#and how i think it would've been really cool to see things developing

[destiel-wings]

here's the plot i had imagined for the hypothetical season 2 of Gotham Knights (may it rest in peace 😭💔 -- or not?? renew it you cowards)

I can see the GK teaming up by themselves keeping the streets of Gotham clean without Turner. Then I imagine him showing up saving them in the s2 premiere with upgraded skills. And I imagine a whole season where they get to rebuild their trust with him (because they've been apart for like one whole year??) and we find out slowly (through flashbacks) what happened to him during this training and who those people are. In the meantime Two Face does his things, Duela tries and reach out (or he's the one who does) and it's complicated because he's evil, but Harvey tries to resurface constantly and we see a lot of that, of him struggling and Harvey trying to stop his evil counterpart and keep him at bay (while telling us more about his backstory) but the evil side is winning and must be stopped. In the end the French show up to help? BUT THEN maybe the one in charge (that during that year had gained Turner's trust *causing jealousy from the GKs*) betrays them? So maybe in the finale they team up with Two Face (Duela persuades him because he and not Harvey is actually her father) to fight the French men?? Which is revealed to be the common enemy??

I imagine Two Face unleashing his full evil to do so, and also in the final fight saving Duela's life. And maybe that was Two Face, not Harevey, doing this act of care--and it breaks something good inside him. So maybe he saves her and leaves her somewhere and then disappears (party because he's ashamed of showing her his worse evil, partly cause he's afraid she may destroy his evil side, erasing it, because what is he, without it?? just Harvey).

And I imagine a season 3 where Duela is searching for him, but nobody's heard of him for months. But somehow she wants to find him, because maybe she saw something in him, being as screwed up as she is, but also caring about her in a way that her mother never really had, and she wants to give him a chance (which is weird for her, as all the GK point out, but it speaks to her character development).

[steddiealltheway]

(Happy happy birthday Noelle (@frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe) thank you for all your amazing fun facts which are the source for this little ficlet. I hope you enjoy <3)

For some reason, The Party had decided to rent Friday the 13th for their upcoming movie night at Steve's house. With all the shit they've been through, Steve thinks that maybe it's a strange choice, but he knows better than to question the kids.

"What a nice choice," Robin says sarcastically as she looks over Steve's shoulder at the tape. She hasn't quite grasped how defensive the teens can get, but they seem to respect her more than they respect Steve. Figures.

"Isn't it?" Dustin snarks back as he grabs the tape from the counter.

Max rolls her eyes and adds, "I said the same thing."

"Yeah, because you want to watch some shit like Cinderella," Mike whines.

"Does it ever hurt your tiny, sexist brain to think of those weak insults?" Max asks with her eyebrows raised.

Lucas tries to hide a laugh as Mike glares at him.

"Alright, alright, this is the Family Video. Take it outside if you guys are going to bicker," Steve says with a sigh as he moves to restack some tapes Dustin had nudged just to be annoying.

"You and Robin bicker all the time," Dustin says defensively.

Steve gives him a look. "Do you want to lose Harrington house privileges?"

Dustin sighs, looking like he really wants to argue before he turns around to the group and announces defeatedly, "Alright, let's get snacks before tonight."

As they're filing out the door, Dustin runs back to the counter and adds, "I almost forgot. Is it fine if Eddie comes?"

Steve shrugs, trying to look unphased by the question. "Sure," he says, voice cracking a bit.

Dustin instantly lights up. "Great! I already invited him, so that would've been awkward. See you later!"

Robin comes up to him and lightly shoves his shoulder. "Sure," she mocks him. "You're so smooth."

"Shut up," Steve says with a sigh. God, Robin will never let him live down what he thought to be his deathbed confession of his crush on Eddie. In reality, he was just put on so many painkillers in the hospital that he had gotten confused when he woke up in a hospital room.

And yeah, maybe the crush still hasn't gone away and Robin definitely knows, but he refuses to acknowledge it.

"You're going to be at the movie night, right?" Steve asks.

Robin groans. "I've already told you, I have my parent's anniversary dinner tonight."

"So, you'll be at my house tonight," Steve jokes.

"I wish."

Steve nudges her shoulder. He's already seen the obnoxious pictures of Robin and her parents from every year of their wedding anniversaries lining the walls of one particular hallway. It's endearing really, but Robin hates it.

"You better call me later if anything new develops between you and Eddie," Robin whispers although there's no one in the room.

Steve just nods, feeling the blood rise to his cheeks as he still refuses to verbally acknowledge the ridiculous crush that maybe fills his stomach with butterflies and all those obnoxious things.

He sighs and turns to Robin. "How am I going to survive tonight without you?"

"The world may never know," she says dramatically.

And really, the world may never know. At least, that's how Steve feels.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Okay, maybe Steve is a little bit of a mess.

Sure, Eddie has shown up, and Steve has been playing it cool, but it's like he can't take his eyes off him. He's made so much eye contact, he's sure that he's creeping Eddie out a bit or giving away his huge crush.

But he’s Steve Harrington. Like Steve “The Hair” Harrington. Inventor of the Harrington charm. All that stuff. And… Eddie has absolutely melted him into a puddle of goo. Christ.

By the time the movie starts, Steve’s head is practically buzzing with all his thoughts of Eddie is sitting next to me. What do I do? The kids are here, so I can’t make a move. But I don’t even know if he likes me.

Then, Max’s question breaks through the thoughts as she asks, “When is the next Friday the 13th this year?”

“Well, fun fact, any month that starts on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th,” Eddie says with a proud grin.

Steve ignores the kids’ responses asking when that month is and the subsequent response from Eddie saying he doesn’t know, but he just knows the fact.

But for some reason, the fact is absolutely blowing Steve’s mind.

And yes, maybe it’s because it came from Eddie, but truly, when Steve associates fact with something, it is never fun. But this truly is a… fun fact.

He must have a look on his face because Eddie eyes him and asks, “What?”

Steve just shrugs and says, “I just… really thought the fact was… fun.” Jesus, did his Harrington charm just evaporate or something?

But he thinks the honesty of it works for Eddie who smiles softly at him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, how did you know that?”

Eddie swings an arm casually over the back of the couch and leans in. “I’m full of fun facts, Harrington.” He gives him a winks before leaning back.

Steve leans into his space, trying to close some of the distance between them. “Tell me another one.”

Eddie laughs, “I’m going to max out my fun fact limit to one a day.”

“That doesn’t seem fair.”

Eddie tilts his head toward him. “It’s fair if it gives me an excuse to talk to you every day.”

Okay, yeah. That was blatant flirting. Which Steve is about to match, until the kids decide now is the best time to interrupt and yell at them to be quiet as the movie starts.

As the movie goes on, Eddie and Steve drift closer together while trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible in front of the kids. They haven’t talked about it, of course, but Steve’s pretty sure neither of them want to scar the kids. Or maybe, Steve just doesn’t want the kids to very accurately point out his feelings for Eddie and force him to deal with them.

Unfortunately, this also means that Steve doesn’t get a moment alone with Eddie to further flirt with him or try to push him for another fact. But maybe it’s not such a bad thing. Especially since Eddie gave him an excuse to talk to him tomorrow.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“What’s another fun fact?” Steve asks as soon as he hears Eddie on the other line.

“Christ, I just woke up. Give my brain a few seconds,” Eddie groans into the phone, voice rough with sleep.

Steve smiles. “Good morning by the way,” he says sweetly.

“Good morning,” Eddie replies back, sounding a bit less grumpy. There’s a bit of shuffling on his side of the phone before he says, “It’s illegal to feed pigeons on the streets of San Francisco.”

Steve’s jaw drops. “There’s no way!”

“Go ahead and feed a pigeon there then,” Eddie says with a laugh.

“Maybe I will. If you come with me and promise to bail me out.”

Eddie hums on the other line. “I don’t know. I think it would be fun to spend a night in a jail cell with you. Maybe I’ll join you in your crime.”

“Scratch that, I’m bailing you out.”

“That’s sounds about right, Bonnie.”

“Bonnie?” Steve questions, feeling like he’s missed something.

Eddie gasps on the other line. “Like Bonnie and Clyde!”

Steve doesn’t respond, waiting for Eddie to fill him in.

“Okay, this doesn’t count as a fun fact because this is just a story of one of the greatest crime couples to ever exist,” Eddie says excitedly, rambling on about the two.

Steve sits back, cheeks hurting from smiling a little too hard as he listens to Eddie and tries not to linger too much on the fact he compared the two of them to a real life couple.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The phone calls continue every day, but the fun facts really are just a starting point to a long drawn out conversation about whatever’s on their mind.

Robin has pretended to get tired whenever Steve calls her right after Eddie has to hang up or spends hours talking about Eddie during their shift at the Family Video. But he knows she’s secretly just as enthralled about the fun facts as he is.

“Did you know that the Statue of Liberty wears a size eight hundred seventy nine shoe?” Steve asks Robin, still in disbelief over the fact.

“Sounds like you’re talking about me,” Eddie says, somehow coming into the store without Steve noticing.

Steve’s heart beats a little harder as he turns to him. “All good things of course,” Steve says with a wink.

“I was scared you were passing off my facts to Buckley as if they were your own for a second there,” Eddie says, leaning across the the counter.

“And what if I was?” Steve challenges, leaning on the counter.

“Then, I would have to revoke my daily fun fact.”

Steve’s jaw drops. “You’d never.”

Eddie shrugs. “Maybe you’ll just have to see.”

Steve just laughs and shoves his shoulder lightly. “What are you doing here though? Coming to deliver my fun fact in person?”

Eddie blushes and looks down. “No, I was actually just… wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight.”

“Sounds good,” Steve says automatically, not even stopping to think if he has any other plans.

“I’ll see you after your shift then?” Eddie asks, tilting his head a bit.

“I’ll see you then,” Steve confirms with a smile.

Eddie nods and turns to leave.

“Oh, wait!” Steve calls out.

Eddie turns around.

“You haven’t told me your fun fact for today.”

Eddie smiles. “You’ll just have to wait until tonight. After all, it’s a pretty good excuse to make sure you come over.”

Steve scoffs, “As if that’s the only reason.”

Eddie just pulls his hair in front of his face as his smile gets a little wider. “See you soon.”

“Bye,” Steve says, waggling his fingers at him.

“Holy shit,” Robin says, startling Steve. “I thought you said your crush was hopeless.”

Steve just shrugs. “It’s Eddie, he flirts with everyone.”

“Not like that.”

Steve pauses and thinks back on their conversation and all the flirtatious banter leading up to this moment. Maybe she’s right, but also he remembers… “Did you know that bubble wrap was invented by accident?”

Robin runs a hand over her face and says, “You two are going to be the death of me, I can already tell.”

Steve just smiles and thinks maybe they will be.

-:-:-:-:-:-

A few hours later, he shows up at Eddie’s, trying not to overthink things too much.

They were just hanging out. Just… two people… hanging out… alone… who flirt all the time…. And one definitely has a major crush on the other.

Eddie opens the door to the trailer immediately after Steve knocks only a single time. “I heard your car pull up,” he explains as soon as the door is open.

“Been lingering at the door for long?” Steve teases.

“Hours,” Eddie replies dramatically. But there’s a hint of nervous energy that Steve can’t help but pick up on. “Come on in.”

Steve steps inside and is hit with the smell of spaghetti and breadsticks. “Did you make dinner?”

“Nah, I picked it up from Enzo’s,” Eddie says with a smile before closing the door behind him and gesturing to the couch where two plates are laid out. “I thought we could… watch a movie while we ate or… something.”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Steve replies with a smile, noticing the way his response relieves some of the nervous energy that is consuming Eddie.

“Perfect, right this way madam,” he jokes as he leads Steve to the couch with his hand resting on the dip of his lower back.

Steve sits down and can’t help but ask, “So, what fun fact did you make me wait for?”

Eddie freezes and curses, “Shit, you were supposed to ask that after all of this.”

Steve’s eyebrows furrow. “Why?” He asks nervously.

Eddie fidgets with his rings and mumbles, “Okay, you can do it.” Then, he turns back to Steve and says, “Fun fact… I’ve been dying to ask you out for a while now, and… I was hoping that this could be a date? And further fun fact, I will absolutely shut up forever if I read things wrong, and I’m so sorry if I did. Oh shit. Did I? Because really, I thought-”

“Eddie,” Steve interrupts him quickly, placing a hand over his. “I think it’s finally time that I share a fun fact with you.”

Eddie nods, eyes wide and scared.

“Fun fact,” Steve says and takes a deep breath, “I’m really upset that you beat me to asking you out because I’m a damn chicken. And fun fact, I’ve liked you since I saw you interacting with Dustin for the first time. And you can confirm the fact with Robin who I told while I thought I was on my deathbed.”

Eddie’s expression slowly morphs from fear to relief to happiness. “And that’s really all a fact?”

“Yes. Fun ones I hope.”

“Very very fun,” Eddie says with a laugh. He worries his bottom lip before saying, “Fun fact, I really want to kiss you.”

