#after a year and a half of being in denial over liking a ship between two robot animals from a shitty indie horror game

[beepborpdoodledorp]

ruin out here forcing me to learn how to actually draw the animatronics

[cassiaratheslytherpuff]

No Other Sadness in the World Would Do

For Prongsfoot week day 7 - write anything for this ship

Warnings: MCD, canon compliant, suicidal thoughts, unrequited love On October 31st 1981, Voldemort attacked the Potters. This is what happened after.

Sirius knew, somewhere deep down, what he would find when he pulled up to James and Lily's house. He had felt it, like a knife to the chest – half his heart shrinking in on itself in terror, then going still. Quiet, far too quiet. Still, seeing large parts of the wall on the south side of the second floor missing hit him hard. Harry's bedroom. Neither James nor Lily would have allowed anyone into Harry’s room if they were still alive and breathing. And yet – he had to know for sure. The hope burned in his chest like acid because it was false. He knew it was false, and yet… it was James. Sirius didn’t think the world would keep existing if James no longer did. So maybe – somehow, he’d be alright.

The front door was ajar, and Sirius pushed it open with his foot. He didn't make it more than a step inside before he fell to his knees. James. He looked like himself, even in death. His glasses were smudged but unbroken, his brown eyes open wide and staring into nothing. His skin was pale, his mouth slightly open – as if he'd been halfway through a word when Voldemort killed him.

"No," Sirius choked out. His voice was raw, reflecting a brokenness he knew would never be repaired. He shook his head in mute denial. James couldn’t be – it wasn’t possible. James was so alive. He should never be this still. It was wrong.

Read the rest on A03 OR

Sirius gasped for air. Every cell in his body was protesting being alive in a world where James wasn't. Sirius wouldn't do it, couldn't do it. Without James he was half a person. Less than half a person, he wasn't sure he was anything at all. He didn't think he wanted to be.

Slowly, carefully, Sirius reached out a trembling hand to remove James’s glasses. He placed his hand on James’s face, which felt colder than it should be, and gently closed his eyes for the last time.

Unable to resist, Sirius placed a soft kiss on James’s slightly parted lips. His tears dripped off his nose and onto James’s cheek, and he wiped it carefully off.

"I love you," Sirius said. Minutes too late for James to hear, years too late for it to matter.

He moved James’s arms from the position that would have been uncomfortable, had he been alive, and realised in the process that James hadn't even paused to get his wand. Had just thrown himself in-between Voldemort and the people he loved most without a second thought.

A strange peace came over Sirius then, he knew what he had to do. He would find Peter, kill him, and then follow James to wherever it was he had gone. There was nothing for him in the world if there was no James. He knew it wasn't what James wanted, but James didn't understand. James didn't see how he was the centre of Sirius’s universe, and that without him Sirius was untethered. He couldn't do anything but follow.

A whimper from upstairs made Sirius jump. The soft sound quickly turned into a loud, soul-crushing scream. Harry! Harry was alive. Sirius scrambled to his feet at took the stairs three at a time, crashing into the doorframe and nearly tripping over Lily's body in his rush to get to the crib. And there was Harry. His face was covered in blood and tears as he screamed to his mum, clearly not understanding why she wasn't responding.

Harry. The gravitational force that had tied Sirius to James shifted. How could he follow James when Harry was still here? Harry needed him. He picked Harry out of his crib, feeling his world shift and settle on a singular goal; protect Harry.

The relief of finding Harry alive broke through the numbness Sirius had surrounded himself with the second he looked into James’s unseeing eyes – and for a moment he couldn’t do anything more than hold Harry tight to his chest and sob into his hair. Sirius felt lost. He had to figure out what to do. It wouldn’t be long until someone discovered what had happened. And as far as Dumbledore and Remus knew, Sirius was the secret-keeper. As far as they knew, Sirius had been the one to betray James. In a way he had. Suggesting they change to Peter had been – it was unforgivable. But Sirius couldn’t plan. Couldn’t think. Not when all he could see was James, eyes staring into nothing. Lily, crumpled on the floor.

Sirius tightened his grip on Harry and walked downstairs. He cleaned the cut on Harry’s forehead and healed it to the best of his ability. It would scar, but if Sirius’s suspicions were right, it was from a killing-curse – a scar was getting off easy. Harry fussed and cried for his mum and dad, and Sirius’s heart crumbled more with each broken sob from the boy. He held Harry in his arms and walked the length of the living room again and again, trying to soothe him. When Harry fell into a fitful sleep, Sirius didn’t know how to stop his pacing. If he stopped; he might fall apart. James was gone. Gone. He couldn’t believe it, couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact. Surely, James would open the door to the living room at any moment – demanding his son back and laughing about the terrible prank he’d pulled.

As much as Sirius couldn’t believe it, he still felt it – the aching absence. The world had gone dark the second James drew his last breath, and Sirius didn’t think it would ever regain its colour. He hated that Harry had to grow up like this, in a world of dulled colours and muffled laughter. That he would never again know his vibrant and lovely father. The man Sirius loved more than anything.

Time moved in a strange rhythm, and Harry woke as the sun started shining through the windows. Sirius hadn’t put him down, hadn’t slept – but he had, at some point during the night, sat down in the chair James always favoured. It still smelled of him, and Sirius wanted to sink into the fabric and remain there.

Harry made a noise of complaint and Sirius forced himself to look down at the child, tried to force a smile and failed miserably.

“Right,” Sirius said, surprised at the roughness of his voice. “Food.”

Sirius was feeding Harry the last spoonful of porridge when Hagrid arrived. Sirius tensed, but the man smiled through his tears upon seeing him – and Sirius knew nobody had told him who the secret-keeper was supposed to be.

“Oh, good,” Hagrid said. “He’s alright.”

Sirius nodded. He should have left when he had the chance. Should have taken Harry and run as far as they could.

Sirius nodded. Neither of them was alright, but Harry was alive.

Hagrid shook his head, fat tears dripping down his cheeks. “I can’t believe it. James and Lily…”

Sirius gritted his teeth. He couldn’t hear it. “Don’t,” he managed.

Hagrid seemed to get it, nodded.

“Dumbledore sent me to get him,” he said, nodding at the child in Sirius’s arms.

Sirius shook his head. “No.”

Hagrid blinked, clearly surprised that anyone would argue with the old Headmaster.

Sirius shook his head again. “I’m his godfather. He’s staying with me.”

“He needs to be kept safe, Dumbledore said,” Hagrid explained.

Sirius sighed. Safe from him, most likely. Dumbledore thought he’d sold out James – Remus would think so too. Sirius wasn’t sure who else thought he was the secret-keeper, but they’d spread the rumour. It would be enough. People would be coming for him, in not too long. Could he really take Harry on the run with him? Was that any kind of life?

“’s in his blood or summat,” Hagrid said. “Lily’s blood will keep him safe – he’ll be goin’ to his aunt an’ uncle to be kept safe.”

Lily’s blood – had she… she must have – how else would Harry had survived the killing curse? It was powerful magic. Lily had never spoken much of her sister, though Sirius knew they lost touch as children. Maybe – would it be better? Harry could grow up with his aunt and uncle, could live in a stable home with Lily’s protection keeping him safe. Or he could – what? Go on the run with Sirius? What kind of life was that?

Hagrid seemed to see he was hesitating. He placed a hand on Sirius’s shoulder, offering him a sad smile. “I know yeh love him,” he said. “But Dumbledore knows what’s best. Let me take him to safety.”

Sirius found himself nodding, even as everything in him screamed no. No, Harry was his. James and Lily had chosen him. But hey hadn’t known what they were signing up for, hadn’t understood how little would remain of Sirius with James gone. Who was he to raise a child? He would damage the poor kid beyond repair. He had no idea where to even start.

“Fine,” Sirius said – pulling the cloak of numbness over himself again. This was for the best. Harry would be safe – happy. And Sirius could follow James. Hopefully, James would forgive him.

Hagrid held out his arms, and Sirius eyed the pink umbrella sceptically. “How are you getting him there?”

“Well, I Apparated here,” Hagrid admitted. “Thought I could jus–,”

“No,” Sirius said, wincing at the idea of little Harry splinched by a botched Apparition with a broken wand. “My bike is outside. You can have it.”

Hagrid opened his eyes wide. “But – you love that bike.”

Sirius nodded. He’d loved a lot of things about the bike, mostly though, he’d loved sharing it with James. “I don’t have much need for it anymore. Take it – get Harry where he’s going safely.”

On the morning of November 2nd Harry was woken by Petunia Dursley's scream. Her shrill voice would wake him every day for the next ten years. After reading the letter she picked up the basket and deposited it in the cupboard underneath the stairs – this was the last time anyone ever picked him up, until Hagrid carried him from the woods 16 years later.

In the evening of November 2nd, Sirius found Peter. Mad with rage and grief he tried to duel the man he had called a friend, but the coward set off an explosion instead of facing what he had done. Sirius turned his wand on himself, but Aurors disarmed him before he could speak. They doused him with Veritaserum in lieu of a trial, and asked if he was responsible for the death of James and Lily Potter. The Veritaserum forced the only truth Sirius knew from his lips: yes, he was.

On the third of November – his birthday – Sirius screamed himself into an exhausted sleep. He would so every night for the next 12 years. The dementors never robbed him of the love he felt for James because nothing they could conjure hurt as much as loving James when he was gone.

Twelve years later, Sirius learned Harry hadn’t been better off. Learned he hadn’t been safe or happy with his aunt and uncle. He tried everything he could to make up for it, tried to look at Harry and see Harry, not James. But they were so alike, and his mind so broken – it didn’t always work.

In the end, fourteen years after James and Lily left them, after Sirius left Harry. Sirius fell through the Veil – and he was surprised. Not just by the fact he would die, but by the fear he felt at the idea. He’d felt James’s absence like a pulsating wound for years, but he would be leaving Harry again. Harry, who was his world. In the end, Sirius was gone before he could hear Harry’s broken screams – the pleading for Sirius to get up – to come back.

[nejishadow]

Kenjikoto / Makokenji half-drabbles and ideas I have no energy to do anything with, because I haven't written fanfic in years, that I don't want to sit in the queue for weeks so it's getting posted now

Feel free (please do!) to expand / finish / take inspo from these for this ship, and please tag me / message me / something if you do because I crave content and exploration between these two. Unhinged tags and comments about how I inspired something/anything give me the biggest amount of fuel to keep creating art!!

Do you wanna see me ramble in real time about these weirdos / pos?? Join @bakafurai 's Kenji Enjoyer Club Discord (in their pinned)!

Some get real long so it's all going below a cut!

((These are all ideas and things written as stream of consciousness to just get my ideas out in a discord channel, so don't expect the best dialogue, formatting, or anything else, I haven't finished a full piece of writing and/or fanfic in years, ha))

Seeing these screenshots my first thought - and a tag I immediately added - was 'you heard the man, Yuki, give him a piggyback ride!'

But I kept thinking like. Makoto's strong. He could? He should??

Makoto kneeling down, telling Kenji to get on then, he'll take him home

Kenji chuckle or laugh, assumes he's joking or being silly like usual, sure Yuki, you can totally do that

Makoto getting serious, if you don't pick in the next couple seconds I'm leaving you behind. Kenji panicks at that and gets on without thinking and is surprised when Makoto stands up and carries him no problem (insert "I hope this doesn't awaken anything in me")

too shocked that Makoto can even do this to be embarrassed, maybe asks Makoto why he's doing this, Kenji could've just sucked it up. Answer something like "because I wanted to", Yuki doesn't elaborate much on those things.

Gives Kenji some time to do stuff he usually wouldn't, like study Makoto's hair, hear the music spilling out the headphones etc. I like the idea he just gets so relaxed on the way home he falls asleep but Makoto keeps carrying him

It's totally just a Best Bros privilege thing, could mean nothing more!! Simply don't think about how it made you feel ever again

Bonus of

Kenji talking to Makoto in the classroom, Junpei coming up making some joke about how people saw them, asking if Makoto can do that for him too (laugh, joke, being friend.)

And Makoto boils it down to: no

That makes Kenji real happy, that he's special like that. But he does stuff only for Yuki too so it's normal!!

--------------------

"So we've all thought about how pretty Yuki is, right, like the guy catches everyone's eye when he walks in, how couldn't we? Even with his bad fashion sense he just grabs your attention"

Kaz makes the most sense to respond, they are friends just "… I have never thought that. Are you sure you're not goin' through something?"

slaps a pic of Yosuke and Kenji These bad boys can fit so much comphet and denial in 'em!

--------------------

Another idea I remembered, less fleshed but a strong visual I wanted to draw

Kenji waiting at track practice for Makoto to be done. Kenji had never seen him run so decided to wait outside for once

Of course he's impressed. Makoto seems to take his time walking everywhere, at least when they go places, but man, he can run!

Makoto flopping next to him when he's done, after everyone else disperses, small talk about how hes surprised Kenji waited out here, doesn't seem interested in sports. Kenji some speech about how he wanted to see how badly Yuki beat everyone else

it's pretty hot, and Makoto's tired, flops over into Kenji's lap. 'Let me nap here a few minutes and we can go, you're cooler than the bench'

Kenji tenses a bit, but breathes, Yuki just wants to rest, chill!… but he can't help but eventually card his hand through Makoto's bangs, pushing them up and outta the way.

