#Where he has to confront the reality that he's been chasing an ending he doesn't want for almost his whole life

[somegrumpynerd]

Do you think, before there was even the *possibility* of a truce, Nightmare ever came across Dust having a breakdown about what he'd done? Like, he felt the spike in negativity and arrived to see his room already trashed and Dust just huddled in the corner, curled around the ratty scarf like a lifeline.

And he knew by that point that Dust didn't really like to be touched, so he just sat behind him on the mattress, barely grazing his back just enough to let Dust know someone was there. And they sit in silence for a bit, just the sound of Dust occasionally sobbing muffled by the layers he puts on. There isn't much Nightmare can say and even less Dust would want to hear, so the presence is all he can offer.

Eventually the sobs seem to even out into steady silence again, long enough that Nightmare wonders if he's cried himself to sleep. Until he hears, barely above a whisper, "I miss my brother."

So do I...

And he freezes.

Because he thought that.

Without a second's hesitation his mind agreed, like he'd felt that way all along. And it's like an ice cold shower that washes over him, the possibility that... that he misses his brother too.

And now there's truly nothing he can say. No words, true or not, that make it out of his throat alive. So he just gets up and shuffles out, and hopes that the unbearable tension doesn't follow him.

[plutoswritingplanet]

Taking What's Not Yours (Dracule Mihawk x Reader)

a/n: soooooo, there is this pirate warlooooord. basically, i've watched the live action show on Netflix and immediately had to commit a one shot.

Warnings: Pure Smut (i had to get it out of my system), Wall Donging, Use of Alcohol, Stealing, Plotting, Lollygagging, inappropriate use of that cunty cross necklace.

Summary: A misguided attempt at impressing your friend lands you in a very peculiar situation. (cross-posted on AO3)

   The bar buzzed with the energy of drunken people. Your throat still burned with the after-taste of the cheapest rum the establishment had to offer, and for a second you've become deeply worried about losing your eyesight, as faint notes of straight methanol registers in your brain. Then, the pleasant buzz hits your nerves like a suffocating blanket, and in one moment you sense all your troubles drifting away. And there has been quite a lot of troubles on your mind lately.

Mainly, the Marines, their presence an annoying nuisance. By no means were you a pirate, no. You searched for freedom in different ways, such as stealing as much, and as often as you could. Money was the driving force of your life, but you'd be lying, if you said it was the only pleasure you seek. The thrill of the chase, of finding that perfect little trinket you can grab, and your victim would be non the wiser. The euphoria of creating distractions in one place, so you can strike like a viper in another. It made your blood boil with excitement incomparable to anything else. 

On top of that, besides the occasional confrontation, the Marines simply couldn't identify you. All it took, was a bandana around the lower half of your face, and suddenly you were able to march into a bar, such as this, filled with Marines, and no one would notice. Your eyes fall onto a rather skinny one, the belt of his too big uniform is digging into his waist, betraying how little there actually is of him. He looks back at you, smiles, and joins a group of his friends at one of the tables. You reciprocate the smile with a glint in your eye. The poor bastard doesn't know it was you, who stole an antique photo of his grandma right from his breast pocket. 

In your defense, the small frame was made of gold. And damned pretty at that. It fetched you a pretty price too, one you were currently drinking away, waiting for your friend to join you in your efforts of landing under the table by the end of the night. 

You barely manage to go through one fourth of the bottle, when they arrive, smile on their face and hair wild from running through the streets. It all goes downhill from there, as stories and alcohol flow freely between the two of you. It's a welcomed distraction from the gray reality of life, a small ray of sunshine in this murky town. They tell you about the latest heist they've pulled, eyes sparkling in the dim light, as they recount a particularly risky part of their daring escape. You snort into your glass, shake your head.

- See, that's where we're different. - you counter, leaning back into your chair - For me, it's all about stealth. In and out, so they won't know when they've been robbed. 

Your friend giggles to themselves. The drink in their glass splashes slightly, as they place it forcefully on the table. 

- You really think you're that good, huh? - they challenge, and already, you can feel the tingling sensation of excitement at the tips of your fingers. 

- I know so. 

They furrow their brows, turning towards the crowd currently hounding the bartender. There's a mischievous smirk playing around on their lips, as they turn their attention back to you.

- So, if I were to choose any person here, and told you to steal from them unnoticed, you'd do it?

The absolute gall of this question. Of course, you would. Hell, you'd do it multiple times, until this whole bar was filled with people suddenly missing their belongings. Because nothing compared to the thrill of reaching into someone else's pocket unnoticed.

- You know what? - your eyes run across the gathered crowd, smirk playing around on your lips, as you've spotted your chosen victim. - See that guy in the black coat? The one with the big ass hat. I bet I can get that fancy necklace off of him, in like, three minutes tops. 

As you speak, your friend follows your gaze through the Marines, and the pirates, and all the in-betweens. But when their eyes finally land on your target, they freeze in their spot, before rather rudely grabbing your shirt at the collar. Then, so fast, the world starts to spin in front of your eyes, they yank you under the table. Your stomach lurches with protest at the sudden movement. You give your friend a confused shake of your head. 

- Do you have any idea, who you're talking about? - they whisper-yell, eyes wide and clearly terrified. 

- What, about the hat guy?

Apparently you've said it too loud, because your friend nearly launches themselves at you. 

- That's Dracule fucking Mihawk.

From the way they've said the man's name, you gather, it should be at least familiar to you. Unfortunately, you can't say you know much of the world outside of the town, so your confused expression deepens. 

- He's like, the biggest deal - Your friend continues, their grip on your shirt loosening slightly - Like, children read stories about him and shit.

- I didn't - you shrug, before rising slightly up, so you can peek from above the table. 

The hat man has turned his back to you, his stature rather impressing, as he towers over everyone in the establishment. Your eyes follow the dark lapels of his coat, thief senses greedily gliding over the handle of his sword secured to his back. It's reminiscent of a cross, with gigantic, shiny gems nearly tempting you to do something unwise. Your friend tugs you back down, and your chin scratches on the rough surface of the table.

- What is he, like, a missionary? - you ask, fighting the urge to roll your eyes.

- What?

- You know, the cross and all that...

- What kind of missionaries have you been seeing?

Fair point, you think, before risking another peek, against your friend's efforts to pull you down.

 The man, Mihawk, takes a long swing from a flagon filled with something you can't really identify. You watch almost greedily, as his Adam's apple moves, when he swallows his drink. Then, your eyes drift to the necklace, nestled on his exposed chest. Gold, real gold, you can see it from here. Another cross, albeit, much simpler, than what he had on his back. A week of drinks, and fancy ones at that flash before your eyes. 

- Don't even think about it - your friend warns, finally giving up, and letting go of your shirt. 

Your eyes stay fixated on your prize. If you could just see where the clasp of the necklace is...

- Think about what...? - your voice betrays you, and you wet your lips with your tongue in concentration.

- He'll kill you - your friend warns - Like, actually kill you. This is not a man you should fuck with.

At that, you finally tear away, your eyes meeting your friends, a sea of mischief swirling in them.

- Who said anything about fucking? - you say with a wink, and before your friend can say anything else, you rise from your seat.

Taking the half-empty bottle of rum in one, smooth movement, you begin to make your way towards the bar, adding a stumble and a drunken giggle for good measure. The previous ungodly ammounts of liquor circulating your body definitely help with the impression, but you're pleasantly surprised, that your head stays relatively clear. Although, if your target is truly as powerful and dangerous, as your friend makes him out to be, then perhaps you really lost your mind for good. Best not to dwell on it though. 

The man barely spares you a glance, as you collide with the bar right next to him, arm brushing against his in a deliberate movement. You make sure to press your chest against the countertop, before waving at the bartender a bit too enthusiastically. The leftover liquor in your bottle sloshes out, landing straight onto the man's chest and lap. At that, he finally moves, annoyance clear in his rigid posture. Traces of liquid fall all the way from his collarbones to the belt buckle of his trousers.  

The truly magnificent performance of a drunken, apologetic girl you gave at that moment, would ensure you the entry to the most prestigious acting schools. Your eyes widen comically, as you follow the trajectory of your drink. He barely flinches, as his entire front becomes covered in alcohol, but he does react, as soon as you start apologizing, a lot, your voice quivering as if you're about to burst out crying. 

Don't look up, you remind yourself, as your body moves closer to his. You pull down the sleeve of your shirt and reach towards him, trying to dry some of the liquor off his skin. For the split second you manage to make contact, your heart nearly jumps out of your chest. He's incredibly warm, his skin pulled taut against prominent muscles. Then, your sleeve reaches the golden necklace.

His arm immediately shoots out, grabbing you by the wrist and nearly shoving you off. It was enough, though. That short moment of contact revealed more than you've bargained for.  

- Leave - you truly flinch at the sound of his gravely voice, no acting needed - You've embarrassed yourself quite enough, woman.

Your head nods fervently, hair jumping around your face. He releases your wrist, and you mutter another string of "I'm so sorry, sir". Then, you throw in a sniffle, for good measure, but your treacherous eyes drift upwards, desperate to catch a glimpse of the man's face, as you're only inches from him. Yellow envelops you in an instant, a piercing, unrelenting gaze, which breaks through all your defenses. Your gaze hardens in an instant, challenge rising in your posture like its second nature. One of the man's prominent eyebrows shoot upwards ever so slightly, and you know it's your time to exit the stage. 

So you bow your head again and slip past him as quickly, as you physically can. His golden gaze follows you, the feeling of his eyes at the back of your neck makes your shoulders tense. With a stumble, this one not rehearsed, you push past the gathered patrons, until you reach the doors to the restrooms, nearly falling through them, in your haste to remove yourself from this strange situation. 

Your body collides with the row of basins, as you lean forward to try and catch your breath. Your heart is thrumming in your chest, the sound of blood rushing through your ears deafening. It's fear, you're aware. You've never been so close to being exposed, no one has ever seen straight through you, and so quickly at that. Chills run the length of your spine with such force you physically cringe. 

And then, something else starts to brew in the pit of your stomach. Something that starts at the tips of your fingers, spreading upwards, until it settles in your chest. The magnetic pull of excitement, the danger of a new challenge. Your brain feels hot inside your skull, as you gather all the information you managed to pull out. 

The necklace is heavy, but strangely, not as heavy, as solid gold would be. The clasp is sturdy, but small. You could feel it, with how the strap tightened, when you pulled at it. And one more thing. As you tried to "dry" it, the body of the necklace shifted slightly, so you could see the clasp peeking over the man's shoulder. You were almost entirely sure it was one of those old-timey ones. The one, where two halves fit together, incredibly easy to open. 

God, you really are going to pull this off. You hype yourself up, in front of the mirror, jumping from leg to leg, like a sportsman ready to fight for their team. Easy. Quiet. In and out. You've done it a thousand times, why would this one be different? After this rather pathetic pep talk, you make up your mind. Splashing some water onto your face, you give yourself one last look in the mirror, determination filling your eyes to the brim. 

And then, you're out, the door to the bathroom swings behind you, as you easily blend into the crowd of rowdy patrons. He's almost impossible to miss amongst the ruckus, with his straight posture and that damned hat. There is a plan forming in your head, as you stalk towards him. The unfortunate waiter, with a tray filled with tall beer glasses walks towards you, and with ease, you slide your leg to the side, making him trip right onto the floor. 

It creates enough of a distraction for you to smoothly move behind your target, and as he looks over at the screaming crowd, you hand makes its way behind the collar of his coat. With the warmth of his skin just under your fingertips, you touch the clasp of the necklace. It unravels immediately, sliding off of his neck, where, just out of his vision, your other hand waits. The cross lands in your palm just as the man realizes what is happening.

His entire body jerks in your direction, large hands immediately flying towards the gigantic sword on his back. Thankfully, you're faster. Fingers squeeze around the smaller cross, and suddenly all pretense is gone, as you bolt back to the restrooms. You don't stop to check if the man is pursuing you, a flurry of emotions chasing you out of the establishment. Excitement, yes, of course, but mostly impossible to explain fear. In that moment you know, you can't get caught if you want your life to continue. 

So, you barrel through the doors to the restroom and immediately jump onto one of the basins. Your hands make quick work opening the small window just below the ceiling, its lock coming undone under the prying of your lockpick. Night air floods the bathroom with the crisp smell of the harbour. Putting all your concentration into athletics, you jump through the small opening, squeezing through. Your shirt catches onto the lock and tears with the force of your body. You land on your face, right into the cobbled street below.  Only then do you risk taking the time, and looking around, eyes scanning the dark, as your breath quickens. 

Nothing. A dog is barking somewhere, and even from the outside you can hear the sounds of the patrons screaming over each other. For a split second you wonder, if one of the voices belongs to your target, but decide against it. He didn't seem the type to raise his voice. Perhaps that was one of the things, which unsettled you about him. 

Tossing the necklace a couple of times in your hand, you observe as the gold shines in the light coming from the lanterns strung out around the city. There, right under the lower half of the cross, you could see a tiny groove. As if it was meant to be unscrewed or something of the sort. Deciding against hanging around in the ark alley right outside the bar, you put the necklace around your neck.

You manage to take about five steps, before some force grabs onto the back of your shirt. A hand twists itself into the torn material, and yanks you back so fast, and so hard, you completely loose balance. The brick wall of the lower part of the bar greets you with sharp pain, the impact knocking the wind out of your lungs. Stars swim in front of your eyes and your stomach twists and turns, as a sudden wave of nausea overcomes you. 

Then, all you see is yellow. 

He's here, arm pressed right under your chin with unwavering strength, his golden eyes bearing into you, watching you struggle against him. The smell of smoke, seawater and wine engulfs you whole, and suddenly the weight of the stolen necklace on your chest becomes unbearable. It's getting harder and harder to breathe. If you thought you were scared of the strange man before, now you're downright terrified. 

- Not many people would dare to steal from me - his voice is steady, almost bored, but your ears pick up on the subtle tone of curiosity - Let alone do so successfully.

Perhaps it's the alcohol in your system, or perhaps your ego has grown much too big, but you almost feel as if the man is impressed. 

- Tell me, what is your name? - his arm digs a bit further into your skin before retracting ever so slightly, not enough to choke you, but enough to remind you, that he could do so very easily. 

Your tongue darts out to wet you lips, and you will yourself to sound even a fraction less scared than you truly felt.

- I'm nobody - you whisper fervently - I'm nothing. It was a stupid joke, I'm so sorry.

His eyes scan your face, taking in your disheveled hair, the way your eyebrows scrunch together, the way your lips tremble. His gaze slides further down to your panicked pulse running rampant, catching slightly at your heaving chest, before snapping back up. Freezing chills run up and down your body, and your legs kick out slightly, trying to find better footing, to regain some control over the situation. He gives you no such chance, as his arm pushes your neck further into the wall, and as your breath leaves you, your body starts to struggle. 

- Nobody. Nothing. And yet you've managed to steal from me - something akin to subdued mirth flashes in his golden irises - If only for a moment. 

