#and i literally had to stop when he brought up the bombs because

[bewarethewolfarmy]

(I just saw a video on my dashboard that made me honestly feel so many things. I thought at first to respond. Then I thought to just tag it. Then I decided that no, I will not help it to move along on Tumblr.

I watched the entirety of it; it was of a man expressing his anger and frustrations about the election in terms of how "you survived Trump once, you can survive him again" and how Biden was the one who has massacred the people of Palestine. I watched all of it because I felt I needed to, that any feelings I had initially should be filtered through knowing the entirety of the 6ish minute long video. This despite the fact that he makes a point of saying how it's "more bombs than Hiroshima, more bombs than Nagasaki".

I am half-Japanese. I was born in Japan, my entire paternal line lives in Japan, they are carpenters of traditional Japanese style. I am Japanese-American in that I live in the United States and my mother was American but I was a Japanese citizen first and I will count myself as Japanese until the day I die. I cannot express how absolutely disgusted I felt when he said that, as if the number of bombs made one humanitarian disaster worse or better than the other.

I want to believe that is not his intention, that he didn't mean to make it sound like he was comparing disasters; I want to believe that much of what he said throughout the video was his anger, his frustration, his pain and sorrow and disappointment in what the states has allowed and accepted. But it doesn't change the fact that we cannot control what others make of us and our actions and words, and his words had that ring. As he denounced Biden, who does deserve it for not being willing to make a stand against Israel through all this, he puts it all at his feet, instead of at the feet of Netanyahu. Actually in that whole 6ish minutes he makes no mention of Netanyahu at all. I cannot speak to the full context, what else was going on, what else was said, only what was given.

He speaks of us surviving Trump once, we can survive him again but whether or not we can isn't the point and I won't go into it. I'll just finish by saying that it was a very emotionally raw video, extremely so. I feel for him, and I agree with much of the heart of the sentiment. But I cannot agree with the words used or the argument made, not when that argument is built on what sounds so much like a fundamental misunderstanding of the actual state of things here in the states, of what we actually have had to continue to deal with because of him. I agree that the two party system has royally fucked us. I agree that we shouldn't be giving our votes to people who would sanction the horrific events in Gaza, secretly, by not taking a stand, what have you. I agree that there is an implication of playing dumb when we ignore what is happening over there. But we have no choice anymore; we are not standing at the beginning of this race anymore, we are nearing it's end, and the time for better choices and better chances and better lives is through. We either give ourselves to the wolves we know want to eat us or we give into the dogs who might prove to help us through the storm; I don't like it anymore than anyone else but for the sake of myself, the sake of my friends, the sake of the people I don't know who are sleeping in the cold and rain right now and the people who are facing the chance of dying because of what Trump wants to do to our government, has made it clear he and the Republicans want to do, I will choose the side of the dogs.)

[munariplans]

welcome home, red | natasha romanoff

synopsis: natasha knew going on a mission where you were deliberately left out was a bad idea. going on a mission tracking down your ex-girlfriend was even worse; for natasha finally learns how jealous she can get.

natasha romanoff x reader | felicia hardy x reader

word count: 6.7k words

a/n: i see your requests for jealous!natasha with spidey!reader, and i got you :) hope you enjoy!

masterlist

BREAKING NEWS: CURIOSITY KILLS THE CAT? you know what they say, strike when the iron is hot! well, the black cat, infamous for her string of break-ins and robberies, may have struck the iron and burned herself. stealing a prized necklace from the wife of new york’s biggest crime boss, the black cat has certainly outdone herself this time, because silvio manfredi is out for her head, and everyone else’s too! read more on page 6 of this exclusive piece. 

perplexed expressions, furrowed eyebrows, sighs of frustration. everyone was on edge, at the threat of the manfredi family wanting to blow up entire parts of new york in order to find the black cat. villains were so dramatic, natasha thought. in no universe would she have ever wanted to threaten to kill entire cities for the love of her life, if one even existed. 

but then her phone chimed in with a notification from you, sending a photo of her favourite animal that you spotted on your mission, and she knew she would be retracting her words. even in life-threatening, death-defying missions that you were on, you never forgot to see her everywhere you went. stupid feelings, and stupid crushes, natasha shut her eyes, fighting the urge to giggle at a text from the person she was head over heels for. 

“natasha?”

she looked up from her phone, to realise she was the only one still in a half-positive mood. everyone else was biting their lips in worry. she regained her composure, and answered fury, “yeah?”

“you heard me? we’re not leaking this information to her. she won’t be a part of this mission at all.”

the look of confusion on her face gave her away. clint, maria, and fury answered her at the same time. 

“your little crush.”

“your wife that you claim isn’t.”

“the person you’re smiling at your phone like an idiot at.”

she glared at clint for the last remark. 

“...is there a reason why?” the mission had seemed almost perfectly suited to your skillset. 

fury merely shrugged. “no reason. it should just be you three that are privy to this information, that’s all. find the black cat, find the necklace, use it to rope manfredi in, and one less crime boss off the streets.”

even then, she had a nagging feeling that he had not been telling the truth.

– 

you ended your latest mission with a bang; quite literally. being flung about fifty metres into the air from a bomb explosion in the middle of the ocean, you would hardly call the mission a failure. no civilians were injured, you had killed the maker of the bomb along with it, and you were not dead, at least. 

washing up on shore unconscious and with water in your lungs? a concussion that would have sent any regular person into a permanent coma? being found by villagers and rushed to the medical wing of the avengers tower within a span of a few hours? almost pronounced dead on arrival? sure, you were all of those, but not dead. 

honestly, you would have given very little regard for your own life being lost in that mission if not for one person. the one person who stayed with you until the very last minute for her own mission. 

“i need to stop welcoming you back in a hospital bed, you know,” natasha grumbled into your neck, hugging you bone-crushingly when you awoke and smiled at her. 

she looked mad, but you knew she was just thankful you were home. you wrapped your arms around her waist and brought her to lie down on top of you. she was reluctant to crush your already broken ribs, but you were insistent. “i missed you too. and if i hadn’t been blown up, i had planned to bring back a souvenir from the airport for you.”

“you coming back is enough for me,” she mumbled. you knew she was never this vulnerable with anyone else. the words of because i love you were begging to roll off her tongue, but natasha knew she wasn’t strong enough for that. yet.

you let her ignore the first call for her to assemble at the loading zone, then the second, by the third, your hand had tapped her waist and she had groaned into you once more. “i don’t want to go.”

“what’s this mission about, anyway? nobody’s told me about it since i got here.”

natasha considered her choice of words for a moment, considering whether she should, when fury’s own warnings came back to her. she was never one to break promises. “just some…thing. about retrieving something and using it to lure a criminal.”

you chuckled. “seems like more of a police case than an avenger’s one. or one for a friendly neighbourhood spider.”

“well, the friendly neighbourhood spider looks like a mummy right now, so i don’t think so,” she had reluctantly got up, gathering her things, “i’ll see you in a few days?”

you let her hug you goodbye. “by then, i’ll be fit enough to welcome you home. properly.”

–

natasha once again found it hard to understand why fury hadn’t just waited for you to get slightly better, and go for this mission yourself, because the black cat’s tricks and games were definitely something you could have handled better than anyone he had assigned on the current team. she struggled to even catch up with the woman, and clint’s arrows often couldn’t squeeze deep enough into the slips and cracks she was slipping through. maria couldn’t even get a shot or trap clear to get to her. it would all have been solved so quickly with your webs zipping and getting to her; not to mention your ability to soar through the skies like she could. 

this was in addition to the fact that she was adamantly denying having the necklace with her. 

with another hit to the face, she was shouting to natasha, “i don’t have what you’re looking for!”

natasha swallowed the blood gathering in her mouth. the woman could throw a punch. “then why are you running?” black cat cornered her this time, slamming her against the wall as her breath mixed with natasha’s. immediately, it was too close, far too close. the grin that the enemy was sporting for her was glinting with mischief, and a trace of attraction. “...if someone as pretty as you were chasing me, with those fiery eyes and red hair of yours, who wouldn’t?” 

she was gone before natasha could catch her next breath, handcuffing the black widow to the pipe next to her. she had come so close. natasha knew the black cat was at her wit’s end as well; there was only so far she could run from the avengers.

–

however, one thing the woman had failed to consider, was how suspicious you found the entire operation being. rarely had natasha refused to tell you about the missions she was going on, and rarely did fury put so much emphasis in hiding it from you either. 

you weren’t in favour of stalking them, per se, but what were you supposed to do? the hospital wing was boring, and you were (almost) ready to go back to full, operational missions. the broken rib was only hurting a little bit, by that point. 

you watched maria through the tracker in her suit, flipping through yet another string of messages natasha had left unanswered. she never failed to reply to you, at least not beyond a day or two. 

sighing, you put your mask back on, and dived down the building to begin your chase. the team wasn’t far away. 

–

“we got her. hill should be able to lure her into the construction site.” clint’s comms crackled in natasha’s ear, and she set herself into position. finally, one of the traps maria had set worked. minimal casualties, a faraway location. the team should be able to interrogate her there.

natasha finally caught up. the black cat, panting and looking slightly less composed, had nowhere to run. she knew clint was on the roof, and maria was nearby. there was only the waters behind her to escape to. 

she aimed her gun, then, “let’s make this a lot easier for all of us. you hand us the necklace, you’re looking at a shorter jail term. months, maybe.”

the black cat only returned with another smart retort, before trying to take aim at maria above. she cursed and flinched when the agent successfully dodged. natasha, i am letting the arrow fly if she tries to get any closer to you, clint declared in her comms. natasha agreed. 

the woman took one step closer, natasha clicked her gun. 

“you have to let me go,” she explained, “they want me as bad as you do.”

“you’d rather come with us, or die with them?”

black cat sighed irritatedly. she darted her eyes once more, and the moment she spotted something in the sky, the ground beneath natasha suddenly shook. 

she could only see clint’s arrow fly at the corner of her vision; maria ducking down after something hit her, and then, her own gun flying out of her hands. natasha hit the ground right after, rolling away consciously to avoid whatever had caused the interruption. 

the second she gathered her bearings, however, it felt like time had stopped. her heart began beating rapidly, and she knew she should have just bypassed fury’s advice right away then. if she had, she wouldn’t be dealing with this right now. 

for if she had, natasha wouldn’t be staring down at you, standing in front of the black cat protectively, glaring at the three of them, and their weapons confiscated and broken into pieces right at your feet. 

–

you had never looked more angry. in fact, natasha had never even seen you this angry before. fists clenched, your stance was protective, the eye lenses narrowed and squinting down at her in rage. she had never been subject to even an ounce of irritation from you before. natasha was almost afraid of what would happen. 

thankfully, clint and maria had come down from where they were, clint with considerably more caution in his step than he had been much earlier.

he called your name, and, “i need you to calm down. we–”

“–i don’t need to hear an explanation.” you cut him off. behind you, the black cat grinned, and came a little closer. you seemed to pay her no mind.

“we couldn’t tell you,” maria tried helping him, but the glare you shot at her wasn’t much better.

“you absolutely could,” then, your eyes met natasha’s, and she wanted to crumble under your gaze, “you absolutely could.”

clint pointed out it wasn’t fair, that you knew how these things went, and then, in a lower tone, “she doesn’t know. let it go.”

“why were you chasing her?” you only replied, shielding the black cat when maria tried aiming her spare gun as the woman came to your side, “we had a deal.”

“our deal didn’t involve her stealing a necklace that could wreck cities. you’ve already seen the bombings down in harlem and hell’s kitchen, do you still want to protect her for this one?” 

your facade cracked in the slightest bit. only natasha noticed, but your eyes had gone slightly wider, a questioning look sent to the woman behind you. with your stance a little more tense, you were about to lower the hand protecting her, when natasha quickly realised that your confrontation had bought her just enough time.

the black cat slung her arms around your torso, and pressed a kiss to your cheek before whispering, “my hero, my spider. always coming to save me.” 

all natasha saw was blind rage before the tear gas that black cat had thrown shrouded everything else in pain and smoke. she could hear clint screaming in frustration of just what it meant.

by the time the team had torn through the gas, you and her were gone.

–

clint had exactly three seconds to register the mad woman storming towards him, before he was slammed against the wall with natasha’s face up in his. he breathed heavily, the air still thick from the gas, but natasha’s fists were enough to ground him back to reality.

“alright, enough games. i was kind then, i’m not feeling so kind now. who. exactly. is. this. black. cat?” she gritted her teeth saying the last few words, the searing memory of seeing another press her lips against you still fresh in her mind.

if he wasn’t so afraid for his life, clint would almost have found the jealousy and possessiveness natasha claimed she never had over you quite funny. 

but her hands were almost choking him by then, the anger coursing through her veins and the hurt of you keeping such a huge secret from her fuelling only her rage.

had she been a fool for trusting that you would stay loyal in your pure, unbridled love for her all this while? perhaps not. perhaps you, like everyone else, got tired of waiting for her to be ready, too. perhaps you weren’t what she thought you were after all. 

when it was clear the archer couldn’t find the words to tell her, maria answered for him. she pulled natasha away, and forced her to think clearly again.

finally, when she was calm enough to hear the both of them out, maria announced that the black cat, felicia hardy, had been your ex-girlfriend.

–

while felicia was more than happy to be swinging through the city in your arms again, you were getting more and more anxious; what clint had said still ringing in your ears. surely, felicia wouldn’t do that, she wouldn’t risk her life, and so many others’, like that. surely, she wasn’t so stupid.

you landed abruptly through her apartment window, shattering the glass to her kitchen and throwing the both of you on the ground. felicia groaned at the rough landing, and you had half a mind to apologise for getting distracted and missing the window, but you remembered that you should be even angrier at her.

