#aka deserves a hug squad

[sofasoap]

Love at first sight - Epilogue

Pairing: Rodolfo “Rudy” Parra x F!reader ( aka Mini MacTavish)

Summary: Two love birds finally got together. To the relief of everyone.

Part I, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,Part 5,Part 6

Warning: E Rating. Smutty smut. inaccuracies to medical and military related. discussion of injury.

A/N: @siilvan , thank you for being a wonderful Beta-reader *hug* @jynxmirage for giving me daily encouragements of sending me picture of delicious Bayardo De Murguia to keep me going :) Thanks to @okayyadriana  and @saltofmercury helping me with Spanish words :) if there are any mistakes. Please blame me not them.

“masterlist” 

You stayed on with the Los Vaqueros In Las Almas after Rudy was cleared to be discharged from the hospital. 

Approaching Price a few days after in private, you were nervous as you put in a request to stay on for a bit longer while the rest of the team moved on to another mission back in Europe soon.

“I know this is a very selfish request, Captain..” You look down at your boot, feeling guilty abandoning your team while they need you. But you can’t walk away from him this time. Rudy still needs you to look after him, or so you try to justify it. More like you need him to heal your guilty conscience. 

Price observed you in silence for a few minutes, brows furrowed. At last he jerks his head towards the outside, indicating to you to follow him. 

The sun is slowly setting, a few soldiers returning from their patrols and training. Everything seems so tranquil and peaceful compared to the near death mission the squad was sent to a few weeks ago.

Taking out a cigar he stashed away in his vest pocket, he lit it up, and took a slow drag before turning to you.

“You've been burying yourself in work non-stop for the last few months Mini. Is this why?” He didn’t point out what exactly he was asking about.

But, you know what he is implying. 

Kicking a bit of dirt on the ground and swiping the little gravel away for no reason, you let out a little grunt, acknowledging his question. 

“Stay as long as you want. You have trained your team well, Dr. MacTavish.” He chuckled as you pouted like a child, he knows you don’t like to address you with the title. “I’m sure they can handle the boys without you.” He pats you on the shoulder. “Take a good break, but I don’t know how much rest you are going to have fussing over him.” 

“I’ll try to behave…” You replied sincerely, finally feeling a bit of weight lift off your shoulders. “Thank you, Captain. It means a lot to me.”

Patting you on the shoulder with a fatherly smile, “Go chase your happiness, Mini. You deserve it.” 

Leaning back against the wall, you close your eyes and listen to the faint sound of music and singing that could be heard from the mess hall from a distance away, as the Task force and Los Vaqueros soldiers celebrate another successful mission under their belt after months of hard work. 

A shadow appears in front of you. Looking up, you saw Rudy standing in front of you, eyebrows raised, silently asking for permission. 

Patting the ground beside you and inviting him to sit down, you share the brief silence. 

This is probably the only time the two of you have spent time alone in the last few months, without anyone else hovering about. 

To Rudy’s dismay, Alejandro forced his second in command to take an extensive break after his return from hospital.

“Rest. You nearly died in my arms, hermano. I am sure your mother will be happy to have you at home for more than one day in a few weeks.” He commented. Alejandro turned towards you and patted you on the shoulder, “I’ll get Dr. MacTavish here to check up on you, so don’t you worry about your injury.” 

Mama Parra was ecstatic to see you return along with her son. You were quite touched by how the whole family welcomed your return. Camila gave you a knowing look after giving you a hug.

“Thank you for saving my brother. And, please, look after him from now on.” 

The tender look he gives you everytime you go over to change his bandages, and the desire he couldn’t keep hidden sipping through when you glide your hands, deliberately across his well defined ab. You linger your hand around his pelvis area, boldly caressing the slight bit of hair showing above his pants. Oh how his eyes darken as you flash him a sly smile, teasing him. 

If only he wasn’t still recovering from his near fatal wound. If only there weren’t people always out and about in the house.

Both of you would have given in to the desire, right there and then. 

But his mother would always poke her head into the room every time, fussing about and pulling you out to feed you with delicious meals, trying to show you the family photos, and with your rudimentary understanding of Spanish language, along with Rudy and Camila’s translation, Mama Parra loved telling you all the family history and childhood stories of Rudy and his siblings, and all the havoc him and Alejandro caused when they were young. 

You often catch Alejandro looking at the two of you, rolling his eyes while shaking his head, exasperated that the two of you are behaving like love sick puppies yet again. 

“Are you two going to make a move on each other or not?” Alejandro asked you once, when you were dropping off the health assessment reports in his office. “You know there is a betting pool happening amongst the team to see when…”

You ran out of the office in a flash, not even waiting for his sentence to finish, utterly mortified. 

Rudy breaks the silence first as he softly calls out your name. Turning slightly to face him.

“Cariño. Mi vida.” The tips of your ears burn as he addresses you in such an intimate manner. How would it feel if he called out like that when he was buried inside you…? “What are you thinking?” He whispered, his beautiful brown orbs filled with sadness. “Are you… are you thinking of leaving again?” Your heart clenched with pain as he looked at you with the same nervousness and distress you saw the night at the hospital.  You realise the two of you haven’t sat down and discussed the future, where to move on from here. No wonder the poor man is feeling so insecure. 

“Oh love.. no.. no don’t think that.” Gently cupping his face, you pull him down towards you to lean against his forehead. “I am not leaving you. Ever again. No matter what happens. I am sorry I haven’t been clearer.” You apologised as you leaned close to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “...well, barring from getting sent out for missions…” You added hastily. 

You feel tension dissipate from him as you give him your words of reassurance. Taking one of his hands, you put it over your heart.

“This will be yours from now on. And this,” You put your hand over his rapid beating heart, “I hope I have the honour for this to be mine.” You drop down to a whisper, suddenly timid. 

“From the moment I laid my eyes on you, I had already devoted my heart to you. I never expected you to return my feelings. I was happy to watch you from afar, assist you whenever I could; seeing that bright smile appear on your face is all that matters to me. I never expected anything in return.”

You were taken aback by his comment. You knew he had feelings for you quite early on, but from the moment you arrived at Las Almas? You didn’t quite expect that. Silently pining for you, doing what he does the best, assisting you in the background. You realise everytime the medical team has requested something, it would be done right away in the next few days. You got a complaint? Rudy would sort it out straight away. 

“All done, as per your request.” You remember his soft smile and his shyness everytime he reported back to you. 

It was all for you. 

“Rudy… oh, Rudy…” You lamented. The guilt is hitting you again.You couldn’t stop the tears streaming down your face now. “I am so sorry… so sorry…”

“Cariño, it’s not your fault. You did what you thought was right at the time, and I don’t blame you for that.” He pulls you into his embrace, kissing you lightly on your head. “I admit, I was quite heartbroken, but I do understand. Duty over heart. And the distance would have made it hard.” Closing his eyes, he chuckled slightly. “I buried myself in work, trying to put it all behind me. That accidental phone call? It reignited my hope. Brought back the ache again.” 

Resting your head in the crook of his neck, you enjoy the closeness, his scent, as he lightly rocks you back and forth to the music in the distance, slowly processing his words. 

“I love you, mi vida. I love you so much.” He whispered into your ears. “You are so beautiful. So strong, so fierce, so loyal…” He pulled himself away slightly to face you as he took in a deep breath.

“Would it be too much to ask, for you to be mine?” He pleaded, desperately searching for an answer in your eyes. 

You wrap your arms around his neck with a soft smile, “You already have my heart,” You whispered as you tipped your head up to give him a gentle kiss on his lips. “And you have my permission to take my body as yours, too.” 

With that reply, he leaned down towards you for another kiss, pouring all his emotion and heart into it. You can feel both of your bodies heating up as you nudge his lips open with your tongue, teasing him.

Abruptly, he pulls you away, panting, and jerks his head towards the main building. “My room. Not here.” That was all he could get out with his mind semi-frazzled from the kiss. You nodded your head frantically as both of you made your way towards the said destination.

As the two of you passed through the mess hall towards the officer’s quarters, you thought you saw Alejandro’s quick wave and smirk. Must be your imagination?

You couldn’t help but circle your arm around his waist as he shakily tried to open the door to his resting quarters. Hands meander around his body, teasing him a little, feeling his broad muscles, his back, and coming to a stop as you palm his semi hard package underneath his trousers. As soon as the door opens, he turns around and pulls you in, and kicks the door closed. You pull him down by his collar for another kiss, desperate to show him how much you want him, to soothe his worries and doubt. 

You push him to sit down on the bed, both of you still catching your breath from the heated kiss and dash.

“Please, mi amor… please, show me how you like it. Where you want me to touch…” He looks up at you, hands roaming up and down your body, voice dropping into a husky and lustful whisper.

You lower yourself to straddle him, feeling his hardness through the fabric. Rolling your hips slightly, you hear his breath catching slightly, holding back a groan. 

You move one of his hands to grab your ass, and the other to slide under your top, towards your breast. “Anywhere you like, love,” You swallow thickly, body filled with want. You want him. Anywhere. Everywhere. “Just show me what your deft fingers can do.” You purred as you looked at him through half hooded eyes. . 

You always wondered what it would feel like to have his hands on you after seeing him playing the guitar that night. The beautiful nimble fingers gliding up and down the fretboard, plucking away on the strings.

Standing up again to let him have better access to your lower region, he fumbles slightly as he unbuttons your pants and glides in between your pants and underwear. You let out an unrestrained moan as you feel his finger skate over your clit, before it reaches your already soaking opening.

“That’s it, my love..more… I want to feel more of you there…” You gasped and demanded as you rolled your hips with his moment. Another finger followed without hesitation, and another, until you feel stretched full of him pumping slowly in and out of you. 

His thumb languidly circles your clit as you dig your nails into his shoulder, back arched and screaming his name, not caring if the whole barracks hears you enjoying the first orgasm your lover has given you.

You look down at him with your watery orbs, breathing still short and fast as you come down from the blissful high he has just given you. He pulled his fingers out of you and slipped them in his mouth.

“I want to taste more of you.” He hummed as he slowly licked his fingers, cleaning up the cum juice you drenched him with. “My mouth against your beautiful soaking wet cunt, making you happy…”

Oh, you have definitely flipped a switch on. Gone is the shy Rudy, now Rodolfo Parra, the same confidence and passion shining through his eyes that you saw from him that night playing his guitar, is requesting to please you once again. Or, is that a thinly veiled demand?

Either way, you welcome the change.

Leaning down to pull him into an open mouthed kiss, you speak against his lips.

“You will have a lot more chances for that later on, my love.” You smirked as you pushed his shoulder, making him fall back onto the bed. You kneel on the bed, legs on each side of his body. “Now, it’s my turn to give you some pleasure, as you have just given me.” You position yourself comfortably sitting on his thighs, before you start to unbutton his shirt. 

Peppering kisses on his chest, your eyes soften as your hand carrases over the healed scar from months ago. That pain in your heart is still as fresh as the day you barely pulled him back from death’s door step.

“Still hurting?” You murmured as you traced your fingers over the most critical spot. “Occasional phantom pain, but I am alright now. Thanks to you.” He reassures you as he runs his hand up and down your arm.

Continuing down his body, your hands shake with excitement like a child opening a present on Christmas day, eager to see what is hiding underneath. 

Your smile broadens as you pull his pants down, his impressive girth finally appearing. You heard him groaning as you gently grabbed his length, pumping it a few times before taking it with your mouth.

Rudy gasps and moans as you work away, teasing him with your tongue, sucking the tip and kneading his balls lightly. He grasps the bed sheet hard as he blabbers away in Spanish, too fast for you to follow. He took you by surprise as he let out an almost half whimper-half sob before you felt the hot cum coating the inside your mouth. You lapped it all up and swallowed keenly as he rode out the rest of his orgasm.

“I… I am sorry, mi amor. I couldn’t hold it in any longer...” He apologised profusely, clearly embarrassed. You climb back up towards him. “I am glad I have that effect on you, Cariño.” You hushed him as you showered him with kisses on his face and patted his chest. 

His eyes glitter as you use the endearment in his mother tongue. “I should feel honoured that I can make you come so quickly. Now,” You stripped the rest of your clothing off. “Show me what you can do with that impressive thing inside me.”

Rudy claimed shyly he isn’t as experienced as you, but oh boy. His attentiveness, his eagerness, how much he wanted to give you a good time, all made up for it. 

His hands couldn’t stop touching you, caressing you as he slowly thrusted in and out of your aching core, stretching it open, making you quiver and moan out no matter what angle and position he went for. As if the two of you were made for each other, meant to be. Your soulmate. 

The two of you finally drifted to sleep, round after round of pleasure and orgasms, with his arm around you, holding you close to his chest. Afraid to let go, afraid for you to disappear again.  

The whole mess hall erupted into cheers and whistles as both you and Rudy walked in, taking both of you by surprise. 

You hid your face in Rudy’s shoulder, abashed by the sudden attention both of you were getting. 

Rudy, calm as always, ignored all the teases as he gently took your hand, which incited another round of cheers as he led you to the back table where Alejandro and your team was sitting at the moment for breakfast. He sat you down first before murmuring into your ear and pressing a soft kiss to your cheek, heading towards the serving area to grab food for both of you.

“I hope you two had a good time last night.” Alejandro smiled as he pushed the jar of sugar towards you. 

“HOW–” You nearly spilled out the coffee that you were pouring into the mug. 

“Why did you think the officer’s quarters were so quiet last night?” Alejandro smirked with a knowing look. 

Blistering hell, he knew. He ordered people to stay away from the sleeping quarters. You wondered why the usually busy hallway was void of people as the two of you dashed towards his bedroom. 

Another soldier sitting across from you laughed. " Ah, don't be so shy. We were all rooting for you and our Sergeant Major. And, you know what they say?? Tell her, mi hermanos, mi hermanas!!"

“Save a horse, ride a Vaquero!” The whole mess hall shouted in unison. 

You just want to dig a hole in the ground and hide.

“...Captain.” You mumbled at Price. “Have you got Nikolai’s contact? Please ask him to take me away from this horrible embarrassment.” You buried your face in your hands. Now how are you going to face all of them?

“Might be a good idea, so we don’t have to hear your screams every night.” Soap mumbled as he took a sip of his coffee. 

OH great, now your brother is talking about your sex life. Something just snapped inside you. Stuff this. If they are so interested in your life, you might as well…. 

Slamming your mug onto the table, you stood up on the bench, whistling to catch everyone’s attention. 

“Since all of you are so interested in our love life, yes, the Sergeant Major and I finally shagged last night.” You heard your brother spitting out his coffee while Ghost thumped his back, Gaz laughing his head off. “And, ladies, his fingers are just as good, if not better than all of you imagined.” Gasps and giggles could be heard amongst the crowd. Out of the corner of your eyes, Rudy froze mid-motion while picking up some toast from the toaster, soldiers around him slapping his back and elbowing him, teasing him. 

“Mini…” You heard Price trying to interject, but you held out your hand towards your captain, stopping him. 

“Last, but not least, I love him, and he is off the market people! Take this as a warning, no one touches MY MAN!” 

Jumping down from your bench, you walk down the aisle between the refectory tables, as if doing a victory walk between the cheering and clapping soldiers, towards Rudy, who’s now blushing from head to toe, hearing your public declaration. 

“There. I think that will stop anyone from gossiping about us.” You stop in front of your lover, as he leans into the crook of your neck, feeling the heat radiating off his skin.

“Ah, querida… What am I going to do with you.” He asked, followed by a sigh.  

“Well, one thing for sure, you aren’t going to get rid of me, because I am going to stick around for quite a long time.” You replied as you wrapped your arm around his torso.

“Good.” He put his plates down to the side and proceeded to lift you up high. “Because you are mine forever, mi hermosa.” 

“... how much did you bet on them?” 

“A hundred pounds, But that’s because I had insider information.” 

“Mierda.” 

Tag list:

@jynxmirage, @kaplerrr, @captainpriceslover,@homicidal-slvt,@floral-force,@a-small-writer-in-a-big-world,@iwannabeinthesequalmrghostface,@okayyadriana,@random-thot-generator,@siilvan,@crazymela,@preciouslittlecreature,@glitterypirateduck,@cumikering,@devcica,@nrdmssgs,@random0lover

@nightingal3-tales, @deakyspuff, @abbeyrjm-blog, @alypink,@liyanahelena, @loppyc

@deadbranch

[crazyf0rswayze]

Do you have any headcanons about darry? I would love to hear them!

BOOK/MOVIE HIM

-hes such a sweet guy and will always take care of you

-i feel like he's not very PDA, but when it's just you two, he'll hold your hand, wrap his arms around you, kiss you

-this is a little spicy...but I feel like he's a tatas guy

-soft>rough

-CANDLES WHEN IT GETS SPICY

-ROSE PETALS

-SOFT MUSIC AND SLOW DANCING

-ahem....enough of that.

-if some soc were to bother you BOOM bloody faces and broken noses for them

-when he gets hurt in a rumble, you're quick to clean him up and make sure he's gonna be ok

-but when he gets hurt he feels bad that you feel the need to take care of him

-when he gets hurt at work you MAKE HIM lay down and let you rub his back and shoulders

-yk his famous black tee with short cuffed sleeves.....you're to ONLY PERSON EVER who is allowed to lay a finger on them

-not even when his brothers fold laundry, are they allowed to touch his black tees

-clothes stealing >

-i feel like if you wore something of his around the gang everyone would call you mini Darry (especially if its the black tee aka his signature clothing item)

-he would let you sit on his lap in the recliner that almost nobody else dared to sit in

-you'd have lots of...idk..."privileges" bc Darry's only lenient with you

-ik he's not a hoodie guy, but he lets you wear the few hoodies he owns, and his leather jackets

-after his parents died, you probably helped a lot with him and his brothers

-he always feels bad when you help bc he thinks he doesn't deserve all this, or you

-you always reassure him that you like helping him and his brothers, and you love him so much

-when he's in a bad mood you REALLY have to convince him of the things above

-he always feels bad if you see him crying or upset bc he wants you to think he's tough

-'you cry because you've been strong for so long, not because you're weak' you say to him

-long tight hugs when he's sad

-you calm him down easy sometimes, and other times it hard, and could result in an argument

-if y'all got in an argument, he would apologize SO MUCH and he would get sad again

-'honey it's ok, no relationship is perfect....it's just a bump in the road ok? It all ok' you have to tell him after an argument

-it takes convincing for him to actually feel alright about the argument

-if y'all fight fight, he will sleep in the couch, and if your up to it, you convince him to come back, and sleep in your shared bed

-anyway, let's steer away from the fighting Hcs

HC FOR HIGHSCHOOL DARRY

-he would let you wear his football jacket

-if his friends would go too far when teasing (which he also rarely let them tease) he would probably fight them ngl

-if you guys didn't have classes together, he would talk to you in the halls, at lockers ect...he would also give hugs and kisses

-if you guys did have classes together- talking on the way to class, and kisses before walking into class

-if someone was bullying you BOOM bloody faces and broken noses for them

-hes not afraid to get detention for you, or suspended

-i feel like he got suspended at least once for you

-'darry...you fought over a girl' 'no...I fought FOR her mom' 'but you cant just get into a fight for her' 'but dad! Someone was being mean to her and...he took it too far. And I love her 🥺'

-wether ur on the cheer squad or not, he thinks you his biggest cheerleader

-if you were on the track team, youre probably some reason or inspo to Ponyboy being in the track team

-little dates at the diner <3

-he was definitely scared that you were just another broad that would use him for popularity and then dump him

-but you weren't!

