#and honestly it's the reason i decided it makes sense to be team no one lol

[gameofthronedd]

There's a lot I can put up with in this fandom because, hey, it's GOT/HOTD and it's an inherently violent/gross/graphic show and franchise.

But people who actively support/justify/encourage the murder of literal children make me so sick. And I wish I was lying but I've seen and heard people say that Daemon was justified for B&C or that he should have done way worse.

Yes, I know it's a show, dw. I'm not even someone who really wants kids and sometimes they are a little annoying, sure. But it's just kind of weird to me that people will support arguably one of the most heinous and tragic acts of violence in the Dance, and encourage/want more of that. Strange behaviour.

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

Currently rewatching cm rn and i saw that you requests are open and i honestly love your blog and your writing so i decided to make a request.So i was thinking,spencer is in jail and when reader goes to see him she tells him that she’s pregnant (yk that scene where jj shows him henry draw?Instead is reader showing him the ultrasound)sorry if this doesn’t make any sense,hope you have a great night/day🩷🫶🏻

i was trying to find that scene you were talking about but couldn’t, but i get what you mean. liaison!fem reader

spencer was being framed and you haven’t seen him in a month. the team kept work on his case while dealing with the active ones, whenever there was a spare moment you’d look over the files collected and try to see if something might stick out to you. you weren’t a seasoned profiler, but you’ve been around them for ten years that bits and pieces get picked up.

you needed spencer, you needed his arms wrapped around you so you could sleep soundly. you needed his random facts so you could always ask him more questions. you needed his sweet kisses and delicate hands leaving you dreamy and breathless.

you needed your husband so you didn’t have to raise your child alone. a palm rubbed over your small bump, one of spencer’s sleep shirts swallowing your figure. “i’m gonna bring daddy home. don’t worry.” whispering choked as you were hunched at your dining table with the scattered files staring up at you.

tomorrow was your day to visit spencer. you’ll bring the ultrasound picture with you so he could maybe sneak it onto his person. you wanted to give him another reason to keep himself safe as the days tick by.

there were many different families in the visiting room, young children were even sat at the cold metal tables. your knee kept bouncing from anxiety and your fingers held onto small photo, you tried not to bend or curl it.

you perked up when one by one, inmates were escorted to their tables. the officers reminding everyone, “no physical touch from inmate or visitor.” you took a shaky exhale when spencer’s tall figure entered the room, he looked unharmed.

he sat down across from you, his messy curls starting to grow longer. “hi honey,” eyes getting watery at the forced separation. spencer’s smile wobbled, “hi love.”

“i- i brought you some news, it’s not for the- the case. but it’s good news.” you slowly placed the photo on the table and slid it towards spencer then pulled back, just feeling his fleeting warmth as he pulled the paper closer.

he stared down at it, mouth slightly agape. “is- is this real?” he asked quietly. his eyes looked to you and you nodded with a few tears sliding down your cheeks, “i’m three months along.”

spencer licked his lips then dragged his palms down his face, “holy shit.” you heard his whisper. you stuffed your hands under your thighs, “are- are you happy?” voice cracked on the word happy.

spencer was quick to snap his eyes to you, his eyes softening and brows pinching. he started to reach a hand out, but pulled it back to the photo. “of course. this is the best thing to happen to us, i’m just- i’m just worried. emily said it might be awhile and im worried that i’ll miss so much with you and the baby, they might not even know who i am when i’m released.”

you didn’t want to get his hopes up, you didn’t want to get your hopes up. “we’re working on it twenty four seven. it shouldn’t be long before you’re free, and i always play the recording of your ted talks or lectures when i go to sleep. it calms both of us.”

you always made sure to talk about spencer with your growing fetus. making sure you constantly remind them, “your daddy loves you. he’s just somewhere for the time being, but he’ll be home soon.”

the guards reappeared and told everyone their time was up. “keep it,” you jerked your chin at the photo. spencer quickly slipped it into his uniform pocket and stood from the table, hesitating for a moment. “i love you. i love you both.” he said before leaving the room.

[onesidedradiostatic]

was gonna make a joke about this and have this be a shitpost instead but honestly may pass out soon so I'll type this seriously cause I have no energy to come up with a clever joke

it's interesting how vox's insults in stayed gone are literally just different ways of saying "you're old and outdated you're old and outdated you're old and outdated you're old and outda" tackled with a bit of "you're a coward" in there, whereas alastor's insults are not jabs at vox being new or modern tech, but rather his practices, "clout-chasing mediocre video podcast" he's saying he's a pandering, attention-seeking sellout, and he targets at vox's insecurities, questions his power, then makes fun of him for still being salty about his rejection.

I feel like it's pretty telling how vox's insults are just SO shallow, while alastor's cut deeper and more personally. while you could say, alastor may be just better at roasting than vox, I feel like it could also tell you something about alastor's hatred of vox being based on actual reason, which makes sense, he is the one who rejected the idea of being on a team with vox, the one who decided to make the decision to step away from their friendship. there were likely legitimate things about vox that alastor started to notice he didn't like.

whereas vox's hatred is extremely petty, he's still pissy over that rejection, he has no reasonable reason to hate on alastor's practices or medium. literally ALL he has is constantly repeating how tv is better and newer and how radio is worse and older, that he literally uses that SAME snap back even after alastor has his part "what a dated voice!" "you're looking at the future! he's the shit that comes before that!". he has NOTHING on alastor. if you asked him to make a list about what he hated about alastor he would probably just give you 10000 synonyms of "he's old and outdated" and be unable to come up with anything non-superficial. because the falling out on his part, from his perspective, was being rejected. and after that, BLIND RAGE. he hates alastor. he does. but he can't reasonably tell you why.

[ghost-bxrd]

Been mulling over Titans Tower and it's really interesting to me how it's treated in Fanon as compared to how the events transpired in canon. it's a really fun topic! Honestly, the original writing in canon is DOGSHITE but not for the usual reasons people cite.

Here's what does make sense in canon but is largely ignored (this is using canon characterisations at the time): First, it's all about the whole Titans team, not just Tim. They really downplay his death a lot, did not put up his statue or honour him whatsoever. Plus the hero community tends to victim-blame him a fuckton. Jason is showing that his death could've happened to anyone. Second, Tim and Jason are just two yearish apart—Jay died at 15, Tim becomes Robin at 13—so those Titans are more like his colleagues than anything else; he's not some older guy beating the shit outta them. Third, Tim’s indifference to Jason's comments and his cockiness about being a better Robin are pretty on-brand for his early portrayal as Robin. (I think fanon Tim derives a lot of his characteristics from his Red Robin run, which is valid as well! But here in particular we have Robin Tim... who... was... uh... a bit of an asshole when he was written back then and the HUBRIS on that man? Immaculate.)

What still makes this absolutely dog shit is the dialogue and how Jason is pouring his heart out to someone who he doesn't really care about. Jason... just doesn't operate this way... Why's he trauma dumping on... tim... ???? It makes no sense whatsoever because Jason really is someone who'd keep those vulnerabilities to himself. Why would he open up to... CANON TIM??? He makes scathing remarks when faced with Bruce and Dick because he knows the knife twists then and at he cares about their reaction. But not tim ????? Canon UTRH doesn't even mention Tim ????? ???? So in the end it's still shit imo.

I also find the use of Pit Madness in fanon super interesting, despite it not being canon. It's used to propel the Titan's Tower incident, which fascinates me because it shows how people are willing to work around its flaws to maintain consistent characterization in their works (which is !!! cool !!)

It's so interesting how many other incidents that do occur in canon aren't as well known as this one aren't given much thought. But this one is and it's interesting how people try to work with it regardless of it's flaws originally!

I'd really love to hear your opinions about it and how flexible you are with the Titans tower incident! :) How do you work with your Jason and your Tim? because it's cool to hear your analysis etc etc

Hooo boi okay i was planning on replying to this earlier but this deserves a proper, thought out response (which I’m shite at but I’m trying here. Words are hard.)

For one, I wholeheartedly agree with the whole trauma dumping thing.

Obviously we all have different tastes in media and I know there are quite a few people who enjoyed the confrontation with Tim, which is totally fine, but personally… yeah, not my thing.

I got into the Batman/batfam fandom via fanfic, so my first introduction was some version of Titans Tower I believe. I was super intrigued by the characters and the tidbits of lore sprinkled throughout that I immediately began reading up on them and digging through the internet for more info and background story on them. Which then quickly evolved into the part where my adoration for Jason’s character began and a short phase where I absolutely despised early canon Tim.

Like— all the victim blaming. He seriously couldn’t mention Jason without adding something derogatory about getting himself killed, which sat so, so wrong with me. Not to mention the Titans just accepting a new Robin right off the bat and joining in blaming Jason for his own death. I’m pretty sure that was the point where I swore off comics for a long while and decided to live off fanon 🤣

And then Jason’s part in the Titans Tower incident. I think part of how weird the canon event was is due in part to how the writers fumbled to depict trauma? Or maybe they just outright hated him because I know a lot of people back then despised Jason and his run as Robin.

Whatever the reason, I think I genuinely cringed when he revealed the Walmart Robin costume he was wearing. And then the trauma dumping.

Jason is smart enough to know Tim wouldn’t care about his grievances. I mean- dude just broke into his hideout to attack him, I think Tim’s about as done with Jason as with any other criminals, regardless of his past. And all that is proven by Tim fighting back tooth and nail without pause. He doesn’t even react to the accusation of the missing statue in Jason’s honor. Like, he genuinely doesn’t seem to care. And why would he? They don’t know each other.

And yeah maybe he was trying to beat some sense into Tim (which is still wrong but— vigilantes I guess? Idk) and make him quit Robin, but Jason’s also smart enough to know that Robins don’t quit easily. And then, as soon as Tim is down for the count and can’t keep fighting, Jason leaves. Just like that. No actual murder attempt, no kicking-while-he’s-down (at least as far as I remember).

It makes no sense. What would Jason be gaining from that encounter? Why would he blame the kid that replaced him and not the guy that did the replacing? Hell, it would make more sense for him to go after the Titans than Tim. Not the mention him casually doubting Tim’s talents when he must have done some background checks on him.

It’s why I like the idea of Pit Madness I guess, and that Jason actually went to the tower with the intent to kill. Because that way the entire thing wouldn’t seem so… pointless.

As for how flexible I am with the Titans Tower storyline, it really depends on the route people choose to explore. But I’m a huge sucker for the “Jason was Tim’s Robin” trope where there’s at least a mild amount of hero worship going on. 👁️ Oh, and happy endings. I can’t deal with tragedies.

But yeah these are my thoughts on it. Obviously no hate to whoever enjoyed the comic mentioned above 💚 we’ve all got different things we resonate with after all~

[flw3rrr]

Thank you for responding! And honestly, creative freedom! An idea could be y/n (or however you wanna write it) is new to the team and is a little too eager and Tyler has to be that 'in charge' 'voice of reason' when she wants to take too risky of chances(like maybe they're chasing a Tornado and she decided to jump out of the truck way too close, idk) .. But if that doesn't vibe with you, that's totally ok! My fav is when he ends up manhandling y/n or the reader😅

No sense of safety

Tyler owens x gn!reader

Warnings: Reader has no sense of safety keeping tyler on his toes, no description of reader, no mentions of y/n. reader is a little clumsy (mention only) But also saves a cat so it's worth it

A/n: Tysm for this request anon, and thanks for the creative freedom. i based it off the details you gave along with a bit of ideas from me. I really hope you enjoy it and feel free to request more!💖

word count: 2k

Not really proofread but a little is i like wrote this at 1am. sorry for any typos

Have a request? Feel free to send me it in my inbox!

The little diner that basically was in the middle of nowhere almost sounded silent, with the only things heard being the clinging off class plates or mugs. seniors mostly seen, and then in the corner the tornado wranglers sat. It was the happiest day for you today because you were new to the team, and excitement was built up deep within you.

You've known Tyler for some time and gotten close to him; he was the one who brought you to the world of tornado chasing, and you were glad he did. You enjoyed the science behind it and how many different ways someone could tell a tornado was forming, the speed of wind, and a ton more.

But when you become excited for something, you tend to lose all knowledge of safety. getting too eager to start the job and have fun, but of course Tyler knew you and how you got so the night before today he sat you down and told you the rules and not to forget any of them. which you replied to him you wouldn't.

Soon a hand landed on your shoulder, looking up; it was Tyler standing up and looking at everybody. "Alright folks, today's the day we get some tornados!" The table cheered quietly in knowledge of others in the little diner trying to enjoy a meal. "And don't forget our safety rules." Tyler mentioned your name at the end, making sure it kept snug in your memory forever.

You just gave Tyler a nod in return, a little embarrassed since Tyler had obviously told the crew on how you got when too in the moment and excited. Taking one last sip of your water before heading out to the truck and the rest of the vehicles. Taking one of the monitors, you began to calibrate and made sure it was ready for whatever was ahead for today. 

"So you ready to join in the fun and chaos?" Looking over to see Boone approaching with the camera in hand. You'd always liked Boone; his humor was quite enjoyable, and he always made sure to capture the good moments for the viewers to see, but then he also knew what not to show. "Yeah, I am really pumped and ready." Not really having enough words to express, you just kept your response short. 

"It'll be fun, I promise, and the viewers always love new people who join. Perhaps you'll be the new star." He lets out a chuckle from his comment. Within seconds, Tyler appears, "New star? already plannin' for their future boone?" Placing his hands on his hips, his arm muscles clearly showing through the sleeves of his shirt. You'd admit to yourself only that he definitely was good-looking. "Yep, you know me gotta’ plan for everything. I know a star when I see one."

