#I’m picturing Rex asking Fox about his boyfriends

[workingchemistry]

Echo curls up in the window seat of the apartment Fox has somehow acquired for them. It’s laden with the ugliest throw pillows known to Coruscant and a few other worlds. It doesn’t matter, each one was carefully chosen by their commander and that makes them the best pillows Echo has ever seen. He’s got a real flimsy book held up with one hand but he hasn’t looked down at the pages since Fox’s arrival.

Fives sidles up to Fox with a happy hum before he takes over unbuckling armor. “Well aren’t you a pretty sight?”

Fox doesn’t rise to the bait or try to slap Five’s hands away. Visible emotions aren’t really their partner’s thing but something flickers across his expression. He looks between Fives and then Echo before looking back at Fives. “Are we dating?”

Of all the questions…

Fives’s immediate reassurance breaks off as he doubles over with the force of his coughing.

That leaves Echo to take over. He half stands before he realizes that maybe Fox wants the space—that their commander wasn’t on the same page after all. Instead he stays put and makes sure he catches Fox’s gaze. “We were under that impression, yes, but if it’s not what you want then nothing needs to change.”

“Oh.” Fox says.

He doesn’t jump to reassure them that he wants them in return but that’s alright. Any immediate answer Fox could give wouldn’t be true. It’s honestly a point of pride that Fox trusts them enough to tell the truth.

Meanwhile, Fives stops dramatically choking on his own spit long enough to go back to helping with Fox’s armor. He isn’t immediately pushed away, so that’s also a good sign.

Echo watches from his window seat and hopes.

There’s not much physical difference between Fox’s blacks and their own, but it still soothes a possessive nerve to see Fox replace his dirty blacks with Echo’s. It’s his favorite set, the one with a little tear down the side mended with a decorative stitch in blue.

Fives scoops up the dirty blacks and scuffed armor to do maintenance on in the other room, shooting Echo a sharp look as he does. That is where he deviates from routine, pausing this time before he kisses Fox’s cheek to give their commander time to pull away.

Fox does no such thing. He leans into the touch, tipping his forehead to rest against Five’s. Then he’s pulling away to drop onto the seat next to Echo. “So if you thought we were dating, I’m guessing you’ve already filed the paperwork?”

That draws Echo up short. Sure he doesn’t abide by the regs as strictly as he used to, but surely he would have known if there was paperwork. “For dating?”

“Mm.” Fox isn’t looking at Echo. “We’re in different battalions. I’m head over the military police force. That’s more than enough to be a conflict of interest.”

“Fuck. We can get it done tonight if you…” Echo breaks off when he catches a telltale amused twitch of Fox’s nose. He shoves their commander with a bright laugh. “You bastard! Who taught you a sense of humor?”

Fox’s lips tip up ever so slightly at the corners in the closest he ever comes to a genuine smile. “I found these parasites in the drunk tank. I think their bad habits are starting to rub off on me.”

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Rocketear

The Rocketeer is a 1991 Disney movie set in 1930's America where a test pilot gets a jetpack and uses it to fight Nazis and— Wait, what? “Rocketear”? Oh, damn it!

Let's get into the eleventh (chronologically the seventeenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Rocketear.

We start off with Carapace and Cat Noir struggling to hold back some T-Rexes brought back to life by a scientist Jurassic Park style. Seriously, they reference the movie in the same scene.

Why wasn't this the plot of the episode again?

After managing to tame the dinosaurs with a whistle of all things, Ladybug notices something's wrong with Nino after he gives the Turtle Miraculous back to her. Apparently, he's wondering why Rena Rouge (who he knows is Alya) wasn't recruited with him today. Ladybug tells him that he was the only help she needed today. In reality, it's because Alya has adjusted to her new role of supporting Ladybug behind the scenes in her new form, Rena Furtive.

And I'm not a fan of the new form. I get the camo, but it doesn't really help her blend in when her suit is bright blue. I think it's based off the arctic fox, but that animal is able to camouflage itself because it's fur matches the snowy environment. I'm sure a bright blue jumpsuit won't stand out when she tries to blend in at all. Also, the fact that Alya can just change her hero form gives even less excuses as to why Ladybug's new form is only when she uses her Lucky Charm.