-you probably lasted all through highschool and longer!

-you were there for him and his brothers when his parents died

-if you ever got detention or got suspended, he would be like

-'what a douche. You shouldn't have gotten in trouble' about the principal

-cuddles and movie nights

-movies at the Nightly Double, but usually at his or your house

-bc...he's not very PDA, and he likes to cuddle, so movies at home are better for him!

-if it was at his house, you would hang out/play with his brothers

-darry would apologize for them, and be a little embarrassed

-'no no it's ok! Your brothers are so sweet!' you would reassure him

-'darry....is she you girlfriend?' Ponyboy would ask innocently

-youd blush

-'yes Ponyboy, now just watch the frickin' movie'

-you would put you head in the crook of his neck in embarrassment

-when you come over Ponyboy would like...hug you

-'y/n! Y/n look at what I drew!'

-would probably be a very detailed picture of a horse

-'wow Ponyboy that's really good'

-ahem...let's steer away from the little imagine stuff and back to the hcs

-(sorry for writing in Ponyboy like a kid, but I'm convinced he's a neurodivergent/autistic)

-if it was your house this would probably be how it goes:

-if he hadn't met your parents they would be happy, but your dad would give him the 'dont break her heart or ill break you neck' lecture

-if you have older brothers, they would be very protective

-if you have any younger siblings, he would play around with them

-if you had older sisters he would get a little scared bc I feel like he's bad at being around most girls/interacting with them...I really don't know 😭

-'y/n...is Darry your boyfriend' a younger sibling would ask

-'y-yes. Now watch the movie (siblings name)'

-darry would blush a little and look down

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my first time writing hcs so...um...ya!

[lumau]

I wanted to finish another drawing during @polyshipweek (inspired by various prompts, including Cinnamon Roll Protection Squad from Nozle's ship dynamics meme), but it didn't get past the sketch stage. I'll still share it, together with some hcs (slightly nsfw and kinky ones included) for an AU in which these five got entangled with each other in more ways than just crime solving.

Tang Fan:

Firmly believes that he is the littlest cinnamon roll of all cinnamon rolls and behaves accordingly. Would do anything for his friends. Now that he has more than one brat tamer at his disposal, it does not make him any less needy. The only one he is secretly afraid of is Ding Rong, knowledge that Wang Zhi is frequently using against him. With his dramatic antics he suffers the most prettily, so he is the most common to get wrecked (and makes it everyone's problem). Doesn't accept anything less than three bowls of noodles as aftercare.

Wang Zhi:

The actual cinnamon roll, but in denial (no one should dare to imply that towards him). It is not always easy to encompass the conflicting facts that he is both the youngest of the group and the 2nd most powerful man in the dynasty. Is making strides towards learning what he wants and deserves, but easily bristles when his inexperience becomes apparent. Has developed a habit of showing up at anyone's door at any time out of the blue and has no qualms to take up the most space in bed, even though he is by far the smallest. He has become the biggest flirt and the most touchy-feely once he learned how nice it is to have such a big, loving family.

Ding Rong:

Nobody really knows what he does most of the time. He is married to his job, aka Wang Zhi, a room full of meticulously sorted jars and 2 1/2 skeletons. Anyone who wants to get it on with Wang Zhi needs to get past Ding Rong's intense glare first. When they all get together, he is both the one who makes sure that everyone has all the oils, towels and implements they need, as well as the service top who is the last man standing at the end of a long night. He is also the kinkiest of the lot, his intricate knowledge of the human body combined with his sadistic tendencies make him light up as soon as any kind of edge play is mentioned. Might start to silently cry when held tightly for longer than 30 seconds.

Jia Kui:

After his retirement plan got forcefully cancelled, Jia Kui still doesn't quite know why he's here (tbh, same), but somehow, to his even greater bewilderment, everyone seems to love him (also same), even though he rarely talks and is mostly just there. He finds it kinda nice, though. Jia Kui gives the best of hugs and likes to join Sui Zhou in the kitchen, where they bond over cooking and military trauma.

Sui Zhou:

Similar to Jia Kui he isn't quite sure how he got roped into this new, big family life, but their community helps him to cope with his ptsd. It's hard to take his nightmares too seriously when burried amongst a heap of blissfully snooring men. He is appreciated by everyone for his cooking skills and his generosity, loyalty and his unobtrusive, pleasant company (as well as his great physique). He has learned that he does not mind sharing Tang Fan, in fact, it gives him fuzzy warm feels to know he is enjoying himself.

One would think that with five handsome guys there is a lot of action in the various bedrooms - however, given the stressful lives they lead, usually everyone just passes out as soon as they find a moment to lie down. With their youthful energy Tang Fan and Wang Zhi are the two most likely to initiate anything. The times when Sui Zhou and Jia Kui happen to get it on together are special highlights and have the others watching in awe (because clearly, they are a sight to behold!). In his efficiency Wang Zhi has tried to schedule regular sexy times, but after the third attempt failed due to some emergency or imperial affair getting in the way, he has now resolved to simply send out carriages to pull everyone away from whatever they are doing whenever he's in the mood. He has also now reserved a much bigger private suite at Huanyi Lou for such occasions.

[mazojo]

Top 5 favorite things about Noah Marshall? (One of my anons inspired me with this prompt adfschdvh)

Kato i want you to know and keep in mind I am still screaming as I am typing this right now and I love that for me LMAOO

beware as the fangirl in me jumps out of this asks ;w; I just..... stan Noah..... so much okayyy??

1- His sense of family (is that even a correct written sentence lmao??)

B O I

Noah Marshall adores his family, he would do anything for Jane (even if sometimes that something may lead to some questionable actions //crying intensifies) and like it or not, that’s something that really gets to me. I myself (and let me get all sappy here) would do anything for my brothers to protect them and I get in a way what he did. The guilt he felt and how everyone started abandoning him?? hanging on to the hope that his sister could come back and things could go back to how they used to be? that sense of protection over his only family member that supported him (because we all been knowing his dad abandoned them like a coward and his mom isn't much better with him) is something I love so so much ;w;

2- Loyalty

hear me out here okay

But Maria! He almost killed all of his friend in the hopes of something insane and therefore MC (or him) ended up as a monster? do you call that loyalty?

HeAR Me OuT OkAY?? (lmao I must sound crazy rn)

Everything he did he didn't do with an ill purpose. Was it wrong? yeah perhaps, but did he do it in the sense that he though he was doing the right thing? absolutely. I mean loyalty in the sense that he never leaves MC (well, or at least in my play through when she is the new Redfield), helps her out figuring out her new live and accompanied her. He doesn't give up and he probably will never do so until she becomes human again and to me, thats very poetic cinema ;w;

3- His dreams

GoDDD I don't know if I've talked about this before but someone who has a passion and wants to do something, very big sexy to me.

Even though he is kind of pessimistic about it (and I mean, who could blame him?? Literally everything in his life has gone wrong up to this point //rip) you can tell he loves lovesss cooking. If people didn't buy his diamond scene back at the party maybe it wont make much sense and you don't get to see this side of him much but, he just wants to go to culinary school??

HE IS GOING TO CULINARY SCHOOL AND HE SHOULD SCREAM IT MY RAT BOI

4- His humor

I Am into emo boys oKaY?? Like, his whole “lets become an anarchy society” and off comments like that are so refreshing and I love me one good trope of sunny MC who is loud and would fite for her friends x the emo boy who secretly has a soft heart and just covers his crippling anxiety through his snarky humor. I may have some issues dont mind me

5- He is soft

Going back to my last point, let me just take a sec to scream how noAH IS THE SOFTEST BOII. He just wants his friend group to be together like old times, find some sense of stability among his life (which..... is pretty sucky) and (in my personal hc mind you) he has such a soft spot for mc. They reconnect and he is the one who helps her out the most through everything, she literally tells him when she is going to find Redfield and home boy is probably a wreck after thinking he lost her soulmate only friend.

He worries and even though he didn't make the best decisions at the end of things, he still did it because he has a good heart underneath all that edge and thats.... so..... asdfghjk of his part.

Anyways in conclusion, sometimes you gotta admit when you are trash, and I will proudly scream into the world that I am Noah Marshall trash *drops mic*

[someone1348]

I loved your Rottmnt tickle headcanons for the brother squad! May I be bold and ask if you've got any for Draxum?

PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT TO HEAR MORE AHH! Anon this made my day! Absolutely I can give you Draxum!! And I'm so glad you liked my brother squad headcannons! /p /pos /gen

Spoilers ahead!!! So be warned!

-Getting straight to the point this man is a raging Lee!

-He's a Grumpy, Stoic, Lee!

-Mr "I hate humans" yeah right okay you must "hate tickling" too huh? Lee! /lh /nsrs

-Honestly he didn't know what tickling was at first but eventually he learned from his goyles and well that was it he liked it ever since

-He wouldn't tell a soul of course! but it's clear to see

-When he had his powers and was creating the ("immatation crab men") *cough* *cough* mutants sorry! /j /lh /pos He thought he was untouchable but the turtles showed him pretty quickly that he was as fragile as the flowers he could grow

-The only ones who really knew and would tickle him every now and again were Huginn and Muninn and even then it was rare for Draxum to get physical touch

-Now once he lost his power and most of his physical form and Mikey took him in he got a lott more tickles then

-Dr Positive really comes through in this situation (aka Mikey)

-Mikey, slowly but surely, got him back to being okay with physical touch again and once he accidentally revealed that he was ticklish he was doomed

-Mikey tickles him the most but most of the boys and Splinter use that as their way of getting back at him

-When tickling him Leo loves to give the excuse of "you threw me off a roof, you deserve this" it works every time he "complains" about it

-He's mostly ticklish on his stomach, that's why his old armor covered that area the most (also to not get hurt of course but still)

-Mikey is the most gentle, Splinter is not allowed near him, Leo is playful, Raph is in the middle it depends on the day, Donnie doesn't want to get involved but if he does he'll use his tech and April is also playful

-Honestly once they take him down a few pegs he's sweet

-Surprisingly full of giggles when tickled, of course his stomach is full on laughter but everywhere else it's giggle city

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

-Honestly he just needs this pick me up, it helps everything and everyone

-someone give him a hug!

-if he does ler though it's usually Mikey and he absolutely will use his vines to either hold people down or tickle them or both!

-He's very powerful no matter what so don't get on his bad side lol

Honestly these are kinda bad and short but I'm drawing blanks lol! I hope you enjoy them regardless! /p /gen /pos

-K :]

[endious]

BIG BRAIN MOMENT:

Brian crushing on Tim's girlfriend.

You're just so beautiful, the way you laugh, the shape of your pretty plump lips, those doe eyes you give him, that sweet voice that enters his ears and fills up his mind.

And that's dorky look you got going on, how you help him with his homework and try to explain academic facts to him, trying to ignore the way he eyes you hungrily, holding himself back from pouncing.

But unfortunately, you don't feel the same.

He's "just a friend" to you, and nothing more.

Brian just doesn't understand, he's the perfect boyfriend for you, he's sweet, charming, Funny, and hot as fuck. Girls would kill you to get your position.

Maybe it's the fact that you don't want him is what gets him going, maybe you're playing hard to get, being a little tease.

But no, he knows it's not like that.

He knows it's all because of HIM, Timothy Wright, aka the weirdo he spends time with.

Their personalities and status were different on every level, Tim was the brooding loner and Brian was the magnetic eye-candy, along with the other two friends in their little squad.

People flocked to Brian, but avoided Tim, they though Tim was hot but also strange.

But you still chose Tim, you still kissed him sweetly on the cheek, you still hugged him and let him twirl you around, you still hand him his pills and deal with him in one of his episodes, you still looked at him lovingly even when he was being a total idiot.

Brian even bets you're fucking that bastard with the same cute little body that should be jumping up and down HIS dick.

It made his blood boil.

And Tim knew it, that bastard KNEW it.

The way he purposely kissed your neck in front of Brian, when he put his hands just a little bit above your ass and smirked at Brian, or how he would wrap his arms around you to make you giggles, giggles that stabbed Brian's heart.

But one day, one day Brian was going to get him back.

One day you would be screaming his name, and Tim would be the one watching dumbley.

And perhaps, that day wasn't too far away.

OMGFGOSNFOAO the way i grinned evilly at the sight of “big brain moment” YOU GOT ME GRIPPING MY SHEETS RN HOLY SHIT

brian likes the game of chase, he enjoys knowing he has to earn you unlike the other ladies who would kill to be where you are. he likes that in order to get you he has to work for it for once. but what he doesnt like is that tim is in the picture and it takes all his self restraint to not maul that freak to pieces and steal you away like he wants. brian deserves you, tim doesn’t. he never came close to brian on any level so why timothy wright? he’ll never know why you choose tim no matter what and maybe it just takes a little convincing, a few small lies about the man to get you to fall into a false since of protection in brian’s arms. he wont stop until he has tim tied to a chair and watching you go dumb on brian’s cock instead for once. it’s a dream he is going to make a reality soon enough. no girl he’s ever had a one night stand with has ever come close to what he can only imagine you’d feel like. it’s only a matter of time before brian gets what he wants, before he gets what he has earned all this time.

[cottoncandyjester]

Can we learn more about dorian's squad? Pretty please?

I felt all giddy when I saw the words pretty please so okay✨

Warning this contains:. Mention of murder, suicide, yanderes,

Dorian,[age redacted]

The leader of the squad

Has over ten years of acrobatic training, gymnastics, and self defense

He is the strongest out of his group and one of the strongest in the agency

It’s unclear what he’s ever thinking

He is very unhinged and unstable

One minute he could love you and smother you with kisses but the next he’s bored and demands you do something fun(aka something dangerous) to entertain him

If you do he’ll happily do it for you

He once played operation with his ex. He made them swallow a bag full of various coins before strapping them down and slicing them open seeing how many he can find

He loves his squad but they all suffered at least a few of his stabbings

In order to keep from getting bored and starting pure chaos he pours most of his attention on cases

He loves penguins like he has a penguin plush at home, his phone case is penguin themed and he has a penguin keychain

His favorite food is gyros and his favorite dessert is anything with dark chocolate

He LOVES chasing criminals cause he finds it to be fun

He loves it so much that he’ll give them a ten second head start

The harder the chase the more excited he gets which in turns makes him more unstable

He isn’t good at docile domestic life

The last time he was left alone with a baby he got bored with it and held it by its leg off a building just mesmerized by its blood curdling screams

He always completes a mission whether that means killing his victims or capturing them

His methods are very twisted anyone who gets in his way will pay it doesn’t matter who they are

Sometimes when he gets too excited he has to be strapped down with a muzzle Until he relaxes

He once got 15 people to kill themselves through emotional and psychological manipulation in under an hour, he found it to be the most fun he’s had in a while

Sex drive is through the roof

Sex helps clear his mind plus it’s fun

That being said he has a tendency to physically break his partners in bed

Last partner broke their pelvic bone, three ribs and their jaw

After that he relied on toys to get him off since he would get frustrated with how his partners would sob about how much it hurts

He’s allergic to cats that being said he will hug and kiss a cat while sneezing and feeling his throat close up

Hecate,27

6ft sexy lady✨

Is always ready to snap someone’s neck

Has many nicknames from the spider queen to mistress of death

Has 3 years of marine training

She is tired of her Boss and his bullshit but she is loyal to him no matter what

That being said she is constantly hitting him on the head due to his perverted comments

Under her tough chick behavior she loves cuddling and gets pretty flustered when it comes to affection

She secretly is a hopeless romantic

Definitely has a smoking problem

Loves to use brass knuckles

Her and ube and work out buddies

She keeps him from getting corrupted by Dorian

She is so adorable when drunk just really teary eyed and clingy

Which is why Dorian makes it his mission to get her drunk but it takes a lot of drinks

She sees the group as her closest friends and family since her own family shunned her

She feels like she doesn’t deserve such a caring(and very strange) group but she thankful

She takes care of the group by making sure they don’t get themselves killed since dorian at times likes to lead them to their death for fun

She actually loves to cook and will often cook meal for the group when they don’t have a mission

Cause of this the gang constantly shows up at her house unannounced which she HATES

That being said she’ll never kick them out

She has a cat that she has a love hate relationship with

Her cat is skinless and his name is ballsack…cause he looks like a ballsack.

Ube,20

Head empty

Knows nothing…seriously

If you were to ask him how babies are made he would tell you that they fell out of the sky

Horny virgin..like very very horny

He doesn’t understand why he has such an urge to touch himself

All he knows is that sticky white stuff comes out and he feels better

He’s like the group mascot

He’s pretty and adorable and strong..that’s it

Has humped holes into his pillows

Dorian jokes about getting him fixed

But yeah he humps a lot..he really can’t help it

Is so oblivious to people flirting with him or dirty jokes

Is too gullible and too willing to do whatever people tell him

He loves cuddles to the point where if he wants a hug he’s scooping that person in his arms and giving them a bear hug

He’s a tall boi he’s 6’3

He is eager to learn whatever Dorian teaches him which is usually something not good

He is a bit of a nester

If he has a crush on someone he’s stealing their stuff and making a nest to sleep in

His version of crushing is sending them love letters..by taping it to a brick and throwing it at their window

And they say romance is dead✨

He once filled up a car with cooking oil cause he thought it was the same thing..

