#Kid never forgives Keith and there is no love there

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

i genuinely love characters never forgiving each other so much! Especially if the other is redeemed or sympathetic or even a good person who fucked up. Like yes sweetie stay a petty bitter bitch, sometimes healing includes a dash of Resent and Remember

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Steve Randle who is used to being an inconvenience, who is overlooked and ignored by his parents and is teachers and even other kids until he meets a boy in second grade with golden hair who is so excited to see him he practically bursts with it. Steve Randle who learns the boy is named Sodapop Curtis and he’s got two brothers, one bigger and one smaller but he still chooses to play with Steve above anyone else. Steve Randle who knows he’s abrasive and rude and that people only tolerate him because they like Sodapop and Sodapop likes him. Steve Randle who hates that he is jealous of Soda for that. Steve Randle whose mom leaves him when he’s eight years old without so much as a goodbye. Steve Randle whose father hurts him again and again and thinks he can buy forgiveness that Steve isn’t willing to give. Steve Randle who is bruised with hatred and hardened with hurt, who cares only for Soda and the people who are an extension of him because Soda is the only person he has ever been able to rely on. Steve Randle who knows how desperately Soda loves his little brother who seems destined to get hurt. Steve Randle who begins to hate Soda’s little brother because he’s the only thing that makes that furrow of worry in Soda’s brow get stuck sometimes. Steve Randle who can’t hate Soda’s little brother because it would hurt Soda and that’s the one thing he can’t do. Steve Randle who holds his best friend up when he collapses sobbing after Ponyboy goes missing,  who watches the one person he loves cry and can do nothing about it. Steve Randle who would never admit it out loud, who thinks Ponyboy Curtis is dead but knows better than to say it. Steve Randle who is gonna kick that kid’s ass if he ever shows back up. Steve Randle who would never kick that kid’s ass no matter how much he might want to. Steve Randle who loves Sodapop Curtis more than anything in the world. Steve Randle who hears Dally Winston say Ponyboy might have lit out for Texas. Steve Randle who makes a plan with Keith Matthews to go look for him. Steve Randle who would do anything for Sodapop Curtis. Steve Randle who sees Sodapop smile the day before he was going to leave because Ponyboy is finally back. Steve Randle who would do anything to keep that smile on Soda’s face. Steve Randle who isn’t as mean to the kid as he wants to be because of it. Steve Randle who loves Sodapop Curtis with all his heart.

Just...Steve Randle.

[dcbutinamrev]

Realizing Ponyboy would be the last one standing in the gang hurts me. This is how I’d think it’d play out.

Johnny was the first one to die, from burns from the fire but he died a hero

Dally not too long after that, in Ponyboy’s heart, he’d die a hero as well. Despite Dally’s reputation and how Pony states, he didn’t quite exactly like Dally, (I don’t remember the correct wording he used) he still looked up to him, still admired his mean looks. He was like another brother to Pony.

Then, his brother gets drafted into Vietnam a few years later after the book. Steve wanted to get drafted as well, where Soda goes he goes. But Soda tried to keep him out. I’d always headcanoned both he and Steve to get drafted. But Steve makes it out alive. When Steve returns without his brother—someone who’d he’d promise the Curtis brothers he’d protect and bring home alive—Ponyboy just runs to him and hugs Steve who holds Soda’s uniform before Darry. The trio crumple to the floor, grieving over another brother.

Then Steve would die of a broken heart. Literally. Like how Johnny was to Dally, Soda was not only his best friend, but the one he loved the most. The one person who seemed to understand him, despite their long time friendship since they were kids. He’d try to get back to work at the DX, but every time he enters the station, he gets whiplashes of Soda and it led him to insanity, it almost scared Pony, Darry and Two. Ponyboy feared it must have been the PTSD hitting him and he was right. Even a year after Soda’s death, Steve drinks himself in denial. And, on one fateful night, he gets in his car and drives under the influence of drinking. Suffice it to say, he felt at peace finally and sees Soda’s smiling face. The police found him like that, faced up and smiling.

Two-Bit would have been next. He’d live a relatively good life. He’d marry, much to Darry’s surprise. He’d even tried to stop drinking after Steve’s death. He tried to be strong for the two remaining Curtis brothers which is why he’s trying to stop. He’s trying to help Darry with supporting Ponyboy in his college years by earning himself a job and helping around the house. Whenever the pain of Soda, Steve’s, Dally’s and Johnny’s death play out, he’d resorted to drinking again. He never told anyone. Not even his wife. Though Darry suspected she knew but she wouldn’t tell him. Darry received a call from work one day. It was Keith’s wife and she gave him the news. Two-Bit Matthews died from excessive drinking. She found him in his bed still that morning, unresponsive. Darry didn’t take it well to say the least.

And finally, Darry would have been the second to last one. He’d die of cancer and old age. But Ponyboy was by his side when it happened in the hospital. Along with Darry’s wife and kids. Ponyboy squeezed Darry’s pale hands in his, tears on his cheeks as he tried to remain strong for Darry and his family. Under the medicine’s influence, Darry’d mention their parents, Steve and the gang. He’d even mention Sodapop which brought more tears to Pony’s face. Finally, Darry turned to his brother and whispered, “I love you, baby. Keep that strong heart.” And finally, his last words to his baby brother would be: “I’m sorry.” Ponyboy would sob into his brother’s chest, saying he forgives him. That he always had.

Now, Ponyboy Michael Curtis sits on his childhood home a few years after Darry’s death, roughly into his mid seventies, sitting on the porch, Gone with the Wind in his lap, staring off into the sunset. And he smiles, hearing Johnny’s voice in his ears: “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

[girlboypersonthingy]

hi!! i love ur writing sm :D

do u think u could do a pidge x reader where reader is english/history smart and pidge is math/science smart, so they became academic rivals (but they always secretly respected and even admired eachother), never saw eachother after pidge left for the garrison and THEN somehow find themselves together again on the castle ship. (maybe reader helped keith save shiro or sumthing like that?)

kinda a classic academic rivals to lovers thing

i daydream diff scenarios with her too often lol

sorry if i didn’t leave a lot of room for imagination :( but i’d love to see ur take on it if possible!!

THIS IS SO ADORABLE YOUVE GOT TO B KIDDIN ME RN 🥹💚💚💚 I love my little Pigeon girl, they are my fav Paladin by far. Also sorry, I bounce between she/her and they/them for Pidge. Idk it’s a habit…also LEE PLZ FORGIVE ME FOR TAKING NEARLY A YEAR TO GET TO THIS 🥹

Academic Rivals to Lovers w/ Pidge

So it all started when Pidge and you were both new to the garrison. You both kept hearing about this super smart person that was new to school and, in typically cocky fashion, you both assumed everyone was talking about you, as in yourself. But then…Lance started teasing Pidge about how there’s another new crazy intelligent kid and telling her she has competition now.

Immediately upon hearing this, Pidge takes it upon herself to figure out who you are, what your deal is and if she should consider you friend…or foe

The first time you two meet, it’s a bit awkward. It’s sort of like…both your friend groups helped yall finally meet and get to talking. They figured you guys could keep up with each other in convo, both being so smart and well spoken. As your friends all stood around, obviously clueless as to what yall were talking about, your friendly banter quickly escalated to you and Pidge very loudly debating which is more interesting and essential to the evolution of human life and knowledge, English and history OR math and science.

Pidge is probably now yelling something like “HOW ELSE IS HUMANITY GONNA EVOLVE?! SCIENCE AND MATH ARE ESSENTIAL FOR NEW DISCOVERIES AND FUTURE GROWTH AND FINDING OUT WHATS BEYOND EARTH AND-“

And you’re now trying to yell over her “YEAH OKAY OKAY AND HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF !!! HOW WILL HUMANITY EVOLVE UNLESS WE KNOW ABOUT ALL THE HISTORY OF HUMANS AND MISTAKES WEVE MADE AND-“

Everyone else around yall: 🤔😥🫠

From that point on, it became a competition, it was all about who could finish their test first, who could finish their book first, who got the higher grade on their essay or quiz.

Then, Pidge started trying to one up you by learning even more about YOUR fav subjects just to rub it in your face that she’s smarter and better than you in EVERYTHING AND EVERYWAY. (Not really, she’s actually just trying to impress you but also playfully tease you about it)

And guess what…you do the same. Y’all are basically like Keith and Lance with that love hate, frenemies type relationship.

And secretly…yall are pining so hard for each other, not so much annoyed at how smart the other is…but more infatuated with learning more about what the other is really into. You complimented each other well. You had a lot in common while also being total opposites in some aspects.

Pidge finds herself in bed at 2am one night with a book she saw you reading once. It looked fairly interesting and she wanted to see what the hype was about. As she read more and more, she began daydreaming about you as her eyes scanned over page after page, her mind focused solely on you as the words she read seemed blurry, not sticking in her brain…you were taking up too much space in there atm.

You found yourself trying to read about and learn how to code and work on tech. You found yourself totally lost and out of your element. It kinda made you smile…thinking about how she was already a science and tech wiz and now she was really getting into history and English thanks to you. Maybe…she was smarter and…maybe it’s all very important.

Before you could gather the nerve and swallow your pride and go apologize to her for treating her less than kind and being an annoying snob…

Shit hit the fan…

You helped Keith save Shiro, ended up in space in what felt like the blink of an eye and suddenly, you and pidge were attached at the hip.

It was like the severity of the situation and Pidge’s fierce determination completely erased your guys’ past together. Now, it was time to band together for the sake of everyone and everything. For the sake of her family.

You and Pidge began spending A TON of time together, often helping each other with tasks, codes, anything the others needed help with. Y’all were the puzzle solvers, the hackers, the ones Lance and Keith came to when they didn’t understand something, the cutie little nerd duo 🥹

With each time you two hung out, you found yourselves both relaxing more, joking and laughing more around each other, bonding more.

