#Into The Unknown

[whispers-toarhapsody]

tag dump

[redbean-nom]

omega: i just found our way out >:) sami, jax, eva: :0 bayrn: bbbbbabababa buh :DDD

[exilepurify]

I see people everywhere all the time raving about how flawless and satisfying MP100’s ending episode is, and I agree. But sometimes it kinda takes me aback exactly how well-planned the entire story is, especially because it began as a webcomic.

The individual relationships Mob has with the “Big Three” (Reigen, Teru, Ritsu) each follow their respective themes from start to finish, with the application of each theme to the story changing as it progresses but the major idea remaining the same—until the final arc, which is broadly split into three episodes, each featuring the culmination of the respective relationship.

Teru’s theme is strength, Ritsu’s theme is communication, and Reigen’s is acceptance.

More under the cut bc this got a little long.

We find each of the Big Three struggling with these concepts throughout the series. Teru grapples with what it really means to be strong, Ritsu struggles to open up and communicate his feelings with his brother (garnering resentment), and Reigen refuses to accept the self he hates, opting instead to build his career and his relationships out of lies to hide this despised identity.

These are also, coincidentally, things Mob is struggling most with. Mob’s terrified of his strength, he’s unwilling to open up about his guilt and self-hatred, and he outright refuses to accept his powers and his repressed self on many occasions throughout the story.

But the finale is structured to not only perfectly demonstrate and polish off the ways in which the Big Three have overcome the struggles of their themes, but also how that growth powers their love for Mob, subsequently helping Mob achieve the same growth.

In S3E10, Teru finds true strength by enduring pain and humiliation in order to save people and forge connections with others. Not only does he rescue Shigeo’s victims, but it’s his love and strength that allows him to push through Shigeo’s powers at any cost to wake Mob up internally and begin the process of ending the disaster. It’s because of Teru that Mob wakes up and realizes what he’s done, in much the same way that Mob helped Teru realize what he’d done at Black Vinegar.

In S3E11, Ritsu manages to communicate his unfiltered feelings to Shigeo for the first time and ends the tentative, repressive resentment boiling between them (both Ritsu and Mob harboring resentment for “Shigeo” specifically). He talks about how he hates this destructive side of him and how scared he’s always been, but this honest communication is what allows Ritsu to see the situation clearly beyond the scope of his repressed resentment and accept Shigeo as a part of his brother that’s not to be feared. It also opens the door from Shigeo’s end, finally knowing how his brother feels and not having to tiptoe ineffectually around the issue. Ritsu’s open and honest communication allows Mob to locate where Shigeo is being held in his psyche, opening up a channel of communication between him and his repressed self. This communication is what allows Mob to be confronted with the truth of the disaster he’s created, and this ability to talk it out with himself is crucial to ending his suffering.

Finally, in S3E12, the finale, Reigen is confronted with the ways in which he’s inadvertently worsened Mob’s condition with his inability to be genuine and makes the decision to drop the smoke screen and come clean about everything. The fear and gravity of it brings him to tears, but he bares his true self to Mob, admitting the things he’s done wrong and confronting the side of himself that he hates. He has to come to terms with this aspect of himself, even if it hurts him, and even if it hurts Mob. Self-acceptance is, in this moment, non-negotiable. Seeing Reigen’s true self in its entirety for the first time leads Mob to realize that everyone has flaws and a darker side to them, and it doesn’t make you a bad person to mess up, but you have to embrace it all unconditionally and own up to it honestly and without hesitation. Reigen, and everyone else, saw this ugly and angry side of Mob and continued to love him unhesitatingly and unfalteringly. And so, Reigen’s acceptance inspires Mob to accept Shigeo, ending the disaster and finally making Shigeo whole and happy again, unfettered.

It’s honestly fucking masterful. It makes my chest tight. ONE is genuinely something else.

[starqueensthings]

We need to talk about Echo (and by talk I mean screm). S3 E13 + 14 Spoilers!

FRIENDS, I'M GOING TO EXPLODE. I need to talk about Echo for a minute. We need to talk about Echo for a minute,  because he has spent the last two episodes in the absolute thralls of complete and total danger, and I personally don't feel like there's been enough of a celebratory uproar for me to be satisfied with the level of appreciation and love that man deserves. (Remember when Hunter ran face first into a colossal exhaust pipe and we all collectively lost our minds because it was so impressive and so sexy? Remember when Tech drove a speeder really fast through a tunnel and we all fainted? I'M A TECH GIRLY. IT WAS ME! I FAINTED!!) but, Y'ALL, Echo deserves that right now!! And for all eternity!!! Because he is wholly submurged in the harrowing potential of torture and execution, and he didn't even bat an eye to put himself there. My awe of him is all-consuming, so please forgive me if this rant reads as nothing but incoherent screaming. 

Echo haters (first of all, we can't be friends....) come on this journey with me! Let's back pedal to the beginning of the last episode (13). He stole an imperial shuttle. Let me repeat, he stole an imperial shuttle. And not just an attack shuttle. Not just a lil one-pilot transport. Bro somehow stole a Rho-class medical transport, which is very large, obscenely conspicuous, and very easily tracked. And, to use his own words, it was "the best he could do on short notice." The man stole a shuttle on short notice. ON SHORT NOTICE? HELLO, HOW DID HE DO THAT. WHY AIN'T WE LOSING OUR COOL ABOUT IT. 

Next stop on this I-love-Echo journey through my mind: not only did he provide his brothers transportation in the complete void of their own (RIP havoc bb), but he also came equipped with intel and clearance codes, and, as Rampart stated, those things change DAILY. Echo somehow procured top secret imperial clearance codes, and a fkn SHIP, within hours of the Batch requesting his help. Not to mention, the ship had yet to be reported missing (which means it was only-freshly commandeered), and the clearance codes worked. Of course they did. Echo never fails. Never doubt Echo. "Echo's on it."  

Choochoo, next stop! Once they arrived on that station orbiting Coruscant, and made their way to the control room (lookin sexy as heck in his armour-au-noir), he broke imperial encryption, hacked into the Imperial database, almost instantly found them the location of a ship departing for the prison that holds their daughter Tantiss, AND THEN DIDN'T EVEN HESITATE TO CLIMB ABOARD AND STOW AWAY.  

He didn't even remotely have a plan, or have time to make a plan. He didn't know who or what else would be on board that mysterious vessel. He didn't know where it was going other than the name of the fkn mountain (which has proven to be nothing but unhelpful thus far). He just ARC-troopered his way through that crowded hangar, dodging aggressive astromech's and inconsiderate loader droids, shirking from the perspective eyes of highly trained commandos, and snuck his way onto a heavily guarded, extremely unknown science vessel. Then, of course, he wasted no time, hacking into the ships control system (may I gently remind- there were at least three pilots and an officer prepping the ship for jump and closely watching all aspects of its controls), disabling the proximity sensors without being detected, and then seamlessly covered the troopers absence by pretending to be him (which we all know is what should have happened on Serenno but... hindsight is 20/20.)  

So... SO.... now we're at Episode 14. Here we at fkn terrified station because HULLO ECHO IS ALONE ON A SCIENCE DIVISION TRANSPORT; we have literally seen them carry around Zilo beasts in that shit. What the heck else could be on there that they don't know about? Literally anything. Because THEY KNEW NOTHING before attaching themselves to it. Echo knew NOTHING before sneaking onto that thing and creepin' around. Thank heck he didnt come across a fkn fresh wave of slither vines ok?  

NEXT, Echo shoots (not stuns- lol) a sassy fkn droid (they had it coming, not sorry), then another trooper. AND THEN discovered his only option for departing the ship once it enters atmosphere is going completely undercover, because (in true "we improvise everything" CF99 fashion that gives me heart burn just thinking about it), they had zero fkn plan to get off the ship. I will repeat: completely undercover. On Tantiss. COMPLETELY UNDERCOVER ON TANTISS. NO COMMS, NO BACK UP, NO RECON, NO PLAN, BARELY ANY GEAR, and I would just like to stress... no neuro brace. He left his neurobrace on that ship. Left it. LEFT IT AND TOOK A HAND INSTEAD. PLEASE FKN SEDATE ME.  

