble to agree help him hobble along with him rather than risk Din making his leg worse, so.

He has Artoo tow the sled with the parts while he plays human crutch for Din and they make their slow, awkward way to Din’s ship.

It takes a while, because of course, the three of them reaching the Razor Crest at dusk. Thankfully the ship is safe enough to use it for shelter, and Luke lets Din rattle around inside while he secures the parts outside.

Dinner is a quiet affair, Luke and Din exhausted after a long day, but comfortable.

Luke talks about his plans to bring the rest of the parts back the next day, and Din doesn’t quite fidget but it’s pretty obvious he’s not entirely comfortable with this. (Being indebted to Luke, which this isn’t about that at all, but it feels like it is.)

Anyway, next day Luke goes off to his X-wing for the last of the parts and whatnot, and is like oh, no, when he sees TIE fighters in the distance, like they’re looking for something.

Seem to be headed in the opposite direction from Din and the Crest, but he knows better than to think that will be the case for long. Hurries back to Din adn Artoo as fast as he can to find they’ve already started on the repairs.

Luke tells Din about the TIE fighters and it isn’t as though they hadn’t considered it, the Imperials searching the planet for them, or course not. Just. That hope the Imperials dismissed them as not worth the effort to hunt down and the whatnot.

So.

They focus on repairing the ship, working through the night and such in a Montage Sequence, because of course there’s one.

There’s a short test flight just in case, Din letting Luke fly the ship because Plot Reasons, and there’s actual light-hearted bantering going on - Luke, Mr. Fancypants fighter pilot giving Din and his clunky heavy gunship grief while Din may or may not be rolling his eyes at him and enjoying his company - TIE fighters show up.

And it’s like, well, this is unexpected, but also not.

Another exciting pew-pew dogfight takes place, this time with Luke flying the Crest and Din is so conflicted because his ship??? But also Luke is doing a dam fine job of flying it even though he’s not used to the way it handles or its limitations and anyway, anyway.

They get rid of the TIEs and share a look like oh my God, we’re still alive??? which is when a second wave of TIEs show up, and there are so many of them and they’re not going to make it?

So they decide to make a push for space, se if they can jump to hyperspace and all, but there’s an star destroyer in space and entire squadrons of TIEs and it’s not looking great for them?

Which of course is the perfect moment for the cavalry in the form of the Rebel Alliance to pop up.

Or, like. The rest of Rogue squadron and one Corellian freighter and Luke has never been so glad to see them as they keep the TIE fighters off their back long enough for everyone to make the jump to hyperspace.

They make several quick hops to avoid leading the Imperials back to the new Rebel base - they had to relocate yet again after Wedge reported back, too risky not to, which was what took them so long to come back for Luke.

Poor Din is Not Happy at the fact they have a squadron of X-wings flying escort with the Falcon - he is also Not Thinking about who the owner of that ship is or why Luke seems so happy to see them and what even is going on with the Alliance these days - because the whole thing of how this whole mess started?

So Luke is like, “Hey, so,” to Han and the others, and the Rogues stay on guard in space as he lands the Razor Crest on a nearby planet, Han and Chewie following in the Falcon.

Luke is like, so that was fun, right? as he gives Din this little smile, kind of awkward because the Rebels could use someone like him but Din’s made it clear he’s not interested, and anyway, that’s not the point, really.

They say their goodbyes and Luke goes over to join Han and Chewie and Din is like. He doesn’t know what, but following the Falcon out of atmo and getting an X-wing escort until he umps into hyperpace to wherever wasn’t it.

Also, don’t think he doesn’t notice the way Alliance ships leave him and the Razoe Crest alone after that, Skywalker, Din’s onto you.

But yes.

Din goes back to doing his thing and maybe thinks about that whole standed on a random planet with a Rebel Alliance pilot when he sees the mismatced panels and whatnot on the Crest that came from a cannibalized X-wing.

(Also, the little metal ball Grogu is fixated on may or may not have come from Luke’s X-wing in a please let me have this kind of moment of sentimental nonsense what with it surviving the destruction of the Razor Crest and all, memento with double the sentimental nonsense for Din because reasons.)

They don’t see one another again until Gideon’s cruiser, but every so often Luke hears about this one Mandalorian and a pre-Imperial gunship Adventuring about. Din hears about this guy named Skywalker, and when most people scoff and say the stories must be exaggerated, Rebel propaganda, Din wonders, doesn’t put it past Luke to be honest.

And then!

Gideon’s cruiser and “Are you a Jedi?” and Luke is like  “I am,” and Din is like, okay, but when did that happen because I don’t recall that being a thing before. Grogu is like !!! and :DDDDDDDDD because Luke’s a Jedi like him and dad is all warm and squishy feelings in the Force right now, and so on.

Luke is like, well this changes things because he can’t just take Grogu and scurry off now that he’s seen what a strong bond he has with Din, and also Din, so he invites Din to come with them to his Jedi school and Din doesn’t have to think twice about it, you know?

The three of them scurry off to Luke’s Jedi school somewhere, Din taking one of the shuttles.

It’s all kinds of awkward on the trip there, Din a little concerned about how this is going to work out, but turns out he didn’t need to worry because Luke is still Luke after everything.

Still that pilot he met way back when, the one who traded off with Din on the saving one another’s lives thing and sacrificing his ship to give Din his and so on, and it’s like.

He never expected to see Luke again - fighter pilot’s life expectancy in a war and all - but here they are and it’s kind of nice actually.

No survival situation now, so the return of that awkward flirting thing that was barely an idea the by end the first time they met, both of them aware of how ridiculous they’re being but hey, not like anyone’s there to see it.

(Aside from Grogu and Artoo, but shhh, Luke and Din are pretending the two of them aren’t laughing at them all day everyday.)

the awkward flirting intensifies until the day Din presses his forehead against Luke’s, no big dramatic moment leading up to it, just this instinctive little thing, warm and comfortable and natural as anything.

When Din moves away, Luke looks up at him with this expression on his face, little smirk forming, and Din knows, okay, he knows Luke -

“I admit my understanding of Mandalorian culture is lacking, but doe this mean we’re married now?”

And it’s like.

The man is so infuriating? But they’ve also been co-habitating and co-parenting Grogu for almost a year now, become familiar with one another’s habits and quirks and somehow haven’t killed one another over the most annoying ones.

Luke’s friends and family who stop by to check in on him - them - almost definitely have a betting pool on them. (Solo for sure, even if the man still does the I’m Watching You thing to Din every time he visits.)

“Yes,” Din answers, dry as anything, because when it comes down to it they pretty much already are.

[makeste]

BnHA 6th Popularity Poll Reaction Post - Risky Spoiler-Dodging Edition

hey guys, so seeing as the results from the 6th popularity poll were leaked today, I figured I would do a separate reaction + analysis post this year, rather than piling it in as an extra on top of the chapter reaction post tomorrow. I figure this makes more sense anyway, since they’re really two completely different things. also this way I can write as much as I want lol.

also, just fyi, I am still completely unspoiled for chapter 293. and probably the smart thing to do to keep it that way would be to log off tumblr and hold off posting this until tomorrow, but I apparently have no impulse control today so oh well. anyway, so I’m hoping you guys will keep this spoiler-free if you don’t mind! as always, I would prefer to just jump right in completely unaware tomorrow like Troy returning to the study room with the pizza boxes lol.

okay so this first part is just going to be my predictions. fyi I am writing this part on Wednesday night, and then I’ll add on the results part on Thursday or Friday (ETA: Thursday, apparently, since I am impatient.)

okay so first of all, just as a refresher, this poll was open to Japanese voters from Aug 3 to Sep 30. meaning chapters 279 through 285. meanwhile last year’s poll took place around the tail end of the MVA arc. so between then and now we had Heroes Rising, the Endeavor Agency arc, and the War arc up to the part where the 1-A kids took on Gigantomachia in Gunga, and started battling Tomura in Jakku. so technically only a couple of arcs, but a LOT of stuff going down in them. oh and season 4 of the anime as well

so! firstly, I predict that my truculent africanized honeybee son will hold on to his crown at #1, coming off a year in which he did some internship-boosted soul searching, borrowed OFA in movie canon, and finished out the voting period as the my-body-moved-on-its-own character development MVP. like CALL ME CRAZY lol, but I’m pretty sure his title is safe. and then after him will be Deku and Shouto as usual

Aizawa should hopefully also have a strong showing because the dude had a banner fucking year. reunited with his old dead friend, took on Tomura with his hopelessly inept hero pals, and then chopped his fucking leg off. he had better be in the top 10. his fucking leg died for this, idk what else he has to do

Endeavor also stands a decent chance of doing well given the internship arc and the final episode of season 4. which I’m sure will go down just swimmingly if that does happen lmao. especially if he somehow manages to rank higher than...

Dabi, which I don’t think he will btw, but you never know. anyways though, but I’m thinking Dabi’s going to have a stronger showing than in past years (in the last poll he only got 367 votes and was ranked 19th). mostly because of his fight in the Gunga mansion, and his cheekily censored name reveal to...

Hawks, who is also going to rank pretty high here, I think. might be he loses some points for killing off Twice, but his back was basically to the wall there. and he has always been very popular, and I think season 4 will also give him a boost, along with his heavy involvement in the first half of the War arc

Tomura was already in 6th place last year and I think he cracks the top 5 this year. he’s gotten exponentially more popular since the MVA arc, and got a boost in the last poll even though his flashback had only just barely happened, and he hadn’t finished Awakening yet and all that stuff. anyway, so he’s only gotten cooler and more tragic since then so I think he makes a big play here

Kirishima, Momo, Tokoyami, and Mina should also hopefully do well, since the poll opened right in the middle of all that Gigantomachia action, and Toko had just got done being an absolute badass and protecting his birb dad. I don’t think he’ll quite make it to the top ten, but he should

and last but not least, I’m hoping that Mirko will come out and take the polls by storm, although I have no clue how popular she is in Japan lol. she’s clearly Horikoshi’s favorite though. she SHOULD be everyone’s favorite, but I mean, we’ll see how it goes

anyway that’s it as far as predictions! and so now, through the magic of writing stuff at different times, we will fast-forward to the part where we actually find out the results!