Makoto opens his eyes and just looks at him, not judgemental or questioning, just observing. But oh no - Kenji had never stared at both his eyes so close oh this is a problem

quickly he removes his hand, apologizes, some comment about how Yuki just looked sweaty and he was trying to move the hair off

Makoto closes his eyes again… 'I don't mind. I am in your space, I guess…'

after a bit, Kenji relaxes and starts running his hands through the hair again, silky and feathery. He can think about how this makes him feel LATER (never), for now he just wants to enjoy this thing he likely won't get again

Tho Makoto better hope Yuko doesn't see this or she's gonna tease him about his boyfriend / biggest fan until the end of time

--------------------

Pics I drew made me think of kenjikoto train ride(s):

Makoto tired, either tucks into Kenji's shoulder or leans on his head for a quick nap

Kenji doesn't mind, knows Makoto doesn't sleep the best, even if he doesn't know why

Anytime the train jostles or moves he instinctually holds Makoto's head so it doesn't shake or fall, wants him to be comfortable

it's not until they reach the destination and Makoto separates from him that Kenji thinks… oh, that was actually nice. I wish the ride could've been just a little bit longer

a bonus if Makoto senses his change in mood and gives him a shoulder bump, trying to cheer him up. Maybe offering to hang out awhile longer at the dorm or something

Aka there is no way Kenji isn't touch starved, as are all the protags and a third of the cast pft

About Makoto being a frequent napper: Asks Kenji to eat on the roof with him almost exclusively so he can take a nap, because he's just a lil bit silly like that. Gives Kenji time to just talk to him, ramble, hard to do that when you're out eating food.

--------------------

Girl Advice made me think of a rough conversation

"Everyone assumes you're cold, man. No wonder you dont have a girlfriend! Even if they talked to you, a few words outta your mouth and they'd turn tail and leave."

"Why's it so important to have a girlfriend, anyway?" Eats some of his lunch bread

"You're such a good guy, you deserve one, man!" A shoulder tap. "If they knew the real you, they'd be falling over themselves to get your attention, I know it."

Makoto a head tilt or a look, confused by the use of 'deserve'. Kenji deciphers it

"… well a girlfriend makes guys happy, right? I want to see you happy all the time!" Putting both his hands on Makoto's shoulders and shaking him a smidge. "Doesnt it sound fun? Double dates, man, we can hang out all the time!"

Makoto blinks in a thoughtful way, meeting Kenji's eyes. "But I'm already happy, hanging out with you like this. Isn't that enough? We do things together all the time… why do we need anyone else?"

Kenji blinks a bit in surprise. Yeah, he'd never thought of that. He's also really happy around Yuki… is that… ok? For two guys to always hang out alone? Yuki never seems to think it's odd…

Makoto slowly grabs Kenji's hands off of his shoulder, Kenji swears he feels Yuki squeeze them for just a second before a wrapped sandwich is pushed into them.

"Eat, almost time for class. You can't live off ramen forever."

Kenji just nods, unwrapping it and adjusting himself before taking a bite. If Makoto feels just a bit more of their sides touching, he doesn't comment on it

[annot8]

Officially half way through assassins fate - spoilers below

Chade really called that boy lantern, didn’t he?

On the subject of Lant, I am really waiting for him to do somethingggg. Both Per and Spark are so likeable, and its not that I don't like Lant, he just seems like a very random addition to this cast. Nothing against him, just hasn't really done anything yet.

But anyway, I am really enjoying this book so far! If someone had said that the final book was going to be Fitz and Beloved posing as a couple as they travel to Kelsingra, and aboard the Tarman and the Paragon, as they go to rescue their daughter... I would have not believed you. The gang have just departed from Divytown on the Paragon, with Althea, Brashen, Boy-O, and Kennitsson. And Bee is still trapped with Dwalia and Vindeliar on a ship to Clerres.

I've loved seeing so many of the old characters! Malta, Thymara, Alise, Leftrin, Althea, Wintrow, Etta, etc - I am having the time of my life! The only thing that's a little frustrating is that, because we're seeing them all through Fitz's perspective - and he isn't particularly interested in the complex relationships between all these characters - a lot of the interactions feel a bit surface level.

After Fitz, Amber, and the kids got to Kelsingra (which is still such an insane concept to me), I knew we were gonna start seeing familiar faces. Rapskal was a fun surprise! But his line - "Before I welcomed the elderling memories of an ancient warrior into my mind, I was a bumbling, stupid boy, earnest and tolerated by my fellow keepers but never respected." - killed me!!!!! Oh, my boy, what did those elderlings do to you?

I wish we could've gotten a little more time with Thymara. I really wanted to know about her work with silver, and to see her fly! The revelation of just how badly the dragons have neglected the children of their Elderlings was horrific. Fente and Sintara fighting over the growth of her and Tat's kid made me so angry. I get that the dragons think the way they do about humans but god is it frustrating!

Something I really appreciate about these books is that because Fitz isn't always the brightest, the reader is often left to work out things for themselves. I've really loved how much Hobb has expanded the lore around the Skill and the Silver, and I loved being able to make all these different connections on my own.

Seeing Alise and Leftrin, and the crew of the Tarman, again was so fun. Happy to see they're all doing well!

And then!!!! I have been waiting for Fitz and Paragon to meet since Amber carved his face. It was so fun! Amber being all "I can explain!" as if she's not known that this moment had to happen. She had so many opportunities to warn Fitz but was just in complete denial that it was going to be a thing.

It is a little strange to see Paragon from the perspective of someone who doesn't have a history with him. Fitz's opinion of him is very unforgiving. Amber loves him, Brashan is his captain, Althea relied on him to save Vivacia and her family - all these people make allowances for him because they love him. Meanwhile Fitz simply does not care lol.

Was not expecting to see Wintrow, Etta, and Vivacia, which was a treat! Don't think I've spoken about it at all here really, but Wintrow is my boy. His story felt a little abandoned in Ship of Destiny, but in the first two Liveship books, he was my absolute favourite. And the Wintrow we meet here, so many years later, felt so familiar. And I love Etta as well, no matter how much she's inconveniencing everyone lol.

One thing that is killing me tho is how casual everyone is about who Kennit really was. I get Etta and Wintrow being a bit blind about him, but the way Amber and Brashen are so dismissive of Althea's trauma is crazy. Like, no one cares except me and Althea for some reason?? I loved how interesting and well thought out Kennit was as a character, but these guys are STILL worshipping his memory and it makes it such a difficult read.

What else makes this a difficult read are the horrors Bee is going through! That scene where they come out of the pillar in Chalced and they are pinned underneath it, and people are pissing and vomitting and being sexually assaulted (Kerf, you are my enemy!!) was maybe one of the most horrific, visceral things I have ever read.

I don't know if I've ever hated a character the way I hate Dwalia. She is so awful to everyone! I was feeling a little bad for Vindeliar but nah, not anymore. They can all rot. The only upside to them continually finding Bee every time she escapes them is that at least she and Fitz are going to the same place.

Bee is my girl. I love her so much. Her relationship with wolf-father (I am cryingggg) is so sweet. Crazy that of all of Bee's fathers, the wolf is the best one. I just know Molly would be so devastated at how Bee has been dragged into all the mess that she fought so hard to protect her family from :(

Anyway, back to reading. I am sure this book will ruin me :)

[flammenxci]

So I have to be the asshole again.

Background

After my dad got his diagnosis, my estranged older-half sister got in touch with me saying we needed to get back together as a family again. The reason we’re estranged is due to we’ve been out of contact for a long time and she never really established a relationship with me when I was a kid, so I concluded she didn’t want shit to do with me as an adult and stayed out of contact with her.

I found it kind of odd after all that’s happened that she chose my dad getting a terminal diagnosis to want to reunite with me. I’ve also found out that her youngest son committed suicide last year, her oldest son joined the marines and is getting married soon and now her youngest child is about to go into college and start of life of her own.

I’m already seeing signs of her wanting to use my brother and I to cope with it. Not only am I dealing with a bereaved mother but one dealing with empty nesting syndrome and I can’t go through that again. She also has showed me who I am supposed to be to her. Just by observing her behavior and the fact that she does charity work in any free time she’s got, I’ve come to the conclusion that she’s being a fixer for others so she doesn’t have to help herself to keep living in denial of how badly her son’s suicide and her other two kids leaving the nest are affecting her life.

The Issue

During the last visit I talked to her, which was about a month ago, she not only spoke over me and wouldn’t let me get a word in at all, in my own home, as the home owner. But she also showed me how hellbent she was, despite it being in a nice way, in having that motherly figure moment with me, despite not being knowledgeable of a situation I knew all about... over a dog. I’ve been out of contact with her since and blocked her number on my phone.

She brought over lasagna, didn’t touch it.

She bought a meal for me from Texas roadhouse, didn’t touch it, let my brother have it.

She sent dad and bro home with a plate for me from the Thanksgiving dinner they had at her house, didn’t touch it, let my brother have it.

She said she was bringing over a small tree and not only did she do that but she left presents. I’m sending mine back. They’re already inside a box in my car. Going to ship them out tomorrow.

Dad stopped trying with us after realizing I didn’t want anything to do with her anymore and I guess she’s going to have to learn to stop doing it the hard way since staying out of contact with her and secluding myself to my room when she’s over isn’t a big enough of a hint that there isn’t going to be anything happening between us like she wanted. I am not going to be used to “help“ with someone’s problems like that again when they made it clear to me that they just want to use me to keep living in denial of their issues and themselves. Nope, not happening again.

[boyfhee]

⌕ TAKE TWO ━━ 04 : third person

PRECIS. while riki constantly assured you that him being an idol under a different label wouldn't be an issue in your relationship, you start getting second thoughts when fans start shipping him with his co-mc at music bank.

w. slight angst ? screenshots at the end

wc. 0.78k

you’d be lying if the events from yesterday don’t bother you anymore. sure, riki had made sure to text or call you today as soon as you woke up, then before their group left for music bank and made sure to meet you after you arrived backstage. even after thousands of apologies and words of affirmations, you couldn’t shake the insecurity off your mind, as much as you admit to hate it. 

jungwon had told you that riki looked really upset after yesterday, sunghoon told you to not be angry anymore, as if you’ve been in the first place. sunoo said riki looked as if he had been regretting every single life decision he has ever made. even riki himself assured you again and again, but the second you spot them standing next to each other in front of the camera, every single ounce of reassurance sums down to zero. 

you don’t doubt riki— you could never— but you can’t ignore the way your stomach twists at the sight of him being close to miya, close enough for strangers to call them friends, close as if there’s plenty of room and opportunities to get even closer. you felt a certain spark between them during your interview, something that could potentially combust into something greater if given the chance to. another series of the worst possibilities run through your mind, and then you shake your head in self denial while sitting alone in your assigned makeup room, thinking about what jungwon said.      

you trust riki like no one else in the entire universe, you trust him enough to place your heart in the palms of his hand and let him run around with it. in that case, your every thought revolving around him and miya turns out to be rubbish, but was it really one? 

“yn,” your boyfriend slams the door open, consequently making you flinch in the process. “i have to introduce you to someone,” 

it doesn’t even take you half a second to guess who the person would be, and before you could prepare yourself for the sudden introduction, she was already standing in front of you— bright eyed and bushy tailed. you have a thousand options running through your head. make an excuse and step away, avoid riki for a while, tell him you don’t want to get close to miya and give him a reasonable cause, but they all leave you with one question— is it necessary? 

you haven’t done anything wrong and neither has riki, yet, and you’re certain that one impassive behaviour towards another idol would give netizens a thousand reasons to drag you down. all of a sudden, you become conscious of their matching outfits and it dawns upon you how good they look— and despite trying not to let the intrusive thoughts take over your conscience, you couldn’t help but wonder if there’s more to riki and miya than there seems to be. 

“hi,” she greets, voice a little breathy and soft as if she’s trying to keep it low from reaching stray ears in the room. “you and riki seem close,” 

and you think it’s an opportunity to clear the air in between. “uh, we’re—” 

“yn is a close friend,” riki interjects, shooting you a look of disapproval which puts you off slightly. you could’ve been reading things wrong but since they seem to be close, you fail to see a reason why he would keep the truth about your relationship from her, and before you could seize your chance to say something, miya takes it from you. 

“riki talks a lot about you,” you hate the tone of her voice. “you should hang out with us sometime,” and you hate how she makes it seem like you’re the third person between the three of you when you’ve known riki for years and she came along barely four weeks ago. the picture of them on camera flashes in front of your eyes— the way they laugh and talk, the way she manages to make you feel like a stranger next to your own boyfriend; you thought it was because of the camera but things aren’t any better backstage either.

you trust riki, you really do, more than you’ve ever trusted anyone in life. you don’t want to doubt him and ruin a fairly innocent friendship, so you take her hand in a handshake before exchanging numbers, even though you don’t think you’re ever gonna talk. you trust riki, you want to get all the second thoughts out of your head, but why does it feel like you’re getting something wrong as miya wraps her hand around his arm and for some reason, he doesn’t pull away?

PREV | NEXT | MASTERLIST

NOTE : im sorry for slow updates but god im loving this also riki doesn't have his priorities set straight 👽👍

[thebluewritingbench]

if you’re still taking prompts, can you do happiness #1?

Before we launch into 6b next week, here's a small fantasy of a scene that I wish the cw would give us. Happiness #1 from this prompt list again.

“I’ve loved you since the day we met.”