Pidge began coming to you all the time to show you new inventions or test out weird stuff on you. You were kinda flattered she always came to you first.

You began often running to Pidge after every book you’d read from the library in the castle. You’d be all excited about something new you just learned about Altean history, zooming through the halls with a huge smile as you look for your girl.

You bust into the room like “HEEYYYYY! OH MY GODDDD GUESS WHAT!!! Soooo, I just found out-“

Cue you rambling for at least 20 minutes while Pidge just smiles and nods along (occasionally she watches your lips move as you talk, only for a couple seconds before she looks back into your eyes)

As time went on, you found yourself becoming increasingly protective over Pidge, especially when out in battle. You…just like her and don’t wanna see your friend hurt or scared.

The first time she ever got hurt, or even got close to getting caught by the galra, she came back to the castle to see you waiting for them in the lion’s hangar, tears streaming down your face. You thought she would be in worse shape and even tho she looked perfectly fine, you were still distraught.

Y’all never really touched besides playful nudges and when you’d ruffle her messy hair but that day…yeah, you hugged her hard that day….

She was a little confused. No one else was this concerned for her so…why were you so freaked out? She was fine, actually more calm than you were atm.

You were so comforted and lowkey entranced by her soft embrace that you didn’t even notice Pidge was now on their knees, bringing you gently down into the same position, as you squeeze each other tighter down on the floor.

“Geez, (Y/N)…you alright?” she mumbles as she pulls back to look at you, worry present on her face.

“I’m sorry, I just…you’re like my best friend. I don’t know if I can do this without you. You…you need to be more careful!”

She was…frozen…watching your lip quiver.

You called her your best friend. The ‘best’ part really made her stomach drop. She was glad you two were closer now and not in a constant academic battle…and it’s not that she doesn’t consider you her best friend, she just…didn’t know you thought so highly of her.

Your friendship and relationship are a slow burn.

For months upon months, y’all just hang out, stay friends, bond over space tech and space history, occasionally cuddle, once in a while you’ll hold hands. Oh shoot, are yall falling asleep in the same bed? Whoa, wait…she’s started hugging you every single day. OMG SHES SO CLOSE TO YOUR FACE AS SHE LOOKS OVER INTO THE BOOK YOU’RE READING AND D A M N YOU REALLY WANNS KISS HER FRECKLED CHEEK RN, WOULD THAT BE WEIRD???

It’s a slow burn…until it isn’t anymore.

You’re the one to confess to her and Pidge is looking at you like 🫤 “oh uhm…I thought we…already kind of established that we…like each other more than friends…?”

You feel kind of dumb but excited nonetheless!!! SHE LIKES YOU BACK!!!!

The rest of the team is even like “Wait, yall hold hands and sleep in the same bed most nights. You’re not dating yet??? Hello?”

And from then on, you guys are absolutely love sick besties together. Not so much love sick in a physical touchy sense but just very emotionally supportive and kind and sweet to each other.

🥹🥹🥹

[mynameisnotsoda]

I'm probably gonna be yelling into the void but here's my refs of my favorite burs !!!! I would say bursonas but one of them is literally just my au,,,, can you tell which one it is,,

Anyway here's some hcs and stuff it's gonna be a long post LMAO I'm just copying all this stuff from Instagram cause I practically live on that shit ass app

Simpbur

He LOVES Hatsune Miku.. like LOVE LOVES HER. He owns so much fuckin merch it's actually insane. But he has never once in his life listened to vocaloid and probably never will. Hes just in love with Miku LMAO

He's aromantic bc I said so !!!!! But he doesn't know that, he hasn't really figured it out and he confuses his obsession with love.

Him and Jared actually used to be friends back when they were like middle schoolers. But then Jared got "hot and cool" and he kinda drifted away from Simp. Mostly cause Simp was SO FUCKING JEALOUS!!!!! and it was obvious too. Imagine how devastated he was when egirl started dating his old friend lmaooo what a loser

Him and e-girl started dating when they were 17, both of them were in pretty bad places in their lives so they just,,, clung onto each other. Both of them were codependent but Simp was significantly worse with his codependency. Adrianne (my name for e-girl) was the one who broke it off when they were both in their early 20s

His stupid little cat beanie is his comfort item !!!! He wears it ALL THE TIME and hates having to take it off, although he would never go out in public with it. He's got some issues with presenting the way he wants to in public so he literally just goes out in his work uniform regardless if he's working or not

Grabs him and aggressively shakes him around !!! Hes autistic (I'm autistic I can give him the tism) his special interests are anime and video games :33

He's definitely not cishet but he tries SOOO hard to present as such (shout-out to @starrixle for that hc ive adopted it for my version of simp)

Studentbur

He's bi but heavily in denial like DEEP DEEP in denial

He HATES being tall !!! He wishes he was shorter because his height makes him stand out a lot and that's the LAST thing he wants

He prays literally every night before bed. Mostly asking for forgiveness (which he shouldnt have to ask for) because he thinks he's a horrible person just for being himself

He CLINGS onto Charlie, they're not like super close friends or anything but he LOVES Charlie. He looks up to Charlie a lot and WISHES he had his confidence and sense of self :')

He doesn't like Tommy, he thinks Tommy's too loud and disrespectful and hates how much attention he attracts. So he tends to just avoid him even if they're in the same classes

He absolutely regrets smoking with Bill and Ranboo but he also feels INCREDIBLY GUILTY for wanting to do it again (because he actually had fun and was able to relax for a moment)

He LOVES emo rock, indie, modern rock and other similar genres. His parents are really strict so he has to listen to his music in secret and ALWAYS has his earbuds on him, its a comfort item too. His three favorite bands are MCR, Ghost and Radiohead :]

The only game he was ever allowed to play was and still is Minecraft. He LOVES Minecraft but at the same time he desperately wishes to be able to play other games

He fucking LOVES GOING TO PUBLIC SCHOOL !!!!! he used to be in a Christian school but it gave him so much anxiety he was physically ill every single day and he just couldn't take it anymore!!!! To his surprise his parents actually agreed to let him go to public school during his sophomore year and he's been there ever since (now hes a senior)

Charlie is really his only friend, he's tried talking to other kids but he's horribly awkward and socially inept. Charlie basically adopted him and takes care of him like a brother !!!! Even if they're not super close Charlie's always looking out for him and tries to include him with his friends even tho Stu declines most the time :((

Keith Smith

HIS WIFE LEFT HIM AND TOOK THE KIDS TOO 😭😭😭 he's still trying to find her but he's slowly losing hope and he's really considering just giving up

He's basically the "king" of the end, even though he's not actually the ruler, it was his wife. But since she's GONE he basically had to take her place, until he finds a new wife or convinces her to come back if he ever found her (the end is a matriarchy)

He's kind of insufferable why do you think his wife left him

He has two kids, Lune (pronounced like loon) and Sunny. He LOVES his kids and is actually a really great dad despite being kind of an ass and fucking annoying. He misses them a lot and it breaks his heart that he might not be able to see them ever again

Dr. Malpractice

He's a geneticist specifically experimenting with mob/human hybrids.

His experiments are NOT ETHICAL AT ALL!!! He does whatever tf he wants whenever he wants. His only healthy, surviving test subjects are Phil (enderman), Tommy (spider), Charlie (creeper) and Quackity (duck). (He also experiments on my sona,, that I added for funsies,, but they weren't created by him he just happened to find them one day more on that later)

He's actually trying to make humans more powerful in a way, because they're the weakest humanoid species of them all. He wants to "save" humanity from their own biological inferiority and doesn't care how long it takes or how much damage he causes to others so long as he reaches his goal. Because he's fucking delusional and thinks he's doing something good

He even experimented on his kid, Fundy, and he didn't make it. He has a,,, complicated relationship with what happened to Fundy. On one hand the guilt eats away at him constantly, on the other he brushes it off as just another failed experiment since in the long run,, the ends justify the means in his mind

So far his deceased test subjects include Fundy, Niki, George, and Toby (Tubbo). His only escaped subject was Randy (Ranboo) and he's so fucking paranoid that somehow he'd be able to get the authorities to stop his experiments. But it's been months since Ran escaped and nothing's happened so he isn't AS paranoid anymore, but he still worries about it

He names all the test subjects himself, it's easier for him to remember than numbers because he has dyscalculia funnily enough

All the test subjects were made in his lab with stolen DNA so he didn't have to use his own. He basically grew them in tubes and used a rapid growth serum in the tanks to make everyone adult sized since it was easier to run tests that way. He accidentally left Phil cookin for too long so he's the oldest out of everyone LMAO (except for Dr mal himself, he's 37)

Ok so onto the cringe part !!!! cSoda is a shapeshifter, shapeshifters are VERY rare and often hide themselves because they're very sought after to hunt for sport or used for various reasons. They're basically "born" from the planet itself, they grow in pockets underground for many years and kinda just pop up when they're ready. (Think of like. Steven Universe gems but organic) cSoda is erm undercooked let's say LMAO because they popped up early in their development they're basically defective. They age (albeit slowly), their body scars, they can't regrow limbs properly, their shapeshifting is limited to only animals/people they've SEEN before and they are incredibly naive and have a harder time understanding/learning about the world.

Dr. Mal found cSoda (no idea how yet) and he normally wouldn't have cared but he saw their shapeshifting and immediately decided to "take them in". He takes advantage of their naivety and basically brainwashed them into thinking he cares for them. cSoda presents as a dog (more lore I don't feel like getting into rn) so they have the personality traits of one as well, very loyal and loving and INCREDIBLY affectionate. Which Dr Mal HATES.