His other hand rises and your heart stops in your chest, as you feel the tips of his fingers tracing the line of the necklace, from the juncture between your neck and your arm, sliding lower. There is no mistaking the small gasp leaving your lips, when he reaches the heavy cross nestled right on top of your breasts. He taps the goden piece once, twice, before grasping it firmly and giving it a hard yank. The clasp at the back digs painfully into your skin before it gives out, snapping and falling right into his hand. 

- You're a curious little thief - his voice lowers, as he inclines his head to look at you closer - For that reason, I'll let you live, this one time. The world needs some chaos, after all.  

You expect him to move away, give you space to breathe and disapear into the night. Yet, none of you make a move. Your body stays pinned to the wall, the bricks spreading cold throughout your back. He never retreats, standing firmly in his place, as his arm still presses itself into the crook of your neck. Finally, you risk enough to get a good look at him, from the silky black hair, the perfectly trimmed facial hair and the elegant dip of his collar bones. And, oh, his pupils are dilated. For the first time, you discover a change in his unrelenting gaze. 

The gold retracts, giving way to the swallowing blackness of his pupil, as his eyebrows furrow in confusion at the situation at hand. You'd be confused too, if you didn't feel the tell-tale buzzing forming in your guts, low in your stomach. Your tongue darts out again, wetting your lips, and with undeniable satisfaction you watch his gaze flicker downwards. 

- Is there something else you want? - his eyes snap back up at the husky tone of your voice, and you give him just a tiny ghost of a smirk.

He recoils immediately, albeit, never taking the arm off of your body.

- I am not some teenage boy who can't control his urges - he sounds almost offended, as he straightens himself, and fixes you with a stern glare. 

Too bad. His previous slip-up has already filled your head with devious ideas, which in turn, sparked a sudden flame of confidence. So, with a self-assured smile, you lean back, finally finding your footing, only to raise one of your legs, purposefully running your calf the length of his thigh. His breath hitches ever so slightly, evident more by the movement of his Adam's apple, than any sound. Then, you reach your prize, your knee knocking into something that could only be described as a sizeable erection.

- My research says otherwise, sir. - you counter with a pointed look, and the man before you freezes in his spot. 

Time seems to slow down and stretch like taffy, as the man continues to stare at you, thoughts running through his head. Oh, how much you'd give to know them all. Will he kill you, you wonder as your eyes dart around the small creases forming on his forehead. Will he kiss you, his lips are parted and invitingly plush. Will there be more, your eyes follow the lines of muscles exposed under his unbuttoned coat. 

At first you don't even notice, when he had taken his arm back. That is until you feel him take a firm grab of the back of your head, gathering the roots of your hair in his grasp. There is no denying the choked whine that escapes you, as he cranes your head back, nor is there a point denying the groan he gives out at your reaction. 

An unspoken understanding blooms between the two of you, both of you suddenly knowing exactly how this encounter will end. For your part, you were more than excited, breathing heavily, as your mind became foggy from the feeling of his fingers in your hair. And if his darkened eyes and slight blush dusting the highest points of his cheekbones were any indication, you seemed to have similar effect on the man. 

- For all the research you seem to be doing - your brain feels hot and heavy in your skull, as you try to shift your focus onto his words, and not the way his lips curled into something akin of a smirk - There's one thing you didn't bother to check, did you?

All you can do is stare at him blankly. his other hand starts to toy with the necklace, turning it in his palm. 

- Have you checked, if my necklace is made of gold? - he asks matter-of-factly, tilting his head to the side. 

Your mouth opens and closes, no words coming out, as you continue to stare with growing confusion. Then, a glint of a golden cross catches your attention, as the man moves it higher for you to see. 

- Did you check it? - he accentuates his words, and you shiver under his intense gaze.

You shake your head no, and your neck feels as if it's made of lead.

- Use your words, thief.

- No

You don't recognize your voice, so meek and small. 

Then, all thoughts leave your head, because he lifts the lover tip of the cross and places it on top of your lower lip, pressing slightly, and watching with fascination as the cold metal creates a small indent in the plush flesh. 

- Check it.

Again, your brain seems to be moving in slow motion, but when it catches on, a glint of mischief swirls in your eyes. You open your mouth, let the necklace land on your lower teeth, and then, craning your neck, you bite down, like a good thief that you are. 

It's gold alright. Albeit, the part currently between your teeth seems to be hollowed out. Your brows knit for a second, as this new information registers in your mind. So you were right before, the small indent is meant to separate one piece of the necklace from the other. 

With a slowly blooming smirk, you let your tongue dart out swirling over the metal. The man's eyes widen ever so slightly, and he pulls back at the necklace. With some fight, you let it go, but not before giving it another lick, this one much more suggestive and pointed. 

- You're a devil of a woman - Mihawk breathes, before untangling his other hand from your hair. 

Both hands now, he grips the necklace, and your mouth runs dry at the sight of his fingers smearing your saliva onto the metal. And then he pulls. Your heartbeat momentarily quickens, as your eyes register another form of metal glistening in the dim light. 

A knife. Small but incredibly sharp, your body starts to shiver but it's not out of fear. He drops the other part of the necklace into his pocket, and gathers the front of your shirt into a tight grip. Your breath hitches, as you feel the tip of the knife slide up under your clothes. It scratches a path from your navel, up to your collarbones, and as the material bunches, the man suddenly yanks the blade upwards. Your entire body jumps from the wall, and your squeak of surprise is accompanied by the loud tearing of your shirt's material. 

You fall back against the bricks, and Mihawk leans onto his heels as if he's appreciating an art piece.

- Now we match - you manage to breathe out.

He humms, deep in his chest, and as suddenly as he just tore your clothes off, he dives towards you, open mouth landing right between your breasts.

The moan he wretches from you would be embarrassing if you could only bring yourself to care. But you can't, not when his hot tongue traces patterns all across your stomach, stopping to swirl around each one of your nipples. Like a man starved, he drinks you in, hands pushing and pulling against your hips in a rythmn, that feels more and more like a promise of what's to come. 

Your hands flail at your sides, desperate to find any sort of purchase. Fingernails scarpe against the bricked wall, as Mihawk's stubble tickles a path from your collar bones and up your throat, stopping for a moment, to give a few nips to the skin just below your ear. Another whine is wrenched from you, as the man places an open mouthed kiss to the scrape your previous encounter with the surface of the table has left on your skin. Then, finally, he pulls back for just a moment, drinking in the sight of your heaving chest and the redness which has engulfed your entire face.

- Beautiful - he concludes in the same, steady tone, as if he's stating an obvious fact, not paying a compliment.

It works on you all the same, and with a gasp, you lurch forward, your lips forcefully colliding with his. The kiss is deep and filled with passion you're not sure you've ever felt in your entire life. As his mouth and tongue work the insides of yours, you feel him slide his hand from your hips to the front, fingers pulling with urgency at the laces of your breeches. You can only pray, that there's no one taking a midnight stroll through the streets, as another loud moan escapes you. He does his best to swallow it, but something tells you he takes immense pride in the reactions you give him, as his efforts at keeping you quiet are haphazard at best.

Then, after finally winning the battle with your lacing, his hand pushes itself into your undergarments. Your head smacks back against the wall, when he begins to touch you where you need him the most. Expert fingers find your bundle of nerves in an instant, but before you get too carried away, one of your arms encircles his wrist.

Mihawk tilts his head, an unspoken question clear in his golden gaze.

- No time - you pant out, and for a moment worry, he doesn't quite register your words, with the way his focus shifts immediately to your swollen lips - No time, just... Just fuck me, Mihawk.

That seems to reach him just fine, because as soon as the words leave you, his arms shoot out towards his pants. He makes quick work of the massive belt buckle, and with impatient hands yanks his erection out of his underwear. You'd lie, if you said the view didn't worry you just a little bit. But excitement was your drug of choice, and right now you felt as if you could explode at any given moment. With shaky hands, you try to shimmy out of your pants. Seeing your rather clumsy efforts, Mihawk stops you. 

With half-lidded eyes you watch him kneel down in front of you, gently pulling your breeches down, before lifting each of your feet, so you could step out of them. 

- I think I like seeing you like this - you comment, as he leans forward to kiss the space under your right knee. 

- The view from here is also quite spectacular - he counters, kissing up your thigh and making you gasp, as his stubble presses into the mound of flesh just below your stomach. 

Still, there is no time, so you reach down towards his shoulder, and pull him up. 

- Please - you whisper against his lips, and who is he, to deny a lady in need. 

Lifting one of your legs in a tight grip, finally, his hips snap up, filling you to the brim. Your muscles tense, as you try to accommodate his size. To his credit, he stays still, face pressed into the crook of your neck, where you can feel his strained breath. Finally, you let yourself relax. tapping him on the shoulder, to let him know he can continue. 

And continue he does, slowly at first, dragging your body from the wall every time he retracts, only to come back in with an agonizing pace. You don't really know who's more frustrated at that point, because as soon, as you try to wriggle your hips more, to force him to pick up the pace, all resolve seems to dissapear. His hand grips your thigh even harder, enough to leave a reminder for the later days. The other tangles itself into your hair, pulling at the strands. And then he truly puts in work, hips snapping in a punishing pace that makes your back scrape against the brick wall. You hide your face in his coat, inhaling his scent and praying that the thick material will be sufficient at muffling your moans of pleasure. 

There's pressure, building steadily in your guts, and it doesn't take you long, to feel the band snap somewhere deep inside you. Your muscles tense and your eyes roll back, as you begin to shudder in his grasp, knees giving out completely, so only his own strength is saving you from colliding with the floor. Soon, he follows with a low grunt, nearly toppling over, when his own release hits him. 

His arm holds you close to him, as he uses the other one to steady himself against the wall. Both of you are panting heavily, none of you ready to move just yet. You rest your cheek against his chest, and feel him press his face to the top of your head, inhaling your scent as if this wasn't just a quick dalliance in a dark alley. 

- You should get back to your friend - Mihawk's voice is muffled by your hair - They must be dreading all the atrocities I could've bestowed upon you.

You laugh breathlessly, finally pushing him back and appreciating the flush on his cheeks, and the way his hair has flown out of place from under that impressive hat.

- Yes, those atrocities have been very great indeed. 

***

Your friend sits alone at the same table you've left them. Their head is hidden in their hands, and three empty bottles litter the space before them. It seems they have already started to mourn your untimely death. 

The inside of the bar has quieted down, as the closing hours began to loom over the patrons, a few stragglers still hanging around the bar, sowly finishing their respective drinks. 

Unceremoniously, you sit down right in front of your friend, wincing ever so slightly at the discomfort still lingering in your muscles, kicking their leg under the table and watching them nearly jump out of their seat with fright. 

- You... - their eyes have a difficulty focusing on your face, but when they do, it's like the heavens have opened before them. - You're alive!

Your eyes are glowing, and your face is still blushed from your previous encounter. You lean forward with a brilliant smile, hands slapping onto the wooden table.

- So - you can't help but laugh - About fucking with him...

[michimonie]

I don't know, maybe it seemed to me, but for some reason Scrooge McDuck interacts with Daisy even better than with Donald sometimes... In old and modern stories, there are many examples of their friendship, and even confrontation, because of many things, such as Donald. Maybe McDuck sees something yours in her?

I can see that. There have been quite a few times where, for some reason or another, Daisy either has to prove herself or just accidentally does something amazing. A comic I was reading again recently was Uncle Scrooge IDW #39, where Daisy basically takes Donald's place in the adventure.

One part of that might come from the fact that (and people can totally correct me if I'm wrong) a lot of what Donald does goes unseen (PK, Double Duck, etc...) and the stuff that Scrooge does end up seeing isn't a lot compared to how much he thinks his nephew is "lazing around."

In contrast, (from what I've seen) Daisy, tends to have a more "go-getter" attitude, and often encounters Scrooge either through work or while planning something. She tends to have something going on or a goal in mind.

For a visual example, here's a possible idea of what Scrooge sees:

Graphs showing Scrooge thinking of Daisy as someone who works a lot, and Donald as someone who rests often.

Meanwhile, the reality is probably more like this:

Graphs now showing Family, Other (superhero, spy, hobbies, etc...), Work, and Rest. A more balanced schedule than before.

Definitely take my little doodle graphs with a metaphorical grain a salt, but I can see this being a big problem.

There are comics I wanted to mention, but couldn't find. They also showcase skills he probably sees often in Daisy:

One comic with Daisy chasing Scrooge across the globe, finding him no matter where he went and saving him from trouble, all so she could have the right to write his biography.

Another story featured scrooge going missing for a day so Daisy took over. When he was found in a chute and rescued, he saw what "terrible" decisions she had made, only to find moments later (through her added thoughts) that the decisions were making him more cash than ever. He was so impressed that he decided to keep her close (for fear that she might take his job someday!)

(If someone knows where to find these, or the titles, feel free to comment or reblog them!)

Whether Donald can do these things or not, he doesn't really have any reason or desire, so Scrooge never sees it happen.

I would also like to add that, while Donald is highly capable, it seems like he complains a lot more than Daisy, which could (unfortunately) give off a more "unwilling" or "lazy" feeling/vibe. For instance, the comic in the beginning of this post has Daisy in a whole adventure and I believe she doesn't complain even once (sassy, sure, but no complaints). In fact, she spends a good amount of that adventure excited.

Sorry for the longer answer! There's a lot to be said about this subject, and this is probably as much as I can add. If anyone else has thoughts or related comics to add, feel free to add to this. (I'm still pretty new to Disney Ducks)

[sentfromwolves]

break and/monster for anyone from HBABL!! >:)

YES YES YES >:3 LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO

I'm going to do this for Judge and throw a curveball and do it for Desmond too!!! hehehehehe

　◢ QUESTIONS *

break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest? monster: Is your OC monstrous in any way? Is there something that makes them monstrous? Are they aware of their own monstrosity? Do they accept it or reject it?

❖ 》　JUDGE ; break ➡

This is so hard to do for Judge HMMMM I think first of all a full break down for Judge is really silent. It can look like he's going catatonic, like you just can't reach him anywhere, he's gone somewhere inside of himself that's too far away for anyone to connect with anymore. All you can do at that point is just sit with him. He's not loud or violent or angry at this kind of lowest of lows. He's just silent and defeated in such an overwhelming way that he completely shuts down. I think in so far as what would cause him to break down completely might be something in the vein of feeling like he's done everything in his power to accomplish something or help someone, and it all amounts to nothing at the end of the day. If he tried so hard to reach someone and save them, or if he tried so hard to be there for someone only to have it amount to absolutely nothing in the end because he gave too much of himself over to them and all they did was take and take and then walk away, it would devastate him. Demon though he is, this man is a recovering people-pleaser, and he has always had a bad habit of giving too much of himself to others and finding himself distraught and alone when they leave him once he feels he has nothing left to give.