“what the hell were you doing?” you interrogated, and when it appeared that felicia was keen on escaping, your webs were binding her to the dining room chair. “stealing a necklace, i don’t care. but stealing manfredi’s wife’s necklace!”

“aw, so you do still care about me, spider,” felicia cooed as you took off your mask and sat across from her. you had wanted to shake her in frustration, to give you answers instead of flirting with you once again.

you held your hands out in front of her, and she continued, “bringing me home, swinging through the city, just like we used to. bailing me out from your stupid friends, trying to save the world. you’ve always been a romantic.”

“they’re my colleagues. and my family now too. you…felicia…why?” you still couldn’t wrap your head around why she had decided to steal that necklace, of all things. it was not like she needed the cash, and if she had wanted to find a way to fuck around and feed her kleptomania, there were so many other necklaces that were beautiful, worthy of stealing. surely not manfredi’s.

she shot you a dopey smile, and you sighed in frustration. there was always back and forth with felicia. “spider, spider…”

you stood to clear your head before you would resort to punching her, time being of the essence with so many parts of new york being bombed and her being her usual self around you. heading to her sink, you let the water run; you couldn’t hurt felicia even if you tried. damn yourself for never being able to do so.

but then, her voice was softer, kinder. “...you never considered if what your friends are saying is the truth?”

head hung low, you gazed up to her. the webs were gone, and she was standing over you, though keeping a safe distance. she knew you were still fuming, and confused, and feeling so many things at once. she continued, “you never considered the fact that maybe, just maybe, i didn’t steal the necklace? you blindly trust your friends, just like that?”

your spider senses weren’t tingling. she was being honest. switching off the tap, you turned to face her, and she took off her own goggles, letting her hair down. this was her best attempt at being vulnerable. but you weren’t so quick to fall for it; she had gotten past your defences before. “they’re better at being honest than you are.”

you missed the hurt look that flashed on her face momentarily. then, you stood straighter, a hand gripping the counter as you steadied yourself and what you were about to say. 

shaking your head, you faced felicia with, “this, this, is why we broke up. because you can’t stop lying, and you can’t keep the life of crime behind you. even when i told you i can’t stay with you because of it, even when i told you that…if you gave it all up, i would have done anything, anything, to provide for the both of us. i would’ve even left SHIELD, the avengers, everything, for you.”

felicia bit her lip then, crossing over the threshold between the living room and kitchen, standing before you. you weren’t on your guard anymore. she put up a hand to your cheek, the sharp claws slowly running through soft skin. she could have scratched a permanent scar there and you would have let her.

she could have let her emotions run, but felicia was always better than you were at keeping matters close to her heart guarded. instead, she scoffed, and said, “the red one. out of your friends earlier. i’ve never seen her before.”

“she’s…newer.”

“she’s pretty. smart, capable, quick on her feet.” felicia pointed out. you nodded your head, the thought of natasha being mad, and confused, suddenly sending a wave of guilt through your heart. you shouldn’t have gotten so angry with her. she didn’t know.

“she was also green with jealousy when i kissed you on the cheek,” felicia giggled, and you looked up sharply. she nodded, and continued, “are you and red together now?”

you blinked, almost letting your guard down, almost telling felicia everything. that you wished you were together with red, that you loved red more than you loved anything else, that red was all that you ever wanted. and that red, mostly, was not ready for it all, but you would gladly wait for red until she was. that you would do anything for red. that–

“don’t touch her.” you warned, voice suddenly serious. the hand on your face was removed, a death grip with your own. felicia smiled. 

“so protective, spider. i miss when you were that protective over me.”

she removed her hand from your own, and walked to her bathroom, before bringing out her first-aid kit. clint had shot an arrow that managed to slice past her thigh. you watched as she nursed herself back to health, not flinching even as she invited you to come over to help. 

felicia could tell you had a lot on your mind. bringing up natasha was probably not a good choice. but felicia still cared for you, at the very least, and helped put you out of your misery by saying, later on, “i didn’t steal the necklace, you know. i’m telling the truth.”

your eyes were still fixed on her from where you were in the kitchen. she sighed. “the avengers, and practically everybody else, think it’s me. and of course, i fit the description, i fit the motive, everything. it was so easy to pin it on me and let everyone chase after me. but i didn’t steal the fucking necklace. i found out about it being gone and me being a thief the same time you all did.”

“...then why did you run?”

she scoffed, as if you had just said the stupidest thing in the world. “because they were threatening to kill me, spider. i have the whole world against me. and…and i didn’t have you to come rescue me anymore, i thought. i had to run.”

“when you were innocent?”

“better than being killed by fucking gangsters, right?”

“you could’ve called me.”

she looked up at you. you had sat down in front of her, inspecting the bandages she had wrapped around her thigh. when you slowly unwrapped them to help put them on tighter for her, felicia asked, “...would you have come?”

you didn’t make eye contact with her. but the hand on her thigh was enough reassurance. “you know i would’ve.”

sixty seconds was not a long time. but to felicia, sixty seconds of her own contemplation, her going against her own head and morals, of thinking if it was worth what would come after what she was going to do, felt like forever. she was breathing heavily in the cold night air, your eyes were transfixed on the bandages before you, hand not moving an inch, and she didn’t know what else she was supposed to do. what else she could do. 

so after those sixty seconds, felicia leaned in and kissed you. again. again and again, just like old times, just like all those heists and burglaries you had rescued her from before. your lips tasted the same, the arms around her felt as safe as ever, and when she pushed you into her bedroom and began undressing the both of you, the look of longing, and betrayed love you gave her was one she knew all too well. 

her hips moved against yours that night, hands thrashing and fingers finding their way into each other’s hair, and for a while, felicia knew she was safe again. for a while, the avengers, manfredi and his stupid goons, everyone else, was drowned out by the sound of your moans and cries, and felicia could let go. she finally reunited with her spider, even if just for a night, and what a reunion it fucking was for her.

– 

the next morning, however, you were dressed before she could even lift her head off of the pillow, shaking your head and muttering, “i have to go back. i have to go back. they’ll be looking for me.”

she could tell you were surprised by her interruption of, “and what if they do?”

“they’ll think i’m working with you. and i can’t be seen working with you.”

it felt almost cathartic to say, “fuck you.”

you then turned, a sympathetic look on your face and an apology leaving your lips in the next second. “you know what i mean, felicia.”

“you don’t think i’m telling the truth? that i didn’t steal the fucking necklace?”

you were silent for a while. your hand was crushing the shirt you were holding, deep in thought. if it weren’t for your spider senses, you would have almost missed catching the pillow felicia had thrown at you.

putting the pillow down, you then turned to her again, and said, “i’m giving you the opportunity to prove you’re telling the truth. come back to the avengers tower and work with us on finding the real thief.”

–

natasha couldn’t believe that you thought bringing felicia back was a good idea. that you thought any part of your plan was a good idea at all. 

it was one of the rare few times that she had voiced out what she thought was a stupid plan; tapping into the black cat’s skills and intel, and trusting her with information, to draw out the real thief of the necklace. it was one of the rare few times she was arguing with you. 

there had been more you’re putting all of us at risk and i don’t see a better solution exchanges between the both of you, each one escalating in intensity. the rest of the team were equally on natasha’s side, with the exception of fury, who had been brought in to weigh in on the situation. you had spent another hour convincing him earlier not to turn felicia in himself.

in the end, he stepped in, and natasha was bound to follow his directions. that didn’t stop her from sporting the most irritated, annoyed look on her face, however, as she brusquely brushed past you and felicia, who looked more than smug that she was temporarily welcomed back to the team. you were about to give chase, when fury instructed you not to. it was best to let natasha calm down first.

“pissed off red to bring me in,” felicia caressed your face then, causing you to bite your lip in annoyance as well, “i’m honoured, spider.”

–

she could feel herself sinking in jealousy; watching the way you and felicia interacted. 

you helping felicia to put on the comms in her ear and the bulletproof linings in her suit; you used to help natasha with that. even when she had gotten more accustomed to the avengers, even when she could put it on herself by then.

you letting felicia take the seat beside yours in the quinjet. it clearly was natasha’s, it even had her fucking initials carved into the armrest on it, when she was bored on a flight once. truth be damned that fury had requested you to keep felicia on a tight leash, but the seat beside yours? really? it hurt more than it should have, as natasha forced herself to avoid eye contact with you right as she stormed past you. you only realised your mistake a second or two later, seeing her angry charge to the very back of the jet, and you were just about to ask felicia to move the seat in front of yours when natasha had told you to save whatever you wanted to say to her. 

felicia could almost laugh at how nervous, and guilty, you looked all throughout the flight. if she wasn’t so on edge from the mission requirements and having to work in a team herself, she could almost feel a tinge of jealousy that you were treating your new girl better than you had ever treated her, even. red must have been special, she thought, as you finally unbuckled your seatbelt and made the journey to the back when the flight stabilised.

“nat,” you called her uncertainly, fingers digging into your palms as you waited patiently for her to finish chewing out a younger agent to look at you. then, she made eye contact with you, standing by her seat and eyes insecure, and she hated herself for not being able to stay mad at you for long.

still, she had a facade to keep. “what?”

you let out a smile when she came back to your side, gratefully taking the seat beside hers. “i’m sorry.”

“for what?”

“i don’t know,” you had an inkling that you knew what, but you continued, “you’re mad at me. and i’m sorry for the disagreement earlier. i just…i have a plan, alright? and i’m sure it’s going to work, so…i wanted to defend myself. i’m sorry if it made you upset.”

she huffed, rolling her eyes. out of the corner of her eye, however, she could spot you looking even more guilty, and she relented. “you did make me mad.”

“i really am–”

“–but work is work, i know. and i trust your capabilities. you better bring the thief back with a plan, because it’s going to be a lot of paperwork and answering to board members if this doesn’t work out. and i’m not staying up late for all the nights you’re going to do that with you.”

she thought it was stupid how her heart managed to beat impossibly faster as your smile grew, nodding gratefully. “thank you for trusting me.”

then, the both of you spotted felicia unbuckling her seatbelt too, and approaching maria upfront. you made the decision to let the agent handle her for a while, returning your gaze to natasha.

somehow, the both of you managed to blurt out felicia’s name at the same time, both raising the other’s eyebrows. 

“you go first,” natasha declared. you nodded.

“are you okay with her? i know…that you’re not so comfortable working with the enemy. i’ll keep her by my side for the whole mission, and we’ll stay away, so you don’t get bothered so much.”

natasha thought it was amazing how oblivious you were; that the problem was you being too close to felicia, and not close enough to her. that she didn’t want you sticking by felicia’s side, because she was scared she was going to lose you to her instead.

“i…” before she could finish her sentence, however, maria was screaming for you, for felicia had finally annoyed her enough to warrant a restrain back to her seat. that, coupled with the fact that she had stolen maria’s watch without her looking even back at the construction site, and she had finally noticed.

i wish i didn’t have to share you with her, was what natasha wanted to say, as felicia giggled at your rough handling of her back to her seat, attempting to squirm out of your grasp. 

–

the mole had been from SHIELD; as felicia’s expertise let on. she had data from all around new york, obtained less than illegally, and with the technological expertise from maria, the team managed to crack down just who had been plotting for the downfall of manfredi, and collaterally, new york, all along.

the jet made a ninety degree return after wasting time chasing a lead that had previously run dry, and you  were at the other end of a phone call receiving fury’s wrath at the discovery of there being a mole from SHIELD. you had wanted to tell him it wasn’t so surprising, with the onslaught of rapid new hires, but decided to hold your tongue. 

it was you who finally proved that having felicia onboard was a good idea. coming up with a plan in a span of a few minutes, it was so well thought-out and elaborate, maximising everyone’s skills and covering every single possible outcome for capturing the thief, natasha found herself incredibly endeared with your cleverness; hanging on to your every word as you explained the details to the team gathered around you. 

in fact, her dopey look directed at you was what prompted felicia to snicker, and blurt, “so smitten with our spider now are we, red? earlier you looked like you wanted to bite her head off when she was fighting for me.”

to natasha’s surprise, it was you who stepped in first, “enough, felicia. focus.”

it was all the more attractive, and endearing, when she caught you preventing felicia from leaving later, warning her with a “don’t touch her” again, whatever it meant. natasha had wanted to throw her arms around you and kiss you right in that moment.

–

with felicia on her right, and you close behind her, natasha was chasing the thief, almost expertly slipping in and out, zigzagging through the maze of buildings surrounding the area. but you knew that the road would end at an intersection, and natasha and felicia would inevitably have to split to take a chance on where the thief would go. 

and while natasha had hoped wholeheartedly that you would take her side, and trust her instincts, her movements faltered when she snuck a look behind to find you gone. in the next second, you were by felicia’s side, helping her whizz through the crowds and getting even closer to the thief as you flew. 

heart beating fast in her chest, she hadn’t noticed how much it hurt to even see you choose someone else, even for a brief moment. you had made the decision that would best benefit the team, she knew, but professionalism didn’t count for the ache in her heart then, as she picked up her pace again and unwillingly round the corner in hopes of cutting off the culprit. 