You felt very welcome by everybody and already felt like a star. Perhaps they were just boosting your confidence, but you enjoyed every part. recalling how you told your parents you joined the tornado wranglers with a big smile across your face and your parents held concerned looks. 

"No need to boost me that high, Boone; nobody really knows me, and they'll have to get to know me first before they decide if they even like me." Your parents always taught you growing up that it takes a while for people to get used to someone new, especially if it's something big.

Tyler let out a huff with a smile before turning his head toward you. "Nah, if I like you and the rest does, then they'll like you back. Don't doubt anything." You let out a laugh before speaking up. "Unless they see me do something stupid." Having moments in the past where you almost set off the fireworks in his truck when he showed you them for the first time or accidently set up the monitor the wrong way, causing it to freeze for a whole hour.

"We all do stupid stuff on streams, like one time i-" Boone began to speak once before Tyler cut him off. "Yeah, don't even continue on that." shrugging it off before nodding, you walked away to get more things needed for this chase. Carefully packing it up in the van and truck, making sure each is tucked away safe and not able to fling around from harsh turns that will come up sooner than later.

It was finally time to get out and start driving. Sitting in the back of the truck with all the equipment that you use to track the weather and tornado levels. "Hey, can you hand me the light for the camera back there? I forgot to replace this one," Boone asked. You just gave a smile in return before your arm moved in front of you, handing him the light, just before you could move. Tyler's hand landed on your wrist tightly, startling you in the process.  

Eyes slowly looking down to see why you realized your hand was close to setting off the fireworks almost once again. Quickly handing the light and bringing your arm back to you, "Sorry, I didn't realize." A wave of embarrassment rushes to you, wanting to sink into the seat and disappear. "It's fine. Just be careful this time. Okay,  we don't have a lot of fireworks on hand this time." He began to drive, his face stern before going to excitement for the camera.

His reaction scared you, thinking quickly that he was upset at you and annoyed. But he wasn't; he was just nervous having you on this chase, knowing how you get, and afraid of you doing anything stupid you'd regret. Slowly looking back at the monitor to show the camera and explaining who you were as well as what's on the screen.

Within minutes, there were so far three tornadoes; they were tiny and didn't really do damage, but I made sure to document them for future reference and further study. "So far, guys, we are getting good results, and you are all seeing this live!" Tyler yelled out loud to boost the viewers and likes. As you wrote down more, trying to make the handwriting more clear than messy, when in a moving car you take notice, Boone asked you a question.

"So why don't you tell them what you're doing as we drive down a boring road?" pointing the camera back at you once more. Blushing a little knowing millions were watching live at this very moment made you hesitate before speaking up. "Well, I work for a weather company, not a big one, but I'm getting every bit of data and tracking info I can get on each tornado that forms or tries to form basically so we can use it whenever something like this happens again, which it will." 

"See guys, they are also smart, so Tyler did good letting them join." Slowly turning the camera back to Tyler and letting you do whatever you needed to do. Enjoying the moment and everything, but your eyes missed the monitor at the moment you were writing. Showing high data of something big and dangerous, then it turned off with no signal shown on the screen.

"That's weird." You picked up the monitor to fix it, but nothing would work. The only thing it would do was turn off, and on displaying the "no signal," it was odd for you at least. "What's the matter?" Tyler spoke, taking a quick glance back to look at you. Glancing up at him before shaking the monitor, "It's not working anymore; it says the signal is lost. I can't see anything at all." 

Just as you tried shaking it, trying anything possible to work, the sky got darker, almost as if it were night. "Are you seeing this or?" Boone spoke up, breaking the silence in the truck, his hands holding the camera tightly. A crackle sound came from the radio that sat on the dashboard. Dani spoke up. "Guys, im saying this now we have to get to safety, um, it appears its going to be a big one."

Suddenly, Tyler hits the gas hard, sending you to fly back into the seat with a huff, the air pushing out harshly. Boone just cheers at the fast driving, while you were silently begging in your head for it to quickly come to an end. 

A small town in the distance appears almost quickly as Tyler continues to speed, the rest of the crew following behind. As Tyler slams on the breaks once again, you fly forward, but the thanks of seatbelts, it was cut. basically choking you, and the only time you were glad about choking.

Just as everyone got out, the wind speeds picked up quickly, chairs blowing away, leafs flying everywhere, and people running to safety. Just as you and the rest began to run to the basement of a store, your eye caught a glimpse of a tiny cat. 

Standing still and looking to the basement entrance and back to the cat, you take a step before a strong hand grips onto you. Looking back to be met with Tyler, "What on earth are you doing?! Do you realize you need to get to safety right now? Even I know that better than half of these people who are just running around!" His face looked harsh and desperate.

"I have too. There's a cat, and I'm not letting it fly up in the air, and if I let that happen, I'd cry forever." Losing your grip, you ran to the cat that stood still in fear; its tail stood straight. Tyler watched you as every second passed, a little annoyed, but he never took his eye off you. Within seconds, the wind picked up, and with the cat in your arms, you struggled to walk. Taking action, Tyler ran to you, and before you could speak, he picked you up tightly and back to the basement of the store.

Tyler put you down carefully and looked at you strongly. "That was a dumb move, and never do that unless you say something before. You can't die on your first day; I won't allow that." A breath of relief left him as he glimpsed down at the poor cat that still shook in fear.

"How about in three days then?" You asked with a smile, your hand slowly petting the cat to comfort it to the best of your ability. "I'll have to see." Just then the power went out, harsh winds

were heard loudly, and the cries of children filled the room, but Barely heard. Out of instinct, Tyler takes you into his grasp, holding you close to him. perhaps to comfort you or himself?

Just as your head turned to meet his, barely making it out with only a tiny emergency light lit the room. It felt as if the wind stopped and nobody was there but the both of you. Tyler leaned in first before his lips met yours in a heated kiss. It only lasted a second before the cat shook more as the emergency light began to flicker.

The tornado and storm lasted two hours before it was alright to get out. Trees everywhere, some stores destroyed, and cars, including Toyota's trusted truck. It was sad to look around as police and paramedics showed up to check up on everyone. You gave the cat to one of them to fully check on the cat."I wanted to apologize for acting harsh at the start of today and a few hours ago." 

"It's alright, Tyler; you just were used to everyone knowing how to do things normally and knowing to get to safety quickly." Stepping closer to him with a soft smile. "You didn't realize is my guess?" he suddenly spoke, which confused you. "realize what?" shaking his head with a sigh, he spoke again. "The tornado was like right there when you ran out to get the cat. That's why I was basically screaming at you."

“Oh.”

[moodriingz]

Waiting Room pt. 2 | Q. Hughes

Summary | part one it’s Quinn’s turn to pine over the reader while she tries to move on, but can she do that when she’s still in love with Quinn?

Pairing | Quinn Hughes x reader, Elias Peterson x platonic!reader, reader x oc

Warnings | Angst?, mutual (but blind) pinning, cursing maybe 

Author's Note | Thank you so much for all of your support for part one! I feel so bad that it took me forever to write part two, but this semester really kicked my ass. I hope this lives up to the hype. I honestly just wanted to get it done to move on if that makes sense? I’m hoping to continue writing so feel free to send requests! I’ve also recently gotten into F1 so you can send requests for that too!! xx

Masterlist

“You were so right, me and Evan got along so well. He’s great. We’re going on another date too.” 

Quinn felt sick to his stomach. Not only had your friendship dwindled out of nowhere, but now you’re with someone else. Worst of all there was no explanation to why you pulled away. Quinn racked his brain for any reason why you would stop hanging out with him. 

Now he had to watch you give your attention to someone else. He was so jealous of this random guy. Quinn wondered what made Evan better than him? All he knew was that the bright smile and light blush you seemed to always have was for some other guy now. 

A couple of weeks passed and Quinn barely spends time with the team outside of practice and chooses to spend his time going through old photos and videos of the two of you or watching anything you’ve ever suggested to him. He’s halfway through one of your favorite movies when there’s a knock on his door. His heart flutters hoping it's you, but is immediately let down when he realizes that it's Elias and Brock at his door.

“What do you want,” He asks begrudgingly, leaving the door open as he returns to his couch.

“We wanted to make sure that you’re alive,” Elias said.

“Well now you know bye,” Quinn quips at them.

“Dude something is up with you and we’re not leaving until we find out,” Brock said.

“Is this about Y/N?” Elias asked.

“Fine yeah it’s about Y/N. I just really miss her,” Quinn admits after taking a deep breath.

“We used to talk almost everyday and that all stopped on the last road trip and now she’s seeing that new guy. I was finally going to ask her out and she just shut down.”

“Wait you were? You told me you didn’t see her that way and she overheard,” Elias says confused.

“She heard me? Why didn’t you say anything?” Quinn asks as his heart shatters all over again. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt you.

“She was so upset and I didn’t think I could change your mind. She had been pinning after you for months and you never did anything, so I just believed you,” Elias said with a shrug.

“I didn’t think she felt the same way so I was just putting my feelings aside because I cared more about our friendship,” Quinn says, putting his head in his hands. “I think I royally fucked up.”

“Maybe not, Y/N and Evan don’t seem super serious yet. You might be able to wiggle your way back in with her,” Elias says sitting down with Quinn.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“Maybe bring her coffee? Start there and see what happens,” Brock suggests and Quinn just nods making a game plan to get his girl back.

The next morning he gets up early for practice to go pick up your coffee from the cafe you always go to. He knew where to go because the cafe printed their logo on their cups and he had plenty of time to take note of it. As he walked in he immediately recognized your silhouette waiting in line.

“Looks like you beat me to it today,” Quinn says walking up to you in line.

“Beat me to what?” You ask confused why after not talking to each other for a month he decided to come to your cafe.

“I was going to bring you coffee today,” He says awkwardly with a small smile on his face.

“Oh well you can still pay if you want,” You suggest as a joke.

“Yeah I guess that’s true,” Quinn says, hoping a conversation would start on its own. After a minute of silence he gives in and asks, “So what’s new with you I feel like we haven’t really talked that much recently.”

“Nothing much, you know filming you guys all day,” You say wondering if you should mention Evan. It’s still so new and you don’t know if it's going to work out, but he makes you so happy.

“I actually just started seeing this guy. His name is Evan, I think you would like him actually, he's really nice,” You say, deciding to rip off the bandaid.

Quinn knew he wouldn’t like Evan because he was getting with the girl of his dreams.

“Yeah maybe you should bring him out with us after a game or something. I'd love to meet him,” Quinn says kicking himself because that’s the last thing he wants, but anything to get back in your good graces. 

You give him a smile at his comment thinking of what to say next. Luckily for you the barista calls for you two to order. And just like you suggested, Quinn paid. He offers you a ride to the arena before you even start walking back to the metro station to get to work.

You both sit in silence trying to think of anything to talk about. You finally start the conversation by mentioning that an author you had recommended to him a while ago put out a new book and how excited you were to pick it up. 

Just like that the two of you fell back into conversation like you hadn’t missed a beat. You arrive at the arena way quicker than you thought you would and almost don’t want to get out of the car and leave Quinn again. You walk inside and as you are about to separate, but Quinn stops you.

“Would you like to go stop at a bookstore after work today to pick up that book? I could take you home after so you don’t have to take the metro home,” He asks hoping you would say yes.

Yeah that would be really nice. I’ve really missed hanging out with you,” You say with a smile and leaving to go get your work started.

“What’s got you smiling like that? Evan?” Megan, your coworker, asks jokingly.

“Actually no I ran into Quinn this morning when I was getting my coffee and we just talked for a while. Now we’re hanging out after work,” you say, taking a sip of coffee. Hoping to hide your smile behind your cup.

“Wait, really I thought you two were going to avoid each other forever.”

“Well I guess not. He said he was going there to pick up my coffee which was really sweet of him.”

“Oh he’s so into you,” Megan says sitting back in her chair. 

“No he’s not, why would you say that?”

“Think about it, he stops talking to you right after you start seeing Evan and out of nowhere he’s doing all of these nice things for you?” 

You stop and think about it, but there’s no way he told Elias that he could never see you that way. You brush it off and get on with your day. You didn’t have to shoot any content today so you didn’t see any of the guys during their practice, but Quinn was waiting for you after work to take you to go find your book.

You try not to think about what Megan said to you today, pushing it to the back of your mind. Once the two of you get to the bookstore you feel like a kid in a candy store showing Quinn all of the books you had on your reading list but haven’t gotten yet. Without you paying attention he grabbed a basket and started throwing them in there to pay for them himself.

He finally leads you up to the counter and insists on paying for all of the books he grabbed for you. You try to convince him that he didn’t need to but you were cut off by the clerk.

“Girl just let your cute boyfriend pay for your books. That’s what I would do.” You try to deny the accusation from this random teenager, but before you could they were announcing the total and Quinn was inserting his card. He grabbed the bag and walked you back out to the car.

“Sorry if what they said was weird, but just think of it as a payback for all of those coffees you got me,” Quinn said, trying to make you feel better.

“No it’s fine I think it’s kinda funny actually.” You say finally realizing you were there for several hours and were too tired to make dinner.

“I think I’m just going to order take-out for dinner if you want to keep hanging out at my place,” You say with a blush creeping up your cheeks.

“Yeah that’d be great,” Quinn says as you start ordering. He stops at the restaurant while you run in to pick it up. He decides to text Elias and Brock an update and that he’ll tell them more later. 