OH MY GOD YES, STEAMPUNK KHLKSLLKL. HERE FOR IT. JOLLY GOOD SHOW. 5 STARS

Kacchan looks SO COCKY and SO HAPPY and SO ADORABLE, YES I SAID IT. he is adorable as FUCK. I don’t quite know what it is about this particular Kacchan that just screams “LOOK HOW FUCKING CUTE MY STUPID, LOUD SON IS WITH HIS BIZARRE WINDOWPANE-LOOKING CONVERTIBLE SUNGLASS GOGGLES and his POORLY TIED CRAVAT”, but I think it’s because he looks like if a Digimon character and a FMA character had a baby

anyway, so it looks like most of the people present here are more or less who we expected to see. except that I can’t tell for sure if that’s Dabi or Shindou, and if it’s Shindou I’m going to punch somebody in the face so you will have to excuse me

Iida wearing a TRENCHCOAT and a TOP HAT with ENGINE EXHAUST GOGGLE ACCENTS is my new favorite Iida of all time. take note how there is no possible way he can wear those goggles with them sitting on top of his hat like that. plus he’s already got glasses on. these are just purely for aesthetic and IF THAT AIN’T JUST THE STEAMPUNK WAY

Deku out here speaking softly and carrying a lead pipe. Kacchan you best look out. seems like he’s done watching you take first place year after year while he languishes in the number two spot. your only hope is that he trips while attacking you because his boots are unbuckled

Shouto’s standing over there with the rest of the non-first-and-second-place characters, but what are the odds his results are actually within spitting distance of Deku’s same as always. anyway he doesn’t mind, though. also his outfit is by far the most sensible one here, but if you look closely he’s got some sort of fire extinguisher/jet pack thing strapped to his back that’s got a control switch on his belt. Shouto are you jetpacking or putting out fires

Kirishima out here all “I’m not sure what steampunk is so I’m just going to take off my shirt and pose”

AIZAWA WITH THE EYEPATCH SKLKSDLKFJLSKJLDFKJSLDFFJLDKSJFL:KS. SIR. SIR. also, lowkey furious that Horikoshi refuses to show us the automail leg that he is clearly sporting here but which we just can’t see, SHOUTO MOVE GODDAMMIT

Endeavor has TWO fire extinguisher-slash-jetpacks. THE BETTER TO... WHATEVER. look at you here in the top ten again. you really live for that controversy

HAWKS OUT HERE WITH HIS STEAMPUNK BEATS BY DRE AND HIS WEARING A RING ON EVERY FINGER. nice to see you’ve still got your wings there, kiddo. then again Deku still has both of his arms too so who even knows what is going on

BUT SERIOUSLY THOUGH, IS THIS DABI OR SHINDOU. as if I don’t know the truth deep down in my heart. y’all I am gonna flip lmao. it’s not that I dislike Shindou, strictly speaking. but just... I can’t explain what it is, but if you put him and AFO next to each other and told me “you can only punch one”, I would be having a serious crisis. just, THIS FUCKING GUY, idek. STOP SMILING

Tomura looks like he just wandered onto the set here by mistake and has no idea where he is or what is going on. it’s because you’re wearing a bigass severed hand that’s blocking your entire view, Tomura. just take the hand off your face my sweet murder dumpling

anyway! so I managed to also find a link to the full poll results while somehow managing to avoid spoilers, and then I wanted to compare the results to last year’s poll, and so I made... this

hopefully you can all see this. if you’re on desktop you might be screwed, but on mobile you should be able to click and enlarge it. I mean, assuming you actually give a fuck about boring poll analysis spreadsheets lmao

anyway, so there were actually 13k fewer votes cast this year which is a bit of a surprise. is the series not still growing in popularity? do people apparently have better things to do during their quarantine lol

anyways but despite this, and despite getting 8k fewer votes overall, Kacchan still managed almost twice as many as his closest competitor. well fought, Deku. please put down that pipe

I somehow always underestimate the power of ship popularity to influence these things. but for example, it looks like Present Mic got that Vigilantes Trio bump. ride that wave for all it’s worth my man! hell, you got me on board

Iida fucking Tenya somehow got some sort of POWER BOOST out of NOWHERE which I can’t explain at all lmao, but I’m here for it. NOT BAD FOR AN OLD MAN

Sero managed to get the exact same number of votes in both 2019 and 2020. clearly the most loyal fans in the business

Mirko being all the way down at #20 is, of course, a travesty, and I hereby nominate her to be the one to punch Shindou in the face

ngl though, the lack of a single female character in the top ten hurts just a bit. it’s not overly surprising, but still. the worst part of it is that even if you kicked Shindou to the curb and moved everyone else up one slot, it would still be all dudes since Mic beat out Momo by a margin of a little more than a hundred votes. hard to stay mad at Mic for too long, though. ah well

Tomura actually lost a bunch of votes which is a genuine surprise to me. I know the villain standom isn’t as dominant in Japan as it is in Western fandom, but still. you can go ahead and punch Shindou too I guess

Tokoyami lowkey doubled his vote count over the past year while hiding down there at #18. he is slowly becoming more powerful. biding his time

anyway so I think that’s it! I mean not really, but I’m getting kind of tired lol. so just, you know, insert the usual gripes at Overhaul’s ranking here, although we can be happy about Magne making her way onto the list (r.i.p.), and Mineta and AFO taking a very satisfying slide down (all the way out, in AFO’s case; good riddance you bum). Hadou also got a huge boost which is awesome. Mustard’s persistent ownership of the #36 spot will forever remain a mystery to me, but oh well

anyways, this was fun. and I really do feel like everyone is looking away on purpose so that when Deku brains Kacchan with that pipe in about two seconds from now, there will be no witnesses, oh my fucking god

[rainydayhogwartsimagines]

Falling in love with Draco (Draco x reader!Slytherin)

Warnings: Mental and Physical abuse, physical and magical fighting

Draco of course noticed you, first year

My God could you be anymore beautiful?

You were very very quiet though, anytime anyone would talk to you you'd just nod or ignore them.

The amount of joy that boy had when you turned out to be a Slytherin was amazing.

Still though even like a week into school you were still quiet.

You'd just sit there and read in the great hall or do your work in class

There'd be a few moments where you'd be called out for being good at your work but other than that you seemed to be attempting to just be silent the whole time.

Finally though Draco managed to get you to make some sort of noise when he told a stupid joke.

Like it was so stupid. But the kid thought it was genius.

Lucky for him you have a weird sense of humor and laughed at it.

It was like music to his ears to hear it.

So then he was determined to get you to talk.

He would say hello to you every morning

You'd just give a polite nod

He'd compliment you but you'd just look away.

Then came a day where Snape called on you randomly and you seemed extremely uncomfortable with that

So Draco raised his hand instead and took the question.

That's when you really began to notice Draco

You would sit a little closer to him or actually begin to respond to certain things.

The first morning when he said "Good morning" and you said it back he literally just froze in place

He immediately sat down in front of you and ate breakfast with you that morning.

You began to sit with him more and occasionally you'd actually make a comment and he'd just smile.

When he got detention you actually did something stupid to end up in detention with him.

He was confused by why you did it but truth be told you were worried he'd do something even worse with Potter present

You seemed a lot more courageous looking at the dark lord than Draco did let me tell you

Draco grabbed your hand and booked it though.

Eventually summer was rolling around and you and Draco agreed to write to each other.

Weirdly enough he found that your personality was very perky and outgoing on paper.

When you both ran into each other it was in Diagon Alley.

Draco was of course excited to see you.

You actually said the words "Hi Draco."

He introduced you to his father and immediately you had this odd switch go into your personality.

You curtsied and actually spoke

Draco was shocked and Lucius seemed to approve of your elegance before telling Draco he'd be elsewhere and he had a few minutes before they had to go

"What... Was that?" Draco asked.

You shifted uncomfortably.

"my father is the same way." You answered

And that was the first time he ever heard you mention home.

Draco rode with you on the train and you of course listened to his common complaint

Harry Potter

You were a bit more vocal as you listened which was pleasant to him.

"Y/n can I ask you something?" He asked.

"mmm hmm?" You nodded.

"Why are you so quiet?" He asked.

You seemed to be uncomfortable by that question before you sighed.

"My family tends to speak over me... And I guess I just stopped talking after a while because I was never listened to anyway." You answered.

So Draco made it his mission then and there to make sure you were comfortable talking around him

He assured you that he'd always listened if you needed to speak.

You gradually began to open up around him

You and him actually ended up being partners in all of his classes which made you two happy

Then came the chamber of secrets

And oh boy

That was bad. Because your mother was a muggle. And you were on that hitlist.

And then he called Hermione a "Mudblood" in front of you.

You actually got quite pissed off at him and he naturally did not know why.

"Y/n why are you so upset? It was just an insult--"

"My mother is a muggle Draco." You snapped.

And you didn't really mention a lot after that.

He actually apologized to Hermione and it got back to you that he did

You two made up, thank God.

You were there when the duel went down

But at one point it got very strange because of the fact that you actually ended up dueling someone too.

And you were REALLY good at it too

Draco experienced a backflip in his heart.

Christmas rolled around and you were still at hogwarts

But so was Draco

And Draco's father actually sent you a gift

Draco told him that you were a big reader so he sent you a book of stories.

You actually loved it too

Draco loved seeing your smile.

You actually got something for Draco which was a jacket

Which during the winter he kept it on all of the time.

The two of you were inseperable

Which is why when you got petrified Draco was freaking out.

There was not one day he didn't visit you in the hospital wing.

When he saw Hermione out and about he knew you were awake and he sprinted

For the first time you hugged him.

You told him what happened, finding a basilisk in the bathroom mirror and then basically blacking out.

The summer was a little bit more fun because you spent the first half of it with Malfoy's family.

You loved his mother, she was honestly very sweet.

But Lucius scared you at times

To be fair: he scared everyone at times

But then came a moment where your father visited and snapped at you for no reason and Lucius did not take well to that

He showed a protective nature to you and you didn't really fear him anymore.

When you went home you were a little less talkative but your mother did notice you speaking more to her.

Usually about Draco.

When you went back to school Draco had changed and so did you.

Your hair was longer, slightly curlier but overall something was attractive with you and Draco could not for the life of him figure it out.

But Draco... His hair was no longer slacked back and he was taller.

He always had you by his side too, even if you two didn't have a class together he'd walk you to and from it.

You asked him why he did that and he said "The last time I left you alone here you were attacked by a basilisk."

You ended up being the one who was attacked by Buckbeak btw

Which you wholeheartedly said openly was your fault because you got too close without bowing.

But it all happened so fast.

You knew to bow but you tripped and ended up in his personal space

Draco immediately intervened, pulling you behind him and he got bit.

You took him to the hospital wing yourself and thanked him for that.

His response was "Better me than you"

You smiled at that.

You two were so close by this point

Then came the lesson on boggarts

You actually loved professor Remus, he was so cool to you.

The class was fun... Until this lesson

Your boggart was your father.

You didn't even speak, it was like you were mute the entire time.

The boggart tried to inch forward but Remus then intervened.

You noticed what his fear was and knew what he was then and there but didn't say anything about it.

You were asked to stay after class and you did

Remus asked you if everything was okay at home and you didn't really answer, giving him all the information he needed.

Remus then began to almost look after you

Draco was really worried after that lesson though, asking you if everything was okay

You then told him about your father finding reasons to just scream at you

He hated hearing this but seeing you cry as you described it didn't exactly warm his heart either.

He just hugged you and assured you that you'd be spending your summers with him even if he had to use force

Hogsmeade was the funnest trip ever

You were now more talkative so a few more students were friendlier to you including Ron and Hermoine

Course Draco wasn't too thrilled with your friends but dealt with it because you were socializing and that was progress.

You two spent the entire trip goofing off with each other though with snowball fights and getting butterbeer.

You were slowly falling in love with each other and it was becoming so obvious.

You two were looking at the shrieking shack and you noticed footsteps leading to it.

"Draco..." You said.