Alya is struggling to keep this a secret from Nino because they don't have a lot of secrets in their relationship. Marinette says she can kind of get it because she had to keep her identity a secret from her friend and has to keep keeping her identity a secret from everyone else. Basically, she's telling Alya to suck it up because this is what being a superhero is.

So the next time she sees Nino, Alya tells him she's no longer Rena Rouge, but not about Rena Furtive, which troubles her. The very next scene shows Alya showing Marinette pictures she took of her new costume and asking her which version looks better.

You could always try reviewing Akuma fights. I heard there's one blog that does it when they're not criticizing the famous director Thomas Astruc on social media.

Yeah, in case you can't tell, Alya was only able to rent her brain for a few episodes because she really doesn't seem as understanding about being a superhero as she was in earlier episodes. In episodes like “Optigami” and “Sentibubbler”, we saw Alya use more strategy and show discretion as Rena Rouge, seemingly taking her job more seriously, but then this episode just had to go and piss it all away. I also love how the first time the animators made Alya's skin the same when she's transformed is in a single frame for a joke.

Alya thankfully deletes the picture, but Nino overhears her talking about struggling to find more content for the Ladyblog, and decides to go to the movies with her to help take her mind off things. Nino, in turn, proceeds to give the same reaction to the in-universe Ladybug movie that Astruc gives to the PV.

Apparently, that movie's already getting a sequel and it has a teaser. So was the sequel animated at the same time as the original like Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III?

Nino gets pissed the next movie in the Ladybug Cinematic Universe will feature Rena Rouge and not Carapace... even though Rena Rouge debuted first. The teaser then shows Rena Rouge falling for Cat Noir (yet another creative liberty taken by the writers or something Astruc's self-insert threw in himself), and takes it like it's the real thing. Dude, the first movie said Ladybug was afraid of cats, and the director yelled at the person it was based on for judging it. He clearly has a hard time distinguishing fiction from reality.

Alya leaves Nino early so she can go on patrol, but Nino sees Cat Noir heading out as well. He then watches a video on the Ladyblog where Alya praises Cat Noir which is totally not Astruc projecting or anything.

I don't know what your definition of a prince is, Alya, and I honestly don't want to know.

So Nino takes this as evidence that Alya is in love with Cat Noir and decides to tell Adrien, who naturally laughs him off. And just before you think we have an episode where Adrien plays the straight man, Adrien decides to visit Alya because he's afraid he accidentally charmed Alya.

Yes, because Cat Noir is so charming, girls are just fighting over him, aren't they?

We then cut to a black and white film noir monologue by Nino (dressed like a detective with a fake mustache), who decides to spy on Alya. When Cat Noir asks Alya if she is attracted to him, she naturally laughs him off, though Cat Noir is thankfully a good sport about it, even giving her a hug to apologize. Unfortunately, Nino took this the wrong way.

The next day at school, Nino takes Adrien into his “office” (it's really an excuse to reuse the boiler room setpiece), and shows him the picture of the hug. Adrien says that Alya would never fall for Cat Noir because she's always dedicated to finding out the truth and telling her boyfriend everything. What's Nino's retort?

Okay, several problems with this bit. First of all, why would Nino even tell Adrien any of this? What would it accomplish? Why not say all this to Alya while confronting her about her alleged unfaithfulness? Second, Ladybug didn't give Nino and Alya their Miraculous at the same time until it was an absolute emergency. She outright said in “Hero's Day” that she didn't have time to recruit Nino and Alya separately.

Ladybug: I'm sorry for what I'm about to do. I know I'm revealing your secret identities but I don't have time to find a good excuse to give them to you separately. Rena Rouge and Carapace, I need you both!

Nino and Alya kept their identities secret from each other until then, with Alya even keeping the fact she knew who Carapace was a secret as well. Nino didn't find out because “they don't hide anything from each other” (which I plan to talk about later).

Other than that, I actually liked Adrien in this scene. It was really investing to see him try to justify the whole secret identities rule while Nino blatantly said there was an exception. This is the kind of stuff I wanted to see when it came to Adrien doubting Ladybug, not him destroying things in his anger.

While Nino rants about how Cat Noir “stole” Alya from him, Shadowmoth sends an Akuma his way, turning him into Rocketear.