We can't leave this station yet... This I-love-Echo train needs to linger at this point for a sec because I think it's lost on some people how wild this is. Echo without his neurobrace is huge. It's a bigger deal than Echo without his armour. Armour is, in the grand scheme of things, inconsequential (one can find more- see Howzer). Echo's neurobrace is not armour, it's a computer and it's so so so crucial to how his mind processes information and events. Don't forget, the Technounion HIJACKED HIS BRAIN. They took every memory from him and manipulated it for their gain. Pruned it, tweaked it, blanched it, poached it, turned it into scrambled eggs, and then fkn ate it up and used it to defeat their enemies (Echo's family- I'm sobbing). They implanted him with an unfathomable amount of information; they changed the way the neurons in his brain fire in relation to stimuli. That neurobrace is so so critical for him. Now, we know he can operate well enough without it, we saw it in the last episode of the TBB arc in season 7 of Clone Wars, but... please.... to what extent? We don't know what an extended time without that neurobrace looks like for him... especially when all other aspects compliing his surroundings foreign, unknown, and dangerous, and that scares me.

AND NOW HE'S ABOUT TO RUN AMOK IN TANTISS with Emerie who, (I'm sorry) is wishy-washy as heck (who are you loyal to!!!!! What is your history!!! Are you trustworthy and what are you looking to gain!!!), trying to adopt a collection of Jedi children whove spent maker-knows how long playing space tetris, WHILST ALSO ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE AND ESCAPE WITH HIS BROTHERS UNDER THE EYE OF THE GALAXY'S SECOND MOST DANGEROUS MAN. 

So yes, short of d-d-d-di... can't say it... short of THE WORST CASE, Echo has made the ultimate sacrifice to save not only Omega who is literally the only person we've seen able to make him truly laugh, but all the clone brothers that he's been desperately trying to locate and rescue. His bravery and determination are literally unrivalled, and he did it while feasting on nothing but humble pie because that man wouldn't know arrogance if it danced naked under his perfect nose.  

Okay so welcome, we've finally pulled into I-Love-Echo station. Before departing the ride, please stand and do a hip hip hurray for the miracle that is Echo, including but not limited to, everything he's done, is doing, and is willing to do for other people. 

[green-alm0nd]

[Crosshair x gn!reader]: Leave a light on.

----

----

Summary:

After Crosshair joined the squad again, he's made peace with everyone; except you. And you're willing to change that.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: SPOILERS FOR TBB S3, Crosshair being snarky and sarcastic, Tantiss, torture, mostly angst, but some fluff too, kissing, swearing, trauma, mentions of Order 66, mixed feelings, established relationship. Not proofread.

Enjoy!

----

When Crosshair rejoined his squad, he never really showed anyone nor told anyone about his hand tremors from time to time.

You noticed a few weeks later, and so did the squad. You had gotten a very quick, curt explanation while the rest got a more detailed version (because Omega forced Crosshair to do so) even though they didn't really know if it a was mental or physical matter.

He had explained to everyone what they did to him on Tantiss, except for you. He had simply told you that his hand shook involuntarily from time to time.

He didn't add anything else, that was the only piece of information he had given you.

And you felt a bit frustrated about that, especially because you were his significant other. Although the relationship was...distant, it was still that: a relationship.

You were picking up some crates to bring from the port to Upper Pabu, and decided to organise your thoughts on the way back to the port. You figured that it was probably for the best if you spoke with Crosshair.

So, you did. After leaving the crates where Shep said to leave them, you slowly walked towards the snarky sniper, but realised that he was talking to Omega and AZI.

"If you were to elaborate more on the experimentation you were subjected to, I could determine the cause-"

Crosshair let out an exasperated sigh.

"Forget it." He said, before storming off.

...

You managed to find him looking at the seashore, leaning on the railing. He was probably deep in thought, by the way the frown on his face deepened.

"Cross." You called, from afar.

To this, Crosshair turned around and looked at your feet, unable to stare at your eyes.

"You and I have to talk. Now." You stated, crossing your arms.

"Why?" He asked, finally staring at you after a while. He had already had enough with AZI and Omega, and he didn't want to face you now.

You raised an eyebrow. "We both know why. Come on." You said, motioning for him to follow you.

...

You arrived at your shared cottage, and you sat down on your bed while Crosshair leaned against the wall.

"Hunter told me about your hand." You commented, trying to start the conversation.

"Of course he has." He grumbled in response, annoyed. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Can you blame him? You haven't told me a thing ever since you came back." You answered.

Crosshair scoffed in response, his gaze piercing your souls as he finally looked at you. "There's nothing to talk about."

"There certainly is."

Clicking his tongue, the sniper waited for you to elaborate, though he was the one who was supposed to elaborate.

"I didn't hear from you for months after Order 66. You're transported into this unknown place, and then you suddenly come back and you don't want to have a conversation with me about anything?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He replied, gritting his teeth. His hand started trembling, and he cursed quietly before clenching his fists and looking at you.

"Then why have you told your brothers and not me?" You asked, desperate.

"Because you blame yourself for everything!" Crosshair finally yelled.

Your eyes widened, staring at him with a confused expression on your face.

"If I told you what they did to me in Tantiss you would blame yourself for everything. I know because I know you. And I know that if I told you that I was submitted to unforgettable torture measures you'd blame yourself, and I didn't want that. I told my brothers because they know it was my mistake. But for some damn reason, you always feel guilty for a choice I made!" He spat, breathing heavily.

With AZI telling him about talking about what he went through, and you wanting to know, his head started to hurt. So, he figured it was best if he tried to get some air before things escalated further, which was something he did not wish for at the moment.

...

You were left at your shared apartment, your mouth running dry. Was the fact that you didn't blame him for anything the reason why he never told you?

If anything, he was right. You did blame yourself. If things had gone according to plan, Crosshair would've been free from all the torture and everything else.

In the meantime, the sniper wondered if he had gone too far. He sighed, staring into the ocean, as the sun began to hide. One of his hands rested on the stone railing, while the other hung loosely.

He heard footsteps from behind, but didn't bother to look at the person, already knowing it was you. He felt something intertwine with his hand, and flinched at the touch.

"What." He said. It didn't even sound like a question, but a statement.

You stared at him, determined.

"I want you to tell me about Tantiss. I need to know." You answered. "I don't care if you think I feel guilty, I can't wait for another day."

Crosshair gulped, his snarky personality slowly disappearing.

"Fine." He grumbled, rolling his eyes.

...

"...That's...why Hemlock is dangerous."

You stared at Crosshair, with a sad expression. Your hands reached for his.

Crosshair was never a man fond of physical affection, he was always more into acts of service. In this intimate moment, however, he let your hands rest in his, though his body screamed for him to get away.

"Thank you, for telling me. I'm sorry for insisting so much." You told him, with a small smile.

He nodded, and decided to exit his comfort zone, and awkwardly placed an arm around you, pulling you closer to him.

You chuckled softly.

"Hey, you don't have to do this if you're uncomfortable with it." You commented, smiling at the sniper.

He grunted in response, slowly bringing his lips to your hair.

You closed your eyes, smiling at the sun, who finally said goodbye for the day. Your lips found Crosshair's, quietly thanking him for telling you his story. He had definitely gone through a lot, and you appreciated his honesty.

"You're surprisingly clingy today." You chimed.

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Is it because you missed me and my charming self, Cross?" You teased, smirking.

"You're being an idiot." Crosshair responded.

"It's called confidence."

"It's called being an idiot." Crosshair, though annoyed, still enjoyed your bickering.

----

I have a French official exam tomorrow and I am shaking in fear :')

Reblogs and shares are very appropriated! Requests are still open :p

[anundyingfidelity]

I'M A RUIN — Soldier Boy/Ben (Part IX)

Summary: After the events of the Seven Tower, you present Grace Mallory a new secret project you're working on already to develop a cure to Compound V. The only problem? You need Soldier Boy for that.

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x female reader

Word count: 2.3k.

Warnings for series: set after S3 (spoilers), some OOC!Ben, some depressed!Ben, angst, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, slow-burn, language, PTSD, reader has Compound V (she's no Vought supe tho), Soldier Boy being an usual asshole, reader is a fucking liar.

Warnings for this chapter: some spoilers and references to S4 and Gen V, mentions of sex, mentions of kindaping, so much lying from these fuckers!!

Notes: idk who's still interested on this crap because my original drafts went to hell once S4 dropped (but also my fault i was waiting for that lol), anyway I'll try to be consistent with this is giving me nightmares i swear. thank you if you're still here 😭

<<< Previous Part

get yourself in the taglist!

GEN MASTERLIST! — SERIES MASTERLIST

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

And if it wasn’t much worse, there he was still, lying down on the other side of the mattress, sleeping and snoring like a stray dog you just took in to protect him from the dangers of the night. Who would have thought? But you wanted this. You fell for it eventually. And you didn’t give a single shit about it, not yet. It was great, you had to admit that. In the end, Ben was right, he could fuck pretty good and could bark about that with good reasons.