He was again, rambling about Potter.

"Draco." You said louder.

"Hmm?" He finally noticed.

"Someone's in the shack." You pointed out.

He frowned. "...I don't think we should--" "I'm going to investigate--" "Y/n no." Draco halted.

"And why?" "Because it's dangerous Y/n and I don't want to see you hurt." Draco said.

You slowly began to realize just how protective Draco actually was over you.

Well you can't say the boy didn't try

You found out Buckbeak was going to be killed and you kept trying to reason with Draco's father.

He wouldn't listen and you finally just went to Harry and begged them for help.

Harry agreed to and you all got into an argument with Draco which resulted in you actually getting punched after you jumped in the way of hermione's hit.

Draco was naturally pissed and she felt guilty.

"Guys I'm fine. This isn't the first time I've been punched, it probably won't be the last." You sighed.

That's when your boggart began to make a bit more sense and then Draco's alarm bells in his head were practically screaming.

Differences aside even Harry had to admit that this was a noticable problem

You all still went on the rescue mission for Buckbeak though

The whole time turner thing weirded you out.

Draco was actually in on it this time, which was weird as hell.

So when all of you made the discovery of A) Remus hiding Sirius black and B) Remus also being a werewolf it was a bit of a shock

Well the second one you already knew.

But that first one still had you reeling.

It didn't help when Ron's rat turned out to be Pettigrew and you all learned the truth of when Harry's parents died

Even Draco felt bad by that point.

When you all went back to Hogwarts will the information you all agreed to not say ANYTHING to anyone.

The group was still suspicious of Draco but if you trusted him then he had to be at least somewhat of a good person.

Draco's promise was taken literally and you spent the whole summer with him

Draco's parents were happy to have you but something was just off about them at the moment.

That's when you heard the rumors that they supported the dark lord and it began to make sense

You didn't mention it though.

Strolls through the manor

Draco becoming even more attractive

You becoming even more attractive, especially in Draco's eyes

His parents beginning to notice the love in his eyes when he spoke to or about you.

The smiles you two have when you tease each other.

Then you find out you're going to the world quidditch game and you're excited.

You'd have moments where you'd lean over and tell Draco something in his ear and you'd both laugh

Narcissa and Lucius would be hiding smiles.

You two were so close even his parents thought it was cute.

You running into your father at the game and the whole Malfoy and Weasley family both stepping in to protect you.

Which led to this begrudging respect for the Weasley's from the Malfoys.

You ending up spending a few minutes with the Weasley's before the whole thing went to shit.

You almost being attacked until someone pulled you behind a tree and put their hand over your mouth.

You of course recognized the family ring and immediately felt safe knowing Draco was with you.

You both thought the whole events at the game was odd but didn't mention it.

You both going to school and you actually being even more talkative

The goblet of fire competition being announced and the schools coming in was so cool to you.

Draco loving to see you with a smile on your face.

However there was a new problem this year

It was the FACT THAT A DURMSTRANG BOY SEEMED TO LIKE YOU

You having fun moments with Draco where he'd steal your books and race you to class with them.

You running after him and jumping on his back to get them.

Ron and Hermione both knowing "Oh they are so going to date"

You getting worried about Harry when his name popped out of the goblet of fire

The trio getting closer to Draco which leads to him not hating Harry as much as he did before.

Harry and Hermione both noticing Draco getting jealous of the Durmstrang boy

Him getting pouty when you actually talk to the Durmstrang boy.

Harry almost dying of laughter when Draco's best insult at the time was to call him a member of the Russian mob.

Hermione coughed up her drink, Ron was dying and he was sinking into his seat when he found out you and the boy both heard him.

Draco planned on asking you to the Yule and actually asked Hermione for advice.

"Uhm.. Draco why ask me?" She asked.

"Because you're a girl and you understand. It's not like Weasley or Potter would understand." He sighed.

"She likes you Draco. Just ask her." She reassured.

"She... Does?" He asked.

" All of her free moments are spent with you. Everytime we've seen her, she's with you. Even this conversation is about her. Come on Malfoy it is obvious." She said.

So he geared up to ask you

But then this became a race of sorts because the Durmstrang boy had the same idea.

So Hermione, Ron and Harry took it upon themselves to be wingmen and bombard the poor guy with some really dumb questions.

So Draco asked you, and of course you said yes.

Draco giving the friend group the thumbs up

Them all silently cheering and then when you turn around all of them acting normal

Those God damn dance lessons.

"Love if you focus too much on your movements you're going to screw up more" Draco warned.

"I can't help-- what did you just call me-- WOAH!"

Both of you falling and laughing.

Draco falling even more in love as he looked at you.

"Wait I thought your family were nobles?"

" I hid during parties I don't dance." You laughed.

Him feeling even more special because you agreed to go to a dance with him

Both of you smiling the whole time

Even McGonagall is noticing the sparks flying between you two.

Narcissa being the one who sends you a dress

It being gorgeous on you

The guys all waiting at the bottom of the stairs for you and Hermione

Draco almost falling over because my God you're beautiful

Him smiling the whole time dancing with you

A slow song coming on and you resting your head on his chest with him resting his chin on your head.

When the last note of the song plays you looked up at him and you both just... Kissed

You both smiling at each other

Harry and Ron both being happy for you two

You and him both being so in love the entire time

Even after the ball you and him are just in love.

Then everything came to a screeching halt after Cedric

Harry comes back and Cedric is just lying there

You're cheering at first but then you notice Harry isn't getting up and you sprint down there.

Draco also runs down there and sees Cedric.

You just comforted Harry until Mad Eyed moody came over.

You spent the summer again at the Malfoy's after that.

And then Draco started acting very strange one day before dragging you to his room and telling you what was happening

Which was that Voldemort was moving in

And they needed you to join him so you'd be safe.

This wasn't just Draco voicing this, Lucius and Narcissa both told you this too

You and Draco made a pact though that you wouldn't actually be supporting the dark Lord

And you both stuck to that

But you bearing the mark wasn't enough for Voldemort.

So Lucius took you aside and asked for a favor

Of getting engaged to Draco

You were shocked but agreed to it

You were given a family ring and when you came back to school no one could believe it.

Both you and Draco still agreed though that if you survived to see the end of the war, you'd get married.

You joining the Order of the phoenix.

Both of you.

Sirius actually thinking "Damn. This kid is actually barrable." To Draco.

Tonks LOVING you

Both you and Draco being shocked to see Snape at the manor

You both not saying a word

That bitch Umbridge coming in

You and Draco being able to get away with shit because Draco is headboy

Draco always having you by his side, no exceptions.

Fred and George wreaking havoc

You and Draco both smiling the whole time

Umbridge getting PISSED

Then her getting taken by centaurs and you and the group celebrating

The wicked bitch was gonneeee

Halle damn lujah.

Pt 2 coming soon.

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Speaking of JSA, what kind of yandere (platonic) do you think Pat, Courtney, Beth, Rick and Yolanda are and how dark can they get?

Yandere JSA (platonic)

Pat Dugan

Pat is the epitome of the word "Dad". He's protective and he worries about you and the rest of the new JSA. He'll do anything to protect his family (including the other JSA kids). He'll always make sure that you're taken care of, along with the others.

He's slightly delusional in regards to the family dynamic that the JSA have going on. He's aware enough to understand and know that he's not your actual parent but that doesn't stop him from seeing it like that.

He'll try to insert himself in your day to day life outside of the JSA, even befriending your parents so he can be around even more. Now if you're parents mistreat or abuse you in any way then he'll push for you to stay with him, Barbara and the kids. They'll replace your old family, giving you the love, support, recognition, and affection that you deserve. He'll make sure that you're happy and healthy. But don't think that he won't go back to your parents and have a talk with him, if he feels the need to then he'll throw down with them. Either way, no matter how your parents are, he will take you in and under his wing becoming your new family, your better family.

I totally canon Pat being platonic yandere for all the kids, along with Barbara. The show already pretty much made that canon with the end of the last episode with the Christmas celebration, showing that they basically adopted the other kids and were one happy family.

Pat would definitely be very weary of anyone you're friends with or close to, he just wants to make sure that they're good for you and that they're not trying to get you into trouble. Anyone you have a crush on or are dating will be heavily scrutinized and watched, he wants you happy but only with someone he approves of and knows will be good for you. He realizes that not every one of your love interests, whether a crush or actual relationship, will last forever but that doesn't ease his mind. He definitely doesn't want to see you hurt in any way, shape, or form, especially not by someone you put your all into and trusted.

When it comes to you graduating Pat will be a whole mess. His baby is growing up and gonna go places with out. You'll get to a point where you won't be needing to consult Pat for anything. You'll be able to function and live on your own and that really gets to him. As much as he's happy he's also filled with anxiety and worry, he doesn't want you to move on from your pops and the family. He'll be the one to always call you, making some excuse just to hear your voice and talk with you. He fears that you just may forget about him when all is said and done and that really scares him.

Overall he's a good guy and means well but he just can't fathom the thought of letting you fly the coop, he wants to hold on to you for as long as he can. Please make sure to keep him in both your mind and heart or he just might worry himself into a heart attack or something.

Courtney Whitmore

Courtney's happy-go-lucky, friendly and lovable. She's just so kind and considerate, how could you not want to be friends with her? It's hard to not give in to her persistence to a friendship or when she refers to you as family. You know she means well and is full of good intentions so you never think too much into anything that she does. But if you just gave Courtney a second look then maybe you'd see just what was really going on.

She's protective to a fault, always being overly cautious with anyone you're close to or interact with. She's usually very trusting but when it comes to you she doesn't want to leave any room for anyone to put you at risk. Courtney values your trust and dependency, she doesn't want to lose that so she'll put anyone and everyone under a microscope if need be just to ensure that you'll always be safe. 'Cause in the end that's all that really matters to her, your safety and happiness, that all she wants.

You and Courtney will spend every waking moment together, doing anything and everything. She vents to and confides in you, expecting the same from you. She wants complete trust and transparency with each other, no lies and no holding back about anything.

Your probably the first real friend she makes when she moves to Blue Valley. She trusts you with everything, even going as far as telling you her blowing up Henry's car, becoming Stargirl and especially about Brainwave and the rest of the ISA. She wants you to know to keep your guard up and that things aren't what they seem but don't worry she'll always be there to keep you safe and sound.

Courtney doesn't have a problem with you making other friends or interacting with other people as long as she's #1 and no one tries to replace her or you don't leave her in the dust to be with your other friends. If you're invited to something or going somewhere in general Courtney always ends up tagging along or just so happening to be at that same place as you.

Speaking of which, Courtney is always following you around whether you know it or not. She's always worrying about you and playing terrible scenarios in her head about everything that could possibly go wrong, so to ease her mind she takes to stalking you. Your phone will be filled with messages, missed calls, and voicemails from her. She'll use any means necessary to communicate with you whether through text, phone calls, email, Facebook messenger, letters, and or a cup on a string. Hell, she'll call you through Zoom if she has to, anything that means she can still be in contact with you.