“Alex calls it The Honesty Policy.”

Lena takes the mug of hot chocolate Kara offers, cradling it between her hands. “The Honesty Policy?” she asks, as Kara sits down on the couch beside her.

“I imagine Kelly probably fed it to her,” Kara says. “But she was helping me try to figure out how we could get ourselves… well, back to normal, after everything, and she was really insistent that this one was worth a try.”

“What is it?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. No more secrets,” Kara says, tapping her own collarbone, then fixing her gaze pointedly on Lena. “No more lying. We tell each other things. We’re honest. We trust each other with our secrets.”

Lena nods, looking down into her mug of hot chocolate. The dim lights of Kara’s loft glow orange across her cheekbones, and in the silence, the sounds of late-night passing cars rumble up from the street below. It’s the first time they’ve really spent time truly alone together since… well everything.

There’s still a lot of awkwardness between them; turns out secrets and betrayal and double-crossing—and the fact that forgiveness was barely hatching between them when Kara was banished to the phantom zone—will do that to a friendship. There was the initial hug, of course, after Kara was rescued, when Lena wrapped her arms around Kara and buried her face in Kara’s neck and held her so tightly that Kara was certain she’d never let go, her breath coming in ragged gasps and her whole body quivering. It was somewhat surreal, the warm shock of having Lena in her arms after so many months, her hair against Kara’s cheek, the muted scent of her shampoo. They’d sank to the floor, still holding each as the ship creaked around them, and stayed there for god knows how long in each other arms.

But since then, since that initial wordless embrace that felt as much like coming home as anything, they haven’t known what to say to each other. They work together easily enough, the animosity between Supergirl and Lena finally gone, but it’s more difficult when they’re just Kara and Lena. They’ve forgiven each other, Kara thinks. Or at least agreed to forgive each other, even if there’s still work to be done. But it’s weird. It’s not like they can snap straight back into how things were before.

Hence The Honesty Policy.

“Okay,” Lena says finally. “Yes. No more secrets. A clean start.”

A clean start. It’s what they need, after an entire friendship where one or the other of them has been hiding things. For the first time, everything between them will be out in the open. Nothing left to hide.

It’s oddly freeing.

Kara takes a sip of her hot chocolate. “So, where do we start?”

“Start?”

“I think we should have just an honest conversation. I don’t want this to be awkward anymore, I want to be able to talk to you like we used to. So, in the interest of honesty, tell me something you’ve never told me before. It doesn’t have to be big—” she adds hurriedly, when Lena’s eyes widen in alarm. “Something small. Something tiny you’ve never had reason to tell me.”

Lena nods slowly, thinking. “In the interest of honesty…” she starts. “In the interest of honesty, I… I really think that those bangs were a mistake.”

Kara makes a noise of offended disbelief in the back of her throat. “I—Rude!”

“You said to be honest!” Lena says, biting her lip like she’s holding back a laugh. “They’re growing out now, anyways. It looks much better.”

Kara gives her bangs a self-conscious pat. They’re still at a slightly awkward length, but they’re long enough to blend in semi-decently with the rest of her hair now. “If we’re being honest, then,” she says. “I think that blouse is really ugly.”

Lena looks down at herself. She sounds slightly hurt when she says, “What’s wrong with it?”

“Everything! It’s—the pattern! The sleeves! The collar! It looks like it’s made of cheap polyester.”

“It’s designer!” Lena pouts.

“Who designed it?”

“Well, I thought that blazer you wore last week was kind of hideous. I didn’t say anything at the time, but in the interest of honesty…”

Kara laughs, and Lena’s irritated expression melts away at her laughter, something in her eyes softening. It’s an expression Kara’s been seeing on her more often, in moments she catches Lena watching her when she thinks Kara isn’t paying attention.

She’s always paying attention to Lena.

“Maybe we should just agree to say that we both have questionable fashion taste sometimes and call it a day,” she says, downing the rest of her hot chocolate and placing the mug on the table.

Lena takes a dainty sip of her own still mostly filled mug. “Fine.”

There’s a long pause, and Kara taps her fingers on her pant leg and tries to think of a new conversation starter. She finally settles on. “In the interest of honesty… how are you holding up?”

Lena shrugs. “I’m okay, I suppose. I’m anxious about Lex—I know it’s only a matter of time before he’s back on our heels. Mostly, I’m just glad to have you back.” She looks over her mug at Kara. “I think that’s more a question I should be asking you, though.”

The look of intense concern in Lena’s eyes makes her feel hot, and Kara squirms slightly, pulling her collar away from her neck with a finger. She wants to say I’m fine, but honesty is the whole point of this exercise. “I’m… still not great. Being back there it… brought up a lot. Brought back a lot. I’m still having a really hard time with it all. It’s—it’s hard to talk about.”

“We don’t have to talk about it right now.”

“I want to talk about with you at some point. I just… don’t want it to ruin every conversation I have, you know? I want some things to be normal, still. I want to pretend things can be normal.”

“That makes sense,” Lena nods. She looks small when she says, “In the—in the interest of honesty, are you still mad?”

“At you?” Lena nods again, and Kara sighs, looking away. “It’s complicated, I guess. A little, maybe? I meant it when I said I forgave you, but there’s still part of me that’s a little angry. You did a lot of things that were… really bad, Lena.”

“I know.”

“Are you still mad at me?” Kara asks, and Lena’s shaking her head before she even finishes the question.

“No. No, I’m done being mad at you. I get it. I get why you hid your identity, and I wish you’d told me sooner, but I’m not angry anymore. I don’t have enough energy to be angry anymore. I’m happier if I don’t hate you.”

“Well, I’m glad for that.”

“I would have done anything to get you back, you know,” Lena says in a rush, words spilling out like she can’t stop them. “You say I did bad things before, but I would have watched the world burn if it meant I could have brought you back.” She looks down at her lap. “Who knows what I would have done if Alex hadn’t been there to stop me.”

“Lena.” Kara reaches over to take her hand. “You know I can’t possibly be mad at you for that.”

“No?”

“Of course not.”

“Okay,” Lena whispers. Kara watches her swirl around the dregs of her hot chocolate and takes a deep breath.

There’s still one more secret between them. One more secret that has the potential to ruin their friendship. Kara thinks they’re both aware of it, on some level. Aware of the way the weight of it shifts their every interaction. The others are aware of it too, have maybe known longer than Kara has. Alex certainly has. It was she who looked Kara in the eye when they were discussing this whole honestly policy and said, “You have to tell her this. You know you do.”

She can’t risk another secret in their relationship.

“Um, in the interest of honesty,” she starts, and finds she can’t quite meet Lena’s eyes. “I have to tell you—in all honesty, I would probably just keep it a secret, if I could, but I don’t think we should do secrets anymore, so I just need to tell you that I, um, have feelings for you.”

Lena straightens. “Feelings?” she says, her voice cautious.

Kara closes her eyes. Takes a breath. Steadies herself. Opens them again. “I’m in love with you,” she says. “Um, nothing has to change if you don’t want it to, but I need… I need you to know.”

“Oh,” breathes Lena. She opens her mouth, and it seem to take several moments for the words to catch up with her. “Well, in—in the interest of honesty, Kara, I’ve—I’ve been in love with you for years.” She gives a wry little half smile. “If we’re being honest.”

“What? You have?”

“Darling,” says Lena. “I’ve loved you since the day we met.”

“The day we met?”

“Why do you think it hurt me so badly when I found out who you were? Why do you think I was so deep in denial about it that I never figured it out myself? Do you really think you were that good at hiding it?”

“I mean, I thought—”

“The disguise. The hair. The glasses.” She puts down her mug, then reaches over and gently tugs the glasses from Kara’s face, folding the arms in and placing them on the table. She brushes a strand of hair behind Kara’s ear. “You mentioned Supergirl far too much as Kara and Kara far too much as Supergirl and one time you told me you flew to my office on a bus.”

“That’s—yeah, that’s fair, actually.”

“You’re in love with me? Honestly?” whispers Lena.

“I am. I really, truly am. Why do you think I refused to give up on you when everyone else was ready to?”

“I thought that just how you are. You don’t give up on anyone.”

“I try not to. But you, I could never bear to, even when it seemed like the only logical option to everyone else. Why do you think I waited so long to tell you in the first place? I was so scared to ruin things between us.”

“Why do you think I bought you an entire media empire?” Lena murmurs, and she’s so close, hand fisted in the collar of Kara’s shirt.

Kara giggles. “Why do you think I flew all over Europe to get you lunch?”

Lena laughs, and it’s such a relief to hear her laughter again, to let the conversation flow between them. There’s a bud of hope for the future that’s been sitting in Kara’s chest for years now, and under Lena’s adoring gaze, it starts to open.

“In all honesty,” Kara says, “I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

Lena slips a hand into her hair, runs her thumb over Kara’s cheekbone. “In all honesty?” She leans in, pressing their foreheads together. “I’d like that.”

[ssaalexblake]

Honestly I think with a couple of weeks distance from eve of the daleks, the most absurd take from corners of fandom is Still ‘why would Dan think 13′s gay’ because like, i’ll be nice and not use her outfit as evidence because while it’s telling it’s not conclusive, either, and say that Dan met two women who live together in a space ship and are obviously very close, and they’re all on 13′s ship for a short amount of time before they somehow end up in the crimea and Dan finds himself back home during an invasion. 

13 actually comes back for him and asks him if he wants to come join her in a dangerous situation that is obviously a trap to save Yaz. He’s already witnessed ride or die behaviour in episode Two. 

When they do spring the trap (and they are very much aware that’s what they’re doing), when 13 sees Yaz stuck up on that pedestal she Blatantly panics and runs full speed to her, it is also obvious from context that these weird crystal creeps are deliberately taunting 13 with Yaz. That’s the oldest trick in the book for bad guy behaviour lbr, kidnapping the significant other to lure in the hero of the hour and then harming them? 

Nothing has given Dan any indication that they are Not an item. Do I think that he thought they were together at this point? Honestly, no, but the point is that once he looks back upon all this he’ll go ‘...ohhh’. 

The next thing Dan knows after this is being pulled into the time stream because 13 measured the odds in half a second and decided saving Yaz was worth risking both Their lives as well. (ilu Vinder but Yaz was absolutely the pulling factor here). 

We hit episode four and 13 runs off and Yaz is obviously a bit put out by this, and they get got by angels and a ton of stuff happens and they run into the division between their era and the 60′s and they see the doctor get cornered and taken. He has to physically restrain Yaz from accidentally killing herself because she was trying to get to 13 and forgot the barrier was a killer. 

And then they have the years in the past with Yaz and that hologram. And okay, he’s Said what he got from Yaz from that, but the other side of it is that he sees 13 Also express all those emotions towards Yaz, express her care. He knows that 13 was worried and took the time to record a message just in case and leave it with Yaz. My point being, Yaz wasn’t the only one playing her hand here. 

Then, when they do get back and 13 appears before them she Literally Throws Herself In Yaz’s Arms. Yaz literally almost gets pushed over with the force of it, she wobbles. 13′s clinging on tight, and she’s just reunited with a lot of people and Dan knows that because she says so but it’s Yaz she throws herself at. He couldn’t see 13′s face but he could see Yaz’s look of utter relief from his angle. 

My point being... By the time Dan might have had a passing thought of ‘oh... They’re actually together, they really love each other’ everything he’d seen Before then would have actually bolstered that thought and in no way negated it. If i were him, by that point, pretty sure i’d have considered them both an item and that’s not even going into him walking in on them looking like they were about to kiss in the vanquishers.  

Must have been a SHock for him when he twigged they aren’t, actually, together. Might even have been a bit of a shock that Yaz was in denial about it. He clearly has twigged that 13′s deliberately not noticing it, but i think Yaz not being willing to acknowledge it may have been the only part to that that Was a surprise to him. 

point being... Dan has seen More than enough to draw some detailed conclusions and it’s not just from Yaz’s end, either. 13 played her hand to him and she’s barely really interacted with him. Basically, he had Every reason to believe this was requited. Just because we’ve seen yaz and 13 manage to avoid this for two whole seasons doesn’t mean he has, he just has the information from Flux to fill him in and no previous experience to colour his interpretations of it. And what he saw was pretty clear... From both of them. 

[wildroseparadise]

Magenta: Loki x reader

Pairing: Loki x reader

Word count: 1,3k words

Requested: Yes, for @msfandomfreak. I hope you like it!! ♡

Summary: Imagine not seeing color until you meet your soulmate, and then finding him on a mission to save his brother, and your best friend, Thor. (soulmate!au)

Warnings: None, I don't think so, at least [Please tell me if I missed any!]

Here's part II !

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You remembered it from when you were young; hearing about it from adults, learning about it in school, and giggling over it with friends.

"Don't worry, sweetie, when you find the one for you, you will know."

"There is a hormone much like serotonin, which floods your brain--"

"When Eric looked at Maisy today, I could have sworn he saw color!"

Having lived alone in New York for years, it became much more of a reality after moving into the Avengers Tower- always surrounded by "the real deal". Stark and Pepper; Nat and Bruce; Clint having told you about his secret wife and children; and even Thor meeting Jane, and then having to help him through their breakup and his denial.

But even though people around you kept meeting their soulmates, and the blacks and whites that clouded your vision were a stark reminder of it, you started to lose hope and belief in the whole thing.