–

it was felicia that landed the final blow; catching the thief with a taser sharp enough for you to stop him mid-air, and pinning him to the ground. and after some struggle and maria finally arriving with backup, you were finally relieved of your sudden duties to go on a mission so soon.

catching your breath, you didn’t realise how much your ribs were actually hurting until then. maybe minding your own business the next time wasn’t such a bad idea. 

but then, felicia was by your side, providing a shoulder for you to hold on to for support, as you heaved and pressed your arms against your ribs in an effort to stop it from hurting when you breathed too hard. it was one of the few kind things she had done; the least she could do for you after you’ve helped to clear her name, once again.

you leaned into her support, and upon sensing that her job, and temporary alliance with the avengers, was done, she whisked you away briefly to discuss her options before the actual avengers took matters into their own hands. 

natasha watched from a distance as you walked away in felicia’s arms; understanding how betrayed you could have felt with the avengers, and how painful it must have been to find a mole in the very organisation you had worked for for so long. what she couldn’t understand was how you could possibly be leaving her, when you would be taking her whole heart with you if you left, as well. 

if natasha had more courage, she would have at least tried to stopping you. but she couldn’t, and wouldn’t, ever want to force you to stay. even if it was possibly the last time she was seeing you, even if it meant the possibility of you leaving before she has the chance to tell you she loves you.

her chest was closing in on her, breaths short and restrictive, and natasha knew she had to get away before the world caved in on her.

–

felicia led you into a clearing, and you forced yourself to let go of her to lean against a wall. you could tell she was looking at you with pity, and bit your lip at the foul taste it left in your mouth. 

“compromised intelligence, your friends at each others’ throats, your own boss not trusting you enough to see me again,” she pointed out, hiding a teasing smirk, “your future’s looking bright, spider.”

“thanks.”

she watched you slide down the wall, the pain exploding on your side. you hated that she sunk to your level, and reached out for your hand. you didn’t know why you let her. her fingers were cold as she held your own. 

“give it up, then. there’s no hope staying now, right?”

you let out a sneer. “then where would i go?”

“with me. come with me. would you be able to do it? give all this up for me now?”

you realised that felicia had suddenly grown more vulnerable; her eyes a little teary and her lip between her teeth. her other hand was helping you hold on to your injury, her touch cold and unsure. a sigh left your lips, knowing her usual teasing glint was gone. this was the felicia you loved most in the past.

but it was not felicia you loved, not anymore. and while you were thankful for the opportunity to love her, and that you didn’t regret what you had with her, you knew your heart was with someone else now. someone who was waiting for you to return home to her, someone who loved you more than you knew of it yourself. 

you slowly removed the hand that was holding your injury, smiling at felicia. she knew.

“red?”

“i have red now. and you and i are better off apart, you know this, felicia,” you held her face in your hands then, tone comforting, “you know i care about you, always have, always will. and thank you, for loving me, and helping us for this mission. but i’m not going anywhere without natasha.”

her claws withdrawn, felicia nodded understandingly. you continued, “keep your head low for a while. manfredi will still be looking for you, so will the police. i’ll try to cover up for you as much as i can, but don’t get into too much trouble. there’s only so much i can do.”

she laughed, getting up as she heard the police sirens approaching. she was sure you had picked up on it much earlier. 

“red really is special, huh?” you nodded at her question, smiling at the thought of going back to natasha later on. 

“bye for now then, spider,” her hair blowing in the wind, felicia almost looked finally at peace. 

“take care, felicia.”

you informed the police officers that you saw the black cat disappear from your sight just seconds before you arrived.

–

natasha was lying alone in bed by the time the other avengers returned. having left early, her room was dark and silent; the only sounds of her chest heaving quickly and her cracked sobs filling the air. 

there was a knock on the door from maria, calling out for her, but natasha ignored her subsequent knocks after telling her to go away from the first one. 

but then an hour later, there were two signature knocks on her door, following by you keying in the passcode to her room that she had only told you, and natasha’s attention was suddenly rapt.

she realised she probably looked a mess, and pathetic, for sobbing her eyes at out at the mere possibility of you leaving. but in her defence, she didn’t know, and you mattered too much to her for her to see you leave right in front of her eyes. 

“don’t switch on the light,” she warned, and your hand retracted from the light switch. you were about to ask her why, when she continued, “just…come here. come here and hold me, please.”

you were more than happy to oblige, sliding between the sheets and having your arms find themselves around her shivering body. she naturally leaned back into you, and natasha wondered if your senses were more elevated than she thought they could be, as your hands came up to wipe the tears she didn’t want you to see.

at the comfort of your touch, she could only ask, “...are you leaving me? for…the black cat?” 

she could feel you smile behind her, and your head resting at the space between her neck and shoulder. instead of replying, you said, “i actually went out to get you some donuts, and a few movies for us to watch, you know. i finally get to welcome you home, properly.”

natasha feels like her heart is going to burst. you chose her.

“but of course…just being with you is enough. just us, staying like this, is enough.”

natasha finally turned, seeing that you were still injured, but you reassured her by slowly massaging the frown and worry lines off her face. 

she pouted. “she’s pretty.”

you brought her to a sitting position, letting her on top as you rubbed your hands over her back. “you’re prettier.”

“has nice blue eyes.”

you kissed her, softly, slowly. “mhmm, i prefer green eyes.”

“i bet you looked good with her.” she could only imagine how powerful the two of you looked; the spider and the black cat swinging through new york city. it was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

you let her see the selection of donuts you had bought; each spelling out a letter in welcome home. “i feel better when i’m with you.”

natasha finally looks back up at you, and she understands. you never had the intention of leaving. you belonged to her, right from the start.

that night, when you had fallen asleep, one arm slung around her protectively, natasha finally has the courage to tell you what she has always felt.

“i love you,” she says, before amassing all her love into the kiss she landed on your lips.

in your slumber, you smiled, and the redness didn’t leave her cheeks, even until the morning. 

[bachiras-toaster]

Bf!Rin headcanons? 🤭

RIN ITOSHI x gn!reader

authors notes. i am IN LOVE with rin so im glad i wrote this instead of my college essays

╰┈➤ the type of person to keep your relationship strictly private. in fact, it’s because he loves you so much that he wants to keep your relationship private.

╰┈➤ private, not secret.

╰┈➤ it was no surprise to the public when it was discovered that professional footballer, rin itoshi, was dating you, especially since you did have connections to the Itoshi brothers previously anyway.

╰┈➤ from the beginning, the paparazzi pressing on the matter pissed him off. he hated how interviewers would always eventually get to bringing your name up, because it meant that your relationship was starting to be shared with the world.

╰┈➤ but more than that, it was because he had a such a soft spot for you that he couldn’t help but become nervous when people brought you up. and as annoying as the interviewers were, he couldn’t stand to be mad at them when they gave him an excuse to talk about you.

╰┈➤ he’s probably half the reason your relationship wasn’t as private as he’d hoped. he was just such an unintentional blabbermouth.

╰┈➤ when you’re actually with him in public, he tends to get overprotective.

╰┈➤ when you’re in the streets, you need to be holding hands; when you’re at social gatherings, his palm needs to be attached to your hip.

╰┈➤ not just for safety reasons, but he supposed he also needed to constantly remind people that the two of you are together.

╰┈➤ when he realises that he’s getting approached by fans in the street, he’ll subtly hide you behind him so that you’re not pestered, and you’ll watch with a soft smile as rin is forced to take photos and sign autographs.

╰┈➤ despite maintaining a cold facade, he somehow manages to talk do gently when it’s to you.

╰┈➤ if the two of you are at a party he’s clearly uncomfortable being in, he’d slowly scoop your hands into his and plant a gentle kiss on your knuckle before muttering, “it’s getting loud. do you want to leave?”

╰┈➤ honestly, it’s quite impressive how quickly he’s able to switch tones.

╰┈➤ he can go from kindly whispering words of affirmation in your ear to screaming expletives to a random man, threatening to fight him where they stood and ordering him to stop hitting on you.

╰┈➤ rin’s jealousy is actually an unheard of level of rage.

╰┈➤ every time bachira jokes with you, isagi compliments you, or any of his other team members hang out with you one-on-one, it’s like a ticking time bomb in his mind. 

╰┈➤ rin trusts you with all his heart, but his possessiveness is a little louder than his compassion, and he’s rather eat both of his shoes than put you aline in a room with a man that isn’t him.

╰┈➤ he is willing to start the most outrageous scenes over it.

╰┈➤ once, shidou publicly dedicated a shot to you during an important match just to piss rin off, and he went ballistic.

╰┈➤ he had maintained himself on the pitch, but as soon as he reached the locker room, rin was already prepared to pack shidou up and send him to the emergency unit.

╰┈➤ a good fight definitely would have ensued, had he not been stopped by his teammates holding him back.

╰┈➤ plus, you continuously warned him not to fight because you hated seeing him show up to your dates with bruises and marks— his injuries from football were already enough. 

╰┈➤ he hated defying you, but sometimes he just really couldn’t help himself.

╰┈➤ the days where he would literally feel himself freeze before knocking on your apartment door because he knew that his injuries would tell you that he got into another fight were the worst for him.

╰┈➤ because you always looked at him with that certain face of disappointment before simply sighing and letting him in, ready to properly tend to his wounds.

╰┈➤ he’s so gentle when he’s in private with you.

╰┈➤ you could spend hours cradled in his arms, listening to the dulcet mumbles of his voice as he told you about his day.

╰┈➤ when be gets home from a match or training, all he wants to do is cuddle you mindlessly with a tv show in front.

╰┈➤ sometimes he’s mumble about how annoying his teammates were today and how he’s glad he can finally lay down with you.

╰┈➤ to many’s surprise, he’s really the sweetest boyfriend ever.

[theemporium]

“You’re shitting me, right?”

“Nope.”

“Max—”

“What?” 

“You have your own jet. How the fuck are you not a part of the mile high club?”

Max frowned a little before shrugging. “It isn’t exactly my priority when I’m on a plane, schat.”

There were many perks you learnt that existed as a Formula One driver after you found yourself in a relationship with two of the best drivers in the world. From invitations to countless exclusive events to brand deals with high-end designers, from travelling the world for their job to having a comfy paycheck to be the best of the best. It was a whole new world your boyfriends introduced you to, and it never failed to make you head spin no matter how long you had been dating them.

But the materialistic perks were some of the easiest to spot—the prime example being the fact Max had his own jet that he travelled in when he flew around the world for the different races.

It had been another one of those races that you were currently flying out to. It had just been the three of you for the long haul flight and the boys had been trying everything in their power to stay awake for a few more hours so they wouldn’t fall victim to horrendous jet lag by the time they landed.

You had decided to try passing some time with games. But UNO was quickly abandoned when Lando kept trying to wind Max up with ‘+4’ cards. And ‘truth or dare’ was a bit pointless when you were stuck in the sky. You didn’t really want to start a full ass game of Monopoly (or question why in loving fuck one of the boys brought it in the first place), otherwise you’d be fast asleep before either of them. And every round of ‘two truths and a lie’ lasted less than a few seconds because you knew each other well.

You were left with a game of ‘never have I ever’ but it slowly stopped being a game, and somehow became some weird competition between the boys to try to outdo one another. Which, to be fair, was very amusing for you to watch. 

Until Max had dropped the bomb on you and Lando that he had never had sex on a plane. Ever.

“But,” you paused before gesturing to the plane around you. “You have the perfect setting!”

“The setting is always a plane,” Max stated bluntly. 

“Yeah but usually you’re both locked in a little bathroom, trying to be quiet and not break anything because you’re literally fucking in a box,” Lando jumped in.

Max shot him a look.

“Hey, just talking from experience,” Lando said as he lifted his hands. 

“But you have the whole fucking jet to yourself,” you continued. “You could fuck as much as you please! In any position you want!” 

He raised his brows in amusement. “Thought about it a lot?”

“Yes,” you replied without a moment of hesitation. “You don’t think about fucking us on a plane?”

“It isn’t the first place my mind goes to,” Max confessed with a shrug.

Lando’s eyes narrowed slightly, as though he was lost in thought. “Do you wanna fuck us on a plane?”

Max paused. “Like right now?”

“We need to preoccupy ourselves,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, trying to bite back the grin that was growing on his lips. “I can think of a few things we could do.”

Your grin matched his, a glint of mischief in your eyes. “What do you say, baby? Wanna join the club?”

“We’ll teach you the ropes,” Lando added teasingly. 

Ten minutes. The teasing and the taunting and the goading lasted all of ten minutes before Max had you both wrapped around his finger. Because despite your big mouths and all your talk, it took one glance and a hand tugging your hair back before you were putty in Max’s hands, ready to comply and obey with whatever he wanted because he always seemed to be in control.

“Is this what you wanted, schat?” Max groaned as he gripped your hips, bouncing you back on his dick at the speed he desired. His cock was deep inside you, pressing against the spot that made you squirm and moan—though your mouth was otherwise preoccupied. “Wanted me to fuck you on my private jet? Wanted to show my staff what a fucking slut the two of you are?”

“Shit,” Lando whined, his hands tugging on his curls as his cock hit the back of your throat. “Max—”

“Hold it,” Max gritted out, his hands tightening on your waist as his chest heaved with soft pants. “Did I say you could come?”

“But—” Lando started, only to be cut off by his own moans.

“I said no,” Max huffed out with a shake of his head, his chin tucked into his chest as he watched the way your greedy pussy took his cock with such ease. The debauched noises echoing through the cabin only seemed to egg him on further. “Don’t be a fucking brat.”

“Please,” Lando cried, his hips bucking up into your mouth as you gagged and choked.

“Both of you are so fucking impatient,” Max grumbled as he squeezed the fat of your ass. “So quick to brag and cry. And now look at you. Two fucking whores.”

“Just for you,” Lando muttered out breathlessly. 

“Of course you are. All mine. All fucking mine.” Max groaned, his voice low and rough as he felt a rush of pleasure run down his spine. “And mine to fucking control. You come when I say you come, and I don’t think either of you deserve it yet.”

You whined, the sound muffled and pathetic with Lando’s cock down your throat, but it was enough to warrant a slap to your ass. 

“Careful, schat. Or I won’t let you come until the plane lands.”

.