I feel like the cosmic staff would probably encourage her in her obsession for you. Pointing out wherever you may be or taking Courtney to you without hesitation, basically being a little tattletale in regards to you. It may even take a liking to you or form a little obsession in itself because of Courtney's own obsession and interest towards you.

As much as Courtney wants to see you happy she doesn't like anyone you have a romantic interest in or are dating. She honestly believes that no one will ever be good enough for you (this goes for a friendly platonic or a familial platonic). No one will be able to take care of you and keep you safe or even understand you like her, so why don't you just stick with Courtney? Besides the two of you are still young, there's plenty of time for love so why not just focus on your friendship for now.

Beth Chapel

Beth is extremely delusional, you're her best friend or her sibling, hell you could even be a parental figure to her, it doesn't really matter not for her at least. She honestly believes that your closer than you really are, you could seriously have never given her a second glance in your whole life but she already has it in her mind that the two of you are as thick as thieves.

As much as she is delusional, Beth is also very soft. She genuinely cares about you and wants to have a connection with you. She just wants to be close with you, doing anything that results in that. She'll even goes as far as getting into all your interests and hobbies just so she can feel that closeness and be able to bond with you even more. If you like anime or a band she and Chuck will do all their research into those exact things to learn anything and everything there is to know. By the time she and Chuck are through with learning everything, Beth will know so much more than you could have possibly fathomed.

If you have a favorite character in an anime, game, book or movie then that character just so happens to be hers too! What a coincidence, huh? She'll have any and or all memorabilia in regards to that character and she already knows everything there is to them and their origin or backstory.

There won't be a second that goes by where she's not talking someone's ear off about you. She loves talking about you or anything that has to do with you. She just loves you, platonically of course. She just really wants someone to be close with, to do stuff with and she chose you. You mean a lot to her, she'll tell you that all the time and you probably have no idea how much she means it. Everything she says, she wholeheartedly means no matter what it is.

You honestly don't have to really do anything to garner Beth's attention, you could have looked or even waved in her general direction and she'd be hooked. Whatever attention you gave her, whether inadvertently or not, is enough for her.

She'll follow you around all the time like a puppy, wherever you go she goes. Beth is always in distance of you and whoever you may be with, listening to everything you say and watching everything you do. She's definitely a stalker and once she has Chuck with her it only gets worse, she'll have even more in depth and intimate knowledge about you and your life.

Beth is the type to invite herself to whatever you may be doing or wherever you may be going. She'll always has a way of making the people around you uncomfortable and uneasy, whether intentional or not. She probably doesn't even know that she's doing anything odd, she's just being herself after all.

All your friends and or anyone you interact with will go through an extensive background check courtesy of Chuck. Beth just wants to make sure that you're in safe hands with the people you're around. If she finds anything incriminating about them or anyone in regard to them she'll make sure you know, whether she tells you herself or tells you anonymously.

Beth would want to around you all the time, the two of you wouldn't even have to do anything just as long as she was with you she's content. She'll spend any and all her time with you if she could.

She feels that she has to tell you everything otherwise she would be a bad friend if she didn't, she just can'tlive with herself if she lied to you for any reason. Whether you're a part of the JSA or not, you'll know everything about what's going with both them and the ISA. Beth keeps you in the loop about everything.

When she first goes down into the tunnels and loses communication with everyone, you're the first person she goes to for comfort. It really scared her being alone like that, without you and or Chuck by her side, she felt like nothing. It just showed her that she never wants to part with either you or Chuck, especially you. She relies/depends on you and Chuck for a lot, particularly in regard to her emotional connection that she shares with both of you.

Once Chuck 'dies' and is out of commission you're all she has now, at least that's what she keeps saying. You'll have her whole undivided attention and focus after everything. She'll be even more attached to your side, relying on you even more to fill the void that she has after what happened to Chuck. She'll need you all the more now and there's nothing you can do to push her away, even for a little breathing room.

In conclusion, no matter what Beth is always going be there and that's just where she plans to stay, right by your side.

Rick Tyler

Rick can be pretty aggressive and temperamental, coming off scary and unapproachable. You have no clue how he ever came to like you let alone become obsessed with you. Maybe one day he was feeling sympathetic or 'heroic', so to speak, and protected you from some bullies or something. Maybe you were just too kind for your own good, especially to him, so he felt the need to become your protector.

He's protective and possessive, maybe even at least slightly delusional. He's always trailing either behind you or beside you, keeping very close to in case anything may happen. You'll have your own personal guard dog in Rick, he's an intimidating force to be messed with and he counts on that using it to his advantage.

Rick is highly paranoid, ways looking over his or your shoulder for anything out of the ordinary, even before he became part of the JSA. He doesn't trust anyone, excluding you of course. Especially when it comes to you, he doesn't trust anyone to keep you safe or take care of, or to make sure that your happy. Rick doesn't believe that anyone has your best interests at heart, not your friends, family, and especially not your romantic partner if you have one.

Speaking of which, he won't leave any room for other friends or any love interests to come between him and you. He wants all your focus, time and attention, if he has to get his hands dirty to get even a second of anything you have to give him then he will.

Love interests and romantic relationships are out of the question with Rick, he knows that no one is deserving of you and that's just how it will stay. Even if someone was deserving or even worthy of you, Rick wouldn't let them get far. He'll get rid of them quickly enough that you wouldn't even bat an eye at their absence. He's just fine having it be just you and him against the world if it comes down to it, just as long as it's only you and him in the end. That's all he needs after all.

You'll be kept out of the loop about the JSA and the ISA, Rick just wants to protect you from all of it. If you're already involved then he'll have your back all the way until the end, getting in the way of any one trying to hurt you, taking any hits he has to to ensure your safety. You'll always be safe with him, he promises you that.

You're the only one who can calm Rick down, reigning him in whenever he gets too aggressive or murderous. You're always able to bring him back from whatever dark place he's falling into, and he wants to do the same for you if the occasion ever arises. He wants you to depend on him just as he depend on you, though he would never admit to it.

As angry and scary as Rick can be, he can also be soft and gentle but you're the only one he ever let's see that side of him. It just goes to show how important you are to him and how much he really values and trusts you. So, you know that you're in capable hands with him and how he would never hurt, not intentionally at least.

If you were to ever move whether for school or work, Rick would either follow you if he had the means or he'd be pushed to take drastic measures to keep you with him. He just can't trust that you'll be safe or in good hands without him there to be the one watching over you.

Yolanda Montez

You and Yolanda were probably close before everything went down with Henry, you were the only one to not turn your back on her and that only fueled her obsession for you and also her devotion to you. You showed just how committed you were to her and your friendship and she could never put into words just how thankful and appreciative she was of you. You were her only true friend anymore and she couldn't bare to lose you too, no matter what she had to do to keep you.

You probably encourage Yolanda to be friends with Courtney and to especially become Wildcat, and again that only adds to her admiration for you. She feels indebted to you, you've pushed her to be strong, to not give up and it's only brought even better things into her life. She thinks so highly of you and how undeserving she really is to have you by her side through everything that she's been through, everything that you've been living with her right by her side.

Yoland can't help but feel devoted to you and everything that you've done for her. You've always been right there to keep her going and she's clueless as to how she would have survived without you. She hates the thought of not ever having you around anymore, it's probably her greatest fear. You became her everything in such a short amount of time and she couldn't imagine not having you with her anymore. She'd fight tooth and nail to keep you where you are, to keep you just as you are.

Yolanda wouldn't be okay with you having other friends outside of her, she can barely stand you being friendly with the other JSA kids but putting some stranger in the mix would not be pretty. She can't stand the thought of you leaving her behind or maybe even turning your back on her because of some new face. She doesn't honestly believe that you would do that to her but that doesn't mean that she trusts the other person. They could try to turn you against her, try to make you hate her and be disgusted by her. She trusts you but she doesn't trust anyone else, you're all she really has anymore and therefore she can't lose you to anyone for any reason.

You also wouldn't be able to date or have any interest in anyone. Yolanda has a very hard time trying to trust anyone in a romantic way after what happened to her and that will bleed through to your love life. She fears that the same will happen to you and she just can't leave any room for that to happen. Yolanda will dissuade you from anyone, lying and or twisting things so you will lose interest in anyone and everyone. If she has to she will suit up to take out anyone she needs to, her claws are sharp and she has no problem using them especially if it's for you.

Yolanda is very protective already, having threatened Henry to stay away from courtney in the show but when it comes to you that protectiveness gets amped up. She's also possessive of you as well, you're all she's had for so long that she wants to be all that you have too. She has no problem threatening or getting rid of anyone she has to to keep you with her and only with her.

If Henry ever interacts with you she'll have to keep herself from shredding him to pieces right then and there.

When it comes to graduating and whether you may go out of state for college, Yolanda will work and study hard to be able to get into the same school as you and she's more then willing to put the dedication into it just to be with you. It would be nice to get away from her family anyways, especially her parents.

Hell, she would runaway with you now without any hesitation if you asked her to. As long as she has you then she knows she'll be okay, the both of you will be.

You may have kept her from falling into a dark hole before but it only caused her to fall into a much darker place with a different goal in mind. She'll be damed if anyone tries to come between the two of you, so help her, they'll wish they never crossed Yoland Montez.

[revchainsaw]

Stephen King's Graveyard Shift (1990)

Blessings upon you congregants from your dear Reverend my beloved Cult of Cult! Gather round a receive today's message as hear a word from the writings of Saint Stephen! I have a bit of inside baseball to share with you today, and that is that I love the fact that Hulu curates a list from your watchlist that lets you know what films have been sitting queued up unattended. You know those movies that you kind a want to see and you keep saying "i'll get around to that" right before you binge King of the Hill for the 90th time? Well Graveyard Shift was one of those movies for me, in fact, I frequently decide what films to cover based on what is about to disappear. In many cases the films I sit through are not very engaging or surprising. I think to myself, yeah, this is about what I thought it would be, no wonder I chose not to engage. Graveyard Shift, however, was actually quite a wonderful surprise.

Sermon

Graveyard Shift begins at the overnight shift of a rat infested textile mill. The employee working the machinery has been so severely pushed to the brink by engaging with the little invaders that he begins to toy with them and sets a very tragic precedent for the film by gleefully tossing living rats into the cotton picker. We get some shots of a blood and viscera mixed into the cotton before this son of a bitch is offed by an off screen force. I'm not gonna hold out on spoilers here for you folks, the movies 30 years old and it's a giant mutant bat.

Our hero Hall, a drifter with a tragic past, blows into town and is quickly hired by Warwick, the womanizing and half insane owner of the textile mill. Warwick has an awful habit of giving easy work to the women in his mill who provide him with sexual favors, while punishing those who don't with the most filthy and strenuous work he can find. This abuse also extends to any of his male employees who he sees as competition for their attention. This is why when Hall begins a relationship with Jane, an independent type who has repeatedly told Warwick to back off, they are soon destined to land on the sub basement cleaning project that brings them into contact with our nocturnal beast.

As this plot unfolds Warwick and Hall become increasingly at odds. Hall at this point has been substantially assigned to contend with the hordes of rats in the basement, playing games and almost training them in a way to leave him be. Eventually the time comes for the much feared cleaning of the basement levels of the mill, and our three main characters as well as a slew of murder lambs descend to their doom.