Part IX: Nobody’s Business

Rolling on your side of the bed, your eyes fluttered open. There was a warmth coming from the mattress, one that you were not used to every time you woke up. That side always came up empty, but then your mind replayed the memories of last night's events. The small and soft light emanating from the window forced you to sit up abruptly, covering your breasts with the bed sheets. The clock told you it was almost 9 a.m.

But duties are duties, you told yourself, sitting down and reaching your phone on the nightstand. There were six missed calls from an unknown number; you were pretty sure who that was. With a scoff, you got on your feet and full in your naked glory, stepped out of the room, just taking your dress from the floor to put it on as best as you could while you heard the line from the other side.

“Oi, I’ve been calling you, answer the damn phone,” the British voice on the other side spit.

You grimaced, pulling the phone away as he yelled at you before speaking. “I had important things last night. Sorry for having a life,” you lied gracefully, making your way to the kitchen to boil some water for a tea. “Besides, since do you care? I barely fucking know you, so tell me what is it before I hung up.”

Butcher sighed from the other side of the line. “I need the kid back.”

“Ryan?”

“Yeah, and I need something for it. I don’t wanna force him, but tough times require even tougher methods…”

There was a silence coming from you, trying to process his words. Soldier Boy wanted the kid, Butcher wanted the kid, and Homelander of course wanted his fucking kid. You didn’t know who was the best for Ryan. Homelander was out of the league immediately, but maybe Butcher was the only sane motherfucker between them to take care of him. After all, he was his dead wife’s son.

“What do you want me to do? You’re not gonna kidnap him, right?” you asked, unsure of what would happen if you agreed to help Butcher on it.

“No, but don’t play innocent. Can imagine you have plenty of analgesics to take down an army, doctor.”

You pictured that fucked up smirk on his face at his words, and followed his game to see if you could get somewhere.

“And what do I get in exchange? I’m not giving anything for free.”

“Novichok. Put him to deep slumber and can test the strongest drug you have on Soldier Boy without getting killed,” he whispered over the phone, as if someone was hearing his words.

“Alright, deal,” you accepted, taking off a cup to pour your tea. “Send me the address and we can meet today. Just don’t mess with me, I don’t have enough arguments to trust you right now.”

“And I can respect that. Should be receiving it soon, darling.”

With those final words, Butcher hung up the call.

Your head felt spinning, as if something had crushed you so bad. Your body hurted, and you were sore. Probably you regretted it. Not because it wasn’t good, it was something else. What had happened between Ben and you wasn’t supposed to be. It just simply couldn’t. He was a killing machine you were just reaping, eventually discarding him when you took what you needed. However, the right time to test the Anti V prototype had yet to come. Sipping from your hot tea, you heard hard steps from the stairs, and for some reason, you were not prepared to face him the morning after.

“Ah, preparing my breakfast already, doll,” Ben said cheerfully, much to your liking, and approaching you as you faced your back to him.

His arms wrapped around your waist, and as much as you wanted to enjoy his touch, you pushed him away and turned on your feet to see his confused grin.

“First of all, good morning. And second, no. You can make yourself a sandwich,” you replied.

A smile appeared on your lips as his own slowly faded away.

“So, nothing for me, even if I made you feel so good with my cock?”

“God, you’re so gross…”

Ben snorted, leaning to give soft kisses on the skin of your neck as he whispered. “I don’t remember you complaining about it last night.”

As an impulse, you shut your eyes. His touch and lips over your sensitive skin were too intoxicated for you to react quickly and stop him. Ben took the cup of tea from your hand, putting it on the countertop; the place he fucked you so good the night before. He would kill to go again, with you beneath him, yearning and crying for his dick. Or maybe he’d fuck you in the couch before taking you to your bed, exactly like he did after you did it in the kitchen…

“Stop,” you said, pushing him away softly.

He did as you asked rapidly, licking his lips, and watching your lustful gaze intently. You wanted it as much as he did, but it wasn’t the right time.

“I’m still sore,” you continued. “And I have some stuff to do right now. I have to go.”

He nodded. “Right.”

To your surprise, Ben gave you some space and you stepped up, not before taking the cup and your phone between your hands again. You stopped, standing by his side for a moment.

“Maybe later?” you said, watching his face attentively.

That sleazy smirk curved on his lips. “Later.”

You walked away then, feeling his eyes over your figure. God, you were so fucking regretting offering yourself to him already for some reason.

You sat down on the dining table as he settled down a saucer and two cups of tea with a bowl of biscuits.

“It’s not necessary–”

“Nonsense, take it,” Butcher said, taking a seat in front of you.

He served you and him the tea with an elegance only a British man could ever have, not that you expected him to have that inside. Butcher was a soldier once, now an undercover agent whom you had no idea what to expect, besides the few things Grace had told you about him, but she wasn’t there. This meeting was hidden from everyone. Butcher crossed his arms on his chest, looking at you with an expression you could not decode. You were barely knowing him after all.

“I’m not trying to poison you,” he joked, taking his own cup to taste the tea.

“Well, thanks for your kindness,” you took the cup and sipped the warm drink. It was surprisingly good. “So, weren’t you after Victoria?” you asked, following the previous conversation you had with him before sitting down.

“Yeah, cunt’s indestructible,” he remarks. “Can’t do anything now, planning on just retiring and just leaving it all...”

“There’s a fucking outburst right now between Homelander’s cult and Starlight fanatics, Victoria is almost there along with Robert Singer at the White House. Why you wanna give up on that?”

“I’m not part of the team anymore,” Butcher confessed, taking you aback.

“Is that the reason you want Ryan back?”

He nodded and you sensed vulnerability coming from him. The tough facade, the immoral plans, the thirst for revenge for the fucker who screw up his life and made his wife’s a living hell… Even your own thirst for payback and burning Vought to the ground wasn’t as big as his own grief. After all, you were just another piece on the chessboard. Butcher saw you as one, and you did the same with him and Ben. You were just taking in things that would help you to reach your own, selfish goals. One can’t compete with that.

He coughed in the middle of the silence you shared, and you noticed there was a black liquid coming off one of his ears you have never seen.

“Are you okay?” you worriedly asked.

Butcher looked like he noticed your eyes staring at the side of his face and wiped up the substance with his finger, cleaning it up with a napkin.

“You stopped taking the temp V?” you insisted on his silence.

“Yeah, I fucking did, and then had it again. The true V this time, didn’t help. Just accelerated my own death,” Butcher seemed like he didn’t give a shit as he told you.

“Fuck, are you crazy?!” you exclaimed.

“Thought it’d save me, alright?!” he ranted. “Thought it could. So I could say I had more time with Ryan, but I don’t. That’s why you’re here. Do you have what I asked or not?”

Grumbling, with your jaw tight, you took from your jacket a small packet of white powder and tossed it on top of the table.

“A sedative. Will keep him asleep for days if you’re not careful,” you announced. “Give me the gas now.”

Butcher stood up abruptly, and searched for something in one of the kitchen cabinets. He took out a grey cylindrical vessel, similar to a fire extinguisher, and left it on the floor by your feet.

“There you have it,” he said, before taking his seat back.

You didn’t say ‘thank you’, neither did he, but Butcher dared to speak out again.

“Can you come when Ryan is here?”

“Excuse me? I don’t know the kid, I don’t see why I should be here.”

“Another secret is good enough for ya,” he insisted. His face was just as plain as yours.

You didn’t know what else to expect from him at this point, but you followed him up.

“And?”

“There’s something down Godolkin. A virus, created to exterminate supes,” he explained, leaning forward and whispering as if someone else could hear outside the walls. “If your cure ain’t working, maybe you could use some help from there.”

Ben emptied the last drawer in your room. There was fucking nothing. The only pleasure he took in from sniffing into your stuff was checking your underwear, from the most comfy cotton panties to the lingerie he’d love to see on you while he fucked your brains out. And then, nothing. Emptiness. No secrets, no files. Nothing.

Not caring of putting your stuff in place, he just tossed them into the drawer. If you were to indulge back there, you would certainly notice the mess. But he didn’t care if you did. He fucked you good, but that didn’t mean he trusted you. That’s why he spent the last hours of the day checking the whole place after you left him all alone and by himself. The past few days, he had spent checking everywhere to find a clue or something that could give you away easily.

Tired, Ben went down to the living room and checked between the bookshelves, only to find dust and old books he didn’t give a shit about. He scoffed to himself, and walked to the back of the room, where the aisle ended. The carpet felt different, as if another floor was down there. He knocked on the floor with his fist. He was right; there was another floor down the living room.

“What are you fucking hiding in here?” he mumbled to himself, his mind pulling the tricks of any stuff you could probably have down there.