The drive to your apartment was filled with playful banter about what you should watch and Quinn just watches you as the streetlights illuminate your face. The two of you finally arrive and settle on a new movie you just saw. It really didn’t take much convincing for him to give in; he just wanted to push your buttons a little bit.

Later, they are surrounded by take out tins and you’re starting to drift off. At some point during the movie your head ended up on Quinn’s shoulder and you started to doze off. Quinn wasn’t complaining, but felt like it was time for him to go as the credits started to roll.

“Hey Y/n/n wake up,” He says quietly as you groan and cuddle into him further. “Y/n/n you have to get up-the movie’s over.”

When there’s no sign of you moving he decides to just pick you up and bring you to your bed. Thinking you’re asleep he decides to give you a “friendly” kiss on your forehead and says goodnight. You feel the butterflies that you thought were now reserved for Evan coming back all over again. Quinn grabs the trash from the takeout and sees himself out, and can’t seem to wipe the smile off his face. On his way home he decides to call Elias.

“Elias I’m in so deep I don’t know what to do,” Quinn says concerned because he doesn’t want to break you and Evan up and ruin something else for you.

“Wait what happened?” Elias asked confused because all Quinn had told him was that they were heading back to her place.

“I kissed her-” Quinn said before Elias cut him off.

“You what? You move fast, man.”

“Well I kind of kissed her. She fell asleep on my shoulder and wouldn’t move so I carried her back to her room and then I kissed her forehead. Now I’m going home,” Quinn says still with a deep smile on his face. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“I guess act like nothing happened. She was asleep right? Just leave it be for now and still hang out with her. I can talk to her and see what’s going on with Evan and then you can go from there.”

“Yeah good point thanks Elias, I’ll see you later.”

The next day you walk into work reminiscing last night with Quinn hoping you could relive it again soon. Silly crush aside, you missed your best friend and wanted things to go back to normal. 

Elias practically corners you just to ask questions about Quinn.

“Quinn told me you two hung out last night, so you aren’t ignoring him anymore?”

“I was never ignoring him I just was busy,” You say trying to move around him to get to his office.

“Yeah alright. Anyways, how is it going with Ethan?” Elias asks, teasing you.

“Evan is great. I think I might invite him to a game or something soon,” You say, rolling your eyes.

“Oh wait, really?” Elias asks as you start to walk away. “For the record I think that would be a great idea. Maybe next week against Winnipeg?”

“Yeah I’ll have to ask him. Now if you will excuse me I have to go to my desk.” You say finally walking away. 

You set your things down and open your computer and Megan starts questioning you about your evening with Quinn.

“It really wasn’t anything crazy. We just went to the bookstore where he bought all of them for me and then we went back to my place and got dinner,” You tell her leaving out the fact that he brought you to your bed and kissed you goodnight.

“The fact that he bought all of your books is enough to tell me that he’s into you. I know you had a long list you were slowly buying for yourself.” Megan may have set you up with Evan but she wasn’t blind to how much Quinn was into you and vice versa. 

“I’m thinking of inviting Evan to a game. What do you think?” You ask to change the subject.

“I think it would be a good idea if you weren’t afraid of what your work husband would do,” Megan says, teasing you.

“I- what are you talking about,” You ask, hiding your blush.

“Y/N you can pretend to be oblivious, but Quinn really likes you and you should think about his reaction to having your new boyfriend at a game.”

“Who even knows if Evan would want to go,” You say before locking in on your work for the day.

You had already made plans to go out with Evan later that night so you figured it would be the best time to ask him then. You go home and get ready for your date thinking about what Megan said to you earlier in the day. 

Soon enough you leave to go meet Evan at some new restaurant you would never pick out because it was too fancy for your taste. He greets you with a kiss to your cheek asking you how your day was.

“It was good I just had to deal with Megan and Elias berating me all day,” You say, aiming to leave the questions about Quinn out.

“Why would they do that?”

“Oh I was just thinking about inviting you to a game soon and they were just making fun of me,” You say sheepishly.

“That would be so cool! Would you be able to hang out with me or would it be like a wag situation where I just watch you do your magic,” Evan says with a chuckle as you start to look over the menu.

“I could probably get the night off and sit with you. Do you think you’d be free for the game next Saturday against the Jets?”

“Yeah that would be great! I’m looking forward to it!” He says closing his menu to signal he’s ready to order.

You continue to hang out with both Quinn and Evan, but choose not to tell Quinn about your invite for Evan to come to the upcoming game.

Saturday’s game finally rolls around and Quinn notices your absence during the warmups. You usually can be found on the bench shooting content but tonight it’s Megan in your place. 

“Hey Petey do you know where Y/N is tonight?” Quinn asks hoping Elias might have some insight.

“Yeah she’s in the crowd tonight with Evan,” Elias says pointing towards Y/N and Evan in their seats.

Quinn’s heart drops. You had mentioned that you were thinking about inviting Evan but didn’t think it would be so soon. He tries to forget that you brought your boyfriend to the game, but he can’t forget the fact that you’re wearing his jersey. He can’t help but feel a fire ignite when Evan leans in to say something to you. The sense of jealousy does not go away, but there is a sense of pride knowing his name is the one on your back.

You spot Quinn looking at the two of you and give a shy wave like you had been caught. Evan leaves to go grab some water and you are stuck worrying about what Quinn is thinking about you bringing Evan. 

Honestly since you started hanging out with Quinn again you just felt like your heart wasn’t in it with Evan anymore. You were planning on ending it but he kept talking about how excited he was for the game, so You decided to wait until after to end it with him.

There were no goals by either team after the first period, but something about Quinn seemed off. He was checking the other team left and right and was obviously agitated. The crowd is electric even though the Canucks are down 3-2 half way through the third, but it doesn’t seem to help his mood.

Quinn continues to instigate against the Jets and eventually gets himself into a fight against some player who was aggravating him all night. It doesn’t last long, but enough to get himself a penalty. He looks even more upset than before watching over the play.

Y/N was worried for Quinn. He never was this short tempered and she couldn’t figure what made him that upset. Evan can feel the nerves radiating off of her and rubs her shoulder to try and calm her, but he can’t help but feel like he is the last thing she needs right now.

“Hey Y/N I hate to do this here but I think we should probably end this,” Evan says and you finally take your eyes off Quinn. There is nothing you can do but sigh.

“Evan I’m so sorry I really wish I could’ve been better for you.”

“No it’s ok we had a great time and I’m happy being your friend I just think you have feelings for someone else,” Evan says with little to no hurt in his voice.

“Yeah I would love to still be your friend,” You say with a small smile as he gets up to leave.

Quinn sees Evan get up, but he just assumes that Evan is getting you something from the concessions. He realizes he needs to stop focusing on your date tonight and lock in for the rest of the game.

Unfortunately the Canucks lose 4-2 and Quinn looks like a kicked puppy, but luckily he isn’t assigned to interviews so he can just clean up and get ready to head home. He hopes he can just forget this night, especially seeing you with Evan. 

Little does he know that you’re already waiting for him in the hallway all but pacing the area hoping he’s not too upset to talk to you. Quinn keeps his head down not wanting to see all of the sweet reunions of the couples and families until he hears you call his name. 

He almost doesn’t want to stop worrying Evan would be with you, but you ran up to him to get his attention. Quinn turns around surprised to see you alone with a worried look on your face.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” He asks, his voice laced with annoyance. His comment leaves a sting in your chest.

“Um we actually ended it, but I just came to see how you were doing. I was really worried about you. I've never seen you so upset,” You say with worry lacing your voice.

“Well thanks for checking on me but - wait you ended it with Evan?” Quinn asks, lighting back up.

“Yeah we were better off as friends. I honestly wanted to end it a while ago because I kind of have feelings for someone else, but he was really looking forward to the game,” You say rubbing your arm hoping he might start catching on.

“Oh?” Quinn says with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but still guarded in case it is someone else.

“Yeah he’s some goofball who was stupid and got himself a penalty tonight,” You say, stepping closer to Quinn.

“Well hopefully he can get that under control for the rest of the season, I’m sure you don’t want to be stuck with someone spending time in a box the whole game,” Quinn says with a smirk and leaning in.

You decided to close the gap and the kiss was all you had ever hoped for. There was a mix of fireworks and something that just felt like home as he grabbed your sides to pull you in closer. Neither of you wanted this feeling to end, but unfortunately you had to come back up for air. 

Quinn has the slightest pink tinge and smile on his face as he pulls back far enough to scan your face for any regrets.

“I’ve been waiting to do that for so long,” He says.

“Finally!” Elias says as he rounds the corner to see the two of you still wrapped up in each other's arms.

“I never thought he would make a move,” Elias adds as Quinn tries to hide in your neck.

��Well maybe we should get out of here and talk a little bit,” You suggest and Quinn excitedly nods, grabbing your hand to lead you out.

The two of you get into his car and you leave the arena stealing kisses from each other at stop lights and looking forward to your future together.

[brucewaynehater101]

Space Emperor Tim decides to take a break from Earth. He fills out the paperwork that he developed as Robin for official on break status. He fills out the paperwork for vacation from WE. He finishes his active cases and very valiantly restrains himself from taking up new ones. His version of vacation reading is a file cabinet of cold cases so he puts those together for his personal entertainment for his vacation. He sublets his civilian apartment. He makes rigged bets with Jason, Dick, and Stephanie to get them to watch over his part of Gotham while he's gone.

Then he, Kon, Cassie, and Bart jump in the spaceship and head for the empire. They have new costumes to show off and laugh at one another about. They are going to decompress and Cassie will be searching the empire for a therapist for each of them. While she understands Tim's reluctance, Gothamite, she would like the team birb to at least get some healthier coping mechanisms figured out. She would honestly like all of them to have some better coping mechanisms.

The thing is though that Tim never actually, verbally told anyone he was going anywhere, much less leaving earth. The only one who did actively let anyone on earth know was Cassie, she told her mom and she let Greta, Anita, and Cissie know. All four have been promised souvenirs. Mrs. Sandsmark let Diana know that Cassie would be on vacation and unavailable for hero things for a bit. Kon is distant from the Kents, if they even know he exists given Clark's hot and cold attitude towards him, but to be polite Kon left a letter for Ma and Pa that he was going on vacation with his team. Bart's guardian situation is also very up in the air so he didn't bother to tell anyone. All the Bats are in the dark. Only Young Justice even knows that Bart has a spaceship. And turns out that Tim is the only one who uses his official on a break paperwork. And Bruce never read any of his (very edited) reports from his time with Young Justice.

The first clue that the Bats get that Tim isn't actually there in Gotham is from a reporter who asks Brucie how Tim is doing on his vacation?

Meanwhile Tim and his life partners are touring the empire and they've added another planet. And there's an imperial design contest for the best palace for the empire because the empire is hoping that if their baby has his own home here in the empire instead of living out of his ship or using the residences of their former leaders, he might stay for longer periods of time or be there physically more often. Tim is trying to discourage the palace thing as a waste of resources and get people to design gardens instead. Bart may or may not be conspiring with scientists to create a Death Star without the planet destroying capabilities as his own entry to the imperial palace contest. Kon is making sure Tim doesn't notice Bart's plans by dragging Tim through markets and looking for the best examples of ugly-cute baby emperor and consorts merchandise. So far the winner is a set of dishes and each piece has what is presumably their very stylized faces on them. Cassie is taking her turn of being the imperial bodyguard and making sure none of their fans get too overzealous. She is absolutely getting the dishes for the people back home.

Fuck. I love this so much.

Also, referring to YJ as Tim's life partners??? Yes. Absolutely. Idc if people ship them or just see them as a queerplatonic poly relationship. They are for sure life partners. That's the most adequate description for the four of them. Even if some of them choose to date some of the others, if they all date each other, or none date each other, they have a very special bond. No matter the distance or time apart, they are life partners. Gods, I'm vibing with that description so much.

Anyways, Tim being the only one to fill out his vacation/time off paperwork makes so much sense. I also hc that half of the reason he "hides" so much is just that he forgets he has to inform people of shit. He's so used to not telling people what's going on with him that he legitimately gets surprised when they get mad or worried at him because of it. He also goes out of his way to keep tabs on his loved ones and doesn't quite understand why he would need to inform them since they don't need to tell him about their plans. For this hc, I think that YJ had some bumps with this tendency of Tim until they worked out that they just need to ask him. They have a gc where they will ask Tim questions to keep everyone up to date.

Also, hell yeah to the merch and plates ideas. I wonder how YJ is going to explain where they got plates of the core four's faces (since some folks, perhaps Dick, will ask where to get more).

If Tim did request for gardens, I'd love to see what different ones look like. Since they are alien planets, they probably have different ecological systems. They would also have separate ideas on what's considered "beautiful" or worth keeping in a garden-like exhibit.