“Fun fact,” Steve echoes cheesily. “I would love to kiss you.”

And he does exactly that.

(Later on, Steve calls Robin from Eddie’s house and yells, “Fun fact, I just kissed Eddie!” Into the phone so loudly that Robin complains that his “fun fact” is giving her ear damage. But she also lets him know that she’s happy for him, as long as he doesn’t keeps phrasing everything as a fun fact.

Only, Steve can’t help it, when everything involving Eddie becomes the best facts he knows.)

[numberoneredriotfan]

It makes me really upset that Kirishima and Bakugou's friendship wasn't highlighted too much after season 4 or the shie hassakai arc. And I don't even mean this in a shipping sense. Kirishima was a HUGE part of Bakugou's character development even if it wasn't shown that way.

At first, Kirishima is introduced as one of the only people who can handle Bakugou and all his intensity- as well as his explosive (haha get it) personality. This is showcased more clearly in the sports festival arc.

Kirishima offers to be Bakugou's horse, because he's the only one that can handle his explosions with his hardening (which is probably the only quirk in 1-A that really effectively deflect Bakugou's explosions, so nobody else could really be in that position other than Kirishima.) Also, he without hesitation called Bakugou a dumbass and told him to remember his fucking name, even after seeing how angry he can get when provoked. And this isn't even the last time Kirishima does this. So Kirishima becomes someone who can handle Bakugou, but their friendship doesn't end there.

Most this development probably happened off-screen, but overtime Bakugou started to see Kirishima as an equal. Not just someone who could handle Bakugou and put up with him, but as someone who is able to stand by his side unwavering while also understanding his perspective to some extent (which I assume is rare for Bakugou, considering most other's view of him is either "what a jackass" or "wow he's so cool").

Which is why I really love this scene they added in the anime, which shows that Kirishima understands Bakugou, even if he seems like just an arrogant asshole. I think the only other character who understands Bakugou on that level is Deku (and of course his classmates learn to understand later on, but I'm talking about early on).

Kirishima was arguably the first person who Bakugou saw as an equal. Something I noticed about early Bakugou is that he either had a superiority complex or a inferiority complex with someone, and there was really no in between lol. That was, until Kirishima. Who came in as someone who neither above or below him. While Kirishima doesn't take any of Bakugou's shit, he also doesn't treat Bakugou like just a jerk.

This is of course, showcased best in the iconic Bakugou rescue scene.

This scene was honestly just such a good show of their bond, and how Bakugou sees Kirishima. Because as Deku pointed out, Bakugou wouldn't have taken anyone else's hand. We know this for a fact, as this was the same man who would've rather been kidnapped by villains then accept Deku's help-

So yeah. I fully believe if it was anyone other than Kirishima to reach out a hand to him, he would've straight up ignored them and would've tried to fight the villains himself. (Death is one thing but his ego is another apparently-).

It would be ignorant of me to say that Kirishima was the only one who understood Bakugou, because that's just not the case. Because as we saw multiple times throughout the series, Deku (as previously stated) understands Bakugou very well from the very beginning. However, while this opens up the gateway for a reconciliation with Bakugou in the future, Bakugou's complex feelings about Deku make it impossible for them to form a relationship based on that. Kirishima came in as a breath of fresh air, in which there was no lingering resentment or complexity involved. And of course, later in the series, we see the other members of class A understand Bakugou on that level as well. But in the beginning at least, Kirishima was the only person he could sort build that bridge of understanding with.

And even if it's never stated explicitly, I truly believe Bakugou wouldn't have opened up to relationships with his other classmates if it weren't for Kirishima befriending him. Or at the very least, it would've taken him a lot longer.

And the we have to take into accountability of how much their friendship has helped KIRISHIMA develop as a a character. As we can see, from the very beginning, Kirishima has a bad habit of comparing his quirk to the others of their class.

This isn't his fault necessarily, as in their society it's probably drilled into your head from a young age that you can only be a good hero if you have a flashy quirk.

And because of this, rather than looking at his own strength, he pays a lot of attention to how he compares to others.

So clearly, he's hard on himself and has a lot of self-esteem issues. (I am him. He is me-)

And it's clear he looks up to Bakugou a lot from just...Bakugou being Bakugou. Bakugou's a very forward person who jumps in without thinking (for better or worse), which is almost everything Kirishima wants to be. I honestly think that might've been- at least partially- what drew Kirishima to Bakugou. He wanted to be more like him, even if he wouldn't admit to himself. He, in a way, was putting Bakugou on a pedestal, even if he didn't realize that Bakugou sees him as an equal.

But then, Bakugou tells him this:

Which in the end, pushes Kirishima to reach his full potential, which came in form of unbreakable. Bakugou, who was originally someone he looked up to and admired, eventually became his motivation. His drive, even. And it wasn't just Bakugou, obviously, but Bakugou still contributed a lot.

And after all this, their friendship gets pushed to the side so we can focus on Bakugou and Deku's reconciliation. Which isn't bad! I love Bakugou and Deku's friendship as well! And I will say it holds a lot more importance to the plot of the story, and it wasn't necessarily a requirement to have Bakugou and Kirishima's relationship showcased more.

But still, I feel as though one could assume that once Bakugou got his character development from Kirishima, he didn't need anymore. Like he was just a stepping stone in order to reach his redemption with Deku. Which is just a sad way to look at their relationship :( and I truthfully believe that that just isn't the case. We did get a few crumbs, but even then we never got to see them talk one-one as friends after a while.

This isn't supposed to be Kiribaku propaganda or anything like that, and some of this will probably fall into headcanon territory and is just my interpretation of their characters. This also isn't me saying that their relationship is more important than Bakugou and Deku's, or Kirishima and Mina's, this is just more of a vent on how I would've liked to see more of their friendship.

Edit: just wanted to put this here as well

(From mha ultra analysis)

[doorhine]

One of many things I like about Blue Eye Samurai is how it portrays its disabled characters. There's a lot to talk about with each of them but for this post, I want to talk about, not the step dad, but the dad who stepped up, Sword Father!

*Spoilers below

Him and Mizu's relationship is one of my favorite dynamics in the show and seeing how that developed over the years was one of my favorite things about the pilot. It felt very symbiotic and good for the both of them emotionally to have that company and support, especially on Mizu's end.

I really liked seeing how the two worked together and how Mizu accommodated to his needs. I also liked the respect given to Sword Father's ability to take care of himself as an adult even without Mizu's assistance. He's been blacksmithing for years and he's respected in his line of work. Losing his sight did not and does not change that.

I personally think the show does a good job at balancing the reality of him being blind and the accommodations he needs while also respecting him as an autonomous individual and talking about his blindness in a way that feels natural and respectful when it's relevant.

But my favorite thing about this dynamic and Sword Father as an individual is probably the use of audio design in the show in relationship to them. As we see the two of them become a family, and develop this language with each other/way of interacting, sound becomes a key element and that carries over into the entire show.

Being blind, Sword Father relies a lot on his hearing. But we as the audience don't just see this aspect of his character. We're actually made to hear from his perspective and apply that sense to how we perceive the entire season even when he's not present.

The most obvious example is the sound of metal which is used to indicate things like:

Mizu revealing to Sword Father that she forged her sword from the meteorite they found before the camera pans up to the space it used to occupy

The symbolism around Mizu and mixed metal in general

Sword Father realizing that Mizu's at his front door when Ringo brings her and Taigen there which revealed to us, the audience, where Ringo brought them before we see Sword Father come on screen (I loved that moment so much)

and emphasizing the moment of shock the characters in the show had when they heard the sound of gunshots for the first time in the finale in contrast to the clang of swords that we as the audience have gotten so used to hearing.

But the reliance on hearing doesn't just apply to that. In the second episode Mizu encounters Chiaki, a man from her past who she defeats in the present. And you know the biggest tip off the show gives us to recognize him before he reveals himself? His laugh. A noise we would've recalled from the flashbacks he was featured in.

LIKE I JUST THINK THAT'S SO FRIGGIN COOL XD

There's a lot more that can be said about Sword Father and how the show portrays him and his blindness. I personally can't speak on this as a blind person so I'd love to hear what people who are think about it. These are just my 2 cents that I felt like sharing.

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Unmortricken" was a lot. In fact, it might have been a little too much.

To start, I loved the glimpse of what exists outside the Central Finite Curve. The visuals were stunning and reminded me of M.C. Escher's drawings. The Jetson-like family was a nice touch--if anything can happen, who says they can't have different animation styles? All those colorful portals make me wonder what's lurking just out of sight.

It's also funny that the space outside the Curve is full of Rick's favorite thing: crystals. If he took a trip there, he'd come back with his pockets stuffed with gemstones.

Evil Morty's reappearance gave us a decent character study. Since he wasn't the antagonist, we saw him interact with the C-137s as a regular person. Morty's a little impressed, and Rick has a grudging respect for him. Others have called Evil Morty the Rickest Morty, and I agree: similar intelligence, similar technology and similar bloodthirst.

I was glad that he left in the end because that's what his character arc is about anyway. He doesn't want to be part of anyone else's story, not even another Morty's.

However, that's also part of the issue that I had with this episode. Seeing Evil Morty was great, but it was also a little...pointless? You could've had the same story without him. He's not working with Prime, and he has no ties to C-137 after "Rickmurai Jack," so it felt like the writers just said "Hey, you know what would be cool?"

I'm not against writers having fun and giving the audience what they want. "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (yeah, groan at me, Marvel haters) is fan service in blockbuster form, and it was one of the best theater experiences I've ever had.

Still, if Evil Morty came back, I think he should've had a separate episode. The episode juggled C-137 Rick, Morty, Evil Morty and Prime Rick pretty well, giving them satisfying interactions with each other, but no Evil Morty would've meant more relationship development for the C-137s.

Evil Morty's backstory also didn't reveal much about him. I mean--yeah, we all figured that he had an abusive Rick and got fed up. The fact that he had a "regular" Rick instead of a deranged lunatic does make a point about the banality of abuse. Monsters aren't always raving maniacs who torture people in their basements. Ordinary people can wear you down with a slow drip of toxicity and neglect.

I enjoyed this episode, and Evil Morty's return was exciting, but cramming the series' two biggest antagonists and storylines into twenty minutes was a little overwhelming. New plot developments kept showing up, too: Rick found Prime! Prime's various lairs! Omega device! I would've preferred a two-parter.

I'll admit that if you told me that we'd see Evil Morty and Rick Prime in the same shot, I never would have believed you, but here we are.

On that note, Prime's characterization was perfect. No attempt at a cutesy, sad backstory; he's a laughing monster until the end. And is it really the end? He has regeneration abilities, but C-137 acts like he's dead and even gives up the search. This leaves us with a few options:

C-137 killed him.

Prime fooled C-137 into thinking that he's dead when he isn't.

C-137's keeping him alive for later use.

Hopefully, this is more complicated than it looks because I'll be disappointed if this is the end of Prime. He's a brilliant reflection of C-137: the Rick he'd be without his tiny shred of humanity.

And Prime's a maniac, but he tells C-137 the truth. Rick broke into Prime's house. He pretended he belonged with this group of strangers. He latched on to Prime's grandson because he never had his own. His brutal, violent streak never went away no matter how long he tried to play house.

Prime says "Admit it! You would have been me!" In season three and parts of season four, Rick was close. His love for his family--love that he pretended he didn't have--and desire for their approval just barely pulled him back. But what kept that spark alive? How close was he to becoming a cold, unfeeling shell?

In the end, C-137's not satisfied after he destroys Prime--and weirdly, I'm not satisfied, either. Beating Prime to an unrecognizable pulp doesn't bring Rick's original family back. It doesn't erase the atrocities that Rick's committed. It doesn't make his grief go away. It doesn't change the fact that Rick teetered on the edge of turning into the monster that he despised.

What's more satisfying is that Rick didn't turn out like Prime. His Morty doesn't give two shits about Prime, but he loves him. He hugs him in relief (come on, Rick, hug him back already!), cries out "Rick? Rick!" and shakes his body when he thinks he's dead, and talks excitedly as they return home.

Rick's going to therapy, which Prime would have mocked. He went from having nobody to living with FIVE kids if you count Morty and Summer. Even he and his Jerry are pretty tight.

Rick knows this, but he still feels empty all the time. Vengeance doesn't work, drinking doesn't work...wouldn't it be easier if he just switched off his humanity and laughed at everything, even his own death?

But now that he knows how it feels to be loved, especially by his hypothetical grandson, I think he'll always find himself at the Smiths' doorstep.

[hiiragi7]

Recently started Transgender History by Susan Stryker, and was pleasantly surprised to see intersex be given about a page and a half of text in the Contexts, Concepts, and Terms section of the book. There are some parts of it which I think are good, some "good enough", and some which I feel miss the mark a bit. Overall, I think Susan Stryker did a pretty decent job here and I'm happy to see intersex included, though I do think there's room for improvement and criticism.