❖ 》　JUDGE ; monster ➡

Yeah, Judge is monstrous. He's vicious, destructive, violent, and he will bite. Like a dog that's been beaten all his life, all he really knows now is violence and survival, and while he'll dress himself up as the charismatic demon archetype, when he's pushed into a corner, he'll do anything to get out of it, no matter what it looks like to someone else. The thing about his monstrosity is that it's a product and result of his trauma. It's something that he had to evoke in order to survive, and he carries a huge amount of trauma, shame, and self-loathing around it. Does anyone remember that quote from that one movie haha, where it's a dog saying "I don't know why I bite." That's Judge sometimes, he's just been in a reactive state to the harsh realities of his living situations and experiences for so long that he needs to externalize in ways that can be seen as utterly unhinged and feral to others, but it all roots so deeply inside of his trauma, and he knows deep down he doesn't want to continue living this way forever.

❖ 》　DESMOND ; break ➡

The permanent loss of his brother would undo Desmond completely. He's kind of gaslit himself into thinking that he hates Aleksander to the point of wanting to just Be Better Than Him At Literally Everything, and also wishing with desperate, reckless abandon that Aleksander would just fucking die and stay dead so that Desmond wouldn't ever have to confront the actually incredibly fucked up, complex feelings of guilt, shame, obsessive love, and devotion he has for his older brother. Because he's so desperate to think he can claw these emotions out of his chest, he truly does think that Aleksander permanently dying would be ideal, but if this turned into a reality and Desmond actually did lose his brother, he would shatter entirely. It would be like a dog chasing a car down the highway, sure that catching it would bring them joy, only to be left crippled and destroyed upon collision. That's what would happen to him, he'd be distraught beyond belief. It would ruin him. No one has ever seen him at his true lowest, because Desmond keeps his cards and true self so close to his chest. The only person that has ever come close has in fact been Aleksander, but because Desmond spites him so much, it led to fights and altercations every time. Aleksander has no power to help his brother out of these low points because Desmond would sooner bite off his own arm than reach out and take hold of Aleksander's outstretched hand.

❖ 》　DESMOND ; monster ➡

Oh yeah, Desmond is monstrous. He is a deeply flawed individual, and despite his calm, poised exterior and manipulative tactics, he's constantly and obsessively driven by obsession and envy. Both of these emotions are rooted deeply in his complicated history with his older brother, Aleksander, who has always made Desmond feel like a gnat in the shadow of a giant, constantly working tirelessly just to break free from the looming dark. Desmond wants to kill his brother just as surely as he wants to be recognized by him, and fantasizes about gaining that recognition by killing Aleksander in several different ways. Yes, sometimes these fantasies leave him feeling disgusted, but he continues to obsess over them too. He performs most monstrously whenever it comes to matters regarding Aleksander, but he is also just a despicable man with a lot of power and personal issues. While the core of all of this obsessive love and envy and shame roots deeply in a traumatic moment in his childhood where he inadvertently was responsible for the death of his baby sister and parents, and blamed for it at the time by Aleksander, it doesn't excuse the extent to which he goes to just be a horrendously awful person in his adult life. This guy straight up needs therapy.

◆ ◆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ◆ ◆

✨Come ask me unsavory questions about my ocs! ( •̀ ω •́ )y✨bonus points if you want to throw them out for the PITS cast, the Berserker crew (Avarice, Josefine, Kai-Ren, Roach, Luka, Haru, etc), or the developing death wip hehe

[nel-world]

hi

. STUDIO SPACE - DAY SCENE 1

Anita and Nick walk around a studio space, deeply immersed in their characters, reading from scripts. They are face to face.

ANITA Sure, because whatever you're doing now is just too brilliant.

NICK Look, I know it seems like I'm wasting time, but this is important to me.

ANITA Well, while you're off chasing dreams, I'm stuck dealing with reality. 2. NICK What’s that supposed to mean?

ANITA It means I can't keep waiting around for you to figure things out.

NICK I'm not asking you to wait. I'm asking you to believe in me.

ANITA Believe in you? Believing doesn't pay the bills

EXT. NYC - DAY

Anita and Nick rehearse a scene. 11. NICK Let’s rehearse the opening song of the musical.

ANITA (singing, with feeling) "In the shadows, where I’ve been so long, I’m searching for a place where I belong…

But deep inside, I feel a spark, A way to chase away the dark…"

Nick steps closer, joining in with his own verse.

NICK (singing, encouraging) "I’ve walked through nights with no end in sight, But I’m holding on, I’ll find the light…

We’ve got the strength, we’ve got the will, Together, we can climb this hill…"

ANITA (singing, harmonizing with Nick) "We’ll rise above, we’ll break these chains, And leave behind all the pain…

In the light, we’ll stand so tall, And in the end, we’ll have it all…"

NICK That’s good.

ANITA (sighing) This musical started as a way to express something I've felt for a long time.

NICK What does it mean to you? 12. ANITA My mother was a performer. She used her art to escape. I wanted to honor that.

NICK I didn’t know. That’s powerful.

//

extension to this

NICK Anita, can we talk? I messed up, but we need to address this.

ANITA (slightly softening) It’s hard to forget. 15. NICK I thought confessing would help. I’ve been stressed

ANITA Stressed about what?

NICK the rent, work, my dad’s health. I wanted to fix everything with this project.

ANITA Why didn’t you tell me?

NICK I didn’t want to seem weak. I care about you and the project. Give me another chance.

Nick hands her a stack of papers.

NICK (CONT'D) I rewrote the script, added your ideas, and got help with the set design. It’s your story—I want to tell it right.

ANITA (touched) You did this for me?

NICK Yes. Let me prove it.

ANITA (sighs, then smiles) Okay. Together.

NICK (smiling) Together.\

///

NICK (anxiously) We’ve got less than an hour. If we miss this, we lose our shot.

ANITA (tensely) I know, but it has to be perfect.

NICK (glancing at the clock) 45 minutes left.

ANITA (urgently) Let’s review the climax. It needs to hit hard.

They flip through the script quickly. 19. ANITA (CONT'D) More emotional impact.

NICK (nodding) The lead should confront their deepest fear before the resolution.

ANITA (excited) Yes, make them feel the struggle.

NICK Let’s add a pause before the final song.

ANITA (nodding) Good idea.

///

before

ANITA “So it should be…”

NICK That sounds good.

Anita’s phone rings, breaking the tension.

NICK (CONT'D) What is it?

ANITA The producer wants to talk… there’s an offer.

NICK That’s good. 20. ANITA He wants to take it to London, but he doesn’t think you should be involved.

NICK What? Why?

ANITA He thinks the musical needs a different vision.

NICK After everything, they want to cut me out?

ANITA Nick, I’ll talk to him.

NICK We’ve poured our souls into this, and now they want to push me aside?

ANITA Nick, you matter. Let me talk to the producer.

NICK Will they listen? Or is it already decided?

Anita is silent.

NICK (CONT'D) I’ve given everything to this. If they take it away, what’s left?

ANITA We’ll figure this out, I promise.

NICK Yeah… together

///

EXT. NYC - DAY SCENE 13

She pulls out her phone and dials Nick’s number, but he doesn’t answer. She leaves a voicemail, her voice cracking slightly.

ANITA (softly) I’m… I’m leaving for London. I just got the final offer from the producer. He’s giving us a shot, but only if I go alone. I don’t know if this is the right choice, but I can’t let this opportunity slip away. I’m sorry. I hope you understand. I’ll never forget what we’ve created together. Goodbye, Nick.

Anita hangs up, her hand shaking. She looks around the studio one last time, feeling a deep sense of loss as she prepares to leave. The place that once felt like home now feels like a reminder of the dream that’s slipping away

////

[denimbex1986]

'If you're reading this through a haze of tears, you're not alone. Even mentioning All of Us Strangers is enough to make a person sob as if they’re watching Andrew Haigh's masterpiece again for the very first time. And that's rather fitting given the curious way this film plays with chronology. Whether it's the grief or queer trauma or a heady mix of the two that resonates with you most, All of Us Strangers is a story that will always be on your mind in some way, the kind that shifts how you perceive the world. But how you even perceive the film itself can also shift depending on different factors.

One thing that can be agreed on is that this loose yet touching adaptation of Strangers, a Japanese novel by Taichi Yamada, is essentially two love stories in one. At the centre is Adam (Andrew Scott), a forty-something gay scriptwriter who lives alone in an — almost — empty high-rise building in London. Haunted by the past, Adam revisits his childhood home only to discover the past has somehow come to life when his parents (played by Jamie Bell and Claire Foy) return exactly as they were before they died when Adam was just twelve years old.

As he reunites with these time-displaced figures, filling them in on decades lost, Adam also forms a new connection with a younger man named Harry (Paul Mescal). This intergenerational romance helps Adam heal after years of shame and worry. But then, in one gut-wrenching twist, it turns out that this second love story is a ghost story too, much like the first. Yet a great deal is still left unexplained.

What happens in All Of Us Strangers?

Adam lives alone in a largely deserted London tower block, until one evening, after a fire drill, a drunken Harry knocks upon his door. Terrified of intimacy, Adam rejects Harry the first time they meet, but everything changes once Adam starts visiting his long deceased parents in their old Sussex home. As his reality changes to accept the possibility of their return, Adam also changes his outlook on life, opening up to Harry's advances. The pair have sex, although Adam keeps the younger man at a distance still to start with.

In his next ghostly visit, Adam decides to come out to his mother, something he never had the chance to do before her death. She accepts him, although it's not easy for her because she's still part of the era where AIDS and queerness were inextricably linked in shameful, hateful ways. Upon returning home, Adam learns that Harry also feels distant from his family, an experience that unfortunately connects queer people even now across generations. Adam confronts this feeling head-on when he talks to his father next, who tearfully apologises for not stepping in and helping Adam deal with the bullying he faced for being gay at school.

Intimacy doesn't come easily for Adam, but through Harry's love and his parents' acceptance, happiness begins to take hold. That is, until everything unravels after Adam suffers a ketamine meltdown in a club with Harry, screaming out for his parents. Upon blacking out, Adam wakes up in his childhood house at Christmas where he puts on his old pyjamas (which are far too small now) and gets into his parents’ bed. While his father sleeps beside them, Adam and his mother share memories of their earlier lives and what happened after the accident too, but they're soon interrupted by Harry, who strangely appears where Adam's father was lying just moments before. Time bends again after that when Adam wakes up on a train and chases Harry, who's running away just out of reach. And with that, Adam awakens yet again, this time at home, with Harry explaining that he took them both back after the ketamine trip went bad.

Unsettled by what's been happening, Adam tells Harry more details about the accident that took his parents, revealing that his father died instantly while his mother lingered on for several days. This leads to Adam admitting the truth about his parents' return, that they're back now in some strange, otherworldly capacity. A troubled Harry agrees to visit Adam’s childhood home with him to check this out for himself. Upon arriving, Harry catches a glimpse of the ghosts through a backdoor window — and they see him too. Harry denies it, though, and flees, which leads to one final meeting between Adam and his parents at a diner they used to frequent back when they were all still alive together. There, they explain that Adam needs to let them go in order to move on and be happy. In turn, Adam helps them move on by telling them that they both died instantly in the accident, reassuring them that the fears that worried them since returning have been unfounded. In their last moments on this plane of existence, Adam's parents reaffirm their love for their son and then they vanish into the hereafter.

As if that goodbye at the diner wasn't devastating enough, Adam heads to Harry's flat after where he discovers Harry's dead body beside the bottle of whiskey he was carrying that first night at Adam's door, when he wasn't allowed in. Harry reappears to Adam wearing the same pink jumper from their very first — and perhaps only — encounter (more on that shortly). Together, they head to Adam's room and cuddle each other on his bed. A light shines between them, growing brighter and brighter as they recede into the darkness where more stars twinkle. "The Power of Love" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood plays over the scene and through the credits like a literal "force from above" while the tears inevitably pour one last time.

What does that final shot mean?

When Harry realises he's dead, the film could have easily ended on a tragic note, especially when he came to realise that no one found his body for quite some time, including his parents. It is a heartbreaking scene, that much can't be denied.

But Harry was found, ultimately, and by someone who knows him better and loves him more than anyone else ever could, including his family. Adam and Harry are family now, and their connection in the film's final moments is palpable beyond just a physical sense. As darkness comes and the camera pans out, the light that grows between them becomes one in a constellation of many in the night sky, a cosmic force that joins other souls seeking comfort. There's no more fear. There's only peace now in each other's arms.

Harry is able to move on because of Adam's love, much like how Adam was able to move on emotionally from his own trauma thanks to Harry. The love they share is strong enough to bridge the gap between life and death. It strengthens them and protects them both against the void. Without connections like this, we're just left adrift in the darkness, strangers lost to pain and loneliness. And that's true whether Adam's relationship with Harry was physical or spiritual, real or imagined.

So, Harry was dead all along?

No, not exactly. But Harry was certainly dead after we first met him in Adam's doorway. Reeling from that rejection, Harry returned to his flat and lost his life that very same evening. "I was so scared that night. I just needed to not be alone," Harry's ghost recalls at the end, which seems to confirm that his death is specifically connected to that initial encounter. It's no coincidence that he's wearing the same pink sweatshirt in death that we saw on him outside Adam's flat. On top of that, the empty bottle of whiskey next to his corpse is the same one Harry offered to Adam that fateful night. Plus, it's clearly been a while since Harry died, if the body's decomposition is anything to go by.

Going back even further, there are also other clues to support this that only become apparent on a rewatch. Why did we never see Harry's flat until those final moments? Why could Harry see Adam's parents through that window, and even more importantly, how could they see him back? These elements only make sense once you know the story's outcome, something which Haigh had to keep in mind knowing that Harry was already dead from so early on.

Was Adam dead all along as well?

If every character we meet in All of Us Strangers is dead, is it possible that Adam himself might also be no longer with the living? The bizarrely empty apartment building he resides in — a seeming first for London — could easily be the physical manifestation of purgatory, which would make that final scene even more poignant as he and Harry ascend to the afterlife after finding love with each other. Of course, that begs the question of how Adam might have died. Given the script's preoccupation with shame and how it's held him back in life, internalised homophobia could have perhaps led to Adam dying by suicide, thereby connecting his demise to the suffering Harry endured in the end as well. That's particularly bleak though, and it's purely speculative for that matter too.

The closest we might get to a possible answer with this reading could be directly tied to the building itself. At the very start of the film, a fire alarm goes off, so it's been suggested that a fire may have actually killed Adam that same day, trapping his spirit in a kind of limbo along with Harry. It would certainly explain why the building is practically empty throughout, not to mention the strange, ethereal atmosphere of that location.

Are the ghosts even real?

All of Us Strangers is two ghost stories in one, yet it's also possible that these supernatural visits are actually just a product of Adam's imagination. The film establishes early on that he's writing a script about his parents, looking to bridge the past and the present, so what if everything we experience is just imagined as part of this project? We don't actually see Adam's parents until after he opens a new document and types the words "EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE 1987," which leads to that first visit back to his childhood home. The ghostly version of Harry we meet after the lift scene is also introduced via a shot of Adam at his laptop, although the writing itself is kept hidden from view this time around. Yet this doesn't quite explain why Adam seems unable to tell that Harry is a ghost, even though he instinctively understood that this was true of his parents. Whether these spirits are ghosts or imaginary figures, the truth that connects either reading is that Adam willed them into being through his loneliness and desperate yearning for connection.

