#THIS SCENE MADE ME FEEL THINGS AAAAAAAAAAA

[crimsonvulgarian]

I built you as Rock, after my love for music. You are something very different now.

[lesbianherald]

hello! i want to start off with thanking you for sharing coming home (but not to you) with us!

i was hesitant to read it at first, just because it’s not finished yet, but ofc i ended up giving in. best decision i’ve made :’))

aaaaaaaaaaa im in love with how you wrote them. gosh, the angst hits amazingly, i immediately ran to my friend to share it and told them to read this now!!! i’m a sucker for professors au (we’re lacking in it /sobs), slow-burn, angst, yearning, friends to rivals to friends to lovers again and your fic matches all those! and to top it off, your writing is amazing!

LOVER BOY JAYCE, MY FAVOURITE FLAVOUR OF HIM!!! fawk i just want to give him a hug and a pat on the back /becomes ximena for a bit to just do that/ lmao

and viktor huhuhu holy fuck how do i even describe what i feel for him? i think the best way to express it is /takes off mask/ i am jayce—jk dbdbdjd but yeah i love viktor a lot and i feel so much for him idk how to form the words😭 he’s my favourite and i love love love the way you write him! i love how you were able to balance his confidence and insecurities so well i just want to squish him dhdhdhd i think at some point i was praying he stops being stubborn and let jayce apologize, but honestly it’s hard and i understand why he was very firm. gods the tender moments between him and jayce huhuhu i want to bawl my eyes—i love jayvik so much.

the highlights for me were the catnapping (love this scene), viktor’s mentorship with jinx (my two faves😭🩷), the sisters’ reunion, ximena (omg i love her so much, i want to be her child and get smothered by her love), and ofc, the apology scene😭🩷🩷🩷

this was supposed to be just a small thank you and then get to my questions, but i ended up gushing a bit ^^; i should have probably taken this to ao3 comments instead dbdhdhd

so moving on to my questions, please know you don’t have to answer them if you’re not comfortable! i’m just interested in knowing some of the process authors’ go through when writing fics! and the way they choose to interpret the characters and their relationships.

- what made you watch arcane and fall for jayvik?

- were there any troublesome scenes/parts to write?

- which dynamics were you excited to write and explore in cmbnty?

- were there scenes that you wanted to incorporate, but didn’t end up adding?

- and lastly, other than arcane and jayvik, what are some of your interests?

that’s all!! and once again, please free to ignore the questions if you’d like!

p.s i laughed so hard on your author’s note about jayce not driving a cybertruck😭

thank you so much again for sharing cmbnty!

<3

HOLY MOLY THIS IS SO SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL!!!! I LOVE QUESTIONS!! I'm going to take some time to answer this one so here. Also, I do get into the current chapter a little (no spoilers, obviously, but maybe some lil hints/teasers, so I hope that's cool)

thank you so much for your thoughts on my viktor and jayce! I've worked so hard on trying to make them just the right amount of difficult and flawed so I love it when people see that and says it hits <3

the catnapping scene was so fun to write - and I adore jinx - so I'm glad those two things also hit fo you <3

i first watched arcane when it came out in 2021 because I saw gifs of it on tumblr and was so thrown by how beautiful the animation was. (I wont lie, controversially, I almost gave up on it because the music was so..... choice to me). i loved jayvik at the time. i was really hoping caitvi was going to hit harder (another reason I got into it is I heard lesbians) but I didn't really connect with the enforcer elements of caitlyn's story (I love her but yeah I found it all a bit questionable and I'm very very sick of lesbian cops in media)

i was obsessed. but not 'its time to engage with the fandom' obsessed. for some reason the first season just didn't hit as hard then as it did on my re-watch.

fast forward to 2024 and sorry this is so personal - but I'm between hyperfixations and am very depressed (lethal combo DKSLFJHSD) and it was the perfect storm for me to get re-immersed in arcane after I saw the first trailer on my twitter feed.

jayvik itself hits a lot of buttons for me I just adore. they're both genuinely kind characters who are flawed but want to do good. they have a natural chemistry and I just love stories about people who hold certain gifts that may be isolating and then they find each other and it means that they become the only people who can really understand each other?

I'm also OBSESSED with scientist characters. something about the beauty of discovery. the passion. the way its so easy to create something with good intentions that winds up causing harm. i have close family in stem and did a lot of stem stuff in undergrad and idk. i just really love scientists. my ideal woman is some hot woman in stem DKFLJSHf.

viktor being disabled (which i also am) also added a layer to this for sure. and just. the immediate stakes of saving someone's life. connecting over a dream - that Jayce is just so graciously and immediately willing to share after like. a few hours alone together lmao. it all feels so intense and loving.

2. troublesome scenes to write

so many dfkljh.

the flashback in chapter 3 came kind of out of nowhere for me. i did not expect it to get so emotionally charged- and to feel so much when I was writing it. i left this note in chapter four - but I was sitting on the chapter for days and afraid to publish because I was so surprised by it. it wasn't so much troublesome to write as it was troublesome to edit/reflect on. i got really in my head. i was like this is fanfiction about league of legends characters. why did I write this? DLKFJSHD.

the flashback of their big fight in chapter 5

this one, I'm so glad I wrote this before getting eyes because I fear I would have been very tempted to sanitize it and make it less mean. even now I've gotten a few comments being like. :( jayce would never do that :(

in my opinion... he would lol and I stand by it. everybody is capable of being really ugly and horrible when pushed into the right corner/circumstances. and jayce very much did manufacture weapons on the show despite viktor's wishes - so its something I was really wanting to explore in a modern context.

its just something i had to think a lot about. how far did I want it to go? how could I make it get really nasty while keeping some sort of empathy alive for both sides, especially jayce. how to I make sure viktor doesn't become this innocent victim in it all? how do I make sure that mel, despite being a catalyst, isn't portrayed as like a villain who ruined everything and instead as someone with her own unique motivations and concerns that happened to deliver crucial information? i hope I did all of it well. I'm personally as happy with the scene as I'll get with anything.

out of all the scenes I wrote, this is the one that gets the most pushback, specifically relating to jayce. i knew that would happen going into it, because I think the fandom has an over-romanticized view of jayce's arc and actions in season 1. but oddly I'm almost happy with that? I'm glad that it challenges people. one of the things I find most compelling and beautiful about jayce is redemption. and redemption can't happen unless you do something that requires it - so I hate that people ignore how much fucked up shit he does in season 1 lmao.

mel and viktor's slay-off on the balcony

the end of chapter 11 where mel and viktor talk I just knew was going to be incredibly important. it was one of those moments I was leading up to the whole time, because I knew it would be very relevant in future chapters (wink wink) and because its such a culmination of everything that's happened so far.

on my first write of it, i think because I was afraid of it, I focused way more on the logistics of what was happening with noxus and the board etc etc. it took me a while to find a balance between plot and emotion I was comfortable with.

for some reason the entire time i knew they were going to wind up laughing together. that was very emotionally important to me. but getting there was uhh... hard. again. I'm not saying I did this (or the above scenes) perfectly like good god. but yeah this one was a hard journey.

very important/high-stakes scene in chapter 13

there is a very big scene that I've had planned the whole time that, after season 2, I found important to take in a slightly darker and more dramatic direction. a lot of reasons I was torn on this - 1 - allowing season 2 to influence my writing is something I'm hesitant about. but also this is FANFIC so I decided that's kind of the point.

but its very much been a very delicate balance of a few things - 1. how do I not get preachy and let my anger at the particular storyline in season 2 affect how I write this? 2. this deals with jayce and viktor being witnesses to other characters struggles vs being at the center of it themselves? so I have to deal with how much they can actually be present. (this was also a struggle I had when Vi and Jinx reunited) how much they would logically witness before it feels like they're only present so I can continue telling the story. 3. because its such a dramatic scene, how do I make the dialogue feel real? how do I not let a particular character speak their feelings too much while also giving people a good window into their psyche? 4. how high the stakes should be. (this I will elaborate on once its out)

i am incredibly nervous for this scene. more so than anything else I've written in this fic. I'm still working on my first draft of the chapter and am going to spend so so much time in the next drafts on it. it's going to be really hard to land this one - and I really wanna do it right.

the final scene :)

i still dont have my final scene. i know where its happening, what thematically I want of it, how we get there, and I know I'm writing it today.

there was a moment where I almost went in a direction I think people would like- but have decided against ultimately. it felt too... cliche and a bit unearned.

additionally, with characters like viktor, who really struggle with saying what's on their mind, I have to play a very careful game of giving him bits of dialogue that land and feel like growth, without feeling unearned or unnatural.

3. which dynamics were you excited to write and explore in cmbnty?

aside from the obvious, jinx and viktor (honestly after season 2, i wish i explored jayce and ekko more), mel and viktor, cait and jayce.

4. were there scenes that you wanted to incorporate, but didn’t end up adding?

there's nothing huge that jumps out at me. honestly, I think there are probably some things I could have condensed more looking at the word count. i think the only thing is I had an idea for a flashback last chapter that dealt with jayce in the aftermath of viktor leaving, but I couldn't find a way to make it relevant, and it ultimately felt very overindulgent and melodramatic in the outline in a way I really didn't fuck with.

and lastly, other than arcane and jayvik, what are some of your interests?

:) i'm really into film. i'm a bit of a film bro lmao. i like video games (huge bg3 fan). true to my ao3 name i love cats and animals in general. I'm fascinated with outer space, physics, astrobiology. I'm also a huge history nerd, especially "weird" and unheard of history.

my whole life is writing really. in a way that's probably not super healthy lmao but it is what it is.

I am so sorry for the insane yap session I just went on. hopefully it doesn't come off overindulgent or like self involved. i just love chit chatting haha and happen to be fully on a break from work for a few weeks so I have a ton of time on my hands dfklasjdf

[space-girlllll]

OK!!!!! SO!!!! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ROUND!!!

A LOT HAPPENED SO IMMA DO A SMALL ANALYSIS AND JUST POINT THINGS OUT BCS I NEED TO TALK ABT THIS!!!