Despite being a total himbo when angry he blacks out and goes in a killing spree nothing can calm him

When he’s like that the best thing to do is to knock him out which dorian finds fun to do so he encourages ube to snap even going as far as causing his rage

Has and will absolutely bite someone to show his love

Loves to play fight as well as normal fight

Only issue is he can’t tell the difference

This has led to some intense wrestling with some people

Crow,24

Crow killed 150 people by trapping them in a building, filling said building with a sleeping gas then exploding the building with several different bombs

It’s unclear why he did it and he doesn’t know why he did it either but he was arrested and sentenced to over 100 years in prison

Dorian made a deal to have him work his sentence off

If crow goes against the agency then Dorian is to be publicly executed and he will go to prison

Crow isn’t sure how he fits into the group but he helps however he can

He is quiet and reserved which is something people still don’t understand since he killed so many people

He is an extreme germaphobe to the point where he has passed out when someone touched him out of shock and panic

He wears gloves constantly, carries disinfectant, and tries to stay as far away from anything he deems dirty

Dorian bullies him into a panic attack by fake coughing on him, randomly placing his hands on his cheeks and other things cause he claims the panic is “sooooo cuteeeee”

Crow is suicidal and wants to die but he doesn’t want it to be a dirty or messy death. He is still figuring how a perfect method

He can’t go in public places without the others unless he is hiding his face

If he goes out alone he’ll most likely be beaten to death

Everyone knows his crimes and he has had moments where he got attacked

He wonders why he did it

He doesn’t have a lot of memories of the crime but his fingerprints and dna was all over the scene and bomb fragments, everything points to him

His own parents and little brother was in the building and died so he truly doesn’t know why he did it

He has many moments where he shuts down and goes into hiding for a few days

During these days he’s locked in his house having a hardcore mental breakdown

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Milquetoast watches Return of the Prodigal Son

Return of the Prodigal Son S22xE9 Special Victims Unit: Episode Review

What this episode is about: ...I mean...see episode title. Seriously though...here’s a summary:  The squad rallies around Det. Stabler to find the suspect behind a threat to his family.

What I think this episode is about:   Elliot Stabler...where are your priorities? As much as things have changed, some things are still the same.   Elliot Stabler: Loose Canon Cop on the Edge   Benson & Stabler: I thought I was over you...holy shit! I was wrong.

So Olivia is just on her way to a random. I SAID RANDOM crime scene. Like...it's a car bomb so why was Olivia called to go there? Or is it because it was a 1013 and she was somewhat close so she went. Or is it because Olivia really just didn't want to go this award ceremony? Which I would believe that last one because that's totally on brand for her. I saw some scene on the youtubes where Fin is like you really should be there aka Elliot will be there and you deserve it. But home girl really doesn't like the spotlight on her.

I've seen this episode at least twice and this third time watching. I only just realized that Olivia is actually dressed up for the awards ceremony. Like this whole time I legit thought she REALLY doesn't want to go to this thing she's not even dressed for it. She's got on a dress and some really high heels.

They really SELL this scene with the music here.

Olivia's face of shock when she sees Kathy for the first time in ten years. Olivia already seems kinda helpless here. Like she's just all EMOTION and is just begging Kathy to talk to her. Kathy looks damned good for being car bombed. Why is Elliot not right there with Kathy? Is it because that shit is just too emotional and he needed some distance? Or is it because he's in shock and really can't move or is it because he wanted to concentrate on the case? I have so many questions.

Also Kathy's natural brown hair looks hella good.

Then of course we get...

Elliot: "Liv."

And it's just so damned EMOTIONAL! Olivia whipping her head back at him, at the sound of his voice. Her FACE! OH MY GOD her face! The look on her face says EVERYTHING. It brings her right back to where they used to be and you can see just how much she really loves him. The whisper of his name, the emotional swell of music. Which we later find out is their freaking love theme. When Olivia walks to Elliot you finally get a good look at his face and he's just in so much shock.

Curious why Kelly Giddish's name is before Ice T's in the credits.

This flashback we get of Olivia lost in remembering the last time Kathy's life was in the balance. It's really interesting just how thrown Olivia is in this whole episode. Fin is over here calling her name, while standing right next to her.

Fin to Olivia: "Liv, you okay?" NO! No damn it. Can't you see she's not okay. She can't even form a damned sentence here. She's in SO MUCH SHOCK. She's seeing the guy who ghosted her for the first time in 10 years. The guy who was everything to her, completely vanished from her life is suddenly back in a very explosive way. Pun definitely intended.

Give her a hug, Fin! She's desperately trying to focus but she is a MESS here.

Fin to Olivia: "They'd been living in Italy. Elliot had come in for some type of a task force meeting. Him and Kathy decided to make it a trip. He just called me out of no where and told me he was coming. I may have spoken about your award. I thought enough time had gone down between you too."

Olivia is curious AF as to where he's been and surprised that he wasn't even living in New York anymore. I know this really hadn't been addressed yet but...the fact that it was Elliot that reached out to Fin first, is really interesting to me. To me this suggests that he wanted to patch things up with Olivia and come back into her life. Reaching out to Fin is a nice easy way to ease himself back to where he had wanted to be. He wanted to know how Olivia was doing want she was up to but he was too chicken shit to contact her himself. Even though he clearly wanted to see her.  This is something I want to be explored, which probably won't. What pushed him to want to see Olivia again?

Fin to Elliot: "Whatever you need." I love this! Despite the fact that this asshole abandoned Olivia, they are still there for him. He's got ALOT to make up for and I really hope we see that next seasons.

Elliot: "She was worried we were going to be late for your award. I meant to give you a call we were coming." CHICKEN SHIT! Elliot is chicken shit. This guy was just going to show up out of the blue and blind side her like that? That's soooo not cool. I do understand it though. Elliot is really good at running away from his emotions, especially when it comes to Olivia. Olivia just kind of dismisses it because for her, it's too emotional too. She buries her emotions under the case and is like i'll just deal with them later. Do we see that...I don't really think so. I really need Olivia over here dealing with her emotions regarding Elliot and his return. And I really still think that all we have gotten is just this episode.

Elliot: "Tell me she's going to be okay." Elliot over here seeking emotional support from Olivia because he knows that despite it all she will be there to catch him when he falls.

Kathleen: "Olivia...your here." Dickie's BEARD! He's got a HUGE beard! Kathleen is so surprised to see Olivia. It makes me wonder what she thought or what she was told. Did she think that Olivia was the one to walk away...? Elliot...what did you tell them? Knowing him though probably nothing. I still don't know how close Olivia was to the Stabler kids but they all know her (with the exception of Eli who was too damned young to remember who she is). And they all know how close she was to their dad, then suddenly she was gone.

Executive Producer Mariska Hargitay That right there! THAT WARMS MY DAMNED HEART!

Garland: "Any idea why he's in town?" Olivia: "Department meetings I don't know." He was in town to see YOU! I love how she hesitates. A part of her doesn't know but a part of her knows that he came to see her at her award cermony.

Olivia: "Five. I've known them all since they were in diapers." um...you've known ONE since he was in diapers. I get that she's pressing him to let her keep the case but why does she tell him this. Have the writers forgotten how long Elliot and Olivia have known each other? For their information, they were first partnered up 23 years ago. They'd been partners for one year before the start of season 1. Kathtleen was 12 in season 1. Lizzie and Dickie were about 5 or 6 (I think, that's young but not diapers).

Garland: "To be clear your running the investigation not him." Olivia: "Course." Famous last words. Olivia can't think clearly when it comes to Elliot as we are about to see. IF he had known anything about their partnership from back in the day he would have handed this case off to someone else.

So Kathy was thrown clear from the bomb, that's why she's still alive. I wonder if they were going to kill her off in the car bomb why did they  make it so she was alive throughout the episode? So what's the point here? TO give her one last send off?

What is that shirt Rollins is wearing!? Fuchsia snakeskin print...oy! What happened to the costuming on this show. Carisi's wardrobe is fine but the women. Olivia is just in all black and all you see is her head...then that mess of a shirt that Rollins is wearing. Not to mention that this is the night Olivia was supposed to be getting her award and she's wearing a casual black shirt and casual black pants and a black overcoat. Did she really intent on going to this thing?

wait...so this guy was a protester at the captial riots. I completely missed that.

Carisi has the BEST and MOST typical new york accent of any actor I think I've ever seen.

Elliot: "Hi I'm Elliot Stabler, who are you?" I love how Elliot just strolls right in like ten years haven't gone by and nothing has changed. He's really like that bull in a china shop. Thinking that him and Olivia are just going to work on Kathy's case together. Strolling in like he owns the place, like he as a right to be there. 

I love the looks on Carisi and Kat's faces like "who the fuck is this guy?"

Olivia: "You need to be at the hospital." Elliot: "Liv, I give you my word. I'll behave." OMG this scene is so tiny but so mighty. IF it's not clear as a bell here. Elliot should not be working this case and neither should Olivia. Olivia is right, he shouldn't be there he should be with Kathy. And in this episode for most of the time Elliot isn't by his wife side and is either with Olivia or attempting to work the case. He want to hurt the person that tried to kill Kathy. I get that, and he probably just doesn't want to deal with his emotions because that is also Elliot Stabler.

One of the things that I LOVE about this scene is the way it is shot. We have Elliot and Olivia off in this corner whispering to each other. You can see Carisi in the background but he's small and blurred. Elliot's face huge and looming over Olivia. It's intensely private but in a room with both Carisi and Kat.  It feels as if it's just the two of them alone. The way that Elliot's talking to Olivia here...just gets me every time. He's just a big massive contradiction. He comes in there with PURE emotion, like a damned bull determined to get in there and rough the guy up for bombing Kathy. But then he's soooo damned soft when he talks to Olivia. He's not yelling at her, he's not angry with her. He's just so soft.

Olivia knows that letting him into that room as emotionally raw as he is, is a bad idea. But she can't help but give in. This is a HUGE corner stone of their relationship. At least once per season. Elliot had convinced Olivia to do something even if it was wrong. But she just couldn't help but not say no to him.

One of the great things about their partnership is that these are two people who love each other so deeply and their relationship is so big that it blocks everyone else out. This right here is the reason why Olivia did not and could not form any long term relationships with any other man besides Elliot, when he was in her life. And why she was only able to have them after he left.

I swear everyone but Fin in that squad room has GOT to be wondering just who in the hell is Elliot Stabler and why is Olivia bending over backwards for him. Why is it so easy for him to convince Olivia to do thing she shouldn't be doing. I REALLY REALLY want to know what their thinking. I need some conversations about this.

The way that Elliot paces around the bomber guy. I give Elliot credit here (in the beginning) because he does try and he is very calm here. This guy KNOWS exactly what buttons to push. He figures out really quickly that Kathy is Elliot's wife and uses that to his advantage to get Elliot to go off. And it works. Elliot is the last person that should be in that room. Olivia is just over in the corner watching and waiting for him to go off.

Bomber to Elliot: "That's gotta be tough. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with her?" That is the million dollar question. Priorities man, where are they?

OH GOD! The's rolling up his shirt sleeves. That's so not good.

"Okay, we are done!" I love Olivia over here pulling the plug on this. Knowing Elliot as much as she does and just how much anger is in there and the fact that Kathy was killed by this guy. But I also love that instead of charging at this guy here. Elliot backs off, pulls his shirt sleeves down and is about to exit the room. HE FREAKING LISTENED TO HER! The one person who can talk Elliot off a ledge.

I know that there's people that think that Elliot hasn't changed. But he has. There's so much stuff that he needs to learn. That's a given. But he isn't as angry as he used to be. And I know you may be like...but he's so damned angry in this episode. Yes, yes he is. You have to remember that Kathy was just bombed and later dies from it. So of course he's going to be angry but one he calms down (and it takes a while) in OC. You can see this especially in the way he deals with Wheatley.

Also it's really hot to see Olivia man handling Elliot. After the bomber guy makes one last attempt to push Elliot over the edge. Elliot charges at him and my girl over here freaking blocks him with her body. Gets him to focus on her.

This scene of them on the roof fighting is LONG over due. They have been dancing around each other this whole episode (and their feelings). I had really forgotten that the roof is really their place, where they go to let their emotions out. For those of you that had been watching since Elliot left...did Olivia go up their to let her emotions out? Or was this strictly just their place? Did she avoid it because he was gone?

I feel like as much as she's yelling at him. She's also yelling at herself for letting her LET him into that room again. She knows him better than he knows himself but she still allowed him to go in there. To be clear I'm not blaming Olivia for Elliot being Elliot. I'm just pointing out that Olivia KNOWS Elliot - and knows he can't quite hold his emotions when he's emotional.

Elliot: "SO what you write me up a rip there, Captain." Olivia: "You know what Elliot." YES YES GIRL! Go after him! Call him a son of bitch like you used to. Because he is an asshole and he's being one right now.

Dickie: "Dad. Dad- do you answer your phone?" Elliot: "What is it? What's the matter?" Dickie: "She's awake, Dad. Mom's awake. Let's go!" The fact that Dickie called his dad (and probably the other kids called and texted multiple times). The fact that Dickie had to go DOWN to SVU to track down his dad. Then walk his ass all the way up to the roof just to get his dads attention. Priorities! Elliot..and yes we will talk about this. 

Also Dickie looks like a 35 year old man but still sounds like he's 17. That gives me life...also I understand that. I just have to look in the mirror everyday.

Fin: "How'd that go?" YOU KNOW WHAT FIN!? OMG you crack me UP! I love FIN! He knows what's up. HE says this so damned dry. LIke he KNOWS. He fucking knows how that went.  She just ignores him! hahahah!

The three of them together again! Gaaah! 

Carisi: He shouldn't be alone in that room when Kathy wakes up and tells him what happens. Olivia: I'm going over there. Me: NEITHER ONE OF THEM SHOULD BE THERE FOR THIS! I KNOW SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING BUT...GAH! THERE'S THIS THREEWAY MARRIAGE HERE. AND NONE OF THEM ARE OBJECTIVE.

Kathy to Olivia: "I'm sorry I ruined your big award ceremony." Why is Kathy apologizing for getting blown up? Like seriously!? Olivia is like, I really didn't give a shit about that. Kathy is like all sweet and nice. Like sorry I got blown up. What kind of priorities do these people have!?

First of all...this is the last scene with Kathy before she dies. The fact that it's with both Elliot and Olivia. The fact that it's so emotional and so awkward. Kathy remembers nothing about what happened. She isn't any help to them in the investigation but what's revealed here is HUGE.

Kathy to Olivia: "You really didn't talk for ten years." Olivia: "I didn't know he was back on the job." Kathy: "That's what Elliot told me. I didn't believe him." Olivia: "It's true, Kathy." Kathy seeing Elliot and Olivia together for the first time in ten years. Seeing how much they are like their old selves and how easily they fall right back into old patterns. Just how much they fit together. She can't believe that they hadn't talked for a decade. To her it feels like nothing had changed. 

But what's interesting is that...Kathy didn't believe Elliot when he told her he didn't talk to Olivia. The fact that Kathy believes Olivia over her her own husband. I don't know what to do with that. We know that Elliot's never physically cheated on Kathy but the fact that Kathy knew in her heart that Elliot's heart really belonged to Olivia. She never stopped believing that.

It's so tragic that the three of them were just trapped in this bad situation. And if it's not clear as a bell here that none of them forgot. Olivia still thought about Elliot, as much as she tried to move on. She finally had some successful relationships, had a son, but could never fully commit to anyone. Elliot who freaking ran to Italy to run away from his feelings for Olivia and it didn't work. Kathy who dwelled on whether or not Elliot and Olivia were still talking to each other.

Olivia leaving the room like that to let them have their time together. Just so full of angst! Shutting that hospital door (what the hell kinda door is that anyway!?), freaking just looking at them before she forces herself to leave all together. Knowing how much she really hadn't moved on as much as she had thought. Finding herself right back into that situation she had been, 10 years before. In love with a man married to someone else. On the outside looking in. And I know that there was a hospital scene JUST like this in 1.0, in which Olivia is on the outside looking in on the two of them.

They are all kidding themselves if they all thought they were over this. That they had all moved on. I am just so confused. Kathy wanted to go to Olivia's award ceremony but also worried that Elliot was still talking to Olivia behind her back. So why did Kathy want to go? This is the question that I don't really understand. I did read somewhere, someone had thought that Kathy knew that Elliot had wanted to go but wasn't going go. So she talked him into it. This is the ONLY explanation that to me - actually makes sense. What do you all think?

OMG! THIS SCENE! Man. IF you thought that last scene was emotional...DAMN here comes the apology scene!

What do I love about this scene? It's everything I could have wanted (and yes I do want more, they have MORE to talk about) but it's also perfect. Elliot starting in on apologizing for coming into the station like a bull in a china shop. I love that Elliot has taken a step back and looked at his behavior and realized that's kinda messed up. After he has cooled down and gotten some perspective. And he's trying to be respectful of Olivia because he respects her and you know he's damned proud that SVU is her's now.

He sits right down next to her. Trying to connect to her, trying to apologize and what does she do? She freaking moves away from him! Like if you didn't know Elliot. Those walls are UP! They are ten feet high! She knows she's way too emotionally caught up in him and home girl needs some space figuratively and emotionally from him. In order to get her barings.

Elliot: "Liv, I'm sorry." Olivia: "Elliot. We don't have to do this." She's been waiting TEN FUCKING YEARS to hear him say that to her! A freaking decade! She tells him we don't have to do this but what she really means is that she's not ready to go into it. But he gives her this look in his eyes of just how heartbroken he is and just how damned guilty he is for doing what he did. And how he's waited like a freaking day to tell her (and to him that's probably a day too long) how sorry he is. But YES! YES HE DOES NEED TO THIS. You need it! He needed it. We needed it. 

Olivia: "You wana do this now? Are you sorry for leaving? Or are you sorry for walking - for not giving me the courteously of telling me." They are so damned emotionally raw in this scene! SO RAW! Their feelings are just spilling out that both of them have to catch themselves from saying too much. Because for all of their partnership and all that they felt. They never put a voice to their feelings. And since their so emotionally wounded and knocked sideways from seeing the other (particularly Olivia because Elliot had time to come to grips with this). That their feelings can't HELP but come out. 

The dialog is soooo interesting in this scene. Because here she almost says: "Are you sorry for walking out on me?" Like she was his wife. But then she catches herself because she wasn't his wife. But emotionally, yes she was. Elliot: "I think if I talked to you about how -" What was he going to SAY!? Because she cuts him off. She needs him to hear her. If they want to do this and have an honest conversation about him leaving, why he left and how much it hurt her. I think he was going to tell her "I think if I talked to you about how I felt about you." Because from the moment he's back in her life he's so damned open about his feelings for her (and I know, part of that is from losing Kathy, part of that is the PTSD and part of that is from how much he's grown and grown more comfortable with who he is). I'm not sure if she knew what he was going to say. If she knew but didn't want to hear it and that's why she cuts him off.

Olivia: "You were the most, single most, important person in my life and you just - disappeared." This LINE gets me. EVERY. DAMN. TIME. The fact that he left and knew that she had NO ONE else. And I get it. Because to me the ONLY explanation is that he was burnt out and emotionally messed up from having to kill that kid. And that his marriage with Kathy was on the rocks but he had a choice to make. And he choose to keep his family together not because he wanted to but because that's who he is. And how much he desperately did not want to be his father. And how leaving Olivia gave her the freedom to find some kind of happiness (that she would not have found otherwise).