It's not like Adam is the most reliable narrator. The ketamine sequence in particular is a testament to that, so even his personal viewpoint isn't grounded in an objective, factual reality.

In short, the film is what you make of it. In that respect, the scene where Adam asks his mother if her return is real speaks more to the essence of Haigh's writing than even the ending does, despite all the discussion it has inspired. Her response, "Does it feel real?", is all that truly matters. Whatever you make of Haigh's mercurial grip on time and space, it's the emotions the film provokes that will resonate still in years to come. And by "emotions", we mean endless sobbing.

Why did Haigh choose "The Power of Love" to end the film?

Narratively speaking, it made sense for Harry to request "The Power of Love" at the end. It's this very song that blared from the TV (via an old Top Of The Pops performance) when he first knocked on Adam's door. Harry even quoted the lyrics before Adam turned him away, saying "There’s vampires outside my door". Those "vampires" are the demons that plague Harry, of course, the ones that drove him to drink and drugs until he died because of them. It's no coincidence that Frankie Goes to Hollywood, one of the only out gay acts in the 80s, were chosen to soundtrack this moment. Throughout All of Us Strangers, Adam has been trying to let go of the suffering he endured during that decade specifically, learning to finally accept the literal power of love without fear of pain or dying due to AIDS. It's a song that would have likely meant a great deal to Adam in the 80s, just as it did for Haigh.

So in this moment, the record takes on a new meaning for them both, healing the gay kids inside them that didn't feel worthy of that love when they were young.

What happens in Taichi Yamada's original novel?

In some ways, Haigh's All of Us Strangers is quite similar to the source material that inspired it, a novel named "Strangers" that Japanese author Taichi Yamada released back in 1987. The pair share a number of familiar beats and story conceits, including aspects of the film's biggest twist, yet they're explored in wildly different ways, as befitting of a dream-like narrative such as this one that plays with time and space so loosely.

The original narrator is also a scriptwriter in his mid-forties who lost his parents at the age of 12, but Hideo Harada is recently divorced, so already, his loneliness is very different to the one Adam's endured for so long in Haigh's "remake". One night, a woman who lives in the same building shows up at Hideo's Tokyo flat, and just like Harry, she too is turned away. Following this encounter, Hideo returns to his old neighbourhood where he meets a couple who look remarkably like the parents he lost right before they died. Time and time again, he meets these pseudo-parents who go on to treat him like family, comforting Hideo who's desperate to make up for lost time in his childhood.

Meanwhile, a relationship develops between Hideo and Kei, the female tenant who knocked on his door earlier. It's through this connection, and in particular Kei's observations, that we realise Hideo's life force is being sapped away each time he visits the couple who resemble his parents. Or is it something else new in his life that's ageing him so rapidly? A final twist concerning Kei shifts the film into horror, but Haigh wisely avoids that cliché, unlike Obayashi Nobuhiko's previous movie adaptation from 1988, titled The Discarnates. Instead, the new Kei, aka. Harry is revealed to have been dead all along, which speaks more to the queer romance and heartbreak that takes precedence over supernatural scares in All of Us Strangers, because that's the story which is more personal to Haigh.'

[inaccvracy]

Bash scoffed. That would be all too easy - if she accepted it. Once upon a time he would have never dreamed of feeling such disdain towards her. Or desire. And how he never knew the two emotions were such gemini twins. "I don't know why I came here." He looked around - maybe he meant her home, or perhaps, Eureka at-large. He'd been sent on this wild goose chase with this very confrontation in mind. But perhaps the weaker, softer part of him couldn't bear to do it. To hear her out, to listen to an explanation might truly ruin him. "I mean - I do. I do know why I'm standing here, now." Bash shook his head, tongue dragging against the back of his teeth as his lips pursed. "They're making our book into a movie." Our book. The book he'd ghostwritten about their love story. A virtual non-fiction masterpiece of their entire early days. The book that had launched his career - had carried lesser works on its back as he tried to chase the narrative that had been so successful.

She was his muse, after all. And her absence from his life had tortured his art. Twisted it. The hopefulness has left his fingertips as he penned word after word. There was no happy ending - love had curdled as the pages turned. "But I can't do it. I can't -" Bash let out a frustrated sigh. "The studio hired some goddamn PI to find you here. Where you work. Where I could run into you. And I've been here for months. I've done everything I could not to see you. Not to talk to you. To get out of this - this roadblock. Because apparently, apparently..." Bash finally looked back to Nura, hurt flaring in his eyes. "Apparently I'm torpedoing the project. And they seem to think it's because of my feelings toward you." He shook his head again then, breaking that brief moment of eye contact. "But I don't, I can't... I can't rationalize it. The girl in that book doesn't exist. And I don't know that she ever did." There. He'd said it.

Perhaps it all had been a ruse. That closeness, that soul connection. Everything they knew of one another, everything they'd felt. She'd walked away with such simplicity, leaving Bash in the rearview mirror. How, then, could this evergreen version of her, of Damien and Layla, stand up against the dismal reality? What justice was there is letting people believe that such a love could survive the test of time? "I should go." Bash tucked his hands into the pockets of his overcoat, looking down then at his shoes. Ashamedly? He didn't know, now.

If words had been lodged in her throat earlier, it's her own breath that just about chokes her now as it catches. As shameful as it was to admit, it hadn't occurred to her just how much her retreating from his life would take from him. She wasn't callous enough to think that she hadn't broken his heart - they'd been engaged after all - but she'd thought that she would be the main casualty of her choice. That the heart that would ache the most would be hers, living in the knowledge that she'd had the most perfect love and it hadn't slipped through her grasp, she'd thrown it away. But in all honesty she hadn't done all that much reflection since leaving, drowning herself in work and a passing excuse for a social life, convincing herself that her life still had meaning when she was saving lives despite ruining hers. As if fixing other people's hearts would somehow mend her own.

Tears pricked at her eyes, threatening to fall, but she blinks quickly and refuses to let them. Bash was one of the few people she'd ever shown such vulnerability to but that's not why she shies away from it now. It hardly felt fair to act as though she were the wounded party, that his words had hurt her when they were only the truth. Crying felt as though she was trying to cheat herself out of the consequences or worse, make him comfort her despite the way she'd made him feel. She's still stunned by it all when she started to speak again, words coming out at an unusually frantic pace, pleading and begging. "Then don't be polite, I don't need you to be. And I'm fairly sure I don't even deserve it." That was the masochist in her talking, feeling as though a few lashings from him was the least that she'd deserved. "If it'd be good for you to talk openly then that's what I want too. Or if you want to leave -" Voice caught, entirely sure that her heart would shatter the moment she had to watch his back go through the door way. There was a selfish thought to not even offer him the option but she chided herself, swallowing to dismiss the notion before she continued. "- then I won't bother you again."

As silence hung between them she felt for the first time in her life she didn't know what he'd do next. Gaze flickered over the man she'd once loved ( still loved if the way that her heart threatened to both beat out of her chest and stop altogether indicated anything ) marking out changes as she waited to see if he'd be merciful or her sentence would be a noose of her own making. There was a hardness to him that she didn't recognise, after all she'd been the one he could be nothing but soft with, and that thought alone made her heart ache anew. Eyes fell to her own hands, suddenly focused on her trembling fingers as though she expected to see some kind of blood on them at his accusation of killing parts of him. Years ago those same hands would have reached for him, sought to provide him with the kind of comfort she could never voice. "I am sorry. For all of it. I know words can't change anything or maybe won't even mean anything but they're all I have right now."

[darklordofthesimp]

Prompt List

Main Masterlist

Temerarious: When a hunt goes wrong, losing you becomes a harsh reality. Din doesn't understand why this affects him so severely.

PART 1

PART 2

-

Conceal: Din is skilled at masking his injuries. It turns out, unfortunately, that you are not.

-

Luminous: Din had been called a lot of things throughout his life, 'handsome' has never been one of them.

-

Lonely: Din finds you with a feverish migraine and, for once, his cold disposition is useful.

-

Honor: Din had learned over the years to trade his desires for his needs. Thanks to you, he quickly discovered that if you want someone bad enough you begin to need them.

-

Breathe: Space travel was louder than you expected and the loss of sleep had you at your wit's end. That's until the night you found an unlikely ally in your Mandalorian employer.

-

Flustered: The creed was in the past and Din was freed from his oath to hide his face, except he still hadn't allowed you to see him helmetless. That's until a chance encounter in the refresher gives you more than you bargained for.

-

Undeserving: Din had always been critical, where he'd admire others he would only ever correct you. Upon arrival to Tatooine, you realized you would never be good enough for the Mandalorian.

PART 1

PART 2

-

Proximity: A self-defense lesson with a Mandalorian was not your idea of fun, especially when he had a habit of toying with you.

-

Perfidy: Din was having trouble finding bounty. You, on the other hand, couldn't get rid of them. You became the bait in his plan for a successful hunt, a plan that he failed to mention.

-

Ubiquitous: An argument leads to a confession, and a confession leads to the truth- and what is it that they say about the truth? It shall set you free.

-

Vigilant: Din was overprotective and upon confronting him about it, he finally confessed why.

-

Fury: After an encounter with some low-life locals, Din almost doesn't make it in time to save you. Fear sends him into a rage that is nothing like the Mandalorian you'd come to know.

-

Verity: On a remote planet, while chasing a bounty, you encountered a rare plant that produces the infamous "truth pollen". Not being able to lie is dangerous when you're in love with your Mandalorian employer.

PART 1

PART 2

-

Solace: The Mandalorian had been missing for three days, leaving you with a 50-year-old baby and an unreliable ship. You've had days to think about your feelings for your employer, his absence was the catalyst for a terrifying realization.

-

Compunctious: Everyone says things they don't mean when they're angry, but can the things Din said truly be forgiven? 

-

The Beskar Beast: A multi-part retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Taken as a sacrifice to the Beast, you learn that you are the solution to his problems and the key to breaking the curse.

[faelapis]

there seems to be a lot of people talking past each other in wwdits fandom right now. some seem to think the reason fans are upset is because nandor did a bad thing, and that they're just too stupid to realize its supposed to be a bad thing he has to learn from.

given my own history of defending steven universe when the fandom is upset about characters doing bad things, you'd think i would side with the people defending the show, but... no? not this time.

there's a pretty big difference between "characters doing something bad" and "other characters (namely, marwa) only being treated as props in that arc rather than getting character arcs, agency or focus of their own."

now. some who know me from SU may protest that i defended SU despite how, for many, it felt like jasper in SU future was used as a prop for steven's development - even being brutally murdered so that steven could angst about it. isn't that the same thing?

and i totally get that argument. but i think this is a great teaching moment to talk about the difference between what "seems" like similar instances of characters getting screwed over for another's development.

because i don't actually think that's what happened with jasper. at least, not to the same extent. i think the scenes between steven and jasper serves them both and gives them what they "need", not what they "want": brutal awakenings that how they've perceived themselves, others and the world is wrong.

steven wants to help others. he wants to see himself as a good, helpful person. someone who is heroic and guides others to the correct path in life. he wants, in essence, to be a "good" diamond, even if he doesn't realize that's what he's trying to be.

in his interactions with jasper, he is confronted with that reality - when she sees him as a diamond, he's forced to realize that that's the logical end point of his desires: trying to be the perfect hero who controls, guides and leads others. this is then reinforced in the next episode, where he's terrified of seeing a version of himself in white diamond. it also shows that he can straight up do bad things, not being the perfect helper boy he thinks he needs to be.

for jasper, she is given what she "wants" temporarily - a brutal, overpowering diamond who dominates her and so earns her loyalty through violence and might.

but then, after her symbolic rebirth, that is taken away. that might seem like a bad thing for her, but that's what she really needs - being confronted with the fact that she can't rely on a diamond to give her life meaning. he can abandon her, he is not beholden to being her worship object. she can't chase that fantasy anymore. so in the last episode, she has to let steven go and seek help at little homeworld.

would i want jasper to have more focus? sure. but she was brought back from the dead for a reason. she was given a symbolic second chance to start her life fresh, and chose to go to little homeworld. steven didn't tell her to do that, he just told her to find something better to do with her life. and that's what she's trying to do.

its not a perfect ending for jasper, no. i would've liked to see more pathos and an onscreen moment of healing, but like... its clearly not just about stevens arc. if it was, why revive jasper at all? steven would've still felt like a bad person if she was dead-dead, arguably even moreso. no, she's revived because she was symbolically dead long before that became literal - sitting alone in her empty, tomb-like cave without ever daring to move forward. its about her being confronted with having to live without a diamond. starting her life over. trying to make the best of it.

in short, even if you can criticize SU for its treatment of jasper, i think there is a real effort to give her something she "needs" independent of stevens arc. jaspers been chasing her past all her life, now she's forced to look towards the future.

looping back to marwa - her "want vs need" doesn't matter at all. because it can't. she's not herself, she is a prop manipulated by nandor into being whatever the story demands. even if nandor learns from it, even if he realizes what he did was bad, its very possible marwa will get nothing out of that.

the reason i think so is because the ending of freddie frames itself like marwa being "happy" now. like both guillermo and nandor "letting go" of freddie/marwa and letting them be "happy" together. her total lack of agency is lampshaded as a bad thing earlier in the episode, but ultimately, both main characters come to the conclusion that as hard as it is for them, they need to let them go, to live their bliss as copies of the same white dude.

which is kind of fucked up, if you ask me!

its not marwa living her bliss. even if you argue it "fits" her, that someone curious and scholarly would like to travel the world, ending up with someone intelligent who appreciates art and history... its not really her. its her being in the sunken place, a passenger to a totally new personality thats overtaken her body.

yes, they might fix it in the finale. yes, i'll gladly eat my words on this. but right now, it really, really looks like the narrative frames this as a happy, or at the very least bittersweet, ending for marwa. sure, she may not be herself, but she's "happy" and away from nandor, so its fine, right? right?

to which i say no. its not fine. and no amount of nandor's potential character development will change that.

[bi-bard]

From the Vault - Taylor Swift Writing Challenge (Masterlist)

**AS OF 7/7/2023, THIS WRITING CHALLENGE IS ON AN INDEFINITE HIATUS!**

Here's a masterlist for a writing challenge involving the "From the Vault" tracks from Taylor Swift's albums!

I hope you enjoy this! I plan to update it as Taylor releases more albums!

Special Note Concerning Red: I will not be writing an imagine inspired by Ronan out of respect.

FEARLESS

You All Over Me

But No Amount of Freedom Gets You Clean; I've Still Got You All Over Me Jess Mariano X Reader (Gilmore Girls) (Y/n) tries to live in a world where their ex is with someone new before they even get a chance to breathe. That only gets worse when it's the only thing everyone can talk about.

Mr. Perfectly Fine

Hello Mr. "Casually Cruel" Robert Chase X Reader (House M.D) Robert can be an asshole... in a variety of ways to a variety of people. Especially when he's trying to prove a point. (Y/n) doesn't put up with his shit.