If it weren't for the fact that cSoda is more useful to him while alive he probably would've just killed them because he's CONSTANTLY annoyed and irritated by them LMAO he wants to be able to replicate their shapeshifting and hopes that it might be able to help him achieve his goal

c!Wilbur

He fucking LOVES working the burger van with Ranboo, it gives him something to do and he actually enjoys spending time with them even after initially not really liking them. He thinks Ranboo is SO interesting and loves to analyze everything he says and does pFF

HE FUCKING. APOLOGIZED TO TOMMY!!!!! FOR EVERYTHING !!! HE WANTS TO DO AND BE BETTER FOR HIM AND HAVE A BETTER RELATIONSHIP!!!! HE LOVES HIS BROTHER SO MUCH AND IS TRYING TO BE BETTER AT SHOWING THAT RAAHH

He fucking REEKS no matter how much he showers or uses deodorant. It'll help with the intensity of the smell but he just reeks of death bc he was rotting !!!! he also smells like cigarettes and alcohol which does mask the rot and is actually preferable by most people (especially Quackity, who's VERY vocal about how much Wilbur stinks)

Tinybur

He's REALLY clingy, like he NEEDS someone to be holding him at all times. Normally it's Tommy (who's so obviously his favorite even tho he denies it)

It doesn't remember being human for the most part but he does miss it, especially being a normal height

He HATES when people baby him, he's a grown man who just happens to be child sized. If you talk down to him he WILL be an asshole

It was surprised when people started referring to him as an "it" but he kinda liked it !! It doesn't have the same feelings about its gender since becoming a doll and he thinks it's kinda weird but cool at the same time. It really is just vibin

It's voice is high pitched and he kinda hates it, its gotten used to it but it doesnt really like how its voice changed

Animatronic!Wilbur

He's so fucking annoying and is always flirting with parents for whatever reason. He fucking LOVES if they get flustered too it boosts his ego

He's SOO jealous of Ranboo its kind of embarrassing. He thinks he should be the lead singer and mascot but doesn't vocalize it, although he does make it painfully obvious

He's the lead guitarist and back up vocalist in the band (Tommy plays keytar, Ranboo is lead singer and James is the bassist)

He's actually really fucking insecure despite being a fan favorite. One time someone left their phone and it didn't have a password so he was able to use the internet which was. A mistake. He's seen the horrors of the Beloved Ent. Fandom and he thinks people only like him because he was made to be the "attractive one" and not because he actually has anything of substance.

He fucking HATES Schlatt with a passion, so he avoids the bowling alley entirely now. Jimmy (solidarity) used to be the bowling mascot but he was too fragile and a push over with guests so they replaced him with Schlatt. Who's nice enough to guests but does have a bit of a temper and doesn't take ANYONES bullshit. Wilbur was actually really close with Jimmy and he misses him terribly :(

Can you tell who I have more brainrot for LMAO

[yzeltia]

WOL/Raha Week Day 4 Name Day

Rating: T for Teen Characters: G'raha Tia, Keith Summers, Khloe Aliapoh, G'khenna Summers, Kirian Summers Notes: Keith can't win.

Keith wrinkled his nose then shot up out of bed. Smoke was thick in his bedroom, wafting in from the hall. In a panic, he tugged on his sweat pants then scrambled out into the kitchen, finding G’khenna and Khloe fighting over a burning pan while Kirian dug under the sink

“Khloe said you had to flip it! Why did you not flip it,” Khloe breathed out.

“I’m not a culinarian! The directions said to leave it for five minutes before flipping. It was only four! It was only four,” G’khenna fired back before screaming with her friend as Kirian sprayed them and the stove down with a fire-hydrant. 

“Whoops…,” Kirian said before backing away as his sister and friend started to walk slowly toward them, trying not to laugh. “I-I just wanted to put out the fire!”

“I’m going to put you out,” G’khenna growled back.

“Khloe’s outfit is soaked! Unacceptable!”

“Looks like an improvement to me,” the young boy said, giving in to his laughter.

“OI! ENOUGH,” Keith roared, putting his hands on his hips, clearing his throat after using his dad-voice.

His children stopped, all looking at him before hurrying over and jumping on him with hugs, tackling him to the floor in the process.

“Happy Name Day Daddy!” G’khenna sang, echoed by her younger brother.

“Happy Name Day Mr. Summers,” Khloe said too.

Keith squirmed free. “Is it that time already? Ah, hey. Don’t distract me. Why is the house on fire,” he demanded.

G”khenna sat up then frowned. “We wanted to make you breakfast in bed but I don’t know how to cook.”

“You should have listened to Khloe…to me,” Khloe huffed, crossing her arms. “I know how to make pineapple pancakes. My big sister taught me.”

“I was cutting the pineapple and putting out the fire. I didn’t set it at all,” Kirian said, quick to advocate his innocence. 

Keith balked, “You’re not supposed to be using knives!”

“G’k let me!”

“He was fine. I was watching him…until the pancake burned,” G’khenna hummed before looking back at the mess.

Standing, Keith sighed then looked at his stove, his precious range looking rather singed. “I really love the gesture, but nothing good comes from the three of you in my kitchen. I’ll take care of breakfast. Girls, go clean yourselves up. Kirian, help me get rid of all this foam,” he ordered before getting to work.

By the time he’d finished, the girls had returned, cleaned up and changed. G’khenna tilting her head, looked around. “Where is father? Did he not wake up with you?”

Keith blinked, realizing the other hand not roused from slumber…or perhaps wasn’t even there when he woke. “Raha? You there,” he called out, heading down the hall as their apartment door opened up.

Coming in, G’raha huffed then placed several boxes on the table before looking around at his family. “It seems I was right to think breakfast would need rescuing. With that foresight I went out to procure some Lemon Waffles from Rickon.”

Keith crossed his arms. “You knew they’d destroy my stove,” he asked, furrowing his brow.

G’raha’s ears perked up. Turning, he looked at his husband then let out a nervous laugh. “Well, I didn’t think they could do anything that couldn’t be undone and it looks like you’ve dealt with whatever went wrong,” he said as the kids started to dig into the boxes and help themselves.

“My stove though…You know how much I love cooking on that. I made our first family meal on it,” Keith whined.

“Ah, forgive me. I suppose it is irreplaceable. Just like our beloved daughter and son, both of which crossed the salt either on their own or with you in which then they pursued-”

Keith puffed up his cheeks then moved to hug his husband from behind while putting his hand over his mouth. “So, for my birthday, I would like very much if that is forgotten and never brought up again.”

G’raha wiggled his ears then gave a nod so that he’d be let go. Smiling, he lifted up on his toes to peck his sweet husband before taking a seat. “I think that is far more feasible than my first idea.”

Sitting down with his family, Keith pulled over his box then popped it open, finding his to have a couple extra waffles than the rest, his husband knowing his stomach well. Slicing a little corner of his waffle, he went to take a bite asking,  “Oh? What was your first idea?”

“I was going to have the kitchen remodeled for you with newer appliances since we’re home. But your request is much more reasonable for our gil purse,” G’raha said, letting his tail twitch playfully behind him as Keith sat slack jawed, waffle plopping off his fork and into the box.

[unlimitedhorsepower]

thinking about the most dysfunctional buddy hero pairs possible. just the worst ones where everything can go wrong so easily

sky high & blue rose // keith & karina

keith and karina wouldnt only be the most excelling duo, they would also be the most toxic. karina would be annoyed by keiths earnestness and keith would be worried karina doesnt like him (and right now she doesnt, kind of). this is a cycle where keith tries too hard and he tries to solve things by talking to karina directly but that if anything would piss karina off really bad bc shes a little moody and doesnt like attention being drawn to it-- shell be okay later, so why is keith doing that! it just worsens her temper. they overwork themselves with keith trying to get karina like him by being perfect and karina taking it as a challenge

golden ryan & origami cyclone // ryan & ivan

ryan would never forgive ivans pettiness like antonio does, he would be kinda offended ivan thinks so little of him. ivan would never understand ryan doing things for him w/o asking (like putting him in the spotlight) as anything but bullying while ryan thinks hes being helpful, and being misunderstood by a petty pessimist is killing him inside because all he wants is to be understood. and hes straightforward about trying to solve it but with ivan that would be a disaster, he needs a mediator...

wild tiger & magical cat // kotetsu & lara

this is mostly because kotetsu would act in a way that lara would understand to be condescending and she could never trust him because of her mother. its different with a peer but kotetsu is old enough to be her dad, so she would just fully believe hes trying to take her spotlight instead of genuinely helping her, especially when hes been partnered with barnaby before and now could finally be his time to shine. kotetsu on the other hand is going to have life and fatherhood crisis 2 like how is he messing this up so bad.

barnaby brooks junior & rock bison // barnaby & antonio

antonio has all of these worries about not being popular and while kotetsu can shrug off the barnaby stardom and laugh about it, that would be eroding antonios soul. then he makes the issue bigger in his mind and barnaby certainly doesnt help bc while hes grown as a person hes still really awkward and can be snappy too. he also gives too-honest assessments on antonios lack of popularity and maybe tries to give him advice but antonio just becomes crestfallen

fire emblem & he is thomas // nathan & thomas

mainly bc nathan would love to help thomas who clearly is going through something and is deep in life & teen troubles and its related to his family. but nathans a little bit too pushy about it for thomas so he just shuts her out entirely. its also a huge issue that thomas cant follow orders when hes worked up and nathan is nice but shes also professional and thomas is SO bad at teamwork which nathan values highly... and thomas would just draw more into himself which leaves nathan very little leeway to try to appease him

dragon kid & mr. black // paolin & subaru

paolin is just trying to be friendly and subarus just being himself but hes kinda developing a complex about paolin having already been a big name hero in sternbild despite her being younger. paolin is very high-energy and mostly positive but subaru would unintentionally dash all her attempts to cheer him up and be a friend and i think they could actually come to blows about it like two kids at school during recess

[trillscienceofficer]

“Distant Shores” (Voyager short story collection, 2005) review: meh

I'd hoped this collection would be better, frankly; luckily the stories that involve B'Elanna (and there were quite a few of them, to my surprise) are mostly okay. Kes also appears prominently in at least two stories but Harry didn't really get one where he's the protagonist, and I'm surprised none involved Naomi or the Borg kids. Three stories seemed very concerned with the surviving Equinox crew and at least two seemed to want to vindicate them somehow?? I don't know, weird choices. But regardless, the problem wasn't so much in the ideas but in the execution, which was often atrocious.

story-by-story breakdown under the cut

“Da capo al fine” by Heather Jarman - this is the 'frame' story, you get to read the first half at the beginning and the second half at the end, but this story doesn't work so well for this purpose as the one on “The Lives of Dax” did for that collection. The plot is about Admiral Janeway and her last moments with the Borg Queen in “Endgame” but, idk. I think the author wanted to write a reckoning with all of Janeway's arch-nemeses but the story fails to have any stakes.