These poor blue collar folk are accosted by rats, floods, collapsing architecture, the Mutant Bat Mama and Warwick himself descends into madness, killing Jane, before he himself is eventually caught in the leathery wings of the blood thirsty beast. This leaves Hall alone to fight the monster. The battle for survival between Hall and the Bat works its way back up to the Mill where Hall uses the cotton picker and ingest the creature in a bloody cottony mess the likes of which I haven't seen since a 13 year old Chainsaw tried to teach himself to shave.

The Benediction

Best Character: Who's the Boss?

Sometimes with certain characters there's a certain intangible something or other that draws a viewer to them. In the case of Warwick it must have been the pure charisma of actor Stephen Macht. He was definitely not the best actor in this film, it was very clearly a phoned in role with some questionable choices, like I don't get what that accent was about. The character was a sleazy heel and I was absolutely satisfied when he was killed. He provided a very realistic menace despite the utter cornball portrayal. This is truly what they mean when they talk about characters you love to hate. Fuck You Warwick, you magnificent bastard. I'm glad you were eaten by that giant bat.

Best Actor: Chucky's Cheesin' It!

Brad Dourif is perhaps the only actor in this movie who was memorable. It's always great to see Dourif outside of the chucky role. He's always bringing his best stuff and although I didn't mention him in this review, Dourif plays an absolutely demented Vietnam Vet/ Exterminator with his little rat catching dog Moxie in this movie. Whenever I think about Graveyard Shift I think about Warwick, Brad Dourif, and the Bat!

Best Kill: Nana nana nana nana BatMess!

Unfortunately for Graveyard Shift most of the deaths that occur are incredibly tame. It's a creature feature that mostly plays like a Who Dunnit. Its honestly the weakest feature of the film. In fact I'm going to call it right here. (Worst Feature: Genre Confusion). In a film that fundamentally does little more than 'Giant Bat Eats Mill Workers in Mild Criticism of Capitalist Exploitation', I'd like to see some people getting absolutely wrecked by this bat. That doesn't really happen. Most of the kills are off screen, or obscured by big leathery wings. The bat looks pretty damn cool, and when it is chewed up by the Cotton Picker it's about the most gore and effects you get in the film. It's a shame that it is the monsters undoing rather than the monsters doing that really shows off the effects. C'est La Vie!

Worst Kill: Rats Off to You!

In the opening scene that fucker is throwing rats into the cotton picker just for being rats. I know there's a ton of them, but it's such a mean spirited bull shit way of eliminating rats. Rat Terrorism is bullshit and I'm against it. Fuck you you weird rat killing guy, Let Brad Dourif do his thing and stop picking the rats up by their tales you asshole.

Summary

Graveyard Shift was a disappointment to Stephen King, who called it just another "quick exploitation picture" and you know what, that's all it had to be to make me happy. Graveyard shift has a cool looking bat creature, that is unfortunately underused. A quick and engaging little story that doesn't try too hard to be too deep, and I know that was probably a huge temptation with the themes of the story. The characters that are notable are over the top and interesting, and those that aren't are the perfect murder lambs, they are just unique enough to differentiate and keep the action moving. It's by far not one of the greatest films you'll ever see. It's a creature feature that doesn't do enough to feature it's creature. It's effects are good when they are shown, and I'm so happy it was made in an era where we didn't get bombarded with weightless grey blobs of CGI rats everywhere. It's exactly what the doctor ordered for a low stakes night in with some pop corn and a coke. Don't let the haters stop you, definitely give Graveyard Shift a shot.

Overall Grade: C

[thebuckysoldier]

Angel

Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: You were experimented on, resulting in you now having wings. Eventhough you might hate it, Bucky doesn’t.

Wordcount: almost 1.6K

Warnings: angst

A/N: I’m so sorry, again, it’s been so long. And again, it’s not a identical mosters update but an oneshot. I kind of really like this concept and i think its cute, also this one has been ready for quite a while but i wanted it to be longer but i had no idea how to make it longer and i kinda like it like this. So here you go, please enjoy, and also another side note, i think i found motivation to continue identical mosters so we’ll see if i upload in the next couple of days, I’m very sorry if i don’t in advance.

Masterlist

(gif is not mine)

When you first met everyone in the tower, you were scared of their prying eyes, their gazes and their eyes scanning your appearance.

Oh, how far you’ve come since then. You remembered the way everyone had looked at you well, but you never held any grudges against them for it. They all had apologized, it’s just that they had never seen anyone like you. And that’s probably because there is no-one like you, and if there was the things you’d give to meet them.

You were special, and you had accepted it now. You had maybe chosen a different way for yourself to become special, but oh well you were here now. It wasn’t your choice to be kidnapped and experimented on.

No, the experimenting they had done on you wasn’t like the experimenting Hydra had done to the Maximoffs. No, it wasn’t alike in any way. Loki’s staff caused them to have awesome powers, what your torturers had done was cut you up and stitched you back together again and again and again until they had finally reached their goal.

Now there were two protuberances sticking out of your back they had dared to call wings. And yeah, they had actually succeeded, you were able to fly with those wings. When you first came to the tower you were weak and they had called a miracle that you were still alive. You could use the wings back then, but barely, and it also hurt so badly you passed out every time you’d use them.

You were different and kept to yourself, but surprisingly it was Bucky who had taken you under his wing. He helped you when you needed it, while you were trying to distance yourself from everyone, and who knows, they might have tried to distance themselves from you too, he didn’t. He took care of you, he knew what it was like being the odd one out and when he was he took great comfort in knowing Steve.

He felt bad for you, everyone was curious about you, but didn’t seem to care to talk to you, or to even question you about the things on your back. You knew no one in the tower and suddenly you were living in the same ‘house’ as them, used the same kitchen and walked through the same hallways.

Bucky had never looked at you that way, and you couldn’t find the words to tell him how grateful you were for that. It was because of him you were able to grow into the person you were today, nothing compared to the person who first walked through those doors.

Of course you’d never be the same person you were before everything happened but you are content and confident being the person you are today. Although you may have hated living in the tower at first, you couldn’t be happier to be there now. Most of your mornings were spent training with Sam or sometimes Nat if you were feeling up to it for the day. And then you usually made breakfast and ate with whoever was in there with you, it didn’t matter anymore they all warmed up to you and became great friends. Afternoons were spent having fun with Wanda, occasionally Peter and Shuri too if they were around, there was also rarely a day you didn’t stop by Tony and Bruce in their lab. Overall your days in the tower were good, you were fine being with anyone and speaking with anyone but you were also perfectly okay being on your own and watching a movie or reading a book.

But the thing you were maybe most grateful for was that at the end of the day you’d get to curl up to Bucky and talk to him about the day you had, whether they were spent apart or together.

You and Bucky took great comfort in each other, although you were very different people, if you look closer you may have more in common then first meets the eye. He was the first person you ever let close to your back, and the first time you let him he almost shed a tear, you may not have noticed, but that really meant a lot to him. He was known for being violent, his name was connected to hurt and yet he was the first person you let take care of you.

Like the skin connected to his metal arm, your back was scarred and had an angry red color. So when you had let him touch your back the first thing he did was gently rubbed some cream onto it that would help your skin heal itself. He had learned you how to take care of yourself, and in return you did the same. He still had his own trauma to deal with, but you thought it was safe to say that you both had come a long way already.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

It took you a long time, even after you had become more open with everyone in the tower, before you were able to join the others on missions. You trained long and hard, because making a change for the better in the world was something you really wanted to do.

So when Steve finally agreed to let you come to a smaller mission you were beyond happy. To say the mission went extremely well was an understatement, and you were happy you were an asset to the team. And from then on you went on almost every mission fury sent your way. Mostly Natasha but the others too trained you to be a skilled fighter and with the help of Bruce, Tony and doctor Cho you could now use your wings without it hurting which was a great help as well.

But even though the wings didn’t really hurt anymore, the skin surrounding the wings was still scarred and red. But there was another thing about the wings that you hated. Yes of course you got looks from everyone that saw the wings, I mean a human with wings? Yeah something doesn’t add up there.

But they weren’t pretty wings, bird like wings with feathers, like the ones angels have. Beautiful white feathers, if only your wings looked like that. But no, in stead the scientists gave you purple-ish, red-ish wings the resembled more batwings then anything else. They were ugly in your opinion, the skin like consistency of the wings felt and looked weird, ugly and dare I say it, scary.

How everyone, but most importantly Bucky, could accept you this way was something you could never understand. The wings made you look scary. The world was aware of you, they knew who you were and they knew that you were with the avengers, but they don’t know your story. There are times when you are out on the streets with Steve or Tony to anyone really gets recognized for example by little kids and they scare away from you, they hid behind their mothers legs. You were sure nothing could ever hurt you more, you loved kids, you truly believed you had a kind heart and you took pride of that. Even though you’ve been hurt so much, you aspired to be the best kind of human being. And when young kids are scared of you, your heart breaks into a million pieces.

But sadly, scaring away children isn’t the only thing that happens when you get recognized on the streets. Teens and often older people too, throw hurtful words at you.

“Monster”

“Freak”

“Mutant”

“Demon”

And that list goes on and on and on. You would think you’d know all the hurtful words by now, but it seems like they come up with new ones everyday. But Bucky is always there, at first you didn’t show that you cared about what people thought, but little by little as Bucky broke your walls down, you let him in on your thoughts. And of course he told you not to care, they didn’t know better, but the also knew from experience it’s not easy. After what he had done all those years, Bucky received quite some backlash too. At the end of a hard day he always called the two of you ‘the monstrous couple’ and for some reason a smile magically appeared after those words. Maybe it was caused by the butterflies you still had every time he called you a couple, maybe it was the reminder that you weren’t alone in all this, or the fact that the two of you could make fun of it because deep down you knew in the end, you only need him.

But he still found you often looking at yourself and your wings in the mirror. This conversation was one you had with Bucky over and over again. And for some reason you two always said the exact same words, as if it was the first time you ever had the conversation.

“What are you looking at, doll?” He’d ask as if he didn’t already know.

“The wings” you’d reply

“And why is that?”

“Because they’re horrendous, I look horrendous.”

“Honey you’re the most beautiful human being the world has ever seen, inside and out”

And he’d always take a little breath before adding the next part. The part you loved most.

“Darling you’re an angel, you’re my angel and you got the wings to prove it”

[thirsthourdemon]

i loved your 'delinquent s/o' hcs!!! could I get those, but with Hinata, Daichi, and Suga? Thank you so much!!

Headcanon with them having a delinquent!s/o (2)

Includes: Daichi, Suga and Hinata

Genre: Fluff, smut (slight)

Warning: Slight NSFW

A/N: THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING! NO ONE EVER REQUEST HERE AND IM HAPPY THAT YOU DID 😭😭😭

||Daichi

-You two? Hate each other

-He doesn’t want anything to do with you at all

-You hate his guts the moment he protected one of your targets because it was “the right thing to do” even though the guy he protected was actually one of the guys who robbed and beat your underclass men up

-You told him to apologize and he just ignored you

-Lucky for you and him, you guys aren’t in the same class

-How did you become a thing you may ask...Field trip

-During the senior’s field trip your class had an odd number and so did theirs

-You two were paired up and you even bought a small bat just in case he tried something

-Eventually night time came and...Never trust a boy and a girl in one tent that’s bit farther away than the others

-“I-It was a one night thing! D-dont Get it twisted, Sawamura!!!”