We Were Happy

Goodbye's so Much Harder 'Cause We Were Happy Conrad Hawkins X Reader (The Resident) (Y/n) gets their dream job. The only catch is that it means moving away from the best relationship they've ever been in. Conrad is heartbroken, but he wants to support the person of their dreams.

That's When

I'll Let You In Castiel X Reader (Supernatural) After gaining his memory back, Castiel has to leave to go help the Winchesters. (Y/n) promises to leave the door open to him. They weren't expecting him to actually come back.

Don't You

You Don't Know How Much I Feel I Love You Still Spencer Reid X Reader (Criminal Minds) (Y/n) wasn't upset that Spencer moved on. They were upset that Spencer was acting like nothing the happened between them mattered.

Bye Bye Baby

Feels Like I'm Becoming a Part of Your Past James Wilson X Reader (House M.D) Maybe James should accept that he's the reason so many of his relationships have failed... or not. Pushing away blame is much easier.

RED

Better Man

I Know I'm Probably Better Off All Alone Oliver Queen X Reader (Arrow) After coming back from his five years in hell, Oliver is seeking to fulfill his father's wishes and correct some past mistakes. He just wasn't sure how difficult that was going to be.

Nothing New

And Will You Still Want Me When I'm Nothing New? Emily Prentiss X Reader (Criminal Minds) (Y/n) was only confident in their abilities for so long before they felt like they were no longer important. What happens when someone feels like they're on the verge of being replaced?

Babe

I Hate That Because of You, I Can't Love You Ed Nygma X Reader (Gotham) Ed is confronted with someone that looks alarmingly similar to someone from his past. The shock allows him to step too far and make an irreversible mistake. He wants (Y/n) to forgive him. They just can't shake it.

Message in a Bottle

You Could Be the One That I Love Claire Novak X Reader (Supernatural) Claire was a great hunter... but had shit social skills. This led to a complete lack of subtly when she developed feelings for someone. Granted, (Y/n) wasn't really disappointed about that.

I Bet You Think About Me

But Reality Crept In, You Said We're too Different Thea Queen X Reader (Arrow) Thea was known for being the rich party girl that could get pretty much anything she wanted. Too bad that people are less likely to do what you want after you've wronged them.

Forever Winter

I'd Say I Love You Even at Your Darkest Dean Winchester X Reader (Supernatural) Doubt and guilt creeps in and convinces Dean to run for the hills. (Y/n) refuses to let Dean believe that they would ever be happier without him.

Run

We Can Go Where Our Eyes Can Take Us; Go Where No One Else Is Eleventh Doctor X Reader (Doctor Who) The Doctor keeps running into the same person during his trips to Earth. He finally decides to try and convince them to follow him around time and space.

The Very First Night

I Miss You Like It Was the Very First Night Andrew Garfield X Reader After they end up sitting together at an award show, Andrew and (Y/n) spend most of their night reminiscing about their past and what they used to have together.

All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

I Remember it All Too Well Sam Winchester X Reader (Supernatural) The story of the two hunters that lasted far longer than they should've. Each chapter shows that Sam and (Y/n) were either meant to last a lifetime or fall apart at the seams.

DEBUT (TBA)

SPEAK NOW (TBA)

1989 (TBA)

REPUTATION (TBA)

[taechaos]

Web of Lies

from Textbook Love drabble series

pairing: bully!Jungkook x nerdy!fem!Reader

genre: drabble, smut, college au

synopsis: Soyeon is honest, Taehyung is using his last breaths to tell you the truth, and Jungkook is lying. It seems that everything you know boils down to Jungkook lying.

warnings: angst, panic attack, dry humping, the TINIEST bit of fluff

word count: 4.3k

Obstacles are inevitable in relationships; there’s always something that must go wrong. They can come in the form of arguments, disagreements, actions, or people like Taehyung. One physical obstacle that always knows when Jungkook is with you.

A few days after the fight between the two close friends, Taehyung’s nose somewhat healed and Jungkook doesn’t shy away from you as frequently. What’s the point when the people he tried to hide you from found out about his relationship with you anyway? The only reason he doesn’t approach you every time he sees you is because: 1. He doesn’t enjoy being clingy; that would mean he likes being around you all the time which he refuses to admit. 2. You would probably get tired of him and stop loving him. 3. He kissed your friend who always sits next to you outside.

Now that he’s taking most of his opportunities to talk to you, and maybe kiss you, Taehyung is growing restless. Every time Jungkook is with you, so is Taehyung. Some. Fucking. How.

To name one of the busts: when Jungkook was kissing you in the university’s hallway two days ago, Taehyung popped in out of nowhere and shouted, “Get a room, you sluts!” It made for a good laugh between the students, especially when Jungkook ran after him out of the building. 

Another time is when Jungkook was watching you work in the yard and Taehyung joined you two to ask about that “one hot friend of yours”. You ended up telling him about Soyeon and Minnie while Jungkook glared at Taehyung that conveyed a clear message: Don’t. So, he didn’t. It didn’t have anything to do with getting elbowed when you weren’t looking.

It was because that would ruin the fun, and he has a sense of purpose while roaming the entire campus to make his fourth bust of the week. He’s searched the hot and empty spots, but he just can’t find the passionate couple anywhere. If he can’t keep disrupting their displays of affection, how will Jungkook get annoyed enough to spill the truth to you? You deserve that much, and if you still accept him, then Taehyung’s out of the picture.

Why can’t Jungkook see that?

For starters, one of the reasons is Jungkook is distracted and growing very irritated by the heavy stare he feels digging into his skin. Who the fuck is watching him? He thought it would be nice to keep you company in the main campus library by controlling your hand under the table over his clothed erection while you skim through your textbook for a light revision, but a pair of eyes behind a bookshelf won’t stop glaring into his soul through thick frames that he can’t see. 

He blows out a breath and screws his eyes shut. His jaw clenches and you immediately catch on, worriedly asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Someone’s fucking watching me and I can’t get off,” he grits. Your cheeks heat and grow crimson when you glance down at your occupied hand, palmed by his bigger one in a tight grip. 

“I’m so sorry,” you whisper, “we can go to my dorm, if you’d like? Whatever you want.” In an act of comfort, you stupidly start caressing his length until he stands up. 

“Gotta confront the fucker.” 

Right when he raises his foot to take a step in the direction that his senses lead him to, Taehyung joins in on the mission. “Who are we confronting?” he asks casually with an arm over Soyeon’s shoulder, who is trying to suppress a grimace at the intervention. Jungkook glances at him and then your friend before sucking his teeth and rolling his eyes.

You grin brightly at the greeting and explain, “Someone's watching him. He’s going to find the stalker.”

“Might’ve been me, oops,” Taehyung raises his brows guiltily before slumping on a wooden chair adjacent to you, looking around the spacious area that makes him feel too loud. When he notices Soyeon still standing, he tells her, “come, sit,” and pats the seat next to him. She does so timidly. “Isn’t it so wonderful—”

“Why are you here?” Jungkook interrupts, but Taehyung continues, “—that we’re forming a friend group of our own? We’re all so familiar with each other.”

“Oh, Soyeon hasn’t met Jungkook yet.”

Taehyung narrows his eyes at you with a scrunch of his nose. “Sure about that?” Jungkook strides behind his chair and starts massaging his shoulders; a very harsh massage that has him holding back a wince. “Oh, Kook, that’s a bit rough. Tell me, is he like this in bed too?”

You gape at him in surprise, bashful because your lover doesn’t kiss and tell, and he doesn’t look too happy about it either.

“Tae…” Jungkook snarls.

“Well, is he, Soyeon?”

The library’s silence graces your table as everyone falls quiet, if you don’t count Taehyung’s groans at Jungkook’s bruising hold that is. Soyeon’s jaw drops and her eyes widen at the sudden switch in your gaze, searching for answers from her. “That’s not funny, Taehyung,” she breaks the silence with her blunt statement.

“Don’t mind him, baby, he has brain damage,” Jungkook spits and brings a hand up to Taehyung’s hair to yank it back. “I’m going to fucking kill you,” he whispers in his ear.

Your features begin to soften from its hard expression until Taehyung smiles wickedly at you. “Oh yeah, it wasn’t sex, was it? It was a tongue battle-” His voice cuts off the moment Jungkook starts choking him with his elbow, and his gags fall on deaf ears. Soyeon tries to push him off, but you’re just blank because Jungkook isn’t denying it; it was as if he was expecting it, trying to stop him all along. 

The sudden interest in your friend, the constant interruptions, the hits…

“Soyeon?” you call quietly with welling up tears. “Did you kiss him?”

Your best friend doesn’t lie, and apparently neither does Taehyung. Does Jungkook lie? You’re conflicted between living in bliss, ignoring the dying man in front of you because your boyfriend might have kissed Soyeon, and facing reality by asking the hard questions.

Her hands are still tugging on his shirt to save Taehyung, but her persistence weakens when she looks at you: guilty and… exposed? “I didn’t know it was him,” she confesses. It is indirect, and doesn’t reveal much except that she kissed the one man she wasn’t supposed to. 

“When?”

“The party,” Taehyung wheezes as he struggles against Jungkook’s arm, his nails drawing blood on his skin. His face is red from the lack of oxygen but he isn’t worried about dying.

“Oh, he put you up to this, didn’t he?” Jungkook speaks through clenched teeth to Soyeon. “They’re setting me up, and who the fuck is watching me?!” 

You stand up slowly and close your textbook with a soft thud, packing your materials so graciously. Your hands are shaking, but the tears blurring your vision don’t matter to you. Soyeon is honest, Taehyung is using his last breaths to tell you the truth, and Jungkook is lying. You sling your bag over your shoulder and trudge to the exit, counting your steps to calm down. You ignore Jungkook asking you where you’re going, Taehyung gasping for breath, and Soyeon telling him to leave you alone. It’s all muffled and you’re too sad to care.

It’s a case of he said she said, but your heart is siding with your friends with how painfully it pounds against your chest. Your trust in Jungkook couldn’t have been that fragile, could it? Why did it break with one sentence? 

Heavy footfalls follow you beyond the exit, but you’re too distracted by trying to move your legs steadily to notice. It isn’t important enough to distract you from someone calling your name though, or the light weight of a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Hm?” you say without looking up, frozen in your steps.

“A-Are you okay?” A smooth voice asks.

“I’m a bit sad,” your voice cracks and wavers from holding back a meltdown, “hurt.” You want to recognize the blurred image of the man standing next to you, so you blink and a tear sheds from each eye. “I told you to never talk to me again, Jimin.” You feel overwhelmed, and yet the memory of the blackmail has little impact on your mess of emotions, but it doesn't help you feel better either.

“Sorry,” he breathes, “I still don’t understand why, but you can do the talking for me. Wh-what happened?”

“Why do you ask? So you can use that against me too?” you scoff through the lump in your throat. Confusion washes his soft features, so you add, “maybe another handjob for it?” You shrug off his hand and continue your walk of shame. 

“I-I’ve never used anything against you, what are you talking about?” He’s chasing after you and it’s a bit of help in swaying your thoughts in a different direction, and your emotions towards anger and disbelief instead.

“Does a video ring a bell? The one you threatened to leak if I didn’t touch your…” You groan to yourself and quicken your pace towards your dorm. Maybe you could mope comfortably in there without the annoying presence of an arch enemy, who is feeding you more lies than you’re capable of consuming in one day. 

“What? I never— Listen, I deleted that video the second I received it. Whoever told you that was lying, please!”

It seems that everything you know boils down to Jungkook lying. His love was a lie too, apparently. Maybe the Jungkook you know is just one big fat lie who can’t seem to tell you the truth in any moment you’ve been with him. How many times do you need to hear from others and yourself that Jungkook is lying?

“I know,” you whimper and run off.

Once Taehyung catches his breath after coughing for a minute straight with a fresh bruise blossoming on his neck, he interrupts the hushed argument between Jungkook and Soyeon by asking, “Where’d she go?”

“I don’t know, but you’re going straight to hell once I fucking kill you for good,” Jungkook fumes with flushed cheeks. 

“If you die by murder, you go straight to Heaven. How do you not know this?” His voice is low from the assault and his throat aches, but he still attempts to lighten the mood. 

“I swear to fucking God, Taehyung—” Jungkook stops his threat when he sees Soyeon sneakily walking away. “Where the fuck are you going?”

“Air,” Soyeon vaguely answers.

“Bullshit.” Jungkook tries to go after her, wanting to be the first to find your dorm so she doesn't say more about that night, but Taehyung holds onto his wrist to stop him. 

“She needs time—”

“Fuck off.”

When Jungkook begins to walk off after yanking off his hand, Taehyung immediately searches around the room and takes out a pen from a cup on the reception desk before jumping Jungkook from behind just as he was about to leave. They struggle against each other and start rolling around, but Taehyung is driven by adrenaline as he grounds himself on top of him. He holds him down with his legs and uncaps the pen to start writing on his forehead.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Everyone in the library peeks at the commotion due to Jungkook’s loud yell, but neither of them pay mind as he tries to move away from the pen.

“See if she takes you seriously with dick written on your forehead,” Taehyung chuckles before sprinting off with him hot on his tail. Jungkook is stronger, but Taehyung is much faster as he loses him pretty quickly by hiding in an occupied lecture hall. The professor looks at him questioningly but he thinks fast and breathlessly asks the students, “Is Jeon Jungkook here? The headmaster is looking for him.” Some people search for him, but when no one makes a peep, he escapes the room and Jungkook’s wrath.

Now to go to your dorm before Jungkook scrubs off the ink…

“I didn’t know his name,” Soyeon murmurs while fidgeting with her fingers. When she came in the room, you were muffling your sobs with your pillow and all she saw was your jerking shoulders. She tried to comfort you, to hug you, but you weren’t exactly being friendly, and the setting is pretty much the same except she’s sitting on your bed while you still cry. “I asked people what he looked like, but it was just a description of every guy in the room. He wasn’t around for them to point at, and so I thought maybe he didn’t come. Then this guy kisses me on this couch, feels guilty about it, and tells me his name. I-I didn’t know it was Jungkook. He left for you anyway…”

Her attempt at consolation is fruitless because it only makes you cry harder. She rubs your back soothingly before standing up. “I’ll check up on you later. Let me know if you need anything, okay?” You nod against your stained pillow. 

The moment she opens the door, Taehyung’s fist misses her head by an inch. “Oops,” he says before gently pushing her aside by her shoulder and entering. His eyes fall on your fetal position first thing and he pouts at you. “Aw, baby—”

“She doesn’t want to talk right now.”

“I’m good company,” he dismisses her with a flick of his wrist, “you can go.”

She rolls her eyes before shutting the door, and it’s only you and him now. Your hiccups fill the room as he sadly watches you, a quiet sigh leaving his mouth. “I tried to tell you. Well, I tried to get him to tell you.”

“Y-You said,” you snivel against the sheet, “th-that he was whipped for me.”

I said that to get you to open up. Even in his head it sounds cruel, so he rethinks his response with a grimace. “Jungkook told me he liked you.” Maybe shifting the blame wasn’t exactly much better, especially since he told him that after the claim, but you have enough on your plate.