You contented yourself with the friendships and family you had made with the team, being the closest to Thor- his boisterous presence successfully calming your angst at times. You convinced yourself that you would never meet your soulmate, that you might just have been the exception and just didn't have one, no end in sight.

That was until today,

Having received a distressing message from Heimdal, asked after by the prince, you had successfully infiltrated the planet known by its inhabitants as Sakaar, no more than five hours later.

Apart from distant stars, the luminescent glow from skyscraper windows provided the only touch of light in the city streets, although they looked to be at a greater distance than the burning balls of gas.

It was easy to move through the shadows, the half-finished monument of your friend on the side of a building giving you an idea of where Thor was. Having no idea on how to get in and not fancying getting caught before even getting to your teammates, you opt for the next best thing. The Quinjet.

Bruce must have landed here when he didn't come back, you quirk an eyebrow. Taking a few steps back, you accelerate in speed and leap forwards into the crater shaped junkyard, landing steadily beside the run-down ship. Making your way inside, you decide to quietly wait out the dark and scout for entryways.

Jerking awake to the sound of banging against the metal roof, cursing under your breath when the latch opens, you found that you didn't have to search for your friends anymore.

Moving through the crowded marketplaces and alleyways, you use your powers of manipulation to discourage any wandering eyes. Thor leading you through the Hulk parade, you meet up with a woman who Thor introduces you to,

"Hi," Thor starts.

"Hi," the woman responds.

"I was going to do that," your friend defends, pointing towards the unconscious alien laying in front of you.

"Yeah, well, I did it first" she says with refreshing candor.

"That's good. What are you doing here?" you can practically hear the smile in his tone.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving." the woman peers behind Thor; the way Bruce flinches away surely looking like a schoolgirl hiding from her crush.

Humph, you hum from behind your friend in an attempt for him to acknowledge you.

"I got sidetracked," he muses, pointing towards the pair of you.

"You know everybody is looking for you, right?" she asks, pointing towards Thor's openly displayed features.

"Ah, yes. Well, thanks to Lady Y/n here," Thor throws his arm around your shoulders, a proud grin on his face, "we don't need to sneak around or hide ourselves."

She raises an eyebrow in question, looking between the two of you.

"I can show you," you sigh, lifting your hand and trailing your fingers in the air in front of you as if though you were brushing something.

A rumbling starts in the ground, the vibrations causing the gravel at your feet to sputter and move; the sound of hooves in the distance getting louder. A herd of three-headed, grey mares rode through the crowd, but nobody seemed to move. Their eyes red as blood, and teeth half rotten, their neighs tearing at only her eardrums.

"How- How did you do that?" the woman in front of you asks, fidgeting uneasily in front of you. Although you can detect a clear flicker of delight at such a powerful display by a potential ally.

"Manipulation. That's my power," you shrug, "I use it to keep anyone from suspecting anything when they see us walking past."

She nods towards you, leading the group into a building close by. You walk next to her, talking to pass the time, but mostly to ignore the infatuated musings of the men in your company.

After having established that the woman you now knew was a Valkyrie was joining your team, you walk through the door she had led you to.

First in is Thor, then Valkyrie, before you is Bruce, and lastly you. "Suprise," you hear a new voice call out but before you can look up you hear some metal falling to the floor.

"Ow," looking up at the person in front of you at the same time he does, your eyes meet, and the world seems to stop. You throat is either closing or your lungs had stopped working because you could no longer breath.

The scariest thing was that it didn't even seem important. The fact that you couldn't breathe didn't matter to you. You were too consumed by the color that now sprung out in front of you, like fireworks or explosions of color lighting up a normally grey world.

The things that you had forever wanted to see the color of didn't seem to matter now, either. You knew that there was a large window to your left, you had seen it when the door had first opened, but you couldn't for the life of you tear your eyes away to gaze at the sky. You didn't care to look at the color of your hair or your tight, armored suit.

All you could stare into were those beautiful eyes staring back at you. A sea of blues and greens that mixed in the perfect way, luring you further in with every second that passed.

You knew who the man in front of you was, even with the golden chains that wrapped around him you could tell that he was powerful. Loki, God of Mischief, the brother of Thor and destroyer of New York.

"-/n? Y/n? Hello!" Thor waved his arms in the air to catch your attention, but you were scared to move. You weren't scared of him, though, although you surely should be. This was Loki, the Loki, and you were only ever scared that if you moved- if you even blinked, everything would fall apart.

You felt such peace looking at him, but all you could see in his gaze was surprise and slight astonishment. What if he snapped out of it and realized that he hated you, despite never having met you before? You didn't want to act weak then, throwing yourself into his arms like you wanted to, if he was at that very moment plotting on how to affectively break your heart.

No. You could see a small smile rise on his lips, surely having read your mind. Wait, could he read minds? Surely, he can!

"You." he sounded content. Could you be so lucky as to a have him be happy to see you? To have him feel the same for you as you do him?

"You." you smiled at him, seeing the gleam of mischief in his eyes that you just knew meant that he had heard your thoughts, and felt the same.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you." Loki sighs, eyes flitting across your face, gaze filled with that of newfound love.

Y/N: Another ask, thank you so much! I hope you liked this and I'm sorry that it took so long to do, I just had to decide where in the whole MCU timeline that I wanted it to take place and so I had to watch all the movies with Loki again to decide. THERE WILL BE A PART 2 COMING, I'VE ALREADY STARTED IT.

Want to join my TAGLIST? Follow the link, please!

[bunny-hoodlum]

Asynchronous With You: Ch 5

ship: naruhina

rating: teen (maybe mature later)

tags: Modern Day AU, Foster Siblings, Family, Angst, Unrequited Love, Poor Communication/Noncommunication, Found Family

summary: An awkward journey full of self-denial and missed moments between two foster siblings. Perhaps their love will find the right timing someday.

Neji met them outside the dorm gates. As generous as his dorm-mate Lee was, he couldn't ask him to step out for their sake.

They followed Neji to a nearby linear park that segregated the school grounds from the business park on the other side. It felt like a glass-less greenhouse, with polished granite beneath their feet and a vine-carpeted roof overhead. The benches were slabs of granite, as were the other fixtures, like an orb fountain in the center, with flawless skin of water running over its surface. The full trees muffled the night, with its crickets and distant chugging cars. The gentle, steady trickle contrasted against their footsteps, like two off-tempo drums and hers a mournful castanet.

Now that they were finally here, she was beginning to lose her nerve, she was forgetting what she had to complain about.

All that mattered was that she was healthy, right? All that mattered was that they were actually taking good care of her.

But the last thing she said to her, telling her to go home, saying that at least one of them should be loved by their parents, it began to eat at Hinata.

Could it be that she doesn't have any love to come home to?

Like resonance, her soul trembled and her ribs ached. The heel of her palm pressed against the skin between her wet eyes.

"I've become like them. I messed up."

The bench caught her before she could sink down to the ground.

"What're you talking about?" came Naruto's voice, barely reaching her ears.

"You mean Aunt and Uncle?"

Hinata nodded.

"What??" Naruto smacked his forehead rather hard. "How were you supposed to act?! They knew where you were! Nothing was stopping them from taking you guys back--"

"We don't know that." Hinata argued.

"Bullshit!"

"We don't," Her shoulders lifted, turning rigid. "They could barely take care of the two of us. It would've been the same if they had to take care of two daughters--"

"What about visits? What's so hard about keeping in touch?!"

She stayed silent. It wasn't that she hadn't considered that, it was that it was too upsetting to ruminate on any deeper.

"Ten years, Hinata. They had to have lied to her, right? Raised her believing she was an only child? C'mon, why aren't you angrier about this?!"

She wasn't sure if it was defiance that lifted her chin, but the eyes she chose to meet were Neji's as she implored him join in.

His eyes closed as he released a pensive sigh. "What's she like?"

"Don't change the subject," Naruto snapped. "Hinata needs to vent."

She prodded Neji with her stare. He shook his head.

"Who are you talking about?" Neji punctuated his rhetoric with a sidelong glance, causing Naruto to bristle. "This Hinata?"

"Yeah, this Hinata. Our Hinata. What the fuck, we've shared the same home for ten years! Hinata! You vent! You vented the other month about your-your shirt!" His face reddened as he brought up, perhaps, the worst example he possibly could.

"I was in a weird mood," Hinata said quickly, giving Naruto whiplash.

"A--A 'weird' mood?! What, like you just felt like messing with me kind of 'weird'??"

Hinata lamely shrugged her shoulders before curling in on herself like an armadillo. She could only imagine how exponential his irritation was to increase. She should've answered Neji's question right away instead of trying to convey her complaints to Neji, because now they were getting way off topic. Which was ironic for Naruto, who thought Neji was the one diverting attention away from her pain.

Neji pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what the story is, and I don't think I want to know."

"Good. 'Cuz I don't want to talk about it." Naruto huffed as he crossed his arms.

Silence lapsed around them. Somehow Hinata was rather surprised their arguing managed to fizzle out on its own and so quickly. The past was almost laughable in how different it was from the present.

'That's right. It's always going to be rocky at first, but it takes time to get used to one another.' This was proof that she and Hanabi could grow into sisters no matter how much time had been lost.

"Her name's Hanabi. Her favorite foods are bananas and milk, and she hates the herb mitsuba. She's cheerful, cheeky, and surprisingly athletic. And... I really want to get to know her better." The tears fell swifter and harder on her lap as she re-conjured the heartbroken betrayal she had put on Hanabi's face.

She really hoped it wasn't too late.

Neji joined her side and rubbed her back, while Naruto kept his distance.

Even though he had been given Neji's explicit blessing years before, somehow it didn't feel appropriate for him to console her too.

Looking at them now, it was like those two had never grown apart, not even a centimeter. And they had been communicating with their eyes, he was sure of it. Speaking around him, because he wasn't actually a part of this.

They're what real siblings look like.

________________________

Taking the midnight train back home, Naruto spent the next thirty minutes absorbed in the things that amused him, from sexy two-minute shorts, to prank compilations and this one guy from Kaminari that totally bites at rapping. Absolutely no one, neither he nor his 745k followers know if he's a comedy channel where he's bad on purpose, or if he's just gotten popular for all the wrong reasons, but watching him never fails to inspire a deep gut-laugh from Naruto.

Because he wouldn't be laughing this hard if something was bothering him, especially not a whole host of somethings.

He ignored how arriving at their station didn't feel quite right, how following Hinata didn't feel normal.

He was surprised when she finally started talking to him, yet the weariness her voice instilled was not lost on him.

"Who was the first girl you liked?"

"Hm? Oh, guess that'd be Sakura-chan."

"I see. And how old were you when you knew?"

"Eight, I guess?"

"Eight," The number floated from her mouth in an amazed whisper, "Do you think somebody already likes Hanabi-chan?"

A blond brow perked up. "Is this that protective Onee-san instinct kicking in already?" When she giggled, his heart sank.

"I suppose it is."

And when the silence closed in on him again, he spoke up to keep it going. "Uh, what about you?"

Her steps faltered for a second, then picked up with an exaggerated bounce. "There's someone."

"Still? Like, ongoing?"

"Mmhm."

Naruto blinked rapidly, whiplash striking again. How? How did he not know his sister liked someone? "Since when?"

"Mmmm," She hummed that note a little too long that bordered on mocking him, and he was about to storm on ahead of her, until she said, "Third grade."

"What?!" Ineloquent as that was, he somehow expected her to answer him. He stood there as she traipsed away, waiting until he was finally fed up. "Well, who the fuck is it?!"

"Guess."

He jogged after her. "Kiba?" His mouth soured at the thought.

She crossed her forearms into an 'X', making the buzzer sound in game shows when the contestant got the answer wrong. "Bubuu."

"Shino?" He didn't know what to think about that if it were true. Guess they were both quiet and smart and a little weird. Is that what compatibility looks like?

"Bubuu," she went again.

What other guys was she in contact with?

Shikamaru was a good friend who came over to game sometimes, but he definitely didn't sense anything there. No, no way it could be him. And everyone was pretty sure Sai was asexual.

"Sasuke?" Why not? He was the school heartthrob nine years running. Didn't matter whether Naruto understood the taste of girls or not, they all wanted him. He kinda wishes he noticed sooner now, because he imagining a plain girl like her pining for someone unreachable and he really hates that for her. When she slows to a stop under the streetlamp, he thinks he's finally figured it out, though the truth ended up being really anticlimactic in the end.

She half-turns towards him, her face blank save for the edge of distaste clinging to the corners of her lips and eyes.

"Gross."

He reeled back. "Gross? Whaddya mean gross?" She continued on her way, forcing him to jog after her. "Hey, I can't believe you think he's gross! Are you just being a contrarian?" Her pace picked up faster. "Y'know, like what unpopular girls do when they can't fit in?"And faster. "You really think he's gross?" She was hurrying on ahead and he was trying to catch a glimpse of her face, just a little bit of veracity. "Hinata?!"

They arrived at the steps of their apartment.

"You have until graduation to guess!" She called over her shoulder as she ran ahead, her voice pitching high at the end.

She was upset.

Her footsteps resounded through the corridors like frantic clapping, but he wasn't being congratulated at all.

It was finally apparent to him that he hasn't paid attention to Hinata in a long, long time. That's why Neji was making fun of him.