He pulled the carpet away and found a small metal knob, unlocked. He opened it just to reveal stairs and he went down carefully. A heavy metal door stood in front of him, an electronic panel with numbers by the side. The walls were also made of the same material, and he tensed. It wasn’t a good sign. Before, he noticed you would sneak out of your room some nights. There was no other place you should be visiting but here.

He thought of breaking the door, but it wasn’t that subtle. There was a code to get inside, probably he could get it. It had to be something important for you, right? Shouldn’t be so difficult.

But he knew better than to continue playing this fucking game of hiding the thruth from him. Anger seized him in a second, thinking of endless possibilities this could be a hidden lab. You were a doctor after all, he knew what those cocksuckers were capable of. You were no exception.

He clenched his fists tightly, and heard in the distance the sound of your car. Ben quickly climbed the stairs and covered the door to the basement. The click of the door announced you were home and he made his way to the kitchen to take out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

Once you stepped up, he poured the liquor. You left a couple of bags full with groceries on the kitchen counter as Ben gave you a dirty smile and offered the whiskey to you. It was his way of disguising what he really felt.

A quick fuck should do, he thought.

“So, later, right?” he said, taking a sip from his glass.

Immediately, you knew what those words meant.

“You’ve been waiting so long I see,” you smirked.

He pulled you closer with a single hand before claiming your lips in a harsh kiss. He smiled when you moaned against his tongue and he pulled away, this time his lips claiming the sensitive spot on your neck.

“And can’t wait any longer, sugar.”

this fic tags:

@k-slla @syrma-sensei @mostlymarvelgirl @cheynovak @drasticemotions @thesilmarillionblog @deans-spinster-witch @girlsforpjm @delaynew

[phantom-of-the-501st]

And we're back!

Initial thoughts on TBB S3 Eps 1-3

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

3x1 Confined

Final season premiere let's go!!!

Storms are never a good sign

There's creepy shit on Tantiss (crocodile thing from the trailer maybe?)

Although Hemlock counts as creepy enough

He's the creepiest thing on the whole planet 😬

Tbf there's a stunning view, it's just a shame about the prison window blocking it

CROSS IS BACK!!!

Omega blood sample? That's gotta come back later in the season!

Are these blood samples labelled? How tf does anyone know which is which??? That's just bad lab practice 🙄

Oh the weird machine knows. Nvm

"Replicate the genetic M count" and they want Omega's blood???

Nala Se is protecting Megs. Slenderbitch may actually be of some use

Force senstive Megs?

This feels like this is linking with the cloning plot in The Mandalorian

The animal welfare standards here are abysmal 😠

BATCHER?! Oh that's adorable 😍

And I thought Omegas's room was bad holy shit 😭

The grid across Cross' room is casting a crosshair on Omega's face. I love little details like that

21 tallies on wall = 21 rotations? That doesn't seem like very long

STRAW LULA?! 😭❤️

Why are there blood drips going into each sample? This seems like a contamination issue

At least 150 tallies now 😭

Subject will be terminated if they don't heal. Feels very much like the clones when they were on Kamino, which just shows how much the clones were treated like animals

"I belong here" *sobs*

Cross don't make me cry istg. I can't do this at 8am on a Wednesday 😭

Okay but the droid kind of had a point about Batcher struggling in the wild because of Omega domesticating her. One thing you learn about working in a zoo environment is that hand-reared animals have no idea how to behave like their wild counterparts and basically turn into little psychos (like you can't actually be in the same room as some of them levels of bad). That or they rely on people too much and have no idea how to fend for themselves. Either way, the droid wasn't entirely wrong

Hemlock is a bastard 😒

Omega's theme!!!

Season premiere and only two Batcher (neither of whom are Hunt or Wreck). Interesting!

1x2 Paths Unknown

Fucking Roland Durand?!

Did not expect that in episode 2 omg!

Hunter and Wrecker being mercenaries for the Durands?

Ah okay it seems to be a one off

THE GOGGLES IN THE SHIP! 😭😭😭😭

Hunt and Wreck be looking a bit scuffed

Echo and Rex mention!

They won't be available for 2 rotations? Well we're not seeing them this episode then...

Hunter's emotions are making him impulsive and that's not really a good thing

Wrecker is actually the one holding back, which is an interesting dynamic. Wrecker can see how bad Hunter is coping and is probably having to keep him in line as much as he can so that they don't lose another brother

CLONE CADETS! CLONE CADETS!

These ones actually have New Zealand accents as well

The slither vines were genetically made and got out of hand? This is what we mean by invasive species, people. Very much not good

Okay so we have one called Box and one called Stak

Are the cadets not affected by the chips? Do they only active in fully trained soldiers?

We need to get these kids to Echo and Rex

GONKY BACKPACK!!! 😆

Poor Gonky is stuck upside down.

These vines are making vocalisations somehow and it's confusing me. Plant voice boxes?

OKAY WTF ARE THOSE THINGS???

They look like weird green versions of the slogs from Abe's Oddysee

Why are you breaking into the Marauder???

You better not be stealing it. That's already happened and we can't do it again

Okay clone cadet 3 is Deke

Ayyyy rescue time!

Okay, I'll let them off for getting on the ship

Because we totally needed a swampy sarlacc thing rn 😭

PABU!!!

*Remembers invasion of Pabu in trailer* FUCK

1x3 Shadows of Tantiss

I'm going to throw hands if Echo isn't in this episode 😤

Ooh mystery clone(?) who everyone thinks is Tech!

Nala Se is helping again 👀

The special guest is probs Palpatine

Le Palps is back

Project Necromancer - bringing back the dead?

So is this to do with the cloning stuff or something to do with Tech?

Probs the cloning thing tbf

*Angry mouse droid squeaks*

FUCK YEAH CROSS!

Missed watching this guy fight

Cross and Omega team up let's go!!!

Cross doesn't question why Omega only mentioned Wrecker and Hunter. Has Omega told him about Tech or did he just not question why she only brought two up?

And in that case has she told him that Echo is with Rex?

I HAVE QUESTIONS!

Cross went for the stun not the kill. Very different from 2x3

Do you think Hemlock has a scar or does he just choose to shave a slit in his eyebrow? 🤨

Oh great a big green monkey cat. Just what we need!

"Of course he did". CROSSHAIR BEING SOFT ABOUT TECH HELP

Cross is missing shots because of his shaky hands :(

OMEGA M COUNT???

Oooooooh they're adding blood with midichlorians in to the samples to see if they would take. That explains the blood being added to the samples

Overall I love these episodes! It's nice going back and forth between Cross and Omega, and Hunter and Wrecker. We're going to get some interesting dynamics

This is a very sad day for Echo stans though. I feel like we're going to be suffering a lot this season ���

And here's the bingo card as of rn!

[anthroposeen]

tmagp 17 relisten notes!!

as always, tmagp and tma spoilers below the cut! hope you guys enjoy the breakdown :)

celia:

- she's been teleported to another road side, this time very close to a highway in oxford. she missed the play with sam and didnt have a way to contact him about it

- she wants to make up for missing the play by paying for their next date, and seems pretty genuine about her guilt and interest in him

- once the incident ends, she thanks the computer/chester for it. this could have been a sarcastic comment on her part, but it comes across as her acknowledging the case for what it is, and acknowledging that it is somehow curated for her. i think this is evidenced by her telling alice the incident wasnt very useful, implying she tries to find their meaning, and takes them as some form of sentience.

sam:

- he seems a bit peeved that celia didn't call him to tell him she had to cancel, and tells her to not make a habit of this kind of thing. i think its important to keep in mind that we've established he's very sensitive to rejection and people "not having time" for him.

- "im not a big horror fan" who's going to tell him?

alice:

- her computer keeps malfunctioning, showing a jmj error

- shes back to making bad puns and jokes at gwen's expense, a hard shift from her demeanor last episode

- she jokes to gwen about venting their problems as a group exercise, but denies actually having a problem to discuss

gwen:

- she helps alice with the jmj error, and says that colin hasnt been in the office in weeks, though theres no more word in his whereabouts

- she also! denies having anything to talk about! great communication guys!

incident:

- narrated by chester/jon, read at celia's desk.

- incident pulled from the magnus institute oxford outreach center -> important for the obvious reason and because celia woke up in oxford the most recent time she teleported

- darrien is given low viability for agent, subject, and catalyst

- states that "continued incarceration" is the advised method of containing/studying the subject and phenomena, implying that sometime after the statement was given, the magnus institute incarcerated darrien for unknown reasons.