A note I'd like to make here is that this book was originally published in 2008 and revised in 2017, and I'm unsure how much this section in particular was revised since the original publish date - If anyone can find that out I'd be very interested to hear about it!

I'm going to be copying the text from the book here and giving my thoughts on it.

Intersex: Typically, being an egg-producing body means having two X chromosomes, and being a sperm-producing body means having one X and one Y chromosome. When egg and sperm cells fuse (i.e., when sexual reproduction takes place), their chromosomes can combine in patterns (or "karyotypes") other than the typical male (XY) or female (XX) ones (such as XXY or XO). Other genetic anomalies can also cause the sex of the body to develop in atypical ways. Other differences of sex development might take place during pregnancy or after birth as the result of glandular conditions that contribute further differences in the typical development of biological sex. Some of these anomalies cause a body that is genetically XY (typically male) to look typically female at birth. Some bodies are born with genitals that look like a mixture of typically male and typically female shapes. Some genetically female bodies (typically XX) are born without vaginas, wombs, or ovaries. All of these variations on the most typical organization of human reproductive anatomy -- along with many, many more -- are called intersex conditions.

Starting off with examples of intersex variations rather than giving a definition first followed by examples left it hard for me to follow exactly where Stryker was going with it, but that could be a writing style preference; personally I think I would've been a bit lost if I didn't already know what intersex was. Overall I think this starts off pretty solid, gives a good overview of the massive spectrum of sex we're dealing with when we talk about intersex - it doesn't fall into the same "mix of male and female, ambiguous genitals" trap that many other definitions do which I appreciate. The use of typical/atypical (instead of, say, disordered) is good. I also do appreciate the preference for differences of sex development over disorders of sex development.

Intersex used to be called hermaphroditism, but that term is now usually considered perjorative. Some intersex people now prefer the medical term DSD (for Disorders of Sex Development) to describe their sex status, but others reject this term as unduly pathologizing and depoliticizing. Such people might use DSD to refer instead to "differences of sex development," or they might hold on to the word intersex -- or even hermaphrodite, or the slang word herm -- to signal their sense of belonging to a politicized minority community.

This is also good! Really feel like we're addressing the elephants in the room here. Hermaphrodite is perjorative, some intersex people use Disorders of Sex Development but other intersex people consider it unduly pathologizing and depoliticizing and instead use differences of sex development or just intersex (or reclaim Hermaphrodite), and we belong to a politicized minority community. Very cool! Lots of things were said here that other authors are often too afraid to touch on, if they even mention us at all.

Intersex conditions are far more common than we tend to acknowledge; reliable estimates put the number at about one in two thousand births.

Actually, it's more like 1-2 in 100 births, my guess as to what's being referenced is actually the statistics for those born with ambiguous genitals ("The estimated frequency of genital ambiguity is reported to be in the range of 1:2000–1:4500" [Link]), which is disappointing. I do appreciate Stryker going against the "intersex is rare" myth, though.

Intersex doesn't really have all that much to do with transgender, except for demonstrating that the biology of sex is a lot more variable than most people realize. This becomes significant when you have cultural beliefs about there being only two sexes, and therefore only two genders.

Stryker lost me here. Intersex doesn't have much to do with transgender except as a demonstration of the variability of sex? I'm tired of people saying intersexuality's only relation to transgender is this when there are many more connections to be found between the two. It's exhausting to have your community be constantly stripped down to a singular point or a debate tool for someone else's use. Didn't like this part.

These beliefs can lead to intersex people becoming the target of medical interventions such as genital surgery or hormone therapy, often while they are still infants or young children, to "correct" their supposed "abnormality". It is being subjected to the same cultural beliefs about gender, and acted on by the same medical institutions, through the same body-altering techniques that give intersex people and transgender people the most common ground.

This part is better, and I do like the connection between intersex and trans people here. I do believe that acknowledging that both communities are impacted by much of the same systems and techniques is good and should be further talked about.

Some trans people who think that their need to cross gender boundaries has a biological cause consider themselves to have an intersex condition (current theories favor sex-linked differences in the brain), and some people with intersex bodies also come to think of themselves as being transgender (in that they desire to live in a gender different from the one they were assigned at or after birth).

I think that there is... quite a large difference between the two groups suggested here, in a way that makes the comparison uncomfortable. Additionally, I did also notice the difference in "trans people" vs. "people with intersex bodies"; it leaves me wondering why they were referred to differently, especially when "intersex people" was used further up in the passage. Perhaps it's to contrast with, for lack of better words, trans people who consider themselves to have differently-sexed brains which make them intersex?

Still, it's best to think of transgender and intersex identities, communities, and social change movements as being demographically and politically distinct, albeit with some areas of overlap and some shared membership.

Complicated thoughts here. Yes, there are differences in our movements and communities, and yes, we are distinct groups - this is important, especially when a lot of people still try to conflate intersex and trans as being the same. However, I think "some areas of overlap and some shared membership" is really underestimating things; While I believe it's pretty safe to say that most trans people do not identify as intersex or participate in intersex communities or advocate for intersex issues, the opposite doesn't appear to be true - a report from Trevor Project found that "58% of intersex youth identified as transgender or nonbinary or were questioning their gender identity". [Link] (PDF)

These are all my current thoughts, going back to reading the book now.

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno fic recs: ANBU

AHHHH!!!! I love ANBU fics, especially when they involve Sakura. It was such a cool concept, which was unfortunately never fully expanded upon. However, our lack of knowledge regarding the shadow corps allows for some really cool fic ideas since authors can take creative liberty on the structure and workings of the division.

In my opinion, Sakura had the most potential out of team 7 to join ANBU (at least more than Naruto). It's all about being discreet and efficient and although she wasn't strong during og, she possessed abilities that would be valuable for this. Her clever mind, chakra control, and genjutsu potential would've made her a good fit. Naruto was too flamboyant and Sasuke was too reckless and cocky, but this is just my take. However, with her new skill set from her training with Tsunade, I don't think she would be able to go down that path anymore.

Started: 2024.08.06

Last Updated: 2024.08.29

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

----

Masks by mads999 || ao3 || kakasaku || E || canon divergent || complete

1. Sakura's Inner is far more diabolical than anyone ever expected 2. Crows prove to be cruel mentors 3. Sakura comes to learn exactly how much she hates Kakashi (as well as how alike they are, in the most terrible of ways)

Kakashi is a hateful turd and Sakura is spiteful! I hate this ship and I'm not a big fan of Kakashi here, but boy is this fic good. One of the best character developments I've read for Sakura and she certainly becomes of force to be reconned with. The ANBU lore in Masks is absolutely phenomenal and I love the whole system that is put into place as it adds for some drama (lol). Also, can we talk about how awesome crow summons are????

.

Five Kingdoms for the Dead - Evil Is A Relative Term || ffn || M || canon divergence || complete

After the Forest of Death, Sakura comes to realize that being weak is no longer an option. However, she finds that change is sometimes painful and that truth doesn't always come easy. Luckily, she'll have some help along the way.

It's been a while since I've read Five Kingdoms for the Dead, but I just remember it being absolutely great! I'll be honest, I found a lot of the mind stuff pretty confusing at times, but it was still enjoyable. Also, some great characters are utilized in this fic such as Neji, Sai, and Itachi. Makes me really wish that we saw more of Sakura and Neji working together in Naruto since I think they compliment each other quite well.

.

Trials of Change - Espoiretreves || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

Haruno Sakura made a promise. Looking in the eyes of her Shisou and the reanimated Hokage, she took on the most important mission of her life. Go back in time and try to prevent the 4th Shinobi War. Now, Sakura is back to her 5-year-old body, with all the knowledge and haunting memories of the future. She vows to keep her precious people safe and stop certain events from happening, without altering the timeline too much. The trials her emotions and logic put her through have her questioning her very existence, but for the sake of peace, she has to push forward. No matter what.

Trials of Change is actually apart of a time travel series and I have to say that it is probably one of the best of the genre! Now, Sakura is not in ANBU here, but she works very closely with team Ro (Kakashi's ANBU team) and it's a huge part of the story, so I'm choosing to count it anyway. I really adore all of the worldbuilding and backstories going on here in addition to the fact that there are breaks. Yes, the story keeps moving, but there are other things going on, like playdates, and not just Sakura trying to save the world. Also, if you love Shisui then definitely check this out since he has a huge role and his and Sakura's friendship is just so precious.

.

bite me and see, said the fly to the spider - MirrorImage003 || ao3 || itasaku || T || non-massacre AU || ongoing

In which Sakura is not initially a part of Team 7. In which she wears her failures like armor and brandishes her fears like her most trusted weapons. In which I do what hundreds of other authors have done before me, and rewrite Sakura's story. Non-massacre AU. Canon Divergent. Slow-burn.

After Sakura's first team, consisting of the graduating class's "expendables," dies, she joins team 7 and faces backlash along her shinobi journey. Sakura doesn't join ANBU until the later chapters so fair warning that there isn't too much content in that regards (unless it updates). Nonetheless, Sakura views ANBU as vital to her career as it offers her the highest clearance she can get. Gaining her opportunities for information her civilian-born status didn't allow her privy to.

.

The Sixth Shadow - thinknicht || ao3 || kakasaku || M || canon divergent - eventual time travel AU || ongoing

No one seemed to find it odd when little Haruno Sakura threw herself smack dab in front of a Chidori and Rasengan. Not even Kakashi stopped to wonder.(He really should have.)

The story of how Sakura came to be the sixth hogake despite all of the challenges thrown her way. I especially love Sakura's drive in addition to the political aspects. However, be warned that Kakashi is an absolute HATER (in the beginning), but he gets better! The Sixth Shadow is extremely long and I only just recently got to Sakura's introduction to ANBU, so I can't say too much in that regard.

.

Daughter of Fire - justjstuff || ao3 || kakasaku || E || canon divergence || incomplete (maybe ongoing)

Sakura got up and didn’t bother brushing the dirt from her dress. She had a feeling she was about to get even dirtier.She looked at the memorial stone one last time, memorizing the characters without even realizing she was doing it. It would serve from that moment on as a reminder of her determination. She wouldn’t let Naruto and Sasuke join the names carved on that stone.That was her nindo.

Sakura's growth throughout Daughter of Fire is great and realistic all while pointing out aspects from the original series which were flawed and dare I say misogynistic. I struggled a bit in the beginning to justify her abilities, but overall the story is really well done and the ANBU aspects are quite intriguing.

.

cut the head off the snake - itsthechocopuff || ao3 || T || time travel AU || complete

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she'd had a childhood once already, and this time, she's more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she's done.and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

Such a unique take on a time travel AU and Cut the Head Off the Snake executes it perfectly. Sakura decides that her first order of business is to infiltrate ROOT and that's exactly what she does. Sai, Shin, and Shisui are all great characters and team Ro is present as well. Very good!

.

Flowers - Idunmy || ao3 || E || kakasaku || canon divergence || ongoing

Flowers only bloom just before they wilt When Sakura loses her fight against Ino in her Chuunin exams, she questions her ability to ever become a kunoichi, too weak to protect herself, let alone her village One wrongful promotion later and Sakura gets a second chance in the shape of a mysterious new teacher who against all odds is willing to put her faith in a young girl with potential and a willingness to fight. Or- a fix-it inspired fic where Sakura grows to be the powerhouse she was destined to become.

Flowers is a newer series (which has recent updates) and I love it! Critiques are made towards the medical ninja training, which I believe needed to be discussed and it's refreshing to see. In most ANBU fics I've read, Sakura is immediately put onto the strongest team, but here it's a bit different. She begins on a demolition squad, which not only suits her skill set quite well, but is a realistic approach to how she would be introduced to the corps. Anyway, it's one of my favorite reads at the moment and I really like where the story is going.

.

names. - waterpllar || ao3 || T || gen || canon divergence || complete

There are no names or faces in ANBU. Everything is designed to be strictly formal, efficient and professional. A recently orphaned Sakura, however, learns that some regulations aren't meant to be followed, and finds a place in Team Ro after being shunned from her former teammates. (fic prompt from anon on tumblr: orphaned sakura in anbu with yamato, genma, and team ro.)

AHHHH poor Sakura. After her parents' death Sakura seeks Tsunade's help out of desperation to become useful. Under recommendation, Sakura's new goal is to make it into ANBU.

.

Equinox - FM_White || ao3 || itasaku || M || anbu AU || complete

ItaSaku (Post Uchiha Massacre) AU: Climbing through the ranks of Konoha, Sakura finds herself with the invitation to join ANBU and a chance to learn from one of the most renowned and legendary ninja in the world. Despite her efforts to grow stronger however, she finds the world isn't as black and white as it looks and that some truths are easier to hide than others.

I don't remember Equinox very well, but I love most works by this author sooo. Anyway, Itachi stays in Konoha and instead it's Sasuke that goes rougue. Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru are newly joined ANBU members and all placed on a team with Itachi and things go from there.