[sirensplayhouse]

REVISION 101

now as we’re all aware revision has become quite the popular topic in the loass community as of late. for why ? I have no idea, but just like everything else y’all are confusing the everlasting hell out of it and each other. so sit back and relax because class is back in session with your favorite sirengodmother 🤝🏾

re·vi·sion (/rəˈviZH(ə)n/)

noun

the act of revising; the act of changing or correcting something, or the thing that has been changed or corrected

y’all know how if you bombed a test or assignment you’d be given the chance to revise it after school or sumn ? yea 🤝🏾

“Changing your life means changing the past. The causes of any present evil are the unrevised scenes of the past.” - Neville Goddard excerpt from ‘The Law and the Promise’

y’all seem to have this deep rooted belief that revision is anything but natural when in fact it is completely 100% natural. when you revise your going back into your imagination and rewriting how you want things to be.

y’all also seem to believe that manifesting presently and revising are on two different levels, and I’m here to tell you it’s not✋🏾

ok so siren since you’re saying all of this and it’s going in one ear and out the other , how do I revise ?

well glad you asked🤭revising is no different than manifesting in the present. (nie reread that until it’s engraved 🙂) the same way you’d affirm/visualize or do whatever that helps you manifest you can do it to revise. remember it all starts within you, in your wonderful human imagination

the past is never and will never be set in stone you can literally revise whatever you see fit.

success stories you might not think have anything to do with revision but they do

• diploma

• revision success stories

• revised parents

• revised never having an infection

• revised exams

• eye color change

•job

• appearance

• body change

• revised the date

• revised a death / another one

• parents

• another razzle dazzle

now there are some success stories missing I know someone asked me to tag revising a birthday and that’s somewhere on my page deep in the archives🧍🏾‍♀️

ok so you wanna revise/manifest your dream life ? lol what’s stopping you then ? revising that you’ve always lived your dream life is nothing hard. however you choose to manifest whether it’s through affirming, visualizing, scripting, etc, doesn’t matter.

if you’re using affs affirm in the past tense “ I have been living my dream life (for however long)”, “I manifested my dream life (so and so long ago)” , “ I have always had my db/df (or whatever your manifesting / revising”

if you’re visualizing then visualize a scene in where the past has been rewritten to what you want it to be. Neville in ‘The Law and the Promise’ spoke of a woman who revised a life long back injury that she had endured, simply by visualizing herself back in the past and revising the events that caused her injury.

“To revise the past is to re-construct it with new content. Man should daily relive the day as he wished he had lived it, revising the scenes to make them conform to his ideals. For instance, suppose today's mail brought disappointing news. Revise the letter. Mentally rewrite it and make it conform to the news you wish you had received. Then, in imagination, read the revised letter over and over again and this will arouse the feeling of naturalness; and imaginal acts become facts as soon as we feel natural in the act. This is the essence of revision and revision results in repeal.” - Neville Goddard

when you’re revising something you’ll have all the memories of it and the experience. for example I revised always having my back dimples pierced, and when I woke up the next morning I saw them. I had all the memories of going to get them done and I remembered how it felt to get them done.

some anon knowledge for y’all

also for the girlies that want to manifest always living (ie; revising😑) their dream life and manifest never manifesting it ? pleaseeeee 😭yes it’s possible but like I said that’s literally revision

now that we got all of that cleared😮‍💨I sincerely hope (and I’m manifesting strongly) that everyone who was confused about revision or had reserves about it completely understood /understands everything I’ve written here. because idk how many more revision questions I can take🫠

[waves-against-a-cliff]

Childhood best friend Gaz

Content Warnings - Dark Gaz at the end (literally two sentences), pining, let me know if I missed any

Cbf Gaz who's been your best friend since you were 7. Who's been there for everything and will continue to be by your side as much as possible. Who stuck up for you when someone tried to pick on you.

Cbf Gaz who took your first kiss by your request because you didn't want it going to the current playground boyfriend.

Cbf Gaz who studied with you for each test, who you snuck into your room through the window on Friday nights.

Friday nights spent with cbf!Gaz, watching movies and reading comic books he had brought.

Watching as girls tripped over themselves for a sliver of his attention. Watching as Cbf Gaz dated others until you forced yourself to move on.

Cbf Gaz who held his tongue every time you talked about the guy you were going on a date with. Who helped you pick out an outfit and accepted your cheek kiss when you said goodbye.

Cbf Gaz who you hugged so tightly he thought his ribs would break when he sent on his first deployment.

Cbf Gaz who laid awake at night in the deployment zone thinking about you. Wondering if you were thinking about him too.

Cbf Gaz who showed up at your doorstep two months later with a scar on his cheek but his famous cheeky grin.

Cbf Gaz who realized that he was in love with you while on deployment. Unable to stop thinking about whether or not you were okay, what you did that day and how he couldn't wait to return to you.

Cbf Gaz who finally works up the courage to ask you out on a date. Who was about to ask if you wanted to go to your favorite restaurant when you dropped the bomb on him that you were dating someone.

Cbf Gaz who once again, held his tongue and wished you the best while hoping it failed.

Cbf Gaz who grips the hand of the person you were dating a bit harder than necessary. Who glares daggers at them whenever you aren't looking.

Cbf Gaz who watches the months past with bated breath, waiting for the text that you had been dumped or dumped them.

Cbf Gaz who realizes around the one year mark that this relationship might last. Gaz who feels his world crumble and panic each time he thinks about it.

Dark! Cbf Gaz who decides he has to make a plan. That he won't let you slip from his grasp.

[bronze-and-silver-keys]

i was telling my sister about the ghost au and she said "i think it would be cool if everyone alive can see the ghosts of the people who were executed because they're the ones who voted for them and sent them to their deaths" and i think you mightve said at one point that the "killer" is a more literal thing but. thoughts on that

I actually had the loopholes of the ghost au on my mind since this post and there are definitely cool things I can do with it, SO I will be answering a lot of the questions brought up by that previous post because I think it would be sick as fuck and add to the uneasy atmosphere of the killing games themselves

Spoilers for THH, SDR2, and NDRV3 below

Can Makoto see Chihiro? (In one of the FTEs he reccomends training with Mondo)

I would imagine Makoto is kind of haunted by all of the people that died in the killing game, including Junko, both figuratively and literally. He'll catch glimpses of their ghostly forms out of the corner of his eye, in the bathroom mirror, in the shadows.

I want to see this boy driven insane by the constant reminder of all the people he couldn't help or felt so responsible for dying. I want more of that scene in DR3 where Makoto volunteers to watch the killing game video and sees everyone that died.

I love Makoto, but I love subjecting him to endless despair even more.

Can Aoi see Sakura?

Can Hiro/Syo see Sakura (because they think they killed her)

Similar to Makoto, Aoi sees Sakura everywhere as a ghostly figure that's not completely there. She'll see her at the end of a hall, turning a corner, and shout her name and bolt after her, only to find it empty as she breaks down from the guilt of not being able to stop her and essentially handing Sakura her own death.

For Hiro it'd be similar, because he believes in ghosts (as shown by his insistence in the 5th trial that Kyoko was a ghost), but he'd be more jumpy.

Genocider Syo wouldn't be as prone to seeing her ghost, but Toko would be the same as Hiro. Seeing her everywhere and being terrified to sleep at night.

Can Nagito see Twogami?

During the first investigation and trial, I think he would be able to see Twogami's silhouette when it hangs around Teruteru and passes silent judgment. I like to think he'd at least feel some guilt over it. Yes, he set this all up to start the killing game, but Twogami did this to protect him. He gave his life for him. How could that person who pulled you back from the fate you created with your own hands, only to fall victim to it himself, just fade away entirely?

After Teruteru’s execution, the sightings of Twogami became less frequent, until they disappeared altogether. Until he died, of course.

Can Sonia see Hiyokos ghost because she told her to go to the music venue to tie her kimono?

The guilt of that would definitely chase her, and only build more after Gundham's death (the betrayal and the thought that she could've stopped him [she couldn't. His fate was inevitable]) and the fifth trial (she knew the bombs were fake, and this piece of information eventually helped condemn Chiaki to her fate).

I would argue she felt partially responsible for Mahiru and Peko's deaths as well. It was her enthusiasm over Sparkling Justice that gave Peko the idea of her cover to be voted as the blackened, and just inspired a large part of the murder overall.

She loves to talk about her interests, but refrains from speaking about them, just in case someone used that information for a murder. She would see Hiyoko in mirrors constantly. Every interaction she had with the Devas hurt more than the last. Nagito and Chiaki are always just out of view.

I never thought about how haunted Sonia would be by just trying to help keep everyone safe, and have some kind of normalcy by making friends and talking about her interests. Huh.

Can Maki see Ryoma (<- Because they swapped Motive Videos and that gave Ryoma less will to live)

Ryoma would hang out a lot in his lab after he died, thinking about his life, what went wrong, why no one was left for him outside of the academy.

The night after the trial, Maki stops by his lab, posture stiff and shifting from one foot to the other, and start apologizing to the empty air. After Kokichi revealed her true talent, she doesn't want to be seen as just a killer. She feels guilty about giving him the motive video, even if she didn't know what was on it. She apologizes for killing him before Kirumi dealt the final blow.

Ryoma suddenly appears before her while she's finally starting to tear up and her throat is closing. There he is in front of her, clear as day, reassuring her that it wasn't her fault. He would've found out one way or another. He should've been stronger, he should've fought for the others inside of the academy and made an effort to be closer to them. He shouldve made them his reason to live. He just wasn't strong enough.

He tells her to live. Even if you have no one out there, live. Live for yourself. Live for the friends you will make in the future. Live for the days when the sun is shining while rain pours down on everything. Live for the trill a cat makes when disturbed by pets during a nap in the sun. Live for all the color in the world, for the music, for the intoxicating scent of sweets and fresh bread. Live, damn it.

Can Himiko see Tenko? (<- Himiko was supposed to die at the seance)

Sometimes, when she can't sleep, Himiko will sit up in bed, and see Tenko's familiar outline sitting in the chair by her bed, watching over her. Every time, she breaks down into a mess of tears and repetitious apologies.

Can Maki see Kokichi? (<- we still don't know if the poison killed Kokichi before the press)

Teehee I'm already writing a fic about this with canon divergence (it's in my pinned post, if you haven't read it please do I'm working on a new chapter) BUT if we stay with canon, with Kaito being the Blackened:

Maki would never see but always hear both of them. She would hear them bickering just out of sight nearby constantly. Both of them would greet her in the morning, wish her a good night. She would be sure she was going insane from the guilt.

If she hadn't intervened and fired the crossbow, maybe she wouldn't have had to go through the heartache that was the entire 5th trial.

Can Himiko see Kaito (<- Gave him the crossbow/weapon to fight Kokichi with.)

This is an instance where i don't think she would have as strong a reason to feel responsible for his death. I believe she would see it more that she did what she could to help him, but have no real power in the whole situation. That doesn't mean she doesn't miss the hell out of him. He was the last remnant of Tenko she really had. They acted so similar.

[cat-mermaid]

You know whats gonna be crazy about Wicked being two movies is that the second part is going to bomb

Its going to be like the It movies, everyone loves the first part where their kids but hates the second adult half

The book the play is based on is a depressing mess, I've read it twice and already made like 3 rant posts about it. If this first movie stops after the "Defying Gravity" bit then all the second half is gonna be is:

Elphaba failing to be a terrorist, getting that one guy she bones(Fiyero) killed, ending up in a nunnery and being semi-comatose when she gives birth to his child, going away to the middle of nowhere for the rest of her life and neglecting said child, obsessing over animals, developing a-

OH WAIT, HAHA, NO

the Broadway show was fucking smart and completely hucked that whole second act out the window and rewrote it wholesale. Because Fiyero fucking does not come back as the scarecrow, thats a random ass delusion that Elphaba comes up with towards the end of the book when shes fucking losing her grip on reality. Boq is just some guy, he doesn't become the Tin Man, its implied that some dude Nessarose fucks over with her magic becomes the Tin Man

Like you gotta understand how much the original second half is just Elphie sitting in that castle and just aging and being a deeply unlikable person, she gives up on her whole justice crusade pretty fucking fast. She doesn't overthrow the Wizard, he just fucking leaves. Madame Morrible literally dies of old age, warm in her bed and Elphie is so crazed that she cracks a dead women's head open with a marble bust and declares that shes killed her

the whole second half of the book is just everyone Elphaba went to school with trying to live their adult lives, being freaked out by her random crazy bullshit and trying to talk her down off the edge of a cliff while she yells crazy conspiracy BS while pointing at them

everyone who was ever important to her dies, usually as a direct result of her actions, and then Dorothy rolls up and goes oh god i'm so sorry I killed your sister i came all the way here just to tell you og can u ever forgive me? and Elph is so far gone that she mentally can't handle this and fucking sets her own ass on fire/Dorothy accidentally kills her by dumping water on her

SHE FUCKING DIES

the wizard fucks off and leaves OZ to rip itself apart due to the power vacuum his absence leaves

god this book is depressing, and i haven't even brought up all the weird ass sex stuff

This book being made into a Broadway musical is like Jhonen Vasquez getting to make a kids show for Nickelodeon:

It happened, but a lot of miracles had to be happening in the background cos jeesus look at the source material

[l-in-the-light]

Why is Law more stressed, more serious and often grumpy and annoyed in Wano? Thought he would be relieved after Luffy defeated Deflamingo 🤔he couldn't even relax at the banquet 😑

Broody Law is actually my favourite Law, which means I enjoyed him so much in Wano ❤ But why is he delivering behaving like that, indeed? Let's summarize the Wano experience from his side, shall we?

his alliance with Strawhats gets sidetracked because Luffy went to Big Mom to retrieve Sanji. He barely avoided a conflict (not really)

he's stuck at Wano, worrying his ass off for Luffy, hoping he's not left with half of Strawhats crew to take care for forever now

everyone is dying of hunger and getting sick in Wano, because they can't stop drinking water from the polluted river

Luffy finally arrives, Bepo gets sick, Luffy in the meantime does The Worst Thing Possible and Law's efforts to patch up the situation do not work out

Luffy snaps and runs off to fight Kaido

Kaido bombs away Strawhats and Hearts crews while Luffy and Law are already near town and can't do shit about it

he fails to stop Luffy from fighting Kaido

he fails to stop Kaido from putting Luffy in prison

freaking Hawkins getting in his way

crews turn out to be fine, but freaking Kinemon soon leaves to find remaining Akazaya samurais. Now the whole raid plan and making sure it's not exposed is Law's job. On top of that, he needs to take care not only of his Heart Pirates, but also Strawhats, because their captain is in jail. Two crews, a raid plan and the weight of 20 years of revenge is all hanging on Law's neck.

freaking Germa (he's a Sora follower, ok)

he almost throws it all away when Hearts get put in prison

he's got accussed that his crew is crap and he should just kill them off, all that coming from his very own allies he's been taking care of for last couple of weeks!

freaking Hawkins again

getting tortured (just another monday morning amirite)

finding traitor and making sure the raid doesn't fail in the process. Is Luffy finally out of that prison, what is he doing there? Or maybe, that's for the best, he can't make the situation even worse...