“H-He told me he loved me,” you hiccup, releasing your death grip on the poor pillow. It’s a mask rather than a silencer now. Taehyung widens his eyes to himself and purses his lips. He takes Soyeon’s former seat and turns you on your back. His heart sinks a little when he sees your face: red nose, heavy lids, bloodshot eyes and quivering lips with messy hair. You look really pretty to him right now. “He lies so much. H-He even made me give Jimin a handjob.”

“Made you?” he repeats with his thumb drawing circular patterns on your collarbone. 

You nod. “It’s a long story, and I don’t want to talk about it. It was horrible.”

His brows furrow at your tone. “That’s so fucked up... Man, you need to avoid him.”

“Jimin?”

“Jungkook. That’s too twisted, even for him. You’re an angel…” his palm reaches for your cheek and his thumb continues its soothing motions. “You didn’t deserve it.”

“Thank you,” you mouth and fresh tears brim as you try to swallow. It feels like you’re sick all over again, except there’s no misunderstanding to clear this time. He wipes a stray teardrop and smiles down at you; it’s a relaxing gesture. You close your eyes and hold onto his wrist, snuggling into his warm hand.

“I sound really cheesy, don’t I?” he chuckles. “Can’t lie, wish I had someone call me an angel after I caught my ex cheating on me.”

An involuntary giggle erupts from your mouth at his joke. “You’re an angel, Taehyung. An angel in disguise.” You peek at him before fluttering your eyes shut again. A pursed smile graces his lips, and he’s convinced he isn’t interested in you romantically, that it was just an invisible force drawing him closer to you, that he wasn’t the one aiming for your lips until a pound on the door resounds in the room.

You flinch away from his hand and he pulls back instantly; both of your heads shoot to the source of the noise. 

“Open up!” Jungkook yells and continues fisting the door. “Open the fucking door!” Taehyung holds a finger against his lips, signalling you to stay silent until he leaves. “I want to talk. Open the door… please.” Neither of you say anything.

“Fine,” he agrees, “don’t talk. I’ll talk, but at least give me a sign that you’re here.” Before Taehyung can stop you, you rush to the door and knock once. You hear him slide down the door, presumably leaning his back against it and sitting on the floor. “Okay. I’m sor— They were lying—” you slam your fist against the door in denial. “Okay! But they weren’t telling the whole truth back there. I was um… on drugs. I was really fucking high, okay?”

“Yet your high-self still managed to yell at me! Clearly you weren’t high out of your mind,” you snap menacingly. He flinches at your sudden shut-down; he’s never heard you yell at him before, nor has he ever been the victim of your anger. It makes his heart drop.

“That was like, three hours after I got high! I was practically sober, plus, you weren’t talking to me that day!”

“I had lost my voice! I didn’t want you to get sick—"

“I DIDN’T FUCKING KNOW THAT!” 

He gulps at your silence and inhales a deep breath to calm down. He hears you sniffle on the other side. “I-I didn’t know that. You wouldn’t kiss me, wouldn’t talk to me, and I didn’t know why. I thought you stopped loving me and… that really upset me.” He sighs to himself because he’s never opened up so honestly and it’s difficult, but he doesn’t exactly have a choice. It just feels so embarrassing.

Taehyung opens the window of your dorm and climbs out. You don’t see or hear it happen, too invested in your argument to even remember his existence. “Do you remember what I told you the night we did it for the first time?”

His face scrunches as he tries to replay the events beside the sex. The corner of his lip tugs upwards when he recalls you calling him a slut, but he’s still clueless as to why you’re bringing it up. You don’t leave him in the dark for long. “I told you I wouldn’t forgive you a second time.” He gnaws on his lip as his palms feel clammy with nervous sweat. 

“W-We weren’t dating then,” he tries to justify. “I didn’t need forgiveness then. You’re so unfair!” He stands up and knocks with his fist again. “Let’s talk it out face to face, I’ll explain everything. You’re putting me at a disadvantage! Don’t you want clarity? Don’t you want this to work out?!” He starts chanting your name when you don’t answer. “I will break down this fucking door if you don’t open it,” he doesn’t sound nearly as intimidating as he usually does when threatening; he sounds more like he’s a second away from breaking down himself. “No, no… please. I-I’ll kiss another girl if you break up with me! You don’t want that, right? So just open the door.” 

His tough façade crumbles the longer you ignore him, and he can’t believe the heavy weight he feels all over his body wants to leave in the form of tears. It stings in his eyes but he doesn’t dare let them fall. “You’re so fucking cruel!” He twists the door handle violently; desperately. A dry sob escapes him as he kicks the door one last time. “Oh God, oh God…” he tries to breathe but it doesn’t enter his lungs. It’s like being choked with a noose as he gasps and a tear runs down his cheek. His wheezes become so loud that you start hearing them and grow concerned.

You consider the possibility that it’s one of his tactics, trying to manipulate you, but you open the door anyway. It’s a slight crack and you barely get a look at him before he pushes it open completely and forces his way in. He sits on your bed and his shoulders hunch, breaths still shallow. “I didn’t mean it. I don’t like her, never did, I only— I was mad, and I couldn’t go through with it, and I’ve never shown you affection b-because I’ve only ever received it from you—” you hush his rambling with a hug, but he continues with his head against your stomach anyway, “I’ve never been in a relationship and I’m a fucking mess and I understand why you wouldn’t want to be with me, but please don’t leave me. I’ll do my homework, I’ll stop being mean, I won’t even talk if you don’t want me to, but please don’t stop talking to me.”

“Jungkook…” you trail in shock. “I’m here. Take a deep breath.” When he tries, it’s so shaky that it makes you tear up for the umpteenth time. You’re a mess with him. “In and out, love, in and out.” You would do it with him like an instructor, but it’s not possible when he’s squeezing your waist so tightly. It takes a few minutes for him to relax his grip and he looks up at you pitifully. “It’s okay,” you assure and pet his hair, “you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry. I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“I love you most,” he exhales. “I mean… I realized that night, that I only want to be with…”

“I get it,” you whisper to comfort him, knowing he has struggles with expressing himself, but he doesn’t stop. He wants to get it off his chest, and he quietly tells you, “I kissed another girl when I wanted to make you jealous, and then another to forget. I don’t want to do that, I mean I only want to kiss… you.”

You initiate it first by leaning down to peck his lips, and you don’t pull away too far. You peck him again, and then start kissing him. He’s never been this slow with you before, but the panic attack must have drained him. It’s the way that he doesn’t immediately turn it heated with the intent of taking it to the third base that warms your heart. He’s hesitant and taking his time, mindful of your reactions because you’re in control for once. You’re aware of how vulnerable he is being with you, and he conveys that with the gentle press of his lips. 

He whimpers into the kiss, and it’s so quiet and mournful that you lean back but he chases after you. He doesn’t want to stop like you’d assumed, so you place your knees on either side of him and hover over his thighs. Even his hands are hesitant as he lightly sits you down on his lap by pulling your waist. You smile against him and with his submission, you swipe your tongue across his lip. He opens for you. You roll your tongue around his, and he eventually begins to suck on yours. There’s a pit in your stomach that confuses you; is it arousal? Flattery? You feel so special because you know he hasn’t been like this with anyone else; so powerless and passive.

It’s passionate. You inch your body a little closer to him and he grunts when you brush against his crotch before settling down. This isn’t about sexual needs, and you don’t treat it as such but your body has a mind of its own with its constant shuffling that turns him on. He doesn’t want to feel that way, but his hips have a subtle way of thrusting beneath you. His hums rumble and you kiss him harder, losing all your senses except for the warmth of his skin. You don’t notice him controlling the movement of your hips because he’s taking it slow, and you don’t need to know why he’s quietly moaning into you.

At least no one’s watching him now. 

You pull back in surprise when he groans loudly, and you know he’s back to himself as his actions grow rough. You’re practically jumping when he grinds on you with his spit all over your mouth because of his explorative tongue. From past experience, you’ve figured out that Jungkook is more honest when he’s in the heat of the moment, so you inquire against his lips, “Why did you lie to me about Jimin?”

“That fucking freak,” he growls, “I needed a reason to get you to hate him. He didn’t stop you when it happened, did he?” 

Still manipulative. “Will you do the same with Taehyung?”

“No, I,” his thrusts slow down, “I’m gonna, err…” He looks at you for help.

“You’re gonna be a good boy and talk things out with him, right?”

“Right,” he breathes, “talk.” He slams his lips against yours again, and it’s not long before he sighs at his climax with your cooperation. There’s a small patch growing on his pants through his underwear, and he cusses when he notices it. He pecks you one last time before hugging you and laying on the bed, cuddling you like a blanket. “Do you forgive me?” 

You rest your head on his chest and feel his pulse to contemplate. He brings a hand up to your hair and starts running his fingers through it, unbothered by your lack of answer. “I’ll make it up to you,” he says. “Do you…” he clears his throat, “do you maybe want to have dinner with me?”

“Like a date?” you tease with a grin.

“Yes.”

“There’s my answer,” you lift your head to wink up at him. “But if you test me again, I’ll break your heart just as you did mine. Don’t worry though,” you whisper, “I’ll never leave you.”

[burst-of-iridescent]

1, 15 and 30!

1. What made you start shipping Zutara?

the first moment i noticed something between them was "i'll save you from the pirates", but i didn't think that much of it until the siege of the north and the iconic "you rise with the moon, i rise with the sun" line. that entire fight made me realize how similar zuko and katara were, and the amazing symbolism they had. and when the crystal catacombs scene happened, it was so goddamn intimate and emotional that i really thought holy shit they're actually going there they’re going to be canon and the rest of book 3 up until literally 10 minutes before the ending just made me more and more certain i was right (poor 2021 ana really had so much hope lmfao).

so looking back on it i would say the waterbending scroll was the first spark but their fight in the siege of the north is probably the moment i started shipping them, and then the crystal catacombs absolutely solidified them as a ship for me.

15. What do you think would have happened if Katara and Zuko hadn't been interrupted in the catacombs?

a lot of kissing no i wish, lol. realistically speaking? zuko would have stopped katara before she actually began to heal him, probably a little frantic because now that he's confronted with the reality of actually losing the scar, he doesn't know if he wants to, or who he'll be without it.

his reaction would probably clue katara into the fact that the scar is more than just the nasty consequence of some everyday training accident, and she'd gently try to probe, maybe asking what the scar means to zuko. given the time, i can even see zuko opening up to her about the agni kai, and why he chased the avatar for so long.

the betrayal still happens, partly because i think that’s what solidifies zutara as such a narratively significant and emotional ship, and also because i think this betrayal would add more complexity to both katara and zuko. in canon, i doubt that katara understood why zuko betrayed them, but in this alternate version she might actually see why zuko does what he does (though she'd still be rightfully pissed at him for it) which would add more depth to her anger.

and as for zuko, as much as katara's compassion would touch him, he likely still wasn't at the stage to accept that his father was abusive and didn't actually love him. talking about the agni kai would probably have made it even more of a raw wound, and when azula offered the chance to earn ozai's love, it would've hit too close to home for him to refuse.

30. If you could rewrite one episode of A:TLA, which would it be?

i would happily throw half of book 3 out the window lmao, especially the finale (only the zutara moments have rights). but since it's a four parter, i'm going to go with the headband instead.

what an absolutely wasted episode. this was the perfect opportunity to actually show us the fire nation before the war, and kuzon and aang's friendship, but instead we got a dance party in a cave. i would've rewritten this episode to be similar to the king of omashu, cutting between multiple flashbacks to pre war fire nation with kuzon and aang, and the present fire nation to juxtapose what the war has done to the fire nation civilians.

this also would've been a great episode to introduce both opposition to the war within the fire nation, and the idea that the air nomads weren't entirely exterminated. aang still goes to school, eagerly looking forward to it because he remembers how much fun it was with kuzon, and is shocked to see how much it has changed.

he meets kuzon's great grandchildren and is invited to their home, where he overhears their parents quietly grumble about fire lord ozai sending more troops to the front lines. when he returns to school the next day, the history lesson proceeds as it did in canon, except this time aang learns that the general in charge of wiping out much of the air nomads was kuzon's father, and that kuzon grew up to become a decorated military general just like him.

shocked and grieved, aang runs off. he approaches one of the spots he used to go to with kuzon and begins to cry. there is a flashback to kuzon and aang at the same spot, mere weeks before the fire nation launches its attack and shortly after aang learns he's the avatar. he sobs to kuzon about how he doesn't know how to do this, and kuzon hugs him and promises that he will always be there for him.

cut back to the present, where kuzon's great grandson approaches aang just like his grandfather did so long ago. he tries to comfort aang, and admits quietly that he always feels sad when he hears about the air nomads too, because he used to hear stories of them from his granddad. then, so casually that it's clear he doesn't think it's important, he mentions the one and only time kuzon brought up aang. how kuzon whispered on his deathbed, almost delirious, that aang would come back and someone had to tell him he wasn't alone.

aang, incredibly confused, asks what kuzon meant by that. but they're interrupted then and brought back to class (the dance party can still be held here, cutting the awkward scene of katara dressing up as aang's mother, and the weird kat/aang dance). as the gaang flies off at the end, we pan back to kuzon's family's house. the camera catches on his granddaughter, who has grey eyes and tucks a necklace suspiciously similar to aang's back beneath her shirt.

[yuu-the-pokemon-trainer-of-nrc]

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(Click for better quality)

I caught the Pokémon fever and I felt the urge to draw Yuu as a Pokémon trainer!

I kinda want to make a new AU where Yuu actually comes from the Pokémon world as well as update her BIO. Also I’m thinking of changing the color her school uniform’s vest.

Also, in this AU I think with her Pokémon by her side, she’s a lot more confident enough to think she would have no need to disguise herself as a boy. So this is what her uniform would look like:

Backgrounds I used:

Name: Yuu

Gender: Female

Age: 18 (I know I said she was 16 before, but now I want to change it 😖)

BIO: (It got a bit long, so I hid it under cut)

In the world of Pokémon, Yuu was originally from Opelucid City in Unova with her single mother. They were a poor family and her mother stressed day after day, trying to make ends meet while also putting up with the other responsibilities that came with being a parent. What set her over the edge was when Team Plasma attacked the city and froze it in ice along with their home. This made Yuu’s mother decide to put her in foster care in Castelia City in hopes another family would come and take better care of her daughter. That’s what she said, but when Yuu looked at her mother’s face she couldn’t help but see a bit of relief in her eyes. After that, Yuu mostly kept to herself, not really interacting with the other kids, blindly hoping that her mother would return once she’s more financially stable, but she never did...