Elliot: "I was afraid. That if I heard your voice, I wouldn't have been able to leave." Just the sound of her voice would have made him stay. Would have made him leave his family. And he knew that he would have fucked all of them over if that had happened. I really need this to be explored more next seasons. That is some POWERFUL stuff! But like... he couldn't have just written her a letter telling her this?

And then Olivia is so freaking distraught that she can't even remember the exit to a hospital that she's been to a thousand times!

Garland is so damned confused. After seeing Elliot charge at their suspect and reading his file. He doesn't get it. All he see is a cop who's just angry and a guy who shouldn't be anywhere near this case (he shouldn't) and is just confused as to why in the hell Olivia wants anything to do with him.

Olivia: "Look he got too rough back in the day but it wasn't just testosterone. But it was because he cared so much." Olivia isn't excusing his behavior here but she is defending him. Telling him she doesn't see him as so black and white. I also love how Olivia is like...Elliot wasn't the only problem child, I was too. I get the feeling that Olivia isn't as volatile as she used to be and so Garland isn't really used to seeing Olivia like this. But I think he's starting to realize that partnership ran deep and it still runs deep. And that he really needs to watch them.

I don't know how I feel about Fin in a bright red jacket. That's a whole lot of color for the SVU wardrobe.

Kat is also Garland asking Fin about Elliot. And realizing that Elliot's anger isn't something that was anything new to any of them. And that Fin and Olivia are both too close to him to really see straight. Fin backing Elliot up so much is kind weird to me. Because the two of them were never really all that close to begin with and also Fin KNOWS how much Elliot meant to Olivia. And to me if anyone should be pissed at Olivia for leaving, it's Fin. BUTTTT maybe he just kind of understands why Elliot left and why couldn't contact Olivia.

Elliot: "Kathy was the one that insisted we go to Liv's ceremony." I know we talked about this earlier...but...if Kathy knew how much of a hold Olivia was over Elliot. Why? Why tempt fate? Elliot was really just going to go and blindside Olivia at the award ceremony without giving her a heads up. Elliot Stabler...what the fuck!? He's such a chicken shit.

Elliot: "I know I told you and then I meant -- I just felt that so much time had passed that I couldn't reach out to you both." Fin: "I get it." Fin telling Elliot he gets it. Because I had completely forgotten that if anyone would understand it would be Fin. As I had forgotten his strained relationship with is son.

Fin: "Let me bring you up to speed. Liv, moved on. It took her a minute but she moved on. She has a son, now. She's had a few relationships. One was pretty solid." Elliot: "A son. Good for her. Who's the guy?" Fin: "You'll have to ask her that."

The dialog in this episode man! They are not HOLDING anything back here. Fin telling Elliot that she moved on. That it took her some time but that she moved on, she has had some relationships and had a son. Like...the fact that this is what fin wants to talk about and tell Elliot. He KNOWS exactly what they meant to each other. The wording he used: "she moved on." That is something you tell someone whom you were in a relationship. Like a romantic relationship. There would be no reason to say 'moved on', if their relationship had been strictly platonic. If it had been just a sibling like relationship. There would have been no need for her to move on.

Elliot's face falls when Fin tells him she's had a few relationships and that one was serious. Did he really think that she hadn't had any while he was gone? This is that old Stabler coming back who was jealous and possessive when it came to Olivia. I love how Elliot's emotions swing back and forth from, jealousy to happiness that she was finally able to have a child that she had desperately wanted, to possessiveness and hurt that she moved on. To curiosity as to who the hell knocked her up and who was the serious relationship.

I love how Fin tells him this but doesn't tell him who. Doesn't give him anything but base details. Lets him think that she gave birth to Noah. Lets him be jealous and wonder because he should wonder. He doesn't have any right to her, he left her. Fin dropping all of this new information on him and also encouraging him to talk to her. Because he knows they need to talk but they are still dancing around each other and using him as a go between.

Elliot and Olivia are wearing the same clothes. That they were wearing during Elliot/Olivia and Kathy's last scene. Is this the same day or did they just not change clothes? Elliot just growing that stubble is hot but also a nice touch. Really makes sense as to his emotional headspace.

Olivia: "You too? Phoebe just said I love you and you couldn't say it back?" FIRST OF ALL! I love Olivia calling Fin out on that! Like you love this women, Fin! You need to appreciate her and give her back what she needs. Fin is terrible at expressing emotions, so hopefully we will actually see him say ILY to Phoebe in season 23.

Also I love that it's Olivia calling Fin out on this because she is basically Fin's sister at this point. And keeping it real between them is their whole relationship. I haven't mentioned it yet maybe a little bit but I love their relationship in this episode. Fin is kind of the wingman in the E/O relationship in this episode but he's also Olivia's brother. Who loves her and wants to protect her and wants to see her happy.

Second of all, I love a good foreshadowing moment. But to be fair to Olivia his kids were in the room and Kathy had just died.

I love how Olivia hates to ask Elliot for his case files. But of course if she asks he'll do anything for her. But I know this girl is curious AF as to what he's been up to these years and it's a great way for her to learn without actually talking to him. She seems so proud of him as to all the things he's been working on in the meantime. She way she tells Kat and Rollins this!

I do love that Rollins shuts the door to Olivia's office. Signaling that this is a personal conversation, and the parallel scene to Elliot and Fin's talk. 

Rollins: "From what he told me. You and Stabler had a ...complicated relationship." IF that's not the understatement of the year! I love the delivery of this line. I feel like Rollins knows more than what Olivia is saying by the way she delivers that line. Rollins wasn't there for E/O but she got their right after Elliot left and she saw how that effected Olivia. How it effected Olivia's partnership with Nick. I don't know much about Rollins and Carisi but I do know that they were partners before he became an ADA. So I kind of feel like she understands things about E/O because of her relationship with Carisi and the similarities between the two.

Perp: "I would have taken you both for cops." (about Fin and Carisi) Fin: "Yeah he gets that a lot." I never notice this line before but...why do they keep subtly bringing up the fact that Carisi has cop vibes because he used to be a cop. Elliot ragged on him earlier about this. It's kinda funny though.

Elliot: "The accounts are locked and I told them not to." I know that this is supposed to reassure us that his kids didn't talk about Elliot & Kathy being back in town but...their accounts are locked. What are they five? His kids are adults. With the exception of Eli - he can't lock their accounts. This just sounds so weird to me.

Olivia: "That's why you need to be here with Kathy." Elliot wants to jump right back into the old days where him and Olivia were partners. He wants to work this case but they aren't partners anymore. This case is Kathy and he's too damned close to work it objectively. And I agree with Olivia he really needs to be with Kathy and not running around trying to catch who did it. More on this later.

Rollins looks so comfortable in that interrogation room with her foot up on the table. So is...Fin, Rollins' partner? Or is Fin like both Rollins and Kat's partners because there is an odd number of detectives on the squad? What's up with that? Where is the missing detective. This has got to be the smallest squad. They only have three cops and a Captain who works cases.

Now I get it! Carisi is the ADA who thinks like a cop because he used to be one and that's why the dude called him out as a cop.

hahahaha the plexi glass in front of the judge does exactly what with that HUGE whole in the middle? Maybe it's so no one can spit at him from the sides. Speaking of Covid there is a distinct LACK of face masks in this. I get that they wouldn't have their leads wearing masks but people in the background don't seem to be wearing them.

When Olivia gets the call from Elliot that Kathy died. There is no dialog and I love that because what the hell could she have said? Probably just told him she'd be there. The look on her face when she finds him outside of Kathy's room! She has to take a second to get herself together, takes a breathe so she can keep it together to be strong for him. Despite the fact that Elliot ghosted her for ten years she is still THERE For him when he needs her. She's doing her best to put her emotions aside to focus on him and what he needs because this moment isn't about her or how she feels.

She tucks her feelings away and he hugs her. Needing that comfort from her because he knows that she'll catch him when he falls. I love how he can let his tears fall now that she's there. He is teary eyed when she gets there but doesn't actually cry until she is hold him! He buries his head her neck and then she finally lets herself enjoy this moment. Even if it's a moment of devastation. 

The way she closes her eyes and just holds him. Like this is something they had both wanted for so long and it's only been during huge emotional moments that they have allowed themselves an embrace like this. I love this hug so much because he's much more expressive with his feelings there than he has ever been.

There are tiny bits of "She's Gone/Kathy's Funeral" playing very very softly under this scene.

Elliot: "Her spleen ruptured. They took her into surgery but it was too late." The fact that Kathy didn't die from the blast but from subsequent injuries is fascinating. I'm not sure if they just didn't want to start the episode with her dead. Or if they wanted to give Kathy a moment before she dies. Although I do know that this episode was rewritten a LOT, partially due to Covid and partially due to M&C wanting their reunion to hit right. And daaammn does it hit right! The ONLY thing about this is that Kathy had to die.

Elliot: "I didn't get to say goodbye." Why did you not get to say goodbye? I have thoughts about this...more on that later though. Olivia is over here just completely stunned and can't even get the words out of her damned mouth.

Elliot: "I just don't get it. We were happy." I have thoughts about this too...just how happy were you? I do get that they did find some kind of happiness in their marriage when they were in Rome. BUT! Things between them weren't really as rosy as he likes to make it out to be. The fact that he called Olivia first, over his kids! He needed her to be strong for him to catch him because she is is his rock. She keeps him stable, she always has.

Carisi to Perp: "Your on borrowed time." um...no offense Carisi but we never see this dude again.

So Garland taking Olivia off the case is probably the right move. I think he's figured out that Olivia is just too involved and even if she tries to be objective she can't be. I think with him seeing Elliot go off on their suspect in the interrogation room and about to beat him. He thinks that Olivia will let Elliot back in there and he might not be wrong about that.

Have we ever seen Elliot in a church before? I mean we all know the dude is Catholic but I don't remember ever see him in a church outside of a crime before. I could be wrong about this there are like 6 seasons left for me to watch with him in it that I don't quite remember.

I guess they really have just cast the OG Stabler kids (Dickie and Kathleen) and that's why we only see them in this episode. Gahh! THis scene! This whole episode is so damned heartbreaking. Olivia went to go comfort Elliot only to find his kids already there so she keeps her distance. This scene is a nice mirror to the hospital scene. The one earlier in the episode when it's Elliot/Olivia/Kathy, and Kathy is about to go to sleep so Olivia slips out of the room. Olivia looks in for a bit at the two of them with such emotion in her eyes. She's the one on the outside looking in at the man she's in love with who's married to another women. And then we have this scene here where she's on the outside looking in, again. But this time Kathy is gone and Elliot is looking back at Olivia. This time the door is open and there is such symbolism in doors!

Episode Themes: Elliot Stabler...where are your priorities? So something that's been bugging me this whole episode is Elliot Stabler and his priorities and like what the hell...? So I do dig Elliot Stabler, but he does have issues. One of them is his temper and his tendency to assault suspects. The other one is this... This dude thought it was a great idea to pop in on his old partner. The one he abandoned, during her award ceremony in public without calling her first to give her heads up. That is some chicken shit stuff man. I get that he was scared but like he had to face that shit eventually if he was going to come back into her life. And him popping up at her awards dinner was a terrible idea. 

Further more...Kathy is blown up and in the hospital. It's touch and go with her and he's off trying to solve this case and chasing after Olivia. I get it, he's in love with Olivia and he wants it to be the old days again (it's not). I understand that this is a dude that loves running away from his feelings but seriously even Olivia was like you need to be with Kathy. 

Even Elliot’s kids called him and when he didn't answer. Dickie has to track him down on the roof of SVU to drag him down to the hospital. I'd say get your shit together but now he's got PTSD and he's all over the damned place in OC season 1.

As much as things have changed, some things are still the same.

Elliot Stabler: Loose Canon Cop on the Edge I think this is the biggest thing bringing back Stabler. With the current police climate the way it is, finally shining a light on police brutality. And Elliot having a HUGE reputation for his raging temper and assaulting suspects. This is a thing that needs to be addressed, with his character. Is he different? Has he changed and if not...how can we change him into the hero that he needs to be? Because if he's a cop now, headlining his own show. He can't be the cop that he once was. 

So it gets addressed here. You've got two perspectives, Olivia & Fin (the old guard who knew Elliot back in the day) vs the new guard (Rollins, Kat, Carisi and Garland). Kat knows nothing of Elliot, she doesn't know who he is or who he was. All she is getting his what she heard, which isn't exactly wrong information.

Kat: "Uni's in the squad room where saying the way he treated jacob wasn't a one off. They seen him go off on suspects before."

Fin: "He did. But that was then, he knows things have changed." Kat: "Have they?" We have Olivia and Fin both sticking up for Elliot (because they know him, who he is and why he did the things that he did) We get this scene with Garland and Olivia.

What is this angle? Why are we dutch angling Olivia in Garland's office? Dutch angles suck. We get one shot of a dutch angle and that's it so it doesn't feel intentional. 

Garland: "My sense from his affect and his record that this is a cop who's used to taking this over the line and getting away with it." Olivia: "Look he got too rough back in the day but it wasn't just testosterone it was because he cared so much."

Olivia: "Chief, I'm not making excuses for him and I'm not apologizing for him. But I believe that he changed.”

Well, He's not wrong. Olivia and Fin both seem convinced that he's not the same person he was back then but they haven't seen more than a day or two at this point. So what do they think about him has changed why do they think that? Or is this just a case of them closing ranks on him because he was so important to them (well really Olivia).

I can say from what I have seen that while Elliot still has that temper in him, he isn't the same brash cop he used to be. I think that he was only aggressive because it was basically that same night that Kathy had been bombed and he was the most emotionally fucked up he was ever going to get. While he'll get angry, we won't seem him be so brutal like he used to be. Great examples of this are the last few episodes of season 1 of Organized Crime. He has a great handle on his temper when he could have gone off and would have in the past.

Garland: "...a night college degree." I know absolutely nothing about Garland but from this line...I know that he grew up a rich boy! Elliot struggled to make a career because he got married so young and had to go to school at night. And there is nothing wrong with that. So why are you dude being all huffy about it? That is not something to be held against Elliot. His temper yes? How he was aggressive yes. Definitely, that's something to keep an eye on but a night school degree? No sir.

Benson & Stabler: I thought I was over you...holy shit! I was wrong.

Maybe they had thought that they'd gotten over the other but that is dead ass wrong. If there is one thing that this episode proves is that these two are still in love. They are still emotional caught up in the other to the point where it blinds them and neither of them has the ablity to be objective. Even if they try to be. From the moment that Olivia and Elliot see each other again it is obvious they are still in love. And I know that those words (until the airing of this episode) hadn't been spoken to the other but I do think that it had been clearly established how the characters felt about each other. 

Olivia is doing her best to not get so emotionally caught up in him. She's got walls ten feet high, when Elliot wants to sit down and apologize to her. She gets up and takes a step away from him. She has to physically remove herself from him to get a clear head. He tells her just the sound of her damned voice would have made him stay put. That is some powerful stuff my friend. 

Olivia is the very first person that Elliot calls when Kathy dies. He calls her because he knows that she can give him comfort and that she will be there for him. After Kathy dies Elliot says that him and Kathy were happy in their marriage but I wonder about that. Kathy still thought about Olivia and Elliot. She still wondered if Elliot was talking to Olivia and even asked Olivia to conform it.  The fact that Kathy didn't believe Elliot is very telling. The whole episode Elliot is running around after Olivia instead of staying in the hospital with Kathy. Elliot is so caught up in Olivia and the old days. Dickie even has to track him down because he's not answering his phone.

We've even got both Fin and Amanda wingmaning them.

________________________________________________________________

Final Thoughts:

They really just throw Olivia into this situation and to see what she's going to do. How she's going to handle it. She tries at first to keep a clear head but that's already out the window when it comes to Elliot. She's too close to this, Elliot's too close to this. Neither of them should be on the case. I know if the Chief was Cragen then he (probably) would want to keep the case but would know not to have Olivia handling it or have Elliot anywhere near it.

Since Garland doesn't know Elliot and he wasn't around E/O during their partnership. He don't know that objectivity is not something the two have when it comes to the other. I mean this is the guy that mortgaged his own house to get his partner out of jail. The partners that would CONSISTANTLY cover the other (no matter WHO was asking, including Dad who was the first to go to bat for them).

From the beginning of Elliot's return it's really clear that they are playing them as a romantic pairing. I know that there are a lot of people who are split on the issue but it's really made clear to me that it's meant to be romantic. Olivia's reaction to seeing Elliot the first time in ten years does not say platonic. It screams this is the guy I'd been in love with and thought I was over and holy shit I'm not over it. Not to mention they have actually went out and written a love theme. Thank you, Ruth Barrett.

So I have mixed feelings about Kathy's death. On one hand I do want E/O to hook up and from the direction of his return i'd be very surprised if that didn't happen. But killing off yet another mother in television is just...a trend that I don't like and since two of my favorite characters that were killed off (in other shows) were also middle aged mothers...I don't like this and it is problematic. One reason it does make sense is that Isabel Gilles is retired from acting so with the return of Elliot Stabler, that meant the return of his family. So in order to get rid of Kathy you have two options and that's divorce or death. I don't know if they would have gone for the divorce angle because of how staunchly catholic Elliot is and how much faith and commitment are a part of his character.

Great episode.  Amazing episode! Seriously...where are the Emmy nominations for this episode!?  It hits so many emotional highs. I hadn't seen SVU in about 10-9ish years (I did try to watch the show when Chris left but I lost interest around season 13.) I just think that with Chris gone Mariska did not have an equal partner for her to play off of and I think that's what I found lacking from the show. SO since he's back they really dig in deep for this episode and I'm so thankful they did that. When Chris/Elliot left it didn't sit right for anyone. As he was the main character on this show and just so suddenly left. It left a hole in the audiences hearts as well as Olivia's.

[generallypo]

in all sincerity, kim dokja makes me happy and he deserves to be so too :^(

incoherent yelling and sobbing under the cut. these fEELINGS will not be contained aaauuunnghhh. 

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anyway i binge-read all 500+ chapters of ORV this week and i honest to god feel bad for this -- completely! fictional! aghhhh -- guy. in case you haven’t figured it out, the following is some spoilerly shit

i went in expecting a fun, brainless power trip fantasy for dudes with an isekai addiction. instead, it turns out ORV is actually a gigantic, self-deprecating prank on the entire genre itself. kdj plays more into the sad -- if high-functioning-- clown trope than the sexy, edgy, chuuni bastard type i was prepared to laugh at. there were -- gasp! -- female characters with personalities! parents (aka ADULTS who act like ADULTS) who actually survive and feature prominently! adorable children! a real sexy, edgy bastard! a power trio with amazing fashion! sexual tension and bickering! friendship! life and death bonding! 