“Command Code” by Robert Greenberg - Tuvok and Chakotay get snippy on the bridge once Chakotay is left in command very soon after “Caretaker”. The concept is intriguing! Unfortunately the author's style is as dull as watching paint dry.

“Winds of Change” by Kim Sheard - this one was really fun! After being possessed by Tieran, Kes is struggling with her anger and reactivity so she goes to B'Elanna for help, and they try some of B'Elanna's sports holoprograms. This does not go well! Everything seems lost until B'Elanna offers a different approach to holoprograms, and it turns out they can work well together. This was just a really nice take on a dynamic that was really underexplored in the show (the author makes a point to say so as explicitly as she can), and it's honestly one of the best stories in the bunch.

“Talent Night” by Jeffrey Lang - my man Jeffrey (of “String Theory - Cohesion” fame) contributes to the collection with a hilarious story concept and great characterization for all involved, mostly B'Elanna, Tom and Harry, who are in charge of organizing said talent night. I can almost forgive the fact that it just an elaborate setup to get B'Elanna and Tom together by making B'Elanna needlessly jealous. Almost.

“Letting Go” by Keith R. A. DeCandido - this story is about the ones 'left behind' by Voyager, the families and loved one of the crew back in the AQ. I think I would've liked this way more if the author had chosen to follow anyone else other than Janeway's fiancé Mark. I liked how grounded the story is in the events of DS9 and First Contact and the range of reactions that all these people have to Voyager's disappearance, but I found myself wondering more about Greskrendtregk and T'Pel than Mark. I also found it hilarious that the story ends with Mark having married someone else and having to write to Janeway, who he's just learned is still alive, about it. I have to say though that it was a nice touch to have a lot of the people involved be the families of the crewmen who died in “Caretaker”—they obviously don't know what happened but the reader does, so their presence lends a lot of emotional gravity to the narrative.

“Closure” by James Swallow - Seven and Neelix get trapped in a cave that used to be inhabited by aliens and Neelix walks off to find a way out when—Kes shows up. Is it a vision, induced by the Ocampa artifacts in the cave? Is it actually Kes who's come back to say goodbye? It doesn't make much difference to Neelix, who is very glad to see her again. I think I would've appreciated this story more if it hadn't turned Neelix into too much of a lovesick fool; I don't like the idea that he actually never got over Kes with this kind of intense sentimentality. The story was enjoyable but something about it rubbed me the wrong way.

“The Secret Heart of Zolazus” by Robert T. Jeschonek - this one is terrible. Seven crash-lands on a planet and is saved by an outcast who pretty much gives her life for Seven and it's supposed to be ~inspirational~ or something but it's written in a way that... I don't know, reads exactly like one of those corny christian moral stories? I swear it's one of the most artless, embarrassing things I've read this year. The one thing it has going on is that Seven gets to kneel beside this dying alien girl who's taken a hit for her and so you can read some subtext in there, but the horrifying ableism is truly not worth the ticket!

“Isabo's Shirt” by Kirsten Beyer - the horrors aren't over though because this story is worse!! It's unabashedly J/C but oh boy both Chakotay and Janeway are so HORRIBLY out of character I couldn't cope. How did this even get published? Is this shipping brain at its worst?? Plus it's embarrassingly racist. I was never particularly interested in this ship but if THIS is in any way representative I am for sure steering well clear.

“Brief Candle” by Christopher L. Bennet - note: if you can't understand the distinction between romance and workplace sexual harassment you should probably not be writing romance! This is particularly galling because this is the 'Marika Wilkarah lives on Voyager for a few weeks' story which is something I wanted to see explored for a long time, and like... Marika HAS some interiority and convictions in this story but 1. we never see her really interact with other Bajorans if not in hindsight (why??) 2. her remaining resentment for Seven is barely mentioned and 3. she basically wants to be close to someone before dying and? essentially harasses Harry into having a relationship with her?? what???? If this were a fic it should get a 'dead dove do not eat' label. That was so, so awful and such a disappointment for the interesting concept this story promised to be. As I said in a previous post, the one thing this story has got going on is that Marika sides with B'Elanna during the events of “Barge of the Dead”, which I think it's a great take! But not enough to make me forget how bad the rest is.

“Eighteen Minutes” by Terry Osborne - the story of the time the Doctor spent on the planet from “Blink of an Eye” before he got beamed back to Voyager. I'm always extremely ambivalent about Doctor episodes/stories and this one is no exception. On one hand, the conflict he faces between his programmed-in hippocratic oath and the prime directive is believable, but on the other it ends up being another one of those weird power fantasies in which the Doctor gets the boundless gratitude and undying affection of the people around him because... he's done his job as a medical practitioner? It feels in character but I don't have to like it!

“Or The Tiger” by Geoffrey Thorne - LOVELY B'Elanna characterization in this one right until the ending, which I hated. Authors always tend to exaggerate B'Elanna's propensity for violence when in reality the show consistently shows her being very restrained and extremely remorseful whenever she snaps (and she only snaps because people tell her constantly that she's unable to control herself!) It's one of those stories where the point is 'aw the Equinox crew is trying very hard to make amends and the Voyager people are being mean to them' which... baffles me as a setup? It was interesting to see B'Elanna believably get into a rabbit hole when confronted with new technology that could help Voyager! But I'm not sure she wouldn't have snapped out of it as soon as it was pointed out to her that she might've been hurting living beings with her actions. We've seen B'Elanna struggle with this kind of moral quandaries before (“Prototype” and “Dreadnought” come to mind), so that the conflict dragged out for as long as it did here (and that she beat someone up for it!) feels deeply out of character to me.

“Bottomless” by Ilsa J. Bick - another one of 'the Equinox crew deserved a second chance!' stories, this time with crewman Marla Gilmore. I loved the technological conundrum (what do you do if your submersible is stuck on the bottom of the sea??) and Marla's lingering guilt and resentment felt believable and genuine. Shame that she expresses this mostly by being mean to B'Elanna (thought it happens mostly in her head), and you get the feeling she's just sharing the author's POV, since she has Tom saying some terrible garbage too... there's really nothing quite as diabolic as misogyny (and misogyny that's racially coded) coming from women authors! Ultimately Marla sacrifices herself to save Janeway and Chakotay and in so doing she expiates all of her Equinox sins, which would be okay (I guess) if it wasn't the exact same plot of “Brief Candle”, for some reason.

[disgracefulthings]

Hello..If you don't mind me asking, can I ask, what are your top 7 (or top 10) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series/etc) and your top 10 favorite (fictional) characters from any media? Why do you love them all? Sorry if you've answered this questions before......

Thanks for asking! Be warned, long post

For media in no particular order:

Code Geass - Great male lead and phenomenal ending. Has that anime trope of too many love interests with little personality, but still has some really good female characters (Nunnally and Euphemia are amazing). The Lelouch and Suzaku relationship is just how I like it - filled with many complicated feelings

Scum Villain Self Saving System - As someone who loves fanfiction, I think Scum Villain is a must read. MXTX really shows her understanding of fandoms in the story. Shen Yuan is an amazing main character, his chaotic thoughts and his lack of understanding of everything makes him really funny, and I love learning more about the characters around him as they become more real to him

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Just a really great movie. Great characters and villains, you don't need me to tell you why it's amazing

Infinity Train - Gone too soon. Therapy train that forces you to get better or it kills you, a great idea for a kids TV show! It honestly was a really good show that showed people going through realistic issues, and have them try to be better, though the protagonists are never perfect and can and will fail. I will never forgive HBO for cancelling it

Gravity Falls - Being in the Gravity Falls fandom while this show was coming out was really fun. I loved all the theories and seeing which ones came true. Great characters and villains, and I can't wait to see what Alex Hirsch comes out with next

Hannibal (TV Series) - A great rom-com with some delicious looking food. Also Will has 7 dogs, 10/10 show

The Mandalorian (First 2 Seasons) - Got me into Star Wars. Tired gun dad and little gremlin baby carry the show, and I love watching Mando slowly learn Star Wars lore

Iron Man - Favorite Marvel movie. It does so many things right, I don't care if the main villain makes their own iron Man suite and fights Tony using his own power, that wasn't an annoying Marvel trope yet, and Iron Man does that trope the best. Stane actually has a personal relationship with the main character so we can feel Tony's betrayal when he learns what Stane has done. Also it has Phil Coulson, so 10/10

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! - This show is just hilarious, I don't care if Catarina ends up with any of her love interests, I just love all of the characters (except Keith, I'm not a fan of 'I can't believe it's not incest' type ships)

Epithet Erased - Criminally underrated. The story takes place in a world where some people have specific words attached to their souls called epithets that give them power. The series has many amazing characters, but mostly follows Molly, a little girl whose epithet is 'dumb'. She is forced to grow up after losing her mother, and is made to do things 10 year olds shouldn't know how to do, like taxes. It's an amazing series that can be very heartwarming and funny, but also very tragic. Please watch!!!