Luffy arrives late to the raid and late to the rooftop battle

Luffy brought freaking Eustass Kid to the raid

Luffy is ordering him around in front of freaking Eustass Kid

Luffy tells him to get along with freaking Eustass Kid

Zoro-ya almost died on his watch

Kurashi-ya (literally) caught him in a middle of an embarrassing blunder

Eustass Kid is behaving like a newborn baby and Law has to babysit him

LUFFY BROUGHT FREAKING BIG MOM TOGETHER WITH HIM

now it's Law's job to fight Big Mom. He didn't sign up for this!

Luffy nearly drowned in the sea while fighting Kaido

Luffy lost and died while fighting Kaido

Luffy got revived and won against Kaido

Law had to make bigass room, bigger than anything he made in Dressrosa, probably cutting down on his lifespan in the process

Law has to take care of stuff no one cares about after the raid succeeds, which is taking care of the ships, searching for the poneglyphs (no one but him cared for that in the middle of the raid!) and probably patching many, many people up

he ends up stranded with Robin in some moldy underground chamber for hours, while being seriously exhausted, sleep deprived and in the middle of recovery from his injuries

he doesn't join in the banquet out of spite (no one told him about Jimbei joining the Strawhats. Is Law a joke to them?!), besides just in case a certain Luffy would assault him there, make him go all night long eating and playing around and celebrating, all the while probably bugging him to become a 100% part of the Strawhat crew or at least extend their alliance to together forever status.

And that's just the major things listed! I'm sure I missed some details here and there.

Overall, I think he was stressed and exhausted, because he was carrying a lot of responsibility (and the stakes were extremely high!), at certain points almost the whole raid plan's success was depending solely on him, while others merrily ignored the dangers. He also had two crews to take care of for the whole arc, constantly worried himself over Luffy, got pissed at Eustass Kid and had to cooperate with him (he hates that dude!), and at the end of it his world got almost turned upside down in worst possible way (Luffy dying and raid failing as the result, and the vision of all of them dying flashed before his eyes).

As Bepo reveals to us in the midst of Winner Island escape, Law wants to stay behind with his crew even if it kills him and needs to be reassured that no one is dying there. That suggests Law doesn't deal well with people close to him dying, which shouldn't surprise us after what happened in Flevance and later also to Cora-san. I'm sure Wano hit Law harder than we expect, because there he was, finally believing in people again (Luffy), only for Luffy to die on him as well. Old issues must have resurfaced and his fear of losing people worsened as the result.

I think we should cut him some slack, shouldn't we? Wano was definitely not a walk in the park for Law, especially psychologically-wise. Though to be fair, he could relax and laze around a bit, we see it happen, right before Strawhat Luffy waltzes into the country. That was the last time we saw him actually calm and resting, so I guess that alone gives us another answer to your question as well ;)

And then his alliance ended, and we know Law doesn't like dramatic things, which also means overly emotional goodbyes. It was probably pretty difficult for him to part ways and maybe he thought it would be easier if he avoided Luffy for most of the time after the raid finished. And then Chopper went and almost blew all his efforts up with his warm send-off! Law owes a lot to Strawhats and his debt is only getting bigger, but it won't change his withholding personality.

Did Law find peace after Mingo was defeated? Not exactly, because I don't believe Doflamingo was Law's end goal. Just take a look at his reaction when Luffy finally wins:

Everyone is crying and celebrating, but Law's face looks like this instead. Does this look like a face of a person who finally got rid of his demons and is set free? What about Flevance, are we forgetting that? Law has a lot on his plate, Mingo was simply one of the obstacles in his way (but an important one!). If you want to know more about what I think about Law's end goals, I wrote about it here: https://www.tumblr.com/l-in-the-light/761556630027616256 (the topic starts somewhere around the second picture). That's why I don't think he is at peace or that his revenge is over and we shouldn't expect him to completely "move on" or reach perfect closure just because Mingo is now out of the picture.

There's one exception though. I do believe Law is showing his emotions more openly after Dressrosa. And I think it's actually a sign of him healing and partially moving on.

Because just look at this. Law was always annoyed with his beloved Cora-san as well, and yet we never doubt he loved him dearly. In Wano Law is acting the same way towards the Strawhats, openly showing when he's annoyed and angry. That's how he shows affection and worry. Compare it to Punk Hazard, when he's always holding back, stoic and cold, keeping his comments and reactions to bare minimum. Dressrosa changed everything in Law's emotional department. And the result is that he did open up to his allies.

Also I feel like it's my duty to remind the world about this, often overlooked, fact: so far Law celebrated in the feast exactly one time, in Dressrosa. He didn't join in on Punk Hazard, Zou or Wano. So it's not really a "Wano thing", but more like Law almost always choosing other things over feasting ;) personally, I think it's because of that "30 minutes on festival" rule he had in his household as a child. He's probably not used to just playing around for hours. Besides, we should never underestimate Law's pettiness. Not joining the celebration might have been as well just a petty payback of his, for every offense that happened to him in Wano, lol.

I'm not sure if you liked my answer, anon, but I hope you at least smiled a bit when I tried to mimick Law's grumpiness in this post :D

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

Ok a rant about Cerri bomb and how much I HATE her

In the addict music video she was a very supportive friend of Angel and I loved her in the pilot! I wish we got that supportive best friend to Angel in the final product, but unfortunately she is a woman in a vivziepop show.

She’s AWFUL now I can’t stand her, the way she tried to make Angel relapse was so weird like pilot cherri wouldn’t do that! I also really dislike her design it has to be one of my personal least favourites (not the bottom though nothing is worse than alastors design to me) she isn’t enjoyable to watch anymore she had potential if she’d only been introduced earlier! Imagine if she was introduced in episode 4 and played the supportive friend she was originally supposed to be!

And GOD I hate her ship with pentious, it was SO RUSHED, so poorly done and the ship isn’t very “so cute and in love!!” When you remember she showed literally NO interest in him until Angel brought up that he has 2 dicks, and this is supposed to be a romantic relationship we CARE about.

Cherri didn’t need a romantic relationship she needed CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT we needed to get to know her! If you’ve only seen the show and no other Hazbin media at all (which shouldn’t be required you should be able to get all your info FROM THE SHOW) you’d barely know anything about her character or who she is. I wish we got pilot cherri bomb, and that she got a design update, and that her and pent’s relationship was either taken slower or didn’t happen at all

You silly little creature you, you have me writing in my notes app instead of Tumblr because I’m about to go crazy!

Cherri Bomb. More like Cherri what the hell happened

Anyway I’m gonna tackle this one thing at a time, and also forgive me if I word something weird I just woke up an hour ago at the time of writing this.

First thing, design: I personally quite like her design since it very loosely reminds me of Iris from Ruby Gloom with ofc the one eye, the very rowdy personality and kind of the hair, but those are very broad design choices and its just me remembering some random girl I thought was silly but like Iris did it better.

Okay now second thing and then we go into literally everything else: My blog has been an angry pit of despair for everything in Episode 6 as of recent so let’s tap into that again 🤏 just a little. I am going to give my classic centrist opinion and say I don’t mind Cherri Bomb all that much but I absolutely get why people dislike her, and I mean this in the kinda way as people who dislike… Idk Fukuchi from BSD. WILD jump in fandoms but gimme a second. I can’t 100% say that Cherri Bomb in the pilot was better than the series since we have no idea if maybe for some reason she was intended to be like that offscreen, but judging by the pilot and “Addict” alone, it’s very unlikely. I could see her maybe being a bad influence at times and being like “Loosen up dude we’re in hell and its Friday” or something (idk if they have Friday in hell but everyday is probably Monday 🥁) but overall I feel like she’d end up apologising for it. However on the other side of things, I can understand why Cherri did that in Episode 6. Of course not to say this is okay, but Cherri is still very clearly not in the “redemption” mindset. She’s happy the way she is and is really only focused on certain aspects of issues. We see her comfort Angel in “Addict” but thats basically the extent of it. Cherri’s definition of “self-care” seems to be less of actually taking care of yourself and more like just letting go and having fun instead which really only gives a momentary fix to the issue, much like how substances can be abused. Do you kinda see what im getting at? Cherri offering Angel drugs while he’s trying not to relapse is not okay, full stop. But her reasoning as to why makes a bit of sense for her purpose in the show which is honestly not much, since, as you said, she is a woman in a Vivziepop show.

To my knowledge Cherri is like 30-ish years younger than Angel Dust in Hell experience so she’s likely not reached a point where she’s gotten tired of how things work, as well as the fact we don’t really have much of an idea on her backstory aside from that random shot in “Addict” of that guy in a puddle??? But generally she seems to be in a better position than Angel is, so there isn’t really any reason for her to want to change, yknow? I will say I do like exploring characters that are good friends while still being bad influences at times, but I’m going to be honest I feel like thats really not what Angel needs right now. I wouldn’t be as pissy about it if she did end up apologising afterwards (I’m just gonna headcanon she did for my sanity) but even then as Angel’s friend we don’t know like… anything about her. I would’ve really liked to get some kind of callback to the pilot where Cherri mentions she thought Angel was dead until the random Sir Pentious turf war, and maybe we could see her actually being worried about Angel again instead of those 3 frames in “Addict”, but Hazbin is rushed and I guess we don’t have time for that. And also YES it would’ve been great to see her in Episode 4 and actually doing something but again, Vivziepop is boring.

Going forward I would really like to see Cherri, if not become a patron, at least try to be a better friend and sure if she wants to keep doing stuff she can keep doing it, but just don’t encourage other people to relapse. It is very simple.

SIR PENTIOUS! About Sir Pentious, this is going to be incredibly short. I don’t hate the ship but also I’m not really crazy about any of the Hazbin Hotel ships? I also don’t really hate any except for the genuinely horrid ones but thats basic sense. I absolutely agree with you, Cherri does not need a romantic interest. Romance doesn’t always = growth and growth should not always = romance. She needs some genuine character TLC and I hope to god she gets some in season 2. We’ve only seen a few minutes of her so I have yet to give a firm opinion, but as of now I’m just hoping they do something actually interesting with her instead of just alluding to Sir Pentious ship. Also the penis thing. 1. What was that, and 2. It made me and my friends briefly pause to sex Sir Pentious and come to the conclusion he is likely transgender/hj

TLDR; Please give us a fun Cherri Bomb again. ☹️

[chicago-pd-is-weird]

Hank Voight Oneshot

Synopsis: When Hank is injured in an explosion, the team comes to the hospital to comfort him, each in their own way.

Requested by: @andgry4

Hank had always gone first. That was his policy. He couldn’t wait for the bomb squad. He had to go in.

“Stay here, everyone stay here!” He commanded. As he met Erin’s eyes, he could tell she didn’t want him to go. She wanted to protest, but Hank’s look kept her in place.

“Hank,” Erin started, but Hank didn’t care. He slowly pushed open the door.

“Everyone back up,” he said, looking back to Erin, Antonio, and the rest of intelligence. All of them were ready to jump in with Hank, to literally ride or die. But he wouldn’t have it. Reluctantly, all of them backed up into the street. Hank nodded and looked back into the house, to the woman’s screams. He let out a breath, then stepped inside.

He knew every step could be his last. Turning on his flashlight, he walked through the house, slow and careful. He checked every step before moving through, toward the begging woman. Every step made his heart beat faster, but somehow he couldn’t find the woman. “Where are you?!”

The woman didn’t answer him directly, continuing to beg for help. “Please, please help me! Please, I’m over here!”

Hank, although calm on the outside, had adrenaline pumping through his veins. He couldn’t see her anywhere. He moved by sound, getting to the middle of the house. The sound was the loudest, but looking around with his flashlight, he didn’t see her.

The sound then stopped, and some mechanical clicking could be heard. Hank looked down, and saw a small tape player with several wires sticking out of it, leaning to some barrels.

“Shit,” he mumbled, then turned and ran toward the front of the house as it began rapidly beeping. He was nearly there before it exploded, and he was pushed out onto the grass, debris landing with him, fire everywhere. The last thing he remembered was a blaze and hearing several voices yelling his name.

—

“So how long?” Hank huffed. He hated hospitals in general, mostly because Camille spent her last few days in one.

“A week,” Will Halstead replied. “I’m sorry, Sergeant, but we need to keep you here at least that long to make sure no complications arise. And to make sure you rest. I know if I let you leave, you’ll go right back to work.”