First of all, Hyuna is still bleeding from the gunshot wound of last round, and idk how long it takes for an abdominal gunshot wound to stop bleeding, but it can't have been more than a few hours, so this couldn't have happened too long after the last round. and since thats true, is it usually this short of time in between, and when did this short time in between rounds begin?

also, i'm so mad at luka but like. pop off???? he plays the fuckin violin???? hes a talented guy ig???

Hyuna stopping mizi from going after till and luka??? she looks absolutely terrified, bcs who know what could happen to her if she goes up on that stage with luka. She's worried that luka will hurt mizi and that just. :(

This scene breaks my heart tbh :( mizi running off with hyuna left watching after her terrified, bcs she feels powerless.

also!!!! in this scene??????? where you can see the blood CLEARLY still on tills pants??? did they not have him change his pants after the previous round??? he's still covered in ivan's blood thats just so- AAAAAAAAAAA

The disco ball beign earth?? that's absolutely crazy to me. like damn.

When Luka reaches out and touches till??? First of all, the lyrics specifically being 'the dark crimson air' during this part just made me think of ivan, who had red in his eyes, like, huh. and also that red behind till's ear? is that a part of his ear piece? and also speaking of the ear piece why does it glow red this whole round, when it didn't glow like that before (i think i might be wrong ;-;)

and this!! him putting his hands exactly where Ivan put his when he choked till, and especially because this is when he sings 'embraces us'? that is just. uggghhhhhhh. and also the rings on his hands are placed so specifically on each finger. huh.

And the fact that his face gets all dead, void of expression once he hides his face behind till is just scary, the way he can wipe off all semblance of emotion. also, back to till's ear piece, i can't help but be fixated on it, with how it glows red so BRIGHTLY in some scenes, and with how out of place it looks with everything else around it, idk.

Till, here, looks absolutely terrified, and so tired, he's so scared he doesn't sing the next few lines for a bit, i feel horrible for him ;-;

And again with the ear piece! he even looks in pain as pulls his hand away from it like it's causing him so much pain. i'm rly worried abt it :/

and he looks DELIGHTED that till is in so much pain, like it's funny to him, because luka is a FREAK AND WE CAN'T FORGET THAT

he's so exhausted that his weird fake guitar glitches out ;-;

THE RED FLASHBACKS OF CURE ALL GOING DOWN AND IVAN'S DEATH??? THAT'S CRAZY

AND ONCE AGAIN THE RED FLASHING EAR PIECE WHILE TILL IS LOOKING ALL DEFEATED AND HIS NOSE STARTS BLEEDING?? MY BOY IS TIRED.

OK HERE. So Ivan is looking down on till, all high and mighty, serious, scary, all cold and condescending while till is all defeated and broken down

meanwhile, behind Luka, Ivan is practically the exact opposite of the one above till. He's crying, he's dying, he's dressed as he is in cure, but one of the only things the two share is theyre both looking at Till. Even if the two images are opposites, they are always looking at till. UGH. Ok also, i feel like the two are sorta how the two see ivan?? like not completely, but it's his image in their eyes. To till, he's so far above him, he's off putting and mysterious, but to Luka ivan is pathetic, low and close to the ground, emotional and defeated. i'm not saying this is 100% how i think luka sees ivan, but its a part of it.

UGHHH LUKA MIMICING IVANNNNN. ALSO NOT THE LYRICS BEING 'LEAVE NO REGRETS' FOR THIS SEGMENT.

ALSO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO PICS ABOVE ARE EVERYTHING. Luka is mostly expressionless here, a small smirk, but other than that, his face is blank. Ivan meanwhile, despite being till seeing ivan in luka, is so much more human looking between the two. He's sweating, he's tired from the performance, his hair is slightly messy, he has sorta eyebags/crinkles from his exhaustion, his small smirk, he just looks so much more real then Luka in this moment, despite not being real at all.

AND THE CHANGE BETWEEN HIM SEEING IVAN AND THEN NOTICING MIZI!!!! FROM THE TERRIFIED LOOK ON HIS FACE WITH THE RED REPLACING HIS PUPIL, AND THE LITTLE PINK EYELIGHT AFTER HE SEES MIZI!!! INSANE.

AND SUDDENLY WHEN HE LOOKS IN THE CROWD AGAIN HE DOESN'T JUST SEE ALL OF THE RED, ALL OF THE BRIGHT LIGHTS, HE SEES MIZI, AND HE SEES THE PINK OF THOSE AROUND HER, AND NOTHIGN ELSE.

AND HE BEGINS TO SING AGAIN. AND HAS THE MOTIVATION TO KEEP FIGHTING.

LUKA IS FLABBERGASTED AT ALL THIS

AND TILL, SUDDENLY REINVIGORATED TO KEEP GOING, SINGS, AND ALSO THE EAR PIECE GOES GREEN.

Luka seems genuinely annoyed at this and im so sorry bcs at this point im just narrarating whats happening im not good at analysis sorry ;-;

AND HERE!! WHERE TILL TRANSITIONS FROM THE DARK GREEN ALL AROUND HIM TO MIZI'S SOFT PINK!!! HE'S INSPIRED AND HAS HOPE. ACTUAL HOPE.

AND THE PINK ALL AROUND THEM IS SO SWEET, THEY'RE REACHING OUT TO EO, MIZI HOPING TO SAVE TILL AND TILL SO DESPERATE TO BE SAVED ONLY FOR HIM TO GET SHOT IMMEDIATELY AFTER?? UGH.

the absolute horror and pain in mizi's expression as she watches till fall ;-; he was the last person left from before, and now mizi's is all alone.

OK IMMA CONTINUE THIS IN ANOTHER POST BCS THERES A LIMIT TO HOW MANY IMAGES BUT JUST YOU WAIT. IM COOKING HERE I SWEAR.

[krokusplays]

AAAAA i’m SO glad i managed to catch onto what you were doing!!! nothing gets to me as much as just seeing how much love an author puts into their stories. truly, i could feel how much love was put into this fic 🥹

i’m also super happy that i was right about my thoughts on the table, too! i didn’t wanna voice it since i thought i’d rambled on too much already HAHAHA! but on that! i like how the table was done slightly different— blade asks reader for help (as kindly as he can, even if he voices it more like a demand than a question). the cabinet door really was the start of his healing process 🥹! he fixed that himself with reader simply observing him.

but when he finally voices the need for assistance, it was like, okay, i do need help. and yours isn’t so bad, after all.

you can really see the way trust starts to build between them both. it’s so so heartwarming 😭

you can only do so much for someone, but it’s ultimately up to them to decide what to do with the care and help you extend to them. like i keep saying— you captured that fact so so beautifully!

i also can’t help but think how it’s so fitting for him lore wise; how he used to be a weaponsmith/craftsman :’))) so it makes a lot of sense for him to have a history with craftsmanship !

and on the topic of fitting! you translated the mara really well! i think the self-destructiveness of drugs and alcohol is as realistic as you can get in a modern-au. especially because once you really get in the shitter, it’s hard to get out of it. addiction is a serious problem.

you conveyed blade’s softness so so well, it really made me go, yes, this is why i love blade so much 🥹! you truly get it!! get him!! he’s for sure very rough around the edges, but he can truly be so sweet 😭!! even if he’s much more subtle about it.

and ahhh the kiss. the most precious little kiss 😭! i found it super appropriate too! it’s definitely more genuine than anything a kiss on the lips would have conveyed given their context. it’s such an innocent action, to be kissed on the forehead. it felt borderline apologetic. yes, it was a thank you, but it also felt like he was saying sorry 🥹! he truly can be so soft and considerate when he wants to be!! and reader finally getting to experience that side of him was so heartwarming

he’s still very much guarded. you don’t just get over someone like that, that’s a given. you don’t just get over alcoholism and drug addiction overnight.

but it’s a start, and that’s enough. he’ll get better. he just needed that little nudge in the right direction. a little reassurance of someone being there.

the final few parts of that chapter felt so rewarding reading it. AAAAAAAAAAA!!1!11!1!!1 IM SOBBING. this might just take the cake for my favourite modern fic i’m not even shitting you rn 😭

I'm also so glad someone caught onto that and even more so that you let me know about it 🥹

I enjoyed writing these parts so much. Writing about Blade doing something he's good at and something he enjoys doing felt so nice during writing 🥹

Idk how to explain it there was something so nice about writing Blade taking initiative like this after being so meh to the Reader. Especially just how much he took the initiative. He didn't take one look at it and gave up because there's no fixing that furniture, no, he took all these steps of going to the basement, collecting things he needed, eventually asking(or demanding lol) Reader for help, and he did it all one step at a time.

Idk it felt so much more rewarding writing this scene like this than having him go "here's everything I need, done, bye" 🙈

Yes, yes! Given his canon past I knew I wanted him to be crafty in this fic and since I knew I wanted to go with the cleaning idea from the beginning, the idea to use furniture to represent hist craftsmanship + mental state was almost an instant given then 🤭

I'm glad you think the substance abuse as a substitute for Mara in this AU was believable 🥹

Blade is in canon often misunderstood. When that car scene with him and Firefly got released, a lot of people were surprised how nice Blade was in it. Even though he's always been like that, it's just that he mostly showed up on screen when the Mara struck and he wasn't himself T_T

I really tried my best to build trust between Blade and the Reader slowly. I also knew from the beginning that I didn't want this to end with a super happy ending but more with a promise. That they took a step in the right direction, Blade did his first step, Reader is there to support him(and he knows that now), and with a lot of time there will be a happy ending eventually 🥹

I had so much fun with this fic 🥹 I must also say that it's rare that I had this much motivation and drive to sit down and write a fic. I wrote and edited those 14k words so fast 😂🙈

Man, I'm so happy to hear that 😭

Also a thank you to you for giving me a chance to ramble so much about this fic 🥹

[redd-byrd]

AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVED IT SO MUCH

MY DAD WENT WITH ME AND HE ALSO LIKED IT

I’m so glad the theatre was almost empty, I was so excited that I was doing full-on hand-flapping, which I almost never do, and squeaking and giggling like a crazy person, I was stimming like crazy cuz I was so happy to be there

MASSIVE FNAF MOVIE SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

And friendly reminder that this is my ✨OPINION✨

This will be long and very ramble-y so bear with me

OK SO FIRST OFF THE ANIMATRONICS

- I loved how they acted like kids??? Like you tend to forget the ghosts are actual children when looking at the games since they’re constantly all “murder monster-y” so I love that they got to act so childlike

- Kids’ drawings being a massive plot point was so cute, I actually didn’t mind how sudden Afton’s defeat was since like,,, they were only on his side in the first place bc the drawing showed that he was their friend, so it suddenly switching around made a little more sense. Probably could’ve been executed better but for what it was I think it was fine

- And of course THE DESIGNS!!!! Holy shit I loved how they looked!!! The prop team did an AMAZING job with both the animatronics and the background props!!!