*breathes in deeply* fouND FAMILYYYYYYY.

like, yeah, the plot around the first few arcs seems a little aimless, but the buildup is worth. the world-building is pretty decent. there’s discernible effort put into the fight scenes, and i can appreciate that. but -- but! what i stayed for were the characters -- namely, the fantastic OT3 of KDJ, HSY, and YJH -- who come together despite their initial rivalries and end up saving each other’s asses, like, every other day. granted, the other characters don’t get as much focus, and they do fall into certain character tropes.. 

but a trope done well is nothing i would gripe about. every significant character in ORV has a coherent, and more importantly, respectful take on their respective trope. maybe it’s because sing-shong is actually a married couple, but all the interactions between even minor characters are a convincing blend of awkward rambling, suggestive humor, sharp remarks, and casual banter. in other words, this cast of mostly working adults (plus a teen and two kids) talks like working adults. the relationships built throughout the story are, frankly, some of most realistic of its genre. sing-shong has managed to craft a dynamic that undoubtedly brims with fluffy fondness all around, but also drips with sarcastic tension, with unspoken urgency, with a wariness that softens into sincerity over the course of many, many chapters. it’s the kind of progression that makes even stock characters read like more than just the 2-bit villain or comrade or love interest. here, we have relationships both straightforward and not, strained or otherwise, romantically-oriented as well as decidedly the opposite -- and then numerous others scattered along the spectrum with the freedom to shift either way. 

it’s also an interesting point of note that our MC kdj actually does not end up with a stated romantic partner, much less a conventional heteroromantic harem. he gets teased about that fact from time to time, but it’s with less of the sleazy shonen locker room humor one would expect and more of the good-natured ribbing you’d find among friends or that one especially nosy auntie at the yearly family reunion. kdj is a grown ass man. in the background, i applaud his maturity, and he handles all the prodding like a champ. 

so instead of finding and fulfilling his horny, he builds himself a wealth of loving family. yeah, there are beautiful men and women around him. yeah, they unequivocally adore him. but they’re also adults, and they have priorities, too -- which are not so much finding a way to bang kdj’s brains out and more so simply keeping the damn guy alive. this is truly not ‘oblivious mc with his thirsty, sex kitten harem’. it just so happens that a guy proves himself to be unflinchingly gentle and capable in an apocalyptic setting despite his broken self-esteem, and lots of people find that attractive, romantically and platonically. 

it.. kinda makes sense? he’s a hard worker, thoughtful, and good with kids. kdj is the kind of guy you know would make a reliable partner, and anybody with eyes can plainly see and appreciate that. 

and it’s not that our MC’s a total brick wall. in fact, it’s likely the opposite, and he’s just too darned repressed to admit it. from what has been implied, kdj does indeed recognize and accept love, or at least a primitive concept of it. i like to imagine that the kind of love that he ends up seeking out simply manifests itself more easily as acceptance and safety, as warmth and a home of people to return to every day. even better, the people who surround him know this, and they give him exactly that. it’s refreshing, and honestly, really sweet.

(as a side note, i really, really do appreciate the cosmic bi energy radiating off of kdj, who canonically earns the title of being loved by all and is all but in name married to yjh and hsy. he also respects women and small children and honestly anyone who isn’t total scum to him or his family. i respect that.)

but the happy stuff aside, you know it it just ain’t ORV without the generous screaming dollop of angst. admittedly, there’s self-sacrifice, injury, lonesome wandering, more sacrifice, some epic fighting, reunion and confrontation. all of it is a lot to digest, sure, but never does it feel entirely hopeless, or truly, truly heart-clenching. ORV, up until the final act, is a mostly light read. you relax in your chair, thinking that nothing beyond this point can disturb you. 

yeah fucking right.

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and then the beginning of the end arrives. when the squad finally break through to their ‘ending’, the scene that kind of breaks me is the reveal of the Most Ancient Dream. it ties so much thematically into the little tidbits that we get of kdj’s past, and it though it feels like almost a joke that the source of the goddamn apocalypse is a kid with bruises smeared across his skinny ass body -- it’s such a pathetic picture that it’s kinda poetic, actually. you’re left mystified but somewhat convinced, like a math problem explained halfway through. this.. child.. is a villain somehow, isn’t he?

and then 999th turn uriel speaks up, and she. just. hugs him. 

[[You are this universe’s most powerless existence, aren’t you.]] 

that. that gets me. kdj’s reaction immediately upon this revelation? absolute murder. seeing him essentially self-destruct upon realizing that all these people he’s surrounded himself with -- some who continuously proclaim their loyalty and affection for him throughout their journey, some who suffered eons of war and loss and trauma because of his existence -- not only forgive his younger self but smother him with unconditional acceptance and love is stifling, is too vulnerable and exposed and he simply can’t cope -- it’s so telling of his true mentality, of his crippling insecurity and crumpled sense of self-worth. kim dokja is a liar, through and through, so much that he fails, or perhaps refuses, to comprehend the veracity of others’ kindness and love towards himself. 

by some miracle, the events at the end of the world somehow resolve.. or so it seems. there is a departing train, a liberated team of ex-gods, and a child rousing from his slumber. in the aftermath, i am left shaking. somehow, despite the ending having been (happily?) reached, there’s still another chapter ahead. what is this witchcraft?

------

and then ah, yes -- the epilogue arc. i teetered on the edge of being critical for a little bit there -- is that display of deus ex machina, of sad, self-sacrificing nobility a bit too egregious to be acceptable? is this some wild last let-me-yank-this-outta-my-ass plot twist to drag out the chapter count? i sincerely thought that the arc before it would have been the finale. i was wrong. thank god.

anyways, as an answer to the above: no, and no. i stake my firm claim on the belief that the epilogue arc was meticulously planned out well in advance of its release, confusing and time-warpy as it is. i liked it. tremendously. even if it entirely invalidates all of kdj’s supposed development (”haha lol yeah sure i won’t sacrifice myself or anything anymore guys don’t worry about me” -- KDJ, at some point because he’s a lying rat bastard). actually, our beloved MC disappears for a large chunk of this arc, and i think it’s great. in his absence, the other characters not only go absolutely fucking nuts, but they have to figure out this new problem on their own, even if the lure of peaceful complacency in the newly saved Korea might convince them otherwise. 

and then the whole time paradox thing comes around. yjh goes to space, hsy saves the only life she can, and kdj grows up. the crew waits, holding onto their hope even if it bleeds them dry. sing-shong does a damn good job of illustrating their fraying calm, their lurking madness, the unseen but pervasive depression that seeps in from kdj’s absence. the kids lose their father, lhs and jhw lose their reliable leader figure, ysa loses a best friend and confidant, lsk -- as distant as she pretends to be from her son -- loses her only child. and then there’s hsy and yjh , who are essentially bereft of the other half of their existences. their pain is palpable, is grounded in the hopeless, gnawing frustration of an utterly meaningless victory. emotionally, ORV hits all the right -- if agonizing -- beats.

however, a story can’t sustain itself just through its pathos. i’m happy to say that ORV doesn’t drop the ball after the first milestone, and after all the hurt, the characters do leap straight back into action. even better, the plot holes actually do get patches, and the poetic cycle of writer, protagonist, and reader comes full circle by making use of all those supposedly throwaway characters from the myriad world lines. 

at the end of the road, there is a distinct sense of unity, of a delicate but undeniable cohesion to the world lines and their origins. sing-shong lets us guess a little here at the finish, but there’s just enough information to feel hopeful. maybe there never had been a definite start -- or finish -- to the story of kdj company, and... that’s okay. everybody ends up where they were meant to be, where they fought and struggled to reach. it’s.. almost like a happily ever after, if we’re allowed to dream of that.

------

now, i realize, this was all an orchestrated maneuver.

i’ll take it.

to me, all of this work sounds like someone put some serious thought into this behemoth of a plot. it cements the entire original premise of the story. it suggests -- but never explicitly confirms! -- the possibility that breaking free of the cycle is possible through the exact same system that sustains it. it’s terribly interesting -- and inspirational! with all the dramatic revelations and life-threatening scenarios  and the cast’s resigned acceptance of them that essentially make up ORV’s entire mood, there’s still that last hint of rebellious and righteous anger that lights up the whole damn nebula. it’s like the kdj company blasting away at the heavens just to yell into the nether: we’re not looking for the happy end, but the free one. stay alive.

it’s subtle, and yet it’s such an emotional gut punch. i came away with the most ruinous, frustrating, bittersweet sense of longing in ages. i pined. for these fictional darlings. god, i am weak.

so. yeah. ORV is pretty good. flawed, but ambitious and impressively thought out.  i’m stoked that the webtoon is making pretty good progress, even if it’ll take an eternity and a half to meet that monstrous chapter count. i’m still gonna follow it. hell yeah. 

------

(by the way the idea that secretive plotter and co are literally gonna take care of and raise baby kdj and spoil him and be the best friggin family a kid could ever want does things to me. protect him. he’s suffered too much. let at least one worldline’s version of him know happiness. and actually, aLL OF THEM DESERVE DOMESTIC BLISS TOGETHER IN A BIG OL MANSION WITH SUN AND FRESH AIR AND TENDER FAMILY MOMENTS UGH)

------

and there you have it, folks. you made it to the end. in the far, far distance, i’m cheering you on and crying my eyes out in gratitude. thanks for tuning in!

[ao3feed-todoroki]

Fun While It Lasts

Fun While It Lasts by Ani meme

“Let's go play now before Mom wakes up!”

“Sure...” Fuyumi responded hesitantly.

She didn't want to get in trouble, but if they went outside to play just for a little bit nobody would notice. Technically they weren't forbidden to go outside, their mother just wouldn't like them going without her permission. But the thing was, the woman was still sleeping and none of them would ever have enough courage to go wake her up.

“But first,” Toya stood up, cutting his sister's train of thoughts, “Let's go get Shoto!”

A blank followed, then the exclamations fused. -------------- Aka the Todoroki siblings crew kidnapping their little brother with Toya as their captain in order to defeat the patriarchy. Enjoy!

Words: 5428, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of The Todoroki Family Chronicles

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Todoroki Shouto, Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Todoroki Fuyumi, Todoroki Natsuo, Todoroki Rei

Relationships: Todoroki Fuyumi & Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki Fuyumi & Todoroki Natsuo, Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Todoroki Fuyumi, Todoroki Fuyumi & Todoroki Rei, Todoroki Fuyumi & Todoroki Natsuo & Todoroki Shouto, Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Todoroki Fuyumi & Todoroki Natsuo & Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki Rei & Todoroki Shouto, Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Todoroki Natsuo, Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Todoroki Natsuo & Todoroki Shouto, Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Todoroki Fuyumi & Todoroki Natsuo & Todoroki Rei & Todoroki Shouto, Dabi | Todoroki Touya & Todoroki Shouto

Additional Tags: Mentioned Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Siblings, Quirk Shenanigans, Good Sibling Todoroki Fuyumi, Todoroki Fuyumi-centric, Protective Todoroki Fuyumi, Todoroki Fuyumi is So Done, chaotic todoroki natsuo, Protective Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Mischievious Touya, Siblings Shenanigans, a mess, Cute Kids, Kids and the revolution, Taking down the patriarchy, Todoroki Rei Needs a Hug, Todoroki Shouto Needs a Hug, Todoroki Rei needs a break, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor's Bad Parenting, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Being An Asshole, Exhausted Todoroki Rei, Snow, Snowman, Quirks, Adorable, kids being kids, The Todoroki Kids are on a mission yall, army leader touya, army of siblings, i don't know how to tag anymore, Funny, bear with me, siblings crew, Kids playing, Angry Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Stupid Todoroki Natsuo (we love him), Stubborn Todoroki Boys, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff and Angst, Bittersweet, Bittersweet Ending, Younger characters, Pre-Canon, Family Fluff, Attempt at Humor, they all deserved better fr, Fuyumi is a Queen, dark undertones for no reason, foreshadowing canon as a love language, Todoroki Natuso & Todoroki Touya being the best duo, Todoroki Natsuo Being an Idiot, Dabi | Todoroki Touya Being an Idiot, Todoroki Fuyumi being the only one with common sense, Past Abuse, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, The squad is back

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39785919

[justasimplesinner]

Hey, I’ve just spent my day admiring your blog... and seeing as requests are open I was wondering what you thought about the dork squad having a much younger, super caring fem s/o. Would it change anything in how they act with them publicly, intimately? Idk it’s vague so please go wild! I’m so down for anything you write!

i'm gonna make this more gender neutral so everyone can enjoy darl, hope you dont mind! gays and theys deserve to read some fanfiction too!

and yet again, gonna need to skip jervis

Jonathan with a very caring s/o hcs:

he is... not used to being taken care of. hell, he's not even used to taking care of himself. and quite honestly, you're the best fucking thing that ever happened to him. not that he'd ever admit it tho smh

you're just always so... gentle. and you pay so much attention to him and his needs. you never push. you always know when, where and how to soothe him. you always bring him food and coffee and insist on making him drink water. you massage his shoulders whenever he's been working for too long. it feels... weird. surreal. he will probably never get used to it

sometimes, he gets really flustered by you. here you are, a little ray of fucking sunshine, making sure he has a scarf and a warm hat on him, fixing it all for him, styling, patting his cheek like you were his parent. you have to fucking stand on your toes to even reach his neck properly, and yet he feels so small with you. and the amount of respect he harbors for you is immeasurable

Jon has never felt the need to ever explain himself to someone, never felt shame at getting caught redhanded in doing something illegal or whatever the fuck, but all it takes is a single look from you and he's spilling the beans, even looking bashful while doing it. you just have that effect on him

he is not going to lie, he does get self-conscious because of the age gap. he's an old cynic, you're young and so full of love, and not only does your relationship sometimes look like the parent-child dynamic in the most unexpected ways (i mean cmon, the rogues were shocked to see how you've tamed him), but sometimes it's just... hard to keep up. and it gets annoying, always being stared at - for a very different reason this time - whenever he walks hand in hand with you, and the whispers really get to him sometimes. even he can't comprehend what the hell are you doing with an old fuck like him

honestly? the first few times it happened, he had ceased showing you any and all affection in public completely. he didn't hold your arm/hand/waist, he walked a small distance away from you, he used the same cold tone he used for everyone else. it wasn't just because he himself was embarassed (and he hasn't given a shit for public opinion in years), but he was afraid that the whispers might get to you. maybe even... make you realize how you're wasting your life with him. he will need some reassurance from you to even consider showing your relationship to the public. he doesn't give a shit that people are going to point fingers at him, he gives a shit that they will do so at you and he'd hate it if you started developing some insecurities because of that or started considering... leaving him. he knows you probably should but he... so doesn't fucking want you to. it might be selfish, but he so doesn't want to fucking let you go. ever.

Edward with a very caring s/o hcs:

this man is just one big fucking baby, you two will get along very well. you complete each other. ying yang and shit. and he honestly needs you in his life. he needs someone to take care of him, he needs someone to love him like you do. it might not seem so at first glance, but he is practically unable to do that himself. he will never take care of himself like you care for him, he will never love himself like you love him

when you just came into his life and started cooking him decent meals, spoiling him with affection, listening to him, just overall taking care of him, he felt the need to cling to you like his life depended on it. you had him hooked immediately

but there's also this little thing...s. like... parental issues... trust issues... y'know, the usual. it's just... you felt so much like a parent sometimes, and he's used to parents aka the people that were supposed to love him abusing their power over him and belittling him. so, accepting the fact that he loved you and you might love him was a very long and tiring process. and then one time you just hugged him to you after supplying him with the best soup he's ever fucking had, he just curled into a ball in your arms, telling you that he loved you and... asking you not to hate him because of that. it was the most fucking heartbreaking thing because it actually felt like holding a hurt, abused and neglected child in your arms

has called you 'Mom' on more than one occassion, regardless of your gender (he'd never call you Dad. it feels like an insult to him) and got very embarassed because of it. honestly, he often gets hella embarassed whenever you do something for him, like fix his collar or pat his cheek. but every time he sees you like, folding his clothes maybe, just doing normal, domestic things and taking care of him, he's got this dopey smile on his red face as he all but stares at you with love-filled eyes

it does feel... weird sometimes. he feels kind of... creepy. you're younger than him, and yet you're the mother-hen, you're the mature one (though he won't admit that, ever) and it almost makes him feel incompetent. because he literally needs you to take care of him since he so often can't even do that himself. he doesn't blame you at all, of course. at first he did, and he threw a huge tantrum over it, many insults were directed at you but your god-like patience made you just suffer through it, comfort him and have a serious talk about the whole thing

and don't even get me started on the stares/whispers directed at you two in public. they really fucking get to him and they make him feel so self-conscious, and are making him doubt your whole relationship. but most of all, he's fucking terrified you will leave him because of that. because of what the people are saying. because he's older and has problems with keeping up sometimes. but every last one of his doubts is swept away whenever you just slide your hand into his or hug him around the waist. fuck it, you kiss him in public, you hug him in public, you call him 'darling' in public - you're not ashamed of your love for him at all, so why would he doubt you? he still does tho, he's so just fucking insecure this man

[seriouslyobsessed]

Fanfiction Recommendations

Miscellaneous

Bellarke

•Diamond Heart By asroarke

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13880400

The real torture was taking home her recordings and listening to her singing as he laid in bed. Each song was so soft, so genuine… in a way that none of the songs she shared with Finn would ever be. There was such an honesty in her lyrics that reminded him of those songs that made him fall in love with music all those years ago. And there was something so painful about listening to something so beautiful directly from the person he couldn’t stop thinking about. His mind kept wandering to what she was doing when she wrote them, to what experiences she drew from, to who she might have been thinking of…

He felt a sharp pang in his chest when he admitted to himself that he hoped it was him she was thinking of. He knew better, of course… but when it was late enough, he let his thoughts drift there. He let himself imagine that she was singing for him. After all, he was already singing for her.

The Country Music fic where Bellamy can totally handle Clarke's fake relationship with Finn Collins. He is not jealous at all. The songs he writes just coincidentally happen to make it sound like he's jealous.

•Love Looks Not With the Eyes By she_who_the_river_could_not_hold

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249032

It’s Clarke Griffin’s senior year of high school: everything has to be perfect. She’s top of the class, captain of the cheerleading squad, and dating the star quarterback, Finn Collins. Her mom is the mayor and her dad’s a successful engineer. It’s all exactly as it should be. Except… it’s not. Her parents are on the brink of divorce. Her relationship feels like a charade and Finn’s controlling personality is coming out.

Plus, she just can’t quite figure out how to get their rival high school quarterback, Bellamy Blake, to stop flirting with her every time he sees her.

•Gifted By sheryl_sems

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25209826/chapters/61103455

Bellamy Blake can’t fathom why she’s here and what her gift is, but what he knows with complete and utter certainty is that he despises her. People like her have grown up with anything and everything that they could ever want, their gifts celebrated with a hug and a kiss and whispers of how proud her parents are. But people like him? People like him have had to fight every damn day of their lives to survive. They are hated and outcasted, told that their powers are nothing but burdens.