.

stars in our eyes as we dream of the heavens (the gods walk among us, sweet child, do not forget) - snickiebear || ao3 || kakasaku || T || age-swap AU || oneshot complete

“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto whispered, staring at his teacher, horror plain on his face. “You’re married?” Lazily, Kakashi looked down at his gloveless hand where his ring rested, “It would appear so.”

Sakura is born in the same generation as Kakashi and turns out as a badass ANBU married to him. This is super wholesome as it's a lot of the two of them bonding with Kakashi's genin team (Sai makes three) in an effort to help them out. It's a series so you can read more of the events taking place prior to the fic.

.

Anachronistic Drift  - Elesrea  || ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || incomplete

Her plan was flawless. Save Shisui. Save the world. Time-travel, Sakura-centric AU

Sakura spends years training to be sent back in time and save the world from Sasuke. She isn't in ANBU, but rather poses as one in order to keep an anonymous status on her doings both in and out of the village.

.

Sakura - lilac haze || ffn/ao3 || M || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

AU. Non-Canon. Time Travel. Please see inside for full warnings. Cross posted on Ao3. On his deathbed he was granted eternal peace and place to rest for all of time. Of course that was not appealing to him. Ever unpredictable to the end he had a counter offer. One that the Sage had to consider. In which Sakura's going to have a rough time. A really rough time.

Sakura is probably one of my all time favorite fics because the emotions are just spectacular. The story is pretty heavy on ANBU and ROOT aspects, which I always enjoy, but I wouldn't say it's a major focus. However, there is an emphasis on the unfair treatment towards kunoichi. Anyway, the characterizations and storytelling are beautifully done. Please share this author some love.

Check TWs before hand!!

----

Hope y'all enjoy these recs, and please feel free to send me some if you have any!!!! I really appreciate when you do :)

[fashion-foxy]

You know something that's odd to me? How weirdly the child of the Beauty and the Beast get handled in media. (Obviously, my only examples are EAH and Descendants, but walk with me on this.)

The Beauty is someone who will, for better or for worse, always see the best in everyone. They are kind and good-natured but is usually someone who still holds people accountable for their actions and intentions, not what the Beauty thinks their intentions are.

The Beast is someone who typically does not look past the surface level of a person out of stupidity or willful ignorance. The Beast is also very selfish ,closed-minded , and stubborn. Unfortunately , that means in retellings, the Beast is the only one to go a character arc, and the Beauty comes off as judgmental or too forgiving.

Both characters being foils means that it could be a bit challenging to portray a character that is a result of both of those personalities, but if done right, it creates a very interesting character!

So, what did EAH and Descendants do with what they were given?!

Well, for starters, a bad job, but you already knew that. Let's take a look at Rosabella Beauty and Benjamin Florian No Last Name Given. (Idk most Descendants characters don't have last names)

Rosabella is judgemental, which could definitely actually be a super cool thing that she got from her dad, but based off the fact that she didn't go on an arc and it didn't get presented as a character flaw, I suspect this was accidental. Which is real shame. It would've been a really cool concept to explore Rosabella actually being the Beast.

She is also, by not getting any meaningful character development, giving off major 'I could fix him' vibes with Daring. Except, she's ignoring what's actually wrong in his life and looking at surface level interpretations of what she thinks he's like. Then, deciding he's a self-centered narcissist who she needs to fix so he meets her standards. Hey, wait a spell. She kind of seems to embody more of the Beast characteristics than the Beauty's. I wonder if the writers might have had other plans but were forced to change her into something else or perhaps Mattel wanted to sell a doll of her and Daring so they had to awkwardly force a relationship and not use their original plans?

Ben is way too forgiving. When we first see him, he says that he wants to give the Isle kids (kids who were born to villians who've been trapped in a magic prison all their life) a chance at a normal life, which is great! It's probably one of the best things a 16 year old king could do. So when's the next time he forgives someone? When he tells Mal that he knows she drugged him. So, it's at this point where you kinda realize that he isn't being too forgiving he's trapped in an abusive relationship. Once he sees that Mal realizes the implications of that, he goes back on it, and he tells her that it's not that big of a deal that it's ok that he still loves her.

When's the next time something like this happens? When Mal tries to erase some of his memories after catching her lying about using magic. He obviously yells at her because that's a fucked up thing to do. She downplays the situation and makes excuses. Shortly after, she runs back to the Isle. Ben, assuming that she had the best intentions, blames himself and ultimately gets kidnapped and then drugged again. All of these interactions are all portrayed as 'his fault' and that he'd deserved everything that happened to him because he was holding Mal responsible for her actions. In the third movie, he even stops doing it. Hades asks him why an Auradon kid gets to be excused and why everyone on the Isle doesn't, and he looks at Mal but ignores the question. Mal doesn't answer because she's the reason this Auradon person (Audrey) is hurt because she ruined her life and is currently being excused by everyone, including the writers, but Audrey won't. Ben definitely won't.

So, aren't these the best portrayals of the Beauty and the Beast characteristics? Because mixing the traits incorrectly. If Ben was given more Beast characteristics than just roaring sometimes. Mal wouldn't be abusive if their were actually moments where Ben was being unreasonable and too quick to draw surface level conclusions.

Rosabella wouldn't come off as rude and judgemental if she was given more Beauty characteristics. If Daring was actually self-centered and Rosabella considered others and thought about others instead of drawing conclusions.

[starstriix]

Jo's dynamics with other characters are all usually fun and engaging due to her being such an entertaining and adaptable character herself; but they can honestly be so much more interesting if people explored them a bit more?

For example, take Jo and Lightning. They have a hilarious dynamic with Jo having to deal with Lightning's stupidity and learning to manipulate his self-centeredness to her advantage. Except one thing I don't see explored enough is their similarities??

They're both overconfident athletes who are willing to do bad shit in order to win. It makes me think that Jo might’ve had a similar upbringing to him where she had to deal with the pressure of winning? Like, a cut-throat attitude doesn't just develop out of nowhere. Except whilst I think Lightning's ego developed from being constantly praised (and eventually pressured with having to live up to others' expectations), Jo might’ve been constantly belittled and underestimated (for yknow, being a girl) and she would've had to work hard to achieve recognition from others. Episode 6 pretty much confirms that she uses a false bravado and anger to cover up feelings of insecurity. I just think their possibly similar yet different upbringings and perspectives would be cool to explore.

Jo and Zoey is one of my favourite duos! They definitely should've become friends; I think they would've been a fun dynamic, and gen 2 could've used a proper female friendship. I think them both having the "Not like other girls" aspect is quite interesting?? As well as them both initially lacking actual friendships (with Zoey's lonely childhood, and Jo's... Just Jo) which is. Pretty common amongst the gen 2 girls. Huh

Zoey could've been a MUCH more interesting character (I always just use the cool epic version of her I have inside my head). Let her be weirdddd or let her be super basic and intentionally pose as "indie" to seem cool and different. Maybe she looks down on other "basic" girls to cover up how she feels insecure around them for being weird and having unconventional interests herself idk. I think the dynamic of both Zoey and Jo hating on pretty, popular girls and overcoming that is super neat. Especially since they're both something that the other hates; Zoey is a typically feminine girl and Jo is a jockette. Let them become friends and be like "okay well you aren't so bad" and then eventually stop judging other girls for being "feminine" or "basic" pleaseeeee it'd be so good. Even better: let ALL the revenge girls be friends. I just want them to be happy OKAY? Okay.

Finally, Jo and Cameron! Another duo I'm fond of. Awesome brains/brawns combination, and the whole arc of Cam standing up to her and Jo respecting him for it is absolutely peak. Jo's elimination in roti was pretty much perfect, but I also think she could've worked well in the finale. Her being a combination of brains and brawns would have encouraged Cameron to use both, which would be a neat callback to Jo's earlier line of needing to get physical in TD. (Still think she should've rooted for Cameron over the guy who insisted that she was a dude for most of the season but whatever)

I haven't really seen this take on their dynamic, but the whole thing of Cameron's development being stunted from the over-protective environment of his upbringing and Jo being toughened by the harsh environment of hers adds a fascinating layer to their relationship. Whereas Cameron was prevented from being able to properly grow up and experience things like normal teens, Jo grew up way too soon and put more focus into winning than making positive relationships and allowing herself to just be a teenage girl (I personally believe Jo got the """tough love""" treatment). Idk I just think this would be cool to delve into and see how their opposite childhoods impacted them and their core values when interacting with each other

Cameron clearly saw her as both a role model and an opponent, which is a really fun dynamic! She was a bully, yeah, but she also presented herself as someone who was always in control and knew what she was doing, so it's understandable that Cam looked up to her. She was pretty much the opposite of overprotective too, which is probably what drew Cam to her since she didn't coddle him (and instead made fun of him LMAO). And of course, Jo learned to not underestimate the tiny nerds and gave her respect in the end. Super fun and intriguing duo, and probably the only td pair I would actually compare to siblings.

So yeah basically I think we should start looking into TD relationship dynamics more because they're awesome and filled with potential. Especially Jo's because she is the best ever and if you think otherwise then you're wrong

Also have a gold star if you just read through all of that ⭐️ great work soldier

[eeldritchblast]

Thoughts on Halsin

I want to preface this by saying I don't have anything particularly against Halsin as he is in game. But I do find him lacking in depth, when compared to everyone else.

Even without knowing that he was added as a full companion last minute, I would probably have guessed as much simply because there's not much to him beyond the role he plays in the Shadow-Curse quest of Act 2. This is lampshaded with dialogue about how he himself feels consumed by his determination to end the curse. But to me, that just feels like a cop-out. Imagine any other character looking at the camera and just saying "yeah I know I don't have much character beyond what happens to me in the plot, too bad?"

But I think the worst crime about his lack of development, is the fact that because he doesn't have a lot else going on, he feels a little overly sexualized to me; like he's just there for the player to thirst after because he's this big, bulky man. Now, to be clear, I don't care that he's horny, and I definitely don't care that he's poly. (My GF is a poly lesbian, and honestly I could see myself having more than one romantic relationship , too, if someone else was ever interested in me like that and cool with it.) What I'm trying to say is, because he's lacking in other areas, leaving those traits being of his few you can list, it makes them feel of less value, and makes him feel more like a sex prop. And if you're gonna have a character with rape victim as part of his background like Halsin has, then that's the last thing you want, I think.

So, what more could be done with Halsin?

I once made a joke that someone should draw Halsin in a "Big Auntie Energy" shirt. For those of you who aren't Native, let me try to translate: In most if not all Indigenous Nations, we often call women who are champions of our cultures and communities "Auntie", whether they are actually literally your aunt or not. An Auntie is someone you dearly love, and trust to guide you. Halsin already plays something of a mentor figure to the protagonist—indeed, dev notes even call him "avuncular"—so why not lean into it further by showing what he does for others, too? Pretending that there was more development time allotted, here's what I would've liked to see...

"This place crawls with life, but little of it flourishes. I see refugees, unhoused. The destitute, unwanted. Orphans, unloved. … I wish there was a better way. I wish everyone could see the sun, have a full belly, and know nature as a friend. There is a balance that is yet to be found." —Halsin

After ending the Shadow-Curse, Halsin says he needs to find a new purpose. I feel like his purpose could easily align with his horror of the inequalities of Baldur's Gate. Instead of just talking about how awful it is, why not allow the player to challenge him to try and change things, then? For example, I like to imagine Halsin telling stories to the orphans in Rivington, providing them comfort and someone to look up to. Or another example: Halsin helping out in or maybe starting some kind of charity meal program. It's small, but it's enough to say that he could actually grow a little as a person within the game's story. And it would add at least a little bit of engagement on the player's end as well, instead of feeling like the relationship with Halsin, platonically, is one-sided.

This all doesn't come from nowhere, by the way. If you exclusively romance Halsin, he says goodbye to the player in the end because he is leading a group of people into Thaniel's realm to start a new life. But personally, I feel like this is too great a leap back into an Archdruid role he specifically rejected, because he didn't like it. It also would've been nice to get this kind of dialogue without having to romance him; to know what lies ahead for Halsin as a friend, too.

Now, that's the good ending. But almost all the companions in BG3 have a "good" and "evil" ending. I feel like this really adds a lot of insight into the characters, because they feel real through it; we all have the potential to make good and bad choices, after all. So what could be Halsin's evil-aligned ending? Well, remember when he questions if the Shadow Druids actually have a point? How about giving the player the opportunity to push him further down that path instead... Shadow Druid Halsin, holy shit.

Now, there's one more thing I want to circle back to: Halsin's past. He very casually speaks of his time as a captive in the Underdark. And maybe it was so long ago that he's long dealt with such trauma, but still, I really wish there was a way to say "hey bud, that's really fucked up and I'm sorry that happened to you." But there's not a single dialogue option that allows you to express sympathy, besides just saying "that's awful", which doesn't cut it. Halsin himself says, "sometimes I think people look at me and imagine my feelings can't be hurt." Not allowing the player to be sensitive to his feelings goes exactly against this message not to judge a person's emotions by physical appearances.