-“Look! I didn’t think that would happen too! I regre-“

-You just kissed him to shut him up and just a tiny bit of blood rushed out down to his PP

-The following days he hated to admit it but he noticed how...Soft you were...Like whenever you gave your food to your underclassmen whenever they didn’t have any

-Or how you had a flower petal on your ankles and how you’d hide it by wearing high socks

-He never noticed the way you’d smile triumphantly when you would shoo some junior’s bullies away

-You too! You never noticed how he’d laugh when he just finished scolding those two persistent juniors

-How he would help the girl’s in his class carry stuff they cant carry

-You would never have noticed how inspiring he was when he lead the volleyball team

-Both of you are just noticing shit like this and the next month ya’ll are like

-WHAT DO YOU MEAN I LIKE THEM?!

-Becoming a thing because the two of you were scolded by suga cause this is cute but painful to watch

-He would love every tattoo and piercing on your body and during the nasty he would kiss them lots

-Daichi is a very soft and domestic lover

-I can tell you without a doubt that he hates it when you come to pick him up from practice and you have scars all over you

-Is calm and collected but scolding you on how stupid it was of you to

-GO TO A NEIGHBOURING SCHOOL TO CHALLENGE THEIR LEADER TO A FIGHT BECAUSE YOU HAD TO KEEP YOUR HONOUR AS THE “The Black winged princess of Miyagi” OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

-Shoyou thinks that title is cool though 😡

-You, noya and tanaka are the reason daichi has migraines

-He definitely convinced you to live a better life after high school though

-Slight NSFW her but...

-Daichi loves it when your tough exterior breaks in front of him and you’re reduced to a whimpering mess

-Just you begging daddy daichi to stop kissing your inner thighs and actually do something is his entertainment

||Suga

-He noticed you and shimizu seemed awfully close even if you guys were completely different

-“Hey shimizu, who’s this friend of yours?“

-“Oh hello, suga-san. This is-“ “Y/N!!!!”

-Suddenly Noya just comes rushing towards you and pounces on you

-“Noya, You know her?”

-Suga lowkey jealous that noya knows you more than him 😡

-“YEAH! This is Y/N and we hung out together cause we got suspend at the same time!”

-Suga’s thoughts: This bitch is actually proud he got suspended?

-You smelled like trouble and though there was a little voice inside of suga that told him not to get associated with an underboss of a gang...

-You simply intrigued him

-He would pat your head whenever you cried cause you were broke and discouraged you from stealing someone’s food

-My man now makes a bento for two

-HIS COOKING: DIVINE

-It wasn’t long until you guys come together and you’re whole gang even your boss tells you that you’re going soft so you were forced to let them meet suga

-You introduce suga to them and everyone there tried to intimidate him but oh jeez...

-They got scared and intimidated of him instead

-What surprises everyone in your class is that...whenever you and your boyfriend were together you seemed so...weak? Like you had rumors about that you took down half a gang with your boss with just a baseball bat

-Everyone knew how scary your aura was

-Heck! Every gang on your side of miyagi was scared of karasuno because although your boss well...

-Your gang’s boss was strong but he was a leader not a fighter. What people were scared of was the underboss...

-Imagine what their reaction is when you’re over at the court yard giggling and pouting at suga to give you a kiss

-Suga scares you when he’s mad because he can break someone without touching them

-Slight Nsfw...Hehehe

-He has you on his knee spanking you and nonchalantly degrades you by telling you how pathetic you look whimpering with pools of tears under your eyes when you were supposed to be a scary delinquent

-You earn one spanking every time you smoke 😤

-Overall wholesome

||Hinata

-You just cant hurt him, can you?

-I mean Look at the boy! He looks like sunshine and what literal happiness is!

-You thought he was an easy target but he was so kind and nice you ended up giving him your oath.

-Here’s the thing, alright? You were raised in a yakuza household and no one shows affection there so look at you now giving your oath to protect him because he was so nice that you opened up and all that

-No one can bully hinata about his height whenever you were right there or they would never be able to see the rise of morning again

-Hinata and you become a thing real quick though

-Baby boy wants to be dangerously cool too! He asks you to teach him but you tell him you cant and that it isn’t cool just dangerous

-Tobio doesn’t care if you’re there though still hits him on the end

-You and kags respect each other and have come to the understanding that your S/O is dumb

-You follow hinata around a lot and walk him home

-I know it’s supposed to be the other way around but you always reject that offer only because you dont want him dead when your family meets him 🙂

-To everyone else you were cold blooded and dangerous

-To hinata you were protective, loyal and sweet

-I headcanon that hinata’s love language is Actions and Gifts

-He and natsu give you small gifts like a cool rock they found or a cheap hair clip that has a nice a nice flower on it

-You keep these small things in a vault at your room. Whoever fucking touches them will have their fingers cut off

-So picture this...Karasuno VBC just holding hinata because they don’t trust you enough but kags is just like “Oh hey Y/N”

-Everyone right at that moment is like :0

-WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT HINATA HAS BEEN IN A RELATIONSHIP FOR HALF A SEMESTER NOW?!

-They start trusting you when you actually kicked someone outside of the gym because they started talking shit about hinata

-MUST PROTECT, OKAY?!

-Hinata told you that he wont kiss you if you vaped so you stopped ever since 👏

-Sunshine boy’s favourite past time is tracing your piercing and tattoos

-AHAHAHAHA Slight Nsfw

-He blushes whenever he feels your tongue piercing when you kiss

-Im not saying he loves it when you’re pegging him and asking him if he’s okay but...that’s exactly what Im saying.

[sweets-r-cool]

Sleepless pt. 2 (Bakugo x reader)

So- it seemed like everyone rlly liked part one- so thank you for that... anyways- I hope this lives up to your expectations but idk just

Part one

One week. One whole ass week of (7) full days.

That was the amount of time you spent ignoring- completely avoiding- Bakugo Katsuki. 

According to him, you were a dumbass. However, you weren’t so stupid as to the fact the last comment he made before he left the gym that night (morning?) was basically a weird, sort of twisted not really but also really a confession. 

The girl he was talking about was apparently a dumbass, you were his dumbass. Your face flushed at the thought.

You kind of hated that it did though. Considering, believing you were the girl he liked also meant admitting you were a dumbass. You kind of were- but that didn’t mean you were willing to acknowledge it.

That was irrelevant. 

Bakugo Katsuki liked you. The angry hedgehog of Class 1-A, who called anyone he didn’t call an insulting nickname an extra, had feelings for you. It was kind of weird. Such an angry existence feeling more than the willingness to deal with you. It made you nauseous, but in the excited sort of way. As well as the super embarrassed sort of way.

Hence why you literally ran an extra lap in training when you noticed the ash blond boy walking over to you. You literally ran away from him. You didn’t even like running.

It was also why you were currently in the same gym room the whole situation rooted from. Pounding your fists against the very same punching bag Bakugo had been that night.

At this rate, it would be like a reverse deja vu situation. It was currently 3:18 AM. Also, you were already in the gym; however, you really hoped it wouldn’t actually be reverse deja vu, because that would mean Bakugo would come to you, and as mentioned before, you were avoiding him.

You didn’t really have a good reason for avoiding him. It was just sort one of those situations you didn’t want to be awkward, but the problem is you knew you’d make it awkward somehow. You and your high on sleep deprivation mind. 

You were still unable to sleep,and it was still because of Bakugo. 

Only now, it was because you couldn’t help the giddy feeling in your heart, stomach, cheeks, and overall existence. It made you roll around in bed smiling and kicking your legs until the adrenaline wore off or until you simply fell off your bed with a squawk from your mouth and a thud from your body, earning an “Are u okay?” text from whoever heard your antics.

You eventually took a small break from punching your feelings away to drink some water. When you did, your phone buzzed with a notification from Instagram.

That was odd. Kirishima wasn’t usually awake at this time. 

You gulped, praying to whatever deity up there that Bakugo wouldn’t be able to guess your whereabouts.

You were glad Kirishima had your back. Even if it did sort of intervene in his role as wing man, you didn’t feel like talking to Bakugo yet. Kirishima was a real one. You’d probably just find a way to yeet yourself into oblivion before that. Even if that wasn’t a very realistic choice.

You stretched your back and yawned. You should be asleep by now, but whatever. Bakugo and Kirishima were awake for what ever reason, though Kirishima seemed like he was woken up by Bakugo. In his words, most likely a ‘so not manly’ move on Bakugo’s part. If a bro is able to enjoy sleep, you should let them. Then again, suffering with sleep deprivation together was always fun. 

You picked up your stuff, deciding that should be it for tonight. You were kind of sore already from earlier today’s training and so adding anymore than this would only make you more sore, which wasn’t ideal.

You walked to the door, casually swinging it open. 

You nearly ran into someone’s chest due to the fact it was clad in a black tanktop which almost blended in with the darkness of the hallway. Luckily, you caught sight of the fair skin attached to the ash blond locks...

What-

Suddenly you felt the color leave your face as your eyes met with deep crimson ones, piercing in the best way possible as always.

Within what felt like the millisecond, your hand reached for the door knob, pulling it towards you with the purpose of slamming it. Only when Bakugo caught hold of it, successfully stopping you, did you decide this was the end. 

You turned around, maybe you could get in a few more good punches to that poor punching bag before you died of embarrassment. You felt a cold sweat replace the natural one, caused by working out and not your emotional state.

How could Kirishima betray you?!

You pulled out your phone.

 Maybe you should tattoo ‘Lysol’ on his forehead instead of Kaminari’s, because that was what he deserved like the bacteria he was. Friendship was fragile as glass, there was no coming back from this for him. He probably just told Bakugo so he could go back to sleep without having to deal with your bullshit. Kirishima was fake. So fake.

That sucked for Kirishima, because now you were going to make sure he felt your pain. 

You meant it. You were coming for his kneecaps- 

“Hey, Dumbass,” Bakugo’s raspy voice stopped you in your tracks as he walked through the doorway. You turned around with a sheepish frown, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

You breathed out harshly, “Narnia?” That worked. In your brain, of course. You were gonna die. Good going, you. 

Bakugo deadpanned at your idiotic answer. His look read, “What the fuck?”

You really couldn’t blame him.

Where was the portal to the void when you needed it?

You straightened, opting to find a way out of this. “Ya’ know what, Bakugo? I just realized, Narnia is that way, since- ya’know, there aren’t any closets here for me to hide in. I mean,” you cleared you throat, “use as a portal.” 

You began to swiftly walk with purpose. Purpose to escape and avoid this awkward interaction. You barely made passed him, the door was so close when he grabbed your wrist, not intending to let go.