So when a girl like Clarke Griffin shows up at Marcus Kane’s Home for the Gifted, of course he doesn’t think she deserves to be here with the rest of them. He just can’t understand why nobody else feels the same way.

Mutants/X-Men AU

•after the beep (i'll tell you i love you) By eemolu

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5870638#main

The au where Bellamy prefers calls to texts and Clarke prefers to make fun of him over outgoing message. Also, they fall in love.

(aka bellarke told through voicemail because bellamy is an old man)

Reylo

•Sweet Briar Rey By XarisEirene

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28868355#main

Rey’s grandfather curses her to die by the thorn of a sweet briar; Ben’s grandfather blesses her to wake by the kiss of her true love. A canonverse retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.

He’d wanted to kiss her in life. Did he dare to kiss her in death? Would she mind? He dragged the rough pad of his thumb across the supple skin of her lips. Just once. He’d regret it forever if he didn’t.

•hold me tonight By thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13683624/chapters/31431000

The Battle of Crait wasn't the end of anything. Rey and Kylo are still bound in a way that neither of them fully understand, not to mention the struggle to figure out what a soul mark means for people on opposite sides of a war. And their connection isn't something that's easy to keep hidden from everyone around them.

BuckyNat

•never so good By honestlydarkprincess

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19714708

Bucky didn't want to be at this party in the first place. The only reason he was here was because Steve had dragged him. But then he meets this beautiful redhead and maybe this party isn't so bad, maybe he'll find everything he's ever been looking for.

Bucky/Nat. Modern AU/College AU. Background Steve/Tony.

Thoschei

•proud By fluffysfics

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30407514#main

The Doctor has something to say. And she’s got to drag the Master to a pride parade in order to say it.

Rollisi

•Blueberry Secrets By ReaderOfFics817

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30470118#main

Rollins and Carisi are finally together. The squad doesn't know yet, but it's Easter brunch. Jesse has some funny comments that spill the beans.

•Emergency Contact By mariescarisi (darahsooley)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30467871#main

A family emergency with Rollins’ nanny leaves Jesse spending the afternoon with her godfather and favorite Uncle Sonny.

[sugasugawarau]

Happy New Years to you all! I’m a bit late in writing and posting this but I wanted to take the time to properly thank everyone who follows me for sticking with me :) I know I’m not the most active when it comes to writing or even making shitposts so I hope you know it means the world to me that you enjoy my content. While just because 2020 has ended does not mean things will get automatically better, know that you have the capability of making a difference both for yourself and others. I’m proud of you for coming this far and please remember to take care of yourself when you can <3

And I’d also like to take the time to thank some individuals who have made a huge impact on my tumblr experience and have made this year better under the cut! Be warned there are many words and also sorry for any typos I wrote this at 3am :D

I’m going to start off with a few major lo$ers (joking) aka my irl friends that have tumblr

@kbh-ton, @ashr00m, @kae-and-the-lost-dragons

Okay the fact that you all follow me here is EMBARRASSING because you have to endure perceiving me from a sorta totally different perspective but surprise hi,, ily 😹 I know ⅔ of you don’t even use tumblr that often but I digress!! Thank you?? Like I’m not kidding when I say I don’t know where I would be without any of you guys. Stinky pp Paul, you’ve been here with @/sugasugawarau since the beginning-ish and have always been supportive of my absolutely stupid ideas. And my sons AKA get cucked squad, this is going to be ultra sappy but I hope you know how proud I am of the both of you (but no thanks to one of you for teaching us about nussies 😕). Thank you all for tolerating my overthinking ass as well as whenever I get high from a lack of sleep and just in general bc I’m a constant mess of a human being; you are all the best people ik stfu I don’t take criticism.

To my first ever tumblr mutual, @tendouthighs

Hi Codie!! Ik we haven’t talked a lot lately but just know that I appreciate your endless kindness and how you’re able to keep up with my smooth brain antics in dms so much. You’re so funny and I’ll treasure all the jokes and headcanons we’ve made, I hope you’re taking care and doing well heading into 2021! 💖💕

To wife Lyra @yacoka

Miss… Thank you sm for dropping by my inbox all the way back in like June/July because otherwise I don’t think I’d ever have gotten the courage to dm you LOL. It would be an understatement to say that you’re the kindest and most easygoing person I’ve met on here - I hope you know how grateful I am to have met you and read your works (and for lending me your knives and just being so?? supportive??? truly idk how you do it but ily 😣❣️)

To wife Joy @lesbians4yaku

Joy!!! I really don’t know where to start because you’re just so amazing?? And we’ve been mutuals for as long as I can remember ajdjfka I’m just,, so glad to have met you and I hope you know how much I love seeing you on the dash, whether it’s being able to marvel at the genius that is your mind whenever you make a haikyuu shitpost or reading your tags. You always make me laugh and smile and I am wishing you both of those things in 2021 bc u deserve the best, love u 🤍🤍🤍

To Arell, the sweetest soul I know @g4nyu

You have a natural talent for being able to make me both soft ™ and also laugh as freely as Tanaka and Nishinoya with your relatable quips and jokes and I adore you for it. (Also.. can we talk about how absolutely gorgeous your writing is I will nvr shut up.. also also I am here whenever u need to be enabled to rave abt any and all Haikyuu or Genshin characters <33) ily and ty for being my mutual, I feel v lucky to have u in my life 🥺

To Cal, a goddess in her own right @heyhinata

Ma’am the way ily?? You’re beautiful inside and out and I have sm fun talking to you. Being able to call you a mutual and read your works is a blessing and I’m so glad we started talking in dms ajsjfja I’ll never forget plotting smaus with you to raving abt Genshin and making fun of B*n Sh*piro, hidden muppet 😍 Wishing you the best in all that you do!

To Rae, fellow Tim Hortona enthusiast @mehreya

Hi bae I just want to start off with a big thank you. You’re such a wonderful and invigorating person to talk to and I always feel at ease talking with you, and seeing you on my dash with your interactions with others is always a light in my day. And for u I will embrace the Oikawa kinnie in me any day <33 ly and have an amazing New Years 🥰

To Ria, the absolute best and only Ria ik @kumaoi

Omg hi sexc 😍 ahdjkfka idk if you’ll see this but hey,, fun fact even if we don’t talk as much as we used to I still love u sm and I hope you’re staying healthy and happy !! Meeting you was and still is one of the best highlights of my tumblr journey and I’ll always be grateful for your existence

To Gracie, writer of all things beautiful @sneezefiction

Gracie!! I hope you’ve been doing well since the last time we talked and that you’re enjoying the New Years to the fullest <3 You were also one of my earliest mutuals and I just wanted to say thank you for all the kindness you’ve shown me and for writing and sharing your works on tumblr. Sending love ! 💖

To the one and only angel, Yas @whipped-cream-writings

Yas bb we only became mutuals rather recently but I have sm love for you 🥺 Your kindness inspires me and your fics are the cutest things ever (pls,,, teach me how to write fluff ahfjfkka) Ilysm and I want to remind you that you’re so wonderful and amazing, sending you all my love for the upcoming year ahead !!

To Kay, who I will protect with my life @kayzume

Kay I don’t know how to even begin to put in words how glad I am to have met you in Lyra’s server,, you’re so sweet and you make me feel safe every time we talk. (Also THE DRAWINGS u made and shared with us,,, have I alr said ily bc ily and all that you do.) I know we haven’t chatted in a while but I’m sending you all my hugs and kithes always 💕💕💖

To mutuals I’ve interacted with some time during these months on tumblr and cherish a whole lot @taiyaaki @kageyuji @sophiawithstars @buddh-art @sa-suga @baeshijima @cherryonigiri @catharsisbabey @tris-does-stuff @tetsurolls @come-on-shitty-boys @iwas-angel @star-puff @voxamcris @azucanela @heartjime @miyafeuille @suikazura @deerixiie @hajiimes @skateme2yokohama @aliteama @yuujiya @omijime and many others but I think I hit the tagging limitajdhfka

Hi ily. You’re all such inspiring and talented individuals and while we may not interact frequently or know each other as well I wish we cld be ajfjjfa but I adore you all and I wish you an amazing New Year 🥺💖 (and if you ever want to talk, feel free to dm or smth! and I’ll try my best to be more active in popping into my mutual’s inboxes amhahshsj)

To the pillars of tumblr @sugardaddykenma @hina-wit-da-glock @nidaenk

You are all so special to me in that you are the reason I would wake up and get my butt on this hellsite and find so much fun and joy in the fandoms I enjoy - it’s not even the content you post but just,, your amazing and stellar personality and interactions with your followers and mutuals alike. Thank you for being a part of this weird space on the internet and I hope you are taking care and being kind to yourself, love u very much <33

[marlahey]

(and I'm feeling like) it was only ever you

a little voice fic pairings/characters: bess/samuel, general ensemble, ella the pupper being loved the most warnings: language, excessive sexual tension episode tags: fills in some of many gaps between 1.08 sea change and 1.09 sing what I can’t say cause I got wine drunk instead of finishing this before the finale as planned. +post-finale rating/warnings: explicit. read: resolved sexual tension aka les sexy times.  lyrical title courtesy of: part of me – by the coast (watch their fanvid set to this song and prepare to cry)  notes: so @brilligbraelig told me there was no fluffy fic in the tag, which– sorry. we’ve been in sad time hours for WEEKS and I blame the writers for never giving bess a moment’s peace. I’ve never really been one for cavity-inducing sweetness, not because I don’t love some pure joy, but as a writer I’m always a little more interested in the messier moments that just enough longing brings. if the question is ‘how many times do bess and samuel need to share a bed?’ the answer is yes.   this is for the samuel and bess protection squad on twitter (join us!) for being the coolest group of people ever throughout this wild ride, and also for @missgoalie75 and her love of colton’s bedroom eyes.  p.s: sometimes I ignore capitalization rules at will because of the vibe. 

*

bess is tired.