He took the elevator to their apartment, and when he reached the hole between their bedrooms, he got down on both knees and crouched his spine. They haven't used this in years, he couldn't believe how small they used to be, this hole had to be over three feet from the floor. It was making his back hurt. "Hinata," He bit his tongue with a pause. "What happens if I can't guess by graduation?" Nothing. Just silence. "Hinata? Are you not going to talk to me anymore?"

"Yeah," If a ghost could croak, that's what it sounded like. "If you can't guess by graduation, I'm not going to talk to you anymore."

He palmed the wall as he drew to full height, then stepped away, neither urgency nor insult registering in his chest. He didn't know what was in there. Maybe nothing. He raised his voice a little, just enough so that she could hear.

"I'm going to take this another weird mood of yours, okay? There's no way you really mean that."

Hovering for half a second more, he didn't give her time to respond as he headed for his bed on the opposite side of the room.

Maybe Sakura had the right idea about family. Maybe it's better to just find your own.

________________________

AN: Lel, I totally forgot to add the summary and ratings thing in the last chapter. 😜😅 Hope you liked this one!

[datleggy]

Totally random thought I had right as I am going to bed but ya know that show "I didn't know I was pregnant"? Buck would be on that show lol the boy is oblivious when it comes to his own body, so like I can perfectly picture him collapsing on the job one day wracked with pain, and then Hen is poking around his stomach where it hurts, her, Buck and Eddie packed into the back of the ambulance as Chim and Bobby drive to the hospital, and she gets out the stethoscope to try and listen for internal bleeding or anything but instead finds an infant heartrate and she's like "Buck, you're pregnant?" And he's like "uh, no? What the hell?" And then his water breaks and he tries to convince hen and Eddie that he had an accident bc even that would be a better alternative to suddenly figuring out he's about to have a baby???? What the fuck???? But Eddie holds his hand all the way through it and by the time they get to the hospital, Buck has a healthy newborn cradled against his chest, Eddie knelt beside him and alternating between kissing buck and the baby on the head, and observing the baby in disbelief. I can also picture Buck like, sobbing his sorry's to Eddie the entire time he's pushing, like "Eddie I swear I had no idea, if I had known, I would have told you!" And Eddie is just reassuring him the entire time like "don't worry about that now, Buck, just concentrate. No one is mad, okay? But you gotta focus on the- on the baby" and buck just sobs and nods and focuses on the delivery again. But for a good while Buck is in denial that any of this is happening and it takes a lot of convincing and encouragement from both hen and Eddie for him to start actively participating in his baby's birth. Anyways, random half asleep thought is finished sorry for the long ask hdshsjjsjdbsjsj

WELL SHIT ok so i actually love that show and i could see buck doing this lmao so i wrote a thing. also ignore all medical inaccuracies, this is my distraction from monday lmao let me have this wildly inept fic pls. 

also just in case, it’s pretty brief, i think, but TW for talk of weight and weight gain

It's nearing the end of their shift now and Buck can almost hear his feet howling at him in pain. Today hadn't even really been all that busy, he thinks, annoyed at his own body's betrayal. He's not even thirty yet, but in the last couple of months he's felt as though he's aged about ten years.

He's put on a few pounds, which isn't too uncommon, sometimes Buck goes through stretches of time where he eats more carbs than he needs and works out less than he'd like and so a little tummy fat is to be expected.

It normally doesn't bother him, except that in the last maybe three months he hasn't felt like exercising much outside of work but he's eaten nearly everything in sight every night. He's up about fifteen pounds, which he wouldn't have even noticed, seeing that he does fluctuate at times anywhere between five to eight pounds over or under what he usually weighs, if it hadn't been for Chimney teasing him about putting down his third Krispy Kreme donut of the day and picking up a barbell earlier this morning.

Chim and Buck poke fun at each other all the time--it's a staple in their friendship and brother ship, in fact--and Buck had flipped him the bird, nothing new there. What had been new was the fact that he'd excused himself to the bathroom right after that and locked himself in a stall and bawled his eyes out as quietly as humanly possible.

Buck grimaces, embarrassed still, by the outburst, even if no one had been there to witness it. He still has no idea what the hell that had been about this morning.

Eddie notices the sour mood and pulls him in close. "Hey, you ok?"

Buck nods. "Yeah, just tired. Ready to go home--shit." Buck feels a shooting pain so intense his knees buckle and Eddie has to hold him upright to keep him from hitting the floor. 

“Woah!” Eddie calls Bobby over, who’s closest, for help, “Buck? Buck, you with me? What’s wrong? What hurts?” 

Buck just shakes his head and grits his teeth, the pain so debilitating he can hardly breathe much less speak. 

The Captain is on his other side in an instant and together Eddie and Bobby help Buck towards the couch, where he collapses in a heap, throwing his head back and letting out an agonized whine. “What’s going on? Did he get hurt during one of the calls?” Bobby asks Eddie, frantic to help put a stop to this. 

Eddie’s helpless, “Bobby I don’t know, one second we were talking about going home and the next he practically fell to the floor in pain.” he turns to face his husband, “Baby, I’m here, look at me, what’s the matter? What hurts?” 

Buck’s face scrunches up and he finally exhales sharply, his grip on the couch cushions loosening, and he opens his eyes, wide like saucers, and says, “What the fuck was that?” 

At this point Hen and Chim, as well as half the crew, have gathered around and Hen is quick to put on her doctors hat and try to sus out the problem. She makes Bobby step aside and Chimney hands her a stethoscope. “Buck, is it your stomach?” she asks, noticing the stiff way he’s holding himself around his midriff. 

“I don’t--kinda? I don’t know. It was just like, this crazy wave of pain, almost like a cramp, but way worse.” he struggles to describe the feeling now that it’s more or less passed for the time being.  

Hen had seen Buck wince when he’d been in the harness on the last call of the day, but he hadn’t said anything and she hadn’t thought too much about it until now. “Did you hurt yourself in the harness earlier? Maybe pulled something when we reeled you back up?” she asks, palpitating his stomach with her fingers, watching him almost retract from her touch. 

“Maybe?” Buck shrugs uncomfortably, wincing when she hits a particularly sore spot. 

Something about this feels familiar and strangely obvious, but Hen doesn’t understand why until she puts her stethoscope up to his belly to check for lack of bowel sounds, indicating maybe some internal bleeding or sorts. 

Hen gasps out loud and sits up like she’s been smacked. 

Eddie frowns. “What? What’s wrong? Is he gonna be ok?” He almost wants to snatch the damn stethoscope out of her ears and check for himself, his eyes darting between Hen and Buck nervously. 

“Buck, you’re pregnant. And in labor, by the sounds of it.” Hen blurts out in disbelief. 

“What.” Buck blinks at her, waiting for the other shoe to drop. This has to be a joke. 

“I heard a heartbeat in there...” Hen informs them, still awed. “Buck, that was a contraction you just experienced.” 

Eddie gapes at Hen and then at Buck. “You’re pregnant?” 

Buck gapes right back at him. “No!” he denies, shaking his head incredulously. “That’s insane, I can’t be pregn--ah--” Buck leans forward in pain as another contraction begins. “Fuck.” 

“Jesus, yeah, no you’re definitely pregnant,” Chim announces, “Your water just broke all over my favorite couch, bud. I’m getting the ambulance ready asap.” he says, before running to do just that, head reeling. He thinks about Maddie and when she gave birth to their daughter and how scared out of his mind he’d been and he sympathizes for Buck and Eddie, who up until now apparently hadn’t even realizes they were expecting... 

Back at the lounge Buck continues to deny any of this is even happening. He whines into Eddie’s chest, “That’s pee, it has to be, because I’m not pregnant. There’s no way.” he lets out a pitiful whimper as another contraction begins and buries his face against his husband to hide the tears springing up in his eyes. 

“Buck, son, we gotta get you to a hospital right now.” Bobby tries, running a soothing hand over the top of his head. 

But Buck shakes his head no, shuddering out a sob. “M’not going.” 

Eddie, overwhelmed, looks to Hen and Bobby for help. 

“Buck, ambulance is ready to go, we need to move unless you wanna have this kid at the firehouse.” Hen grimaces. “I know you’re in pain and I know you’re confused and hurting, but we need to get you into that ambulance and now.” 

Buck cries out when another contraction hits him and Hen gulps. “Your contractions are getting way too close together, we need to move.” she nods at her Captain and Eddie to help get Buck up and together the three of them manage to get Buck onto a gurney and into the waiting ambulance.

Bobby rides up front with Chimney, leaving Hen and Eddie to work in the back with Buck. 

“Buck, you need to start getting ready to push, this baby’s coming.” Hen warns him, but Buck refuses. 

“I can’t.” he sobs. “I didn’t--” he throws his head back, the pain lighting his nerves on fire. “I swear Eddie, I didn’t know. You gotta believe me.”

Eddie takes Bucks hand into his and brings it up to his lips. “I know baby, I know, you don’t have to worry about that. I promise. Nobody is mad at you, ok? I’m not. But right now you need to focus on pushing, you need to listen to Hen, ok? We’re ok, and you’re gonna be ok, but I need you to push, baby. I love you so much, you know that, right?” 

Buck lets Eddie wipe away his tears, leans into the comforting touch, and nods shakily, exhaling. “O-ok, I’m--I’m ready.” 

.

.

.

**************

.

.

.

The baby is so very tiny in Eddie’s arms. 

Olive Buckley-Diaz is born weighing exactly six pounds and two ounces. 

Christopher, who’s curled up against Bucks side on the hospital bed after a very exhausting day, looks up at his Buck, his little brow still knitted in confusion. “So she was a surprise baby? And that’s how come you guys didn’t tell me about her?” 

Buck tries not to laugh. “Yeah bud, it was a huge surprise to us, too.” 

Eddie nods along, smiling fondly down at the bundle he’s holding. Her blotchy red face is slack in sleep and there’s already tufts of brown hair sticking up funnily on her head under her hat. “I still can’t believe you only gained like fifteen pounds during the whole pregnancy.” Eddie chuckles, “Or that you worked through the nine months, God Buck, when I think of the stunts you pulled during calls in the last few months alone I’m--” he shudders. “Actually I’d rather not think about it.” he sighs, “I’m just happy you’re both healthy at the end of the day.” 

Really, it’s a miracle. The doctor had said as much after the delivery. 

“To be fair I never got any of the other symptoms,” Buck shrugs. “I wasn’t nauseous, my feet never swelled, I don’t remember any weird cravings? And you said it yourself, I didn’t really gain all that much weight.” 

Eddie leans down to kiss Buck’s forehead. “You should be on that show.” he grins. 

Buck tilts his head. 

“You know the one, the one Hen made us watch when work was slow that one time. ‘I didn’t know I was pregnant’.” he teases. 

Buck groans. “I regret all the jokes I made at the time. I totally get those people now. Pregnancy is weird.” 

Christopher rests his head more comfortably against Bucks chest and smiles softly. “Yeah, but now our family’s even bigger.” 

.

[dreamwraith]

DxS did actually develop in canon

Before I get started, I gotta be upfront, I don't ship it. I prefer to avoid it, in fact. My friends and I rewatched the series last year, though, and watching the episodes all together like that made something stand out to me. The criticism the ship gets about lacking development is...off point. It develops! Even in the third season, the growth is there and it's beautiful and subtle because it builds upon each episode so you really only see it when it's watched all together.

And I think part of the problem is the popular idea that Sam and Danny were crushing on each other before the series began or even just early in the first season, and, like, if you ship these two, please believe me, you don't want that. You don't want to start at the finish line, you'll have gone nowhere, and that is why people assume it didn't have any growth.

But you can see in the first instance when Danny and Sam are called a couple in Mystery Meat, Sam sounds and looks offended while Danny is incredulous. Even in Parental Bonding, Sam doesn't show a preference for Danny over Tucker, she just wants a friend to invite her because her ideals aren't going to let her go to "some stupid dance" unless she has the excuse she's doing it for someone else. The narration is obviously moving her and Danny in that direction, but they're not feeling anything yet. She and Danny dance, and there is none of the blushing you see in later episodes.

Why is this?

Because GROWTH

I don't think the romantic subplot really even starts to affect them until the fake-out-make-out happens in Shades of Gray. They're still only friends after it happens, it's incredibly awkward, they're cringing because they just crossed a line, necessary or not. If you watch the scene without any expectations for the coming relationship, Danny is very alarmed that Sam is kissing him. He’s freaking the freak out, he lost control of his powers (just as Sam had hoped) and he’s wide-eyed and pounding his fists on the ground. He did not expect this AT ALL. Any of it. And even when he sits up and he has that half-lidded look on his face, he’s not looking at Sam, he’s just looking off into space in a very “a girl just kissed me” boy daze. Congrats, Danny. He snaps out of it once Sam speaks, and then they both get this grimace on their face. I don’t think it has anything to do with secret feelings, I think it’s because people have been teasing them about being lovebirds and now they’re going to get mocked and teased mercilessly, and oh fudge. 

So they don’t feel anything there, BUT the simple act of kissing gets them thinking. It must get them thinking because the next episode is Fanning the Flames.

The important detail isn't the love spell, it's how receptive Danny and Sam are to each other at the beginning of the episode. Last episode, they kissed out of necessity, and now they're blushing when they hold hands, smiling shyly at each other, giving compliments, staring at each other, blushing, blushing, blushing. It's as though that fake kiss flipped a switch and now they are aware of each other in ways they never were before. In fact, Sam is shown to be very taken with Danny flying in the sunlight, a very clear moment in the series where there's a shift in the shading, the angle of the camera, and we the audience are allowed to see through Sam's eyes as she looks at Danny and sees him in a different light in what might be to her the first time.