And now my favorite characters, this time in order:

1. Shang Qinghua, Scum Villain Self Saving System - I love this pathetic hamster man. You can see parts of himself in the characters he wrote, and while his backstory isn't as tragic as most of the other characters, it is still very relatable and sad. He has really great chemistry with many of the characters, so he can be fun to write. He is my best friend and I would kill for him

2. Loki, Marvel - I'm a young adult woman on Tumblr, of course I love Loki. His characterization has kinda gone out the window since Thor Ragnarok, but he's still very charming and funny

3. Sesshomaru, Inuyasha (and only Inuyasha. Final Act made some questionable choices for the character, and I refuse to acknowledge Yasahime's existence, may it burn in hell) - I love the trope of redeeming a character by giving them a child. Sesshomaru's character growth throughout the story was fun to watch, and I love the fact that even though he has 1 arm, he doesn't hesitate to punch his brother in the face. The show ends without resolving anything, but at least it doesn't ruin the relationship he had with his father, gives his arm back in a stupid way, and changes his relationship with Rin in a creepy way. Nope, none of that happened

4. Yakushi Kabuto, Naruto - I loved this nerd since he was introduced, and the fact that he was given a tragic backstory near the end of Naruto just made me love him even more. He's a healer that uses his abilities to harm others, and I love that for him

5. Pythor P. Chumsworth, Ninjago - Best villain in the show. It doesn't always handle his character well, but his motivation for revenge is very tragic and I wished the show acknowledged it. His release with Lloyd was fun in ep. 4, and I wished they had a reconciliation. Still, he was fun throughout the show

6. Natural Harmonia Gropius, Pokemon - I love the idea of a character that can understand Pokemon, and he has a compelling arc in the games and anime. I love villains who do the wrong things for the right reasons, and also have good relationships with the people he's apposing

7. Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Star Wars (specifically when he's written by Timothy Zahn) - He's too smart for his own good and can be a little shit, but he also holds importance to the life around him, even though he's on the Empire's side. I love my morally grey characters

8. Discord, My Little Pony - I watched the entire show just because I liked one character, and it was worth it. I love my chaotic gods

9. Kumoko, So I'm a Spider, So What? - I love shows where we watch a protagonist get new abilities. Kumoko is very silly and chaotic, and while she seems nice, she wouldn't hesitate to commit atrocities

10. Lan Qiren, The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation - I just think he's funny

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

It's Just Pretend

Chapter 8: Acceptance

AO3!

Chapter 8

First Chapter!

Word Count: 1,984

*Chooo choooo* angst trainnnnnn

Lance wasn’t even phased when he woke up holding Keith. His body was itching to move and stretch; the bed was a bit firm for his liking. But instead, he laid still, his breathing even. He loved the quiet moments he got with Keith. But he was infatuated when Keith was asleep and Lance could just hold him. Just feel the stress leave Keith’s body for a bit. 

Lance would stay here forever if he could. 

But forever ended up being only twenty minutes before Keith awoke with a jolt and Lance closed his eyes. Pretending to be asleep. 

Keith froze for a couple of seconds before sinking back down into a lack position. His breathing eventually calmed down into a restful pattern. Lance found himself holding his breath. Which, in reflection is more suspicious than just breathing but he wasn’t sure what Keith was going to do. 

Keith shifted. 

Lance fully expected Kieth to roll out of bed and start his day. Instead, he turned. Completely rotated so he was facing Lance. His face was pushed into Lance’s chest and his hand gently gripped the back of his shirt. 

Lance prayed he couldn’t hear how loud his heart was thumping in his chest. 

He was never going to get over him at this rate. 

—

“Morning Lance,” Adam poured some creamer into his coffee, not even glancing at the other boy. 

“Adam,” Lance grumbled out and moved to grab a cup. 

“Oh come on, you’re not still mad at me, are you?” 

Lance sighed and filled up his cup with water. “Why would I be mad? You only lied to me and hid the fact you knew my roommate for six months! How could I possibly be mad.” 

Adam sighed and grabbed his mug, “you never asked me if I knew.” 

“You could have helped a guy out.” He gulped his water down, “Whatever. I’ll forgive you when you’re making my drinks.” 

Adam chuckled, “Good, you’re my most loyal customer.” 

They fell into silence, both eventually making their way onto the porch. Taking in the morning view of the lake and trees surrounding them. 

“Where’s Shay and Hunk?” 

“Went to a sunflower garden.” 

“Oh….Matt and Pidge?”

“...I have no idea honestly.” 

“Hmmm,” Lance paused, “Where’s Shiro?” 

“He mentioned a hike.” 

“Surprised he didn’t take Keith with him.” 

Adam smirked, though he tried to hide it behind his drink. 

Lance squinted his eyes, “what?” 

“Oh, nothing.” 

“Adam!” 

He chuckled, “he went to invite Keith.” 

Lance’s heart leaped in his chest, “and?” He knew where this was going. He had briefly fallen asleep after Keith cuddled up to him. 

“You and Keith were very close to each other. He didn’t want to disturb him.” 

Lance ignored how his face burned and focused his attention forward. "People can cuddle in their sleep without it meaning anything. And I’m a natural cuddler. So there.” He stuck his tongue out like a kid, resulting in Adam laughing. 

Silence fell between them. 

“It’s okay you know.” 

Lance forze, “What do you mean?” 

Adam finished his drink before standing. Taking a moment to stretch his back. “If you fall in love with each other.” He went back inside without another word. 

Lance avoided Adam the rest of the day.

—

Keith lay in bed longer than he usually did. He was awake when Lance got up and headed downstairs. He just didn’t have the motivation to get up with him. 

Keith wasn’t usually a tired individual. But, when the nightmares got too much he struggled for a week or so. He knew enough now to be able to push through them. To function decently enough that no one would really notice past “Oh Keith is being moody again.” 

He knew it wasn’t a healthy way to cope. He knew he needed to actually push through his trauma and learn to live with it better. Learn to let go of the guilt he felt over his father's death. But every therapist felt like a regurgitation of the next. Their advice was either too textbook for him. Always told him to “feel his feelings” and “let go of his guilt” but wouldn't give him the tools to simply “let go.” Or they wanted to discuss other “important” things. 

“You know Keith, you’ve been in my office multiple times and never have once looked me in the eye.” Or, “So do you always struggle to make and keep friends?” Or, “Explain your daily routine and what would happen if you changed it?” 

It was never explained the reason behind these questions. Whatever response he gave would simply lead to their pencil gliding across the page as they nodded their head in a knowing way. 

It wasn’t his fault he was different from everyone. Doesn’t everyone struggle with friendships? Looking at other people, especially in the eyes. And what does a daily routine have to do with anything? If it works, why change it? 

He made his way downstairs, aiming to make a very late breakfast. He heard some commotion as he entered the kitchen. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes landed on Lance. He was sitting on the marble island. He swung his legs slightly as he leaned back on his hands. He was wearing black cargo shorts and a deep green sleeveless shirt. He was relaxed as always, smiling at whatever Hunk was saying as he cooked. 

Lance. Lance had always been someone for Keith. 

At the start, it was hard for Keith. His walls were up, and his aversion to talking to someone new was sitting on his chest like a dead weight. Lance was spontaneous, always inviting Keith out for coffee, asking him if they wanted to study together, and inviting Keith to parties and events. He was never upset when Keith declined, he never asked why, he would just smile and say “Another time.” 

He never questioned Keith’s quirks or awkwardness. When he would go on tangents about topics no one really cared for. When he never looked at his face for the first year or so of their friendship. 

Lance accepted him as he was, he never made him feel less or like he was faulty in some way. He didn’t become overbearing when Keith finally caved and told him about what happened to his dad. About his guilt and how much he blamed himself for his dad going back into the burning building. His support became gentler but he didn’t treat Keith like he was made of glass or he was about to break at any moment. Kieth owed him more than he could ever express. 

“It’s pretty, huh?”

Keith forced himself out of his thoughts and focused on Shiro. “Uh…yeah.” He looked out into the scenery, how long had Shiro and him been walking? He had been dragged out of the house after lunch by him. Shiro complained that Keith missed the morning hike that he wasn’t even aware he signed up for. 

Shiro sighed. There was no annoyance behind it though. “What’s on your mind?” 

Keith shrugged, “Just thinking about a lot.”

“Well,” Shiro moved to sit on an old fallen tree trunk. “I’m all ears.” 

Keith nodded, taking a moment to collect himself. His eyes focused on the vegetation around them. “Do you ever feel…broken?” 

“Uh…can you elaborate?” 

Keith groaned, trying to force his brain to communicate anything coherent. “Do you ever feel like you’re missing something? That everyone else seems to have but you?” 

Shiro frowned, “I’m not sure.” This wasn’t the first time he and Keith had similar talks. He would never complain or roll his eyes, he would just listen. Letting Keith vent the frustrations of knowing something was “wrong” but not knowing what. 

Keith moved and sat down next to his friend. “I feel like I miss a lesson in making friends and connecting with others. Like everyone was informed to go to ‘making friends 101’ but me. I just can’t connect with people Shiro. And I want to.” 

Shiro gently wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulders. “You do connect with people. Just in your own ways. Look at you and Lance! You’re buddies!” 

Keith swallowed, trying to push the lump in his throat down. “He has other friends though.” He took a shaky breath, “everyone always likes someone more than me.” 

“That’s not true Keith. You don’t know how others are feeling or how they feel about you.” 

Keith shrugged, not having the energy to argue but that feeling sat heavy on his chest. Weight his body down as if the earth was trying to swallow him whole. But, Shiro was able to read Keith like a book. 

“It’s okay if you still feel like that. I can try and understand where you’re coming from.” 

Keuth’s fingers grasped the roots of his hair, “I know people like me. But I feel left out all the time. Like, an NPC in a video game! You have Adam, Lance, Hunk, and other friends, I know Pidge but no one can get between Pidge and Matt. And when it all boils down…I’m all alone.” 