- the statement was given by a man named darrien -> episode 13 also featured a darrien, but it doesn't appear to be the same man to me, i think its most likely that ajn and johhny are just having a good time with recycling names.

- darrien was in a court ordered anger-management program and was transported across dimensions during a therapy session -> intense meditation seemed to be the trigger here

- the receptionist at his therapy office was a "big, soft looking guy" who stumbled over his words, this is followed by the mention of a "bookish looking guy" who darrien says gives him weird pervert vibes. while these are incredibly in character descriptions for them both, i cant say im sure these are alternate-dimension's martin and jon. ide also like to point out that these are characters from darrien's previous universe, not the tmagp one where he finds himself.

- when darrien wakes up from his meditation he has a strong migraine, dry eyes, a stiff neck, and he was dizzy. later, he discovers hes emaciated as he continuously passes out. these symptoms seem to go away as he stays in this dimension

- he woke up in the tmagp universe in a shopping center, coming from a magnus institute outreach post -> seeing as how we know the main building is still active, it could be that the outreach centers also serve as "portals"

- he experienced similar things to anya villette's statement in tma s3. he couldnt contact his employer, had no emergency contact to give the hospital, woke up in a different location, and was taken to the wrong address.

- the tmagp native darrien (who ill call other!darrien for clarity here) was welcoming to his lost doppelgänger, letting him stay in his house and offering him advice on how to keep his anger in check

- darrien describes meeting his other!self as "trying not to fall through the cracks" -> potentially a call back to anya villette's episode "cracked foundation"

- they reasoned the coincidence out by figuring they were half siblings, though they were both named darrien. they discovered a couple of time discrepancies, seeing as their dad died on different days

- the housekeeper, sharon, was wary of them, giving darrien a scared look and looking for opportunities to leave the room when he was around

- when darrien asks how other!darrien manages his anger, hes taken to a heavy door in the basement. there was a single drop of blood on the staircase leading down. ragged breathing and pleading for help rose from below the stairs, and darrien refused to be a part of this anger-vent exercise. he pushed other!darrien into the room, locking it back.

- darrien denies the invitation into the torture chamber, "i couldnt join him down there with my father", later saying he felt guilty for not killing other!darrien and "saving whatever poor soul he had kept". at first, i thought that his other!father was being kept in the basement and tortured, but i think he uses his dad as a metaphor for the anger they both carry. this opens up the scarier realization that other!darrien is just torturing a random person

- once he locked other!darrien in the basement room, he adopted his life.

- sharon didnt return to darrien after her vacation was up, and its thought that she reported him to the institute, where we can assume they began his incarceration

glitches/lies:

- "i'm ok/its ok" spoken by celia as she's trying to reassure herself

- no glitches after gwen and alice say they have nothing to share. its very possible this is because they dont want to share with each other

extra comments:

- the jmj wrror stops popping up after alice proposes talking out their issues as a team, but considering they dont actually do that im chalking it up to a coincidence for now

- this incident follows chester's normal shtick: statement from the magnus institute, directly targeting someones business, and sort of providing a cautionary tale

- this may be my favorite incident so far. it has a very similar vibe to the early tma statements, and an ominous music bit from s1-2 even played briefly as darrien meets his dopplegänger (at least, thats what it sounded like to me). it has a lot of revelation-centered horror that really grabs me, knowing exactly who will be in the house as darrien knocks on the door and following his dopplgänger into the torture room were so vivid for me, its the exact type of horror that always makes me genuinely creeped out!

- this episode raises a lot of questions about the stability of this dimension, and all dimensions in general since there seems to be reoccurring leaks/cracks. this manifests as celia teleporting across space, existing in this universe in general, the giant cavern in the magnus institute ruins, and darrien's adventures in universe-hopping.

- as i mentioned in the incident points, jon and martin have a sort of hinted cameo in darrien's original universe, but a part of me refuses to believe its them just because i enjoy the mystery set up after mag 200. if this is all the content we get of potential jon and martin dopplegängers, ill actually be happy with that. i really do enjoy the notion that they exist in some boring reality somewhere else, and martin still stumbles over his words and jon still needs anger management therapy. i like that theres consistency even in an alternate universe. im certain we wont be seeing these vague background characters again, but i would love to see darrien's reaction to norris's voice.

[averydavery]

‼️📣 FX'S SHOGUN RENEWED FOR SEASONS 2 & 3 ‼️📣

You know what that means... time for some fan theories!

This should go without saying but SPOILERS BELOW! If you aren't caught up don't read!

For those who don't know, FX's Shōgun follows James Clavell's original novel pretty closely with some deviations, but it starts at the beginning of the novel and ends at the end of it. This leaves some major wiggle room for the continuation of the series and the writers certainly have their work cut out for them if they plan on going on for two more seasons. However, as definite the ending is, there are some loose ends to deal with and at least two directions they can head with it.

Future Plot Theories

The two ways I believe the story will go- IF THEY DECIDE TO NOT ADAPT CLAVELL'S OTHER NOVELS WHICH I HAVEN'T READ AND CONTINUE THIS PLOT- and they're pretty easy to see: either a prequel season or a season that continues the story. Let's start with the former.

At the end of S1 Mariko, one of the protagonists of the story, dies a martyr to enact Torinaga's plan to win over Ochiba's support for the incoming war. Mariko is played by popular drama actress Anna Sawai, which leads me to believe that the writers would want her character to return- if only for the sake of keeping one of their stars. While only Hiroyuki Sanada (Toranaga's actor) has reportedly signed on for the future seasons, if this is the case and Sawai signs on we can expect a prequel season episodes that explore the characters' pasts prior to the events of the first season. For Mariko, that'd likely be a look into her family and their history. As for Toranaga, a look at his rise to power should be expected and maybe a story about the his divide between him and his brother. On a grander scale, this perhaps could mean looking at life before the power vacuum that was left after the death of the previous leader and at how the Portuguese made their way into Japanese society.

Why I think this isn't all that likely: I'm starting with this theory because I think it's the least likely of the two. The main reason being how S1 ended. The first season ends with the Battle of Sekigahara, probably the most infamous battles in Medieval Japanese history. With such a bang, it has really left the viewer wanting and wishing for more, since war = action. This glimpse at the fate of the war is brief and spoils that Toranaga's faction will win overwhelmingly with the support of Ochiba and the heir's army, regardless it also leaves the audience wondering what life in Japan will be like following the decisive battle. Therefore, if we get any "prequel content" it'll likely be in the form of flashbacks or a flashback episode. Although, backstories and a prequel season could be in store for S3, just not S2.

Alright, now with that outta the way- my real theory for season 2.

As I said before, it's clear that we'll be looking at the Battle of Sekigahara and its consequences. However with major characters like Mariko, Yabushige, and John either dead or sidelined... it's to be believed that this season will be Toranaga-centric. This likely will be a season answering "what now?" since we already know Toranaga wins and seizes power. Toranaga's most loyal advisor committed seppuku, so it could tackle the issue of where he can find who to trust and how he'll deal with the former regents and the church. More political intrigue blah blah blah... but if I had to guess (and this is me hoping here): the biggest addition to the plot would be adding in Miyamoto Musashi as a major character. (I will talk about this at length under the "new characters" heading).

Returning Characters (Besides Toranaga since I yapped enough about him)

John Blackthorne

Probably one of the bigger characters who has an unknown future of him is the anjin himself! All we know of John is his remorse for Mariko after her passing and that eventually he ends up back in England as an old man. He's promised his ship to sail again and either complete his mission or return home. Based on his change as a character, I believe he does not complete his mission. But it is possible that he stays for just a bit longer to see what the future will hold under Toranaga's rule. However, since a literal war breaks out I doubt he'll stay for that. Perhaps he leaves and returns? I really believe that John will be fizzled out since his character arc has concluded.

Father Martin & The Rest of The Portuguese

Similar to John, now that Mariko is gone I doubt Father Martin will reappear and if he does it won't be for long- likely to confide in John as they both lost someone they cared for but that moment kind of already happened. However, the more important thing that may happen if they take a more historical stance with this, will be the closure of Japan's ports for another 200 years, effectively cutting off trade and influence from the Portuguese. However, Toranaga is established as a more "open-minded" ruler so I doubt that he will take this stance as well? It remains to be seen.

Kiko, Gin, & The Courtesans

A simple theory but one that may prove important is that Gin's tea house will become a massive source of income and power in Edo and I think she'll end up being a close ally to Toranaga as his influence spreads. I can see her and the courtesans establishing a sort of information and spy trade within the city.