One day, when she and the other foster kids were out and about the city (with adult supervision of course), enjoying their Casteliacones, a Patrat swiftly took Yuu’s remaining cone! She chased after it down in one of the alley’s, and hid around the corner and made a big discovery! The Patrat was actually a disguised Zorua! After hearing his stomach growl even after he scoffed the cone down, Yuu felt sorry for the illusion Pokémon and approached it. Zorua growled as Yuu settled down her backpack to take out her lunch bag and revealed it’s contents to him. “You need it more than I do. Take it.” She got up and left to return to her group, leaving behind a very confused Zorua. Oddly enough, Yuu met Zorua again shortly on the same day. After finishing most of her lunch Zorua saved an apple and followed her home to return it. (Disguised of course) But even with the disguise, she recognized the apple immediately and could see right through Zorua. Since then the two would meet when Yuu had the time and bring Zorua some food and she would chat and play with him. Sometimes she would talk about something funny she saw on TV, or go ranting about how annoyed she gets with grown ups pestering her about playing with the other kids when she wasn’t even interested. The only game she was interested in was Hide n Seek, but was then banned from playing it by the adults for being too good at it. And couldn’t even talk about Pokémon with the other kids without talking like a “stuck up know-it-all”. As well as talk about her dream of finally becoming a Pokémon trainer and go wherever she wanted without any kids or adults telling her what she can or can’t do. Zorua would then bark at her like he understood what she meant, and for the first time, she felt she finally has a friend/ally.

Then one day, one of the other kids leading a group traced back to where she had been meeting Zorua and found him, and by the time Yuu got there, she was horrified to find the kids circling and ganging up on a distressed Zorua - wanting to touch his ears and tail. At first, Yuu froze in fear, fear that now the kids know where her special meeting place with Zorua was, fear that Zorua might think she betrayed his trust by telling them about this place, but as Zorua cried out - Yuu snapped. Pushing all the other kids away, shielding Zorua, Yuu yelled at them to leave Zorua alone. It did not sit well with the biggest kid, who shoved Yuu to the ground, which angered Zorua! Zorua then used scratch on the kid and used his power of illusions to change into a Hydreigon! Not realizing it was an illusion, the kids ran away, crying and screaming. This greatly relieved Yuu, believing this event would make the kids think twice before messing with them again. However, that sense of security was short-lived ‘cuz shortly after it, she was confronted by the adults who run the foster home as well as a policeman, who was holding a struggling Zorua by the fur collar. Yuu was scolded for attacking the other kids while also making contact with a dangerous wild Pokémon that had a history of stealing food from tourists and local alike and now has attacked a defenseless child. Yuu tried to explain that Zorua was starving and how those kids were scaring him and the only reason he attacked was because she was shoved. But her explanations fell on deaf ears as the policeman said he’ll take Zorua somewhere far away from Castelia City. All Yuu could think of was that she was about to lose her only friend and will be left alone with kids who hate her. Not wanting to bear with that reality, she charged for the Policeman, kicking his shin which was enough to make him to lose his grip enough for Zorua to wriggle away free. And the two both charged out into the alleyways of Castelia City.

Since then, Yuu was a small child with a Zorua on the run. The police were frantic about searching for them, but thanks to Yuu’s cleverness when it comes to Hide n Seek and Zorua’s illusions, it made it all too easy to give them the slip. They were together, but unfortunately they had to steal food in order to get by. One of these thefts lead to a fateful encounter with a certain mad scientist by the name of... Colress.

While he was enjoying his newfound freedom from police custody at a café, Yuu swiped one of his pastries. And of course, it had to take one misstep to alert Colress that he was being stolen from which prompt Yuu to run as if her life depended on it. But as she regrouped with Zorua, they were suddenly surrounded by Colress’ Klingklang, Magnezone, and Porygon-2. With KlingKlang using protect from Zorua’s attacks, they had no way of getting out of it. But even then, Yuu refused to give up if it meant that she and Zorua will be separated. Seeing her bond with Zorua as well as her ability to give Zorua commands despite not even old enough to become a trainer, Colress’ interest was piqued and the gears of his mind started to turn. He held off his Pokémon’s attack, and met with Yuu at eye-level to ask her about her story with Zorua. At first, Yuu refused saying he’s just another adult who would never listen to her or give her the time of day, only for him to respond that it’s quite the contrary. Something about his eyes told Yuu that this isn’t something he would lie about and she reluctantly told him about her situation.

And Yuu didn’t know how (and was too afraid to ask), but somehow Colress was able to convince the people at her foster care to let him take custody of her as her guardian as well as convince the Police to let Zorua off. But one thing she did ask is why he decided to help her and Zorua out in the first place, his response was, “Because I firmly believe that someone should never be separated from a Pokémon they have a clear bond with. No matter what age they may be.”

And since then, Yuu and Zorua were always together. And though Colress was her guardian, he was never a father-figure for Yuu. Yes, he did provide Yuu and Zorua food and shelter, as well as Yuu’s education. But he never hid the fact that he saw the bond between Yuu and Zorua as a fascinating research subject. Sometime even testing how in-sync their brainwaves were. Yuu didn’t really mind either as long as no one dares to take away Zorua again and at the time she saw Colress as the only adult that was ever straight with her.. Zorua himself didn’t trust Colress and would always keep a sharp eye on him while sticking close to Yuu.

Hearing about the close community of people and Pokémon in Alola, Colress moved his lab there thinking it would be the ideal place for his research and took Yuu and Zorua along with him. At first Yuu didn't know how to feel about the change, but was surprised that compared to the kids she knew in Unova, she actually thought decently about her classmates at the Pokémon school that she was enrolled in. For one thing, they actually respected Zorua's space and hers which was a huge breath of fresh air. And her teacher, Professor Kukui, just let her take her time before getting to know them instead of pushing her to do things that made her uncomfortable. Later on, Yuu hears about how close the other students are with their parents, which made Yuu more aware of how different she is from them considering she doesn't exactly have a typical father/daughter relationship with Colress. Seeing her newfound sense of loneliness, Professor Kukui invited her to his lab to spend time with the Pokémon while also meeting his wife, Professor Burnet. It wasn't long before Yuu started having dinners with the married couple and started seeing them as parental figures.

(Now this has been going on for a little while now, so I’ll just sum up the next part shortly as the next part should be stories for another day)

When she became a trainer at the age of 11, Yuu decided to take on the Island challenge. Along the way she became partners with Primarina, Toucannon, Raichu, Mudsdale, Lurantis, and among others with those 5 plus Zoroark being her main 6 for Alola. And after becoming Alola’s first champion, Yuu decided she wanted to travel to experience everything the world has to offer, not only to perfect her battle-style further, but also to meet the Pokémon of every region as well as to grow deeper bonds with her Pokémon.

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “Beaks in the Shell!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Ben Siemon

Storyboard by: Sam King, Kathryn Marusik, Stephan Park, Emmy Cicirega

Directed by: Jason Zurek

We go virtual!

The episode begins with GizmoDuck and Huey chasing after Gandra Dee, who just stole a cube that causes shockwaves. While he does end up grabbing the massive short circuit-causing cube before it drops into Duckburg's water, Gandra Dee ends up getting away in the end. He wasn't really too competent in this quest, either, as he got caught in a trap and he had to be told by Huey that he can fly out of them. Huey's like someone who yells at the TV when a plot hole happens. Whether this failure is because GizmoDuck is still not as competent as he wants to be or something else is not too obvious, but anyone who watched the previous major Gandra Dee episode can guess that something would have affected his crime fighting when it comes to Gandra Dee.

Back in Gyro Gearloose's lab, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera has another project in the works that is a secret from everyone: a new virtual reality cloud space that is both a space for scientific collaboration and a potential romantic destination. Let's just say that it may as well have been that something else, and that something else is hidden from everyone else, including his own M'Ma, about as well as his secret identity. Not that he was going to tell his special someone that they didn't buy it.

We go into the aforementioned virtual reality cloud space, where Gandra Dee is already generating beakers full of green chemicals, the universal sign of science in children's cartoons. They can also kiss under the happy little pixelated trees, because they are still an item despite Gandra Dee's record of blinding children and threatening to short-circuit all of Duckburg. Fenton is almost ready to share this scientific breakthrough to the world, but Dee doesn't want to do that because she thinks people would shut it down because of all the purple glitches. This plot point made me wonder if there was going to be something more than just "oh, Gyro can fix those", like if they were going to be a major part of the plot, or that it was supposed to represent that this romance is not going to last.

We later learn that this cloud is also important because they can do dangerous experiments without worry of injury, and, combined with their ability to generate anything they can imagine, this could be a good set-up to an interesting creativity vs. creativity battle. Maybe the purple glitches will come to life as monsters, or maybe FOWL will find out what's going on here and invade it with their own creativity. I mean, who else would have the idea to invade this Gizmotopia?

Fenton: (putting his arms around his one true love) This is going to be...

Mark Beaks: ...the greatest scientific achievement in his-zizz-tory!

Oh, it's Mark Beaks advertising a new Waddle phone update that partially fixes a bug that makes the phones explode into flames. Granted, there's no hint that there's going to be any convergence between these two plots besides Beaks coincidentally finishing Fenton's sentence, with an extra "zizz", but, really, it's inevitable.

Now, Waddle only has one investor, and the investor tells the CEO that he has to come up with an original idea, which he simply can't do as every idea he can come up with, like coffee cups with apps, was already taken. This isn't really the episode's B-plot, and, as said before, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's just going to give up and attempt to steal whatever Gyro or his intern are doing. One other thing that's a bit confusing is that nobody seems to recognize Mark Beaks anymore despite being the CEO of a company that apparently still makes phones a lot of people use. It could work as another sign that his company is going down, and that's why he seems so desperate here.

Meanwhile, Huey ends up barging into Fenton's office with a new discovery about Gandra Dee that could lead to her capture, only to see Fenton doing a kissy face while wearing his GizmoDuck helmet. He puts two-and-two together and realizes this must be some sort of virtual reality cloud space. Fenton tries to get him away from that by saying that the GizmoDuck helmet only works on his head, and he just does not have any additional VR headsets for guests. Manny the Headless Horse makes his appearance in this episode with a bunch of VR headsets, apparently hearing that excuse as a request for those, and Huey comes into the world to marvel at all of its wonders, including that very special guest.

Gandra Dee: What...the...f...

Huey: FOWL?!

I see what they did there. Gandra has to generate a weighted blanket to calm Huey down after that revelation. At first, I was going to make some joke about how this is a really bad way for the Duke of Making A Mess to go out, but it makes sense. Stress will be one of the major parts of Huey's part of the plot, and weighted blankets are a good way to relieve that. It's also another reminder that this is a world where ideas can come to life, even if it's just a virtual one. I would question how a virtual weighted blanket would work, but this episode does seem to go with the "one's mind makes it real" scenario.

As Huey keeps asking questions on why Gandra Dee is working with Fenton, we get the little sad backstory on Gandra Dee courtesy of her generating a flashback of her losing a science fair to someone making that one volcano experiment. People just don't understand that she wants to push the boundaries of science with...okay, I'm not sure what that is supposed to be, but it does shoot a dangerous death ray. Because of her experiments need for danger, she can only do experiments on herself, which is why she happens to be a cyborg, and the only people who would fund her work happens to be people like the evil buzzard bent on world domination. She adds an additional comfort to Huey that she already plans to quit FOWL for good after using their resources to make this. After making puppy dog eyes at the little kid like a little kid makes puppy dog eyes at their parents, Huey accepts this for the sake of both science and love.

This leads into our actual B-plot: Huey trying his hardest to keep a secret, and his anxiousness and stress is really getting the best of him even in the beginning. One of the first people he has to confront is none other than Fenton's M'Ma, who, despite Fenton's words to Gandra Dee, did not buy that his project was not some sort of romantic exploit. This leads to an interrogation scene. Crackshell then shows up before M'Ma could actually interrogate him further, and Huey has to try to motion to him what exactly his lies were. It's the usual set up for plots like this, the guy gets caught up in the lie, and he tries desperately to keep the secret a secret. There's not a lot that I haven't seen before, but I can not say this is bad, either.

One creative thing they do end up doing is the very next scene where, after Huey "goes to the bathroom", Huey comes in a room with confidence to answer the big question on why Fenton would keep secrets from his own M'Ma. Eventually, he has to bail again after hearing that one of the secrets is that Fenton is GizmoDuck. Why? Because that was actually Louie playing the part of Huey, and somehow, the schemer of the three nephews is the last person in Duckburg to know GizmoDuck's secret identity. He tries to go back only for M'Ma to ask "Huey" about "Louie's Kids", that fake charity he had in The Other Bin, and Louie cracks under pressure and reveals Huey put him up to it. Huey runs to Fenton's house to essentially yell out that he can't take hiding this secret about the GizmoCloud anymore, thinking the only person in there is a still-in-the-GizmoCloud Fenton. He has no reason to believe there's any desperate CEOs hiding in the wastebasket.

We cut back and forth between this plot and the "Gandra Dee not wanting to open the GizmoCloud" plot, and it turns out to be more about her than anything else. We get the lines about how she doesn't want the world to think of her badly, and how he doesn't care what they think about her, and this heartfelt moment doesn't last too long. Mark Beaks may not be a creative man, but he at least knows how to hack into things. Honestly, it seems like this world didn't have that much security to begin with.

Mark Beaks shows up, locking them in a hashtag captcha before Gandra Dee can defeat him with the combined power of a Terry Bogard power wave and a Rolling Stones reference, and he decides he's going to use his new "WaddleCloud" to steal other people's ideas without anyone telling him. Fenton can still use his creativity powers, and he tries to do that to summon the GizmoDuck suit...only for Mark Beak's stealing powers to take it right from him, giving him the power suit and the ability to add Waddle logos to all the buildings in the skybox.

Fenton Crackshell can still use his creativity abilities to sneakily motion his hands to tap Morse code for help. By the way, yes, he is comatose. It's just like Sword Art Online or that one episode of Black Mirror. Also, how lucky that the one person taking a stress rest in the room, Huey, happened to know Morse code. He tries to take the VR headset out of Mark Beak's head, only for it to give him an electric shock, and the computer displays a little Mark Beaks head telling him that, "ah, ah, ah, you didn't say the magic word." I'm not going to give any hate on this episode for lazy references. If anything, this joke is perfectly fitting for Mark Beaks.

All of this convinces Huey that he doesn't need to keep the secret anymore, which pretty much ends the B-plot with him just randomly yelling out to a mail carrier about how Mark Beaks hacked into the GizmoCloud. He then says he's going to find people who can actually help. It's like he's aware what he did made no sense. Before GizmoDuck can use his finger lasers to delete Fenton and Gandra from the program, or whatever that would entail, his world is suddenly invaded by Huey, M'Ma, and Gyro. How did they manage to get in this hostile cloud takeover when it's implied Mark Beaks put Dennis Nedry-levels of security on it? Pineapples. Well, or Gyro helped them. Either way, it's not really explained.

It may seem like I didn't like this episode that much, so I'll say one thing I did like a lot besides the Louie scene: the weekly final fight scene all of that buildup led up to. The people all use their creativity in a pretty cool way here that I won't entirely spoil here. I also like how Mark Beaks' lack of creativity fits into what he does in it; he just combines everyone else's ideas into a super robot form. I was expecting him to fall over due to so many conflicting ideas, but they end up doing something else that was also pretty funny. Funny by Mark Beaks standards, anyway.