And quick aside here, you have probably heard the argument Sam loves Danny for his powers, but you may not have heard this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's an expression of Sam's character to, not only delight in the unique and odd, but to appreciate action when it's called for. Danny is a half ghost hero who refuses to sit on the sidelines when someone is in trouble. These are things Sam values, and Danny being who he is and what he does is going to make her heart pound with admiration. He's her dream guy, but more than that, he's her friend. She knows his flaws and who he is as a person. There is absolutely nothing wrong with her loving his powers and how unique it makes him in addition to liking him. I see it a little bit like having a thing for drummers and then your friend develops an aptitude for drumming. It's not going to change the friendship, but you might notice him a little differently. The only problem here would be if she liked him for the powers and not because there is something more there. For Sam, I think, it’s not just the powers. Danny Phantom isn't a stranger who is half ghost and saving people, he's Danny, her friend. She has watched him develop into a hero, starting from episode one, when Danny decided to do something with his powers.

It's a wild, new perception of Danny that would be hitting her in this moment, and if Ember hadn't interfered, they may have actually gotten together much sooner. But she did. She placed a spell over Danny and threw into question everything they have been feeling and made things move too fast, way too fast, for Sam, who, as you’ll remember, couldn’t even admit she wanted to go to a dance a few episodes ago.

Idk if you guys have noticed this or if anyone else agrees, but I fully believe it's Sam who sets the pace. For all the clueless jokes and teasing, Danny has shown from the get-go he's receptive to the idea of him and Sam getting together. Just look at the way he smiles whenever something happens between them-- it's usually Sam who pulls away or ducks her head. Such as in this episode, when the love spell is broken and she, not Danny, makes an excuse for why they hugged for so long. If we focus on Danny in this relationship, the progression of his feelings aren't very linear. There are moments when he notices her or learns to appreciate her, but they aren't major shifts for him. Like he said in Urban Jungle, "I always thought you ruled, Sam." When I rewatched it, I didn't see Sam waiting for Danny, I saw Danny waiting for Sam. You might see it differently, tho, idk, I don't ship it :P But for this meta, I'm going to say it's her. She's not ready. And there's many reasons why.

For one, we saw in Parental Bonding she isn't comfortable admitting she wants the same things other girls want. Even though she really wants to go to the dance, she pretends she doesn't. It's important to her that she is different, even when it's an act. It's possible too then that she's not ready to give in to romance, especially one that others have been pressing on her. I don't think that would have stopped her in the long run, given how she was responding to Danny, but...Ember. That love spell. Idk what was fully intended to be going through her mind after that, but I believe it assured her it was best they stay friends, which is why she pulls back and makes an excuse. Danny's obsession under the spell was annoying, creepy, and it ruined what they had as friends. It's reasonable she wanted to take a step back. I think Danny looks like he understands? He was the one who caught on she wanted to go to the dance despite her denials, he must understand her pretty well on some level, so he probably recognizes that she isn't ready. He’s smiling when Sam makes the excuse. Or maybe he suspects that's the case. I might be basing a lot on his little smile and blush at the end there, but he also blatantly flirts with Sam at the end of Memory Blank and she's the one who smiles and ducks her head while he beams and raises his. They seem to be on the same wavelength here as far as his feelings and hers go, and it doesn't make sense for all these blushes and smiles between them to be something Danny... just... didn't pick up on when he's often responding to Sam's reactions. He's not clueless between these episodes, but he's not pushing her. He's not pushing himself. They're letting their friendship take priority.

So what changes? How does Danny go from knowing to clueless?

I'm thinking it was Reign Storm.

This, I think, is the moment Danny starts to think he had it all wrong. Since they've never actually spoken about how they feel, he can revisit the events of Fanning the Flames and the "Sam? But I thought..." "I thought too..." and start thinking Ember really did ruin things after all because at the climax of Reign Storm...Sam turned him down. Or she let the chance slip away. He didn't admit his feelings, but he indirectly asked her about hers, giving her a chance to say something before he faced his toughest fight to date, something she was afraid he might not survive, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't. She wasn't ready. Valerie had come onto the scene, and the burgeoning romance between her and Danny made Sam insecure. Valerie is beautiful, comfortable flirting with Danny, and Danny is responding to her. Valerie is what Sam isn't, but she isn't cruelly shallow like Paulina, there isn't an easy dismissal here. It's the first time Sam is faced with competition for Danny's affection and she... doesn't know if she wants to fight for it or not. She's hesitant to meet Valerie's challenge in that final scene, and whenever she opposes Danny's friendship with Valerie she uses Valerie's ghost hunting as the reason. It's a fair excuse, I just don't think it's the only reason. She's too angry and too hurt for there not to be personal undertones. But she can't admit it out loud, maybe not even to herself. It's the dance situation all over again, but this time Danny is distracted by Valerie and doesn't think Sam wants him back. Why would he? In a life or death situation, she didn't say anything. Silence carries its own words. Danny must have assumed she doesn't like him back after all.

Obviously, things come to a little bit of a head when Danny starts to get serious about Valerie. Events are manipulated by Technus, of course, but the feelings are Danny's own. Technus didn't make Danny stay up talking to Valerie all night; he chose to. Technus didn't make Valerie lay her head on Danny's shoulder; she chose to. So, when Danny responds to Sam's "Do you really think the universe wants you two to be together?" with "I don't know...I might." It's significant. Sam knows it too. Her voice actor did a great job putting pain into that gasp.

So Sam does what she has since Fanning the Flames; she puts her friendship with Danny first. If this is what he wants, she's not going to get in his way. Events may have continued apace in this fashion, with Sam silently pining as Danny explores a relationship with Valerie, BUT things aren't as simple as Danny or Valerie would like them to be. Misunderstandings and secrets undermine them from the start, and Sam's self sacrifice sees an immediate payoff when Danny trusts her with the ring he was going to give Valerie.

I...don’t really want to get into the WES ring thing, but Jack’s assumption here that Danny is dating Sam (not Valerie) is probably due to him seeing Danny dip and kiss Sam in the lab during Memory Blank. Sam wished for Danny to keep his DP symbol, so this whole scene probably still played out, and Jack likely still remembers he saw Danny kiss Sam, only now he remembers her name wasn’t actually Paulina. 

Idk if I’m grasping at straws or not with this, I’m just trying to give meaning to Jack’s mistake haaaaa...

I'm not going to get into the WES ring thing, I'm sorry. It hurt my feelings and it has Butch vibes all over it. Tucker’s “What is this, the eighties” has me freaked because yeah and the fact that it’s Jack’s class ring and not Danny’s because Danny is too young to have a class ring? I don’t like it I don’t like it ahhhhh

But. That Sam tosses a ring that has her name on it into the air and yet calls Danny clueless is an ironic joke I'm forever going to snicker at. Well played. Even if the rest of it was a dick move.

Sooooo...Valerie has withdrawn, Sam is smugly triumphant, but Danny is still pining after Valerie. The relationship between Danny and Sam is at a standstill because Sam's preferred status quo is back, aside from Danny is now blind to her.

Enter Gregor.

Oh, this little shit...

My personal opinion on this episode is that it wasn't necessary to pull the jealousy angle on Danny when he already had established feelings for Sam in the earlier episodes, but it does let Sam explore romance without risking her friendship. That's really all it is, you can see it in the way she behaves with Gregor. She's infatuated, but there isn't anything deeper than attraction and shared interests (or so Elliot makes it seem). Gregor's color scheme probably played a part in catching Sam's attention by making her think of him (a stranger) in a positive light. It's Phantom's color scheme from top to bottom. I'm pretty sure the writers made him that way, not for Sam, but for Danny. "This could have been you" they're saying "you should be in his place."

Ahh jealousy...

While Sam is exploring her sexuality, the romantic parts of herself she's been denying for so long, Danny is losing his god dang mind. If I focus on Sam, I like this episode much better. Danny is an absolute dick here. Someone stop him, pls, omg. The jealousy arc in a friends to lovers trope is pretty easy to understand. This is meant to make him recognize he could lose Sam to someone else if he keeps chasing after Valerie, it's supposed to make Sam the focus of his attention again, to make him aware of his feelings for her, make her desirable, a possession, objectified ect., ect.. Jealousy is a bad look on all romances, please don’t do this

Sam, though, I like her potential here if I continue with the idea she's been afraid to open herself to the idea of dating until now. It's a little fast, given that she's crushing within five seconds of seeing the guy (Danny at least was given two episodes and death defying adventures), but that's sort of the idea? She's not thinking here. She's... taking a plunge of sorts. She's letting herself follow her emotions instead of trying to beat them down, possibly because Gregor is new to the school, possibly because he also claims to be Goth so there is a sense of community she's responding to. Possibly because some part of her is tired of tormenting herself over crushing on Danny, and Gregor offers a fresh new take on something that has, so far, only caused her pain. Idk. It depends on how you want to interpret her feelings here. In my mind, she jumped on dating him so fast there had to be something else prompting her to open herself like that. It's not very consistent with how she has approached relationships and feelings in general up to this point, so I have to assume it was some sort of breaking point.

Regardless, she snaps out of it when they kiss. 

And she does kiss him back. Before it cuts to commercials, she closes her eyes and wraps her arms around his neck, he pulls her close, and that's when we zoom in on Danny's shocked face. I suppose this is the moment where he's meant to feel the most pain. Unlike Sam who put friendship over her feelings, however, Danny lashes out. He does come around when he's talking to Gregor in the locker room, though. Fair points to Danny, he does come around in the end. It's just a little too late.

I would feel bad for him, but he annoyed me a lot in the episode. 

Sam already looked like she was rethinking the relationship with Gregor after the kiss. He smoothed things out after she shoved him away, but she still looks uncertain when they walk off. In my mind, she was cool with the relationship because it was fun and everything, but she wants Danny, and Gregor isn't him. When he kissed her, it felt good, but then it didn't feel right and she pulled back. The romance was fun for her in this episode, but I think this was the moment she committed to Danny as the one she wants, despite the risk to their friendship. She still defends herself from Danny and walks away from school holding Gregor's hand, she's not giving up on Gregor yet, but she doesn't seem nearly as into him as she did before. Him snapping at Tucker and revealing his true colors just made everything easier.

Bye-bye tacky Danny substitute.

Danny recovers some ground then by complimenting her as a person. Sam might be able to see his feelings for her shining through, I think. The whole moment just felt wholesome and gooey sweet lol.

They still don't talk about it, though. Poor Tucker. I would be screaming in his place.

That brings us to season three.

Sam and Danny have both committed to how they feel about each other at this point, they just haven't said anything. They don't know that the other feels the same, only that they really like their friend.

Mutual pining, fully engaged.

Danny, in particular, has gone full blown. He's not even trying to deny it anymore, he's just shy and nervous about it, trying to hide it because he doesn't want to get hurt. He's usually bold when it comes to matters of the heart, especially by this point in the series, so he's holding that ember pretty close to his chest like he's afraid someone is going to blow it out. He has reason to be. He's been crushed in Fanning the Flames and disappointed in Reign Storm. He's all in, now, and very vulnerable because of it. When Johnny and later his dad ask about his "girlfriend," he stutters and shies away. He's not confident about anything except how he feels. Sam hasn't shown him any indication at this point in the series that she feels anything for him outside of friendship.

Urban Jungle pushes things, but Sam is a puppet. Undergrowth is speaking through her, using Sam to bait Danny into a trap. He can't trust the things she says in that state, and, kindness points to him, he doesn't. They don't blush when he gives her the ice crystal; they won the day, and he let's her off the hook like she had for him back in Control Freaks.

No, nothing for them changes until Frightmare.

Frightmare is the most important episode for their relationship. It is, in fact, in some ways more of a climax than Phantom Planet. They have spent the entire series not talking about how they feel. Sam has kept her feelings for Danny so tightly guarded he didn't know she still felt anything for him. The dreamwalking let's him see what Sam has hidden for so long, and once it's out, it's out. Danny knows. Sam knows he knows. Sam doesn't know that Danny dreamt about the same, she's only responding to the idea Danny now knows about her feelings for him. And Danny's actions after he finds out is positive, accepting, encouraging. But not pushing. They're still waiting. They're balanced on a pinhead and comfortable and happy to be there again after all they've been through since Fanning the Flames.

You can see the change in their relationship during Claw of the Wild. They're acting off each other. They haven't spoken still, but they're working in tandem. Danny is confident enough to do that arm move, a far cry from the boy in Girls Night Out who was trying to hide how he felt.

Sadly, D-Stabilized happens after, and as everyone knows, canon ends there. How Danny and Sam ultimately get together (assuming they get together at all) is up to you :3

............

Okay fine...

Phantom Planet is a fanfiction given canon status, but it does fit into the development of their relationship fairly well.

Danny and Sam know how they feel and how the other feels, they just haven't made anything official yet. It's kind of a foregone conclusion at this point, and they're kind of acting like it, such as when Danny lays his hand over Sam's after he loses his powers. There's his confidence in romance again. You love to see it.

It is a bit rocky here. Danny isn't listening, Sam isn't communicating, there is a lot of passive aggressive shiiiiiit going down before Sam becomes overtly aggressive and Danny finally notices something is wrong. That idiot...