Thank you for also going in-depth on Kon, Bart, and Cassie's backgrounds. It was cool seeing how they communicated with their respective social groups

[blooming-sunrise]

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH EMILY? WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE? JUST MAKING SURE YOU'RE OKAY. OPEN UP. EMILY ELIZABETH PRENTISS... ARE YOU HIGH? I'M NOT NOT HIGH. NO YOU DON'T MEAN THAT. YEAH, I DO. I'M DONE, JJ. I'M QUITTING. YOU ARE NOT QUITTING. OKAY? SIT WE NEED TO TALK. YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO LAY DOWN. HELL YEAH. LET'S GO. IT'S LIKE THE LONGER YOU STAY IN THIS JOB, THE ODDS ARE YOU'RE GONNA LOSE YOURSELF OR SOMEOME YOU LOVE OR YOUR SENSE OF HONOR. IT JUST TAKES AND TAKES AND TAKES. WHAT'S ONE THING THIS JOB HAS GIVEN YOU? WELL, MOST RECENTLY, THE DEEP-SEATED FEAR THAT SOMEOME FROM MY SON'S HIGH SCHOOL WILL FIND THE BAU-GATE WEBSITE. OH, NO! YOU FOUND OUT. YEAH, I FOUND OUT. COME ON. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT BUGS ME THE MOST IS YOU... YOU DIDN'T TELL ME. D-DID YOU THINK I COULDN'T HANDLE IT? NO. I KNEW YOU COULD HANDLE IT. THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAD TO. I'M SUPPOSED TO PROTECT THE TEAM. I CAN'T EVEN DO THAT. IT'S ANOTHER REASON WHY I NEED TO QUIT. NO, NO, DON'T DO THAT. IT'S NOT ABOUT... IT'S NOT ABOUT PROTECTING US. IT'S... IT'S ABOUT BEING HONEST WITH US... WITH ME. I AM. HONESTLY... I WANNA QUIT. THERE IS ONLY ONE QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ANSWERED RIGHT NOW. ONE QUESTION THAT DECIDES EVERYTHING. THE ONES THAT CAME BEFORE US... GIDEON, HOTCH... WHAT DID THEY HAVE IN COMMON? THEY LEFT. THE TWO OF US, WE WERE KICKED OUT. THEY'RE GONE. WE'RE STILL HERE, EMILY. WE ARE STRONGER THAN ANYONE... ANYONE GIVES US CREDIT FOR. WELL, NOT FOR LONG. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THEY FIRE ME. THEN LET THEM FIRE YOU! BECAUSE WE DON'T QUIT. WE DON'T. I DIDN'T... I DIDN'T QUIT ON YOU IN PARIS. DON'T... TH-THAT'S NOT FAIR. YOU DIDN'T QUIT ON ME AFTER MY MISCARRIAGE. OH, GODDAMMIT! YOU KNOW WHAT? THIS... THIS JOB TAKES, A LOT. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT IT GIVES? IT GIVES ME... YOU. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? AFTER ALL OF THIS, IF YOU STILL WANNA GO, YOU KNOW, I'LL SUPPORT YOU. I WILL. ALWAYS.

[isagrimorie]

I honestly love how angry Laudna was in the first half of the show, out the gate. The moment Orym called attention to FCG's new clothes, Laudna's face was this:

But even through that Laudna can't help but comment and compliment Imogen on her new look:

Imogen smiles at Laudna: "I love the new look."

She just lit up at Laudna's compliment.

And then Sam just goes straight into it, probably sensing the Drama potential and immediately Laudna's mood shifts from sad-soft to sharp.

Also, of course, Imogen's face when Ashton said: "You were the last person to have a complete breakdown."

Fearne also looked concerned.

And then Imogen's face when Laudna pointed to her and said: "You have a new best friend, apparently."

Completely bewildered by this classification of her friendship with FRIDA. I also love Travis's husband reaction of: 'Uh-oh.'

Imogen is completely startled because out of everyone on Team Wildemount she was the one who didn't want to rest and just want to be on task.

I live for Imogen's 'Excuse me?'

It's so funny because apparently, Laudna didn't get any of Imogen's messages that she WASN'T having any fun sexual or otherwise last episode. Like, Imogen really did need to spell it out for her, and another reason why Imogen decided to just make her feelings plain.

Imogen tries to explain and Fearne is also quick to buck up and defend Imogen. Meanwhile, Chetney offers his sexual healing services.

Laudna looked like whatever Chetney's saying isn't computing with her and later looks like she was half a second away from getting angry at him.

And then much later Ashton and Orym are gently trying to convince Laudna to try and unwind, feel what it's like to be Human again. Taking care of Laudna the way they failed to do, bringing her back from the brink of the abyss.

Imogen doesn't even know yet that Ashton and Orym just let her fall.

Orym and Ashton coaxing her back from the edge, directing her back to life, to Imogen.

And it starts to work especially when Imogen brings up visiting Zhuduanna and their old home in Jrsusar. Signs of the old Laudna seem to be softening her edges and her stare isn't as blank or blankly furious anymore.

But it's true they all need to unwind from the harrowing trip they've all been through.

Still, I feel there's hell to pay if or when Imogen ever found out that Orym and Ashton just let Laudna fall down the abyss and possibly let Delilah back into Laudna.

Fearne is just trying to navigate this seachange of emotions too, she was also deeply affected by the split of the team but she's just much better at hiding it.

(Also, Marisha Ray deserves all the accolades because she's so good!)

[2rats1gogh]

Same anon here with more- people need to stop conflating Aegon with Joffrey Baratheon.

Aegon has done some despicable things that I won’t make excuses for but he’s not the rabid dog that Joffrey was. Cersei, Tyrion and Tywin struggled to rein him in at 13 years old and once that crown was on his head a monster was let loose. Alicent can actually reason and get through to Aegon at pivotal times. Cersei could not do that with Joffrey.

Aegon above all craves Alicent’s approval and affection, he turns into a sniveling mess at Alicent’s scolding at his big age. Alicent is not afraid to tell Aegon exactly what she’s thinking. She doesn’t placate, pacify or coddle like everyone had to do with Joffrey because he was out of control, cruel AND stupid at the same time. Helaena is the most important person in the world to Alicent and Aegon is not going to harm the most precious thing in the world to Alicent. Helaena doesn’t have to fear Aegon bashing her head in with a rock or choking her after she has just had a stillbirth….

He called her an idiot at 14, yes it wasn’t nice but it was completely normal. At 14 I called my sister a cunt right across the dinner table, but I've also fought for that same sister. They are siblings and that interaction that made them seem more human as opposed to their 2 dimensional team black counterparts who always just smile and have kind words for each other- except when Jacaerys was beating the shit out of Luke on the beach, but no one is saying how miserable Luke was despite Luke actually seeming unhappy with parts of his life. He was even vocal about these things. Whereas Heleana who is a blunt speaker, has not said anything like that.

Helaena doesn’t look afraid of Aegon, she doesn’t look afraid of anyone in her immediate family (including Criston) as much as team black would like her to be. At the most Aegon ignores her, like she said. Honestly ignoring her is preferable to what Viserys was doing to Alicent. She had 3 children before she even reached 20. Aemond and Helaena are almost Irish twins. In the show Helaena and Aegon just have the twins who are maybe 4-5 years old, so Aegon is not forcing himself on Helaena.

We don’t know much about Helaena in the show because they decide to delete certain scenes and include other stupid filler scenes when they contain fan favorites…but Helaena in the book was happy. Her input towards the war was valued. She loved her children and everyone could agree she was a wonderful mother.

Her life isn’t perfect, there is no woman in that time period whose life is. Her husband is so far from perfect but that doesn’t mean Helaena lived a life of misery.

The book even says basically that Helaena died with Jaehaerys that night and Alicent didn’t kill Jaehaerys. That was Daemon Targaryen.

And when pointing the finger at Alicent, remember that she didn’t make Helaena on her own. She had a useless father who ignored her and her siblings her entire life. Viserys withheld his love from them out of some twisted loyalty to his first wife that he killed and his oldest child by this wife. These things would have a deep emotional impact on a person, it certainly has on her brothers. Stop letting Viserys off the hook.

(the way you called Joffrey a rabid dog omg I’m cryingggg😭😭😭😭 shxjskkzkvzlclwgzjpf)

but yeah, you are so so so right.

I hate it when people, mostly TB, compare Aegon to Joffrey. Like the ONLY two things they have in common is an ambitious (?) widow mother queen and also the fact that both aren’t very nice people. But that’s about it. Aegon at his worst doesn’t even come close to how horrendous Joffrey was on a regular day. Aegon never killed people for fun, he didn’t publicly humiliate Helaena like Joffey did with Sansa. And as I say, I am ignoring the fact that he’s a rapist because it was literally added out of nowhere, makes no sense, and has no relevance to the plot whatsoever. It was added purely to make Aegon and TG look bad. Canonically he is literally just a lazy alcoholic.

And I absolutely agree with what you said about Helaena. TB often say that “aLiCeNt MaDe HeR LiFe HeLl” but she literally didn’t? She would NEVER have her marry Aegon if Aegon was like Joffrey Baratheon. You can call Aegon every insult in the book, he was neglectful, he ignored her, he wasn’t really present in the lives of their kids, but he was NOT an abusive husband or father. And as you said, unlike Viserys, he never forced himself on Helaena. He wasn’t obsessed with the idea of having as many children as possible with her. Literally not at any point his nonexistent “abusive” behavior is shown, not even in the show. During the dinner scene Helaena literally jokes about her relationship with him, she seems comfortable and chill.

Sure, as you said, her life was far from perfect. In the books she does give birth at 14, in the show, since everyone is slightly older, she most likely was 16? Not that uncommon actually. She still had her mother, and her brothers, she has sir Criston. Aegon’s behavior was controlled by Alicent, so he would NEVER hurt her. If you remember how Alicent reacted to Aegon forcing himself upon Dyana (dumb scene overall but still) you can only imagine how she would react if he treated Helaena the same way.

[starhvney]

𝐒𝐔𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟑 | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟎: 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓

𝐂𝐖: very crude language and shit talk from ivy, paranoia, threats of violence, reader nearly spirals into an anxiety attack, implications that reader has anxious attachment tendencies

𝐀/𝐍: hey guys! meant to get this chapter out earlier today but i had too much caffeine and made myself sick oopsies! anyways i hope you guys enjoy this one! we're getting back to that good old drama

𝐖𝐂: 6,000+

𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑: @arienic (thank you nics!)

𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 | 𝐀𝐎𝟑 | 𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 | 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒

“this is so exciting!” teony grins, clapping her hands from where she stood next to you and katelyn. “i care more about academics than athletics, but i honestly love the sports festival! it’s so much fun!”

you hum happily in agreement, eyes drifting around at the school’s outdoor scenery. honestly, it's insane how beautiful of a spot it was placed in, with phoenix drop’s mountain range and tall forest trees spanning right from the school’s backyard. the whole student body is packed in the area from the soccer field all the way over to the baseball field, everyone in their athletic uniforms and the colorful wristbands that indicated which class they were in.

glancing behind you to check on aph and nana as the little freshman chat away, you catch a glimpse of ivy’s minions and aaron, who is a short way away, talking by the stairs. the tall junior seemed like trouble just from his looks alone—and you were pretty opposed to him already just from aphmau’s complaints of the boy all year—but his seeming compliance with lily’s flirtatious giggling set your opinion in stone.

your attention shifts back to your friends next to you, a sense of comfort relaxing the tenseness that had begun to build just from the glimpse of those people. after talking about everything with aphmau, you both had decided to come clean to all of your friends about the issues you’d had since day one with both ivy and gene.

you’d almost felt silly for hesitating so long to tell them, especially with how defensive and fired up they had gotten. lucinda’s reaction was definitely the funniest, the redhead immediately offering to slip a potion that would make someone throw up slugs into all of their lunches. you’d denied the offer through your laughter, as tempting as it was, and you have to stop yourself from giggling again at the thought of gene or ivy pale in the face and spitting out snail slime.

katelyn snorts, pausing in her warm-up of one-legged squats—an impressive feat you had unashamedly been staring at her do for the past five minutes—to look over to the academia queen herself.

“of course it’s fun!” she energetically hops in place with a fiery and determined look on her face. “i’m gonna own the juniors in volleyball this year.”

teony raises an eyebrow and tosses her hair over her shoulder as she looks at you, lips pursed in amusement. “our class lost to that class when they were sophomores last year.”

you nod in understanding, giggling when katelyn pumps her fist angrily into the air.

“and the only reason we lost to them was because i had won all the events prior,” she defends. “i was completely exhausted from the heat.”

teony’s hands are on her hips, eyebrows raised, and expression like a scolding mother. “so then i hope you learned your lesson for this year, right?”

she scoffs. “oh, i definitely have!”

“good, i’m glad. now you know—”

“i’ve been training all year to carry the team completely on my back.”

teony groans, leaning against you as she rolls her eyes. “kate, sweetie, that is not the lesson! it’s teamwork.”

“uh-huh, yeah that too, whatever,” katelyn responds, and from her distracted expression you’re not even sure she truly heard what had been said. instead, she grabs onto one of your arms and one of teony’s, dragging you both off into the track field. “now let’s go crush some classes!”

“wh-hold on!” teony laughs, turning back to wave at aphmau and nana as they stare at the three of you like abandoned puppies—or in nana’s place, a kitten. “good luck my darlings!”

“i’ll catch you both later! good luck!” you call after the two, sparing a wave as katelyn bulldozes her way through the grass.

she at least also spares one last look over her shoulder, though instead of a shout of encouragement, it’s a competitive laugh and grin. “pray you two don’t have us as an opponent this year. i won't go easy just cause we’re friends!”

teony sighs as the three of you make it closer to your classmates, lolling her head over to give kate an unimpressed stare. “i get your competitive and all, but i don’t think intimidating those two cuties was necessary.”

grabbing a stray volleyball from the ground, she scoffs and rolls her eyes, walking a ways from you both and tossing it up to start preparing. “oh, whatever. they know it’s tough love.”

teony looks to you with a disbelieved shake of her head, giggling at the blue haired girl’s antics.