“Damn right I will,” Hank replied, shaking his head. “I’m fine.”

“You got blown up and had to have surgery. You’re not ‘fine,’ you’re recovering.”

Hank huffed again, crossing his arms despite the pain it caused him, even with the medicine in his system. “Alright, fine then.”

“Good,” Will replied. “Now rest. Your body needs it.”

Hank grumbled in reply, but let his eyes close and his body rest, as suggested. He did need it, despite his protests and tough exterior. He’d never admit it, though, as he relaxed into the bed, listening to the steady beeping of the heart monitor beside him. It wasn’t too comforting, but it was constant.

—

Three days in, Hank was nearly restless. His body definitely wasn’t ready to leave, but his mind was. He tried too hard to push himself beyond what he was physically capable of, despite protests from all the doctors. They even sent in a shrink to talk to him, which he refused. Not to mention the hospital food was not great. Everyone had been in and out to see him once or twice, but only briefly since they were working the case. They’d comforted him and let him know that Trudy had taken his place for a few days until the case was solved and the perp was behind bars.

Hank wouldn’t want any other sergeant to step into his shoes except Trudy, so it brought him some comfort to know his unit was in good hands. Nevertheless, he begged for every detail anyone would spare when they visited him.

Finally, when the case was solved, Alvin came into the room to give Hank the news. He sat beside him, handing him a burger he had snuck in his coat pocket. He also handed Hank a small bag of fries from his coat pocket. “We got him. He won’t hurt anyone else.”

“And the woman?” Hank asked, his mouth already full from the delicious burger.

“She was already dead. The recording you heard had been taken when she was first kidnapped.”

Hank sighed as his heart sank. “Damn it.”

Alvin nodded, letting the silence wash over them as they both ate.

After a few moments, Hank spoke again. “How’s everyone else taking it?”

Alvin shrugged and met his eyes. “I think better than you are.”

“I got blown up for a dead girl. Of course I wanted to save her. If I knew she was already dead-“

“If we knew she was dead, you wouldn’t have gone into that house and gotten your ass blown to smithereens.”

Hank glared at Alvin, but knew it was a joke. He rolled his eyes as he finished his meal, crumpling up the paper and tossing it across the room into the garbage can. “Thanks,” he said, shooting Al a pointed look.

“You’re welcome,” Al replied, standing up. “Everyone wants to see you today, yaknow? Since the case is closed.”

“Yeah,” Hank grumbled. He welcomed the company, seeing as he was going insane just sitting there, but hated that they had to come see him because he was stuck in the room. He was frustrated.

“I’ll bring some whisky later.”

“Thanks,” Hank replied, nodding to his closest friend as he left the room. Hank sighed, readjusting in the bed and sitting up, despite the pain it caused him. He groaned, leaning back just as Erin came into the room.

“Already trying to leave?”

Hank cracked a small smile. Erin always made him smile. “I’ve been trying to leave since they brought me here.”

“I know,” she replied. “Last time I was here, you were chomping at the bit. Looks like you mellowed out a little.”

“No, just got tired.”

“Hank Voight? Tired? You must be getting old.”

Hank rolled his eyes at her, but she took his hand. He looked down as both of her hands engulfed his. “Old? That means you’re getting old too.”

Erin laughed a little, shaking her head. “You know… when you came out that door, and the whole thing blew, I… I saw your body fly. I thought you were dead.”

Hank looked her over. “Takes a lot more than that to kill me.”

“We lost Camille six years ago. I just… assumed the worst. It’s like all the feelings from her death came back to me all over again.”

Hank squeezed her hand. “Now you know how I feel about you when you throw yourself headfirst into danger.”

Erin laughed dryly, using one hand to wipe her face, tears spilling over. “Yeah, well, I’m thirty years younger than you.”

“That many?”

“I’m glad you’re finding this amusing.”

Hank smiled again. It made him happy to be around her. From day one, Erin has cheered him up, even while at work. She filled part of the gap Camille had left in his soul.

.

After Erin had left, Hank was tired, more so than he expected. He realized maybe it was good that he was forced to rest in the hospital. Otherwise, he might be on his office couch right now, napping. He closed his eyes and listened to the steady beeping once more, coaxing him into a light slumber.

He didn’t open his eyes again until he heard the door to his room slide open. Drawing in a breath, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times. Antonio walked in and to his bedside. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Fine,” Hank replied with a shrug. “They told me to rest for the week.”

“Yeah,” Toni replied. “I wish I could rest for the whole week.”

“No you don’t,” Hank replied, looking to him. “That’s why you’re part of my unit.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Antonio said with a shrug and a soft smile. “That means if you’re anything like me, you’re going stir crazy.”

“You read my mind.” Hank shrugged.

Antonio hummed and patted his shoulder. “Then that also means you’re exhausted and should rest.”

“You think so?” Hank stated, sarcasm dripping from his words. He didn’t want to rest and was frustrated he had to. “So who’s running the unit for the next four days?”

“I guess Platt, loosely,” he replied with a shrug. “I’ll make sure everyone stays on topic, though. Don’t worry.”

“I can always count on you.”

Antonio smiled slightly, then pulled something from his pocket. “Oh, here, Diego wrote you a get well note.”

Hank hummed and took the folded paper from Antonio, inspecting it, then opening it up to read it. It was short, but sweet.

Dear Sgt. Voight,

I hope you feel better soon. You need to keep saving people like me from the bad guys. Thanks for helping my dad and me.

Sincerely,

Diego Dawson

Hank smiled up at Antonio. “Tell him thanks.”

“Sure,” Antonio replied. “He couldn’t spell ‘Sergeant,’ so he used the abbreviation.” He laughed, then patted Hank’s shoulder again. “Get some rest. Seriously.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hank replied, waving his hand dismissively as Antonio left. He chuckled softly and set the card on the table beside him. Then, he allowed himself to close his eyes once more.

.

The next day, Kim was the first one to visit, bright and early. “Hey, Sarge,” she said softly as the door pushed open. “How are you feeling?”

Hank looked up, having already been awake. “I’m alright. Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Oh, we cleared it with Platt. I hope that’s alright.”

Hank looked at if he was thinking about it for a moment before nodding. “Alright, I guess so.”

“Good, cause I brought breakfast. Al told me what you like.” She pulled out a small paper bag from beneath her coat. “Sausage, egg, and cheese bagel.”

Hank smiled, taking the bag of food from her. “Thanks, Burgess.”

“Well, I mean, you were there for me when I got shot. Only fair I’m here for you now.”

Hank nodded, looking at her as he ate. She also had a bagel sandwich, taking a seat beside him to eat with him. “How have you been? Really, I mean, adjusting to intelligence is a hard move. Everything been good with Olinsky?”

“Yeah, Sarge. It’s all really great. Thank you.” Kim smiled brightly. “Although, can I confess? There’s just one thing that’s bothering me about working here.”

Hank raised a brow, but nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I just really hated seeing you blown up, you know? Is that going to be a regular occurrence?”

Hank laughed softly, shaking his head at the young officer he’d recently taken into his unit. “I dunno, Burgess. It’s never happened before. Is you getting shot going to be something I should worry about?”

“Gosh, I hope not,” she replied, shaking her head with a smile. “I never want to do that again.”

“Yeah, I can understand why. Hospitals suck.”

“I know, right!” Kim said, nodding. “Like, I’m just supposed to lay there all day?”

Hank smiled. “You know, they say doctors make the worst patients, but I doubt that. I think cops are by far the worst.”

“Yeah, me too.”

The two of them chatted for a bit longer, Kim finishing her sandwich, then pulling out another bag. “Here, take one.” She opened the bag and held it out to Hank.

When he peered inside, there were two donuts. Hank smiled and took one out, a chocolate frosted one with sprinkles, leaving Kim the strawberry frosted one with sprinkles. “Cheers,” he said, holding out the donut.

“Cheers,” Kim mirrored, pressing her donut to his for a moment before they both ate.

.

Later on that day, Hank was practically restless, and he gave the nurses hell for it. He wanted out. He needed to leave the room and the bed. When the door to his room slid open, he sighed heavily, looking to see which nurse had come to calm him that time. He was surprised to see Adam and Kevin walk through the door, Kevin pushing a wheelchair.

“Please tell me that’s for me.”

“That’s right, Boss. We’ve come to temporarily release you from your captivity.”

“Thank goodness,” Hank said, already sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. Kevin and Adam helped him up, which he verbally refused, but physically needed. When they got him settled, Kevin pushed the wheelchair as Adam walked alongside them.

“Just a few more days, then you’re out of here, Boss.”

“Can’t come soon enough, Ruzek.”

“I hear that, Sarge,” Kevin chimed in. “If it were me, I would’ve run away by now.”

“Kev, shut up, the nurses said not to give him any ideas.” Adam laughed and shook his head. “They told us you’ve been giving them hell all day.”

“Yeah, that’s why we bargained to get you a wheelchair. As long as you stay in the wheelchair.”

Hank hummed in thought, then nodded. “Fine. Only because I know if I run now, Maggie will strap me to that damn bed.”

“If you ran now, Sarge, we’d be your wingmen.” Kevin laughed earning another small slap from Adam.

Adam smiled. “You gotta rest, though. That way you can take intelligence back.”

“Yeah, how was today without me?” Hank looked up at Adam and Kevin behind him. The two looked at one another, then both shrugged in unison.

“It was… something. Let’s just say it’s a good thing we don’t have a case right now,” Adam said, seemingly disappointed. “Look, it’s all fine and good, Boss, but without you, we don’t really have a structure. I mean, Antonio stepped up to fill in your shoes, but… they’re big shoes to fill.”

Kevin nodded a little in affirmation. “Yeah, I think he could do it, eventually, but he’s not you, and we’re expecting you from him. It’s just not fair. He was set up for failure.”

“So he doesn’t get the same respect you do,” Adam continued. “And it causes issues between all of us. Platt tried to help out, and it did help some, but she’s not you either. We followed her orders because we had to. She outranks us.”

Hank sighed softly as he listened to the two go on about the day. He wanted to leave before, but the urge was now magnified by a thousand percent. He needed to run his unit. He didn’t want to sit in the hospital, knowing they were in turmoil and therefore in danger if they were out in the field.

When the silence overtook the three of them, Adam chimes in first. “You okay, Boss?”

“Yeah,” Hank mumbled. He was discouraged and overall tired, tired of lying in bed and doing nothing, but what else could he do? He doubted Will would let him out of the hospital, let alone clear him to go back to work. His body was tired from moving so much that day. His mind was tired from fighting. He was just tired.

Adam and Kevin seemed to pick up on this and helped Hank back into his bed once arriving back at his room. They said their goodbyes and parted ways, letting Hank rest. He took the opportunity to close his eyes, drifting off again.

.

Later that night, Jay came in, Mouse in tow. The two of them brought Hank some dinner, takeout from a Chinese place he liked. Hank thanked them, looking between the two of them. “How was today?” He asked, chomping at the bit to be back.

Jay shrugged. “It was fine, I guess. Not the same without you.”

Mouse nodded in agreement, though he was a man of few words outside of when he was working. “I agree, Sergeant.”

Hank hummed as he picked at the food. “Can you talk to your brother and tell him to let me out of here?” He met Jay’s eyes. Although his tone was lighter and joking, his eyes were serious, a heavy weight on his shoulders. It was as if they could physically see what was weighing Hank down - being cooped up in a room and seeing his unit spiral without him. He took care of his unit and seeing them like this wasn’t right in his mind.

Jay nodded. “Look, I’ll see what I can do. But you have to stop fighting the nurses. April and Maggie are ready to slip sedatives in your IV.”

Hank laughed dryly. He didn’t care anymore, in fact, he wished they would do he wouldn’t have to spend his waking moments waiting to leave the hospital.

Mouse looked over Hank, then looked to Jay. “How much longer?”

“Three days,” Hank groaned, putting his hands to his head and leaning back on the bed. “All I’ve done is lay here. I’m going insane.”

Jay moved out of the room to talk to his brother, to see if there was any way Hank could be discharged earlier. Mouse sat down awkwardly beside Hank’s bed. “Look, you should eat. You need to eat to get better.”

“I don’t need a lecture on how to get better. I just need to do it, now.”

Mouse shrugged a little. “Look, I’ve known a lot of guys like you in the army. It’s tough. I get it.”

“You’re not the one lying in this damned bed, Mouse.”

“You’re right,” he replied with a shrug. “But I’ve been there. You’ll get through it.”

Hank huffed. “Be honest with me. How bad was it today?”

Mouse met Hank’s eyes, then sighed. “Pretty bad.”

Hank leaned back in bed, closing his eyes. “See, I need to be out there.”

Mouse thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Does a mama bird carry her babies to teach them how to fly?”

“What?” Hank asked, looking to Mouse with a cocked eyebrow.

“Well,” Mouse said, leaning forward in the chair. “You see, a mama bird doesn’t do that. She pushes them from the nest and lets them fly on their own. It might take some getting used to, and they might fall down, but the baby birds learn to fly.”

Hank blinked, taken aback. “Are you… comparing me to a mother bird?”

“Alright, look, that’s not the point. The point is Intelligence needs to figure out how to work without you, so that someday in the future, the far future, hopefully, it can run without you.”

Hank looked over Mouse, then slowly nodded. “I guess…” he mumbled.

Jay came back in after a moment of silence between the two of them. “Hey, Will said it’s a no-go. Sorry, Sarge. I tried my best. Even bargained.”

“Thanks,” Hank replied, glancing to Jay. “It’s alright. It’s only… three more days.” Hank sighed once more. Of course, he was already halfway done, but that didn’t mean the last three days wouldn’t be a slow drag.