- The interactions with Abby were adorable, I loved the fort scene because of how goofy it was to watch giant machines dressed like animals put that together

- Also I know we were all skeptical when the red glowing eyes were shown, but honestly the scenes where they DID glow would probably have looked good even if they didn’t change it, though I will say that the final look is really nice by itself

NEXT IS THE MAIN CAST

- Matthew Lillard did an INCREDIBLE JOB as William Afton, when my dad and I came out of the theatre he said that he had a feeling that Lillard would be the antagonist (mind you my dad knew nothing about the games or the movie), which really shows how well he does at playing horror villains and playing up that gut instinct

- I loved how creepy he was in the final fight scene, just creeping out of the shadows with those two glowing pinpricks was SO cool

- Also Afton being retconned to not be British anymore is so funny to me askdjhsjjdhdj

- Abby didn’t annoy me at all, I actually thought she was super cute!! Which is surprising bc I usually find kids annoying but I’d die for Abby

- When I say that I got WHIPLASH from the animatronics being nice to her and later Mike after she introduced them, I MEAN IT (in a good way)

- Mike taking Abby seriously and believing her when she said her “imaginary friends” are actually ghosts was a nice change of pace

- The group that broke in honestly didn’t need that much characterization since the main thing the plot needed was Max, so that was fine

- I am confused about why people aren’t more concerned about the murders that took place throughout the movie??? Like a missing poster in the background would’ve been fine, or maybe Mike reacting to Max being missing?? They don’t give much context on their relationship, I have no idea if they’re friends or if she’s just someone he hired and doesn’t have much emotional investment in, so maybe that wouldn’t work

- VANESSA MY BELOVED

- Vanessa was great, I love her character so much, but idk if I love her by herself or it it’s cuz she didn’t get much characterization in the game,,,, doesn’t really matter ig

ABOUT THE STORY

- Story was really fun, I love the unexpectedness of some of the scenes (dance scene, fort building, Freddy blade mask, etc) I thought it was so funky

- Afton using a separate identity to lure people to Freddy’s was cool, though I have no idea why he’d do that to other people. I can understand Mike, he likely knew about his brother through the last name, but why other people???

- I am a bit sad about Henry n Charlie Emily being left out, considering how big of a part they both play in the game lore, but idk if it’s explicitly said whether they exist within the movie universe or not, so we’ll see in the next movie ig

- THE SPRINGLOCK SCENE!!!!!!!! I loved it <3 idk how they didn’t go off after Afton was bouncing around in it earlier but when they did go off it was SO COOL!!!

- “I always come back” YES HE DOES!!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO

- End scene of him bleeding out in the storage room hinting towards the full Springtrap character??? Loved it

- Also HELLO FREDBEAR??? GOLDEN FREDDY?? YELLOW BEAR???? WHAT

Extra info:

- No Markiplier was not in it, he was too busy with his own movie

- WAITER MATPAT?????

- Corey was awesome, I thought he was so funny for his short time on screen, esp the post credits scene

- THE FNAF 1 SONG MADE IT IN OH MY GOOOOOOOOD CONGRATS TO THELIVINGTOMBSTONE

Random plot holes or inconsistencies I found:

- Foxy had a scene where they forgot to switch the red eyes to the new glowing ones

- Despite the animatronics killing the group that broke in, spilling plenty of blood, they’re perfectly clean afterwards

- My dad found it weird that they didn’t show any part of the kids’ bodies in the suits, since it’s apparently known that they were stuffed inside (or maybe only Vanessa knew??). He thought an arm or a leg poking out would’ve worked. I said I think it’s either cuz the bodies were removed, are kinda mangled and pretzel-twisted to only be in the torso, or it’s just bc they didn’t think to do that lmao

- He was also confused on how Afton was able to jump around and move so easily in the springlock suit when the suit in the back snapped off the broom handle after a single jab. I said I think it’s bc it’s meant to be used to move around in and not harshly screwed with, or maybe it’s another plot reason

All in all, 8.5/10 movie. There were a few times when I was confused on why something happened or why someone behaved a certain way, but none of it was outright bad or boring. There also could’ve been more to the gore, definitely could’ve pushed the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, but it was good for what it was. It was fun, cute, and knew when to be serious :P

[smolgirlbigdreams]

GTWAC Day 4: Share One Of Your Favorite Scenes From A Creator

Okay so I know I'm late and that I haven't done all of these so far but I wanted to hop on the bandwagon, and when I read the prompt for day 4 I immediately had a story in mind!!! (I promise I actually had this in mind it's not just tag-backsies asdikgbfdlfgkjsadh)

So, the scene that immediately came to mind for me was from the Royalty story by @coffehbeans, specifically from the first part which is an older piece of writing from her (late '22) but I just love it too much to not mention it aaaaaaaAAAA

So the story follows the human Princess Estelle and the giant Prince Alaric, who find themselves forced into an arranged marriage by their parents, for the sake of the human kingdom. This story was the first of coffeh's that I read and I was sooo hooked with the worldbuilding and the characters and the descriptions (the descriptions are so so so good)!!! I couldn't stop reading once I began and was so so excited when the third part came out!! (And I just spontaneously reread all three parts instead of finishing this post lol)

Spoilers below the cut! Please go read the story if you have the chance it's so good aaaaaaaaa (and honestly all of coffeh's writing is really really good asiufghafhds) Here's the link to the first part and here's the link to her masterpost which includes all her stories. :)

oKAY after rereading I had a hard time deciding which scene I wanted to talk about because there's multiple that are just so good and deserve their own post, but I'll stick with what initially came to mind for me!

So there's this scene in part one where Estelle is getting ready to leave her kingdom and go with the giants, and as she's picking up her luggage an eye looks at her attentively through her window. She falls to her knees and a cry for help threatens to escape her throat. I just really love this part!! Just-- I love how Alaric is looking at her probably with curiosity more than anything, watching this tiny human in this tiny room moving about. And Estelle, she wants to cry for help but it's all so overwhelming and between that and her duties as a princess to go through with everything she must feel like she's unable to cry out for help and just-- asdkhfksfhalslsalkdja

And the DESCRIPTIONS you guys, like, chef's kiss. The trembling of the ground, the windows shaking, the dust falling from the ceiling, I really feel like I'm there!! I can see everything in my head really vividly!!

And I love when Estelle gets outside and looks at Alaric for the first time, and realizes he was the one who looked at her through the window. How she's wondering if he'd be a good suitor if he were human like her and she's trembling in terror at the same time!

And the way the humans flinch when Alaric sets the glass cage down-- like, first of all being afraid because of his size but also just the idea that they're being presented with something so utterly inhumane and they have no choice but to have Estelle go through with this for the sake of the kingdom--!

And! And! The pained sobs from the queen, crumpled up on the ground and not caring if she's drenched by the rain--

And just, the last thing I really love is again the descriptions, specifically those of how Estelle is affected by the size of everything and everyone around her (and this goes for the whole story in general like later there's a scene with a swinging chandelier in a doll house and that really made the size difference sink in for me). The ground trembling. The being knocked about without end in the glass cage and ultimately getting knocked out by the harsh movements. Just!!! It makes it all so much more believable!

Guys if you couldn't tell I really love this story. Please go give it a read if you haven't!

And coffeh, I'm so so so looking forward to your future writing, with these characters or otherwise!!! (And I know there's some stuff I've gotta catch up on from you that I haven't had the chance to yet so I do have that to look forward to for now asafjkhsfsajlkdha)

Thanks for reading y'all and I'll see you when I hopefully make more GTWAC posts lol

[bunny-on-a-bookshelf]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ book review:

Bunny - Mona Awad

I ENJOYED THIS BOOK SM. I HAVE A LOT TO SAY. 

no spoilers yet.

normally a book would be confusing at first and then get better, but everything made sense for the first few chapters. it took a minute before the INTENSE CONFUSION hit. What.

the part 2 like hive-mind bit was MY FAVORITE it was peak. amazing. wonderful. the rambly crazy lovey-doveyness of it all. AAAAAAAAAAA AND YOU CAN’T TELL WHO’S WHO BC THEY’RE ALL JUST BUNNY

max and jonah. my CHILDREN i LOVETHEM jonah was so sweet and dorky and amazing and i’ve got spoilers with max. ohohohoh do i have spoilers. (also hot edgy boy awooga like im gray asexual and he is part of that gray hot damn)

i didn’t really like ava but it was hard not to love her in part 3. sam’s adoration of her makes it hard to not feel like she’s your soulmate too. AUGHHHHH SHES SO…

i LOVED max, ava, and sam’s dynamic in part 3 too. they are SO AMAZING i want an entire novel of just those three living life man, even with the whole sam feeling like she’s going insane thing.