“you know, you—woah!” she stumbles back, barely receiving the ball that kate had spiked down at her and sending it straight past her legs.

there’s a thunk of ball meeting shoulder and a familiar yelp of pain, before you see travis crumpling down to the grass and dante sprinting off while cackling. 

“what the—?! why were you sitting right behind me, dude?!” katelyn questions, seeming more bewildered than anything.

teony’s eyes drift from the scene ahead to you from the corner of her eye.

“were they…?”

“…i think so…”

“uh, sorry!” travis quickly stutters, stumbling up to his feet and waving his hands with an awkward braced smile. “i was just—dante, don’t leave me!" his voice comically cracks at the end as he sprints after his friend, the two looking like clowns as they run away.

“uh, what’s going on here?” a smooth voice breaks your stunned silence.

“oh, hey garroth. i don’t know, actually.”

the baseball captain is standing right next to you, blinking in confusion between the two boys as they run away and the three of you. he breaks out in an amused little grin at your deadpanned words, scratching the side of his head.

“well, okay then. are you excited to compete?”

you shrug with a nod, looking up at the boy. “sure! gets us out of class, so that’s enough for me. are you?”

“yeah… but i still can’t believe they haven’t set up a baseball portion for this competition.” he sighs. “like, we have kickball, but no baseball? not cool.”

you can’t help but giggle at the dejected look on his face, his love for the sport honestly endearing.

“well, baseball is a hard sport for normies like us to play, you know? gotta leave it up to the professionals like you,” you muse, nudging his side with your elbow.

a cheeky grin forms on his face, and you swear you see the tips of his ears turn a bit red in color. he opens his mouth to reply to your compliment before another loud thud–this time off in the distance–catches both of your attention. a soccer ball is rolling away from aaron, while aph seems to be telling him off with clenched fists. 

“hm?” garroth frowns, and you’re already walking over to the scene.

he catches up just a second after, tilting his head in concern as you both speed-walk over to the girl. you make it to nana first, raising an eyebrow in confusion to the pink-haired meif’wa who stood awkwardly distant from the two. she shrugs at the both of you with a pout on her face before you can even ask, golden irises darting at the taller boy as he seems to mockingly laugh at aphmau while walking away.

garroth shrugs at you before walking forward first, while aph continues to huff with clenched fists and muttering under her breath.

“how dare he just… ugh!”

“aphmau, are you okay?” the blonde asks in concern, and the girl whips herself around, eyes a bit wide in surprise.

“oh, it’s you two, hey,” she says, clearing her throat and fixing her hair with a flustered expression. “um, i’m fine, it’s just…”

“you should stay away from that guy,” garroth says suddenly. “i’ve heard he’s nothing but trouble.”

your eyes stay narrowly trained on the delinquent in question, as he walks through the field towards the concession stand with his hands shoved in his pockets. 

“oh trust me, you don’t need to tell me that twice.” aphmau crosses her arms with a scoff. “he’s in my werewolf class with me, and he’s nothing but a huge jerk.”

garroth nods with an understanding hum, before his eyebrows snot up on his forehead. “wait, you’re a werewolf?!”

aphmau and you glance over to him, before bursting out in giggles.

“oh! no, i’m not! i thought i told you what happened, garroth.”

“huh, laurance reacted just about the same, now that i remember,” you recall, covering your mouth as you recover from the small laughing fit. 

garroth sighs, his deep voice bordering on a whiny tone. “how come you guys always tell laurance everything but never me?” 

aphmau’s eyebrows raise, and she quickly waves her hands. “it’s not that i didn’t want to tell you! it just never came up!”

“yeah, garroth,” you coo, leaning over to wrap an arm around his side and pat him soothingly on the back. “laurance just knows more 'cause he yaps more and asks more questions.”

garroth snorts.

“…don’t tell him i said that.”

“oh, i definitely will.”

aphmau chuckles drily. “so to make a long story short, garroth, my registration was all messed up and i couldn’t change out of the werewolf class even though i didn’t sign up for it and i’m not a werewolf. and i’ve been stuck with sitting next to that aaron jerk all semester.”

he hums, eyebrows furrowed. “oh, i see. well i’m sorry you have to deal with tha—”

“garrith, there you are!” a high-pitched, nasally voice pierces right into your ear from behind you, making you flinch away from the friendly side hug you still had the blonde in.

aphmau stares at you with a tense half smile, eyes darting behind you before you turn yourself. carmine hair bounces against ivy’s shoulders as she tilts her head, giving an—in your opinion—eerily forced smile up at garroth. 

oh, nah. it is 9:30 in the morning.

garroth offers a smile in return, taking a small step back from how close she had bounded up to him. “oh, ivy! it’s good to see you.”

so laurance clearly has not told him yet. 

ivy tilts her head in seemingly innocent wonder. “what’re you doing talking to this freshman?”

and apparently you’re not here. cool.

garroth turns to the two of us, the unaware “prince” gesturing to the girl as she burns holes into our figures with her bright eyes. “have you two met ivy? she’s a friend of mine.”

she quickly latches onto his words, quickly adding on before you or aphmau can open your mouths. “yes, i’ve been his friend since we were freshmen.”

you resist the urge to side-eye aphmau, instead keeping your composure as she speaks up first.

“oh, i see… so you've been friends for a long time, then.”

“yes, we have,” she preens, her smile sharp as she looks between you two with a satisfied twinkle in her eyes.

garroth nods politely. “yeah, ivy’s really sweet.” he looks over to her while gesturing to you. “i’ve been friends with these two since we were little kids.”

it takes everything in you to not smile in your own satisfaction when her eyes just about bulge out of her head for a split second, her smile tensing. “oh, really…! that’s so… cute!”

garroth chuckles. “isn’t it?”

“yeah, isn’t it?” you can’t help but chime in, and ivy’s eyes flock to you with a flare of barely veiled annoyance.

“it sure… is…” she says through gritted teeth.

man, she’s losing it. you’d almost feel second hand embarrassment for her if you weren’t reeling in the satisfaction of it. 

“so! i meant to ask,” aphmau chirps, doing a very good job of ignoring her history with ivy’s wrath. “where’s laurance at?”

“he’s already playing a soccer match. his team went first against… the junior class, i think…”

she blows her bangs away from her face. “oh, so the competition has already started, huh?”

“speaking of which, garrith, we should go warm up! our team is next!” she glances over at you, eyes darting down your figure and back up to your face. “you’re not on our team… are you?”

“…nope.”

“ah, unfortunate. she’s pretty good at sports,” garroth says, throwing a small smile your way. 

“thanks, garroth. i’m sure you guys will do great.”

“okay, come on garrith!”

garroth’s smile falters as he awkwardly looks over to her. “oh, right. but, uh… ivy? it’s pronounced gar-roth.”

“i know, garrith, but we really should go!” she insists, grabbing onto his wrist and tugging him along with her.

he keeps his smile though it falters into an uncomfortable and slightly forced one. letting her guide him along, he looks back at you two with a wave.

“see you both later. good luck.”

“yep! you too!” aphmau grins, and you wave back with a smile yourself.

the two walk off toward the sophomore class’s flag football group.

you look at aphmau.

she looks at you.

“...a mess.”

“for real.” aphmau agrees, sighing and rolling her eyes.

“well, i’m gonna go to the restroom. you up to play?”

“yep, i’m on the team for soccer. what about you?”

“ooh, i bet you’ll crush it. kate’s having me play for the volleyball team. good luck!”

aphmau smiles, waving excitedly. “you too!”

thankfully the school has some restrooms outside, making your walk much shorter. by instinct you walk down to the furthest stall, clicking the door shut. before you could even turn around the door swings open again, ivy’s shrill voice bouncing off the concrete and tiled room.

“who the fuck do those two think they are?!” she snips, her tennis shoes clicking against the floor as she pushes on each stall door to check inside.

“they think they’re hot shit,” a more mellowed voice says. was that lily? or the alex girl that rarely talked…?

ivy’s feet stop just before your stall, spinning around to pace over to the sinks. “i thought i saw her come in here… whatever. i came in here to fix my hair anyways. ugh. i thought i told them to stay away from him! those… whores!”

you suppress the urge to scoff.

“well… you did tell them, and then she gave you a black eye.”

ivy makes a seething noise. “that bitch! she didn’t even show anything! i know i broke her nose!”

“whatever. if gene still has those pictures like he says he does then it doesn’t matter. we can ruin their reputation within a day.”

shit.

this seems to calm her rage. just slightly.

“yeah, that’ll get them away from him. plus if we circulate the other rumors around like we talked about then garrith won’t even want to be near them.”

“oh, yeah. that reminds me… i heard that those two were hanging out with garroth at the fall festival a couple of weekends ago.”

“what?! from who?!”

“gene.”

“there's no way! that's just gene trying to get under my skin! i thought he was on our side!”

“whatever. we just need him to be enough on our side to get those pictures out. and even if he doesn’t, we can still spread rumors.”

“yeah! yeah… i’m sure they sleep around anyways. with how they beg for garrith and that laurance’s attention it’s pretty obvious they want that kind of attention. they’re so pathetic, especially aphmau. that little cunt is just begging for one of them to—”

hell no.

your hand races forward to click open the lock, and you throw open the stall door against the wall. it clangs before creaking and wobbling in the now pin-dropping silence of the bathroom as you slowly walk out of the cubicle. the three girls are standing there, looking a bit shocked and surprised at your appearance.

well, ivy and lily, at least. alex looks as blank-faced as usual.

without a word you walk to the door, eyes glued to ivy’s while you resist the urge to punch out her other eye. cracking open the door you pause, looking back to the girl once again and taking in a rageful breath.

“you better fucking hope i don’t catch you alone, ivy.”

you turn out of the bathroom and slam the door shut, teeth clacking together and fists clenched as you walk towards the temporary volleyball court set up near the soccer field.

damn. you forgot you had to pee.

“woah, you look pissed.”

travis appears by your side, looking genuinely concerned with raised brows and curious eyes.

“kinda hot.” dante appears on your other side, biting his lip and waggling his brows.

the brace-faced boy sends a scorning glare to his friend. “dude, not her!”

“chill! i’m just messing around… sort of. besides, gene’s mentioned her a few times, so i know she’s cool. can’t blame me for shooting my shot.”

you sigh and shake your head, some of the tension leaving your shoulders as you fall victim to the goofy antics of the dorks next to you.

“gene’s mentioned me, huh?” you ask, glancing at dante. “i forgot he’s your brother.”

you press your lips together. that’s right, maria. guess she still thinks you’re “friends” with gene.

he grins. “yeah, he’s pretty cool. he talks about you to my mom sometimes. you both hang out often?”

your eyes dart to travis, who is looking at you nervously.

“…we haven’t lately.”

“oh, that’s too bad, i guess,” dante hums.

“you’re sure you’re not mad? it’s not at me from earlier, right?!” travis worries, cutting off the topic of gene to your relief. 

“huh? no, why would i be?”

he deflates in relief. “uh, nothing! never mind, never mind.”

“…alright. well, what sport are you two heading to?” you ask, rolling your shoulders back.

“well… we actually are the refs for the volleyball match.”

you raise an eyebrow. “both of you are? how’d you manage to get out of having to compete?”

“we both signed up as volunteers, just like some kids are doing the concessions,” dante says rather smugly, lifting up a candy bar and waving it in the air.

“great… you two wouldn’t have any ulterior motives here, would you?” you narrow your eyes, looking over to travis. “perhaps with a certain captain in mind?”

“what?” travis stutters. “you’re the second one to accuse me of that! i’d never purposefully screw up the scorecard to get her to yell at me!”

“…uh-huh…”

the principal’s voice cuts through the stadium speakers. “our 3rd round of events today is soccer and volleyball! for soccer, we’ll have the freshmen versus our juniors, and for volleyball, we have sophomores versus seniors! good luck out there!”

you spin on your heels, walking backward onto the sand court and motioning towards the two boys with your fingers in an 'i’m watching you' motion. katelyn—to no one's surprise—is already there and fired up, hyping up teony to do her best as she stretches her arms. her head whips to you when she catches your figure from the corner of her eye, rushing forward to grab you.

“dude, where were you? come on, the game’s gonna start. you’re the outside hitter, okay?” she says, and you simply nod along as your previous anger seems to bubble up and surface again.

this should be a good way to release some steam.

teony gives you a strange look before getting in position at the back of the court. you must not have been hiding your expression as well as you thought you were.

the match went pretty well, and once katelyn realized you were putting your full force into your spikes she consistently set the ball towards you, leaving your dominant arm sore and chest heaving.

“hey! good job!” laurance calls from the sidelines, grinning brightly. his face was sheened with a layer of sweat, strands of his caramel hair stuck to his cheeks and forehead.

garroth stands next to him, looking out of breath like he had just sprinted across the campus field. he grins, holding up two big thumbs up at your team.

“um, that wasn’t game point,” travis pipes up, making all of you turn your heads to the boy.

immediately he looks nervous, tapping his fingers together and waving the flimsy score board in his hand. oh, travis. that’s one way to get your crush’s attention… that’s for sure.

“what?! there’s no way! let me see that!”

deciding to stay out of…whatever was going to go down there, you jog over to the boys with a smile.

“hey! how’d you guys do?”

“decent. i’m not too into football, and my teammates didn’t seem as into the game, either.” garroth shrugs.

“not too bad for me, either. you know i love soccer, so it was just like a fun practice for me.” laurance says, glancing over to the field. “the game aphmau was playing just ended, she did pretty good too—especially against that aaron guy. it was kinda funny seeing her zip around him.”

you chuckle at the thought. “yeah, i bet.”