Anyway, Halsin is a character that I think has a lot of potential, but doesn't quite reach it in game. I think it's great that he was given a bigger role due to popularity, but I just wish that role was expanded on to the same degree as the other companions.

[charles-simmons]

Very unpopular opinion, but I love the Dsmp canon ending

Specially after we found out they've lived multiple lives (as Eret said, it was like a cycle. Every time it resets, they just start again with no memory). So, PLEASE, let me explain this one

I think a big part of the reason why people dislike that ending is bc it felt like the story was interrupted and there still so much to happen and to develop, but personally, that's part of their tragedy. All of those people, living together over and over again in different complex and messed up lives that they don't quite get an end to.

There was still so much left to happen for those people. So many unsolved mysteries, so many people that never got to heal. It's extremely frustrating to think about it, and there were probably so many other lives where the same thing happened. To me, it adds such a cool layer to their story and it leaves us wondering if in a next live (or in the past ones) they ever got their actual ending. Will their souls ever truly rest? Or are they doomed to never getting closure?

Now, another reason people don't like it's bc of Tommy saying sorry to Dream, which also sounds crazy to me, because that was perfect

It wasn't like was he was forgiving him, or even as if Dream was being redeemed. To be honest, it wasn't even that much about Dream at all.

It's about Tommy. Because no matter how much people hurt Tommy, he genuinely believed no one truly deserved dying. The only reason he was even doing that plan was because he thought killing dream and punz was the only option left. So when he realized that maybe there could be another way, he instantly regretted his decision. He was apologizing for taking away their lives, taking away their chances of changing. It's really not about if they deserved it or not (like, c'mon, dream did abuse him), it's about how Tommy died trying to believe there could be good in people, even people who did terrible things. And that shows so much about him. How even after all that trauma, the hope never left him. You might think that's just being naive, and it probably was, but it's something in Tommy that survived through everything. It's a huge part of his character that never quite died, even after all his deaths.

He and Dream becoming friends in the next life was also interesting, and it would've been awesome to see how that went. In better situations, did Dream ever got to the point he previously had? Are people really inherently bad or toxic, or could've they grew into a healthy friendship? Also, did Tubbo and Tommy got close in that life too? They did stay together until the end of the world, but after that?

Seriously, it had potential. It's a shame we didn't get that sequel, but even without it, I don't think the ending is as half as bad as people say it is. It's not perfect, but it's still kind of awesome.

Well, if you hate the ending and still read this, a particular thank you to you. Also, if you disagree with what I said, feel free to give your reasons, I'll read them too :3 /gen

[emostudent]

TEEN WOLF BRAINROT

so, i've been rewatching teen wolf bc apparently netflix hates us europeans and it will be removed on may 31st and here are a few of my opinions TM

scott is actually a very good main character. listen, i got into this fandom when i was older, so i probably don't understand why there is this trend of hating scott, but he's a valid MC! he shows an example of positive masculinity that is honestly so refreshing to see in modern media: he's kind, compassionate, always optimistic but not stupidly so, has an amazing relationship with his mum AND his friends, he's not afraid to show emotions and cry. honestly a very healthy, albeit traumatised, young man. yes, he did stupid stuff for the girl he liked, and yes he misjudged a few situations, but please, remind me, how old is he supposed to be? 16? 17? 18? yeah. i did worse things at his age.

scott and stiles come from working class families!!! they have money problems!! it's honestly so refreshing to see teenagers discuss money in a supernatural/fantasy tv show. it doesn't usually happens and I've found it refreshing because it's something that usually happen between irl teenagers.

i don't get sterek. really, really don't. maybe it's bc i've watched the show through a gen z lens (meaning the media and the culture (read: THE INTERNET) when i watched the show were influenced more by gen z than millennials' values) but i really don't get it. and the age difference makes me uncomfortable. (same thing with parrish and lydia, SHE'S A MINOR DUDE, there's a reason people don't like cops istg) SOMEONE EXPLAIN STEREK TO ME PLEASE

in fics stiles and scott's personalities are often swapped: stiles is the caring one, the pack mum, scott is the one with homicidal tendencies. like, my dudes, the fact that scott is a GOOD person through and through is the reason he's a true alpha. also the reason we, as viewers, like stiles is bc he's sarcastic and more morally ambiguous than scott (not really, but you get it, he cares more about himself and his immediate friends, the others can die, scott instead want to save everyone period), it's like taking away the thing that makes stiles stiles

malia and stiles were SO cute, i didn't expect to like them so much, but when they broke up my heart shattered

stydia is everything i want in a ship and i will not accept any criticism on it, it's literally one of the only straight ships i like. you have the slowburn, the malewife x girlboss trope, the he fell first but she fell harder, the mutual pining. it literally checks all of my boxes

isaac was such a cool character and he and scott had an amazing dynamic, like come on, they had something going on between them

kira is a badass. that's it, that's the comment. i like her so much

derek's development is one of the best. i couldn't stand him in season 1, but in s4 he became one of my favourite characters. but i think this has more to do with the fact that they aged him up? he was supposed to be in his early 20s in s1, but then they aged him up in s3? well, anyway, i liked how he literally wised up, stepping into the role of a teacher and guide instead of a leader, it suits him so much better (and i'm sure it's less stressful)

peter is such a charmingly evil bastard. i hate him, but i love him at the same time.

thiam is the best ship in the show, i don't care if it's canon or not. i've read airplanes, it's canon to me

we would've liked (simped for) s5 theo more if he had the same haircut he had in 6b. he was just stupidly hot.

allison and lydia should've kissed and so malia and kira. give me my wlw couples.

[artsekey]

so what do you think of the newly minted game and its community who are speedrunning the development of ICBMs to save... Hyrule? I dunno at this point.

Ohh, that's honestly a tough question! I've been a Zelda fan for about a decade now, so I've seen the series go through a lot of changes. In my opinion, ToTK is a happy marriage between Skyward Sword (which was my favorite Zelda game until ToTK) and Breath of the Wild (which I... really did not enjoy because it was such a staunch departure from the Zelda formula).

But Tears of the Kingdom addressed every single qualm I had with BoTW, really! The first major improvement I noticed was the music, which is also very important to me. There are some tracks from ToTK that I CANNOT stop listening to:

And the story was much improved, both in how impactful it was and how it was delivered.

I still wish they made Link a little bit more expressive and gave him more character, though. Wind Waker and Skyward Sword have so much charm due largely in part to how we see Link react to things, and it was really jarring to see him just kind of... neutral about everything, constantly. It does give the player a lot of room to project, which I obviously do via the comics I create, but I think it's something I'd like to see them change moving forward.

I'm mid about the building mechanics. They're cool, but I think the game would've been just as much fun without them (for me personally). Fuse, on the other hand? Love it! Definitely made combat more rewarding and fun.

I'm worried about where the series will go from here, though. I think a lot of fans who didn't enjoy Zelda before (or didn't pay the franchise much mind) got into the series because of Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild. How are those fans going to react when we move away from this reincarnation of Link? Will Nintendo decide to play it safe and stay in the same timeline? Are we going to keep moving the series into the "future" with this technology?

All that aside, the game's a 10/10 and I ugly cried at the end!

[roshellow29]

Idk why but I feel the need to rant about trolls band together so here's a warning for SPOILERS.

TL;DR I'll be talking shit about major conflict parts in the movie that I wished were handled differently >:((((

Please take caution (and a deep breath) reading this because I'm very bad at making sense when I ramble ok? Ok les go

OK SO.

The movie was great, loved the songs and I enjoyed branches family shenanigans, including supportive girlfriend poppy I've been WAITING FOR THIS (ifykyk)

But here are some things that bothered me that they could've definitely done differently

1. JOHN DORYS ENTIRE CHARACTER ARC- jd is great. He's actually my favorite! He's a cringefail boyfailiure and I love him for it. In the movie, his whole thing was that he was basically an ass who didn't listen to his siblings and always pressured and bossed them around. Cool, that's established. What's not is, Why??? It's really the whole "perfect family harmony" thing I guess.

Because later in the conflict he says that it was "hard being responsible for four younger siblings" (which bitch me too were litteraly the same) and that all they needed to be was perfect. what I don't understand is why? Why the whole perfect harmony? Where did it come from? They didn't say it was a big thing or that other bands did it? Would it get them more fame? Would it mean that they're perceived as the perfect brothers or something?? Also, why wasn't the grandmother more involved with the kids?? Did she pressure him to care for his siblings because their parents weren't involved or something? That's just one thing that's not really explained to me ig 🤔

And the whole thing that bothers me with jd is that he doesn't do the cliché "branch I'm sorry I was an asshole brother, and I wanna be a better troll to you and our bros. And blah blah blah" like they skip that entire potential jd apology??? I was expecting that with a hug?? I WANTED A HUG WITH BRANCH AND JD OK. He genuinely cares about him!!! You can see it, he really does. He's just bad at communicating. Like extremely - so they skipped that and just made him go, "We'll follow ur lead branch," and that's it.😐 no apology. No proper character development. Just him going "ok yeah I'll follow u one time." LIKE HUH. (This also includes the other siblings cuz they dipped on branch the same, and none of them said sorry!!)

OH and another thing. WHY WERE CLAY AND BRUCE SUCH ASSHOLES TO JD. ESPECIALLY CLAY. like I completely get it, he was an asshole, he pressured and bossed you around, we know that. But that was 20 PLUS YEARS AGO??? Like no you don't have to hug him but damn why r yall so cold???

I'm thinking that because I'm p sure they went no contact at all after they broke up. So how r they so sure he's still the way he was before?? (I mean they were kinda right but still) like you could've been super happy and then get disappointed later when trying to practice hitting the note. It would've made more sense to me idk. Like it just bothers me that they straight up ignore him- it's mean! (But I can't be too mad I mean they all have their reasons ig 🙄)

While we're on the topic of the family, on to my next point.

2. ROSIEPUFF AND HER DEATH. I think it was handled HORRIBLY. Like the whole movie I was just like "plz don't skip over it plz don't skip over it." And then branch drops the bomb on them right (which still caught me off guard like damn) and THEYRE DUMBFOUNDED, GREAT. And then after that there's NOTHING. NOTHING!?!??!?!?!? they don't mention it they don't apologize to branch for what he went through they don't take two seconds to mourn her they're just like "wait she dead?" And then fucking move on like. Why???? they don't question how, they don't question when branch was living in solidarity for 20 years, nothing. and I'm mad as fuck because that was part of Branches entire CHARACTER ARC in the first movie!! They don't mention he was gray they don't mention he didn't sing they don't mention anything. He went through that for 20 YEARS, ALONE. and they don't mention it. I rlly hated that- like they rlly didn't care.

Anyway.

Third smaller topic that I thought was gonna happen

3. I thought clay was gonna end up going, "actually yknow what, I AM fun" and then embrace himself because hes most definitely goofy. But nah they left him trying so hard to convince himself he's serious, and tbh he just came across as branch 2.0.

Alright moving on!!

4. I'm mad they didn't include a little flashback of viva and poppy being inseparable until the escape happened. Like I know popps was an infant but at the same time troll kids talk the day they're born, so it would've been nice to see them be together at least once before they separated.

Also.

I WANNA DECK PEPPY IN THE FACE. you lost your daughter and instead of MOURNING her and spreading her memory you decided to act like she didn't EXIST. WHY. like he was obviously depressed and sad but why didn't you tell poppy stories of her when she was a kid or something? And keep her memory alive??

(And sure. There's the thing with "They weren't gonna give poppy a sister until now" but I feel like they could've at least made poppy remember a small flashback is what I'm saying.)

Idk. I just wish it was handled differently like why is peppy keeping so much shit to himself lmao.

Oh yeah and then there's just my little nitpick and it's that I wish they included the troll leaders in the wedding sequence ok they're all friends they should've been invited ok I just wanted to see them again 😭(totally not saying thus cuz world tour is my fav but I am)

Anyway, yeah! I think this is just what mainly bothers me about the movie. I just feel like the conflict was handled poorly. But either than that it's still a good watch. I like it a lot :D

If you read this far, God damn you like to read, and thanks for dealing with my stupid thoughts!

If not, that's OK lol.

[anthemofgvf]

Endless Summer: Josh Kiszka x Reader Fanfiction

Part Four

description: you and sammy have been best friends since you were kids, and being around his family was the norm your entire life. when invited to a trip to their family lake house during the summer, you find yourself spending more time with his brother than your best friend. and, one thing has been clear your entire friendship: brothers are off limits.

warnings for this series: alcohol and marijuana usage, explicit content (18+, minors dni), angst, swearing

word count: 8k+

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

Walking down the steps of the cabin, your legs grew sorer with each step. It wasn't unbearable pain, thankfully, but you were just satisfied that the day would be filled with relaxation.

You ran your hand through your hair, scratching at your scalp with a light yawn and fixed your eyes around the quiet morning atmosphere of the living room. It was around 9 AM; your were eyes a bit foggy from just getting up for the day. But you were quick to notice that Josh's bedroom door was open.