AND THE BUNNIES. I GENUINELY LOVE THE BUNNIES LIKE NOT TO ROMANTICIZE CULT BEHAVIOR OR ANYTHING BUT IF THEY TOOK ME IN I COULD NOTTT REFUSE. MAYBE ITS MY TOUCH STARVED ATTENTION WHORE COMING OUT BUT I LOVED THEM AND GENUINELY GOT TO SAD AT THE END OF PART 2.

also.... um...... i can't stop thinking of the bunnies,,,,,,,,,, but gay. ik i don't like romance but ALSO THE DYNAMIC THEY WERE TOTALLY GAY (delusional)

speaking of which........... uh max/ava/sam when?????? the tension,,,,,,

the only reason its not 10/10 rating is bc y'know it was raunchy (no actually graphic scenes but smut salon was certainly something) and i am y'know a child so maybe read this at just a touch older than fifteen

5/5 stars! 9/10 rating!! declared WILD and INSANE and GLORIOUS book!!!

UH OH... SPOILER ALERT

FREAKING MAX OH MY GOD THE STAG????? AND SAM THOUGHT SHE JUST WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE BUNNY BOYS BUT SHE TURNED A WHOLE STAG INTO AN EDGELORD I LOVE IT AUGHHHHHHH

AND HIM BEING THE PHYSICAL REPRESENTATION OF HER LOVE FOR AVA WENT CRAZY AUGHHHH

INEEDTHEMTOKISSANDIAMNOTAROMANCEGAL

HES JUST SO SOSO AAAAAAAAAAAA

also the exploding heads go CRAZY

[bonesandthebees]

Okay longer review for glass ch18 time :DD man what an amazing chapter. Got duped waking up thinking im gonna get crimeboys, and then i got both crimeboys AND sandduo

Im gonna skim reread it as i review

hES USING WILBUR?!?#$ HELP BROO ITS SO SMOOTH AT THIS POINT

There was like one chapter where i caught it and i felt so proud of myself, but after that i just get so invested that i dont even notice until someone points it out lmaooo

I think I did notice when it switched to Pythia, at least subconsciously bc I paused at it and scrolled up a bit to see if it'd always been Pythia but ig I didnt scroll up enough lmaoooo

Ohkygod he switches to Pythia the minute Phil enters the room ohkgyfo u cant be playing around with the narrative like this bee, u are way too smart wtf... I'm still in awe with how flawlessly you play around with the change of name. It's always intentional, and yet it feels so natural when you read it. It doesn't feel like a conscious decision from Wilbur at all, ughh it's so good!!!!

Goddddd I love codependent crimeboys so much bro ohmgydo and u always write it Perfectly ty amen

I think ive said this before but ur just so good at characterization man like helloooo

Each fic!crimeboys are so unique to each other, but you could remove their names and I'd still know they were crimeboys. They still feel like them and ahhh i love them so much

Also bro i totally called Phil waiting for them 😭 it made me so tense LMAOOO

Wilbur fr was like "We're quiet we r chilling!!" Like no sir. No u are not

Its the fact that Phil knew the answer to all his questions, he knew Tommy left him alone aaaaaaaaaaa

I cant do this man theyre all so wheofidbekdhdlkflfek

The fact that neither of them told Phil about the sketchy guy who saw Wilbur is making me so scared tho like noooo guyssss ur already in trouble, just be safe about it and tell the truth noooooo 😭😭😭

Phil is such a dad in this scene ohmygod

Also im laughing, their punishment is they cant talk to each other 😭😭

“Then just close your eyes,” Phil said, almost in the exact same way Tommy had.

Like father, like son [bawls]

Although the Pythia was desperate to know why Phil had paused for so long after seeing his face, he simply nodded, and tried not to flinch when Phil’s free hand grabbed his chin to hold his head still.

Not my dumbass's first thought being "HES HIS SECRET LONG LOST SON" LMFAO FHFJFK

Then i was like "okay no its definitely bc of his age"

Brooo i just want the moment where they see each other without him closing his eyes rahhhhhhhhhssss

Also

I realize i said i was gonna skim reread this chap, but nope im just rereading it properly lmfao 😭😭😭 slow and steady pfff

Its so goood

Now I'll have 2 chapters from glass on speeddial for sure

God every moment of sandduo in this fic is just a parallel of their relationships with their gods im soooo 😭😭😭

When i first started this fic i was so certain that the majority of all Clara's things were just misinterpretations from her followers that got passed down century to century but now atp idek. Im skipping ahead and I'll probs talk more about it at the end of the chapter but like Kristin literally touched Wilbur- Clara's never gotten that close to him. Though maybe it's bc she's not as strongly connected? On both ends... Im rambling here as I theorize so I might not phrase this correctly but, like. My first thought was Phil said blood helped her connect better to the living world, so maybe that's why she can be physically here and not Clara, but I also thought about how maybe it does affect the relationship whether it's mutual or not, right? Cause Phil chose to be with her, there's trust on both ends. Wilbur got thrown into it, and maybe that affects the magic of the connection or smth. Or Clara's a bitch lmaoooo. I always appreciate seeing the god of life being the antagonist. I feel like it's not gonna be black and white though, things are not often with you hahahaha.

God that was a large paragraph whoops. I am certain though, that at least a large portion of the traditions they have (cough not being able to see the face cough) (just being treated as not a person lol), are things both misinterpreted or just plain ol made up to be able to better control the Pythia. Because, who wouldn't want to be able to fully control someone who can see the future? Idk how they'll ever find that out for sure but damn yeah, it's sad. Look at what you've done Bee, you've traumatized a perfectly good boy

Lmaoooo

Is there a limit to how long these things can get?? Spruce how do u separate them into diff parts, do u go by vibes or is there a limit LMFAOOO

Anyways

God. The way Phil knows what Wilburs thinking 😭😭😭 im gonna cryyyy theyre sooo ahdjfkfld

The way you describe all the tiny details, god, your writing feels so real. It feels like it breathes. I feel so immersed in it. I can not only see everything happening around me, I can feel it, as if I were there. I dunno, I just really appreciate all the tiny details you mention, and how you take care to remind us that his eyes are closed by describing the sounds around him, and how you mention him feeling odd when he winces bc of his face being numbed, like ik theyre not a big deal, but those details mean so much to me. They make everything feel so much more alive.

And the way you describe people's thoughts, they're so realistic rahhhhhhss. Your characters always feel truly human

I love your writing so much aaahhh

The cheer i let out when i saw the mate at their 2nd meeting when i read this chap for the first time LMFAOOO

It was at that moment vey knew they were getting a truck load of sandduo--

I had also already forgotten that Phil had told Wilbur he was gonna show him smth lmfaooo

I am starting to get tired fr (it's been almost an hour Oops) so i think i will pull a spruce and split this into two parts and continue after some breakfast or smth LMAOO (pst gang ftw 👆)

Dudududus away into the sunset

I was definitely debating whether or not to start the chapter with him using wilbur, but it just felt right so I went with it and I'm very happy with the tone it gave because it provided such a good tone shift when phil showed up and wilbur switched back to using 'the pythia'. it's such a fun narrative tool to use, though it's definitely a bit exhausting to remember every time i refer to wilbur in narration i'm making a choice with how i refer to him. fun, but a lot to keep in my head

ty I'm so glad my crimeboys feel that distinctive <3

lmao phil was so pissed when they got back. he figured a lot out on his own but wanted to hear it from tommy himself. they really should've told phil about the guy wilbur bumped into tho rip :/

yeah no phil is not wilbur's long lost father or anything. I only think those kinds of twists work in very specific stories, otherwise it just feels like a cheap way to be like "look now these two have a biological reason to care about each other!" and really gives off the vibes of found family being less important than blood family

the thing is regarding wilbur's relationship to clara is that when contrasted with phil's relationship to kristin, i want it to be obvious that it's a two-way relationship. you have to put in what you wanna get out.

LMAO spruce pls share with the class how you split up your asks

ldksjfkl aaa that's so sweet. I love including tiny details like those because I try to make my stories as easy to visualize as possible. I know that when I read something, I want to be able to see the scene perfectly in my head, so I try to emphasize the facial expressions and body language and the setting they're in and all that to really immerse the reader in it

tysm i'm so glad you enjoyed!

[fiendishpal]

hii fiend!!! i literally adore your art its so pretty and it- it just- *inhales* *exha-*💞💖✨💞💖✨💞🙏🛐🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️anyways so- bcz u guided me to the osaaka ship and now im in love w it couldya please offer me some fic recommendations? ok, i just love ur art ur one of ny faves lov u have an amazingly sweet and beautiful day!!! :D

sure thing!!

i’ll put them by category here (i also have some art for some of them, i’ll post them when i’ve got the time)

i’ve put a star ★ beside fics that i’ve read a bunch of times hahaha!

canon-compliant

(fics that i think you should read first. mostly canon-compliant. so these are post-timeskip. after their meeting at the black jackals vs adlers game. these really won’t make any sense if you’re anime-only, sorry.)

stay with me go places by sparksandsalt ★

this fic. THIS FIC!!!!! this started everything for me!!! this is the reason why i started shipping osaaka!!!! the way they handled the characters is sooooo!!! *chef’s kiss* they really stick true to the characters' voices and the care they put into characterizations is impeccable. i also love bokuto and akaashi’s relationship here!! they’re so in each other’s lives that bokuto ends up exposing akaashi’s feelings indirectly and accidentally lmao and also atsumu and osamu’s relationship is so funny and hilarious. they are like how brothers are, atsumu showing his support but also clowning osamu in the process

this fic single-handedly fueled me to create so much osaaka content.

i dont know how many times i’ve read this tbh

wait by sanguinedawns

i love the yearning in this fic. the longing and the waiting and the expectation there. they’re trying to be subtle about their feelings for each other but they’re seen at the end but at 4k it’s narrated so smoothly. i love mutually pining idiots.

in the afternoon by yamaboto

this is so!!! i love this so much!! at 1k we see osamu yearning for akaashi once again. i love how they write this short scene. i could really picture the afternoon light coming in through the traditional panel doors and how the light must feel on your skin. 