You head snapped to his gaze, then down to your wrist and his hand. You laughed, the panic underlying in it clear. “Hey, Bakugo. Just thought I’d let you know, I spilled dumb bitch juice all over me, so you might wanna let go before it spreads-” 

“Shut the fuck up and talk to me,” Bakugo asserted. 

You sighed, standing up normally instead of the previous ready-to-run pose you were in just the second before. “T-talk about what,” you asked coyly.

You could practically see the angry tics for on Bakugo’s temple as his eyebrow twitched. At the same time, his face was dusted with a light blush, which only got your face to turn a deeper, much darker red. Bakugo cupped your cheeks, you flinched and your heart started beating faster.

However, you felt slightly relaxed and also disappointed when all he did was squeeze your cheeks together. Though it hurt a little, it was something your poor heart could take at the moment.

“You fucking- You fucking know what I’m saying, Dumbass,” he said as you managed to pry his hands off your cheeks. 

You sighed, turning away, embarrassed still. “Yeah,” you began to pout, “but what kind of sort-of but not really confession was that, you asshole?!” 

Now wasn’t the time for you to get mad, but you couldn’t tell if it was because of how late (early?) it was or if it was because you weren’t used to talking about love or things like that. It was probably the latter, considering the only other person aside from you who knew about your crush on Bakugo was Kirishima and Kirishima alone. 

It was whatever, you already got mad, there was no going back. 

Bakugo looked confused for once as you turned back around with an expression on your face he’d never seen before. Were you... flustered?

“Don’t look at me like that! I like you, Mr.I’m-good-at-everything-but-confessions! I like you, you asshole, and if your gonna confess do it better,” you crossed your arms, fuming in a more joking way, but your face really was red and no amount of pretending it wasn’t would change that. “So yeah, I like you... now what?”

You couldn’t keep your lips in a frown for much longer as you found your lips curling upwards instead. Bakugo took a few steps towards you, his chest only inches from your own. 

You had to look up at him, due to your height difference, but that wasn’t what you cared about.

Bakugo scoffed, his eyes not leaving yours. Bakugo wasn’t even sure it was possible to pry his eyes from your captivating e/c, not right now at least. “I like you,” he smirked, watching your face deteriorate back into it’s flustered expression, “is that better?”

You huffed, “Much-” you were cut off when Bakugo pushed his lips against yours. Your eyes widened before fluttering closed as you melted into the kiss. 

It was fiery, just like Bakugo himself. It was hard not to smile. The kiss was also sort of needy, maybe it was because you ignored the explosive blond for a whole week, or maybe it was because of how long you liked each other without acting on it. 

It wasn’t something you cared to know the answer of.

There was also one more thing.

You couldn’t tell if you cared or not anymore, but the back of your mind screamed you would still not be able to sleep, too happy to. All because of this dumb hoe, Bakugo Katsuki. It was fine, because now he was your dumb hoe.

~ extra ~

“Sleep deprived as always, eh, Y/n?” Kirishima nudged your elbow, both in a friendly way and to keep you awake.

“Watch your back, Kiri, if you want to keep your knee caps...” you trailed off, glaring daggers into him.

“What?! Didn’t things go well?!” the redhead exclaimed, panicked.