saint c’s is quiet tonight; al shoos her away from the bar with a stern, surprisingly fatherly firmness and hands her a tray of shots. she blinks at him. there aren’t any parties of four left. he points at samuel, prisha, and benny loitering at the back of the club until she finishes. bess doesn’t follow. al sighs. “go have one with your friends on me, okay kid? i swear, watching you stress out sometimes is gonna give me an ulcer before my next birthday.”  bess stammers a thank you and walks off with the alcohol before he can change his mind. she should apologize, she thinks. he’s been nothing but kind to her despite all the ways in which bess is hardly employee of the month right now. she should start an apology tour at the table, where prisha’s head is thrown back with laughter at something benny is saying, his hands outspread. these people are too good to her and she doesn’t deserve it, sometimes.  samuel notices her first (like always it seems), tracking her progress across the room. he tilts his head, a silent okay? and she moves her mouth in an approximation of a smile. his own lips quirk, like he’s trying to smother a laugh. she should be annoyed; she’s just grateful they aren’t fighting anymore— or worse yet, that it’s weird.  they still haven’t talked about that night. samuel seems perfectly content to pretend it never happened, except for the way he touches her with so much more ease than before— like he no longer has to hesitate before he’s pulling her in, taking her hand, squeezing her shoulder or the bend of her elbow in a way that’s more reassuring than bess can really describe.  maybe there’s a song in there somewhere.  “special delivery,” she announces at the approach. “drink fast, before al regrets giving us these.”  “my man, my man,” benny croons. “we love you boss!” he calls, twisting to find al rolling his eyes from behind the register. the shots clink on the tabletop. bess hesitates, just a second, before leaning in to toast prisha. samuel’s eyes meet hers again over the rim of his glass. she tosses her head back before she can overthink any of it. “anyone want another?”  benny and prisha grin; samuel shakes his head. bess does the mental math back to her last meal. one more certainly wouldn’t tip her over, but she’d be a fool not to recognize her own unsettledness. she springs for second shelf tequila; al smacks her hand away from the limes she’d cut herself not two hours ago.  “no reaching over, you know that.” the closing porter pours and dishes lime and salt with disinterested, immaculate practice. bess presses an extra five into his hand and gets a silent tap on the inside of her wrist in thanks. she’s not normally into the whole process of tequila, but benny enjoys it. something silly in bess hopes that the bursting sting of lime will just wash all her chaos away. by the time she’s tilted her head back down a second time, samuel’s eyes are sliding away. her throat is curiously warmer than liquor normally manages. it feels like she’s caught him at something.  “earth to bess!”  “hmm?”  prisha looks amused, damn her. “you up for it?” “up for what?” benny’s smile is equally conspiratory.  “dancing?” her first instinct is god, no. she and prisha haven’t gone dancing in what feels like years— bess still has a fake ID from the one and only time they snuck into a club at 19 years old, skipping the bar entirely for the pulsing beat of the dance floor. but she deserves this, doesn’t she? after everything? everyone’s looking at her now, probably expecting her to say no (samuel’s definitely expecting her to say no), and maybe bess needs another shot after all because, “sure.” tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop it. prisha and benny high five. samuel’s muted surprise is oddly delightful; bess wants to keep pulling it out of him, suddenly. “you coming too?” she asks. it’s not supposed to be a challenge but he raises one eyebrow as though bess had just asked him to duel. “well i’d be lame if I said no now, wouldn’t i?” that settled, bess excuses herself to grab her things from the back room. when she returns, benny is chatting with their night porter as he divides tips. she has to swallow an anxious lump before she can walk over.  “hey.” “hey.” he returns her tentative smile and she hates herself. “ready to go?” “i’m sorry,” bess blurts. “about the other night. i was so awful to you and you were just—” “bess, hey.” benny’s hands land on her shoulders. “don’t worry about it, okay? i know you have a lot going on right now.” “that’s not an excuse,” she insists. “you’re just being a good friend and a great manager and i shouldn’t have bit your head off for...” for not letting me give up. shame locks the words in her throat. how is it that she was the first person to let go of her own dream? bess has to take a deep breath. “i’m just really sorry.” he just looks at her for a long moment.  “if i forgive you,” benny begins gently, “will you forgive yourself?” the question feels like a sucker punch.  “cause i do, bess.” she can’t remember the last time one of her dearest friends was so serious. “i forgive you, and you gotta forgive yourself now cause we got work to do, yeah?” good god, do not cry. “okay.”  “okay.” benny pulls her into a hug, squeezing tight. “we got you girl, alright? i told you, we’re in this together.” those are familiar words. bess lets them wash over her. how had she forgotten? where had she let herself fall that her friends couldn’t pull her back into the light?  “c’mon.” bess accepts her saint c’s envelope with a grateful smile and benny steers her out of the club, his arm around her shoulders. “there’s fun to be had tonight.” “let’s go, bess!”  she lets prisha drag her forward, laughing despite herself and looping her arm through her best friend’s as they head out into the warm night air.  “where the heck are those boys?” prisha asks at the next corner. benny and samuel of course, are following at a more sedated pace to her one track mind. bess catches samuel’s eye and he smiles in that crooked, amused sort of way she hasn’t seen in ages— not since they shot more love, it feels like. relief is such a strange feeling for the moment, but there it is.  * bess isn’t tired anymore. she has no idea when she became such a homebody (though louie’s social worker may thoughts) but her exhaustion from the day seems to disappear the moment the bass finds a home behind her ribs. prisha presses a tiny glass into her hand and bess doesn’t think.  the vodka sears on the way down. it makes her gasp a little, like a livewire shock to the system. bess can only look up to see samuel wave from the bar before benny’s dragging her onto the floor; she loses sight of him in the crush of bodies and the pulse of the music carries her away.  samuel’s still there, some two or three songs later. just before they lock eyes, bess notices something very serious in his expression, something she can’t put into words fast enough, that draws a strange shiver from the base of her spine.  then he smiles, familiar laugh lines and narrowed eyes, and it’s gone.  bess remembers the way he’d so easily coaxed her into a silly dance set to their own music. have things gotten so strange between them that they could never go back there? not if she has anything to say about it. “I’m not drunk enough yet,” he objects, but his fingers close around hers even as he says it and she knows she’s won. samuel follows her so easily back to benny and prisha– like he’d follow her anywhere maybe, if she asked, and then suddenly bess is the one not quite drunk enough—  and then the beat pulls them in again.  it’s silly at first, just like before. at one point samuel and benny do the chicken dance to a hip-hop song and bess thinks she might die with laughter. she presses against prisha, hips and shoulders. her best friend spins her out; bess nearly stumbles but samuel is there, catching her by the elbows, drawing her in with that same teasing smile that had eased her nerves on that warm summer afternoon. she can see the memory of it reflected in his eyes. bess wants to fall into it headfirst. she steps closer just as samuel pulls her in; her hand lands on the back of his neck; his fingertips slip under the hem of her top and brush the shy skin of her hip.  samuel pauses, like a silent question, until bess coaxes his body back into the swaying rhythm with her own. her head feels heady, her body overwarm almost, but bess doesn’t want to stop because there it is again, that serious look— bess wants— “dance, dance, dance is my lung—”  “fuck no!” the moment—or whatever that was—grinds to a halt. samuel laughs so hard that she can feel his shoulders shaking. for several seconds they just look at each other, then over at benny who’s having the time of his life, and then bess is doubling over too.  samuel leans close to be heard over the din. “drink?” his breath brushes her ear and bess tries not to shiver, nodding enthusiastically in a vain attempt to cover for herself. they’ve lost prisha and benny to the worst song ever, so samuel keeps a firm grip on her hand as they snake their way back to the bar.  there must be some kind of special on shots tonight. bess can only stare at a bartender pouring no less than twelve in a perfect row for a huge group of women. one is wearing a tiara and white sash. that trying not to laugh smile tilts samuel’s mouth while they wait their turn. the sardine pack of people presses them together from hip to shoulder but he doesn’t seem to mind. the bar curves around in a skinny oval, drinks being served on either side. as servers slide back and forth, bess notices a guy looking at her from across the way. staring, more like it. the glint in his eyes makes her stomach turn. before bess can glare, turn away, or even shudder, samuel’s arm slides around her. his fingertips trace the curves of her rings on the bartop— affectionate, possessive almost. bess turns her head and samuel winks before leaning forward to touch their foreheads together. “pretend i just told you something hilarious.” his mouth hovering over hers is almost too distracting— his free hand pinches her side to help her along and giggles jump out. bess doesn’t resist when samuel tightens his grip and pulls her closer against him. he presses his mouth to her temple just above her ear. “he’s gone.” bess does shudder now, though for a different reason altogether. “thanks.” samuel just squeezes her once before releasing her. their shots arrive finally, amber liquid glowing strangely in the light.  “still good?” he asks, and bess nods firmly. “still good.” she meets his eyes as she brings the shot to her mouth. samuel is still looking at her when she puts the glass back down. inside her, it seems. “c’mon.” he says. samuel looks almost fond now. bess blinks; a trick of the light? is she that tipsy already? “we’d better go find those two.” she just takes his hand and follows.  * bess is... well. she’s not sober.  benny had waved goodbye from an uber outside the club. they’d made it three quarters of the way to the subway station before ananya had called, quickly devolving into an impassioned conversation and prish too, vanished into a cab and promising to call when she got to her— girlfriend’s? house.  “have fun you two!”  and now: “i’m fine, sam.”  his mouth twitches. “don’t think so, b.”  yikes, she hates that. bess rolls her eyes, pointing at her station stairway. “you’re literally going in the opposite direction. it’s like...” she has to look at their cross streets and do the math. “eight stops. at the most.” samuel nods. “all about figure eights. love an even number. let’s go.”  bess knows she should just let this go and stop being so stubborn. but something in her just can’t be stopped. samuel sighs, dragging her by the elbow across the sidewalk, out of the way of a clearly aggrieved businessman who disappears down the steps.  “bess. just tell me something.” it’s hard to meet his eyes, intent as they are. “would you let prisha take the train home by herself tonight? if you were going... I dunno, home with me?”  her stomach flips, surprising, terrifying, thrillingly pleasant. it’s all the shots.  samuel’s ears go pink under the glow of the streetlight. “you know what i mean.” she’s stubbornly quiet; he ducks his head, refusing to be deterred. “bess.” “ugh, no. of course not!” “because you think she can’t take care of herself?” bess rolls her eyes. “she’s my best friend, you know that. it’s just what you do.” “right.” she hates the way samuel’s looking at her now, the way he had when he’d laid all her fears out bare in the close space of his apartment: so certain and so kind. “so why do you think i’d let you take the train home alone?” for a moment, she can only stare. maybe it’s the alcohol, but samuel has never quite looked so vulnerable. bess doesn’t have the right words (maybe there aren’t any) so she just drags him forward by the shoulders. samuel exhales sharply, a faint laugh in her ear, but he wraps both his arms tight around her— an embrace that somehow feels more intimate than their pretence from hours before. bess endeavours not to think about it too much. “c’mon bestie,” she says when she pulls back. samuel does laugh fully this time, wide enough to show his teeth. bess thinks back to the night of their first gig, the sound of his valerie chasing hers in echoes. it’s a wonder anyone’s more stubborn that she is.  samuel ushers her down the stairs with a sweep of his arm and bess laughs too. *   bess loves her dog. she’d convinced samuel he should probably come in for water, or tea, maybe an advil. ella had poked her head out from bess’ room and when she turns around from her perusal of the fridge, bess finds samuel fully sitting on the floor, ella laying between his legs, stroking her head. “who’s my sweetest girl?” he coos.  her heart something funny inside her chest. samuel looks up, his obvious joy so bright in the dim light of the kitchen and bess is nearly choked with the possibility that she’d nearly pushed him too far away to ever see it again.  “bess,” he says, his cheeks dimpling, “her ears are so soft. like, they’re the softest thing i’ve maybe ever felt in my life?”  wonder of wonders.  she can only nod in emphatic agreement. how many shots have they had?  “you’re lucky,” samuel continues, still making ella’s night by never stopping in his affection. bess’ eyes get stuck on his hands, the motion of his fingertips and the turns of his wrists. “my parents never let us have pets and my building doesn’t allow them either.”  “you know ella would love if you came over and pet her all the time.” she gets that muted surprise again, which melts into something bess isn’t sure how to name.  “would you like that, el? hmm?” he leans down to kiss the top of the dog’s head. “wanna spend more time with uncle samuel?” how is it that her most loyal companion is somehow more intimate with samuel than bess is? and why on earth would she ever have a thought like that? “so,” she says, maybe a bit too high-pitched for her own liking (ella looks up at her and bess wants to glare), “we have water, tea, popsicles, half a bottle of jack.” samuel laughs and shakes his head. “i thought we were sobering up?” bess shrugs. “so, popsicle?” he laughs again and it warms her inexplicably all the way to her toes.  they have water, following ella into bess’ room, toeing out of their shoes when she jumps onto the bed. the dog puts her head on samuel’s lap and stares balefully up at him until he resumes his gentle stroking. bess leans back against her wall. she’s looking at ella and pretending she can’t feel the heat of samuel’s gaze on her face. if she thinks too hard about it, bess remembers wishing she could share a moment like this with someone else. she doesn’t regret anything that lead her here, but something in her is too afraid to meet samuel’s eye, like he’d be able to read the truth of that in her face and that she’d have somehow ruined tonight, this quiet moment of warmth and contentment. she leans her head on his shoulder and he turns his cheek into her hair. when bess finally looks up, samuel’s face is vey close.  is he looking at her mouth? is she leaning?  “are you drunk, bess?” he asks softly. she stops. considers. “yes. you?” samuel’s smile is a little rueful. he nods. “i should go.” bess understands. it’s late. they’re tired and inebriated. he has to go all the way back to his. they almost... and yet she says, “stay.”  he blinks. “what?”  this might be a terrible idea. “stay.” “but—” she rolls her eyes. “what makes you think i’d let you go home alone either?” the surprise is plain now. he looks that almost-vulnerable again. bess is oddly satisfied. “are you sure?” it’s strangely hard to keep his eye even as she points out, “we’re fine, right?” he nods again, a little slower. “and it’s not like we’ve never shared a bed.” when bess finally manages it, samuel’s gaze is very soft. “true.” and just when she thinks he’s going to refuse her still, he says, “okay. thanks.” how do you tell someone out that you just don’t want to be alone out loud?  thankfully samuel doesn’t make her voice it. he just smiles as bess gathers something approximating pyjamas and crosses the room. “sorry i don’t have anything that would fit you,” (he snorts and she’s warmed) “but you know, make yourself comfortable however. come get a toothbrush from under the sink.” and so that’s how they end up side-by-side in the cramped bathroom of her and prisha’s apartment, brushing their teeth. samuel makes faces at her in the mirror and it should be strange, to be t-shirt and shorts/boxers open with him. but he’s seen down into the root of who she is, so isn’t all this less? he’s humming something familiar as she washes her face, catching her surprised reflection.  “it’s yours.” bess casts her mind back. “from–” “that first night, yeah.” she nearly drops her face towel. bess has never shown him that song. samuel shakes his head with a chuckle, a familiar you’re a weirdo. “it would be just like you to play something that gets eight bars stuck in my head for months and never sing it again.” “i...” bess can’t pinpoint a reason besides her own fear, like a karmic penance for one of the most humiliating nights of her life. “i can’t believe you remember.” there’s a truth in his eyes that neither of them are willing to admit they can see.  “wanna work on it?” she asks impulsively, determined now to redraw a better memory, “maybe tomorrow?” samuel’s grin is so wide it’s almost hard to take in all at once. “this mean you’re gonna actually do that open mic?” bess shrugs. she needs to escape this tiny room all of a sudden. “maybe.” he doesn’t push her further and she’s grateful. samuel hesitates at the edge of her bed as bess pulls up the cover.  “oh my god, just get in the bed samuel.” and he does. their knees touch. bess turns out the light but there’s still just enough to see him looking at her. drunkenness has made her warm and sleepy.  “what?” “for the record,” he says, “i know what i think of you.” it feels like they’re teetering on an edge. “cool grandpa?” they laugh so hard that ella jumps from the foot of the bed. samuel looks so fond that bess doesn’t know what to do with herself. “yeah. that’s it.” “night samuel,” she whispers.  “night bess.” * (she wakes up before the sun, tangled up in him.  for once, rather than overthink it, bess just closes her eyes and goes back to sleep.) * bess can’t stop smiling. before she could even look at samuel after getting offstage, benny had lifted her off her feet and proceeded to all but bulldoze everyone in the club to get her in front of jeremy’s record label contact. could he tell that she’d just been kissed within an inch of her life? it feels like it’s written all over her face. bess can barely remember what she said, but his personal contact card is currently burning a whole though her purse. al buys them a round. (she finds ethan lingering in the back. what he says to her is somehow a surprise and not both at once. what she says to him, in the end, feels long overdue.) prisha insists everyone come back to their place to celebrate, and they pile into ubers. louie exalts her as a true artist the entire ride and even phil seems impressed. true to form though, he’s a roledex of weather facts as bess and prisha frantically pull out every candle or flashlight in the apartment; their lights flicker ominiously every so often as the storm beats down their windows. benny puts a playlist together and tries to order pizza. by some miracle, it actually arrives; everyone pools together for a 150% tip. so it feels like ages before bess looks up to find samuel leaning against the alcove of her living room, watching as louie begins a spirited debate on the best numbers in hamilton.  bess nods her head toward the door of her bedroom. she’s expecting him to make a silly face with his eyebrows or hesitate, but samuel’s mouth just curves up on one side, like that’s all he’s allowing himself, and follows. “for the record,” he says as the sounds of the party fade a little behind them, “the answer will always be satisfied. no contest.” god, how had she never seen him before? her bedside lamp is still working. bess fishes out a pale white whale from childhood, one that changes colour as you tap. she grins at samuel, who’s leaning against her closed door and smiling like he’s not even sure what to make of her.  “you’re incredible, you know that?” her face heats, pride and embarrassment both at once. “so are you. i can’t believe we got through that song.” “all you, bess.”  she wants to roll her eyes, but refrains. “the electric was a great idea.” samuel’s eyes drop when he smiles; the familiar humility in it reminds bess of the reason she wanted to talk to him in the first place.  “i know what you did tonight. before you showed up.” he looks up then, a little sharply. samuel’s always had a good poker face but bess can see it still, that guarded look. “what did i do, bess?” saying it out loud makes her feel like she’s in a movie. bess steps forward. “you told ethan to come. for me.” “are you upset?” “no. i just want to understand why.” samuel’s gaze is as steady as it’s ever been. “i just want you to be happy.”  she feels unraveled, somehow.  “then why did you...” even in the poor light, he flushes. “why did you kiss me?” samuel looks at the floor, then back at bess. her heart beats in double time. “he didn’t show, or so I thought. and I didn’t want to...” he laughs lightly, almost at himself. “throw away my shot. I guess I wasn’t really expecting you to—” try to press him into the wall? “to kiss me back, or even what that might mean, but I wanted to show you, or tell you that—” she’s close enough to touch him now. samuel’s hands cup her elbows, very gently, like he needs to ground himself. but he looks bess right in the eye. “even if you didn’t want me, i’d choose you first. every time.”  her heart free-falls.  “bess.” he squeezes a little, catching her eyes. how long have they been standing in this moment of after? “please say something.” “i told him we couldn’t work,” she says in a rush. “and i don’t even know if it was really because you and I—” bess stumbles but samuel hangs on, his grip on her unwavering, “but i think part of me always knew it was just...like, a fantasy? we barely even knew each other and i always hated myself a little for being that girl trying to steal someone else’s partner and i wasn’t dealing with any of my shit until—” samuel just waits. the realization feels too big, but there’s no going back now. “until i met you.” he looks almost stricken. bess lets out a strange, wondrous kind of laugh. she puts her hand on samuel’s chest. she’s the one who needs steadying, now. he draws her closer without looking away from her face, like he’s helpless to it.  bess can’t remember the last time she felt so sure of anything. all those those expressions that always felt hidden in his eyes seem so plain, now: surprise, fear, hope. “i choose you, samuel. though i probably don’t even deserve to.”  she can see his adam’s apple bob as he swallows. samuel’s hand brushes her hair back away from her face, tracking the curve of her ear. just before she’s about to freak out, he asks, “are you drunk, bess?” she nearly laughs. “no. are you drunk, samuel?” he shakes his head. she understands that serious look, now. it’s wanting. he wants her.  samuel goes to pull her the rest of the way in— “bess!”  louie’s voice and a loud knock on the door springs them apart. the lights go out.  “bess, we’re going now. and the lights are out. do you have a source of light in there? are you coming to say goodbye?” samuel lets out a long, low “fuck.” she has to clap her hand over her mouth. his nearly silent laugh ghosts over her skin as he presses his face into the curve of her neck.  (samuel kisses her there, just once, but it’s enough that her knees tremble a little and she can feel the shape of his smile too.)  “i’ll be right out!” bess calls to her brother. his shadow moves away from the door. hysterical giggles shake her shoulders. samuel’s hands slide up to hold her face. “do you wanna—” “come home with me.” she can barely make out his features in the dark (except for the want) but bess’ stomach drops anyway. the irony of no electricity is funny when she feels like sparks might burst from beneath her skin.  “okay.” * bess is deliriously happy. samuel puts down his guitar and barely lets the door close before he’s pressing bess against it with both hands. his palms are heavy and warm on her hipbones; bess wants to rock up against him but there’s a certain thrill in it, how strong he seems.  she has no idea the last time she was kissed like this.  despite how fierce it feels, samuel lets her lead. he doesn’t open his mouth until she does, touches his tongue tentatively against hers at first pass, tugs so gently on her lip with his teeth until she makes a noise like a whimper.  she should tell him maybe, that samuel made her completely forget herself, back in the alcove at saint c’s. but then bess just lets her hands find their way back into his now slightly damp hair. she’ll just relive it instead. she scrapes her nails over his scalp and samuel’s breath comes up short; it returns in something that sounds like a groan, or a snarl, and oh.  bess has to take deep breaths of her own when he pulls back, a wide-eyed glance to her face to make sure she’s alright. she can only nod. samuel’s fingertips squeeze her waist as some of that urgency seems to fade from his eyes. he trails his mouth slowly from her lips to her jaw; she tilts her head instinctively to give him room and samuel finds that same spot on her neck from her own bedroom.  his teeth and tongue press a little harder than before; he gets a gasp for his efforts. her legs feel unsteady again. bess grabs at the open sides of his button-down until samuel shrugs out of it. it drops to their feet. he doesn’t protest when bess pushes him gently, walking backwards across the apartment with his arm tight around her.  he doesn’t let go when his legs meet the edge of his bed. bess would fall into him if not for samuel keeping them upright. he drops to sit, pulling them apart, and finally bess has to take stock of herself. samuel’s face is so open, his smile so wide in a way she’s never seen before.  “still good?” he asks. bess nods.  “still good?” samuel laughs lightly. “i’m great, bess.” he reaches for her hand, his thumb brushing each of her rings in turn. “we can stop whenever you want.” she’s the one standing but bess feels smaller, strangely. instead of replying, bess steps out of her shoes. samuel’s eyes seem to darken as she slides her jacket from her shoulders and lets it pool on the floor. bess leans down and brings one knee to the bed, by his hip, balancing herself with one hand on his shoulder. samuel’s inhale is impossibly loud as he instinctively supports her with a sliding grip up the back of her thigh. bess’ skirt isn’t that short but she’s glad she didn’t trade it for jeans before she left. samuel’s face betrays how pleased he seems by her choice.  once she’s finished effectively straddling him, bess looks down from her perch.  “hi.” samuel’s knuckles stroke up and down her leg. goosebumps ripple and he smiles. “hi.” bess takes his face in both her hands and leans down as samuel tilts his chin up to meet her. she’ll never tire of kissing him. it feels like she can’t get close enough; he must have the same idea because his arms wrap around her back until bess is sitting firmly in his lap, their hips slotted together.  “can i touch you?” samuel asks against her mouth. bess nods, maybe too quickly, but she can’t bring herself to be embarrassed.  guitar callused fingers slide beneath her top. samuel reaches the slim band of her lacy bralette. he pauses, but bess leans into his hand and then he’s tracing the curve of her breast. his thumb brushes a little roughly over her nipple; bess feels an abrupt ache between her legs. “that seems pretty,” samuel murmurs in her ear, like a casual observation. “it’s a matching set,” she replies, trying not to sound too breathless. “for luck.” he pulls back with wide eyes. bess wants to laugh but she’s too busy dealing with this rush of blood to her face. she sits up carefully so they don’t knock heads and reaches for the edges of samuel’s t shirt first; he drags it over his head in one smooth, practiced motion. shit, he’s hot.  he’s staring as bess unfolds herself to stand back on the floor (her legs are still unsteady but he doesn’t need to know that) and goes to pull off her own shirt. samuel’s eyes don’t leave her face until the fabric coming over her head pulls her from view. when bess blinks him back into focus, he’s gone a little slack-jawed. she nods at his jeans and the speed at which samuel divests himself of them has her biting back a giggle. bess’ face feels hot but there’s a frisson of pride that straightens her spine. she’s not even half an arm’s length away from him. samuel touches her stomach, just above the waistband of her skirt. “can I?” bess has to swallow before she can nod. just like before, samuel stares at her face until the last half of her outfit joins the rest of their clothes in a heap. samuel’s eyes trail from her eyes to her feet and back. it takes everything in bess not to fidget. she expects to see heat in his expression but there’s only wonderment and tenderness.  “fuck, you’re so beautiful.” she has no idea what to do with that. samuel tugs her into his lap this time, intent. his kiss is searing. bess rocks into him, just once, just a little. that grip on her thighs returns, tighter. bess can only gasp a laugh into his mouth when samuel stands, holding her up against him, and turns to lower her with a kind of breathtakingly slow care onto his bed.  bess lands on her back, samuel now the one leaning over her. desire coils low in her stomach. he gently shifts her hips so they’re both actually parallel with the long edges of the comforter.  she feels inexplicably, unbearably, fond of him.  then samuel looks away. he exhales, like he’s embarrassed.  bess frowns in concern. “what is it?” samuel shakes his head. “when you look at me like that, I can’t catch my breath.” oh. it feels so strange to be the steadier one. bess reaches for his cheek, drawing samuel’s eyes back to her. “guess you’ll just have to distract me, then.” he laughs, but then as he leans down, samuel’s smile fades and bess remembers. he wants her. she can feel it. his hand slides, pleasantly rough, over her skin, sliding beneath the band of her bralette. bess seizes samuel’s lip in her teeth as he strokes back over her breast. he teases her nipple and the moment bess manages to wriggle out of the garment and tosses it away, samuel’s swapped his hand with his tongue, her other breast now teased by his clever fingers. she gasps again and she can feel him smirking. samuel diverts his mouth’s attention to her other side. bess focuses on her breathing. the storm still lashes against the windows but it feels like nothing compared to the roaring in her blood. bess slides her fingers up the nape of samuel’s neck and a few things happen at once: samuel’s free hand finds the damp junction between her legs; bess pulls his hair a tiny bit harder than intended; his teeth catch her nipple with just enough firmness that bess’ back nearly arches off the bed, along with a keening noise she didn’t even realize she could make. samuel freezes immediately. he looks up and bess has no idea what her face looks like, but all she can say is, “do that again.” he leans back down, his teeth scraping over her other breast; when he tugs, bess does too, so hard that samuel hisses.  “sorry,” she pants, “sorry.” he shakes his head, a firm denial. it might be the dark, the lightning, or the fact that bess is so fucking turned on, but samuel’s expression has veered far past wanting— into hunger. he practically leaps back up to her mouth, a kiss so fierce that their teeth nearly clack together. “your hands,” he says, like it enrages him almost, “in my hair, holy fuck.”  oh was right. “you’re one to talk about hands,” bess retorts. “can you please just–” samuel leans back. “can i please just what?” he looks smug the bastard. it would be like them to bicker in the middle of sex, wouldn’t it? but his tone is so serious when he says, “tell me what you want, bess.” that she has to squeeze her thighs together.  “please touch me.” “where?”  bess is going to kill him. samuel touches her cheek with surprising gentleness, and kisses her there. “here?” he does the same to her neck. “here?” her shoulder. he marks the valley of her breasts, the slope of her navel, the jut of her pelvic bone. “samuel,” bess says. it sounds like a plea but she doesn’t care. she can only reach his shoulder now, the back of his neck. he may have shivered but she can’t tell because she’s too busy trying to keep it together.  he finally finds the elastic of her underwear.  “okay, bess?” this question isn’t a joke. bess makes sure to meet samuel’s eye; the mixture of that desire and care makes her dizzy. “yes. please.” when his fingers have finally slid inside her, bess says “samuel,” at a level of breathlessness she only ever gets when she sings. he touches her with the same care and confidence as he does any of their instruments, until her legs tremble; samuel finds a beat with his tongue against her clit that’s so good bess has to cover her mouth when she comes.  samuel crawls back up the bed towards her. he leaves a kiss on the inside of her knee, and her shoulder, just an inch or two from where he had the first night she’d stayed here. bess feels very safe, suddenly.  “still good?” samuel asks again, a more raw edge to the question this time. bess can only affirm silently as she leans up a little to kiss him. she can taste herself in his mouth, can feel the weight of his arousal against her. bess presses up and samuel groans.  heat pulses again between her legs. “do you want,” bess starts, putting her hands on him, straining against his boxers. samuel’s whole body seems to twitch. he pulls her wrists away though with a bruising kiss.  “i’m just dying to be inside you, if that’s cool.” her stomach flips.  “very cool.” samuel smiles and goes willingly when bess rolls them over. he reaches blindly into a bedside drawer. bess catches sight of a pair of glasses and makes a mental note to ask about them when her mind’s not currently so occupied.  “shit, are these even in date?” samuel squints at the packet in his hand. “god, have i not had sex in this long?” bess can’t help but laugh. they giggle their way through confirming the expiry date, getting rid of samuel’s boxers, and rolling on the condom in the dark. for a moment they just look at each other. bess hasn’t ached like this for anyone in a long time.  “tell me what you want, samuel.” his adam’s apple bobs as he sits up. “c’mere.”  samuel pulls her forward and bess lifts her hips to line them up. he swallows her tiny gasp as she sinks down onto him; it’s been a while for her, too. samuel anchors her with one hand splayed across her back, waiting silently until bess has adjusted to the stretch.  bess rocks down experimentally and he makes an almost strangled noise in the back of his throat. a soft kiss lands on her forehead, a starkly tender inverse to nearly everything that’s happened so far, and maybe even to what they’re about to do. it settles bess and breaks her open both at once.  “okay?” he asks carefully. she nods, wrapping both her arms around his neck. “you’re amazing, you know that?” samuel murmurs over her lips. his own hips swing up towards hers and wow. “bess.” she was right, before. he’s strong.  they get a rhythm going quickly enough, like another harmony that comes so easy. the angle has bess’ clit pressing with beautiful pressure against samuel’s pelvis; she clenches down just as he thrusts up. he curses and it just stokes that flame hotter inside of her. after a certain point bess can’t even speak anymore. she has both her hands in samuel’s hair and he’s latched back onto the curve between her neck and shoulder, teeth and tongue and words like, fuck and tight and good and bess— “samuel i—” he looks up at her face like he wants to commit it to memory.  “bess.” and she’s gone again. * when they’ve caught their breath and tidied up, bess and samuel find themselves side by side in his bathroom, a sweet reflection of that night from weeks ago. she’s glad she thought to bring her toothbrush. samuel keeps staring at her in the mirror.  “what?”  does she have toothpaste on her face? he just shakes his head, the way he does when he laughs to himself.  “nothing. you just look better in my t-shirts than i do.”  bess rolls her eyes but her face feels hot anyway. “weirdo.” it feels good not to have to wonder as they head back to his bed. samuel drags her immediately towards him beneath the covers, his cool hands greedy beneath her borrowed sleepwear as her back curves against his chest. he plants a minty kiss above her shoulder-blade where his shirt’s slipped down. bess shivers and he leaves another on the back of her neck. “sorry,” he murmurs, and bess flips around to look at him.  “for what?” the storm broke finally, and amber light of the street through his windows feels just as safe and warm as it had before. but samuel is the one who seems afraid, now.  “i don’t want to freak you out.” “you’re not freaking me out,” bess insists. “tell me.” samuel hesitates. bess reaches out to touch his face.  “hey. i don’t scare that easy either, you know.” he exhales a faint laugh. it’s so rare to see samuel seem unsure, or fragile. it makes bess feel thrillingly off-centre.  “i don’t think i’ll ever be able to stop wanting you.”  she’s falling.  “and not just—” samuel nods vaguely at their general closeness. “this. i mean all of it. the music, your family, everything. i know it’s probably a bad idea to start things with bandmates or whatever but i just—”  bess doesn’t let him finish. she can only pour all her affection for him into a kiss, taking samuel’s huff of surprise in her mouth even as he reaches for her waist to pull her closer, then on top of him.  when she pulls away he seems a little dazed.  “you make the bad days okay,” bess says firmly and samuel smiles with such near-adoration that she understands it now, that loss of air. “so we’ll figure it out, okay? one day at a time.” samuel nods. “okay.”  and he pulls her back down. * bess wakes up with words in her mind.  samuel’s grip is so tight that at first she doesn’t think he’ll let her go. but bess manages to slide away, picking up his hand gently and lifting his arm. she looks at his sleeping face and kisses his knuckles.  samuel’s lips curve a little and if she looks too hard she could be in love with him already.  she knows where he keeps blank sheet paper in his production area. bess finds a pen and a coffee table book about new york parks; she sits on the edge of the bed to scrawl, humming to herself.  she doesn’t realize he’s up until a familiar press of lips lands on her neck. bess will never stop shivering and samuel will apparently never stop smiling about it.  “hi,” he mumbles. his voice is low and gravely with sleep. bess files that away under the list of things that does something to her. samuel hooks his chin over her shoulder and bess lifts her work to accommodate his arms sliding around her waist. “new idea?” bess nods. “thinking about what you said to me.”  she’s circled can’t catch my breath at the top of the page. samuel goes very still. it feels like it could crush them, the weight of this kind of intimacy. but at least bess doesn’t have to carry it alone. “wanna write with me?”  she turns her head to look at him; samuel’s surprise will never not be thrilling.  “will you let me add a back beat?”  he’s already reaching for his guitar. bess laughs.  “i could maybe be persuaded.” the way his eyebrow lifts makes her stomach jump. “duly noted.” (they do finish the song, eventually.  the morning just gets away from them first.) 