“Try to stay optimistic, Sarge. Call us if you need anything, alright?” Jay walked over and patted Hank’s shoulder to give him comfort before the two of them left.

Hank laid awake for a while, thinking about everything Mouse had said. He mused, his mind wandering to other things, then he eventually fell asleep.

—

The next two days came and went without much event. The Intelligence members came and went, bringing food and small gifts to help Hank not go crazy, like magazines and newspapers and whatever else they could get their hands on.

Finally, the last day arrived. Hank was getting ready to get discharged. Although Will didn’t clear him for field work, he told him he could return to strict desk duty. That didn’t bother Hank much, knowing it was only temporary. He just wanted to be behind his desk - period. Even if it meant he napped back there. Although he had gotten much stronger in the last two days, he was still in a lot of pain, and he was very often tired, even though he hadn’t been doing much.

Hank was buttoning up his shirt when someone came into the room. Who stood before him, but Trudy Platt, of course. Hank smiled slightly to her. “Trudy, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, I heard you’re getting out of here. Figured you’d need a ride seeing as you came here in an ambo.”

“That’s a pretty good assumption.” He leaned on the bed as he walked, Trudy moving over and offering her arm, which Hank took. He had been offered a cane, but refused it, though he needed it.

“So, you’re cleared for desk duty?”

“It’s something,” he replied with a shrug. “I’ll have Mouse to keep me company in the office.”

Trudy nodded as she helped him out to her vehicle and into the passenger seat. “I’m just downstairs too, if you need me, Hank. I know you don’t like to ask for help, but I’m here for anything you need.”

“I know. Thanks,” he replied, nodding to her and looking down at the cane that was leaning against the passenger seat. “Damn it, they gave it to you?”

“Yep,” Trudy said, closing the door then getting into the driver’s seat to take Hank back to 21. “Can’t escape it that easily.”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“Hey, when I got shot in the ass, I used a cane for three months. I was thirty-something.”

“Yeah, I remember, you milked it every time I saw you.”

Trudy nodded. “And now’s your payback. You’re welcome.”

“Very funny.”

.

When they arrived back at the district, Hank used the cane and Trudy’s arm to get himself up the many stairs that were between him and his office. It took much longer than it usually did, but he was able to make it. The whole unit stood and clapped when Hank walked in, Hank waving his free hand to dismiss them. Then, he walked into his office and sat down, Trudy making sure he was comfortable. He spoke a soft ‘thanks’ to her, making a mental note to get her a gift later. The rest of Intelligence gathered in the doorway to Hank’s office, watching him as he got comfortable at his desk.

Hank looked up at all of them, then nodded. “What’s next?”

[peachycrime]

Neytiri and Spider

let’s talk about it, ik y’all gon eat this up @be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie @spicymiilk

To start, Neytiri has lost so so much, her home, her father, Tsu'tey, Seze and now her eldest son. The child that made her a mother. With all of these losses all sense of safety and trust has disappeared from in her short life. It's unreasonable to expect her to ever get one these things, she has grief that no one could ever understand. Except Moat. I don't think it's realistic for her to just love him despite everything, I don’t think she doesn't have enough room left in her heart and that's okay. She’s lost so much, and was undeniably betrayed by Jake, her mate for life. She really doesn't owe anyone anything. She does however owe respect to an innocent teenager, who's also given up a lot for her and her family.

Her being wary and scared of him isn’t the odd part. The odd part is that even after years of having known this kid, watching him grow into the kind, funny, sarcastic and empathetic young man he is, she still never saw past day one. From day ones he’s been the ‘demons spawn’ nothing more and nothing less, even with the best intentions in heart, she only ever saw a ticking time bomb wrapped in a pretty package that everyone seemed to love.

You’d think that after 16 years she’s maybe start to free herself from all the hate, at least stop targeting it at him but she doesn’t. You can’t blame her for not letting her guard down, but you can’t deny that’s it cruel to hold a child to such standards. I personally find it very conflicting😭

Now Spider, a kid who's been handed the worst hand in the world. The only human child within light years of Pandora, even if some scientist had kids after a while he was still the first and grew up mostly alone. No mother to sing him to sleep and read him stories about earth. No father to comfort him and tease him about small things. On top of that his actual parents were shitty people anyways, Quaritch is Quaritch and Paz was insane enough to sleep with that demented marine. So not only is he an orphan but his parents are people that any person in their right mind would hate. But a child is not just a reflection of its’ parents.

A child also reflects the environment they brought up in as well as the people who raised him aka the lab guys/McCoskers and Na'vi.

The only thing I really resent Neytiri for is for never giving him a chance, she never saw past his parentage which is so unfair I can't even begin. But for her the whole situation is unfair too, someone can only open their heart so much after it being broken so many times.

Jake disappoints me the most tbh. As a former human, how can he not see the utter hypocrisy of the whole situation? I don’t care that Neytiri would’ve been mad, after killing the kids dad you’d think he’d take more accountability? Not only that but leaving him in the hands of the RDA, didn’t even try to shoot the t’exilas down as they watched him get taken. The kids were the ones to actually bring him up after they kidnapped him right under their freaking nose.

Bro went through torture and never gave any information up. The only reason they ever found the Sully's is because Max & Norm used that stupid helicopter. The fact that Quaritch was literally the only adult who had the sense to help him is insane.

Then Neytiri has her son for a son moment.

I don't blame her for that. She did what she had to do to save her daughter as a mother should and it worked. It's just sad that all he amounted to was a bargaining chip. The reason he got caught in the first place was because he was constantly keeping Kiri in check and making sure she was in his line of sight and and to make sure she was keeping up. That backfired ofc because when they dropped the bomb(thing) he was too close to the blow and fell.

So for me I just hope that she can come to accept him as an individual. Not as a son cuz that's way too drastic but as someone worthy of her family, loyalty and maybe- her affection. That'll take a lot of self work but I'm sure one of these days she'll find it in her to do so because at heart, she’s a shy, stubborn, but also very kind person and even if she doesn’t naturally feel empathy for humans, U don’t think it’s impossible.

I love Neytiri and I hope she gets all the happiness she deserves after everything she's been through.

Put some respect on my girls name bro. She’s fought for her, her family and her people time and time again and never gave up. She’s also just genuinely a good mother and I love the woman she grown into, I just wish she was happier. I also love Spider and I just hope he gets accepted for who is, a kind, empathetic snarky and sarcastic little tree climber who just does his best.

This is my personal opinion so don't be rude please.

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 1 - Side B

John Gaius art cred @exmakina

Propaganda below ⬇️

book quote from the chapters where he's relating how he got necromantic powers and people freaked out!! this is pre-apocalypse and resurrection so it's implied he took a lot of inspiration from this incident . He said, Then we took off. Thread after thread on message board after message board. People wanting proof. People asking what the fuck it meant. People talking about the LUCIFER telescope and saying we were aliens. People calling me the Antichrist, which was a trip. People writing up these long posts on how the trick was done, how I got the meat into the pie. Was I fake? Was I real? If I was real, what did it mean? Suddenly there were hundreds of people, all there at our front door. They came in caravans, they were sleeping in their cars or putting up tents. A hell of a lot of them had flown out internationally. He said, Some of them wanted to see the miracle. Some of them wanted my help, like, Oh, you’re the magical death man, can you do something about my body? Can you fix my fibromyalgia? Thing was, I could. That surprised me. I could take out their tumours. I could fix their macular degeneration. Big damage was easy, unless they’d actually lost the limb or whatever. Couldn’t grow those back. But I spent hours and hours a day playing Jesus. That was nice, those were some of the nicest hours I got to spend. He said, But when you’re doing the whole Go, my child, your knee cartilage is fixed, you’re going to get a lot of visitors. I had to turn people away because I had to eat, I had to sleep, even though I didn’t want to. M— had brought in her best friend, the nun, and I was worried I was going to get the Antichrist bit from her too, but she was just like: stop doing this! Read your Bible! This was Christ’s whole problem! I was like, What are you talking about, Jesus cured the lepers and everyone was all, Hooray, thanks man. M—’s nun was all, Are you kidding, Christ never said no and never asked anyone to pay and got way too much attention and brought the heat down on everybody. Christ didn’t keep to office hours, she said. Don’t do that. He said, So we limited Jesus stuff to one hour a day, and I always had to eat breakfast. But by then the whole world was on our doorstep.

look this is kind of weird but he is the only survivor after nuclear bombs destroy the earth and he has weird necromancy powers so he revives his friends and a few other people to be his subjects and basically makes himself a god to them. there's a lot of layers since he's literally the only character in the entire series who remembers the world before and has a concept of the religion he's copying for his own. he treats the other characters like toys he can push around for his own amusement and everything is a joke but he does this world-weary act that somehow gets the reader to kind of feel for him even when he's being atrocious. and he's the only one who remembers memes. which is a torture all of its own.

I said "yes" but to be more clear: he was canonically Catholic when he was still mortal, but that was 10,000 years ago and he kind of killed everybody on the planet. Just slightly. Some of them got better. Now he's the Emperor Undying and his empire is very Catholic-coded.

Frank

He was in training to become a priest and! Fun fact! Is second generation immigrant!

[psychologeek]

Conversation

(bc it gets too long to be in the comment section, and I'm moving it.)

@erictyberiusduckman

quit acting like we havent seen the videos of Israeli citizens halting aid trucks alongside your own government not allowing aid. When Motaz left Falastine, all he could see when he drove past were aid trucks - AND I SAW THEM TOO. All I see on your blog is you linking random civillians getting murdered by YOUR COUNTRY to Hamas. hamas is not the one dropping bombs on innocent falastinis. May i remind you YES. YOUR COUNTRY IS THE BOMBER. HAS BEEN SINCE 1948.

~

psychologeek

I don't say that blocking trucks is the right thing to do.

If "my government don't allow aid", then can you please explain to me how trucks entering via Kerem Shalom? Or do you somehow suggest there are multiple ships stopping at the port, moving aid to trucks, the trucks driving several hours, reach the border - without a single person in the government knowing about it?

No justify-but they're hostage families protesting for aid to hosages

Literally 80% of my blog is writing/fandoms. Another 10-15% are about antisemism.

What are you talking about?

I mean, Hamas kinda dies bomb civilians? And hospitals? And everything at reach?

So, just to get it clear - Israel bomb Gaza since 1948? Is that what you're saying?

~

erictyberiusduckman

@psychologeek THE DALET PLAN WAS SCRIPTED BY BRITAIN IN 1937...YES YOUR COUNTRY WITH THE AID OF BRITIAN BEGAN THE BOMBINGS WITH THE FIRST NAKBA IN 1948.

~

psychologeek

@erictyberiusduckman

I'm tired.

You keep making up misinformation, and ignore what I say.

Are you a bot? Bc right now, that's what you look like.

What country are you from?

(You keep claiming Israeli military bombed Gaza since 1948? Feel free to look up at the, you know, history.)

~

erictyberiusduckman

@psychologeek Youre the one saying to look it up but When You google things like "the 1st Nakba" "The Stern Gang" "The Irgun" it all makes sense. The Dalet Plan is PUBLIC COMMON NEWS…Of course a brainwashed Israeli-Nationalist would never believe their Government COULD EVER do anything wrong , let ALONE ALLOW anyone to EVER CRITICIZE THEIR GOVERNMENT…..Notice how way earlier I said I LOVE Peace-Wanting Israelis who can see through their Governments BS. @psychologeek Everything YOUVE brought up Israel having to "fight" was a COUNTER RESURGANCE from Falastine DUE TO THE YEARS OF INVASION beginning with the OTTOMANS, then the BRITS, then ZIONISTS…Not to mention there were Already Jewish People living there in Falastine before your 2 percent Ass had a grandparent move into the home of a Falastinian family after their olive trees were burnt to the ground. And none of them allowed to take their belongings with them.

@psychologeek how can it be Misinformation when it is EASILY GOOGLE-ABLE. AGAIN. what kind of censorship are you dealing with, my dear little Nationalist?

@psychologeek You realize because you are BORN and RAISED in Israel you have ingested YEARS worth of propoganda. You Really think your government wouldn't LIE to you?? You really think your schools wouldnt lie and make it seem like State of Israel is the victim or something? That there are No jews In Falastine??

Your state is backed by AMERICA. You know. "we didnt test radiation on poor people!" America. "we never gave Syphilis to Poor Black Communities" America

@psychologeek American backed State totally would never take Inspiration from American Propoganda or American Imperialism. Nope. Totally wouldnt take money from a Genocidal Global Superpower. No way. Do you see how it works yet. My poor little Nationalist.

~

@erictyberiusduckman Ohh you mean Etzel??

You say "I love peace-wanting Israelis" Yet, it sounds more like "I love Israelis who doesn't want Israel to exist"

@erictyberiusduckman

I don't agree with everything my government/s does or did.

What do you call "Falastine"? What part of land?

You keep using blood quantum, and "one drop" like you just came from the 18th century. Can you stop being racist for a second?

Keep calling it Propaganda, yet you constantly quoting right from The Protocols.

"Oh you all live in stolen houses warming your houses with burnt olive and drinking kids' blood".

But sure, I'm brainwashed.

@erictyberiusduckman I mean. Just bc something is Google-able doesn't make it true.There are things like misinformation and disinformation. ~I get it that you hate America with all your heart. But the world isn't black/white.I won't go deep into American Politics, bc idk much about it, but just bc something is supported by A, doesn't automatically make it evil.(Or, do you think everything USA does/fund/support around the world is evil?)

~

erictyberiusduckman

@psychologeek maybe If I phrase it this way it will make sense. There is a call for a ceasfire. Innocents are dying. American Government says NO.Full stop. Why? Because theres oil off the coast of Present day Israel. They want your Natural Resources.And they want it easy and they want it fast.