The Regents

This is probably the area where I am most clueless as to what they plan to do with this. I'm thinking Toranaga might just "buy them out" or give them their regions as long as they pledge loyalty to his up and coming empire. There likely will be some in-fighting, but seeing as they ended up siding with Toranaga at the end of S1, I think there just kinda pushovers...

BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTT I do think a whole faction will spring up either stragglers from Ishido's army or something else, there has got to be some kind of threat to Toranaga's reign... I just have no idea what that could be 😭

New Characters

Miyamoto Musashi

Probably the most infamous ronin of all time and a character/historical figure I am way too educated about, Musashi makes his name at the Battle of Sekigahara and is an incredibly popular archetype from Japanese history that's used a ton in fiction- hell, Hiroyuki Sanada has PLAYED Miyamoto Musashi in HBO's Westworld! So adding him would even be a bit of a nod to Sanada's past roles.

Regardless, since a lot of the major character's plot lines have seemed to tie up nicely by the end of S1, introducing a new major character with a lot of "lore" is likely what the writers are looking for. For those unfamiliar, Musashi is regarded as one of, if not the, greatest samurai in history. Known for his unique two-handed swordfighting style and how he was undefeated in ~61 duels, Musashi actually fought for the losing clan in the Battle of Sekigahara as a samurai-for-hire which rendered him a ronin looking to better himself solely in the way of the sword. Musashi also was a talented artist and writer, authoring the "Book of Five Rings" which was his knowledge on the ways of war and the blade.

The character of Musashi was a legend for centuries, however his first instance of being a folklore character was in Eiji Yoshikawa's aptly titled book series Musashi (1939) which cemented him into the popular zeitgeist and still is one of the most popular book series to date. There have been hundreds of adaptations of the series and stories with Musashi in it from shows to video games, with the most praised version (and my favorite manga ever...) being Takehiko Inoue's manga Vagabond.

However, its for this reason that I believe if Musashi does get introduced his story will be greatly changed from the fictional myth to something that will fit into the context of Toranaga's and the greater plot of Shōgun at large. This could mean making him closer to the historical figure, more of a disgruntled sage than a hot head. If this is the case then I think he will be the new advisor to Toranaga that I mentioned potentially being of importance to the plot earlier. Historically, after his rise to fame, Musashi has advised Tokugawa Ieyasu, the actual shōgun who won the Battle of Sekigahara and who Toranaga is modeled after. So it would make some sense to put him in this role. Also when I go over Kojiro, there's another bit with that kinda fits the tone of Shōgun.

Sasaki Kojiro

Given that Musashi is introduced as a new character, they would have to include Kojiro, his "rival".

In terms of historical fact, Kojiro was kinda of the shit while Musashi was still a rising star and Musashi's victory in a duel against him was what cemented his place in history as a legend. Yet, the way he killed Kojiro was incredibly undignified for someone of his status and just the kind of insane death we've already seen in S1 of Shōgun. A la the shocking death of Toranaga's son Nagakado, (WARNING: GRAPHIC) Musashi rows up to Gānryu island late to their duel and after sharpening his oar into a staff, he slams it atop the skull of Kojiro and affectively bludgeons him to death. That is the end of the great samurai Sasaki Kojiro.

EDIT: I didn’t look over this at all for typos and my autocorrect changed “Sasaki” to Salami 💀

If a more historically accurate Musashi does get included in the next season the writers would be remiss in not including this conclusion to their duel. As violent as it may be.

But that's just a theory... a film theory 💀

[lovelikanroji]

hii lovely, i don't have a request for your main blog atm, but i would like to hear your thoughts on my beloved son muichiro with a gender neutral older sibling!reader <33

i think it would be both very cute and very sad. maybe they're super protective of him because they feel like they failed as an older sibling by letting his brother die? maybe they feel like it's their fault? hehe feel free to do whatever you'd like with this idea, it's just a silly little thing i thought about, but haven't had the inspiration to actually write about! it's also totally alright if you don't feel inspired by it either 💕

⤷ pairing(s): muichiro x gn!reader (strictly platonic)

⤷ summary: Muichiro with an older sibling headcanons

⤷ warnings: me rambling for 1.3k words lmao, reader works alongside shinobu at the butterfly mansion, lowercase is intended, spoilers for demon slayer s3

⤷ note from author: i feel like i haven't written this much in such a short time in a hot minute

○ i think as the oldest sibling between yuichiro, muichiro and themselves, the reader would be very protective over their younger siblings

○ at the beginning it's more of you saving them from tripping and falling over but after your parents die, you start to do more as the eldest

○ you handle most of the chores, as well as cooking just to make sure your siblings can enjoy their childhoods a little longer.

○ of course they still help you with it but you try to finish them most of the time

○ the first time Amane-san mentions your lineage and invites you and your siblings to join the Demon Slayer Corps, you're hesitant to do so

○ not only because you don't believe in demons, but also because even if they were real, your siblings are just children and risking their lives to protect people should be the least of their worries

○ you politely decline her offer, and she nods in understanding

○ later that day muichiro begs you to reconsider, clearly happy that he comes from a strong demon slayer's line and excited to continue where his ancestor left off

○ before you can explain him why you made your decision, yuichiro begins berating him, creating a rift between the two of them

○ you do what you can to get them to talk to each other again but no matter what you say or do, neither of them will budge

○ one summer night, as you're laying down and trying to sleep, you hear muichiro gasp and turn to look at what happened only to see an unknown person in your home

○ the unknown figure raises his hand as if to attack, and you're not fast enough to stop yuichiro running up to the figure

○ you can do nothing but watch in horror as yuichiro's arm gets sliced off

○ in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, you tore off your clothes and hold it up to his arm, but it does absolutely nothing

○ the figure laughs at your clear panic and as you're trying to save yuichiros life, he strikes again, except this time his aim is at muichiro

○ you jump in front of him without thinking, crashing to the wall due to the blunt force the figure hit you with

○ muichiro brings yuichiro over to where you are, the figure close behind

○ you want to move in front of your siblings but all of your strength has left you, and your vision is getting blurry

○ you hold yuichiros other hand as you hear muichiro scream and attack the figure

○ the last thing you see after he comes back all bloodied is Amane-san, and then you let darkness take you

○ when you wake back up, the first thing you're asked is if you remember anything

○ you tell the man, Ubuyashiki, everything you remember, and immediately ask where your brothers are

○ the heartbroken look he gives you is answer enough

○ he explains how when his wife, Amane, had gotten there yuichiro was already dead, and muichiro was close although they were able to save him, and he was resting as you were

○ knowing that at least one of your brothers were alive should have made you feel better and yet all you felt was disappointment and rage, at yourself for not protecting your brothers, and at demons for hurting them in the first place

○ nichirin swords change colors when the holder gains a certain amount of skill on wielding it, but no matter how hard you train yours never changes colors, and you can only watch as your brother flies up ranks

○ shinobu offers you a job at the butterfly estate when she sees how heartbroken you are, and you accept, willing to do anything to help your brother in any means possible

○ she teaches you what she knows in medicine, and in turn you help with the chores around the estate as well as taking care of the residents and the injured slayers

○ you dont see your brother that often, and you're not sure if you're happy or sad about it. on one hand it means he isnt getting injured, but on the other you miss him terribly

○ shinobu is the one that tells you he became a hashira, and while you're happy for him you can't help but think how he's too young to be putting him in such danger

○ you hope this means you can see your brother more, but it turns out to be the opposite

○ being a hashira means getting more and harder jobs, which means muichiro is busier than before

○ as sad as you are, you continue working in the estate because if you allow yourself to think about the dangers, you feel yourself drowning in fear

○ the next time you see your brother you want to spend time with him as much as possible, so when that day comes you're shocked to your core when all he says is a simple "hi" and a "goodbye" once you're done patching him up

○ he leaves the estate without glancing your way, leaving you standing there with your heart shattered

○ amane-san had told you that he didn't remember what had happened, and his amnesia had changed his personality, but you weren't expecting it to be this severe

○ after your very brief reunion, you work even harder than before as a way to distract yourself from the pain

○ as much as it hurts for your own brother to not recognize you, you can't dwell on the thought for any longer

○ you believe in your brother, and his abilities to protect himself, so when you receive a crow from shinobu saying he was badly hurt, you start panicking

○ the second the kakushis bring him in, you start working on his injuries, as shinobu removes the poison from his body with ease

○ he's unconscious the whole time, but right as you're about to leave his side to bring him cold water and a rag to lower his temperature, you feel his hand hold yours

○ you turn around to ask if he needs anything, but he beats you to it

○ "i'm sorry," he says. "don't leave."