It's not much of a spoiler to say that the good guys win, but there is a little bit more to the ending. Namely, there is a major cliffhanger at the end of the episode. While it's a good cliffhanger, It does feel a little disappointing that a character that was built up in this episode essentially becomes a mere damsel in distress. Then again, I felt the same way about Lena in The Other Bin before the big revelation about her in The Shadow War. We'll just have to see what happens.

How does it stack up?

There's some good scenes here and there, like the blanket, the Louie scene, and the final fight scene, but with everything else, I just found it mediocre by DuckTales 2017's high standards. I'd put it below New Gods On The Block, which has a fight scene similar to this one, and I didn't really love that one either. I can see people disagreeing with this one, especially if they were really into Gandra Dee or Mark Beaks, and I'm sure the last minute of the episode is going to lead to somewhere fascinating. I really debated on whether or not this should be the first two Scrooges episode of Season 3, and I originally gave this a 2 just because I didn't think it was as great as everyone else thought it was. However, I then thought about some of the episode I would give a 2, and I think the good scenes in this episode are just too good to give the whole package a two.

Long story short, Three Scrooges.

Next, we meet some friends for life, through thick or thin, with plenty of tales to spin.

← How Santa Stole Christmas! 🦆 The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker! →

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: The Star Wars Holiday Special

Hi, Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where Today We Are Doing The Last Review Of This Year's Yultide Reviews...

All Right, Let's Get This Over With...The Star Wars Holiday Special...

Released 1 Year After The Success Of A New Hope, This Special Sees Wookie Chewbacca, Racing Home To Kashyyk On Board The Millennium Falcon With Han Solo So He Can Celebrate The Wookie Holiday, Life Day With His Family...

So, What Are We Waiting For Let's Dive Into The Star Wars Holiday Special...

The Special Starts On-Board The Millenium Falcon, As Han Solo (Played By Harrison Ford) Attempts To Get Chewbacca Home To Kashyyk For The Annual Wookie Holiday Known As Life Day But Unfortunately They're Been Chased By 2 Imperial Star Destroyers, Which Except For The Stuff In The Cockpit Of The Falcon With Ford And Chewbacca, Is Just Stock Footage From A New Hope...

Going To Hyperspace, We Get The Star Wars Theme And Our Credits Before We're Transported To Chewbacca's Home On Kashyyk Where We Meet Chewbacca's Wife, Malla, His Father, Itchy And His Son, Lumpy And From There It's Downward Spiral Down The Crapper As From Then Forward We Get Nothing But Wookie Talk With

No Subtitles!...

Now, While It Bothers Some People, It Doesn't Bother Me As Much Because My Family Likes Chewbacca, He's My Mom's Favorite Character And While He's Not Mine, I Don't Mind Him As Much So The Wookie Roars In This Special Isn't As Annoying To Me And My Family As It Is For Everyone Else...

Now I Know What Your Starting To Think That This Is Going To Be A Repeat Of My Haunted Mansion Review Where Thought That While Some Things Were Bad In The Film It Wasn't A Completely Horrible Movie Like Most Haunted Mansion Fanatics Would Make People Believe Well, Believe Me When I Say That It's Not Going To Be Like That It's Just That That Particular Thing Doesn't Bother Me As Much As Everyone Else...

But What Does Bother Me However, Is That Through These Characters We Get Very Little Of A Narrative Or A Story Out Of Them And Instead We Have To Revolve Around The Side Characters (Like The Guy Art Carney Plays, Luke, R2, Leia, 3PO, Han And Vader) To Tell The Story For Us When Really It's Supposed To Be About Chewbacca And His Family And Nothing And Nobody Else...

Anyway As We Watch Chewbacca's Family, We See That They're Like Most Families Back Then With Grandpa Itchy Making Models, Son Lumpy Playing With His Toys And Mom Malla Working In The Kitchen To Make Dinner For Life Day...

But When Malla Asks Lumpy To Take Out The Trash, He Goes For A Wookie Cookie (I Guess) But (Like All Moms Back Then) Malla Tells Lumpy To Put It Back Or Else He'll Ruin His Dinner Only For Lumpy To Take It Anyway...

Taking Out The Trash After Swiping The Wookie Cookie, Lumpy Decides To Do A Balancing Act Before Our Very Eyes Before Cutting Back To The Inside Of The House...

It's Like Why Did We Stick On That For A Few Minutes?...

Looking At A Picture Of Chewbacca It's Obvious That Malla Misses Her Husband, But With Itchy Knowing That His Son Will Be Here Soon, He Asks Malla To Return To The Kitchen To Work On Dinner...

Attempting To Keep Lumpy Distracted, Itchy Gives Lumpy A Holodisk To Watch On The Space Chess Board (I Say That As It Looks Like The Chess Board That's On-Board The Millennium Falcon) Which Shows...I Don't Know What...It Looks Like A Mix Of Dancing And Gymnastics...

Asking For Lumpy To Watch Dishes After Watching That, Still Worried About Chewbacca, Malla Checks For Spaceships In The Area Only For Her To Find None, This Leads Her To Contact Luke Skywalker And R2-D2 Who Are Working On A Part For Luke's X-Wing...

Asking Luke About Chewbacca, He Tells Malla That Him And Han Left On Schedule And If They're Not There Now Then They're Way Overdue And May Be In Trouble. But Luke Tells Them Not To Worry As It Just May Be Taking Them A Little Bit Longer To Get There As R2 Causes The Part To Burst With Heat Enough To Damage Luke's Face Which Forced Him To Get Plastic Surgery So He Would Look Like This In The Sequel...

Hey, It's A Better Story Than What They Came Up With For Empire...

But Still Worried About Chewbacca, Malla Calls The Owner Of The Trading Post On Kashyyk, Saun Dann Played By Art Carney Who Is Busy Dealing With An Imperial Officer In His Store But Tells Her In His Own Way That Chewie Is 4 Planets Away With Han And It's Going To Take A Few For Them To Get There...

Meanwhile On Board A Star Destroyer, We See Darth Vader Talking With An Officer, Saying That He Wants Those Rebels Found Even If They Have To Search Every House In The System...

Back At The Chewbacca Household, Malla Continues Working On Dinner With The Help Of A Gourmet Cooking Show Hosted By A 4 Armed Cook, Played By Harvey Korman Which Is Just One Of The Annoying Skits That I Don't Like In This Special...

Meanwhile In Outer Space, Han And Chewie Are Now Dealing With Tie Fighters After Losing The 2 Star Destroyers (Including The One That Vader Was On)

But Back On Kashyyk, An Imperial Announcement Appears Telling Everyone That The Empire Has Declared Martial Law On The Planet, With A Blockade Guarding It And That Until Further Notice, No Ships Are Allowed To Land Or Take Off Until Further Notice...

Hearing A Knock On The Door, Malla And Her Family Worry That It Maybe Stormtroopers But Instead It's Saun Dann, With A Proton Pack For The Mine Evaporator (Or For Ghostbusting, Whichever) Noticing Their Sad Faces Because Of The Announcement, Saun Tells Chewie's Family Not To Worry For If He Got Through Imperial Stormtroopers Than Chewie Might Be Able To Too...

Giving Chewie's Family Life Day Gifts, Malla Gets A Machine We'll See Later, Lumpy, A Transmitter That Will Give Us Nothing But Boredom Later And Itchy, A...Well, It's Supposed To Be A Virtual Reality Machine But Really It's Nothing But A Big Fat Porn Box!

And It's In This Porn Box, We Meet Diahann Carroll Who Sings A Song In This World Of Virtual Reality...

But After That Mind Sticking Scene, Princess Leia And C-3PO Call Malla To Talk With Han And Chewie But Malla (Through 3PO's Translation) Tells Them That They're Not There...

Asking If Malla Is Alone, Malls Tells Them That She Is Not And Brings Saun Dann To The Viewing Screen To Talk With Leia Who Asks Saun To Stay With Them Until Chewie Gets There To Which He Agrees...

Back In Outer Space, Han And Chewie Arrive On Kashyyk, Only To Notice Imperial Ships Around Which Forces Han To Land On The Far Side Of Kashyyk...

Hearing What Sounds Like The Millenium Falcon, Lumpy Opens The Door To Discover, Stormtroopers!...

And A Few Imperial Troops Who Are Looking For Han And Chewie And Search The Premises...

Coming Across The Device, Saun Got Malla For Life Day, Saun Turns It On For One Of The Imperial Troops To See Only To Discover...Jefferson Starship!...

After That Pointless Scene, Saun Dann Is Forced To Leave By The Imperial Troops As He Has No Purpose To Be There. With The Troops Searching Upstairs, Lumpy Watches A Cartoon While They Do...

This Cartoon Actually Is The First Appearance Of The Bounty Hunter Boba Fett...

Done Searching Upstairs, Lumpy Goes Upstairs To Find Not Just His Room But All Of His Toys Destroyed So, He Decides To Get Rid Of The Imperial Troops By Using His New Transmitter But Unfortunately He Has To Put It Together So We Unfortunately Have To Sit Through An Instructional Video On How To Put It Together With A Malfunctioning Emorphient Being (Played Again By Harvey Korman) Giving The Instructions...

And How Do I Feel About This Scene? Well, I Think The Nostalgia Critic Said My Opinion Exactly...

(Start At 15:16, End At 15:48)

If By Any Chance You Get Your Brain Unzombified After Watching That Skit, We Get Another Skit Showing Us Life On Tatooine, Which Sends Us To The Cantina Where We Meet The Owner, Ackmina (Played By Bea Arthur) Who Is Approached By An Alien Named Krelman (Played By Guess Who, Harvey Korman) Who Has A Crush On Her Over Something That She Said To Him That He Misunderstood...

But When An Imperial Announcement Stating That Until Further Notice There Is To Be A Nightly Curfew On Tatooine, Ackmina Has No Choice To Close The Bar But Not Before Offering One Last Round To Her Patrons, Which Leads Into A Song...

(End At 4:46)

Now What Do I Think About This Skit? I Think It's One Of The Best (And Only) Good Skit In This Special And If There Was A Reason To See This Abomination Of A Special, It Would Be For This Skit...

But Moving On, Lumpy Activates His Transmitter To Lead The Imperial Troops Away But He Is Caught By One Of The Stormtroopers Who Stays Behind Because Of Orders From One Of The Imperial Soliders And Destroys The Transmitter. Chasing Lumpy, The Stormtrooper Is Confronted By Chewbacca And Han Who Disarms The Stormtrooper Of His Weapon So Han Can Make The Trooper Fall Off Of The House Apparently...

With Everything All Right Again, Han Can't Stay As He's Got To Get Back To The Falcon Before Someone Stumbles Across It...

(Harrison Ford) Okay, I Gotta Go Somebody's Waving A Check For Me Outside, Bye...

After Han Leaves, Saun Dann Returns Again To Tell Chewbacca And His Family Not To Worry About Imperial Soliders As They Left, However Another Announcement Comes Over The Tv Stating That The Empire Is Looking For The Stormtrooper Who The Imperial Soliders Left Behind But It's Quickly Taken Care Of By Saun Dann Who Tells The Empire That After The Imperial Soliders Left The Trooper Behind He Stole Food From Chewie's Family And Robbed Saun Dann Blind Before Running Off...

Telling Them To Have A Good Life Day And...

Saun Dann Leaves, As We See Chewbacca And His Family Start Their Life Day Celebrations By Grabbing Balls Of Light Which Place Them In Red Choir Outfits Which Somehow Make Them And Other Wookies Walk Through Space Into A Bright Sun Or Something? I Don't Know What's Going On Here But Somehow They All End Up In Front Of A Big Tree Which Is Supposed To Be The Tree Of Life, I Guess...

But I Surely Don't Know What George Lucas Or Whoever Wrote This Was Smoking But That Defiantly Does Not Look Like The Tree Of Life At Disney's Animal Kingdom...

Reunited With His Friends, R2-D2, C-3PO, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker And Han Solo, Princess Leia Gives A Speech...

(Start At 1:03,End At 3:03)

After That We Get Some Footage From A New Hope, Including Scenes With Alec Guinesss (Who Thanks His Lucky Stars He Wasn't In This Special) And We See Chewie And His Family Sitting Down For Life Day Dinner As Our Special Ends...

And That's The Star Wars Holiday Special And Yeah, It's Horrible...

I'm Serious, Folks It's Bad And The People We Can Blame For That Are Definitely Harvey Korman And Diahann Carroll Otherwise I Didn't Mind The Stuff With The Original Cast, Art Carney Wasn't Bad, The Bea Arthur Skit Was One Of The Highlights (Despite Harvey Korman Being In It) And The Chewbacca's Family (Despite Not Understanding Them) Weren't Abysmal And Didn't Bother Me As Much As Everyone Else Because I'm Used To Wookie Sounds. If You Must Watch It, Watch It For The Bea Arthur Cantina Scene Otherwise This Is One To Skip...

Well, With Christmas Now Behind Us, It Means Back To Reviewing As Usual And What A Way To Come Back Then To Look At Something I've Been Dying To Talk About, Till Then, This Is Duke, Saying Have A Happy New Year And See You In January...

Coming In January...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe!

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Although we don't know what happens to Rebecca, we do know for sure now that the baby is staying in the show, so there is probably only a few weeks to get Aaron to come around to the idea of co-parenting with Robert before they get back together. It doesn't seem like enough time to me. They can't do the insta-love thing with Aaron that they did with Robert, it's not going to work. What could they do?

I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t personally think it’s been handled all that well if the baby is staying (and I’m still saying if because I still don’t feel like there’s concrete proof) but it kind of is what it is. And when have they really had time to have Aaron come around before now? Robert had access to him for like a week and while he had his whole insta love thing that most of us hated, it made sense for Aaron to not want to get involved because being confronted with the reality of the situation was probably hard. And then Robert lost access to him and only saw him a handful of times for like two seconds each. I mean Rebecca and Seb were off screen for an entire month. And I don’t think they could have done anything until Robert had proper access to him again anyway. It’s not like Aaron was going to come around to the idea while Robert was just whining about not having access or during the last two weeks and a half weeks where all they did was smile and nod at each other. Could they not have had Rebecca disappear for a month and actually worked on integrating Aaron into the story properly? Sure but that wouldn’t have led to the kidnapping and the car chase/crash. So the time for that integration story to start, if it’s going to, is now. So we’ll see what happens on Monday when Robert has him. And it might not be insta love but it might not take as long as we think. I mean yes Aaron’s been very standoffish about it and very removed but it’s also because he’s trying to remain stubborn and hold his ground on the Robert stuff too. If he lets himself get closer to Robert again (bye Alex) then he might find himself warming to the Seb part of things too, the same way we’ll have to if we want to keep watching, assuming this is where they’re going. And yes, they had Aaron go really far with his discomfort with the baby situation by having him self harm, but there’s a good chance that was about a lot more than just that. And they wanted to address that issue with him within this story so they had to go there again. But he’s a lot healthier now and maybe if he actually ends up spending some time with Seb, he’ll get to realize that it’s less scary in actuality than it was in concept. Like I said before, if they want to do it, then they’ll do it and it probably won’t work for everyone but it will be what it will be. And there’s still so much we don’t know yet.