“what a close call for that soccer game! but the winner of the soccer match is the freshman class! the mvps of this match are aaron from the junior class and aphmau from the freshman class! man, i can't wait to see what else goes on in this tournament today! it is such a heated rivalry!”

you look over to the field, watching as little aph herself shoots a sassy look to aaron and walks off with attitude in her steps.

“there she goes!” garroth muses.

“baby’s first medal?” laurance adds, and you whip your head to him with a wide smile.

“baby’s first medal!”

“baby?” garroth questions, looking lost as ever as he looks between you two.

katelyn’s shout and a loud thud meets your ears.

“this judge is bogus! he’s clearly blind!”

“katelyn! you can’t just hit people with volleyballs when you’re upset! i’m pretty sure you’ve hit travis alone on three different occasions!”

“i don’t care, this is stupid!”

travis groans from the ground, and teony sighs as she helps him to his feet. “…i’ll take you to the nurse. kate, go… walk it off while they figure it out.”

“…that’s katelyn for you,” garroth murmurs as she stomps over to you three. “you alright?”

“yeah.” she puffs out her lips in annoyance. “i kinda feel bad for blowing up on him, but it’s like he was keeping the wrong score on purpose!”

“well, it’ll be fine. you did really good regardless, kate!” you say, very carefully choosing not to say a word about travis’s intentions.

“yeah, both of you did,” laurance chimes, eyebrows raised with an impressed stare. “i just kinda was able to catch the end of the game, but you didn't look like you were holding back on those spikes at all.”

katelyn nods, crossing her arms.

“yeah, i’m for sure forcing her to join the team next year. she’s good.” she glances over to you. “but you did seem a little off. you good?”

shrugging, you awkwardly cross your arms. “uh… about that…”

“did something happen?” garroth frowns.

“i had a run-in with ivy in the bathrooms.” you admit. “she was saying really nasty stuff about me and aph… and i think she’s planning on spreading some rumors around about us.”

“…what? are you sure?” his frown deepens. “ivy wouldn’t do that, would she?”

kate and laurance look over at him with blank stares.

“did you not tell him, laurance?” katelyn scoffs.

“tell me what?” garroth asks impatiently.

“not yet… ugh…” the brunet groans, grabbing onto garroth’s arm and beginning to drag him away. “let’s talk, man.”

“okay?” he stumbles along, the lost look in his eyes still highly apparent.

“great, now i’m even more mad!” kate seethes. “where is she?!”

“woah, woah!” you wave your hands before steadying them on her shoulders. “just chill for a second. i already threatened her today, let’s not get into any trouble.”

she sighs. “fine. but if i catch her by herself it’s not gonna be pretty.”

“that’s what i said.”

“oh!” she suddenly yanks your arm, pulling you along like a woman on a mission towards the track. “there’s lucinda! we’re telling her right now!”

☆

“are you serious?” lucinda scoffs, legs crossed as you all sit at the top of the bleachers. “look, i know you rejected the potion in the food idea, but an overdose on laxatives is an option, too.”

you rub your eyes, glancing down to the track where aphmau was warming up for her race. “as tempting as it is, i want to let her destroy herself. she thinks because she’s more popular than we are that everyone will have to believe her. but as long as you guys and the rest of our friends know the truth, her rumors won’t mean anything and she’ll destroy her own reputation.”

“leaving it up to karma, huh? that’s fair.” lucinda sighs, leaning back on her arms. “i guess. still wanna make her shit her pants, but to each their own.”

“lucy!” you laugh, leaning into her shoulder.

“no, no, she has a good point,” katelyn says, before leaning forward. “oh, there’s prince charming.”

you glance down, garroth’s golden curls coming into view as he hops his way up the bleachers stairs to your direction. his eyebrows are pulled together as he keeps his eyes trained on the metal steps.

kate stands with a sigh, pulling lucinda up with her. “come on. i think they need to talk alone for a second. plus, i want some chips from the concessions before my next game.”

“fine, i could go for a snack, too.” the redhead sighs, waving her fingers at you and squeezing your hands. “bye, my love!”

you wave the two girls off, before shooting over and patting the seat next to you for garroth to sit. he slinks down into the spot, sighing and leaning forward on his elbows while staring out at the track.

“hi.”

“hey.”

he straightens up with a deep breath, turning to you with a troubled expression. “i didn’t mean to sound like i didn’t believe you earlier, i was just surprised.”

you smile at the genuine guilt in his eyes. sweet garroth.

“i know. sorry i didn’t tell you about everything sooner.”

“it’s… okay. laurance explained it all.” he frowns. “i just feel bad.”

you intake a breath to reply, but he cuts you off, raising his hands up.

“not because i think it’s my fault. trust me, laurance lectured my ear off about that.” he leans back, sighing. “just… i feel like i could’ve, like, protected you a bit from all of that if i had known.”

“garroth…”

“promise you’ll tell me if you’re having trouble from now on?” he grabs onto your wrist, looking pleadingly into your eyes with his own. “please promise me. you’re one of my best friends.”

“i promise.”

“good. i promise i’ll tell you everything, too.” he leans forward, pulling you into a hug. “i know we don’t remember much from our childhood, but we’ve been friends for a long time, right? i promise i care way more about you than whatever anyone else at this school has to say about you.”

“…thank you,” you whisper. something about his genuine care has you blinking back the urge to cry, gulping from the surge of emotions that gathered in the base of your throat.

you both pull back from the hug, and garroth smiles that stupidly dazzling smile. “of course.”

the track’s starter gun startles you from the heartfelt moment, making you both jump in place as you look down at the relay race below.

“wait… is aphmau going against aaron at the end? who the heck thought that was a good idea?” garroth blinks, staring at the two in bewilderment. “the guy’s over a foot taller than her!”

you hum in equal confusion, slowly standing and making your way to the stairs. “yeah, that is weird… c’mon. let’s get closer.”

the teams are already on their third hand off by the time you’re both at the bottom of the bleachers, the two runners making their way to aphmau and aaron before handing off the batons. instead of the taller boy completely leaning aph in the dust, he surprisingly keeps her pace before seeing to a stop in the middle of the track.

“huh?” garroth murmurs, and it seems aphmau carries the same sentiment as she slows, turning to aaron with a baffled look of her own.

they’re too far from you to hear what they were saying, but based on his smug look and her peeved expression, his act of stopping seemed more like a taunt than an act of sportsmanship.

aphmau sends a sassy remark to aaron and that seems to stop their strange standstill, as the six-foot-something junior takes off sprinting towards the finish line. she turns, amber eyes wide and mouth agape in shock as she stands in place and watches as he passes the finish line in seconds.

“i can’t believe you fell for that,” he snickers, seeming to deeply relish the look on her face before turning and waltzing away with a smug look on his face.

aphmau’s face contorts from one of bafflement to one of absolute infuriation, and she takes a few steps forward like she was about to go try and tackle the guy herself.

“wh—you! i’m gonna—!” she fumes, unable to even get a sentence out in her frustration.

“woah, aphmau! stop, it’s over!” garroth calls out, trying to calm her as he waves his hands while you both jog over to her.

“he tricked me!” she insists, nose wrinkled like she’d swallowed something bitter.

“...i'm not sure what happened there, but you both ran a good match.” he rubs the back of his neck, chuckling. “well, until the end, that is.”

aphmau deflates, tensely laughing away the rest of her frustration. “yeah… thanks garroth.”

he nods proudly, crossing his arms. “you’re welcome.”

the rest of the festival flies by, with thankfully not many more appearances from ivy’s group or even sightings of the shadow knights. after freshening up in the locker room, you’d waited thirty minutes on the bench, occasionally sending aph a few texts.

you: are you coming to the locker room before walking home?

delivered, 3:42

you: hello?

delivered, 3:55

you: are you okay??

delivered, 4:00

when ten more minutes had passed with no response, you’d felt the anxiety you’d been suppressing come in full force. with hands jittering and head a bit dizzy, you pushed through the girls locker room doors, beginning your search of the now empty school.

from each of the classrooms you knew she had classes in, to all of the bathrooms, and even the cafeteria, she wasn’t anywhere in any rooms of the school you searched. you even ran back outside, searching the outdoor bathrooms—and even briefly looking in the boy’s restroom in your desperation—to no avail.

calm down. you’re on campus, there’s no way something awful happened to her on campus.

hands shaking, you pull your phone out again, attempting to call her phone one last time. staring at a spot in the grass, you listen to the dial of the phone ringing while a faint buzzing in your ears blocked out any other ambient noise.

“your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. at the tone, please recor—”

ripping the phone away from your face, you hang up and catch your breath that you didn’t realize you were holding.

it’s okay. it’s okay. she probably walked home and her phone died or something. you can walk to her house and check with sylvanna, and if she isn’t there… then you can panic.

quickly you find yourself super walking down the sidewalk to your house, eyes drifting to each black vehicle that passed on the road and steps stuttering anytime one of them seemed to slow.

you hate this feeling. the one you felt anytime you went anywhere back in your old town. the weak shakiness of prey stuck in a hunter's trap desperately trying to escape it but unable to find the strength, and unknowing of when the hunter was going to come find you. it was a sick, nearly paralyzing rush through your nervous system, crowding your head and making you both aware of everything and too dizzy to focus on one thing.

did they find you again?

were you risking your friends’ lives by being around them?

did they get aph?

did you kill her when you chose to be her friend?

“wait for me!”

you almost faint from how quickly you turn around, eyes wide as you focus in on aphmau clumsily running after you—face red and hair frazzled.

“o-m-g, that was so embarrassing!” she heaves, stopping in front of you. “sorry i didn’t respond to your text! you won’t believe what just happened to—oh—!”

you reach forward, pulling aphmau into a tight hug. suddenly you hear the birdsong in the trees again. the rushing of cars on the street next to you. your blood is suddenly swirling in your head.

“woah… are you okay? you’re shaking, like, really bad…”

a second passes before you pull away, taking in a gulp of air. “yeah, i’m fine.”

“and you’re really pale,” aphmau says, thin eyebrows pinched together before she gasps. “oh, did i worry you? i’m so, so sorry! i can explain what happened on the way, okay?”

her eyes are full of a worry you hadn’t quite seen before. did you look that upset?

“okay, yeah. i’m fine. i’m fine.” you reassure, wiping away the cold sweat from the back of your neck with a grimace.

aphmau hums, the noise shaky and unsure, before reaching out to take your free hand. “okay. maybe you can come have dinner with me and my mom tonight! i think she said she was going to make empanadas tonight. you know what those are, right?”

“yeah…”

“great! well, my mom’s empanadas are the best, so you can try them! oh yeah, i was gonna tell you what happened, right? so…”

you don’t mean to, but your focus drifts from aphmau’s actual words to just the sound of her voice, eyes drifting to the sidewalk ahead. the feeling of her smaller hand holding yours was somehow comforting despite how it gently and barely seemed to even squeeze yours.

you still feel high-strung, but as the initial adrenaline finally leaves your body you feel a wave of exhaustion and… a bit of embarrassment. it seems a bit dramatic, what you just did. after all, aph is perfectly fine right here. you were acting like an overly anxious parent or older sister, and the two of you aren’t even related to each other.

“…and she shoved me in the locker! can you believe that? what kind of girl fake cries in the boys' locker room and then traps another girl in there?! i thought she was really in trouble!”

“wait, what?” you blink, whipping your head over to her as you process her words. “who did?”

“ivy! she shoved me in the locker! and i didn’t have my phone 'cause it was still in my bag, so i just had to wait there until—guess who?!—aaron let me out! she stuck me in aaron lycan’s locker!”

a wave of anger resurfaces, sending black spots into your vision. once again, another problem caused by that insufferable prick.

“i’m gonna fucking kill her.”

“what!” aphmau laughs, squeezing your hand. “woah, your face is scaring me! calm down!”

she swerves you off the sidewalk and into her yard, pulling you closer to her front door. “let’s think about empanadas instead! mhm, mhm! and pepsi… and ice cream… and we can watch a movie or episode of something before we have a very calm and peaceful rest for school tomorrow.”

“…okay.” you sigh, pulling in a tense breath. “okay. that sounds nice… let’s do it.”

“yay!”

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

tag list: @orinlin @pain-in-the-ashe @youmake1mistake @arienic @wasting-away-on-the-internet @angelhyperfixates @remiechu

[harlowsbby]

Deserve U?

Requested, Jack and the reader broke up a few years ago, jack thought it was best they went their own ways but a few years later they meet again, he realizes he regretted everything.

“Show me how much you missed me.” Jack grinned as he leaned back into his spot on the couch.

The two of you were the only ones on the tour bus as of right now, everyone else was out getting food or trying to explore the newest city you were all in.

It was your first time being with Jack after being away for the first leg of his tour. Even though you both could’ve went out and explored you decided to stay behind and catch up on lost time.

��How am I going to do that? Everyone will be back soon.” You told him but nonetheless took a seat on his lap, straddling him.

He leaned back against the couch and took your hands in his and started twiddling with your fingers.

“Well you know I love when you kiss me, you can shower me in a ton of kisses.” You smacked your lips softly. “My lips are going to fall off with the amount of times I’ve kissed you today.”

“Okay so since you don’t wanna kiss me.” He paused to roll his eyes. “Lemme know how much you missed me.” You looked at him with your eyebrows raised.

“Like out of hundred?” You questioned. “Yes.” You thought about it for a few seconds and decided to tease him a bit.