[tsuki-xoxo]

Let’s Celebrate!

Overview: It’s Alien Queen’s birthday! Let’s celebrate! You and the Bakusquad prepare to give one of the best girls the best birthday ever, so join the fun!

Pairing: Platonic!Bakusquad x reader, Mina Ashido x reader 

Word Count: 554

Genre: Headcanon, Fluff, Birthday fun

A/N: It’s my favorite girl’s birthday y’all! She deserves the world and all the love! Your relationship with Mina could be interpreted as platonic or romantic, all up to you! Enjoy baby girl’s bday y’all! She’s amazing, talented, one of a kind--(can you tell I love her 👀)

Being part of the Bakusquad was everything and then some. It didn't take long for you to let loose around the five comfortable personalities. The atmosphere that surrounded them always filled you with confidence, silliness, and contentedness, like there was no one that could possibly judge you. 

Perhaps it was because of Bakugo's overwhelming presence of strength and his barks that he had no problem turning into bite's if it came down to it. The silliness Denki and Sero brought out in you. The overwhelmingly fuzzy manly vibes Kirishima rubbed off on you, or the energetic positivity that Mina radiated. 

Speaking of the birthday girl, she was currently busting a move that had Michael Jackson shaking. Yes, you were holding her drink while she did what she had to do. I mean, what do you expect from the Dancing Queen. The Alien Goddess. Pinky-- shall I go on?

She really said one foot in and one foot out, then bust it down like there was no tomorrow. God really is a woman. 

Jirou came in clutch as the personal DJ, pumping beats through her badass stereo system. It felt like you were in a Honda Civic with how the bass was thumping against your chest.  

You and the squad all agreed and planned to give Mina the best celebration known to mankind. Sero swore that even the galaxy's aliens would wish Mina a Happy Birthday with everything you've all planned. 

Bakugo called dibs on being in charge of the food, but if you asked him, he would vehemently swear that he was dragged into 'this mess.' You couldn't help but roll your eyes when you overheard Bakugo announce that as he was literally setting up the table full of Mina's favorites. Okra and natto y'all!

You and Kirishima took the reins on decorations. Since Mina's birthday is in the summer, a pool was necessary for the remedy to July's humidity; you guys even placed waterproof lights into the pool, mesmerized as the liquid changed colors. The yard was filled with fairy lights wrapped around the trees and tables meticulously placed to have enough room for the makeshift dance floor, aka a large patch of grass. 

Denki and Sero were in charge of the activities. There was a taco eating contest, a failed scavenger hunt since the two thought they could prank their class by making them meaninglessly look for items that weren't even placed. Lucky enough, though, Denki's dumbass outed himself under a minute. Yes, Bakugo did blast them into a whole other dimension. 

Obviously, there was a dance battle in which Mina took the crown, duh. Who else would've won, Bakugo? HA, chile imma have to laugh.  

Overall, mission accomplished for the best birthday for one of the bestest girls in the class!

By the end of the night, the pinkette made her way to you and gave you the tightest hug ever. What do you expect from the cuddle master? As she thanked you for the celebration, you watched as her amber orbs disappear as the corners of her eyes crinkled into a ray of sunshine. You become blind and sunburned from the warm glow of her heart-warming smile, and you'd do it again! As long as she got the love, affection, and happiness she deserved, you'd go blind a million times.  

[thecosmicjackalope]

It’s probably not gonna happen but you know what would be amazing for next episode?

Kiteman leaves without saying anything to Harley or Ivy, who are then left comforting each other about the situation. Both feel like pieces of shit and both are confused about how to move on. Days pass. Weeks pass. As the city rebuilds itself, Kiteman is nowhere to be found and there’s a wall between Harley and Ivy. Everything between them is awkward now because Harley still wants to pursue Ivy but Ivy is riddled with guilt and is still confused about her feelings for Harley and for Kiteman. The crew suffers through the tension, moving between helping them get through their shit and trying to find Kiteman. Ivy wants to find him and so does Harley, but there is still an undercurrent of jealousy from Harley because Ivy’s focused on finding Kiteman and won’t even talk to her about the future and “what happens now.”

During all this, Gotham’s abuzz with gossip about what they have seen and everyone’s taking sides (like how we all are in the comments sections). There’s a good portion of the population that are hounding Harley and Ivy about their “new relationship”, some people are spitting on Harley and calling her a home wrecker (especially Kiteman’s parents, which would kind of be a nice little way to nod at the fact that despite being assholes they do still stand by him), Ivy has people who are talking about how glad they are that she’s dumped “that loser” which fills her with even more guilt, and everyone is laughing about Kiteman, with some wondering about where he is.

The scene shifts and we find Kiteman out of his costume, grounded, without his kite, blending in with everyone around him and succeeding because no one sans Ivy has seen him without his get up. He wanders from place to place, never really going anywhere, sometimes dropping by old spots where he and Ivy had some moments together. He’s not eating, he’s sleeping too much, living like he’s already dead. He walks by a wedding venue and sees the happy couple kiss and look into each other’s eyes lovingly.

He forces himself to look away.

Eventually he wanders into THE PIT or somewhere nearby, feeling low as dirt, lost, confused. He still hasn’t said a line since the episode started. He’s hanging out in the wreckage and the waste, he sees a kite, or perhaps a little harlequin doll, or something that reminds him of what he’s lost. And he snaps, and starts stomping on it and having a breakdown when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see that it’s Bane. Expecting Bane to attack him or do worse, Kiteman - or, “just Chuck” at this point - welcomes death. Bane refuses. In fact, he sits down with Kiteman and the camera and the audio pans and fades away respectively as they begin to have a long honest talk.

Back in the city of Gotham, Harley and Ivy have one big argument with a lot of their ugliest feelings bubbling up to the surface and bursting out. Very harsh words are exchanged. They separate, leaving behind the crew, lost, confused and hurt that three people they care about are suffering so much. Ivy goes to be alone in a place she loves, maybe an old greenhouse. Harley goes to a carnival or maybe some batting cages to practice her swing. Each of them respectively are confronted by different people who have something to say - Ivy is approached by Catwoman who “had a feeing she’d be at her usual spot” and Harley is confronted by Batgirl and Batman. They all talk.

Batman talks to Harley about relationships and responsibility and knowing what you want and listening to other people, going off of his own failed romances with Talia and Catwoman respectively, possibly even acknowledging a budding relationship with Wonder Woman or Superman (or both, as, in a hilarious twist, their incident with Ivy’s pheromones lead to them questioning their relationships with each other and trying to be a poly throuple). Batman closes the convo off with saying that Harley has to face the music for the people she’s hurt, but also says that he’ll be happy to see her with someone who treats her right and encourages her to listen to her heart. Harley admits that she feel like she doesn’t deserve love and Batgirl argues that yes she does. She thanks Harley for some of her good deeds, and especially for inspiring her to stand up for the person she loves (her dad) and be his hero, the hero that Gotham needed, while Batman was out. And she closes her end of the conversation by telling Harley that no matter what she chooses, she will stand by her decision. Harley smiles and hugs her, and humorously, Batman gets dragged into the hug and hates the whole experience.

In their own space, Catwoman and Ivy talk. Ivy vents to Catwoman about everything that’s gone down and all of her feelings and guilt and confusion about it, and for once, Catwoman listens, without fuss, without sarcasm, without a word at all. When Ivy admits that she thinks it’s over between them and that maybe it was doomed from the start, Catwoman talks about her romance with Batman, how she always expected it to be doomed, caused it to self destruct and how very deeply she regrets that she let him get away and didn’t try to actually fix the problems in their relationship. She admits that she’s lonely and that she lives her life alone and that she enjoys it, but that it doesn’t come without problems. It comes with regrets. It comes with emptiness. It comes with too heavy a price sometimes. And she encourages Ivy, in her own aloof, standoffish way, that if Ivy really feels like she has something special with Kiteman and Harley, she should pursue it. She should be honest with her feelings about both.

So Ivy and Harley run into each other, and they apologize and tell each other what they want. Harley wants Ivy, and also to take responsibility for how she did Kiteman dirty and wants to mend her friendship with him. Ivy admits she loves Harley and Kiteman both and wants to talk to them both to see if they can all pursue something together, namely, if Ivy is romantically with both, and if Kiteman and Harley are okay with that.

But first they have to apologize and take responsibility for what they’ve done.

At that moment, Kiteman enters the doorway. He’s wearing his uniform, he’s got his things. Ivy and Harley are relieved to see him, but somethings wrong. They can tell something is wrong. He walks past Harley like she’s not even there and he talks to Ivy and tells her that he’s leaving Gotham for another city, somewhere where he can start over, somewhere with lots of wind to soar majestically or something or other. Ivy asks him why and he finally finally lets out all his hurt feelings. Without yelling or raising his voice, he calls her out on all her bullshit, stating that if she had just respected and loved him enough to be honest, they could have worked through it. But she didn’t. And to him, that was unforgivable. He says something along the lines of “ive been a joke to everyone around me since the day I was born. But I thought, for once, I found someone who saw me for who and what I really was. A person. When I met you, I finally thought I found my match, my partner in crime who I could spend the rest of my life with, who would be with me no matter what. But I was wrong. In the end.... I was just a joke to you too.”

Ivy is hurt by this and tries to apologize but Kiteman says he’s made up his mind and he just came by for closure and to give her a proper goodbye. Harley tries to apologize, Kiteman ignores her but does tell the others he’s out of the crew and flies off.

He takes one last look behind him, but he doesn’t look at Ivy. He looks at Harley, not with hate, or anger, but bitter disappointment and betrayal. And it’s at this point that Harley truly realizes what she’s done.

Since You’ve Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson, aka Harley and Ivy’s trademark wedding song request, starts playing in the background as a sequence starts to play. Ivy and Harley drift apart. The rest of the crew - Frank, KS, Clayface and Sy - all struggle with the loss of Kiteman. If Harley was the brains of the group, Kiteman was the heart, and without him everything feels colder. Life in Gotham goes on. Villains fight heroes. People rebuild. College kids graduate, and Joker and his new girlfriend witness the kids perform at a school play, with all of his goons in the audience cheering them on. Bane continues helping others. Nora, Jennifer and Catwoman pay their respects to Dr Frieze and leave flowers on his grave before going out to dinner together as friends (and yes, they all have Cobb Squad tattoos on their arms). Riddler still does his riddles but has started teaching a class for cardio at a local gym and is deeply enjoying it. The only job Dr Psycho can get is running and operating a Ferris wheel ride at the local carnival, which, ironically, he’s good at and he actually kind of enjoys, if only because it’s easy money. He watches as a short little girl JUST misses the height test...and uses his powers to alter the sign so she can ride, just so she doesn’t know the crushing disappointment he felt when he was a kid. (Humorously, When she inevitably falls off the Ferris wheel later, he casually catches her with his powers and sets her back down on the ground without even looking up from the porn mag he’s browsing.) Batgirl and Gordon play videogames together until something comes onto the police radio, after which they race to the roof to meet Damien and Batman waiting for them in a jet. Damien shows a flicker of jealousy towards Barbara, but there’s clear implication that the two will form a strong sibling like bond. Batman smiles at Gordon and Gordon smiles at Batman.

Gotham rebuilds. Life goes on.

But in the very last scene, as the song comes to a close, the crew disbands, and Harley and Ivy separate, with heavy hearts and too much baggage between them for anything, even their friendship. King Shark goes back to the ocean, ready to throw himself into his loveless marriage. Clayface leaves for Hollywood, ever hopeful that maybe someday he can become a true thespian. Ivy takes Frank and Harley takes Sy. As Ivy and Frank look on with teary eyes, Harley gets into her car and drives off into the sunset, and leaves Gotham city limits while crying her heart out.

And that’s how the season ends.