take what we love inside by yamaboto

this is an established relationship osaaka and how they got together. in the afternoon (the fic above) is a snippet of how warm the writer could put words together. and it really is so sweet there’s a scene where they slow dance and it’s the best. i also love the simple fact that they put in how osamu cannot let anybody go hungry hhaha 

shout softly by lostsunsets

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW THIS MADE MY HEART FEEL SO LIGHT AND SOFT AND TENDER. THIS FIC IS SO PRECIOUS OH MY GOSH

i love love loooooooove how the author put osamu's love and passion for food and filling in the pieces on what osamu does to fuel this passion --while in the back burner-- while he was still playing volleyball in high school

AND HOW HE LONGS FOR AKAASHI. THIS IS MAKING ME AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

GO READ IT PLEASE

we’re in au territory

(the setting is not canon-compliant)

sleeping with the enemy by billionairevolleyboysclub ★ 

the setting is in 2013 haikyu volleyball circuit. meaning they’re still in highschool and are still playing volleyball and they just happen to chance upon each other at interhigh.

 i love how sweet osamu is and how he got his crush on akaashi. and it’s lovely how they wrote the budding of a highschool relationship!! and their take on how osamu and akaashi handle ldr??? it’s delicious. dont let the fake/pretend relationship tag fool you this is very cute i love them so much!! i guess the ‘no drama’ aspect is what i like about this a lot bc osamu’s a pretty straightforward guy esp i guess back in highschool. also the second-hand embarrassment is real lmao

welcome in by risquetendencies ★

in this setting osamu’s still the owner of onigiri miya but the au aspect of this is that they haven’t met before. so basically a meet-cute.

and man  oh mannnnn the tension written here is good food. osamu is written so obviously into akaashi (i mean who wouldn’t) and akaashi is affected by this greatly and it is!!! wow!! i just love how smooth osamu is here and how flustered akaashi gets bc “omg a hot guy likes me????” (yes akaashi, this hot guys thinks you’re a sexy piece of ass please believe it)

 akaashi in a gay panic is literally the best thing. 

blood brothers by billionairevolleyboysclub (18+)

miya twins are vampires and akaashi has a thing for fangs. that in and of itself is enough reason for you to read this. i also love how the writer puts a distinction between atsumu and osamu on how they interact with/ feed on akaashi.

like the dawn by eggsan

this fic is actually inspired by my royalty au but im not putting this here bc of that. i really like how the writer introduced their story. i remember telling someone that the atmosphere of how they write is like the voice of a soft-spoken maiden hahaha it's lovely!! think light academia aesthetic. i also love how i get the doki-dokis when osamu, who is essentially a stranger, gets close to akaashi. i can feel akaashi's excitement and trepidation.

forgive the sea, follow the tide by KyryeDuBarie (18+)★

PIRATE AU!!!!!!

i love the fresh twist that they did here on the classic mermaid/pirate au. the twist being akaashi is actually a pearl diver and at the same time being vaguely hinted as a mermaid hhahaha. osamu's a pirate that got shipwrecked and got washed up on akaashi's shores that akaashi, of course, saved. 

there's a bunch of cool things that happened too that i cannot disclose bc that'll ruin the thrill of reading this. the plot is solid and the romance between osamu and akaashi is gradual but so so sweeeeet!! i highly recommend this!! but better clear up your schedule bc this hefty boy comes in at a whopping 40k!!!!

keep time on me by yamabato

this fic is based from my zombie apocalypse au!! and even though it’s set in the end of the world, they were still able to write it so sweet and comforting????? i only wish osamu and keiji the happiness they deserve :’)

i also like the whole theme of time in the story and how the story revolves around it. it’s very good!!!

the contest between by batman (18+)

akaashi is a documentary director and osamu is his subject. i love  love looooove how the author wrote how stubborn both of them are and how they could clash sometimes but not in the explosive type of way. it’s actually cute and sweet, you’ll see what i mean when you read this hhehehe

AND AKAASHI IS SO LOVELY HERE!!! so lovely!!! and he laughs and smiles a ton and those moments were written in a way that just said ‘look at this angel!’ LMAO idk maybe that’s just me. i love akaashi so much

AND THIS BABY COMES IN AT A WHOLE 75K!!!!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!

[mochiwrites]

Ask for screaming, and you shall receive screaming.

Ahem. AAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUCK-

Is now the time to tell people who haven't read it doesn't take a killer to murder to avert their eyes and read because my screaming will contain So Many Spoilers? Well I'm gonna say it anyway SO <3

I knew to fear when you said you were looking forward to our reactions buT I WAS NOT PREPARED, TAURTIS MY BELOVED I AM SO SORRY

Anyway- now that I have that out of my system....

FINALLY the answer to who's knock knock knockin' on the door!! Pearl not even knowing how badly freaked out Grian is, Grian not explaining, Taurtis' lighthearted joking confusion and Grian relaxing bc it's just his bestiieee <3 Just beautiful. I loved them just chillin' and havin' a good time around town, even though Grian is highkey stressing, and <3 But. BUT. @ THAT "OLD MAN" YEAH THAT'S RIGHT I SEE YOU Mr. Green Eyes and Cane Man Who Owns the SWAGGON SHOP- is that too on the nose? ANYWAY I SEE YOU SIR why ya gotta be so OMINOUS man. Suspecting what I suspect just makes Grian's unease about being in the shop both more beautiful AND ironic <3 BUT THEN. THEN THAT CRYPTIC CREEPY WARNING, YEAH NO WONDER GRIAN THINKS THAT'S A THREAT I'd think it was a threat too MY GODS- oh man I can't wait to one day MAYBE get a crumb of context for this scene haha? Pls? Mayhaps? :'D

Anywaaay~ Grian feeling like it's his fault that Taurtis got got </3 Grian no sweetie just 'cause you know there's vampires don't mean you could've done anything to stop it it's not your fault </3 But really, Grian feeling guilty because he KNOWS about vampires and didn't tell Pearl and Taurtis, and he let his guard down and lost track of time- it's so good, b/c he didn't really do anything wrong- this wouldn't have changed even if he hadn't known (.... right? This wasn't- this wasn't targeted, RIGHT??) and just hjfsdjkfdjk the fact he feels like he's to blame and it's his responsibility to find the person who did this, it is just. I am soft for this boy <3 GRUM AND JRUM MY BELOVED BABY BOIS I love them so much they're so sweet and cheeky <3 Mumbo recognizing that them knowing Grian is there means they won't just leave him alone <3

"He's so annoying why didn't he stay gone" says Mumbo as he immediately and without hesitation tosses aside what he's doing to answer the door. And just- the IMMEDIATE softening when he opens the door to find Grian, having been crying and full of guilt, and recognizing and FEELING human emotion, wanting to keep it close and PROTECT it because it's so HUMAN and FAMILIAR and PRECIOUS, even if he didn't outright think/say it, and just. Just the softness between them I- hjfsdjkfhdj Mumbo letting Grian say his piece, and the fact that Grian while angry and full of guilt has enough sense about himself to not BLAME Mumbo in place of all vampires or something, but instead want to HELP him find the one responsible and just- Mumbo putting a hand over Grian's as he agrees and invites him in and I just.

Mochi I have SO MANY EMOTIONS about this AU in general but this fic I 🥺 There's so much HGJKFSKFS FEAR but it's also so soft and sad and I am just 🥺🥺🥺 Wonderful <3

OKAY IT’S TAKEN ME FOREVER TO GET TO THIS BUT !!!! ACIIIII WAAAAAAAAAH

I’m glad I could give you many emotions >:3 this was a super fun fic to write honestly !!! though I definitely did not think it’d be the first one out of the three to get finished dmfkfkkfkf but !!! to directly reply to some things <3

- that whole scene of grian going and answering the door??? completely written on the fly DKFKFKFK it was No Where in my original plans for that scene. but I was like “haha it’d be funny if I did all this build up and it turns out it was just taurtis on the other side” and then I did it

- it is INCREDIBLY on the nose but I made it subtly obvious for a reason <3 and yes, there will be context for that scene eventually !!! it’s actually like. my second favorite scene in that whole fic??? I love the dialogue from that conversation <33

- pats grian’s head, this bad boy can fit So Much guilt— him and his guilt complex, eh? and no, even if grian had told them, or if he wasn’t aware of vampires, it wouldn’t have changed a thing :( but AY GRUM AND JRUM AM I RIGHT GKFKGMFKF

- god that entire sequence between mumbo and grian… that rant that grian goes on was so damn difficult to write for some reason??? it was challenging finding a balance between anger and guilt but not putting that blame on mumbo. at least not for being a vampire. instead he kinda throws that frustration at mumbo for telling him to stay out of things. but even then it’s more so frustration at himself for listening. and yeah <333 mumbo looking at grian and seeing a younger version of him and going “oh. protect? I protect?”

cause mumbo Definitely recognizes in that moment that regardless of what he tells grian, gri is still going to get involved. and as much as mumbo may want to limit his interactions with grian, he’s beginning to nurture this want to protect his humanity. because yk. in a world of monsters, your humanity is slowly stripped away from you :)

but !!!! yeah <33 am glad you enjoyed the fic uwu. I seem to be very good with writing soft but sad???? I’m seeing a Trend here

[space-girlllll]

OK!!!!! SO!!!! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ROUND!!!

A LOT HAPPENED SO IMMA DO A SMALL ANALYSIS AND JUST POINT THINGS OUT BCS I NEED TO TALK ABT THIS!!!

First of all, Hyuna is still bleeding from the gunshot wound of last round, and idk how long it takes for an abdominal gunshot wound to stop bleeding, but it can't have been more than a few hours, so this couldn't have happened too long after the last round. and since thats true, is it usually this short of time in between, and when did this short time in between rounds begin?

also, i'm so mad at luka but like. pop off???? he plays the fuckin violin???? hes a talented guy ig???

Hyuna stopping mizi from going after till and luka??? she looks absolutely terrified, bcs who know what could happen to her if she goes up on that stage with luka. She's worried that luka will hurt mizi and that just. :(

This scene breaks my heart tbh :( mizi running off with hyuna left watching after her terrified, bcs she feels powerless.

also!!!! in this scene??????? where you can see the blood CLEARLY still on tills pants??? did they not have him change his pants after the previous round??? he's still covered in ivan's blood thats just so- AAAAAAAAAAA

The disco ball beign earth?? that's absolutely crazy to me. like damn.