Shiro nodded, if he had any thoughts, he kept them to himself. 

Keith swallowed again, willing the burn behind his eyes to go away. He wanted to stop talking. He needed to stop talking. But the gate was open and he couldn’t stop. “I like him, Shiro. Like, I actually like him. And we,” a broken sigh, “we aren’t a thing. And one day we won’t be a thing. He’s going to find someone he actually likes. And then bye-bye Keith.” 

“I don’t think he’ll ever leave you, Keith. Even if he finds someone else.”

“You don’t know that Shiro.” 

“You’re right, but I can see it in his face. He likes you, Keith. More than I think you realize. Hell, maybe even he realizes.” 

They let the silence grow around them. Keith forced himself to listen to the words Shiro said. Forcing himself to accept what he was saying. His brain was fighting each word. 

Shiro moved his arm and patted Kieth’s upper thigh.”Whatever happens, you’ll be okay.” 

“...promise?” 

Shiro smiled, “promise.” 

—

“Did you have a good hike?” Lance pulled the blankets over his body, waiting for Keith to turn off the light and lay down. Even on vacation, they still headed to bed at the same time. 

“Yeah…it was nice.” 

Lance frowned, “what’s wrong?” 

“Hm?” Keith turned off the light and climbed into bed. “Nothing’s wrong.” 

Lance released a small sigh, “Keith, you can talk to me. It’s okay. Judgment-free zone.” 

Keith smiled to himself in the dark, laying on his side so his back was to Lance. But he couldn’t say what was on his mind. He couldn’t tell Lance how he really felt about him and ruin their entire friendship. Everything they built together. He knew Lance liked him but Lance didn’t like him like that. Kieth wasn’t going to be the one to ruin it. He couldn’t ruin another friendship over his emotions. 

“Keithhhhhhhh,” Lance whined in a dramatic whisper. 

Keith huffed, “fine.” He chewed on his inner cheek for a couple of seconds before speaking. “How much longer are we going to keep this up? The fake relationship? I bet you are itching to actually date someone.” His heart pounded as he finished the sentence, a part of him hoping Lance would deny it. Lance would say he was fine with this for the rest of his life. That Lance liked him back. 

But Keith knew better than to be hopeful. 

Lance’s answer came in the still darkness, his tone unreadable. “Maybe after a year? We can still live together but just say we went our separate ways romantically. A clean breakup, and then we can both find someone new.”

Keith ignored hos his heart shattered and tears burned behind his eyes. Rejection. “Yeah…sounds like a plan. Night.”

"Night." 

-----

</3

Also, I had to vent about some struggles I've been dealing with because of my autism. The inability to connect to others is always a topic for me and my therapist

Thank you for reading <33333

[kattestrophe]

Pop Culture Kattes Part 3 - A Collection of even MORE Kattes!

Finally! Part three!

PART I

PART II

Gustav Heinrich Gans zu Putlitz - Brandenburgische Geschichten: Kronprinz Friedrich und Hans Hermann von Katt (1862)

This Katte is a mess. He holds the record for least interaction with Fritz ever: They don't have any scenes together at all. Even the death scene is not a scene that actually happens, it is just recounted to Wilhelmine. Speaking of Wilhelmine, Katte is in love with her again. I am surprisingly okay with that, because Wilhelmine does not love him back and this leads to Katte telling Fräulein von Sonsfeld that "Her Royal Highness will be glad to know that I will be gone soon and she never has to see me ever again D':". My personal favourite is the first scene he's in: He enters it as the mysterious stranger in a Potsdam bar who has the most beautiful hands and the most sensual lips, goes through it as that weirdo who talks about how great and pretty and wonderful the Crown Prince is and how he's gonna flee the country soon, and leaves it by, I kid you not, yelling "TO THE CROWN PRINCE!?!?" and fleeing the scene after some guy comes in to talk to him. "Oh, Lieutenant von Spaen, who was that weird guy you sat with, the one who wouldn't shut up?" "That was the Lieutenant Katte from Berlin." "Watch out kid, that one's gonna die."

This Katte is a very emotional, impulsive one who lies to Wilhelmine's face about not telling anyone about the escape plans and I personally enjoyed him quite a bit.

Overall rating: 6/10 gorgeous gorgeous paintings of the Crown Prince

Sheenagh Pugh - Five Voices (1993)

Five Voices is a cycle of five poems showing five different people giving their perspective of the happenings of 1730: Quantz, who talks about the "Hiding from the King in a closet" anecdote, Keith, talking about the planning stage after escaping, the painter Lisiewsky, who was in the middle of painting Katte's portrait when he was arrested, Colonel Reichmann, who reports of the execution, and Theodor Fontane, who visits the crypt 150 years later.

I loved this one, I really did. Katte is described by his contemporaries as not taking things seriously, laughing while hiding in the closet and debating like an atheist because it's fashionable on one hand and on the other his face falls when he sees Frederick hurt, he is very much serious about helping him despite knowing that he will die and spends his last day in freedom checking up on the portrait in progress to reassure himself that he will at least be remembered. The Fontane bit at the end is a great way to tie the whole thing off, showing the ongoing fascination Katte's person manages to evoke and connecting to the Lisiewsky poem's theme of remembrance.

There are inaccuracies, there is some implied womanizing/romance with Wilhelmine, and he is blond, but I can forgive that because the emotion just works. Katte is, as the Fontane poem says: witty; a little arrogant perhaps, but very bright.

Overall rating: 9/10, I can't think of a funny quip

Paul Ernst - Preußengeist (1915)

After the bundle of pure energy that was Brandenburgische Geschichten Katte and slightly unhinged Five Voices Katte, Preußengeist gives us yet another serious man of duty - who is NOT in love with Wilhelmine! Because Wilhelmine is not in this play. He does, however, get a different random girlfriend, Fräulein von Winterstein. They are tragically in love, but it cannot be, because she is poor and he is... too? Hans Heinrich is fudging his income reports to commit tax fraud, I guess... So Katte has a girlfriend! And boy does she make him happy! She... Rats him and Fritz out to the King before they so much as set foot outside of Berlin! This one really has less of an escape than any other adaptation! The whole thing feels like it happens over the course of five hours tops. So anyway, they are "caught" and surprisingly chill FW is really rooting for Katte and Frl. von Winterstein. However, Katte is a serious and maybe somewhat depressed man of duty. Actual conversation from the play:

FW: "Katte, should I pardon you?"

Katte: "No."

Because you see, this play was written in the very early stage of WWI and Katte is here to tell us all that, as some unimportant nobody, dying for the monarchy, in battle or otherwise, is the best you can do. Wow. Anyway, Katte asks FW to think of his poor old father who served in the army once upon a time and who wants nothing more than to be proud of his only son (Hans Heinrich is also fudging birth certificates...), so would FW please let him die a soldier's death an let him be shot with his sword on his hip? FW is very moved by that and gifts Katte his very own sword to die with. He's a bit of a sentimental one, that FW. So Katte and Fritz are thrown into their... shared prison cell... interesting choice... and Katte accepts his fate, gifts Frl. von Winterstein a ring and Fritz a silver pocket watch to remember him by and gets shot, dying the honorable soldier's death and prompting Fritz to change his ways, start hating the English, embrace the Prussian spirit and become a good King. Blergh. Best line: "But Katte, I'm dying with you!"

Overall rating: 4/10 stupid stupid fake girlfriends

Carl Furkert - Friedrich und Katte: Roman Epos (1860)

This one rhymes! Once you get past quite a bit of romantic waxing about nature, some villany from Grumbkow and Seckendorf and a lot of "oh Frederick, greatest person to ever walk this earth", we finally meet Frederick's Pylades (the author's words, not mine) on page 43: He... has small hands and small feet? Thanks, Furkert, that's definitely relevant. Finally, we learn our hero's name: Friedrich Katte. I am not kidding. I have seen Holtzendorff and both Keiths get wrong first names, I kinda get that, but Katte, really? Not sure if he has a noble title in this btw, it's never mentioned. Probably to drive home the fact that he is, once again, dirt poor despite his father being a General. Anyway, moving on... And ah, we're back to the status quo: Katte is in love with Wilhelmine. And how! He'd fight George II of England for her and sacrifice himself in battle and never marry anyone else and bla bla blaaa... And the worst part: She likes him back and they rhyme about it for a g e s. Katte would also fight people for Fritz though! They are constantly hugging, referring to each other as "mine, mine forever" and swear their undying love and loyalty to each other. And in Küstrin Fritz says to himself that once he becomes King, Katte shall sleep in his bed? Oh, and Mine sneaks into Katte's cell and tells him to borrow her veils and make a run for it while she stays behind. Fritz and Mine should have a talk about their feelings for Katte, I think.

Overall, the whole thing has its moments, but the Katte/Mine thing is hard to ignore because it's long and it rhymes and also they get his first name wrong, this is embarrassing!

Overall rating: 4/10 overly long monologues about longing to be a shepherd

Heiner Müller - Leben Gundlings Friedrich von Preußen Lessings Schlaf Traum Schrei (1982)

This... It's... It's a drama from the 80s. The rambling title kind of gives you a glimpse at what's to come. This is the kind of play you only enjoy as a proper theatre or literature student, I believe; I am a mere history student who was good in german class once upon a time.

Katte is in two scenes, he's explicitly gay for Fritz, they are constantly cockblocked by Wilhelmine, who has her tits out at some point, for... reasons, and then he gets shot. Yeah. Him and Fritz are honestly kind of cute, they read tragedies together (which I definitely didn't only enjoy because I wrote a fic about it myself before I knew this play) and play blind man's buff (with Wilhelmine who smacks their hands when they try to touch). This whole play is a fever dream. Anyway, it did have some killer lines:

After the execution

FW: "That was Katte."