○ you're not sure why he's apologizing, but you sit down near his bed right after putting the wet rag on his forehead anyway

○ you're up and doting when he starts stirring, and the first thing you ask when he wakes up is if he's okay

○ before he can answer you start checking up on his injuries, rambling about how glad you were that he was alive and well

○ muichiro keeps trying to speak but you, being scared of his answer, keep interrupting him

○ this goes on for a while until your brother gets up abruptly, takes your hands in his, and tells you to listen to him

○ the first thing he does is apologize, and before you can say anything he shushes you and continues his speech

○ he tells you he's sorry for the way he behaved, for not spending time with you and most of all for forgetting everything and everyone dear to him, which you're quick to deny

○ you in return tell him that it most definitely was not his fault, and that you were happy his memories were back

○ after that he tells you he'll be more careful on his missions, and promises that he'll visit more often

○ after his injuries are all healed and he's going off to yet another mission, you're left with a sense of joy instead of dread, and you hum to yourself as you pick up your chores while you wait for your brother to return

while i think it would be sweet of muichiro to remember their sibling, i also believe he wouldn't as he doesn't remember anything that's related to his past.

[exilepurify]

No! He shouldn’t be held down by trauma!

An AMV I made thinking about the three traumatic near-death experiences that led to the confession explosion: Mogami, Toichiro, and the car accident.

Song is Sleep by My Chemical Romance

Warning for flashing lights and eye strain!!

[littlemissmanga]

Bad Batch season 3 spoilers under the cut

Can I just say I love how S3 is already giving us so much more characterization from Phee?

A lot of what we got in S2 was told to us, rather than shown to us. When we meet her and through the episode where she goes on a treasure hunt with the Batch, she comes off as a careless, reckless pirate. Not a bad person or personality, but a braggert who doesn't have other people as a main concern. Kinda like Hondo Onaka but a little less dramatic.

So for me, her shift in the Pabu episode was a bit jarring. Not too mention the boys trusting her enough to let her take them to unknown coordinates. Sure they all worked together to stop that ancient weapon, but that entire episode showed Hunter as skeptical of her and that never really flipped in the episode. And the boys don't trust easily to begin with so that was a big leap for me to accept without being shown. Same with her relationship with Tech. Whether you think they're an item or they were just close platonically, they clearly were the closest to one another but we never saw that happening, just the effects after it happened off screen. And I get it's a kids show and we're not gonna see everything like that. But I didn't have enough to make the pay offs satisfying.

But S3 is really helping fill that out. Point of No Return showed Phee as determined and bossy but still considerate in her own way. It also showed her as really competent. She knew something was off when the clone assassin was sneaking around and she was ready to fight. She would have caught him, too, if the fuel droid didn't interrupt her.

That now makes her someone I personally can see vibing better with the Batch and particularly Tech. I know more about her so I can fill in what S2 didn't show me.

And this latest episode, where she meets Crosshair and knows exactly who he is because of Tech? She hung out with all the batch. I'm sure they've mentioned Cross to her, especially Omega. But she learned about his personality from Tech. That helps me fill in so many gaps about Phee and Tech's conversations that makes their goodbye in S2 feel more understandable and natural.

I guess I'm saying a lot of stuff in S2 regarding Phee felt like it came out of nowhere. While I liked her well enough and liked how she shook up the boys, I never really felt like I knew her or had a solid grasp of how she would interact with anyone. Now though I've been given so much more and I can really appreciate her as a more developed character and important force pushing the narrative foward.

[original-art-stories]

The Magnus Archives Fic list lying on my computer>

The horror and everything else. Mostly Jon centric probably...

Anatomy of a Mask - A new archival assistant is hired. Her name is Mary Sue. Starts as a comedy and absolutely does not end that way.

Plus One - Jon attends a series of parties for which a plus one is mandatory.

Decree Nisi - Elias and Peter divorce (again), and the judge is tired of their bullshit.

Reflection - Jon is haunted by himself, and refuses to take any of his advice.

Rosemary and Thyme - fantasy AU featuring romance, quests, and fairy politics.

What Belongs to the Sea - Selkie AU, mind the tags on this one.

Bell, Book, and Candle - “By the Ride or Die Pact of 2009, Jonathan Sims can call upon Georgie Barker at any time for aid with no strings attached. Despite their rocky history, their childhood friendship, and Jon’s barely recovered alcoholism, this pact is sacred and must be upheld.”

Things Could Always Be Worse - Jon swaps place with an alternate-universe version of himself, who is heroic, chivalrous, and wears plaid. It’s terrible. Inspired by the parodic “straight TMA” blog.

👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨 👁‍🗨

Sex Repulsion and Asexuality Save the World (Though That's Not What Jon Claims): canon divergent from MAG 160, in which Jon is so sex repulsed that a changed word in the Hazel Rutter statement saved the world. Crack is treated seriously.

Refusing to Give Up Tomorrow: safehouse hurt/comfort ft. MAG 160 divergence

The Eyespot Chronicles: Trilogy of works. AU where instead of going Somewhere Else, Jon and Martin stay in the OG universe. However, Jon is a moth.

Déjà Vu: Time-travel fix-it where Sasha, Tim, Jon, and Martin all wake up on the day of the day of season 1, episode 1, with memories spanning from that day to the moment they died.

terror management theory: AU where Mr. Spider kills Jon, and now Jon can't permanently die. Despite this, the fic is rather light-hearted (or at least crack)

Other Kingdoms: A season 3 fix-it, in which Martin uses a Leitner to wake Jon up. Do note that there are references to sex happening (Jon's demisexual in this), but it's rated T so nothing is shown.

When No One Looks: Dark Avatar!Jon AU set during the latter half of season 1

Chamomile: In which post season 4, the NotTea becomes a pet.

If The Archivist Had Been Meant to Fly...: Wingfic in which Jon saves Martin from Simon Fairchild

Molt: This is my favorite take on Web!Martin. This is also a darkfic, to the point that the author was made so sad by chapter 1 that they wrote chapter 2 as a fix-it to chapter 1. Also, as a warning that I would've appreciated but isn't in the tags or summary: there's a scene alluding to corrective rape, but this doesn't actually happen.

Drawn Out of the Unknown: Canon divergent s3 fic, official summary is "While investigating a possible location for the Circus's base, Martin and Tim find something unexpected.

The fic series that contributed to me listening to TMA was this Good Omens crossover by Bibliocratic. Really enjoyed it and finally between this fic and seeing TMA all over my tumblr dashboard (plus having a project to work on with my hands) I finally listened, so I'm thankful for that.

The other series I really love is>

The Magnus Institute vs the 21st Century: a series of emails and IMs which is just utterly hilarious. It's the Magnus Institute going through GDPR compliance processes and it's just fabulous.

And then one I'm still sort of following even though I don't read much TMA fic right now is

 dustsceawung by callmearcturus. It's a Moth!Jon fic with Martin as someone who moved to a town in a different fairy court (in a fae AU). Not complete and hasn't updated in a while but I really like the tone.

The world is too much with us is one of the many many many time-travel fix-it fics (I think that's a genre all it's own in the TMA fanfic community at this point). Spoiler to be on the safe side, it follows Jon after he's dropped back in 2014 by the Spiral, and relives what amounts to the next four seasons of TMA, using the experiences he had the first time 'round to try and avoid the apocalypse--and keep everyone alive in the process. Oh, and he's got the added bonus of already being an Avatar of the Eye. Very much angsty with a happy ending. This one's completed, so feel free to binge.

Martin x Jon 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41149674As everything ends, as the tower crumbles around them, Jon and Martin hold each other in a firm embrace. What they see of the world shatters, and Jon breaks with it. He awakened, alone, confused, and something was terribly wrong with him.

Tim drags Jon to a party in celebration of his promotion with one goal in mind: getting  Jon drunk off his arse.

Martin is moving to a different position within the Institute and celebrates as well.

through the clouds like a moonbeam: Jon gets wings during the apocalypse. Martin likes them; Jon doesn't.

I’ll bear the waiting now: AU where Jon is the new head archivist with two assistants, but there's a disembodied voice that only Jon can hear. Do note that there is something that looks a lot like suicide but there's a happy ending. (Alternate summary that spoils the fic: Martin is a "ghost" and also Jon's "late" boyfriend. )

true kinda love: Season 3 Co-Archivist!Jonmartin

hiding: Season 3 jonmartin kissing to hide from the Circus

The Garden of forking Paths - Jon and Martin search for each other through universes.

“What about him then?” Georgie asks.

“Who?”

“Him,” she says again like it is obvious who she means, holding up the sketchbook revealing a spread that has several loose sketches of Martin. It surprises Jon it took Georgie so long to find Martin in the book considering he had at least one-third of its entirety dedicated to him.