When Luka reaches out and touches till??? First of all, the lyrics specifically being 'the dark crimson air' during this part just made me think of ivan, who had red in his eyes, like, huh. and also that red behind till's ear? is that a part of his ear piece? and also speaking of the ear piece why does it glow red this whole round, when it didn't glow like that before (i think i might be wrong ;-;)

and this!! him putting his hands exactly where Ivan put his when he choked till, and especially because this is when he sings 'embraces us'? that is just. uggghhhhhhh. and also the rings on his hands are placed so specifically on each finger. huh.

And the fact that his face gets all dead, void of expression once he hides his face behind till is just scary, the way he can wipe off all semblance of emotion. also, back to till's ear piece, i can't help but be fixated on it, with how it glows red so BRIGHTLY in some scenes, and with how out of place it looks with everything else around it, idk.

Till, here, looks absolutely terrified, and so tired, he's so scared he doesn't sing the next few lines for a bit, i feel horrible for him ;-;

And again with the ear piece! he even looks in pain as pulls his hand away from it like it's causing him so much pain. i'm rly worried abt it :/

and he looks DELIGHTED that till is in so much pain, like it's funny to him, because luka is a FREAK AND WE CAN'T FORGET THAT

he's so exhausted that his weird fake guitar glitches out ;-;

THE RED FLASHBACKS OF CURE ALL GOING DOWN AND IVAN'S DEATH??? THAT'S CRAZY

AND ONCE AGAIN THE RED FLASHING EAR PIECE WHILE TILL IS LOOKING ALL DEFEATED AND HIS NOSE STARTS BLEEDING?? MY BOY IS TIRED.

OK HERE. So Ivan is looking down on till, all high and mighty, serious, scary, all cold and condescending while till is all defeated and broken down

meanwhile, behind Luka, Ivan is practically the exact opposite of the one above till. He's crying, he's dying, he's dressed as he is in cure, but one of the only things the two share is theyre both looking at Till. Even if the two images are opposites, they are always looking at till. UGH. Ok also, i feel like the two are sorta how the two see ivan?? like not completely, but it's his image in their eyes. To till, he's so far above him, he's off putting and mysterious, but to Luka ivan is pathetic, low and close to the ground, emotional and defeated. i'm not saying this is 100% how i think luka sees ivan, but its a part of it.

UGHHH LUKA MIMICING IVANNNNN. ALSO NOT THE LYRICS BEING 'LEAVE NO REGRETS' FOR THIS SEGMENT.

ALSO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO PICS ABOVE ARE EVERYTHING. Luka is mostly expressionless here, a small smirk, but other than that, his face is blank. Ivan meanwhile, despite being till seeing ivan in luka, is so much more human looking between the two. He's sweating, he's tired from the performance, his hair is slightly messy, he has sorta eyebags/crinkles from his exhaustion, his small smirk, he just looks so much more real then Luka in this moment, despite not being real at all.

AND THE CHANGE BETWEEN HIM SEEING IVAN AND THEN NOTICING MIZI!!!! FROM THE TERRIFIED LOOK ON HIS FACE WITH THE RED REPLACING HIS PUPIL, AND THE LITTLE PINK EYELIGHT AFTER HE SEES MIZI!!! INSANE.

AND SUDDENLY WHEN HE LOOKS IN THE CROWD AGAIN HE DOESN'T JUST SEE ALL OF THE RED, ALL OF THE BRIGHT LIGHTS, HE SEES MIZI, AND HE SEES THE PINK OF THOSE AROUND HER, AND NOTHIGN ELSE.

AND HE BEGINS TO SING AGAIN. AND HAS THE MOTIVATION TO KEEP FIGHTING.

LUKA IS FLABBERGASTED AT ALL THIS

AND TILL, SUDDENLY REINVIGORATED TO KEEP GOING, SINGS, AND ALSO THE EAR PIECE GOES GREEN.

Luka seems genuinely annoyed at this and im so sorry bcs at this point im just narrarating whats happening im not good at analysis sorry ;-;

AND HERE!! WHERE TILL TRANSITIONS FROM THE DARK GREEN ALL AROUND HIM TO MIZI'S SOFT PINK!!! HE'S INSPIRED AND HAS HOPE. ACTUAL HOPE.

AND THE PINK ALL AROUND THEM IS SO SWEET, THEY'RE REACHING OUT TO EO, MIZI HOPING TO SAVE TILL AND TILL SO DESPERATE TO BE SAVED ONLY FOR HIM TO GET SHOT IMMEDIATELY AFTER?? UGH.

the absolute horror and pain in mizi's expression as she watches till fall ;-; he was the last person left from before, and now mizi's is all alone.

OK IMMA CONTINUE THIS IN ANOTHER POST BCS THERES A LIMIT TO HOW MANY IMAGES BUT JUST YOU WAIT. IM COOKING HERE I SWEAR.

[issela-santina]

thought string: the Joe era of Blue's Clues

NOTE: Just like the Josh string I will be coming back to edit this post from time to time to add to it. I'll more likely be watching episodes at random than going through them in release order.

Donovan really said "get you a guy who can be both Red (who tbh sounds like a grandmother) AND the wolf", huh? Also imagine if he actually wore the red shirt for the former. Come on.

If anything, being overwhelmed by eye contact as an autistic gives me a weird perspective on appreciating this show. Like, in general. I can stop watching it visually and just listen to what's going on and it's enough information, plus the guys' voices sound so nice.

Steve's voice has a resonance that Joe lacks; Joe's voice has a twang that Steve hasn't.

At times Joe's vocal tics almost sound like Goofy. Particularly when he chuckles, it's almost cartoonish.

Joe's hair. I have mixed feelings about it because I like when that fringe doesn't look full and heavy over his already thick eyebrows.

Hair aside, Donovan Patton is BEAUTIFUL. I would fall into the singularity of a black hole for this bastard himbo. Thank you Steve Burns for adopting him and raising my boyfriend standards. Jacqueline is so lucky to have had this guy's babies.

The most perfect casting I'll ever see in my life is seeing Steve and Joe together in the scrapbook trilogy and it almost bleeds into Steve's stories now that they're older.

„Shape Searchers“ was something I got to watch first with Kevin Duala. Better try watching the two versions back to back.

Am I hearing cowbell in that opening theme?

It's just funny to me that the squares to be highlighted when Blue lets Joe find them on his shirt are the ones over his bosom. Maybe I gaze too much.

Custom-shaped notebooks are precious things. Closest thing I've come to access is different shapes of sticky notes.

My younger self would have loved Joe and his hand model (not that I care if hosts actually need one) since he writes left-handed like I do. Having the clues draw themselves kinda robbed me of representation there.

Cargo pants. CARGO PANTS. WITH THE BIG LEG POCKETS. AAAAAAAAAAA

The reason I take the time to know and love this guy is because Steve did. Otherwise Donovan wouldn't have gotten the job. It's infuriating sometimes how some fans are like “I'm too loyal to Steve to watch Joe.” They're brothers. Steve trusts him, why can't you?

How did the kids automatically KNOW that it's Steve calling at the end of his departure episode? Is the the only one calling on that telephone? Does he call on a regular basis? Would be comforting if he canonically does.

There's a privilege to having a three-letter nickname: you get to be the answer to Blue's Clues just by spelling yourself.

Having watched Josh before deciding to run through the Joe episodes has had me seeing that Donovan is a chameleon with energies. The liminal zone between Steve's chill and Josh's jolly. And so seeing him establishing that personality in his time is worth sitting through when the show gets weird around him.

„We Sat On Down“ is an underrated bop. Whether it should show up in Josh's era more isn't in my power.

How many people whined that Shannon Walker Williams played a character named Miranda? Not that different from Donovan not using his own name.

The way Joe's voice freaks out about the mail faithfully matches his expression. Josh also, come the reboot. Steve, on the other hand, made it funny by just about roaring the last word on the audio then looking so casual on video.

Joe's consistent skidoo style is so satisfying to watch as a compilation.

Steve channels Elvis Presley at some of his singing scenes. Joe channels Chubby Checker when he skidoos (cf „The Twist“ and compare the legwork). Pop cultured.

If I hadn't read about Joe being a gothic horror character, „Legend of the Blue Puppy“ wouldn't have felt this sad for me. Someone give this six-foot rainbow shirted marshmallow with pageboy hair a hug.

I have so many questions about Blue's Room but let's start with how Blue ends up there at 3:00 in there no matter what time she jumps in from being in the house?

Polka Dots kissed Blue after she was gifted the capacity for speaking English. I—

Roar E. Saurus is a mood. I too need a little room of my own to practice roaring and end up wailing like there's a meteor about to crash onto this planet.

The visitation rules of Blue's Room would make Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses jealous.

“My favorite part was meeting you.” I'M TRYING NOT TO CRY RIGHT NOW.

The absolutely glorious shot of Joe standing back to back an entire head taller than Steve. My neck will break looking at these two.

Steve explaining all the ways he tried to get rid of the giant fourth wall paw print only to be one-upped by a first timer who does it in a fingersnap. I cannot—

[srxkf]

NWH SPOILERS ALERT!

Really don't continue. Bunch of spoilers.

Omg omggggg it just happened A LOT of things on this movie. Okay first at all can we appreciate more Matt Murdock? Like God im glad Marvel is really taking consideration of the Netflix series that HONESTLY? ARE THE BEST ONES. ALSO idk if I'm crazy but they also mentioned Punisher on here, like not exactly the name.

OKAY WHEN DOC OCK APPEARED MY HEART WENT 📈📈📈📈 AAAAAA ALSO GREEN GOBLIN it's so nice to see them again 😭 ALSO SANDMAN!!! At the beginning i was like "oh it's only gonna be cgi? :(" Since he didn't appeared with his human body.... But glad at the end wasn't whole cgi!