And the design he has is just boring. It's just a blue jumpsuit with some black spots that look like teardrops, a teardrop-shaped head and a visor. I think the reason this season's been relying more on past Akumas and using more Sentimonsters is because DQ is terrible at character designs. I mean, compare this suit with Aigraon from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger (his Power Rangers counterpart is Wrench from Dino Charge).

The design does so much more with the teardrop motif, giving him a perpetually miserable face with tear lines going all over his body. Add that to a more diverse color scheme, and you have a much more visually stunning design. And this was created in real life, not rendered on a computer. I'm not sure if this is a budget thing or a laziness thing, but if it's the former, you really need to do better, animators.

The powers are meh, giving Nino the ability to fling explosive tears at enemies. It's a clever idea, and it makes sense he gets a power that parallels Cat Noir's, but I think maybe it would have been more interesting if he couldn't control the tears at all. Like, imagine if he was constantly crying like Blue Diamond, and with every tear he shed, Rocketeer could send it at whoever he felt was causing him misery, mainly Cat Noir, all while serving as a metaphor for people who blame others for their own personal issues. Better yet, make him look like the detective outfit Nino wore for the second act. It would have made him more unpredictable instead of making his tears generic projectile weapons.

Marinette and Alya see the fight and transform into Ladybug and Rena Furtive respectively, the former summoning her Lucky Charm, a projector. Is it just me, or has this been happening with Ladybug a lot recently?

Back to Rocketear, we get a good moment where Cat Noir intentionally lets the Akuma hit him so he can get a chance to resolve things diplomatically. See, this is a moment where Cat Noir's self-sacrificing nature feels heroic and not selfish like when he does it without Ladybug's permission to spite her. Unfortunately, it doesn't really go anywhere as Ladybug shows up and plays the recording Nino took (Alya found his phone earlier), while Rena Furtive uses her Mirage to give the audio to what actually happened that night.

Rena transforms back into Alya and embraces Rocketear, who apologizes to her for his behavior. And then he just... rejects Shadowmoth's power while looking like it wasn't that much effort.

At least when Chloe and Alya did it, we saw them struggling for a little longer. I guess maybe it's because Nino is motivated by his love for Alya, but I think it should have been fleshed out more. So Ladybug purifies the Akuma, gives Nino a Magical Charm, and Cat Noir is still unsure about his feelings for Ladybug at the moment, though they still pound it.

Back in his room, Adrien ponders why Alya and Nino get to know their identities while he and Ladybug can't, but Plagg points out it's because she's the Guardian. It's brief, but I do like seeing Adrien start to doubt Ladybug's judgment, and it looks like it'll foreshadow future episodes. This is a problem I've had since “Hero's Day”, and I'm glad the writers are finally acknowledging this double standard. I just hope they don't end up blaming Marinette for whatever happens later on.

Marinette, of course, apologizes for what happened between Alya and Nino, and I have to say... yeah, no. It's obviously Nino's fault here.

Nino really pushed personal boundaries in this episode, much like Marinette's friends in “Gang of Secrets”. Yes, honesty is a valuable trait, but sometimes, people have secrets they want to keep to themselves. Nino's idea of “not hiding anything from each other” is somewhat controlling, like he's demanding Alya tell him everything whether she wants to or not. The fact that he immediately assumed Alya was cheating on him without giving her freedom to make her own choices doesn't make him look good. Let's be honest, a more realistic outcome would be Alya choosing to break things off with Nino or at least lecture him about how she can do what she wants and keep the secrets she wants. But instead...

And that's how the episode ends.

Okay, Marinette just said she trusted Alya to make the right decision, but I highly doubt she meant this. Marinette strictly said Alya had to keep Rena Furtive a secret, and now she's telling Nino this despite the risk? The whole reason Marinette and Luka broke up was because Marinette had to keep her secrets from Luka, but now it's okay for Alya to be completely honest? How is this not a double standard?

This episode was just dull, and there’s not even much I can really say about it.. There were a handful of standout moments, and the stuff with Adrien was somewhat compelling, but Nino's behavior was just insufferable and dragged the episode down. The Akuma fight was weak, only lasting about four minutes at most, and while the Lucky Charm was more creative this time, the plot was just frustrating. It's really one of the weaker episodes this season.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to watch the better Rocketeer.