“Yes. They did, but still. >:(”

~~~~

it’s currently 2:21 am for me rn lmao

[starlight-writes-stuff]

hello, can i do one of the song request things you wrote about a bit ago? she/her pronouns, with dream, and based on the song 'daisies' by ryan caraveo? also, if you're doing an anon list, can i be 🧿 anon?

welcome 🧿 anon ! i just have to say ,,,,,, this song is immaculate ?? so good ?? will be added to my playlist ?? the concept of this song works perfectly for a fic - i love it so much . thank u for requesting and i really hope u enjoy ((((:

daisies - ryan caraveo

AYO LOOK AT THESE : 2.3k wc , so much fluff ur gonna puke , but nothing other than that . reblogs are always appreciated ! <3

xoxoxo , starlight 

☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁  ☁

she earned her grades and i finessed mine

but not so obvious, a c minus is just fine //

she planned for college, i schemed and plotted

---

her friends are pretty, my friends are goonies

but maybe it could all work out like in the movies

---

she like daisies, i'm like gloom

without my rain, she couldn't bloom

she need me, i need her, too

                                                     ☁ ☁ ☁

you and clay (or dream, really. everyone in his life called him that except for you; it was a nickname he couldn't seem to rid himself of) couldn’t have been more different- and yet, the sandy blonde boy had managed to work his way into your head and wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon. every time he touched you, whether it was accidental or on purpose, you felt your entire body go up in hot, white flames. your nervous system seemed to light up around him; even the sound of his voice made your heart skip and stutter. when you thought about him, the world didn’t seem so dark anymore. 

when you moved to florida at the beginning of the semester, you’d made yourself a promise: no boys. no hookups, no flings, no situationships. you’d been hurt too many times, and you weren’t in the market to put yourself back out there. and then you met clay.

the two of you were dead opposites. he lovingly described himself as a stereotypical ‘teenage dirtbag’: a lowlife kid who’d struggled through school and had a shitty home life, but has somehow made it into college. he cheated on all his tests and didn’t do assignments; he’d rather skate all his problems away, surrounded by the pack of slobbering boys he called his friends. his idea of a good time was running from the cops. clay was everything that you weren't- carefree, blissfully clueless, and entirely too calm for his own good. 

your whole life you’d been the ‘good girl’: straight laced and perfectly dressed, an academic superstar and all around teachers pet. you came from a happy middle-class home, and your parents kept up with you in a family groupchat. you’d done just the right amount of  extracurriculars to rise above everyone else in your class, but not enough to make you look pretentious, and spent most of your time volunteering. on the off chance that you had an ounce of spare time, you wouldn’t be caught dead at a house party; no, no, you were practicing piano. 

your friendship made no sense, and yet, here you were.

being clay’s friend meant you were never bored. even while he was living through hell at home, he was funny and sweet and brave. he was the first to get you two into trouble and the one to talk you out of it. he was spontaneous and alive and had a good taste in music. once you started to notice the light he got in his eyes as he flew down hills on his skateboard, the way he laughed so hard his voice would dissolve into silence, or the way he would suck on his straw after getting slurpees, you couldn’t stop. then you started to notice every perfect thing about him and it only made it hurt that much worse when he would cry. you started doing anything and everything you could to protect that light in his eyes, to make sure no more tears would ever fall from them.

but you didn’t want to be clay’s friend anymore- you wanted him, in every sense of the word. you wanted all his time and attention and love and affection. you wanted to be that one that made him smile that stupid, crooked smile of his, and make him laugh until he couldn’t breathe. you wanted clay to look at you the way he looked at life- like a challenge, a puzzle that he wouldn’t stop messing with until it was solved. you wanted to call the lanky, troublemaking boy yours, to take him somewhere where he would never hurt again and love him until he wasn’t broken anymore. against all odds you had fallen for clay, hard, and you didn’t know how you were supposed to get up.

little did you know, clay was feeling the same way. 

                                                     ☁ ☁ ☁

it wasn’t odd for clay to just show up at your dorm. it was pretty common, really. he seemed to pop in more and more these days, sometimes with friends, sometimes without. you’d more or less been adopted by the group of boys; as far as you’d been told, they had all been friends since childhood. growing up together, the clan had earned the name ‘feral boys’- one that you didn’t want to know the backstory behind. as far as you knew, they were all loud and slightly aggressive but overall sweethearts, and they’d taken you under their wing once it had become painfully obvious that you had no other friends. again, it was an odd pairing; clay, george, alex, nick, karl and… you. but it worked, to say the least.

clay didn’t have any of the other guys with him this time, barging into your room unannounced. you’d been trying to get him to knock for forever, but none of your protests had stuck. 

“clay!” you exclaimed, throwing a pillow at him. you were sitting in your bed, typing away at a psych paper that had been plaguing you for days. “what if i had been naked?”

he fell onto your bed, shutting your laptop with one of his long arms. “then it would be my lucky day.”

scoffing, you rolled your eyes at him while you prayed that your flushed face wouldn’t betray you. his answer made blood swoosh in your temples, your heart skipping a beat before lapsing into an upbeat sort of rhythm. “yeah, sure- good to see you too. what do you need?”

the blonde boy grinned up at you. “since when do i need a reason to stop by? you like my company,” he boasted. clay wasn’t wrong; you loved every moment that he was around, even the most mundane ones. something about him made you feel more alive.

“are you working on something important?” he asked, his voice taking on an unusual sort of tone.

you lifted a brow at him- clay’s voice very rarely changed from his confident, over easy tone, so when he did, you were going to call him out. “no,” you mused, drawing the vowel out. “why? you seem weird.”

clay’s face morphed and fluctuated before he pulled a tight smile. “you really don't miss anything, do you?”

“nope,” you said brightly, transferring your laptop to the nightstand by your bed. clay was jumpier than usual, shifting his weight and repositioning himself three times before finally sitting up, leaning against your wall. he bumped his knee against yours and the slight, innocent touch sent butterflies out of your stomach, soaring into your chest.  

“clay, what’s wrong?” you asked, your voice taking on an embarrassingly gentle tone. you realized that he could be having issues at home again and your heart sank- that would explain his odd demeanor. your chest flooded with affection for the boy, your heart achingly soft as you grabbed one of his hands. clay quickly turned your palm over in his, playing with your fingers as he spoke.

“i want to talk to you about something.”

you froze for half a second, swallowing hard. your throat was dry as you opened your mouth to speak again.

“okay. what’s going on?”

biting at his bottom lip, clay’s face flushed with blood. his cheeks took on a rosy sort of pink tone, and he pulled his eyes from yours as he let out a long exhale. he allowed his gaze to settle on the ceiling, tracing the pattern of the old popcorn ceiling with his pupils. 

                                                     ☁ ☁ ☁

you secretly loved moments like this- moments where clay was too preoccupied within his own head to realize that you were staring, studying his face. he was the kind of boy you could only describe as pretty, all high cheekbones and bright eyes framed by long, golden-brown lashes. you stayed like this for a moment longer, drinking him in; you’d be thinking of him like this for weeks. every time you got a chance to look at him like this, you added another mental painting of him to your art gallery. in some paintings, he was surrounded by soft orange light, usually sitting on a curb or the lip of a halfpipe. in others, clay was painted on soft blue tones, shadows reinforcing the hollows of his face. 

there was one common thread in all the mental works of him, though: he was never looking back at you. in your mind, clay would only ever see you as a friend- the slightly odd girl that had fallen in with him and his groupies. you truly believed that he only perceived you in small quantities- only ever seeing you when you made a rather good joke or fed him something. the rest of the time- the majority of the time you two spent together- you thought clay seemed so enamored by his own mind, or that he was was too busy doing something else to pay you any attention.

                                                     ☁ ☁ ☁

clay pulled his mouth to one side, face scrunching up before he dropped your hand, letting it fall on the bed.

“i’ve been thinking about a lot of stuff lately.”

you blinked, then looked back at clay, unsure of what this meant. his whole body seemed to stiffen as you looked over him- he seemed uncomfortable, which never happened. you dropped your gaze to your duvet and busied yourself with tracing over the floral pattern, your mind seemingly exploding with thousands of thoughts per second. you, for the first time in your life, felt strained around clay, and it scared you more than you’d like to quantify.

“oh. what kind of stuff? do you want to… talk about it?”

“yeah. no. not really, but i’m going to make myself do it. this thing- the thing i've been thinking about- if i don't get it out,” he said, stressing the words as if they had some sort of deeper, more intense meaning, “will just… consume me. you know?”

you did, but you weren’t sure if it was in the same way that clay was meaning. “sort of.” clay groaned and tangled his hands in his hair, tugging at the roots before letting his head fall into his palms. he made another frustrated noise then pushed himself up and off of your bed, beginning to pace.

something was glaringly wrong; clay only paced when he couldn’t release in any other way. even so, his pacing was more aggressive than usual, more stomping than stepping. clay was quickly working himself into a hole, and you were watching him spiral. you knew that he would only rile himself up more, past the point of stopping himself now. 

pushing yourself to standing, you grabbed one of clay’s wrists- his skin was hot to the touch and you could feel his heartbeat, strong and erratic, thumping under his skin. 

“clay-” 

his lips were on yours, hot and rough and needy and the slighted bit desperate as he knotted a hand in your hair, the other cupping your jaw. you froze for half a second, shock flooding your system, before kissing clay back even harder. you were entirely overwhelmed and you could feel the sharp spurs of desire cutting through your blood, replacing it with the yearning you’d been suppressing for months. his tongue tangled with yours, quenching the thirst that you’d only been adding to with an ease, and a small whimper escaped your throat. 

clay seemed to realize how hot and heavy things had become in a matter of seconds and pulled away, running a thumb over your lips as he leaned his forehead against yours.

“oh?” he asked, his usual cockiness returning with a force. you weren’t able to form words- much less piece together a whole sentence- so you settled for pressing another kiss to his lips, answering him in the only way you knew how

                                                     ☁ ☁ ☁

the two of you stayed like that for a while, communicating through rough, sugary sweet kisses, hands on hips and chests and necks. after you’d kissed until your lips were sore and you were both out of breath, clay had given you a concerned sort of look.

“was that too much- or too one sided?”

“what? no!”

clay had laughed at the way you’d defended yourself, peppering your face with tender pecks. “so you really do like me, huh?”

“i do. i really do, dream,” you stressed, pressing a kiss to the boys scruffy jaw.

“ew,” he groaned, hitting you with the pillow you’d thrown at him earlier that afternoon. “don’t call me that.”

“why not?”

clay had readjusted, wrapping an arm low around your waist and pulling you to his chest, looking you dead in the eyes. “you’re the only person in my life that calls me clay, you know that? and for some reason, it fits. you and me just… fit. we work. we’re so different that we fit together like a complicated sort of puzzle piece.”

your heart swelled and you looked over clay with pure adoration. “we do seem to work well together.”

“ever since you came into my life, it’s like, i can't function without you. like you’re- you complete me, in a way?”

emotion seemed to drown you, and you pressed another kiss to his lips. “the yin to your yang,” you murmured against his neck, burying  your face in his shirt. 

“i will break up with you if you say that again,” he said, laughing, but you knew it wasn’t true: your story was just beginning.

[rena-rain]

Miraculous Holders’ Costumes - RANKED

#1 - Dragon Bug

Dragon Bug’s design is the freaking epitome of asymetrical balance. Everything about this suit is both smooth and sharp. The curving stripes and spots give the impression of fire licking up her body, same with the flame-shaped horns in her hair. You can hardly go wrong with black, red, and gold. The upward-pointing hair accessories reflect her downward-pointing pigtails, adding more subtle balance, and I love the details on her mask.

#2 - Rena Rouge

This design really suits Alya. The shape of the white front is both slimming and compliments her curves, and the black accents at her extremities are an excellent counterbalance to the white and orange. Also something about the coattails just completes Rena Rouge’s look! It’s the right shape too, because fox tails are on the bushier side, unlike cats and mice.

#3 - Chat Noir

Chat Noir’s costume can be described as “black cat meets knight in shining armor but modern.” Let’s go from the head down. The change in hairstyle balances out his cat ears. His blond hair, green eyes, and gold bell are beautiful contrasts to the black suit, which has a subtle texture to the fabric. There are visible seams over his shoulders, arms, and torso that add visual interest to the design and makes his suit resemble armor - even more so with his boots and gauntlets. Those details are fantastic because black is extremely slimming and they give some emphasis to his shape. Between the ears, eyes, bell, claws, and tail, you could never mistake his aesthetic as anything but catlike.

#4 - Hawk Moth

Do not tell me Hawk Moth’s costume isn’t sleek as hell. The monochrome works for him, the suit pairs well with his weapon being a staff, the overhead silver helmet-mask gives him a great villainous feel, and every pointy detail gives a sense of evil butterflies. I love that his miraculous is the focal point of his outfit, the light color contrast really draws the eye.

#5 - Snake Noir

They definitely combined the best elements of the Chat costume and Aspik costume for Snake Noir. In a word, you can describe his design as “lithe.” The cyan pairs well with the green, especially because there’s a Chat Noir-green diamond on his chest. The snake elements are a bit subtler, with his head smooth, the design tapering down his body, the fangs on his mask, the scale texture on his suit and the lines running down his arms. It’s cohesive, elegant, and stark.

#6 - Bunnix

I think Bunnix is meant to resemble a snowshoe hare. They didn’t give her a tail, but I think that’s what the little rounded ball accents are supposed to represent. The markings are bold and evenly distributed, making her look balanced and symmetrical. She actually has a vague vintage feel to her design: the white torso is reminiscent of a corset, which goes with the gloves, boots, and umbrella/parasol. Like Chat Noir, Alix’s hair makes a great contrast with the light blue and white. Also POCKETS.

#7 - Carapace

I love how much Carapce emulates a turtle. His hood and cowl are shaped like a turtle beak and also hide his face, serving both to protect his identity and give the impression he can physically retreat into his costume. His shield looks like a shell, the designs on his hood look like common markings on turtles’ heads, and he has a tortoiseshell pattern on his chest and shield. Like Chat Noir, the lines of his suit give his arms and legs visual interest.

#8 - Queen Bee

As much as I personally dislike the color yellow, Queen Bee’s costume has a straightforward elegance about it. Obviously the black and yellow stripes resemble a bumble bee but they’re also good for Chloe’s slender body type.. The black “neckline” and “gloves” are regal in flavor, suiting her moniker. You get a distinct bee impression from the sharpness of her stripes (a reminder of her stinging power), the black swirl around her hair, and the antennae-like hair ribbon.

#9 - Multimouse

Multimouse is another example of a well-balanced and symmetrical design. It uses the reliable faux gloves and boots design with colors that go well together. Her buns and jump rope look like mouse ears and a tail. I have a suspicion the animators came up with it to easily combine with other miraculous powers, mainly by changing the color of the pink stripes post-unification. Overall, this costume is very cute. I won’t go over every permutation of the multimice combos since very little changes other than color.

#10 - Lady Noire

Overall, Lady Noire’s suit is minimalist and elegant in a sharp, modern kind of way. Black is naturally slimming, and Marinette is already very slim, so the horizontal green accents help emphasize her curves. I don’t love the green lining of her ears, but I suppose that keeps the design consistent. I’m absolutely in love with Lady Noire’s braid (and I’d be remiss not to take the chance to point out this is the only time we see her hair properly black instead of blue). Her suit has a completely smooth texture, unlike both her Ladybug suit and Chat Noir’s, which I found odd and does’t do her petite frame any favors.

#11 - Mr. Bug

I’m glad they gave Mr. Bug black panels on his sides. The full-cover spots of Ladybug is fine for Marinette, but Adrien has a bigger frame and it would just look ostentatious on him. This design emphasizes his shoulders and slims him down a bit. He actually looks like a football player (American football, don’t @ me about this). He ranks just below Lady Noire because of the hair.

#12 - Aspik

OMG what a cutie pie. I can’t not say it - he looks like he’s wearing a corset in the left pic. Not a good or bad thing, I’m just saying. Look at this cutie pie! Aspik actually looks more snake-like than Viperion, imo: the design is sleeker and he’s got the diamonds over his head, that’s a nice touch. The snake scale pattern is a great detail. I had to step outside my own bias with this one because snakes really freak me out and so does Adrien without hair.

#13 - Jade Turtle

He’s less turtle-y than Carapace, but I was pretty happy with the Jade Turtle costume. The Asian style obviously suits him, and it makes sense because he was originally from China, while many of the others would be more used to Western clothing at a young age. Fu has a tortoise-shell pattern on his hat and shoulder guards and his shoes look like turtle feet. However, His chest plate deviates from the turtle theme

#14 - Viperion

My favorite parts of Viperion’s costume are his mask with the little snake fangs and the scale texture of the suit.As I mentioned above, it’s less snakey than Aspik’s. The lines suit his shape pretty well, but don’t taper down his body in the way a snake slims from chest to tail. I just feel like something’s missing from the outfit as a whole.

#15 - Ladybug

There’s just...nothing all that special about Ladybug’s costume. The red and black do suit Marinette’s pink coloring and dark hair, and contrast with her blue eyes. The bright color and pattern emphasize Marinette’s curves pretty well and make her look a little bigger than her slim stature. All that said, the suit is both busy and plain somehow.

16 - Pegasus

While I do love the hair, something about Pegasus’ costume is both too subtle and too over-the-top somehow at the same time. He has a lot of bells and whistles, though I suppose it’s supposed to look similar to horse tack. The winged shoes seem completely out of place. It’s not that I think he looks bad, but he doesn’t look particularly cool either.

#17 - Mayura

The one sin of Mayura’s outfit is the giant slit up the skirt, but kwamis is it a sin. The colors all go together and the headpiece matches the hem, and it has a distinct cold-weather theme going on with the boots, fur collar and cuffs, and full coverage design. That gets negated by the slit, which exposes nearly all of her legs, something that works far better for a summer evening dress.

#18 - King Monkey/Roi Singe

I’ve tried to figure out what it is about King Monkey’s costume that looks less than optimal, and I’m pretty sure it’s that it isn’t balanced well. He has large gloves, and elaborate crown and hairstyle, a thick collar, and a thick belt high up his waist. It makes him look kind of top-heavy. Similar to Pegasus, but to a greater extent, he’s washed out by the excess of neutral colors that the red doesn’t counteract very much.

#19 - Ryuko

I expected the dragon outfit to be more exciting. Other than the tail design (and the horns???), there’s just nothing dragon-esque about this. Come on, Chat Noir got ears, claws, and a tail; Viperion and Snake Noir got little scale motifs all over and fangs on their masks; Multimouse got bun ears and a tail; Carapace got a shell and a beak; Rena Rouge also got ears and a tail on top of a design reminiscent of a fox’s fur markings. Imagine the awesome tail and claws and fire motifs we were deprived of with the dragon. The best parts of Ryuko’s design is the embellished mask, her reptile eyes, and the red/black/gold color scheme, which are pretty cool.