NOW WITH ELECTRO AND LIZARD, BLESS THEY MADE JUSTICE ON THEM! I think they deserved a better: design and plot. And glad they did it here!!! I think they're amazing actors and their characters are just so cool to see. Also the cgi for lizard was more pleasant to see (seggcy)

AS ALWAYS NED AND MJ THEY DESERVE ONLY GOOD THINGS! 😭 Even tho they knew was fucking dangerous and they could have died.... They still helped Peter with all of this 💔💔💔 god these are real friends 🥺 and im also glad that everyone on real life are besties (and ofc the fact that Zendaya and Tom are dating you can feel the real connection between these two characters). Im so happy

Okay but the way Stephen gets tired of dealing with kids mess 😭 NDDBDNDNDB Give him a good vacations.... Sadly he can't for the moment he must save the multiverse (we're gonna talk abt that later). But aaaaaaaa also makes me feel kinda sad, but it's mostly bc Peter also see Stephen as some parental figure (and also admire him like he did with Tony). Idk that whole thing was like heartbreaking, remembering all of that 😭 I think i would have cried harder if.... If... Tony was still alive...... Like damn he forgetting his son (Peter) and all the things he did for Peter 💔💔💔💔 at some point (hurts me to say this) im glad Tony is not there..... God hurts saying it bc I'm still sad that he......... Yeah 😞

Another funny scene for me was Peter and May taking all the villains to Happy's apartment 😭 Like "Mom im taking some friends..... They're lil dangerous but friendly"

Okay continue with that, THE FIGHT OF STEPHEN AND PETER WAS COOL!!! But having tiny headache after the amount of camera rotations everything too fast 😹 my brain tiny BUT WAS SO COOL!!! also funny thay Peter found math and those stuff and using it as his secret weapon shdhdhdbdb

Another funny scene was Peter and May taking all the villains to Happy's apartment 😭 Like "mom... Im taking some friends to the house. They're dangerous but friendly". Like who the fucking hell take dangerous people TO A PLACE THAT IS NOT EVEN YOUR HOUSE DJFHFJFJFJFJFJF PLS IT'S SO FUNNY 😭

Nmmmmmmmmmmmmgh should i go to the sad part already? God okay I'll mention first that I'm happy that Doc Ock changed his mind 🥺 and really helping Peter with all his heart 💛💛💛 i love him so much. Such a dilf. Aaaaaaa okay let's go ahead, I knew there was gonna be a tiny plot twist with Osborn.... I'm glad there was tho!!! He's such an excellent villain and god Green Goblin's mind it's unpredictable, so I'm glad we could see both sides!!!! Nmmmmmmgh okay now going with the sad part.....

My heart broken so hard to see May dying....... Even tho normally Aunt May is not that relevant in Spidey movies.... (As my point-of-view) This time since we saw her a lot of times and been really near with Peter's activities as a hero... Hits different. And the way she talked with him for the last time... God god god crying punching the way. ALSO HAPPY SEEING AT THE VERY FAR THAT SCENE...... SEEING THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE.... DEAD.......... GOD THAT HITS HARDER 😭

OKAY CONTINUE WITH SAPPY FEELINGS. A BIG BIG SHOUT-OUT TO NED PLS IM SO PROUD OF MY BOI DOING MAGIC. HE DESERVES MORE ATTENTION. GOD THE WAY HE JUST DID THE PORTALS.... GOD BLESS GOD NED.

NOW THE BIG FUCKING MOMENT!!!! SPIDER FUCKING VERSE IT'S REAL AAAAAAAAAAA SCREAMING. My heart jumped when I saw first Andrew's Spidey 😭 I'm ngl at very very time ago I didn't like him at first 💔 but im glad that i could change my mind on time and see him different. He's such an amazing actor and person. And it hurts a lot when he's referring himself as the worst spiderman.... God i was like "bITCH YOU'RE AMAZING, SO COOL, SO GORGEOUS". I hope Sony consider for making another movie of him!! HE DESERVES MORE!!!!!!!!! NOW FOR THE SECOND BIGGEST MY DUDE TOBEY 😭 the teacher, the god, the big bro, THE LEGEND ON THERE! He hasn't changed AND IM GLAD!!! I felt like I time travel on time when i was just a kid watching Tobey's movies... I even had a lot of shivers when the three spideys talked.

Big big big shout-out too (again) for Andrew and Tobey they really acted like big bros for Tom (I'll use their real names bc... Yeah so everyone can understand xd )

OKay THE AMOUNT OF MEME REFERENCES DKDJDJDJDJ THANKS BC HELPS TO MY WEAK AND SAD HEART 😭😭😭😭 smiling through the pain.

THE FINAL BATTLE WAS EPIC TRULY WONDERFUL. THANKS SONY AND MARVEL TO LET US BE WITNESSES OF THE SPIDERVERSE AND TO SEE THE BIG-THREE FIGHTING TOGETHER AND TRYING TO WORK AS A TEAM.

Now talking abt that topic 😭😹 pls the way Tobey and Andrew were like "team? What's that? You can eat it?" My dudes really saying "eww teamwork" JDJDJDJDJD BUT GLAD THEY COULD DO IT NOW. OKAY ALSO THE REFERENCE OF EDDIE AND VENOM FROM TOBEY'S UNIVERSE 😭😭😭😭 MAN THE WAY I SCREAMED. Let Andrew fight with Tom Hardy's Venom and after that they can be friends 🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝 and adopting Tom Holland's spidey to the team.

THE FINAL SCENE THERES NO WORDS. ONLY PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN. I hope they can be friends again at some point 💔💔💔 and that MJ and Peter can be together again 🥺 Also that Happy can remember Peter pls 💔💔💔💔💔

OKAY NOW POST-CREDITS

IM ANGRY AND HAPPY FOR THE SYMBROCK SCENE. First, I'm excited that Eddie knows what happened on the mcu universe fkfjdjdjdj hope can means something big for the future. Second, okay, I'm like mmmmmm bc the drunk lines even tho was like "GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY" AND MY HEART WENT AAAAA but! I must say this, I found weird the fact that Venom out of nowhere he said "EDDIE WE'RE DRUNK" (Sorry if some lines are written different, i watched it on Spanish so im not sure how they say it originally on the English ver.) And was exactly when Eddie say "[...] Then i should talk with this spiderman" mmmm gives me the feeling that Venom was scared that Eddie also dies if he met Peter, and trying a way to distract him for saying and doing that 🤔. This makes stronger the theory that definitely Venom knows that Tobey's spidey killed Eddie and Venom from his universe. Like i think he don't hate Peter... He's only scared that the love of his life also die and he doesn't want that for Eddie, like, now saying this as a fan of Symbrock im so fucking sure that at this point Venom just want to have a happy and alone life with Eddie, just saving the people and staying together and... That Venom wouldn't be stronger if something happens to Eddie. Maybe that's why Venom said the "drunk" lines and cutting Eddie's conversation.

Okay now with MoM teaser OMGGGGG okay I didn't have the enough brain at that very end tbh NDBDNDBDBD EVERYTHING HAPPENED SO FAST AAAAAAAA WANDA AS ALWAYS SO GORGEOUS MY QUEEN. BUT OKAY MONICA ALSO APPEARED OR IM CRAZY???? KDDBDJJD and AND AAAAAAAAA THE SORCERER SUPREME????????? MY BOI FROM WHAT IF IS THERE??? I HOPE IT'S HIM!!! AAAA looks nice. I hope they upload it later with better quality so I can analyze it deeper and see the details.

OKAY THAT'S THE ENDING OF THIS TED TALK. I JUST WANTED TO LET OUT MY THOUGHTS AAAAAAAAA SO GOOD THIS MOVIE. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT ON HD ON DISNEY OR WHATEVER PLATFORM.

[forjongseong]

OMG NANA IM SOBBING

It was SO GOOD, so beautifully written, JUST PERFECT

The way I felt happy, laughed, hurt, and excited and all is just an evident for you being AN AMAZING WRITER🤌🏻 but the heartbreak at the end? I literally cried omg😭😭😭

First the uniform thingy reminded me of your trip to that mall and I really loved how you put some details of your life in this, makes it feel so real and genuine in a cute way🥺

I WAS SO FRUSTRATED OF HOW CUTE THIS WAS uwu

IKR?? I agree with keeho tbh but I CACKLED

My beloved mr lee is just the best, I felt so warm and happy and just wholesome, STAN MR LEE FOR A BETTER LIFE I SAY

Jealous Jay and Keeho interaactions had me rolling on the floor WHEEZING, and Keeho is just one of my fav characters I admit it jxksksksksk

I felt the shivers on my body OMG THIS MADE ME FEEL THINGS😭

When I read “his name” I audibly gulped GOD THIS IS SO HAWT

GIRL I ENVY YOU BC YOU HAD JAY AS YOUR STRESS RELIEVER, YOU A ONE LUCKY BOSS ISTG AAAAAAAAAAA

THIS? COMPLETELY SHATTERED MY HEART AND BROKE IT TO TEENY TINY PIECES LIKE I LEGIT FELT MY HEART SINK!! Poor jay and boss yn I’m so😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

And also dumblr won’t let me put all the snippets but when he said that he’ll always just be the assistant she loved? I felt horrible for him, I WANTED TO HUG HIM OMG

It was so good reading this and I’m looking forward to the upcoming parts bc YOU HAD US ALL ATTACHED TO THIS SERIES!! You’re a genius

Nana ILOVEYOU SM <333333

dumblr only allows 10 images in an ask SOBBING but THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!!

AND the uniform scene was written BEFORE i actually went to the mall and tried out uniforms SO

ANOTHER MR. LEE FAN LET'S GAUR

Keeho really is a scene stealer isn't he ashkdaksjdaksdhads the dance part where you FELT THIINGS was actually a scene suggested by Aria so, thank HER for that!

as always thank you for enjoying the series, love

[moononastring]

OK SOOOO AROBYNN IS DEAD AND LYSANDRA KILLED HIM????!!!???

like, the whole thing about the black ring........ that was so evil, HE RAISED HER!!!!!! and then he was like “say my name when you say you love me” and touched her butt or smtg which!!!????? Ew???????? Like wtf???? That was sickening.