[ct7567329]

Thank You: Fives x Reader

Kinda Sad, sorry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

"And that is why I would never, EVER, threaten to steal Rex's hair dye again!" Jesse laughed. You and Kix did the same. The 501st was on Coruscant so you decided to spend the day at 79's, or the clone bar as some call it, with your friends Kix and Jesse. Just because you were their general, it didn't mean you couldn't be their friends. You wanted to spend the day with your boyfriend Fives, but apparently he was going to have a secret talk with the chancellor. Jesse and Kix were hysterical, but your laughs didn't laugh long though. Suddenly, a screen in the bar lit up with a picture of Fives.

"Guys look!" you gasped.

The screen read: Wanted: Treason to the Republic, Assassination attempt of the Chancellor.

"That can't be right!" Kix muttered as you and Jesse shook your heads. You tried to call him on his comlink, but the call never went through. Worry began to take over your body. Kix got up to go to the bathroom while Jesse was trying to make you comfortable.

"Look's like the 501st made its way to Coruscant," Fives mumbled, causing Kix to turn around.

"Fives! What are you doing here?!" Kix whispered with spite, "I heard you tried to assassinate the chancellor!"

"It's not what you think! Where's (Y/N)? I need (Y/N)!" Fives panicked.

"She's here right now, I can get -" Kix was cut off by Fives.

"No, no, I need her to meet me at these coordinates! Please tell her to hurry. Tell Rex and General Skywalker to come to those coordinates too. But give them to (Y/N) first. Please," Fives pleaded. "I must be going now!"

Kix stood in the bathroom for a minute, speechless. Finally, he decided to come out of the bathroom to speak to you and Jesse.

"He was here! I can sense it! I know it!" you were almost screaming as Jesse was holding you, trying to relax you.

"(Y/N), Fives has given me coordinates, he wants to see you. He begged to see you. You must go here," Kix informed you.

Instantly, you jumped out of Jesse's grasp and ran out of the bar.

"Poor girl," Kix sighed, taking a sip of his drink.

Outside the bar, you hopped onto the closest speeder and sped off into the depths of Coruscant. "It's impossible. Fives wouldn't try to kill the chancellor. He's probably so scared. Something isn't right," you kept thinking. Before long, you were finally at the coordinates Fives gave to Kix. It was a warehouse. You slowly walk in.

"Fives? Fives, it's me. I'm here. Fives?" you were getting no response. Your insides started to shake, you feared for Fives' life.

"(Y/N)?" Fives called. The fear in his voice gave you chills.

"Yes Fives, I'm here!" you called back, finally seeing him behind some boxes. You run up to him and jump into his arms. He embraces you as tight as he can, tears running down his face. "Fives, what happened?!"

He tries to make out words between sobs. "(Y/N). As crazy as this seems you must believe me, you have to. Please. I would never lie to you!"

"I believe you Fives, please talk to me," you say with compassion in your tone, rubbing his head, which was pressed against your chest.

"The chancellor. He's the Sith Lord, (Y/N)! He told me all of the clones have a chip in their heads. All he has to do is give us a command and all the clone will turn against the Jedi and kill all of them! It's the ultimate plan against the Republic. (Y/N), his order would make every clone want to kill the Jedi, even you!" Fives cried, "You have to make sure every clone has their chip removed!"

"Fives," you cried along with him, "Fives, who told you this."

"The chancellor himself!" Fives was shaking at this point.

"Fives, don't worry. I've got you. We will get through this," you insure him, continuing to rub his head.

"Fives? It's Anakin and Rex. We're here to talk to you," you both heard Anakin say.

You let go of Fives and go to meet Anakin. Before you do though, Fives tells you no to tell Anakin anything. You promise not to. You walk to Anakin.

"Anakin?" you call out.

"(Y/N). What are you doing here?" Anakin asked, seeming defensive.

"I was given the coordinate from Kix. I'm here to talk to Fives. I was looking around for him."

"We need to find him," Anakin started to say, "Fives, Fives! We're here to talk to you! We won't hurt you. It's just me, Rex and (Y/N)."

"Uh, put down your weapons!" Fives yells.

"I don't think so Fives," Anakin replied with some sass.

"Please General!" Fives cries out.