Fritz: "Sire, that was me."

Overall rating: 4/10 really good lines amidst absolute pandemonium

Gertrud von Brockdorff - Katte: Die Geschichte einer Freundschaft (1934)

... y'all. This Katte is so incredibly queercoded, I thought I was actually going insane. At least half of his scenes with Fritz could be copied to AO3 verbatim and nobody would notice anything off. Katte is won over by Fritz just existing in less than a second, keeps going on about how it was destiny that brought them together, draws his portrait from memory, and says that should he ever love a woman she would have to have the eyes of the Crown Prince.

Now, this of course leads to a Wilhelmine romance later on, however, it's honestly not that compelling and I think it might be on purpose. A beard romance to publish some gay shit in NS-Germany. For comparison: Upon first meeting Fritz, Katte is stunned almost speechless for a moment and can barely concentrate in the conversation that follows, feeling anxious that the prince might be disappointed in him now (despite Fritz never acting like it, on the contrary, he feels a connection immediately). After their conversation, he tells Keyserlingk that he's been bewitched. Upon meeting Wilhelmine, he just thinks "Hm. She looks like the white lady and her hands are cold."

Now if that ain't romance.

Also: While it is said that Wilhelmine's eyes are similar to Fritz's, they are never described in the same way. Fritz's eyes, the eyes Katte would need "to ever love a woman" are constantly described as "wide, bright and impenetrable" while Wilhelmine's aren't. And in his scenes with Fritz Katte is often taken by intense, sweeping emotions - With Wilhelmine, he's a little giddy at most. The classic old het romance of "Ah, I sigh, what an honor to be in your presence". Also all they ever talk about is Fritz.

Now in Chapter 7, they actually do have a romantic scene and hug and almost kiss and "Ah, my destiny has been separated from the Crown Prince, I will stay here because I love Wilhelmine and she loves me!" - However, Chapter 7 is an anomaly and should not be counted. By chapter 8 Katte is back to longing for his dear Frédéric, whom he suddenly addresses as such while also using informal pronouns, can only be comforted by the thought of him longing for Katte too, and answers Fritz's desperate thrown kiss from his cell window by pressing his fingers to his lips before telling him that he is dying for a prince he loves. It is gay, gentlefolk, it is gay and I stand for that with my name, pour one out for Gertrud, she gave us more romance than Zeithain. Deducting a point for Chapter 7 though, that hurt me. I know it had to be done, but ouch.

Overall rating: 8/10 intense hand clasps

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Let's Rewind! Toast watches Voltron: Defender of The Universe (1984)

Season 1, Episode 25: Short Run of The Centipede Express Season 1, Episode 26: The Invisible Robeast

Episode 25: Short Run of the Centipede Express apparently the gg are still in contact with arus because they're sending status reports of a centipede robeast blowing up asteroids in its path i'd rather not hear from the gg ever again thanks

i know this is post ep 20 now, but coran letting the team go observe that damn robeast who's literally a whole galaxy away is eating me whole, i will never forgive coran

Honestly the one thing dotu did right is showing straight up torture, like yea we know the rulers of doom are evil but seeing people forced into a gladiator ring against a robeast for refusing to work on a secret weapon and having the rest of the slaves watch is fucking despicable

Revolt! The slaves snapped after watching one of them get eaten by a robeast and are demanding freedom, sucks to suck lotor, if you kill them you won't get shit done, but if you listen you ALSO won't get shit done

Apparently planet Mora (the planet the weapon is being build on) helped Arus at some point, Hunk seems to remember it, so it must be real recent that's probably the writers way of justifying hunk and allura wanting to go down to help the people, but I think freeing them from slavery against an oppressive government is a good enough reason LMAO

Surprisingly, Keith Lance and Pidge went planet side through the lion head attack, where green literally disconnects her head and launches away, I thought they were going in green because she seems to be the smallest lion also allura wanted to go with Lance and Pidge, but Keith essentially told her to sit the fuck down because he was going instead and to keep watch with hunk LMAO

Where the fuck did pidge go, is he staying in green's head while Keith and Lance act out their spy kids dreams?

Oh god, they tried to censor some guards drinking on duty by calling it some kind of juice OINVSD It's a flask, it's so obviously a flask, though definitely would've worked on kids since they shouldn't have known what it was

ooh real talk time, this dude is swearing loyalty to lotor because he feels abandoned by Voltron, apparently his people helped arus after one of the attacks on it but when their planet own got taken over, voltron was busy elsewhere I understand where he's coming from, it's hard to ignore bad things when it's happening to you so when you actually need help and nobody comes it's devastating

The plan to destroy the secret weapon, which is a laser that's able to fry voltron, goes wrong because of that guy so keith and lance make a break for it the only reason the guy stopped the plan was because lotor was going to kill him, so i don't think he would've said shit if that didn't happen

Why is pidge still in the body of green lion?? I thought he fucking went with them! Everything is so confusing

Time to take down that laser gun, that dude is in charge of aiming it but after keiths pep talk about trusting voltron and not zarkon he ends up shooting it at the centipede express that's coming in for a landing with zarkon and haggar in it it misses, of course, but the guy ends up taking down a tower anyway

i mean i assumed the centipede express was a robeast but seeing it actually set itself up to be one was cool as fuck

Voltron was formed waaay earlier but the robeast is destroyed and the bad guys escape also keith and that one guy have a really weird and really emotionally charged stare for a bit lol

/episode end

Episode 26: The Invisible Robeast Haggar found out how to turn things invisible,,, great Lotor obvs is going to use that to kidnap Allura, sometimes I think that Zarkon isn't on his ass about being driven by his dick more than his head because taking Allura would still make voltron weak enough to destroy

Ew Nanny Pidge keeps inhaling apples, so now his favorite fruit are apples because I say so

your honor i love them

Lance giving Pidge advice on how/where to shoot so the princess doesn't get hurt is the cutest thing, I want to see more of them just being dofuses together

"i just don't like things i can't see" - Nanny you mean like your fucking attitude, but you can definitely see that so no wonder you don't have a problem with it

Keith saves the day from a falling boulder, I know allura going back for nanny was the ethical thing to do but also LEAVE HER TO DIE YOU DON'T NEED HER EVER ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO DIE BECAUSE OF HER

The boys tell allura to stay in the castle since the robeast is going after her specifically, for once I agree since for now it's good for her to keep her distance as long as she's still watching Keith and Lance bait it to the desert and watching for it to cast a shadow before all 4 let loose on the thing, smart plan

Animation error? keiths background when he's in his lion is all white and just outlined oh all their backgrounds are like that, maybe to save money

the robeast attacks the castle and lures the boys underwater to blue's launch area, turns out we get confirmation that every lion but blue sucks at being in the water also it's princess time now, she's the only one who can actually do well down there

aaand she's knocked out again, but on the bright side the boys had time to figure out how to beat up the robeast and get her back while it was distracted

Voltron's formed, robeast defeated, everyone's safe, hooray!

/episode end

[ilgaksu]

Ten First Lines Game

I wasn't tagged, but I simply do not care. I saw this via @iamwestiec who will forgive me the sin of gatecrashing, I’m sure. 

Rules: post the first sentence of your last ten fics. If you haven’t written ten fics, share as many first-sentences as you have.

1.  The first time they try it, it’s beyond a disaster. 

(the boy behind the drapes, the girl inside the crate) 

2.   Hei Xiazi has an alarm set for two hours before he arrives at Beijing South Railway Station.

(i will shape myself into your pocket) 

3.  By the time Hei Xiazi hits midnight out of his bed in the hostel, he’s had about fucking enough of all of this, actually: the trip, the circumstances, the current predicament of hauling a twenty-year-old with a strong Shanghai accent out of a brawl in a Berlin gay bar, although he’s willing to concede that the kid he’s got tangled up in his arms like a spitting cat did not, actually, start it.

(ausländer)

4.  Outside the ballroom, Xie Yuchen sighs and reaches up towards Hei Xiazi’s collar, fixing it with a ruthlessness that feels like a tired mother tearing a brush through her daughter’s hair.

(green with an attitude) 

5.  The night before Hei Xiazi leaves him, he hauls Xie Yuchen up onto his desk; spreads his legs and gets in between them and fucks him so hard a solid brass paperweight rattles off the desk from it.

(On Anatomy) 

6.  It is ten o’clock at night, and out of reach of the neon shimmer of the city, the estate is consumed by the near-silent hum of its own organised evening.

(patient wolf)

7.   The first life of Xie Yuchen ended when he was eight years old, with him standing at the final in a series of funerals, a last nail in the coffin.

(a form of desire)

8.  Hei Xiazi is already awake.

(i invent it for you)

9. “Keith,” Shiro says, “I don’t want to have to ask again.” 

(kick at the darkness)

10.  Hei Xiazi has never arrived at Wu Erbai’s house on time; today is no different.

(been trying to find my way back)

Taking inspo from the previous post I saw in this trend and feel free to come tell me what lines you liked and why, ask me about them, etc. I am not sure really what we’ve learned other than I really, really love HeiHua and I rarely bring out the paragraph-long sentences until I’ve lured you in, unsuspecting. If you’ve seen this and I want to do it, I tag you! Feel free to name and shame me. 

[galacticspaceguy]

TY TY TY TY TY

KEITH X LLOYD.

Whether it be show or movie, platonic or romantic, they mean so much to me.

Let’s start off with the show:

Lloyd is the son of Garmadon, and Keith is the son of Clouse. Garmadon put all his love into Lloyd, while Keith was a product of Clouses jealousy and hatred. Lloyd was taught all these good morals, while Keith was taught the opposite.