Your feet hit the cool wooden floors as you made your way over to his bedroom. You figured he wouldn't mind if you entered unannounced, but you chose to click your knuckles against the door anyways to notify him you were coming in.

"Josh?" You called for him, waiting for a response but not receiving one.

Your mind flicked between the idea of walking into his room or just going back upstairs. So, you scanned the living room once more before deciding to steal a guilty peak into his room and entering.

His bed was neatly made to your surprise, with his room tidy and cleaned. It surprised you that he had kept his room in a perfect condition, considering his chaotic personality. It was too quick of judgement for you to think that. Hell, it wasn't appropriate for you to be in his room while he wasn't in there.

Your eyes walked around the room, noticing a few family photos, along with some of his personal belongings on his dresser: his sunglasses, his wallet, a mala bead necklace, and his infamous camera.

The camera grabbed your attention, so you decided with another look at the empty room to pick it up and examine it. You weren't sure how old it was since it wasn't digital, so film had to be developed for it. You recognized it because he had brought it on almost every excursion, and you were excited to see all of the photos that would be produced by it.

"Searching through my things?" Josh entered the room, and you quickly fumbled with the camera and dropped it onto the dresser.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I, uh, noticed your door was open and came to see if you were up." Your eyes sprang around the room. But, with the frantic looking you did, your eyes caught the sight of his neutral-toned briefs that were similar to his skin tone.

His lips curled into a smile once he noticed you peaking at his briefs quickly. Your eyes widened and cheeks beginning to flush with your lips pressed together and turning from his gaze. But he just strode over to you, placing his hand onto the counter and leaning onto it with his other hand rested at his hip.

"I would've made myself a bit more decent if I knew you were saying hello. I'm sorry." He shrugged with a quick smile, staring at your adverted eyes.

"No, I should be. I shouldn't have snuck into your room." You huffed a laugh. "You doing anything today?"

He sighed, searching through his drawers and finding a pair of elastic brown shorts. "Not sure. Haven't thought about it much. What about you?"

"Promised Sam the other day we'd do something before we went hiking yesterday. Legs aren't killing me surprisingly, so, we'll probably go out."

"Sounds like fun." He said with a grunt and tying his shorts. "You have a good time out with Sam last night?"

"Yeah. We just sat by the lake and talked," you flashed him a smile, "I still feel bad about ditching you last night."

"Don't! It's alright, really. What, are you thinking about ditching me tonight, too?"

"Wasn't planning on it." You shook your head.

"Good," he patted your shoulder, "I'm looking forward to it."

He left you in his room, and you figured it was a nonverbal cue to follow him out. He had already made his way to the kitchen and grabbing an apple, taking a bite out of it and joining you on the couch.

Within a few minutes, Jake had woken up and joined you two in the living room. He made small talk with you both, not saying much. He was never much of a talker in the morning, unlike his twin, who never seemed to not be able to stop talking. But you never had a problem with it, in fact you liked the different dynamic. Although you knew how much Jake could talk once he warmed up to someone.

And then Sam was next and final in line to waking up, entering the downstairs with a cheerful greeting and talking over the day's plans with you at the dining room table. He had asked if you wanted to go downtown and go to the antique shops that lined the quiet streets, and you gratefully accepted the offer. Jake chimed in and said he'd like to join, and you both didn't mind the extra company.

You had asked Josh if he wanted to come along, but he insisted on letting you three go and take his Jeep, trusting the keys with Sammy and saying he was going to stay in for a bit. Despite your wishes that he would've decided on going with you guys, you knew he preferred to have some time to himself and spend the day alone doing whatever he pleased without a set schedule.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

You three walked into the antique store, filled with racks of clothing and a few other items such as accessories and trinkets in glass cases. A soft melody played on the radio throughout the store, and it was comforting to listen to as you all began browsing.

You searched through the racks of second-hand clothing, flipping through multiple shirts and vests that were in pristine condition despite them being older than they appeared.

Sam followed you around the store for a bit, picking out shirts he thought you'd like and showing you the options.

"Having a good time so far?" He hung up a plaid shirt that he showed you, to which you shook your head with a smile.

"You seem to be asking me this question a lot. Do you think I'm not?" You looked up to him with a puzzled expression.

"Well, I just like to make sure." He shrugged with a coy smile as he walked backwards whilst you searched through the jackets. "It's nice to do something a bit different compared to what we've been doing. Was getting tired of the usual routine."

"Agreed. My legs have been killing me from all the hiking we've been doing." You admitted with a quiet laugh, making your way over to the shirts and tank tops as he followed closely behind.

"Eh, it hasn't been too bad."

"Liar. You dragged your feet up that last trail we did!" You pointed at him with wide eyes.

He shot his hands up in defense. "Alright, alright, you caught me." He put his hands down to his sides with a light chuckle. "Was surprised you didn't have one of us carry you up the trail."

"Josh told me the same thing! Jesus, what is with you boys and thinking I'm out of shape?" You shook your head and watched his face falter into a blank expression.

"We do a lot more traveling than you do." He tapped your back as he left you at the rack and made his way to the fur and leather coats.

Jake came to your side, sporting a rounded black hat and a smirk planted on his face.

"Think this might be my new look. What do you think?" He placed his hands on his hips, spinning his body on his heels and showing off the brown leather vest he had found, along with the hat.

You giggled at the sight, looking at him only for a moment before continuing your search through the articles of clothing. "I think it suits you, if you're going for a more distinguished look."

"Nothing wrong with trying to look proper." He chuckled and took off the hat. His hand ran through the roots of his hair after placing the hat on a nearby rack and finding a hanger to place the vest on.

He stayed at your side, watching as you reached the end of the rack and decided to travel to the next side.

You reacknowledged his presence. "Bored already?"

"Nah, just wanted to see what you find. I've got a pretty good collection of clothes at home, anyways." He gave you a shrug.

"Surprised Josh didn't join us. He loves this kind of stuff, right?" You flicked your eyes at him.

"Yeah, but he’s started to just stay back more whenever we go out. I think he’s sick of us already."

"I'd expect Sam to be that way instead of Josh," you pulled a pink lace tank-top out with floral patterns, "but I'll take your word for it."

You turned the hanger in your hand, examining the shirt before placing it back. You looked at Jake again, who had a knowing smirk on his face. You could only assume that he was thinking about how you mentioned Josh more than Sam, but you tried to ignore the intimidating look to keep your face from growing hot. So, you just left him to search through the accessories that sat at the beginning of the store.

"You seem to be spending more time with Josh this time around." He leaned on the glass counter as you picked through a few necklaces that hung on a plastic cylinder.

"I've been spending the same time with him as I have with all of you." You were quick to defend yourself with a shy smile.

"I mean when he goes up to your room every night." His smile only widened a bit after he saw your smile falter. It was as if he caught onto whatever was going on between you and Josh, despite there being nothing there.

"Stalking me and your brother?" You held in your hands a turquoise-beaded necklace.

"No, just notice him leave every night and hear a door upstairs close. And I know for a fact he's not paying Sam a visit every night." He mentioned to you he liked the necklace, then meeting your eyes with a cocked brow. "You're lucky Sam is a heavy sleeper. The guy can sleep through everything."

You clutched the necklace in your palms and made your way to the collection of vintage earrings. "Well, there's nothing going on, so Sam has nothing to worry about. If there was, you'd be able to pry it out of Josh."

He nodded with a huffed laugh and became busy with the collection of necklaces you were once examining before. "Yeah, Josh tells me everything. Sam's a bit of a secret keeper, though," he shrugged, "but I was just bringing it up because I know how Sam feels about the whole thing. He's always been protective over you."

"Could be because he thinks of me like a sister. Gets annoying when I try to have a conversation with one of you and he's just death staring me." You laughed, to which Jake matched. "He was just picking on me for my legs being sore from all the hiking."

"It seems like he's gotten better with it over time. Comes with growing up, I guess. And, if it makes you feel any better, I was the one who ultimately decided that would be our last hike of the trip." He set down a silver-chain necklace, then left you to roam on your own.

You watched him walk off, looking around the store for your friend and being unable to do so. So, you just kept to yourself, and picked through everything you could get your hands on. You caught yourself thinking whether Josh would like something you picked out, or if we would grab it himself. Especially when you found black mala beads, with a red tinsel hanging in the middle of the ensemble. You ended up grabbing it, along with your turquoise necklace, and went on your search for Sammy.

Sammy had picked out two patterned long sleeves, both from some time between the 70's, and you were surprised by the choices. He modeled them for you, nonetheless, and you all three decided to check out and head to another shop nearby.

"Are you sure the shirts I picked out aren't ugly?" He lifted the plastic bag in his hands and waved it in your face.

"I'm positive, Sam. Should've seen what Jake was showing me, earlier. Now, that was ugly."

Jake placed his hand on his heart as if your words hurt him physically. "You said you liked it!"

"Well, I didn't want to be mean." You giggled at his reaction.

"But you choose to be mean now? Starting to regret joining you guys." He dragged out his words with sarcasm. You just hit his shoulder with the back of your hand and made your way into the second store.

You three roamed through a few more stores after that, choosing to just appreciate what the stores held and hold onto your wallets for the rest of the day. It was nice to be downtown after staying in practically the middle of nowhere for some time, especially with the two of them. It gave you a chance to bond with Jake, which was appreciated since you two have never been as close. He resembled his brother a lot more than you remembered, and it was a nice touch to his personality that you admired.

Once the afternoon was coming to a close end, you all decided on grabbing some food for you three and Josh and head back to the lake house, hopping into Josh's Jeep and taking the long way back. The weather was cooler, the sun giving your burnt skin a rest for the remainder of the day and leaving you with a soft breeze every now and then as an apology. All you could do on the drive was breathe in the fresh air and reminisce on the scent you attached to home. You didn't care that your hair was slapping your neck with the wind; it was kind of comforting.

Upon arrival, you were the first to enter the house and noticed Josh was laid on his back on the couch, a book resting open on his clothed chest with his head rolled onto his shoulder. His breathing steady and the book rising and falling which each inhale and exhale, his eyes resting shut peacefully. His fro of hair straying in different directions. His most vulnerable state was one you didn’t want to shake, so you just chose to gawk there at him for a moment. You didn't quite see the book he was reading, because you just chose to watch with your back rested on the wall that enclosed the living room.

Jake entered next, carrying the plastic bag that held the products you bought from the first store and a brown bag with food inside. He absentmindedly set everything on the island in the kitchen before noticing you lost in thought. You seemed to have forgotten you were staring admirably at Josh, and Jake came over to see what had your attention.

He walked quietly next to you and saw what caught your eye, standing next to you with folded arms.

"Should we wake him?" You looked over to him and spoke in a whisper.

"Yeah, I got it." He said with a sigh. He crept over to Josh, kneeling down to meet the level of his brother and shaking him a few times. Unstirred by his motions, only groaning by the touch, Jake leaned into his brother's ear and whispered something incoherent to you, then shaking him once more. You had never seen him be so warm to his brother, and the sight itself made your heart melt.

Josh turned into Jake's face, eyes fluttering open as the book on his chest dropped to the ground loudly. The proximity shocked him, eyes widening and pushing his brother away from him. The motion caused Jake to fall back onto his behind, stifling a laugh.

"What time is it?" He groaned, bringing his eyes to the back of his hand.

"Around 4. Have a good nap, princess?" He chuckled as he watched Josh unravel from his sleep.

"Shut up," he groaned, sitting up and facing his brother, "is everyone else back?"

Jake looked towards you, and Josh followed his eyes. Sam had just entered the room, bringing in the rest of the bags and setting them next to where Jake had left his own and your belongings.

"Have a good trip?" Josh looked to you with a soft smile.

"Yeah. You would've loved the stores we went to. Seems like you just wanted an excuse to sleep, though."

"He's either up until 2 AM or going to sleep at 8." Sam chimed in while unpacking the sandwiches he bought.

"And tonight, I choose to stay up until 2 AM, thank you very much." He looked back to Sam, then met your eyes. Jake had watched the small exchange between you two and chose to ignore it to go join his younger brother in the kitchen. It seemed as though he was watching you guys more intently than usual, and that was something you started to pick up on.

Josh stood up with his hands stretched to the air, his shirt rising just above his belly button, then running his hands through his hair with a shake as he made his way over to you.

"What'd you guys get?" He pointed over to the array of bags.

"For food, we found a deli and decided to grab that to go. And as for shopping, I just got two new necklaces. Sam got a few shirts, and I don't think Jake got anything."

"Jake doesn't shop much, so I'm not surprised," he laughed, "let me see what you got."

You brought him over to your white plastic bag as Sam and Jake sat at the dining table, eating and chatting amongst themselves while you rummaged through your bag and pulled out your necklaces.

You first showed him the turquoise one you first picked out, and he held his hand out to examine it closer.

He admired it with a soft smile. "I like this. It'd look great on you." He set it back into your hands and waited for the next one.