"Okay Fives," Anakin groans, putting his lightsaber down as Rex puts his blasters down. You also put your lightsaber down as well. "We all put our weapons down Fives," Anakin sighs.

Suddenly, a ray shield comes down around you, Rex and Anakin.

"Fives!" Rex yells.

Fives jumps out from behind the boxes. "I'm sorry, I just need to talk to you guys."

"Well we don't have a choice now, do we?" Anakin sarcastically adds.

"There's a sinister plot, in the works, against the Jedi! I have proof of it! I can prove that everything I know is true beyond a shadow of a doubt!" Fives started to yell.

"Show me the evidence!" Anakin commanded.

"The evidence, is, in here. It's in here!" Fives hardly got out, pointing to his head, "It's in all of us, every clone!"

"What is it?" Rex growled under his breath.

"Organic chips built into our genetic code, to make us do whatever someone wants, even kill the Jedi. It's all in here!" Fives kept pointing to his head.

You exchanged a distressed look with Rex.

"Let's just get you some help first the we can review everything. You'll be okay Fives, we'll sort this out," Anakin reasoned with Fives. Watching the pain in Fives tortured your heart.

"You don't believe me!" Fives yelled. You looked at Fives with fear in your eyes.

"I believe you Fives," you told him, trying to put compassion in your tone.

"Fives, we are listening to you. We only want to help," Rex told Fives, trying to calm him down.

"How do I know you're not tricking me? How do I know it won't be a trap? The chancellor will try to kill me! I promise you that!" Fives yelled at Rex. You tried to calm Fives with your eyes, but he wouldn't look at you.

"The chancellor?" Anakin questioned.

At this point, little did you know, a squadron of clones, assigned to arrest Fives were approaching the warehouse.

"He's in on it! I don't know to what extent, but I know but I now he orchestrated much of this. He told me in the medical bay," Fives tried to explain.

"He told you, when you tried to assassinate him?! You have gone too far Fives! The chancellor is incapable of what you claim!" Anakin yelled at Fives. You put your hand on Anakin's shoulder to try to calm him down, but it was no use. Anakin, pushed your hand off him.

"He is! I swear to you general! You have no idea!" Fives started to say, but he was interrupted, but a squadron of clones.

"Stand down trooper! Stand down! Down on your knees!" Fox screamed, rushing into the warehouse.

"No! NO! Stay back!" Fives yelled back, eyeing Rex's pistols resting on a box.

"Fives don't do it!" You begged, screaming at him.

"Get away from me!" Fives growled as loud as he could, grabbing Rex's pistol.

"Fives, no!" Rex yelled as you remembered you always kept a blaster on your belt. You instantly grabbed it and shot the ray shield that had you, Anakin and Rex held in. As soon as the shield fell, Fox took a shot a Fives, but you shoved Fives out of the way, taking the blast right into your side.

Fives dropped Rex's blaster and rushed to your side, you were still standing up, but gasping for air.

"(Y/N)!" Anakin yelled, helping Fives keep you up, but you fell to the ground anyway.

"Call a medic!" Rex commanded, "Get help!"

Fox quickly commed a medic to come, guilt flooding his mind. "General, I am so sorry," he started to say.

"Shut up!" Fives yelled at him. "(Y/N), my love, (Y/N)," Fives cried, stroking your face. Everyone in the room was taken back by Fives calling you "his love" but due to the circumstances, they didn't do much about it.

"Fives," you gasped.

"Yes?" Fives cried.

"You, you are the most driven guy I have ever met. You also also taught me what it mean to love and be loved. You changed my life Fives. I never said it enough, but I love you Fives. Thank you for being my lover for over a year now. You were the first thing on my mind when I woke up and last thing when I went to bed. You made me want to do better and Fives, I would do anything for you. My last wish is to have you not be wanted anymore. To have the Jedi talk to you, not kill you. Thank you Fives, thank you, I lov-" you faded out in his arms.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N) No! No! You killed her! You kriffing killed her!" Fives cried, putting your lifeless body close to his. "She was all I lived for!"

Anakin fell to the ground and stared at you, "She was going to be the most powerful Jedi Master, I knew it."

Rex put his head down, "I can't believe it."

"She's gone! I can't believe she's gone!" Fives began to choke, "I can't take it! I loved her. I loved her so much."