To graduate from art school, Jon needs to paint a nude portrait, but none of his friends are too keen on modeling for him. As a last resort, he asks a handsome barista.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46426702When Martin needs a fake boyfriend to bring to his family reunion, Jonathan Sims is the last person he would have expected to volunteer.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/51906919Tomorrow, Martin begins his new job as a lighthouse keeper. He knows (hopes) he'll enjoy it. What he doesn't know (yet) is that a very, very curious selkie lives near and is intrigued enough by him to come visit.

https://archive.transformativeworks.org/works/30210444/chapters/81277828 The last fic I read (time travel)

This list has become a behemoth, comprising various lists created by others. I've saved it, but now I need to free up space. This is the process I'm undertaking for every list I've saved.

[baek-art]

⚠️‼️ TOH S3 SPOILERS ‼️⚠️

‼️ TW: Blood ‼️

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🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁🎃🍂🍁

"A mysterious place, called The Unknown. Where long-forgotten stories are revealed to those who travel through the wood"

I wasn't ready for this 😭😭

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Hi thankyou for writing very informative analysis on GK!my first encounter with your posts is looking up their heights and then the army rankings in order of our beloved characters. While I try to avoid spoilers, I have already heard from a friend that the manga ending is rushed..

if you are following the anime to s4 is Asirpa's feeling for sugimoto as obvious in the anime compared to the manga? [I'm so far an anime only and will start s3 soon. I also am reading the manga up to Sapporo hotel arc]

Do you know how it's profitable for publishers to rush their artists when obviously it's fans are still willing to buy more of their comics.. like extend their contracts perhaps.. I felt quite sad for how some animes turned out and would hate for GK to go that route

Lol is it possible for Noda to draw Canon extras on his blog of GK despite the end of the manga? Or is he also present in the anime direction? I heard that if he was given more chapters to write, he would be able to elaborate on the character's choices in the ending so hopefully hes got a say in the anime.

Lastly, do you think S5 is the season finale based on the pace? I love to bingewatch shows.

Thankyou

Welcome in the GK world!

If possible the anime (especially in the first 2 series) made Asirpa's feelings for Sugimoto even more obvious than they were in the manga, people who were strongly against the idea of an eventual Sugi/Ripa endgame complained about it more than once.

For start it cut completely Umeko's role (in the manga Umeko was declared in the early chapters as the woman Sugimoto loved) and started giving Sugimoto and Asirpa more space, from ep 16 in which Sugimoto picks up Asirpa in his arms to take her away from Hijikata to an huge expansion of the scene in which they hid in deer skins in Ep 17 to the ending theme of the second series with Asirpa with her hand on Sugimoto's heart, to the finale itself in which Asirpa, who normally doesn't believe in dreams, dreams Sugimoto and believes it's a dream sent to her by the gods and in her dreams Sugimoto tells her the things he wanted to tell her as if they were having a mental connection, a scene that's not in the manga.

Part of the criticism though didn't steem just by people hating the Sugi/Ripa but also by how the second season cut a lot of scenes from the manga to then add this sort of scenes which weren't in the manga and seemed to promore the Sugi/Ripa agenda.

Season 3 and 4 were closer to the manga so didn't got as much criticism.

It's unknown if Noda was rushed by his editor or not. It might be he was bored or got worned out by GK. Or it might be he didn't even realize his work felt rushed, maybe he only wanted to make it fast paced and... well, it didn't quite work.

Of he just did wrong his math, he wanted to end the story at Vol 31 (due to one of the possible reading for 31 being Saichi, Sugimoto's name) but created too many sideplots he had to solve so he had to rush.

This is actually a concrete possibility as the last volumes are REALLY big because they also contain more chapters than usual when he could have instead just put in them less chapters and made one more volume.

Since GK was a successfull manga I honestly find hard to believe Noda was pressured to end it unless there was some problem I know nothing about.

Anime are a different matter as in the last years their main source of income are often the dvd so they're often kept short (12 episodes) in order to sell the dvd quickly and efficently.

I doubt Noda will have time to draw canon extras on his blog, as he's working on another manga. The most he might do is drawing extra illustrations.

Who knows, maybe extra might be drawn if he were to take part to some other GK project.

I don't really know how much involved he is in the anime I've heard he was consulted for some things but, as a mangaka, Noda is already pretty busy on his own so I don't know if he would have the time to get involved more... and I've my doubts on him wanting to expant the anime ending. It's of course not impossible but I'm not sure he would be interested in it.

Currently the anime covers till half of Vol 25. This would mean 6 volumes and a half are missing... but we could also say 7 volumes since as I said the last volumes are bigger than the others.

The remaining arcs are losely 3, the Hokkaido one, the Fort Goryokaku one and the train ride one.

If the anime has 12 episodes, it means 4 episodes for each arc, if they increase the episode number (season 4 has 13 episodes so 12 isn't a given) and let's say go at 15, it would make 5 episodes for each arc.

It's possible to fit everything in, though if we fit everything well or in a rushed manner is up to the authors. Brain's base to me looked better than Geno studio so they could make it... because splitting those 3 arcs in 2 series seems too long to me.

Of course an even better solution could be put 2 arcs in the anime and the final arc in a movie... but I think they're more likely to keep everything in one anime.

Due to Geno Studio's anime poor quality as far as I know the GK anime isn't super popular and it would be hard for a movie to attrack enough audience so it's likely the next series is the final one.

Still, that's just me and I might be wrong so take this with a grain of salt.

Thank you for your ask!

[glitchyko]

Hello, I'm a LMK fandom newbie, as in I stayed up until 5am binge-watching the show and hopped onto tumblr and ao3 for the fanart and fics before I finished S4 and got jumpscared by what I thought was spoilers only to proceed finishing the show and discovering those ideas are way too prevalent for them to end up...not in the show at all. So I'm wondering if there's like, some extra material I missed asides from the four seasons and specials, like. I would presume Macaque and Sun Wukong's backstory comes from The Actual Journey to the West the fandom decided to use because ain't nobody killing anybody here, JJK round two there for a minute and I was baffled...but I'm wondering where the other stuff comes from, there's so many characters I don't see in the show, I paused typing this for a minute to look up the origin of the Bai He stuff so I know that now lmao, but Princess Iron Fan and Macaque being siblings?? Ello? And I paused again while typing this because I was still baffled by the varying different "why did SWK kill MQ" takes that ain't no way that's all coming from a single story and apparently it was implied in S3 helloooooo 😭 fandom phenomenon of fanworks going so hard for no reason the expectations I built up on the final episode going "okay this is it, then I sleep, this has to be the one with the full flashback right...right?!" I think that's what fandom might've done with the side characters too lol.

Alright, so there’s a number of things to address here, but I will do my best to try and explain everything to the best of my ability-

So firstly, yes in JTTW, Sun Wukong kills Macaque, they weren’t sworn brothers or anything like that, they didn’t have any sort of relationship, Macaque swooped in, pretended to be Sun Wukong, fought Wukong a lot while literally everyone is trying to figure out who is the real one, but eventually Buddha exposes Macaque, and Wukong kills him. There is evidence to support that Wukong did kill Macaque in LMK as well, since in season 3 LBD says she brought Macaque back to the mortal realm, and Wukong and Macaque are shown to have fought, with Wukong coming out victorious, so it’s safe to assume yes, Wukong did kill Macaque in lmk as well, the reason behind why he did so is unknown currently, some people think it’s because Macaque attacked the gang in an attempt to save Wukong, but we don’t have a reason for it in the show, but I do hope we get one.

Regarding Princess Iron Fan and Macaque being siblings, that is just a headcanon the fandom made, at this point there’s nothing even implying such a thing in the show as far as I’m aware, I understand why you’d think that’s canon because when I first got into lmk, I thought that was true too. The lmk fandom does like to use characters that aren’t in show, but do appear in lmk Lego sets, such as Rumble and Savage, or characters from jttw, like Wukong’s four generals, Marshals Ma, Beng, Ba and Liu, for lmk fanfiction and au’s. Ultimately it does take some research to figure out what is actually canon, and what is just a fandom headcanon, a lot of side characters in lmk, like Jin and Yin, sadly don’t have a lot of chances to shine or do anything really noteworthy more than maybe once or twice, so we don’t get to really know too much about them, so we take what we can and add more to it, make our own interpretation and put our own spin on things.

I hope I was able to help clear up any confusion you might have, I’m sorry if I didn’t really help that much or if I missed anything or got something wrong, this is my first time being asked about something like this, but I hope that this helped, even just a little bit!