"Thank you," you smiled as you pulled out the mala beads, "these just reminded me of you."

Your words had his smile rising to his eyes as you pulled out the necklace and handing it to him. His eyes lit up with awe, turning the beads in his hands and stroking the tassel at the end with his fingers. Even though these kinds of necklaces were a signature look for him, he felt appreciated that you thought of him and remembered that he loved mala beads.

He lifted his eyes up to you. "This is beautiful! God, where did you find this?"

"In the first antique shop we went to. I figured you'd like it, so I bought it for you." You threw the plastic bag away and watched his head violently shake.

"No, no, I can't take this. How much did this cost you?" His face contorted with confusion and wonder.

"Like $40. Was worth it, though." You smiled at him and nodded to the necklace. "I want you to have it."

"I can't accept this." He lent his hand towards you, and you just pushed it towards his chest, closing his fingers into the necklace and resting your hand on top of his fist.

"I insist, Josh. It's not my style, anyways."

"Let me at least pay you back." His head tilted to the side, his voice slightly lightened.

"No, you don't have to do that. Just the fact that you like it is payback enough." You gave him a satisfied smile and grabbed your sandwich to join the other two at the table.

Sam had finished the sandwich he got, crumpling the paper in his hands and joining you guys at the table after throwing it away. Josh had sat in front of you, already wearing the necklace, and eating with a wide grin on his face.

Sam leaned towards you and motioned his hand towards Josh. "Isn't that the necklace you bought?"

"Yeah, but he liked it so much, I just chose to give it to him." You looked at him with a shrug.

"He's got hundreds of those, y'know?" He furrowed his brows.

"It's fine, Sam. It's just a stupid necklace. Are you jealous I didn't buy you something?"

He shook his head slowly and folded his arms, hands pressing flat under his armpits. "Shouldn't have wasted your money. We could've bought that stuff for you instead."

You were relieved with the idea that he wasn't upset about you giving it to him, rather that it was a money issue. His demeanor was a bit tense, but you just chose to shrug it off. You weren’t caught off guard when you sensed the jealousy, even though he was trying his best to mask it. You felt like it was a regrettable decision; it would've been better to give Josh the necklace later in the night when you two were one on one, but then again, you decided to stop caring. It was just a simple gesture, and it wasn't like you hadn't boughten them gifts before.

Even though guilt punched at your gut, you just continued to eat in silence, making small talk with the rest of the group and finishing your meal slowly. You just focused on how Sam sat there, eyes fixated on nothing in particular. He was closed off. You thought about giving him the necklace you bought for yourself, but you figured he'd know it was a pity gift, so you decided against it.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

As if the fire couldn't die down any sooner, you just bounced your leg on the ground as you watched the smoke rise, embers of ash falling every now and then off the side of the pit and warming your bodies with its flames.

Sam seemed to go back to normal after he sat next to you, joking about something that happened on your guys' trip and saying he enjoyed the time you three spent together. You let yourself feel relieved that he chose to just let it go, mainly because there was nothing to be upset about.

Jake left his guitar inside the lake house and chose relaxation for the night. Him and Josh were caught up in some sort of conversation, while you just watched the fire burn at the cardboard and wood thrown into the pit.

"Something on your mind?" Sam tapped his fingers on your own that laid flat on the arm of the chair.

You whipped your head over to him with a questioned hum.

"I don't think you've blinked for at least a minute," slight concern rested on his face, "was just wondering if you were alright."

You pressed your lips together. "Oh, just a bit tired, that's all. Nothing really to do or say out here."

"Yeah, it's more just to help wind down and get out of the house more." He shrugged. "We can ditch them, y'know?"

"I feel glued to this chair." You groaned and threw your head back into the back of the chair.

"You're lame." He said with a grunt as he stood up, tapping your shoulder and walking off without another word and his bottle raised to his lips.

Your eyes followed him disappear into the lake house, then back to resting on the fire that struggled to stay alive. You noticed Josh's eyes on you from your peripheral, so you tried to catch them, but ended up watching his eyes avert away as he raised his beer bottle to his lips. You laughed to yourself, noticing that Jake had a wide smirk plastered on his face with a shake of his head.

"What's so funny?" You sat up from your chair with folded arms.

"Nothing you should worry about." Jake shrugged, looking over at his brother before choosing to stand from his chair. "See you two tomorrow."

You cocked your brow at Josh. His eyes followed his brother, then fell to his hands. He fiddled with his fingers, clicking his teeth and bouncing his leg. He was frantic, a bit more than usual.

You decided to push yourself out of your chair and stand in front of Josh. His leg stopped bouncing, and his eyes lifted to yours with a light smile.

"You gonna tell me what you and Jake were talking about?" You let her head tilt to the side.

He examined your face for a moment. His mouth parted slightly, exhaling a laugh and looking away from you for only a second.

"Oh, just him being immature. Nothing important." He stood from his chair.

You only let yourself take one step back to allow him room to stand, but that didn't decrease the proximity between you two. You felt your heart thumping against your chest and allowing itself to be heard in your ears. Your eyes fell to his parted lips, quickly shooting them back to his eyes that lingered on your own mouth. Your mind was sent into a daze, any thought possible bombarding your brain with what to do next. How to move.

You swallowed hard, taking another look at his lips that you noticed were plumper than you thought and a shade of rouge pink. "Still want to go to the beach?"

"Yeah, yeah, let me just grab my keys." He nodded, placing his hand on your shoulder and left you stood in front of the plastic chair he sat at, with your mind still trying to comprehend the small moment you convinced yourself was an intimate one.

You decided to wait by the Jeep, replaying every detail you were able to examine of his face. You could call yourself crazy for obsessing over the way his face was sculpted, but you couldn't find it in you to care. During most of this trip, you didn't let yourself remember every part of him that your mind decided was good to memorize. Like the way he entered a room, or the way his hips lightly swayed when he walked. Or the way his tongue would peak out from his pressed lips when he was in thought. Or even how his eyebrows twisted and contorted when he spoke, especially when he spoke or told some witted joke that made himself laugh. His slight dimples that poked out with a smile followed by light wrinkles forming around his toothy grin. All these things you remembered, but all of it weren't things you'd allow yourself to forget. You didn't want to forget any of it at all, despite knowing how Sam would feel if he could read your mind.

Josh came outside, bouncing the keys in his hands and hopped into the Jeep without saying a word to you. You let yourself get into the passenger seat and watched out the open window as you drove away from the lake house.

It felt fun to risk doing something that you know Sam wouldn't appreciate, or, in a way something you shouldn't have been doing. You didn't necessarily care that you were going out with Josh, since you two were just friends, but something felt different than it did when you and him were driving off to a secluded area. It was as if the air had shifted and decided to fill your body with nervousness, but in a good, excited way. It had your fingers tapping on the window's armrest, and your eyes flicking at the scenery that passed you and Josh by on the drive. You and him didn't say anything to each other, but rather let the wind speak for the both of you.

It didn't seem like a far drive. You figured it was because your mind was just caught wandering about everything and nothing, all at once. So, when the car bumped over the grains of sand that lined the beach, your eyes immediately shot to Josh. His smile was light as he kept his hands tight on the steering wheel, parking his car close to where the waters kissed the sand. He immediately hopped out, jogging over to your side and opening the door for you with his palm opened wide to you.

"Josh, I didn't-."

"We're not going swimming, don't worry," he chuckled, "just get out of the car."

You placed your hand in his as you hopped out, keeping your hand enveloped in his when he led you to the front of the Jeep. He removed his hand from yours and hopped onto the hood. You followed right after him, bringing your knees to your chest as you watched the current smoothly rise to the shoreline with a light crash, then softly recede back.

"Oh, I brought gifts." He exclaimed, digging into his pocket and setting down a lighter between you two, and a rolled-up cigarette packed with marijuana.

"Weed, huh?" You looked down at the joint, then back to him as he gave you a proud nod.

"Been saving this for a special occasion." He picked it up between his pointer finger and thumb. "You don't have to smoke, if you don't want to."

"No, no, it's fine. I haven't indulged in a while, so maybe this is a good time to do it again." You smiled at him widely.

You watched his lips wrap around the end of the joint and lit it with his black lighter, inhaling sharply and pulling it from his lips. He held his hand in front of you with the joint as he exhaled the smoke and titled his head back with shut eyes.

You twisted it in your fingers for a moment and pulled it to your lips, taking a small inhale and exhaling with a hard cough. You quickly passed the joint back to him as you covered your mouth with your forearm and shaking your head.

"You smoke weed often?" You said with a strained voice.

"Not as often as I used to, but yeah. We all drink more than we smoke when we're on tour, but I know Sam smokes a lot more than we all do nowadays." He nodded, taking another drag of the joint.

"Guess that's another thing that changed while you've guys have been gone." You shrugged and decided one more hit wouldn't kill you.

His eyes lingered on you as you exhaled the smoke and handed it back to him. You could feel your mind overtaking your body and nerves with relaxation. Your limbs felt heavy, and you recognized the quick change to be the drug finally hitting you.

"Noticed you put on the necklace. I really do like it on you." His hand motioned to the turquoise beads that hung over your white tank top.

"Figured if you were wearing yours, maybe I should put mine on." You spoke. Silence roamed between you two, but only for a short fraction of time.

"So, you had a good time with Jake and Sam today?" He sprawled his hands on the hood of the Jeep, with the joint resting between the inner of his pointer and middle fingers.

"Yeah, I did. Was nice to talk to Jake. Don't talk with him a lot, so it was nice." You looked over to him with a smile. "Feel a bit bad I didn't tell Sam about this."

He looked at you with a confused expression, pressing his lips together and exhaling a quiet laugh.

"You shouldn't. He's not the boss of you. You're your own person, you know." He extended his hand to you as he spoke, then rested it onto the hood as he lifted the joint to his lips.

"You told Jake we were going out, didn't you?"

"Can't keep anything from him. Besides, I don't want Sam getting upset with either of us for no reason, so Jake is just gonna make up some excuse for us if Sam asks him where we're at."

You pressed your lips together and scoffed. You let your eyes fall to the ocean as you just laughed. Laughed because your body didn't let you feel upset.

"It's funny that we've got to sneak around like this. Can't be friends with you because Sam thinks there's something going on. You know, Jake said something today to me about how we're lucky that Sam doesn't notice that you come into my room every night."

"He knows I come see you after everyone goes to sleep?" He chuckled, shaking his head as he inhaled another hit of his blunt.

"Yeah, surprised you didn't tell him since you seem to share everything with him," you laughed along with him, "I told him he was a stalker."

His laughter grew as he pinched the bridge of his nose, finishing the rolled-up cigarette and flicking it into the sand. "Jake's an interesting man."

You let the laughter die down and tune into the sound of the ocean crashing. It made your body feel heavier than it already had felt. You had forgotten how peaceful the drug was, and how it had you on a euphoric high that you were glad to feel once again.

You felt his hooded eyes on you, and you let your head turn and meet them with a downturned smile.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" You huffed a laugh.

He inhaled deeply, whilst exhaling his words. "Can I tell you something?"

"Shoot."

"I'm glad we've been able to hang out a lot. I don't think I've enjoyed myself with someone with as much as I've had with you." He gave you a light smile.

Although his words were cheesy, it had your heart sinking in your chest and residing in the pit of your stomach. Your emotions had seemingly heightened more, and you didn't care that the muscles of your face hurt from your cheeks flushing red. Blame it on the marijuana for letting yourself look at him the way you always do in secret.

"The feeling is mutual," you nodded with a smile, "I mean, we haven't been able to hang out as much with you guys being on tour all the time and Sam always getting in the way. It's nice that things are different this time around."

He hummed in agreement. "Was a bit funny to see him blow up at the lake, though."

"Yeah, I still don't even know what that was all about. Stupid to be upset over riding in the same fucking kayak as you." You laughed, raising your hands into the air.

"It's because he knows that I had a thing for you." He stated blankly, as if this piece of information was something you already knew.

Your eyes widened at his words, with your brain picking at each part of the sentence. I. Had. A thing. For you. You couldn't help your jaw unhinge when he said that to you. All he did was laugh at your expression, but you felt yourself fully sober up. The familiar feeling of your body tingling, heart pounding against your chest and trying to leap out to graze his own, you going without blinking because you were in such a state of astonishment. What were you supposed to say to that? How were you supposed to feel about that?

You didn't know what part was more interesting to you: the fact that he had a thing for you, or that he had a thing for you. When was the point in time where his thoughts matched yours? Did your mind completely obliviate you to how he felt when he did have feelings for you? Or did they never just go away? It was as if he just wanted to see how you would react, as if this was some sort of joke. But he just let you relish in the new information, and let it fully consume your mind with countless thoughts and memories that were meshing together and unable to give you a coherent thought.

The only word that you were able to form and sound from your mouth was, "What?"

"You wonder why Sam started getting a bit more aggressive when it came to you and I hanging out. Or, why Jake laughs at us because he knows how I felt," he chuckled to himself, "can't believe you never knew." He kept his eyes on you and continued watching your lips trying to utter a sound.