Like I know that the reason I was attracted to him was bc of my massive authority issues and other stuff, but what he did (not only on that specific moment) was unforgivable. The way aelin felt towards his ending..... yeah I completely understood.

NOW NOW THE WAY AELIN TRICKED LORCAN INTO THE SWERS SO HE’D KILL A FEW VALG FOR HERRRRRR AAAAAAAAAAA SHE’S SO HOT (and he is hot too damnnn papi you intense, huh?)

i feel like by this point of the series you can rlly see how clever sjm made things?? The way aelin is acting... the plotting the scheming the getting what she wants.....queen sHIIT.

btw the whole valg breeding thing that is happening in morath......... i HATE perrington so FUCKING MUCH THAT IS SO FUCKING NASTY, also asterin!!!!! SPEAK UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!! TELL MANON SHE’S WRONG!!!!!!

also.... have I miscalculated!?? Is it actually lysandra and lorcan instead of lysandra and aedion? I hope not I don’t know if i like lorcan with her (yes i’m already attached to a ship involving two ppl who have barely spoken to each other, and what about it??)🧃🧃

YASSSSS. I'm so so so glad Lys was the one to kill him but...I wish he suffered more LOL. Like...Lys and Aelin deserved to chop him up slowly tbh. But god, how vindicated I was when he died. Arobynn is such a disgusting character. Like he is soooo c r e e p y. The way he was with both Aelin and Lysandra was so fucked up.

I always think about how he was the one who found Lysandra and gave her to the brothel. He watched her grow up then he paid for her first night and I just 🤢🤮 And the way he has always looked at Aelin??? SUCH A FUCKER. I HATE HIM SO MUCH. I'm so glad he's dead lol.

The whole situation in Morath is horrifying. Alongside Arobynn, those scenes always made me feel so ICKY.

"damnnn papi you intense" about Lorcan is so very accurate lol. I will tell you now, him and Lysandra do not have a thing so no worries lol. They do have a hilarious scene later on in the book that makes me laugh every time.

Throne of Glass is such good writing. You will see as you read how things from book one will tie all the way through to book seven and it's FANTASTIC. I'm having so much fun with my reread now and UGH. I love it! I'm currently on Tower of Dawn :)

[madhyanas]

a crack; a chasm

When the factory blows to all hell, the first thing Rex feels is relief.

Then he can’t find Commander Tano anywhere, and that relief curdles into something else.

Read this on AO3!

Characters: CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano

Rating: T/PG-13

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings/Ratings: Spoilers for s2ep6 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars - ‘Weapons Factory’. POV Rex. Missing scene, internal monologue. Mentions of explosions and building collapse. Descriptions of post-explosion wreckage, but no gore/claustrophobia. Platonic relationship. Mild angst. Mild character bashing [Luminara Unduli, from the narrator’s perspective.]

Notes: was rewatching this episode recently and aaaaAAAAAAA rex's body language after the factory explosion got to me. also i adore luminara so so so much do not associate me w luminara h8 i will curbstomp you <3 rex just. doesn’t agree w her very much in this. he’s valid.

masterlist

———

When the factory blows to all hell, the first thing Rex feels is relief. A minor dust storm billows out in the wake of the blast. As he and the men get down for cover, it’s a weight off his shoulders that this battle is almost won.

Then he can’t find Commander Tano anywhere, and that relief curdles into something else.

General Skywalker comms him immediately, ordering for half a dozen tank-lifters. It isn’t the order so much as how he gives it that sets the gears in motion. How many times has the man sounded worried?

This was a bad idea. They sent two Commanders into the catacombs armed with nothing but a memorised map, a handful of explosives, and their lightsabers. Jedi powers or no, it’s risky.

They’re commanders, Rex attempts to reason. Capable. But they are also young — so, so young — and he tries very hard not to think of the words suicide mission.

There are days when he’s grateful for his helmet; this is one of them. Stops the boys in the transport carrier from seeing his clenched jaw, the worry he feels for the girl trapped under a collapsed fortress.

A girl. A child. Adiik.

When the General tells him to start shifting the rubble, Rex is almost offended that he had to ask.

———

The conversation he overhears between the Generals is one he’d rather forget.

Eavesdropping isn’t something he makes a habit of either. Even with his brothers, Rex sticks to his own business unless someone else drags him into it.

But then the words drift over the scorched battlefield — “I won’t let Ahsoka die!” — and Rex has to wonder who the kriff had the gall to suggest otherwise. General Luminara Unduli, as it turns out. The only other person who should have as much at stake in getting to the commanders as Skywalker.

But Rex sees the Mirialan Jedi talk about mourning the commanders as if the debris is just a grave, as if they’re dead beneath her feet already. He doesn’t feel it when he bares his teeth. A silent snarl without a witness.

She was standing with her commander just hours ago. And now she’s offering eulogies like the galaxy could go on as normal. Like the war would ever really mean anything to Rex or General Skywalker without the kid. The procedural instinct in him sets off a slew of warning bells; that kind of defeatist talk has no place in war, before or after the battle.

Someone behind him calls his name, asking for assistance with the debris removal. He pauses for a second, staring at the backs of two generals that should never be so opposed on something as simple as this. Being under General Skywalker’s command is a small mercy sometimes. At least someone can fight for what they should be doing.

General Unduli’s shoulders are too relaxed for two missing children.

He’s this close to telling her as much. Probably for the best that we turns away. It’d be walking the line of insubordination, and his balance isn’t what it used to be.

Rex is grateful for the helmet, but not much else.

———

The General’s comm pings. The voice that filters through is faint, and though she’s far weaker than she ought to sound, it’s Ahsoka.

Speaking, breathing, living Ahsoka.

The pressure on his chest lets up at the sound. His ribs creak, his breathing becomes easier. Alive.

Rex is quick to offer the heavy-duty machinery. If she’s there then they should go get her. But the generals decide on the best move they’ve made all day — bypassing the lifters and opting to levitate the slabs of wreckage themselves.

It’s a marvel, watching two people float an entire wall of duracrete and steel with nothing but concentration. Rex still isn’t sure how it works. He doesn’t need to be.

Because after a handful of tense seconds, drawing the sweat from his brow and the throb in his temple, he sees it. A flash of familiar blue and white, covered in rusty Geonosian dust. A chain of beads glints in the sun; spindly limbs clamber out from under the rock.

Ahsoka’s smile is tired. It is blinding.

And suddenly Rex is grateful for something else, too.

———

He can’t hang around to greet her immediately. That’s always been a job for General Skywalker. Bringing each other back from the brink of death is a regular habit.

Not everyone is so lucky. Rex watches the stretchers dart past, knowing how slim a fraction will be saved. If in one piece, physically or otherwise. So many dead, so little ground gained. His next deployment will be soon. His shoulders ache.

“Hey, Rex.”

He turns at the voice. “Commander,” he greets. It sounds hollow, so he clears his throat. “Good to have you back.”

The kid beams. “Good to be back. Never thought I’d miss the weather up here.”

As Ahsoka glances up to the sky, she wrinkles her nose with distaste. A familiar expression. It cracks through his mind that she might never have done it again.

Again, procedure. Hypotheticals like that don’t help anyone but the Seppies.

A medic’s coming to look her over, he’ll be here in a while. There’s some time till then.

“Listen,” Rex starts, sounding so out of sorts that Ahsoka visibly straightens to attention. He winces.

“What’s wrong?”

Osik, Rex could laugh. What’s wrong, like he was the one inside the factory when it exploded. What’s wrong, like he was the one trapped under rubble for hours, running out of air. What’s wrong like she hadn’t nearly suffocated to death in a war she shouldn’t be anywhere near—

She’s older than him, he realises. Technically, if you go by standard years.

In my book, experience outranks everything.

She barely comes up to his shoulder.

Ahsoka blinks, then frowns. Her brow furrows into a crinkled, concerned splotch of white.

“Nothing,” Rex amends quickly, before realising he must sound like a fool. “It’s just—”

“Rex.”

Ahsoka’s giving him a look. The look, if he remembers Cody’s advice correctly. And now Rex is the one straightening, because even though her eyes are a little sunken and she might be swaying on her feet, that’s almost certainly one she learnt from General Kenobi.

He sighs. Then his arms drift upwards, and he swipes the helmet off.

It takes a few blinks for his eyes to adjust. This dust really gets everywhere.

The kid’s mouth has flattened into an awkward, patient line. But she’s not left yet.

The hand that wavers before him is awkward too. On instinct, it reaches out to hover over her head momentarily — she doesn’t like her montrals being touched — before landing with a gentle thud on her shoulder.

Adiik doesn’t so much as flinch, waiting for him to continue.

“It really is good to have you back,” Rex insists. “We thought you’d—” The word remains stuck on the back of his tongue. “Well. The war wouldn’t… be the same without you.”

He makes a face. What a shitty holocard that would be.

“Thanks, Rexster.” Her eyes crinkle. “Right back at you.”

When the medic eventually comes around, Rex takes it as his cue to leave.

As always, the commander doesn’t agree.

“Stay,” she blurts, one hand darting out to grab his elbow. “Please? Anakin’s still busy with…” She waves her other hadn’t around vaguely. “Jedi Master things.”

The words are blithe. Carefully constructed to be cheerful. Her fingers tighten around his elbow, digging in like hooks. She doesn’t blink as she waits for his answer.

“Sure thing, Commander.”

So he stays. Quiet settles over; the whole battlefield seems to comply, grating machinery tracks and whistling wind muffling to a soft hum in the background. The medic works in silence, offering a sharp nod in return to Rex’s own.

Until Ahsoka speaks up. “The war wouldn’t be the same without you. Some holocard that’d make, huh?”

Rex does a double take as Ahsoka grins, baring teeth. He wonders if she did that Jedi mind-reading… thing. Just for kicks.

Then again, probably not. She’s never needed it anyway.

———