“Honestly, I didn’t really miss you that much I mean you’re always calling me you never give me the chance to miss you.” You watched how his smile quickly turned into a frown.

“You’re kidding right?” You grinned and started laughing as Jack huffed. “Haha it’s so funny.” He stated, the sarcasm dripping off his tongue.

“Oh come on it was a little funny and you know it.” He shook his head. “Just a little.”

The two of you sat there in a peaceful silence but Jack’s stomach grumbling soon broke the silence.

“You hungry.” You stated. “I’m actually starving, ima go shower real fast and then we can get food yeah?”

You smiled and nodded. “Sounds good, I’ll be here.” You told him and removed yourself from his lap and Jack made his way to the back of the tour bus to the shower but not before giving you a kiss.

“I love you.” You grinned and blew him a kiss. “I love you more Jack.”

While Jack was in the shower you laid down on the couch just scrolling through different apps when you heard Jack’s phone going off.

“Who is texting us.” You mumbled to yourself. You had the password to Jack’s phone but you trusted him and never felt the need to go through his phone but when it went off again, your curiosity got the best of you.

Ace ❤️‍🔥

- Yo, Drama wants to know did you end things with Y/N yet? I know you don’t want to but I mean it’s for the best, your life is getting more and more hectic I don’t think she’ll be able to keep up.

“Break up with me?” You mumbled. “I can keep up what makes them think I can’t?”

Your mind starting racing with many different reasons as to why Jack or his team thought you wouldn’t be able to keep up with him as he started to become bigger within the industry.

You wanted to be here for the entire ride, for the journey so everything wasn’t making any sense, your thoughts were soon interrupted by Jack.

“Babe, you good? You look like you just saw a ghost or something.” He chuckled and he dried his wet curls with his towel.

“You’re breaking up with me?” You blurted out. His face fell when he noticed his phone in your hand. “Shit, you went through my phone Y/N?” His voice raised a bit.

“It kept going off so yeah I answered it just to see you were planning on breaking up with me.” You spat.

“If you planned on breaking up with me why did you even bother to fly me out here? And what makes you think I can’t keep up with you.”

Jack sighed and went to take a step forward towards you but you took a step back. “It isn’t me Y/N, I want you to be apart of all of this but another part of me feels like breaking up might me a good thing.”

You shook your head at him as the tears slowly started to fall. “I just don’t want you to regret not finishing college or doing what you’ve wanted to do in life. I don’t want your life to be just touring and following me around the world, I want you to create a life for yourself.”

Jack was coming from a good place but you weren’t trying to hear any of it because to you it was all bullshit. “I can still achieve things while being with you. I can still graduate and work on my career and stuff, I don’t want us to break up.” You croaked out.

“I’m sorry babe-.” You stopped him. “Don’t call me that.” You mumbled he sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry Y/N, I just think it’s for the best.” You nodded your head and grabbed your purse.

“Where are you going?” Jack asked as he watched you collect all your luggage. “Home, since I’m clearly not wanted here anymore. I hope everything works out for you Jack, I really do.”

You thought he would’ve ran after you or chased you down and told you to stop but he didn’t. He allowed you to act a flight home that night alone and hasn’t spoken to you since.

(flashback over, we’re in 2023 now, the little flashback took place in 2021)

“Jack, what the hell are you doing? We’re at Morris’s Deli. Get up because I’m hungry and I need food.” Urban yelled and made his way off the sprinter into the deli shop.

“You’re always hungry I swear you have two stomachs.” Ace told Urban as he followed after him.

Jack groaned and stretched as he woke up, he sighed and closed his eyes once again, as of lately he’s been dreaming about you often which is weird because he hasn’t seen you since 2020.

Even though the two of you both lived in Louisville you never ran into each other, but ever since Jack moved back home he was praying and wishing on a star that he’d run into you.

He made his way off the sprinter and inside the deli to where he was greeted by the smell of ham, salami and other various meats and cheeses.

“About damn time I thought we were going to have to drag you off that bus!” Urban yelled once again and started chowing down on his sandwich.

Ace shook his head at Urban and turned his head to Jack who honestly was completely out of it and he knew why. “You thinking about Y/N?” Ace asked.

“Yeah man she’s been on my mind heavy lately and I’m not sure why.” Urban frowned. “Maybe she’s thinking about you too.” Jack huffed. “I doubt that I’m sure she hates me.” Jack grumbled and sulked into his seat.

“I mean you never know unless you ask.” Ace suggested. “How am I going to do that? She has me blocked on everything.”

Within a few seconds Urban was pulling out his phone and shoving it in Jack’s face. “On her story she reposted the school play flyer for Atherton High School.”

Jack took the phone out Urban’s hand and saw for himself that you reposted the flyer for the school’s musical tonight, the next story showed you recording a few students that were in rehearsal for the play.

“She’s going to be there tonight?” Urban nodded. “Yeah she invited me, I think you should tag along and maybe catch her after the show?”

“Do you two really think that’s a good idea? I can hear Drama now.” Ace said.

“I don’t care what he thinks anymore Ace, this is my life and I need to make things right with Y/N. I just hope she can forgive me.”

Jack knew it wasn’t going to be easy trying to get you to trust him and to be his again but he knew he had to at least try.

————————————————————————

“What are you wearing tonight? And don’t saw sweats and a hoodie.” Your friend Annie stated.

“What? Why not? I don’t feel like wearing a dress I’m just the director.” Annie smacked her lips. “That’s exactly why you need to be dressed up, you’re the director. You’re going to be getting a standing ovation once the play is over.”

You rolled your eyes playfully at your overdramatic friend. “Fine I’ll dress up.” She grinned and clapped. “Good! Because I’m tired of seeing you in sweats you need to dress up.”

You knew Annie meant well so you didn’t let her little diss affect you. After your breakup with Jack you buried yourself into work and into helping out at your old high school which was Atherton High.

There was a few times that Jack would come to the house to surprise the kids and every time you made sure to be either hiding somewhere in the school or in your car.

But with news going around that he had moved back to Louisville you just had this uneasy feeling in your stomach that you’d run into him.

“What’s wrong with you? You have that look on your face.” Annie asked. “What look?”

“Your face always looks uneasy whenever you’re stressing out about something, is it Jack?” She whispered. “Yeah I just have this feeling that I’m going to be running into him sooner than later.”

She frowned and rubbed your back in soothing circles. “Well let’s hope you don’t but if you do, you know I know how to fight.” You laughed.

“Thanks Annie I’ll definitely keep you close to me tonight.” She laughed.

“Go home and get ready I can take care of setting up everything.” You thanked her and made your way out of the auditorium, once you were gone Annie pulled out her phone and called Urban.

“Hello?” Urban picked up after a ring or two. “Urban, you’re coming tonight with Jack?” Urban nodded his head.

“Yep we’ll be there, are you sure tonight will end well?” He asked but he had an uneasy tone.

“I sure hope so. They both miss each other I know it, I just hope tonight doesn’t back fire.”

Annie and Urban wanted to see Jack and You back together so they were willing to do anything at this point.

All Annie could do was pray that tonight was going to end well.

————————————————————————

“There’s so many people tonight.” You spoke as you peaked from behind the curtain at the crowd that was forming in the school auditorium.

“It’s a Christmas play Y/N and besides rumor has it Jack Harlow is coming tonight!” The principal Mrs. Honey exclaimed.

“Jack? As in I can put you in first class, Jack?” Mrs. Honey laughed at your statement. “Yes Y/N, Jack will be here tonight.”

“Great.” You stated with a tight lip smile. “I’ll be right back.” You excused yourself and went to find Annie, who was near the box office.

“Annie.” You whispered. The student that was near Annie nudged her shoulder and pointed to you. “What are you doing Y/N?” She asked as she made her way to you.

“I didn’t know Jack was coming tonight!” She smiled. “Surpriseeee.” She dragged out her words and waved her hands awkwardly.

“You knew!” You hissed. “I mean fuck yes I did but I did it for a reason.” You groaned and placed your hands on your hip.

“What’s the reason?”

“I just want you two to make up and be you know in love again, I know you miss him Y/N. I always catch you looking at old videos and pictures of him.”

You’d be lying if you didn’t agree you did miss Jack and a lot, the truth is you haven’t even bothered going on any sort of dates after Jack.

“And what if tonight backfires?” You questioned. “We’ll pack up and move to Alaska.” She joked.

“Next time you do something like this just know ima hurt you.” She gulped. “I promise there won’t be a next time because tonight will end just like I planned.”

“Where are we sitting?” Jack asked Urban as they both made it to the auditorium, by now everyone was inside the auditorium.

“Annie, gave us front row seats so hurry up it’s about to start.” Jack decided to wear an all black sweat suit, he had his hoodie on and his black prada shades so that he wasn’t as recognizable.

When they made it inside everyone was seated and thankfully they didn’t pay attention to either Urban or himself as they came in. Once in his seat he looked around the room trying to see if he could spot you.

“Ms. Y/N, my dress is too tight can you help me loosen it.” Jack’s head shot up at the mention of your name.

There you stood near the exit of the stage helping one of the student adjust her dress, his heart started to skip a beat at the sight of you, you looked even more beautiful than before.

The all black one piece and the black heels to match was definitely doing your curves justice. After you fixed the students dress you stayed at your spot on the side of the stage.

You looked into the crowd just browsing around seeing who was there when your eyes landed on Jack.

He gave you a small smile and wave and you rolled your eyes and quickly went backstage. Jack frowned although he kinda expected that reaction he was kinda hoping you’d be somewhat thrilled to see him.

“I’ll be back.” He told Urban and excused himself. He was somehow able to sneak his way backstage without being caught.

You were near the mirrors the students use to do their makeups to get ready, you were retouching your makeup when you saw Jack’s reflection through the mirror.

“What are you doing back here?” You spat and turned around and took him in fully. The mullet actually looked really good on him, he still had that charming smile and his eyes seemed even more blue.

“I’m Jack Harlow.” He grinned and you huffed and went to stand up to leave but he grabbed you by your wrist and pulled you back into him.

The two of you were now chest to chest and being this close to Jack again had your nerves running wild.

“What do you want Jack? We have nothing to talk about at all.” You stated and tried avoiding eye contact with him but he had a somewhat tight grip on your chin and made you look at him.

“I came to get my girl back.” He admitted. “I’m not your girl anymore, remember you said I couldn’t handle all the fame and shit.” You bitterly stated.

He sighed. “I never said that Y/N but I was wrong for allowing outside people to try and tell me what was best for me.” He paused.

“I’ve missed you so much and I know gaining your trust is going to take awhile but I’m willing to work on it.”

You could tell he was being sincere his eyebrows scrunched together and his eyes were beginning to tear up a bit. “Don’t tell me you’re about to cry Jack?” The two of you laughed.

“I just missed you so much baby.” Your stomach did backflips at the nickname. “I missed you too Jack.” You admitted.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked. “Hmm a kiss on the cheek for now.” He smacked his lips playfully but nonetheless placed several kisses to your cheek.

“Okay, okay.” You laughed. “Let’s go back and watch the play it’s about to start.” You told him and pulled him along to the side of the stage.

“So since you forgive me now.” You had to stop him. “Uh I didn’t completely forgive you.” He smacked his teeth.

“Here you again.” You raised your brows. “Here I go again? What does that even mean?” You stated and went on a little rant on how he’s even lucky that you forgave him.

Jack smiled and laughed as you rambled on and on he missed having little petty childish arguments with you, he knew it was going to take some time to mend things, but you were worth the wait.

(Thank you @earthtoharlow for helping me 💗.)

[giotanner]

Soo, I read your previous posts about Tim and I want to hear your opinion on the matter regarding his morality. What I've seen so far in the fandom are two (stereotypical honestly)versions of Tim:

The Batman's-moral code-is-the-one-I-follow because-he's-my-boss-so gotta-respect company-policy thing and the Robin-doesn't-kill because-he's-the-light-of-Gotham-just-like Batman thing.

And weirdly enough both of them fit his character but I'm not sure if they can coexist somehow.

As a Tim Drake fan what do you think?

Even in the comics it is inconsistent as far as I know.

Hi, thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts on Tim (mainly the comics version) because there's so much about his morality and ideals that has been "erased/misunderstood."

For example, let's start with the fact that among all the Robins, Tim is the least likely to become a villain. However, there's this fanon idea that he could make a great criminal, the first to become a skilled manipulator who screws over the system, because there are stereotypes about him that have erased Tim's moral code.

This thought is completely wrong in the canon. Even when Captain Boomerang kills his father, Tim has every reason to kill him, to hurt him—he's trained and knows how to inflict pain—but Tim STOPS himself. During that period in the comics, Dick was Batman and had many responsibilities, and he feared for Tim's mental and moral breakdown, but that doesn't mean it was real, that Tim was ready to cross the line.

Tim stands firm in his convictions. He's a kid who obviously has feelings and is obviously angry at the enemy, but he doesn't become a criminal and leaves the cruel murderer of his parent in the hands of Dick and the police.

There are many instances where Tim questions himself, his limits, or his role as a sidekick, making him very similar to Batman in this regard.

He could take the step that leads him to become a villain, but he doesn't. He knows his worth as Robin and doesn't feel inferior or lacking.

This is because he's the only Robin who CHOSE to be Robin.

He chose that life, decided he would sacrifice himself for the cause, for the mission, because he believes in Batman. And he believes in what Batman believes in. Therefore, it would be out of character (OOC) for his moral code to be different.