From the moment after meeting, they start a rivalry (like fathers like sons am I right?) and that’s how it goes for several season- of course with these little moments where they actually get along and support eachother, and then deny it in front if people because yeah-

There’s moments in the series when they’re dealing with dark magic, and Lloyd goes “god, if only Keith was here” and either be accepts the thought or quickly backtracks and is like “WAIT WHAT NO EW”

PreCrystalized, Lloyd actually moved into Keith’s apartment- and they still have the whole “bickering like a married couple” trope going on from here all the way to Dragons Rising, everyone else begins to notice that Keith and Lloyd know each other better than they know themselves.

Like- Lloyd immediately knows how to calm one of Keith’s headaches after a ritual, and Keith knows what Lloyd about to do before he even does it- and everyone is just counting how many times this happens before they mention it. (Sora actually thought they were dating one time until Nya corrected here, and that’s when everyone started taking notice of all these little things)

Keith and Lloyd have this Macaque/Wukong type relationship (tho without the murder obviously)

Anways, there’s a lot I can say about them- ONTO THE MOVIE:

Keith is in the popular crowd and Lloyd is- (a loser/affectionate) -not well liked. I had this idea of Keith absolutely hating of Lloyd but being in love with the green ninja.

Clouse is still Keith’s dad, and Keith works at Chen’s, and there are these awkward moments where Keith is forced to give Lloyd a Chens birthday discount or serve Lloyd and his friends table and I do find it funny- ESPECIALLY after Lloyd gets revealed to be the green ninja-

Lloyd is out with his mom and Garmadon, and Keith comes around the corner to serve their table and his face immediately falls because he hasn’t seen Lloyd in a while. AND ITS SO AWKWARD because Keith would talk about how much he loves the green ninja, and then the kid he hates is the green ninja.

“Oh, yeah I may have confessed my love for your alter ego, but we can’t pretend that never happened right?”

But bonding and recover does happen- and it starts with Keith facing his shitty actions. And with Keith trying to get the son of Garmadon to forgive him, Clouse ain’t to pleased because hey that’s the son of his highschool rival.

Also Clouse and Keith moved into the same apartment complex as Lloyd and Koko, and Clouse and Koko have some beef.

But yeah I honestly wanna write something about them. Likes there’s so much I could talk about for both movie and show and it’s just djsfjafajavana

I'm feeling like some Ninjago Oc x Canon appreciation! Reblog this post and use it as an excuse to talk about your Oc x Canon ships!

Share their backstory, your favorite facts about them, their ship name-whatever you want!

[clavissionary-position]

Camping on Silvio's Private Island Event

A non-exhaustive list of things we learn about Keith and Gilbert (or get further confirmation about)

spoilers

I haven't read the Rio/Silvio ending yet

I used a shaky translator and am summarizing from memory (too lazy to revisit my screenshots orz), so please forgive inaccuracies and feel free to correct me or add anything I may have forgotten!

This is not a full-fledged summary of the event

Keith

He is very knowledgeable about medicinal herbs (their properties, their origin). When Emma suggests they go exploring the island, he expresses his interest in looking at the flora.

Sariel says that alter!Keith is quite popular among women according to rumors. Shy!Keith had no idea, and he becomes rather glum upon learning this.

He gets along with Gilbert fairly well, especially compared to others. He even considers offering Gilbert his lap to rest his head on when Gilbert overheats on the island. And when nobody else is interested in what Gilbert tries to propose as a campfire activity, Keith comes to his defense and asks that they all at least hear Gilbert out.

He's reminded of his youth when they're all splashing around in the river.

As a kid he dreamed of having adventures like Silvio has had on his many voyages. He praises Silvio for being an excellent explorer and Silvio blushes from embarrassment.

Gilbert

Reacts poorly to climate change? He overheats when they arrive on the island. Sariel has to hold a parasol over him while Keith fans him as he lays out on the beach. But then the instant Emma's like "I want to go exploring!" he gets up and volunteers to come along and hums merrily on his way. So was he faking (just to get Emma to offer her lap for him to sleep on)? Does that count as a "lie" if he was?

When Sariel comments that he felt murderous intent from Gilbert, Gilbert laughs it off and says that murderous intent comes to him as easily as breathing.

Likes to stir the pot. When the group encounters bats in a cave he's like, "I wonder what would happen if I disturbed them with my cane"

Apparently gets really winded from running (but this is also super sus to me... Like he could have just been faking it so he could stay close to Emma and then invite her to play in the water)

Suggests playing in the water in the first place because it's something he apparently picked up when he was visiting/inspecting an orphanage.

Is constantly heckling Sariel and even has the balls to jokingly call him "Papa" XD Poor Sariel can't catch a break from hellcats.

Has experience with keys/lock-picking

Values the time spent in the present, just laughing and having fun, because you never know when you might die.

In the same vein, he appreciates the call to adventure (treasure-hunting, for example). Even though the key he finds could easily be explained away by Silvio, he prefers to find out what the key goes to himself.

He prefers to be alone when he's trying to think. Man left camp and sat on a stump in the forest to contemplate the key T_T

Rarely attends social gatherings and has no interest in women in Obsidian

His campfire activity suggestion is to talk about each other's love life, though of course he refuses to tell anyone who he's been eyeing (leading Emma to speculate that it's unrequited love on Gilbert's part, and not, in fact, her orz)

[erithel]

I know the topic of Krolia has already been brought up, but I kind of want to touch on it again, if you’re interested. (Disclaimer: I haven’t watched the show in a year.)

I like her, but at the same time, I don’t.

On one hand, she’s really cool – she’s this bamf, strong, good-looking, stoic woman who is also kindhearted and compassionate – like DAMN mamma Kogane knows what’s up! But on the other hand, she’s… a terrible mom. I think that her time with Keith didn’t do anything good for his other relationships, and that it most likely hurt his character growth and ironically made him more isolated. Sure, he “matured”, but he lost his spark in doing so. As an adult myself, I don’t believe that maturing and becoming a responsible adult means sacrificing that spark, but I digress…

She was an absentee mother who chose her mission over her family. And while that’s honourable and probably the “right” thing to do in the context of an endless intergalactic war, I don’t think that a child would forgive that so easily, let alone choose to follow in her footsteps and become a carbon copy of her. Keith suffered a lot of trauma as a kid, partially due to her choices, and has lingering abandonment issues as a result. If anything, I feel like the natural reaction for him would have been to resent her.

I don’t know if you’ve watched Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, but I liked how Josuke’s relationship to his father was handled. When he meets his dad for the first time, the audience can clearly see his mixed feelings – anger, resentment, anticipation, shyness – and there’s an entire episode dedicated to these two strangers trying to get over their complicated feelings and form a semblance of a bond. Afterwards, it feels like they both decide to just keep trying to be a father and a son, instead of speedrunning to this loving, familial bond.

The space whale was Voltron’s attempt at that, and I think we can all agree that that was a huge mistake and lazy writing. But even if there had been no space whale, I don’t think that would have made it better. I kind of wish Keith had chosen not to forgive her for leaving, and that he’d given her back the luxite blade she left him. I know it seems like a dramatic gesture, but it would have told the audience that we are more than our blood and our past. It would have symbolized him choosing to take control of his own destiny. It would have also told the audience that sometimes, it’s OK not to forgive those who hurt you and that you can still move on. That family can be found… not literally, but figuratively. What he was looking for was right there all along.

The best scenario for me? That, once the war is over and all is said and done, Keith finally accepts to give Krolia a chance. I would have simply left that relationship open-ended for the audience to interpret as they want.

I feel like maybe we brushed on Krolia, but never really delved into anything yet, at least not to this degree.

But I agree. With basically everything you've said here. (Although unfortunately I have not watched Jojo's Bizarre Adventure because…well, honestly I just really don't like the art style and it's super distracting).

Here's the thing about Krolia.

She embodies one of my least favorite tropes in a weird sort of way.

Did you ever read a book or a series and then got really excited because you found out the author was writing a new series set in the same world with the same characters, just a couple years in the future? I used to get excited for that, until I found out that apparently it's a sure thing that if the main character from the original series you grew to know and love has children in the following series…they are 100% guaranteed to be the person with the absolute least maternal/paternal nature in existence. I despise that trope, because it devalues that original character by turning them into someone who abandons/ignores/never has time for their kids. And that's not a role model.

In a weird way Krolia fits the bill as if she had been the main character of a series prior to VLD, and now she was returning as Keith's estranged mom who was never really meant to be a parent in the first place.

And, well…

sigh…

Some people are not meant to be parents, just as much as some people are.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

But back to the subject at hand, Krolia was never mother material.

But the one thing I always appreciated about her was that she was consistent. They never wrote her as maternal. She didn't swoop in and immediately become a housewife and a mom. She was a spy and a warrior, and that's what she was always going to be. And I can appreciate that her leaving Keith was a very in character decision for her.

And honestly would Keith's life have been better if she had stayed? Knowing what we know of Krolia and how she was as a person…is that what Keith would have needed growing up? Would it have even made a difference?

I think the one thing we can all agree on, though, is that we wish we could have seen any kind of interaction or conversation with Keith and Krolia on the space whale. We wish we could have seen them actually talking it out and experiencing the memories together in the Quantum Abyss – learning about each other, and their lives apart.

And yes, a huge part of that should have been Keith's journey to (potentially begrudging) acceptance.

Should he have forgiven her for her abandonment? No. It literally was the root of all his issues and insecurities. But could he have come to an understanding on why she did what she did, as he slowly learned who she was as a person? That's definitely possible, and would have been better for character development.

That kind of journey would have been great for Keith because it would have been focused on self acceptance – and also, like you put so well, anon – it could have lead to the idea that he could decide who he considered family. He could make his own family (with blackjack and hookers), and he could be his own person. Just as Krolia was very much her own person.

What anon said here is very good and well put, so I'm going to leave my own response at that (especially before I get onto a…relevant tangent…). But I am gonna link this here, because I adore this fic, and it does a very good job at Krolia's character and her own journey of sorts. It's definitely worth a read, if you haven't read it already:

Due West by europa–report