I don't remember the whole speech. I remember thinking there were undertones because they know how each other feels now, but I can't remember the words exactly. Sam was frustrated and Danny finally gets his head out of his ass and starts listening, and he starts to consider just what it was he lost. What he gave up. And for what? Sam makes him look beyond the immediate problems, and there is value in that.

Being dissed by Dash after he failed to save him might have been the final nail, though, to be fair xD

Sam obviously likes Danny's unique powers, but she was at her most thrilled when he started trying to be a hero again even without his powers. His attitude was what was frustrating her, and once he stopped caring only about himself, she forgave him.

I will still hold, however, the dialogue was not great. Her reaction to seeing Danny's ghost form again was something like "Danny, it's you! I mean it was always you, but you're you again!"

It wasn't great, combined with everything else. It's just not. Since she just saw him (almost) die, I might have had her go with "Danny, you're alive! Er, ish! Alive-ish!"

She's actually going to see him (almost) die again a few minutes after this too! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Poor girl.

I believe they hook up shortly after this in Antarctica. Idk. I blanked out on a lot of the movie. Sorry. I do remember, there wasn't a huge confession or anything. The only real, um, shock? Reveal? Was Sam noticing the ring had her name on it when she tried to give it back to him. They've known for a while how they felt, they're just finally (FINALLY) addressing it, so it's kind of low-key. Just. Finally giving voice to what they've felt. That must be so freeing. It wasn't a reveal, it was an acceptance.

(Does this play into Danny saying nothing is official until he gives [Valerie] the ring back in Flirting with Disaster? I think it might be.)

If you ship it, you can probably fill in the emotions of this moment better than I can. My experience was to laugh. I'm aro, lads, I did not give a hoot lmao. Can't help thinking now that the spinning camera angle, plus the 3D asteroid, is probably what tanked half of the third season's budget.

Urban Jungle's advertising got the other half lol

It was effective, though, I've seen how well loved that moment is for its fans. It was a long time coming, it took a lot of build up and courage to reach this point, well done you two.

And of course you got the hill scene. Sam's ring officially placed on Sam's ring finger (remove it this instant and put it on the correct hand, omfg, BUTCH, you had one job--The boyfriend's class ring goes on the right hand, ring finger, I'm screaming THEY’RE TOO YOUNG TO BE ENGAGED) and they talk! I don't fully remember what it was about, Danny coming to terms with his ghost half, probably, and how Sam has helped him accept himself. It was very sweet and cheesy lol. But the climatic moment for this ship during the finale was in Antarctica. It culminated what they've left unsaid for so long.

And then Danny lifts Sam into a bridal carry (gdi Butch) and they fly off into the sunset, and that’s the end of the show!

... my messy interpretation of Phantom Planet aside, hopefully this has helped you love your ship more, though I understand this is just my interpretation of things. I really wanted to write this for myself, to help me understand the ship better. I enjoy analyzing things as a writer, but with this ship, I often focus on the negative, not the positive, and I wanted to give it it's dues. It is a very sweet ship when taken all together.

I do want to talk about how canon failed this ship and just didn’t hit its full potential, but for this at least I wanted to focus only on what they did RIGHT. There was actual progression in the relationship, although it wasn’t always linear due to what I suspect was Sam’s hesitation to give up friendship for romance and Danny’s attraction to Valerie. In the end they worked things out, and I think the defining moment for Danny was a callback to Sam’s worth to him in Memory Blank, when he discovered she made him a hero, and then in Phantom Planet she did it again by pushing him to be more than your average citizen, more than who he was before the accident, and he was like alright, that’s it, it’s you. It has to be you. 

[feanorianethicsdepartment]

i think i’ve pretty well established by now that i like it when the fëanorians get to be monsters. the nightmares that haunt the sindarin imagination, drenched in the blood of both foe and friend, who forged their selves into weapons and turned killing into an art, ruthless and vicious and absolutely terrifying. they lead armies of blood-hungry zealots, fanatically devoted to the cause, with an attitude to outsiders more commonly found in doomsday cults. they burn all around them, and delight in the slaughter, and choke out the very light they once swore to protect

so it might surprise you to learn that i don’t think their dad is like that at all?

i mean, don’t get me wrong here, he’s still fëanor. still loud as fuck, neither can nor will stop, extremely opinionated on the most minor things possible, a self-fuelling tornado of wild ideas and mad science with the power and drive to achieve even his most impractical of dreams. he’s just. not a murderer. i mean he is, but he doesn’t revel in it the way his kids do

he’s suprisingly... not normal, because fëanor. person-like, i think is the operative thought. he’s a lot like celebrimbor in some ways, bursting with creativity and passion to make the world right. he unironically thinks his wife is the best person in the universe and was an incredibly supportive parent to the point of horrible pta mom-dom (’how dare you call my three-year-old’s singing scratchy warbling he is PERFECT’) there’s not a duplicitous bone in his body; for better and for worse, what you see is what you get. there’s hints in his character of the darkness his people fell into - he hates the people he hates just as intensely as he loves those he loves, and he’s willing to risk a lot to get what he wants - but that’s never all there was to him. people loved him back in valinor, and they had good reason to

by no means am i trying to minimise the horrible things he did here. just because you’re hurting doesn’t give you the right to hurt others. i don’t think he went into alqualondë with the intention to kill, but i do think that he could have stopped the violence once it started and consciously made the call not to. burning the ships was entirely his own dumb idea - half the reason maitimo objects to it is it’s an objectively stupid tactical decision, but fëanor is grieving and desperate and believes a lot of the bullshit melkor fed him and is drowning in the sunk cost fallacy to boot. he also should have tried to get along with his stepfamily, or proofread that goddamn oath, or just thought through the consequences of his actions at any point between the darkening and his death. this isn’t the fëanor-did-nothing-wrong train here, at least not the way that phrase is used these days. he made a fuckton of terrible decisions, and while they’re understandable that doesn’t make them excuseable. he’s just not a bloodthirsty hellbeast

but his kids are, and the obvious question is ‘why?’ in-universe, the answer varies from ‘fëanor had the good fortune to die extremely early so while his children were fashioning themselves into weapons and getting really good at killing he was going to elf afterlife therapy and working through his issues’ to ‘the murderousness actually comes from nerdanel’s side of the family’ to ‘every other generation in míriel’s line is inherently evil for some reason and fëanor is hilariously oblivious to this’ depending on how looney tunes my headcanons are that day. out-of-universe... it’s partially because i think it’s funny, i have to admit. i find both ‘guy with perfect dark lord minions has no interest in being dark lord’ and ‘fëanor is consistently out-saned by the most bloodthirsty elves in the history of arda’ to be hilarious character dynamics. but it’s also because valinor really was a paradise, and someone who died barely after leaving there, no matter how over-the-top, would find the things beleriand forged the people they loved into horrifyingly unrecognisable

by the time of the second kinslaying, fëanor, as said, has gone to therapy. he is working on his shit, he is processing his damage, it’s a long road ahead but he is making progress. by this point, he’s admitted to himself that the entire boat theft scheme was a terrible idea with terrible results, but he hasn’t quite got to the point of acknowledging the serious flaws in his whole let’s-go-to-middle-earth-and-punch-morgoth scheme. like the oath

so when his sons massacre the people of doriath, he’s as horrified as everyone else in the halls. this is intensely not what the oath was for (still in denial) alqualondë was a terrible mistake they had no reason to repeat (still in denial.) he still can’t admit that this whole thing is his fault, even partially and indirectly, so what he latches onto instead is the idea that the children he loved and raised have been replaced by- by-

when curufin goes to find his father, fëanor violently rejects the abomination before him

[queen-eevee]

tigers captain of your choice + 44

44 — Handle

(Willians Swain + Dagmar Ocean are both from the Hades Tigers' Short Circuits Gamma 2 Team. In this, Dagmar is the Captain and has always been a pirate, but once lived a more violent life of greed and corruption before she pulled herself out of that cycle and began trying to earn redemption for herself. Willians is her first mate and his lore is courtesy of @leonstamatis. He drowned at sea several years ago but was fished out and brought back to life by Dagmar + her crew and now feel "all indebted about it.")

(Willians uses he/they pronouns and Dagmar uses she/her)

It’s a miracle the Theseus is in good enough shape to hold one body, let alone two, Willians thinks as they make themself comfortable in the crow’s nest. They still remember the crash in all its gory details: the storm in the Atlantic that had blown them off course; the blinding pelts of rain and whipping wind; the sudden realization that the sky had turned a bright crimson, the color of blood, sometime between when they went in and out of consciousness; until Dagmar called out that she had regained control and could attempt to steer the boat straight. She swore over and over that she had it handled.

And she did. Until, at the same time Willians noticed their “ocean” suddenly had visible shorelines on both sides, their ship slammed itself into solid ground with a sickening crunch and an explosion of wooden splinters.

Then the crew started yelling for help.

Once the wreckage had been dislodged from the bank of the “Styx” (the name they were given by a very amused man who introduced himself as “Hades,” which had then been confirmed by a very concerned Doom), what was left of the vessel was anchored in a harbor less than a mile from The Amphitheater, where it currently bobs and dips in the inky waves. It would be a kindness to call what the ship is doing “floating,” as half of the ship remains submerged beneath the water. Though she’s stubborn enough to still support Willians’ weight.

Dagmar’s too, as he had discovered when she went missing after the Mills game and Amelia pointed a knowing finger towards the docks.

She hasn’t said anything since Willians boarded the ship—“boarded” being a nice way to say, “swung one leg over the hull and prayed he didn’t tip into the water.” He found her in the crow’s nest, now only elevated about 15 feet from the ground, arms crossed and eyes unfocused, staring into the fog across the river.

“Penny for your thoughts, Cap?”

Willians’ easy drawl cuts through the silence, half-smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Dagmar pushes at his arm half-heartedly as her mouth curls in amusement, but her eyes don’t stray from their vigilance on the horizon. She doesn’t answer, which he had expected. Willians didn’t come here without their own suspicions.

“Knew we shoulda taken the phone away from you after the game.”

That gets Dagmar to snap to attention, eyes going sharp as a cutlass. “Lay off,” she gripes, pushing herself away from the railing with a grimace. “Like you could have known what happened.”

“Had a hunch, didn’t we?” Willians leans the small of his back against the banister and gestures at the sky. “Sunrise red as a snapper this morning.”

Dagmar remains unfazed. “Every sunrise is red in Hades, Swain.”

“Naw, even you said somethin’ about it. Orlando said the wind smelt like blood and you agreed.”

“I didn’t—" Her knee-jerk denial hangs itself on a high note and she trails off, quiet, finishing her thought by picking at the flaking wood of the mainmast. The wind whips up and ruffles Dagmar’s clothes, coaxing the smell of the brine that always seems to cling to her into the heavy air. Limp strands of hair that had managed to escape her low bun sway in the breeze, and she brushes them away before clenching a fist at her side.

“I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t know—”

“’s okay, Dag.”

“No.” She smacks her fist weakly against the mast, mouth twisted with stewing fury. “I should have read that contract more carefully. I didn’t know our lives would be on the line for this deal.”

“Our lives were on the line every time we sailed on Theseus,” Willians counters, matter-of-fact, “And they woulda been forfeit if we’d decided to drown in this ghost river instead.”

He doesn’t say it as an accusation, but Dagmar’s expression still shifts from one of controlled anger to bitter pain. Willians notes the twitching muscle in her jaw and gives a rattling sigh, clapping a withered hand on her shoulder.

“Lay the guilt down, Cap. You did what you thought was best.”

“I sold our souls—”

“To save us.” Willians leaves behind a wet outline of green algae when he moves his hand to gently knock her shoulder with their fist. She doesn’t flinch. “It’s two years, Dag. We’ve spent damn-near months battlin’ tempests before. We can weather a couple fortnights here.”

But Dagmar isn’t listening. She’s sneering at the setting sun, angry hands at work flexing and unflexing at her sides, reaching up to tighten her belts, straighten her blouse. “You’re acting like this is nothing, like a little fire is nothing.” The pistols in her holsters rock with her movement.

Willians sucks his teeth, giving a small shake of his head. “Come on, we’ve both been burned worse by cannon fire before. You just got frightened, tha’s all.”

“I am frightened by this!” Dagmar shouts as she finally whips around to face him. Her hands clench around the banister as her eyes go dark, hardened. “Look what happened to Jam Robbie. I’m not going to let some game be what robs my crew of their lives.”

“No one’s gonna go jumpin’ in front of any fireballs, Dag,” Willians insists, before they exhale and say, voice softer but firm, “I’m not gonna let some rogue umpire take me from this team.”

It must sound as much like the promise he means it to be because he watches as her brows slowly unfurrow, the tension starting to drain from her shoulders. She begins to look like herself again, expression steeled, mouth pursed, hands already fumbling to undo her hair tie.

“You better not,” she mumbles, loosened hair falling to coat her shoulders like an oil spill. She doesn’t make a move to say anything else, so Willians closes his eyes, resting against the mast. He’s more than willing to test how long their slowly-sinking ship will tolerate their presence.

[nabesthetics]

For shipping meme: SFW 13 and NSFW 10 for both u ships?

Who stays up late? Who sleeps the most? Does the other have to force them to sleep/wake up?