"You never-you," you stuttered out, "you liked me? This isn't some joke, is-."

"No, no I'm being honest. Maybe it's the drugs that gave me the confidence to tell you how I felt. Figured it would come up sooner or later. Helps explain to you why Sam has been kind of childish recently." He gave you a weak shrug.

Felt, not feel. Felt. You realized you had missed your chance, as if you were given one anyways. Sam didn't cross your mind for a second. All you could think about was how there was a point in time that Josh liked you. You felt like you were granted a boost of energy, although your head began to pound with too many combining thoughts and forming a light headache. Josh didn't tell you because of Sam. Josh didn't tell you because he figured you'd choose your best friend over him. Didn't matter if you had feelings for him or not, he just saved himself the heartbreak he thought he was bound to undergo.

"Why didn't you tell me how you felt?" Your mouth continued to hang open with your eyes nearly poking out from their sockets.

"Why do you think?" He laughed at you. He didn't need to answer your question. You knew the answer: Sam.

This wasn't enough. You needed closure. That would finally set your fantasies of a possible relationship with Josh at bay and finally relieve you of thinking that you two could work it out somehow.

"Do you," you began hesitantly with a shaky voice, "do you still feel that way about me?"

His eyes lowered down to his lap, and he pressed his lips together tightly. With his tongue grazing over his bottom lip to help open his mouth, he just looked away from you for a moment before returning his eyes to yours.

"I've said too much," he swallowed, "I don't think I should've told you in the first place. I'm sorry."

So, all he could say was sorry and that he shouldn't have told you? What were you supposed to do with the lingering idea that he shut the conversation down because he still liked you? You expected closure from this. You expected him to give you the slightest bit of information to give you a straight-forward answer. But he was unable to do so.

You cocked your head to the side with your mouth finally deciding to shut. All you could do was scoff at how easily he pulled away from being vulnerable. He didn't want to hurt you, and continuing with how he felt would've made you feel as such. He ruined a perfectly good night with his feelings, and it riddled him with embarrassment. Not embarrassed of his feelings, but embarrassed that he brought up something that didn't need to be spoken out loud. A second ago he believed that it would come up in the future, but now, he figured that it wouldn't ever be talked about.

"Think you should take me back, then." You muttered, hopping off the hood of the Jeep and sitting in the passenger seat. He came into the car a few moments later and drove from the beach back to the lake house.

Just like on the way there, you two didn't speak to each other. Except this time, the air had turned to make you feel uncomfortable. You were left with this information and unsure of what to do with it. You couldn't just talk to Sam about it and ask for his advice, and you frankly couldn't go to anyone about this. You had never told anyone how you felt about Josh, mainly because of fear your secret would somehow reach Sam. Now all you could do was feel angry at yourself for not noticing Josh's mood change towards you when he liked you, and frustrated that Sam steered Josh away from you.

You let yourself out of the car silently upon arriving back to the lake house, dragging your feet up the driveway and quietly opening the door. You didn't acknowledge whether Josh had followed you in or not, but the wooden floorboards creaking behind you told you that he followed you until they grew lighter and only your footsteps were heard.

You just continued to the stairs, stepping onto the first step until Josh said, "I do."

You haltered your movements, shooting your head up towards the stairs and then turning your body towards him slowly.

"What?"

"You asked me if I still had feelings for you. I do." His eyes averted from yours only for a moment before he looked up and saw your face soften.

You took cautious steps towards where he stood in the living room. It was as if he was waiting for you to meet him when you were ready, and he didn't move a single muscle to let you grow nearer to him.

"You do?" You whispered to him. Your eyes rested into a mixture of awe and shock. You were unable to pick how you felt.

"Yeah, yeah I do." He ran his hand to the back of his neck.

Any anger towards him swept away from your mind. You were filled with content and a hint of excitement. By the looks of his face, by the way he stood, by the way he spoke, he was serious. And that only made you more eager to meet him in the living room.

He didn’t tear his eyes from you as you moved closer to him, closing the proximity between you two as your hand raised hesitantly to his cheek, the other following shortly after to cup his face into your palms. His fingers wrapped around your wrist, the other hand finding your cheek and holding contact with your eyes. Neither of you wanted to look anywhere else, or blink away the moment that unfolded in front of you two.

"God, Josh," you laughed, resting your forehead onto his own and letting your eyes fall shut. "I have felt the same way about you for such a long time. I just didn't know how to tell you, or when to."

"Because of Sam." He pulled away from you slightly just enough to see the entirety of your face.

All you could do was nod. He didn't need a verbal response to acknowledge his suspicions. His reasoning for not telling you was the same as yours. So, you two just stood there and breathed in each other's air and lost yourself in each other's eyes. You both were too shy to make another move and unsure if it was right.

"I think why I didn't tell you was because I was too scared to. Didn't matter to me how you felt, because I knew in the end Sam would fuck it all up, and I didn't want to risk losing you." He cupped your cheeks as he spoke to you. "If things were different, I would've told you sooner."

"So why tell me now?"

"I just, I don't know. Figured we could forget about everything for a moment and just let things take its course. Figure out how to tell Sam and all of that shit later." He rubbed your burning cheek with his thumb. "I wanted you to know because I just thought that maybe we could work things out, despite how my brother feels. You can't control who you are attracted to, so why should it matter what he thinks, y'know?"

He had the same thoughts as you. Thinking that you two could work it out and just leave Sam out of it. After all, you were your own person, and Sam didn't control you. There was no guilt in your body when you told Josh how you felt, and no guilt in your body for wanting to kiss him. When were you going to get this chance again? You knew they would be leaving after the summer ended, and you begged the Earth to give you more time. But there wasn't enough. You just had to live in the present and ignore what the future withheld.

"Sam doesn't get to pick who I fall for." You shook your head and laughed to yourself that you were finally letting yourself make your own decisions and be your own person. Forgetting how he felt about you two, because the underlying reason for his actions and his emotions was because he knew that there was a chance you two would end up together, and he feared he would lose you to his brother. You weren't going to let him stand in the way of you and your feelings any longer, and finally give in to what your heart craved most.

Josh tilted his head to the side lightly, gazing at your parted lips before flicking his eyes to you as a silent ask to kiss you.

"Are you sure you want to do this, y/n?"

"Why would I not be okay with this?" You released a small, airy laugh.

"Because I don't want to take a step back after this and forget it happened. We can figure out how to tell Sam later, but I just want to know that you're okay with the fact that we have to be secretive about this for a little while."

"Josh, I really don't care how Sam feels right now, at least not anymore. I've been waiting too fucking long for this to happen, and I'm not going to miss my chance of doing something that I know I won't regret." You pulled your bottom lip into your teeth and watched his lips rest into a soft smile of acceptance that you were okay with everything.

You leaned into his motions to give into the dream you've wanted so desperately to occur, fluttering your eyes shut and letting yourself be surprised with the feeling of his lips on yours.

And once his plush lips finally melted with yours, you couldn't describe the emotion you felt. You sharply inhaled, letting your throat bubble out a quiet whimper of thankfulness. It was as close to true euphoria anything could be, fireworks booming in your head with excitement as a cheer that after all these years, after all the nights you stayed awake thinking about Josh, after all the time you thought he would never like you, he was finally kissing you with intent.

The taste of his mouth on yours was as addictive as a drug. It was a cliché thought, but you didn't care what you thought at this point. All you were focused on were the motions of his lips with yours, his soft breathing, and the way his hands sunk into your skin like they were meant to be there.

You felt the hand that wrapped around your wrist unravel and fall to your waist, bringing you closer to his body as his lips stayed connected onto yours. You just kept your hands on the soft skin of his cheeks to remind your palms and fingertips that his lips were on yours, opening and closing his mouth in a slow pattern to match your motions. You even let yourself take a quick peak at his face, eyes shut and brows furrowed with passion, before you let your eyes rest and just soak in the moment a little longer.

He pulled away from your lips and let his change in breathing be heard to you. He placed his hand on top of yours that rested onto his cheek, pulling it into his palm and holding it at his side. You had never felt as connected to someone as you did in this moment, and you never wanted to break away from it. Quite frankly, you weren't sure what to do or say with what had just happened. Things were now completely different between you two, and you both had acknowledged that. It was just a bit more real after the significant event that had just happened.

You finally looked at him, his lips resting into a soft smile as he admired your face with the caress of his empty hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" He whispered to you, eyes peaking at your lips once more.

You nodded with a hum and pressed your lips onto his delicately before pulling yourself away from his touch, although you never wanted to leave it in the first place. You two just gave each other one more smile before turning your backs on one another and parting ways for the night.

You entered your room quietly, pressing your back against the closed door and covering your mouth as you let out an excited laugh. You were still in disbelief that this all wasn't a dream. You even considered pinching yourself to remind you that this was not some sort of twisted fantasy, but reality.

You had tried to fall asleep, tossing and turning in your bed with the aching feeling of missing his touch. Although it had been a matter of minutes since he kissed you, you couldn't get enough. You had fully let your feelings consume you and had forgotten that Sam would not be thrilled about this news. But you couldn't find it in yourself to care, and let it be a problem of tomorrow as you finally found yourself comfortable in your sheets that yours and Josh's relationship was changed to the better, and where you've wanted it to be for so many years.

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

a/n: hi! if you’ve read this far, i just want to give you a quick thank you for following/keeping up with this series! i adore it so much:) this marks the halfway point, so it’s a p big milestone. with this release, i plan on having at least eight parts, if not, nine. hopefully by part 7 i’ll have it figured out, and i’ll update you guys on the future and end of this series. alright, that’s all. love you, reader. 🫶🏻

taglist: @gvfleetwood @sacredjake @aureatopia @myeyehurtz @alexiagx @objectsinspvce @unhappycylinder @spinthehemmo @carbonwritingthroughtime @thecoldwind @ageofsophgvf @fakeplastiqtree @thepritchardscale @gvfpal @light-myluv @raviolilegs @jordierama @alwayskiszka

-part five-

[ask-the-bone-boys]

ATBB's Future

Hiiii y'all, its uh. been a minute huh

Now that it's been a bit over a year since I put this blog on hiatus, a loootta stuff has happened and changed and i've been doing a loootttta thinking!

Looking back on it, like really really looking, my biggest reason for the hiatus was that at some point the blog just kinda became more of a chore than something I wanted to work on for fun. Ask blogs are a lot of work, even when you're just using talking portraits rather than drawing out every individual answer, and with how much ask culture on tumblr has died out over the years there just wasn't really enough payoff to make it feel worthwhile to keep burning myself out.

I think it's a really good thing I stopped it when I did, because having to deal with all that in my senior year of high school would have been a nightmare. I've actually just finished up my first semester of college now, and there's no way in hell I would've been able to keep up at any rate! With all of this in mind, I've gained a newer perspective about how to approach things going forward.

I'm still really attached to this story. With how much time I've spent thinking about it and developing it in my head, I can't let it go, even if the blog isn't really working out anymore. I keep thinking of different ways I could fix the decisions I made early on, as well as the super cool directions I could take it in in the future, and I just. I GOTTA.

So, I've decided to reboot it entirely as a fic series!

This means that, unfortunately, there won't be nearly as much artwork to accompany it, but it's far more likely for the story to actually progress! Writing is way less draining for me and once I get going I can do it much quicker than art anyway, even though I do still sorta wish I had the spoons to just turn it into a full-blown webcomic instead haha

This DOES mean that updates won't be nearly as linear as they were here, seeing as right now I've mostly been working on backstory fics that took place before the blog's main story, but that can at least give you guys more context for how the characters interact with each other! I'll also state that while I do write faster than I draw, I still do it a hell of a lot less, so updates will still probably be pretty infrequent. But at least they'll happen at all, right?

As for the state of this blog itself, obviously I'm going to leave it up! I still love looking back on the old interactions you guys had with my characters and your reactions to certain plot points (your reactions to Fluff tagging along with the rest of the group were my favorite by far) and I think it would actually kill me to erase them. I'll be posting the fic updates here too, just like I did for Self Hatred!

And even if it's not going to be an ask blog anymore, because of how much I still miss that kind of interaction with you guys, I think I want to do a sort of "last hurrah" event, to finally send off the asking format with some good vibes.

You see, there's a character I made up around this time of year two years ago. He's a pretty cool guy, but he doesn't actually show up until a specific turning point later in the story. I've been excited for you guys to talk to him since the day I made him, but a little bummed lately that you may not ever get the chance. I still need to get a lot of stuff prepared, so I'm not quite ready to announce or start anything just yet, but there's a reason I waited until my winter break to start thinking about this seriously.

I think you guys would really like to meet him.

But anyway, that's about all I wanted to say for now! This is a very long post already so it's time I start wrapping it up. As always, thank you all so much for sticking with me, even though I really haven't been consistent through the years. I hope this change doesn't come as too much of a disappointment, and that you'll keep sticking around for the reboot!