He can be stubborn and obstinate towards Bruce, but he's truly Batman's partner (as fortunately seen in the recent Batman (2016) issues). And this bothers some readers who haven't read and appreciated Tim from the '90s and 2000s. The Tim who, although having his own team, is still the Robin who chose that life.

His mindset is not "Batman is my boss, so I follow his rules," but rather "I admire Batman and followed his footsteps, and that's how I discovered his identity; I'll do anything for the mission."

In many comics, you see Tim's spirit of sacrifice because he is the "peacemaker/the one who fixes the family," but also a daring and eager kid.

Sure, he's a computer whiz, a tactical genius, and a great detective

(Ra's calls him detective, but in the comics, Ra's also calls Dick detective, just to specify), but his greatest trait is that he was a kid with a great sense of justice and a big dose of recklessness to believe and succeed in being Robin

[cross-my-heartt]

Alright, I’m saying it

I hate what they did with Crosshair in season three

Yes, the entirety of season three, barring maybe only the first three episodes. Let me elaborate.

I’ve been seeing people be more open about criticizing the finale and it’s given me the push to be more open about my own thoughts. And since I still advertise myself as a Crosshair girlie, I think this is a good place to start.

I really honestly don’t like the majority of what they did with Crosshair’s character this season. And yes, that includes the hand tremors. From the myriad things that felt out of character for him to making him a walking exposition dump, to completely stripping him of his more interesting qualities I honestly struggle to see him as the same character I loved right up until the end of season two.

I almost understand why so many people have come around on him – it’s because he’s a completely different character. We’re meant to believe that his time on Tantiss and Hemlock’s attempted reconditioning has changed him as a person. Which is all fine and dandy until you realize that this new character we get feels more like he’s gone through therapy rather than trauma.

New Crosshair is much more agreeable. He’s mild, he rolls over at the first sign of conflict, he talks about his emotions at the drop of a hat and there’s barely any meaningful tension between him and the other characters (not one that’s not forced anyways).

And my question is, why? If we’re just going to use off screen trauma (off. screen. trauma???) to change characters willy nilly then what even is the point of watching a show?

Say I suddenly wanted to make Wrecker this very angry character with a short fuse and I decide that he got an injury off screen that’s causing him chronic pain. It makes sense logically while at the same time making zero sense for him, even less so if you don’t see it play out, because it erases core parts of the character that we already know.

One of the first things Crosshair does in tcw is start a fight. Crosshair has always been a belligerent guy. He literally responds to being hurt by attacking. Where is that combativeness now? I would even go as far as to say that he’s been the primary source of conflict for the group since season one and I don’t even mean that in a bad way. Crosshair bites back. He hides pain by trying to inflict it, he talks back, he challenges, he digs his heels in to the point of proactively making bad life choices.

And the reason why he’s worked so well in this team so far is because his tendencies were counteracted by those around him, right up until the inevitable rift caused by the chip. I could go on about Wrecker and Tech but we all know that the main counterbalance, Crosshair’s foil here, is Hunter. Hunter is supposed to be the one that deescalates, they’ve gotten along so far because he’s the one that handled rising tensions (it’s the reason he’s the leader of their group to begin with. Remember who deescalated that fight in tcw? Remember who started it?) Where Crosshair pushes, Hunter puts a stop to it. Where Crosshair attacks, Hunter deflects, maybe sometimes too much.

And these first two season have felt like they were steadily building towards a confrontation between these two. We wanted Hunter to snap at Crosshair on Pabu because we’ve been craving it. This whole time Crosshair’s been saddled with more and more trauma, unresolved tensions from as far back as season one (which we all seem to have forgotten about as if that story never happened, tldr I’m still bitter no one addressed the Crosshair being abandoned subplot, hello remember that) while the narrative has simultaneously been stripping Hunter of his patience; months of anxiety and frustration and stress chipping away at him and wearing him down so that we can finally get to see these characters clash. The perfect recipe for all of that tension exploding and being set loose.

And what did we get instead?

A tiny little spat. An argument that gets interrupted before fizzling out (because Crosshair can talk about feelings all of a sudden). We got Hunter in the exact right position only for the show to purposefully strip Crosshair of his characteristic belligerence because apparently we don’t want to see any conflict. It’s like they’re teasing us – look Hunter’s on the verge of snapping but Crosshair’s the bigger man now so we don’t get to see that! Why??? What part of that was satisfying?? We got Crosshair pushing back for the tiniest of seconds and resolved two seasons of tension in half an episode. Where they had to fight a giant worm. In what universe is that a satisfying conclusion.

The only reason I can think of is that this mirror development is supposed to be some kind of irony or subversion but honestly that explanation falls so flat in the face of our expectations as an audience.

And the thing is, I think even the authors realized that they had nuked their most intriguing character. Because once they removed his established response to trauma, which was all of those wonderfully complex emotional reactions, they realized they needed to manifest it in some other way. So we got the hand tremors.

Now Crosshair doesn’t get angry or stubborn he just gets jittery. And I know this sounds dismissive but the only reason that is is because the show itself deals with it in a completely ham-fisted and surface-level way.

I hated the hand tremor subplot. Me. Someone who spent two years being disabled because of neural damage to my hands that prevented me from doing the hobbies I used to define myself as a person. Someone who spent two years depressed and dysfunctional because of the loss of identity and purpose I suffered because of that disability.

So no I’m not fucking happy that they used something as serious as ptsd to spice up a character they themselves made bland in the first place. For no reason other than a subplot that went literally nowhere. A subplot that was shish kebabed after an underwhelming fight scene.

Don’t even get me started on the pun level writing of chopping said hand off.

But back to Crosshair… or what’s left of him after this season (see I can make a pun too). Crosshair was already interesting enough as a character without the added hand tremor subplot and I'm dying on that hill.

The thing is, they were so intent on pushing this new, watered down version of Crosshair that even more reasonable, level-headed characters had to be thrown under the bus, made irrationally aggressive next to him to try and make us believe it. I have a lot to say about Howzer this season but the only thing I’ll say for now is that he’s the most prominent victim of this, along with his entire retconned season one plotline.

And speaking of victims, I can’t help but feel like I need to apologize to all the Tech fans out there once again. Because what I think actually happened is that Tech was never the writers’ favorite and was never meant to get any sort of satisfying conclusion.

That was always Crosshair.

The focal point of season one. The most prominent source or drama and conflict. The character who drove the plot forward even when he appeared in a fraction of episodes. The character who got the most development (even if that development spiraled wildly out of control at the end). Nearly every major subplot in this show happened in relation to or in favor of Crosshair’s arc. Tech’s death. Omega’s capture. The CX clones. The hand tremors. All of the meaningful developments and events reserved for two characters in this show, Omega and Crosshair. (Some would argue Hunter as well but really, did Hunter get any development as a character? Spoiler alert, a happy ending is not the same as a character arc.)

My guess is that this was always meant to be the case. The writers just weren’t prepared for the fans’ response to Tech’s death, it caught them off guard, and here’s one more reason why I think creators should stay away from social media or any kind of prolonged fan interaction. Because all it got us in the end was some form of cruel teasing, them trying to ride the wave of attention and thinking their original plans would make up for it when that wave inevitably crashed.

But anyway.

What happens when you dump a bunch of pain and suffering onto a character with a problematic response to adversity? Apparently it makes them emotionally intelligent, at least according to this show. Crosshair in season three feels like a shadow of his former self – the combativeness and complex emotional responses that made him so interesting to begin with are gone, replaced with a ham-fisted manifestation of trauma that gets resolved in an equally ham-fisted way.

And I’m just not on board with that. Nor will I ever be. Even if you give me all the supposed emotional payoffs, hugs or whatever.

[blueper-saiyan]

I was thinking about the Namek Saga (as I often do ngl), and I find it really interesting that, despite all attempts to claim otherwise, Vegeta seems to care about Gohan and Krillin at least a little bit by the end of the arc. He's upset when he thinks Krillin got killed by Freeza.

He saves Gohan without any actual benefit to himself.

Although he does immediately claim it was to show off. Which I could take at face value I guess, but seriously? That's a pretty weak excuse. Especially because Freeza seemed to pick up on Vegeta having some concern for Gohan earlier.

I do not believe you, Vegeta. Also, wow that was fucked up of Freeza, nice touch on the evil.

So I'd say that Vegeta does have at least some level of concern for Gohan and Krillin, which has formed impressively quickly given that they've been teamed up less than one day. I guess they did both assist in kicking Vegeta's ass a few weeks ago, which probably went a decent way toward winning his respect. It's not a level of concern deep enough for him to actually risk himself on their behalf, but he seems distressed by them being hurt. It would sort of make sense if this tenuous bond formed earlier when they fought the Ginyus together, but Vegeta actually saved them first.

Again, I could take this at face value but c'mon. Saiyan prince, but tsundere king.

They do rescue him back, so maybe that's what earned them a tiny bit of loyalty.

However, Vegeta certainly didn't seem like he was expecting it and is even annoyed that they did it. Which is a bit hypocritical of him given that he just saved them. However, this could be the reason why he rescues Gohan from Freeza later on. He could be repaying the favor. He doesn't gain any tactical advantage from that, same as Gohan didn't really gain anything saving him here. But it honestly doesn't even seem like he's thinking of this moment later on. It seems like he just saved Gohan sort of by reflex and then had to justify it to himself (and everyone else present).

Why Vegeta gets invested in Gohan and Krillin is already pretty interesting to me. (I've seen the opinion that Vegeta sees himself in Gohan without realizing it, which is possible. The parallels between them has been the subject of a few tumblr analysis posts. I've also seen the idea that Vegeta sees Gohan as a subject to protect because he's a Saiyan child. However, neither really explains Krillin.) I'd be interested in other people's opinions on it. I can see it being some level of mutual respect or even just the pure pragmatism of being able to use them later.

But I also end up with a secondary question. If Vegeta can save others, or care about them in this span of time, why does he treat the people who he's been partnered with for at least 25 years like this?

Seriously why is he so callous about them both? It's fascinated me for ages, especially because I can directly contrast it with his behavior in the following arc. Obviously the Doylist answer is that Vegeta went from basically pure evil one-off villain who was supposed to die to an antivillain with a smidgen of sympathetic traits between the first and second arc. But I want a Watsonian one. Especially because both Raditz and Nappa seem to think Vegeta would help them.

Why would they think he'd help them? And why didn't he do it? Especially because he does help his new teammates in the next arc. Did the three of them have an epic argument at some point recently and Vegeta isn't over it? Had Vegeta been gradually internalizing more of Freeza's values and decided to rebel against the values a little too when he switched to open rebellion? Had he been slowly losing respect for Raditz and Nappa and this was the final straw, but Krillin and Gohan had earned more respect? Or did he grant both of his teams the same level of concern but Gohan and Krillin do a better job at being competent on their own?

[brucewaynehater101]

Tim Ruler of worlds

In my head i think that the brucequest was way faster in this AU, when he realized that no one believed him about Bruce being alive Tim felt hopeless for half an hour before he remembered that he has a lot of planets under his rule and surely someone there could help him.

the only reason it took a month to get a team ready, was that there needed to be a competition for the honor of being on a team working directly under red robin, despite the time it took it was a great festival for his planets and a boost to tourism and trade, so Tim didn't complain.

Thanks to that + an spaceship, the Brucequest was over in less than a month, before Ra's even noticed that something was happening Tim was done.

but i'm not sure if i remember right but i think that in canon by the time Tim ends his quest the league had also realized that Bruce was alive, so here the only reason Tim ends up CEO of WI despite speedrunning the Brucequest is because the JL still didn't do anything even with a step-by-step slideshow on how to save Bruce, Tim is pissed but he has other things to do, so he just decides to try again later, but the one who is really pissed is Bruce when he discovers he could have been saved months earlier, but not a single person of the JL bothered to watch Tim's slideshow.

Also i called Tim red robin in this but i'm not sure if Tim would even be red robin in this AU, because having planets do competitions for the honor of working with you is very good for a person's confidence, i'm thinking that he was heading for a depressive spiral before the competition, but then seeing all the monuments the people of his planets built in his honor, the good he did for those planets, and the love they have for him as leader, really helped him grieve for his friends, rest a bit from all the stress from home and find hope in himself as more than robin, i think at this point since he's no longer Robin he reveals himself as Tim Drake for his subjects, the competion/festival lasts even longer because of that.

Also it really says something about Tim and his family that he considers ruling a multi-planetary empire more relaxing than being at home.

Oof! This has a great mixture of fix-it, fluff, and angst. You're right that maybe Tim would utilize the resources he has as a planetary ruler to aid him in the BruceQuest. Perhaps one of the reasons the JL refused to listen to Tim is because he managed to finish the BQ so quickly and refused to list his resources. I'm not sure exactly why, but perhaps this meant they didn't quite trust the info (not to mention all of the rumors of Tim not being mentally stable).

I'm not sure if Tim would release his civilian identity to these planets. However, I could see him creating an identity just for the plants to have a name to call him. He considers it like a royalty name or something. I do agree that with this AU, it makes sense for Tim to never take up the Red Robin mantle. I like Cardinal for him, but maybe he gets inspired by some myth by the planets.

A really funny and cool take would be the different planets having a prophecy about the hero that unites their planets and bring them prosperity. They start referring to Tim by this name (out of appreciation, love, and admiration). After repeatedly being referred to by this mantle, he decides to make it his vigilante name as well. I don't know what the name would be. Perhaps it means a significant amount in the aliens' language and gets roughly translated to English for Tim to use (like Superman's "S").

Honestly, Patron could also be a cool name for him.