Dragoat: To surprise of absolutely noone, Lucio is not a morning person. Alastor is a "hummingbird", as in he can adjust his sleeping schedule without many issues, aside from the fact that sometimes he forgets to sleep at all. Depending on how he's feeling and what he's doing, he might not need as much sleep as a human would, but that doesn't mean that staying up all night reading is great for him - another self-destructive habit that Lucio helps him break most of the time.

That being said, by "default" Alastor's sleeping schedule is set somewhere between 10 pm and 7 am, so on 19 days out of 20, he wakes up first. And yes, if they have to go somewhere, he has to drag Lucio out of bed, sometimes literally.

Martian: the never-ending story of Marty trying to dom convince Julian to GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP

Marty has his own streak of overworking, but his sleeping habits are overall decent. And if nightmares catch up to him he's going to drink sleeping potions damn it, he needs his beauty rest to remain his snappy charming self. Julian is infamously a disaster at both falling and staying asleep, and with all the work and nagging from people, he might eventually follow Marty's example actually, and/or improve his habits over the years. Character growth.

The spicy one under the cut :3c

First to orgasm? Last to orgasm? Who comes the most? Does someone ever end up unfinished?

Dragoat: On average, Alastor will orgasm first unless he's determined to achieve the opposite, especially after Lucio gets over his initial "holy shit I can do this again" period. Al's sensitivity and stamina recovery also usually mean multiple orgasms in a session, he learns how to reach prostate orgasms fairly quickly and can reach double digits of those (a trait Lucio is low-key jealous of - until the half-form comes into the equation that is).

Thanks to the blood bond, it's not uncommon for the two to finish simultaneously; otherwise Lucio usually is last to orgasm (for the final time anyway) while Alastor pushes though post-orgasm overstimulation if needed (yes he's very much into it). It's very rare for either of them end up unfinished, unless we're talking about an oral quickie pff

Martian: varies very wildly depending on what these two kinky mfs are doing. On average though, Marty focuses on his partners more than himself to the point where Julian gets to cum first, last, and more often. Unless there's orgasm control/denial involved.

It can also take Marty quite a lot effort to cum in the first place (not that he's not sensitive, he's just Like That), so that is also a factor - and why sometimes he ends up not getting an orgasm at all if that wasn't one of the goals. Julian would try to protest, but not if he's especially thoroughly wrecked.

[thanksjro]

More Than Meets the Eye #30 - The Cybertronian Judicial System is a Friggin’ Joke

Have I mentioned that I’m not a huge fan of court case stories? I think they’re pretty boring, on average, so the last couple of issues have been slightly dragging for me.

Anyway, back to Megatron’s trial. 

Our issue opens up with a full back shot of Ultra Magnus.

Artists take note, he really is built like a capital T.

As Magnus reads out Megatron’s statement retracting his “guilty” plea, we get some decent points as to why. See, telling a guy that you’ll stab him in the brain, so his trial can be over as quickly as possible, maybe isn’t such a hot idea. Megatron wasn’t a huge fan of that, or of how those memories they would’ve yanked outta him would have been used to fuel the Autobot propaganda machine. Why, you may ask?

Well, I don’t know if you knew this or not, but Megatron… doesn’t particularly care for the Autobots, nor the rhetoric they uphold.

I know, I was surprised too!

There’s also the fact that Optimus Prime is the judge on this whole thing. You know. Optimus Prime. Off and on leader of the Autobots, whenever it suits him. The guy who fucked off into space for a year after the war. The guy who threw a hissy fit when someone pointed out that he was compromised the last time they did something like this with Megatron. This guy:

Yeah, there might be a slight conflict of interests here. Remind me again why this had to be a military trial?

Anyway, enough of that, it’s time for a fight scene.

A swarm of Decepticons storm the arena, going after Megatron so they can help him escape. Magnus, though acting as Megatron’s defense, cannot abide by this disorder in the court.

Wild to think there’s a tiny little Pringles man with anxiety in there, isn’t it?

Optimus joins the fray, because there really are, just, so many guys to deal with here. A dude goes to collect Megatron, stating that they brought teleport packs for this little shindig. Megatron isn’t super jazzed about that though, not bothering to grab on before the dude gets shot to death. There’s a brief recess, I guess so the janitorial staff can deal with the mess of corpses littering the courtroom.

Meanwhile, in the present day, Rung’s building a model spaceship in Swerve’s, which is a very brave thing to be doing, seeing how sticky and gross bars can be. Brainstorm’s brought a flask to the bar, and proceeds to pour the contents into a funnel sticking out of his arm.

Our bartender for the evening- I’m assuming it’s evening, but I doubt the concept of time has any real weight in space- is Bluestreak. Bluestreak was stationed on Earth for a while, which is some Phase One stuff, and took a liking to human media while he was there. He’s the guy who handles movie night these days, seeing as Rewind’s too busy being dead to do it, and I doubt Chromedome has the emotional bandwidth to take over for his late spouse.

Bluestreak’s favorite movie is Zulu, a film glorifying the colonialism of the English over the native populace of an African kingdom. Make of that what you will.

Whirl wants to watch À Bout de Soufflé, or Breathless, as it was translated for the English-speaking world, which is a French New Wave film about a criminal who shoots a cop, hides from the police in a journalist’s home, who he seduces and likely impregnates. She eventually finds out what he did, reports him to the police, but then has a change of heart and lets him know what she’s done. He runs, but is shot, and dies in the street. The film is notable for its final scene, in which the following dialogue happens, between the dying criminal Michael, his lover Patricia, and an officer.

Of course, any poignancy would almost certainly be lost on the average comic book reader, and is also somewhat nullified by Whirl praising the film with internet lingo.

Then again, I suppose Whirl would be the type to dismantle any deeper reading of his interest in such a film, lest he be subjected to the horrifying ordeal of being known.

Over with Skids and Riptide, it’s revealed that Megatron’s been teaching classes on the Lost Light, specifically on the Knights of Cybertron. Riptide’s getting an education, because he’s been feeling pretty lost since the war ended- we’ll get to the potential whys of that later on. Swerve isn’t a fan of this community college thing that’s going on, stating that Megatron’s using it as a distraction, so he can devise plots most foul.

Back in the past, Autobot high command is having a talk about what Megatron’s demanding, and man is it a doozy— turns out, since the trial’s happening on Luna 2, the trial proceedings are subject to the laws of the moon. One of these moon laws is the right to request being judged by the Knights of Cybertron. Now, this is a problem, seeing as the Knights of Cybertron have been AWOL for the last several million years, but the law is the law, and you can’t just go ignoring it when someone’s pointed it out.

Bro, your SIC just suggested y’all pull the trial so you could slap it on Cybertron, thus negating any need to pay attention to the Knight law. That’s such a gross miscarrying of justice, it’s genuinely baffling. You’ve got bigger issues going on than flouting. My god, Optimus, you were a cop—

Oh wait, that’s right. Carry on, then.

Back on the Lost Light, First Aid’s checking to make sure that the coffin Rodimus they revealed last issue is true and proper dead. Now, this may seem like a given, but you’ve got to remember that Brainstorm was mostly dead for over a year and a half, and nobody fucking noticed, so it’s probably for the best that they’re checking.

First Aid’s been pretty withdrawn since Ambulon died, so this autopsy is really good for him, since it got him out of his room. Pretty fucked up that it would take a dead body to get him out and about. Has Rung checked in on his poor son of a gun, or has he been spending the last six months getting his professional rocks off psychoanalyzing a genocidal warlord?

Our coffin Rodimus died from having parts of his brain removed, and potentially died screaming.

Yes, that is a Furmanism, thank you peanut gallery, moving on—

Ratchet hands the phone over to Ultra Magnus, saying that a call has to be made, and it can’t be by him, because the callee is mighty upset with Ratchet at the moment.

Oh, I guess he’s fine after all. This must be where the sci-fi bullshit really starts kicking in for the series.

Because seeing your own dead body is likely very traumatic and awful, Rodimus is taking a while to string together his thoughts on the matter. Megatron doesn’t particularly care, because he’s not terribly sympathetic to this sort of thing, and the two get into a spat, where it’s revealed that they’re co-captaining the Lost Light.

Because things weren’t chaotic enough on this fucking ship. Need to mix in some peacocking between the McDonalds twunk and the man who killed half of Beijing.

Back in the past, Optimus Prime visited Megatron in prison to have a little chat. It’s not about that little rescue attempt, though the fact that those Decepticons may have been released from the Lost Light’s brig is certainly interesting. No, Optimus is here to sit way too close to his mortal nemesis on the floor of his room and talk about how Megatron is a sneaky bastard.

You remember the Hellraiser puzzle box from a couple issues back? Yeah, that was a communicube, one that was passed to Optimus to suggest that the trial be held on the moon, so the arena there would be able to hold all the people wronged by Megatron. This seems pretty damn convenient in hindsight, but Megatron swears that the legal loophole wasn’t his only intent when he sent the cube.

Because it’s all about you, isn’t it, Megatron? It’s all about how you’re perceived by future generations. Fuck the guys who had to actually deal with what your personal choices caused to happen.

Megatron wants to make amends with all those who were wronged by him. This doesn’t include being acquitted of his crimes, which, y’know, good- at least he’s being slightly realistic about how this is going to turn out for him.

What he wants to do is find Cyberutopia, so the Cybertronians have a replacement planet, since Cybertron kind of sucks now.

Oh, sorry, did I say realistic? I take it back.

In the present, Rodimus is still bummed out about being dead. Still, the day doesn’t stop just because it’s a bad one, and he calls in the experts.

CHROMEDOME YOU PROMISED TO STOP THIS SHIT

Yeah, no, Chromedome’s fallen off the wagon again, and does his thing on the coffin Rodimus. As he does, Megatron suddenly gets squeamish, Brainstorm pulls out his early early-warning device to lean on the fourth wall, and it’s revealed that the coffin that coffin Rodimus was in was built in the fashion of the Spectralist faith.

All Chromedome can suss out of coffin Rodimus’ memories is the really big important stuff, which includes the speech at Rivet’s Field inviting folks to come join the Knight Quest. Aww, that’s sweet.

With the analysis of the innermost energon complete, the results are in— the coffin Rodimus is a Rodimus. A real one, from the near future. Bummer.

I suppose denial is one of the seven stages of grief, isn’t it?

As everyone argues over whether or not Rodimus is going to die, Nightbeat brings up a good point— there aren’t any numbers carved into the coffin Rodimus’ hand. Rodimus is about to reveal some Ratchet-original wisdom, when things start getting really weird; whole sections of the Lost Light are disappearing.

Over at Swerve’s, Tailgate is regaling his peers with the story of his derring-do against Chief Justice Tyrest. Everyone is very impressed, and this includes our good buddy Getaway.

Jeez, think you’ve got enough antagonist shadows on this guy? It’s almost as if the art’s trying to tell us something about him.

Getaway lays it on real thick, saying that Tailgate could totally be the next Prime, with how courageous and awesome he is, all while completely ignoring Tailgate’s personal space and having a weirdly tiny hand. This seems to seriously bother Cyclonus, who is watching this shit go down from the doorway. Our purple space jet leaves once the drinks start being poured and conversation starts happening. God knows he hates talking about his insecurities.

Then the Pipes is Friggin’ Dead alarm goes off. But Pipes has been dead for a while now, so that must mean something else awful is happening.

Back during the trial, I guess because Optimus has a soft spot for Megatron, he allows him to join the Lost Light’s Knight Quest… even as he says that he could keep the guy locked up until Rodimus and pals find the Knights. However, there are rules to this, and one of the rules is that Megatron must publicly denounce the Decepticon cause.

It is a slow and painful experience for everyone involved, as he reads the statement he was given. It’s an immediate call to action- or rather, inaction.

Geez, think they could’ve made it any more obvious that this was being ghostwritten? I can’t wait to see how long it takes for “Megatron was blackmailed into saying this by the Autobots” to be a plotpoint.

Outside the prison, Ratchet and Rodimus are taking in the brand new Rod Pod, which is genuinely ridiculous in how large it is. Rodimus admits to having taken Atomizer’s list, though he knows that trying to use it to keep those who voted him off would be a pretty shitty thing to do.

Also, no one’s told him about Megatron coming along on the trip. As captain.

Or you could, I dunno, lock him up from the start. Or, if you want to give him a chance to prove himself, slap him into a bottom-rung role, like bilge cleaner, or sewage mucker, or whatever the equivalent would be on a spaceship full of giant gay robots. We don’t have to give the guy any power to hold him to scrutiny— any minimum wage worker will tell you that scrutiny comes far harsher for those who actually carry out orders than those who give them.

But what do I know? I’ve never fought in a several million year war, and I don’t plan to.

Getting back to the list, it seems as if Ratchet and Rodimus are on the same wavelength, in that both agree it’s only going to cause trouble and hurt feelings to keep the thing around. Rodimus destroys it with his usual flare, only to be blindsided by the fact that it was fake this entire time. How does Ratchet know this?

Because his name wasn’t on it.

...Man, that’s gotta sting. No wonder Rodimus was upset enough to not take his calls.

In the present, everyone’s in a panic, as they all bolt for the shuttle bay and start pouring into shuttles. The Lost Light is disintegrating around them, which is sort of a problem. Despite this nightmare scenario happening, Rodimus and Megatron still find the time to be assholes to each other. That’s dedication right there.

As the two bicker, multiple shuttles zip away from the rapidly disappearing ship, including the Rod Pod.

Man, now it really is the Lost Light.