@psychologeek the things your countries Govt has done to the indigenous people of the Levant and Surrounding areas is Nothing Short of Western-Style Imperialism. The tactics they are using against falastinis are Based off the Nazis, who based THEIR tactics off of Andrew Jackson in America and HIS treatment of Indigenous Americans. We can also bring Britian into the Equation as well- And we all know about British Colonization. INCLUDING the areas of the Levant as a whole.

@psychologeek this is why Britain helped the STATE of Israel form and USED brainwashed Ashkenazim and Shepardim victims as physical expendable tools to Obtain a Land and Hold more control OVERALL than the people they borderline-displaced to the area.

@psychologeek I of course mean Ashkenazim and Shepardim from Spain/Portugal and Eastern Europe.Holocaust survivors had to dig through the trash to survive while a mix of Zionists from a mix of America,Pakistan,Ethiopia,etc, and other countries FLEW in to take full advantage of Resources.

~

Current Response:

I am?? Not?? American?? Wtf you blame me for things *your* government is doing?? I mean. afaik, this is the reason for something called "elections" and "democracy" and "politics". (But I guess talking shit about other governments is way easier than, you know, actually doing something to change things you can.)

"There is a call for a ceasefire" - I mean, those who say it claim they want ceasefire. However, I haven't heard anyone talking about things like the safe return of the hostages, stop Hamas from bombing and attacking civilians in Israel, or anything but "Israel should stop fighting" (no matter what)". Which.... isn't really a call for ceasefire. Especially as Hamas leaders keep saying "we'll do it again."

"There's oil on the coast of Israel" - Gas. You mean gas. In the mid-north. And again - I don't go into other countries politics.

"the things your countries Govt has done to the indigenous people of the Levant" - which are? As you refuse to admit jews are indigenous to the area.

"Nothing Short of Western-Style Imperialism." - good job in spreading propaganda!. You elegantly ignore everything about non-western imperialism, denying and erasing Jewish history, and keep your propaganda. Well done.

"Zionists/Israelis are the new Nazis" - obviously you have no idea what is Nazism. Which is to be expected. After all, in the 30s Hitler was chosen as the Times' "Person of the Year", not to mention the Madison Square and the Bund.

"Britain helped state Israel" - lol. Yeah right, like they didn't limit entry and immigration (from Jews only).

Hello racism my old friend

"a mix of Zionists from a mix of America,Pakistan,Ethiopia,etc, and other countries FLEW in to take full advantage of Resources." - how dare those (dirty ppl) come? They are here to suck our blood I mean, use all the resources!" (Psst... Do you know where most of the refugees who fled to Israel came from? Hint: not America)

Also you ignored basically everything that I write.

[revserrayyu]

2.2 Penacony thoughts [part 1]

**Mild spoiler warning** in place as I didn’t reach that far into the new update as of yet. Stopped right after seeing Sunday being a holy man listening to the troubles of others, so if that scene doesn’t ring any bells, then please refrain from reading further. As always, don’t spoil anything that happens afterwards, not only for myself, but for anyone else who hasn’t finished the new story yet.

First things first, I’m so pleased that we start off with Boothill. It feels like it’s been forever since he was first drip-marketed and when we heard that phone call of his with Black Swan, so finally seeing him in game is pretty nice. Still love that design in his eye too.

I’m also happy that the jade abacus was brought up again. Once we saw DHIL & Jing Yuan team up in the 2.2 livestream trailer I figured that Dan Heng was gonna call upon our beloved general with this item. At present, I don’t know if it’s actually used or if we head to the Xianzhou instead and request for help. Either way, I’m a bit surprised the general lends a hand. Of course he’s an ally and promised to help us with any troubles, but.. last time we saw him, he had just encountered Luocha and Jingliu, right? Could Jing Yuan really have left that confrontation behind so easily? Are we ever going to learn about what happened during that conversation? Who knows, but I hope we find out one day if this story doesn’t mention the matter further.

Anyways, who do you think the Elation Emanator that Boothill is? Naturally, I first thought of Sparkle solely because of her “I AM Elation!” declaration during her character trailer and her being a Masked Fool, but seeing how Boothill is having issues accessing Penacony in the first place, I doubt the two have officially met. They could’ve met elsewhere, sure, but I still doubt it’s Sparkle. Still haven’t a clue on who else it could be though but whomever it is certainly can’t hold their liquor.

Then we cut to Acheron being cornered by a bunch of npcs who are apparently all part of the “Dreammaster,” but let me just say that I love how literal Acheron can be, like correcting how many slashes she actually used. It’s also a bit scary for her to mention, as I don’t even remember a second blade either.

She’s just.. ironically funny to me. Acting all threatening but being completely serious with her grammar.

It was humorous when we switched to Robin for the first time. I didn’t manage to get a screenshot of it but how the screen even questioned it like “switching to Robin’s POV?” was hilarious. And rightfully so because this certainly isn’t our beloved idol. Sparkle, please, stop handing out bombs to everyone!

It was a short switch, but we finally jump back to where we personally left off. I know the journey Firefly is referring to might be our time hanging out together in Penacony, but somewhere deep down I imagine it could also be about our possible time with the Stellaron Hunters before the entire story even happened. I’m sure we have some sort of past with them but who knows if and when we’ll touch upon that.

Firefly goes into detail about her actions, about how she informed Silver Wolf to contact us and the plan she wanted to share with us before “Death” acted out. I guess it makes the lies and secrets a bit more bearable? All according to the script and at least she originally intended to tell us everything before the monster lashed out.

Then we get scene with her and Blade and oh my god, they both look so good?? Learning that Blade actually owns a driver’s license is comical too. Who would’ve thought our edgy man could be so reliable.

I’m so thankful for this scene as it gives us a taste about how Firefly acts around the other Stellaron Hunters. Since the rumors about her being Sam started, I couldn’t imagine how this sweet girl could’ve been one of them, but it seems she gets along just fine, even teasing Blade a bit.

Now correct me if I’m wrong but this is actually a flashback that happens right before Kafka destroys the Jepella Brotherhood during that one Myriad Celestia trailer, yeah? That’s pretty cool. Confirms that Firefly has been here the entire time and Bladie is even wearing the same suit.

I never thought of a decent acronym for what Sam could really mean, but we finally got our answer: Strategic Assault Mech. Makes me wonder if Firefly is even her true name, since that also seems to be part of the suit’s name.

Rejoice, someone other than ourselves can actually see Misha and Clockie. Would’ve never guessed that person to be Welt though. I guess he really is a child at heart. I know he gets excited whenever mechs are involved, such as the Engine of Creation, but this also reminds me of how his E6 depicts him as a child.

It’s unsettling that Misha calls “Death” something so innocent as “Sleepie.” Also claims that the monster isn’t aggressive and sometimes fetches the wrong guests to bring here.. uh huh, right. Sure. But of course Gallagher controls it! I know we learn more about him during this patch but I still don’t trust him.

So it’s clear that Misha is still a giant mystery. It’s good that us and Welt can see him, but the kid still isn’t perceived by everyone here. That one pepeshi we found alongside March thought we were talking to someone invisible and it appears Micah and Himeko can’t see Misha either.

During that flashback with the siblings as kids, I sorta feel like Sunday is also talking about Robin here. I know we’re chatting about the injured bird they found, but all the caged bird metaphors that Robin has, from her splash art and trailers, is hard to ignore.

Then we learn Gallagher is a History Fictionologist that’s in charge of this new place, which is all fine and well I suppose? Great to know who he really is but chalk it up as yet another person who lied to us. Of course I don’t believe much of anything any non-Express family says but whatever. He’s using fancy words that went over my head.

And now it’s all started to make sense in my head. Inviting different parties that have experience handling stellarons or at least have capable means of preventing a disaster. The Express and the Stellaron Hunters themselves are an obvious and reliable choices when it comes to stellarons, the IPC certainly has impressive power if Aventurine is anything to go off of, and I don’t doubt the real Galaxy Rangers are strong fighters too. I’m sire Black Swan and Sparkle have some tricks up their sleeves too, as would Ever-Flame Mansion.. if they’re alive. Also, the fact that the meme is named “Dormancy”.. Ratio stated in his note to Aventurine that “Dormancy” was the impossible in the dreamscape instead of “Death,” but I figured he just meant it as the word’s true meaning, not referring to the monster itself. That’s clever.

Sir, don’t give me hope like this by saying you’ll fight with us. Do you know how many people are wishing for you to actually be playable?? I’d love it if he was, I’d even take him as a four-star at this point (even though he clearly has five-star energy) but something tells me he isn’t. He gives me Cocolia vibes a little, like he’s certainly an important figure but I would not be shocked if he turns on us somehow and ends up as a boss of some sort either.

Aventurine’s status is truly a mystery that I definitely need to know! Is our beloved gambler okay?? Preferably alive somehow?? It hasn’t been long but I miss seeing/hearing him in the story already! But I do love that the chip he gave is when we first entered our hotel room turned out to be a transmitter. I’m not sure if it’ll reach his place in that momochromatic world he’s in, but perhaps we can use it to call upon Topaz and the rest of the IPC chilling in the hotel lobby? After Topaz noticed one of the broken Aventurine stone pieces lost its shine, I can imagine that our gambler had several spare transmitter chips to hand out to those he can depend on.

Stuff happens in a quick cutscene and we climb up many stairs to encounter another Nameless who has certainly seen better days. He sorta looks like that one white-haired dude on that new light cone that they showed briefly during the 2.2 livestream. And since it isn’t much of a spoiler anymore considering the official HSR yt channel already put out a video on it.. yeah, harmony hat.

Pfftt there’s something so funny to me about hearing Himeko call that fierce monster who has already “killed” several people a mere pet. Show no fear mother!

I absolutely LOVE that this man canonically can’t swear! They can switch all the words they want but I know exactly what Boothill wishes to say and it is hilarious. This quirk alone makes me want to pull for him.

My memory isn’t the greatest, but this shot made it so clear for me to remember that the Forgotten Hall mirror is a sort of Garden of Recollection thing, so having Black Swan appear from it was simply perfect.

The girlies working together once again, oh my~

After the things you personally witnessed sweetie, I’m glad you think so. Gotta love strong women!

Whose?? The only relics that come to mind are the Ashblazing Grand Duke set which I’m fairly certain isn’t what Acheron is referring to. I only thought of it due to the memes about how she killed him and turned him into said relics.

There’s another cutscenes with Acheron and that old dude we heard last patch, but I don’t remember much aside from him reminiscing about his companions once being Galaxy Rangers and more chatter about Nihility. This scene however, with Sunday looking all handsome and holy.. OH BOY. He’s gorgeous with the light shinning on him like that. I feel blessed to have witnessed such beauty.

I never thought of him to actually listen to people’s sins, but it suits him rather well. Doesn’t seem like most people recognize him doing so either? Aside from this one pepeshi of course.. either that, or everyone clearly respects Sunday too much while this person could care less on how to act around him. I was gonna make fun of the merchant for having such trivial sins, but if you’re living a life where that’s all you have to worry about, then sign me up.

The confession isn’t all fun and games though as some disbelief about the Family is brought up. Yet another reason for me not to completely trust this holy hot handsome man yet. Looking forward to continuing more later tonight.

[whisker-biscuit]

SlyFox Day 2: Snow

Sly huffed a silent sigh of relief as he placed the last of the explosive charges at the base of the last vampire crypt. The Panda King had gone off ahead at his insistence that he could finish this by himself – a fact they were both happy about – and watching the older man clear away the last of the active undead mantises with fireworks and flame before he took his leave was something the raccoon would never be able to get used to.

And it had nothing to do with vampires.

He set the timer for the detonation and retreated to a safe distance on higher ground to watch the upcoming explosion. The crypt was right at the bottom of a hill of snow that looked a breeze away from toppling into a miniature avalanche, and Sly was admittedly a little excited to see it. He was taking every chance at levity he could cling to while at this stupid palace, with its stupid owner, and the stupid decision Bentley had made to trust the goddamn Panda King.

So caught up he was in his momentary bitterness that he nearly missed the bob a familiar flashlight as Inspector Fox rounded the corner. Sly had only a few seconds to be surprised at her presence and wonder what lead had brought her up this far before she shined her light on the literal time-bomb of a crypt and that surprise turned to alarm.

There was no time to think. There was barely time to act. The thief launched himself off of his perch straight for her, hoping against hope to knock them both out of the blast radius. She was just starting to turn around at the sound of him when he slammed into her, sending them both tumbling, but before either could do anything else there was a BOOM that shook the ground and deafened his senses –

And then the world went white.

Sly woke up with a groan that quickly turned into chattering teeth. His entire body felt stiff and frozen from head to toe, and his head was still ringing from the aftermath of the explosion. When he tried to sit up, his vision swam so badly that it nearly made him pass out again.

“Oh. You’re awake.”

The sound of Carmelita’s voice broke through the fog in his senses and brought him right back to the present. He locked his jaw to stop his loud shivering and looked over towards the direction she’d spoken from. Sure enough, she was sitting just out of reach, holding her arm close to her chest and glaring daggers at him.

His heart jumped to his throat at the sight. “Are you hurt?”

“I am, no thanks to you,” she snapped, making him wince. “What the hell were you doing up here?!”

“Blowing up vampires.” The truth fell off his tongue easily, and not just because it often did around her. It was better to be honest when it came to pinning terrible crimes on terrible criminals.

“Uh huh.” Inspector Fox looked less skeptical of the idea of vampires and more skeptical of the idea of him playing vampire hunter. “And does ‘blowing up vampires’ involve this?”

She glanced around meaningfully, and Sly finally registered the rest of their environment. They were trapped in a narrow air pocket surrounded on all sides by snow, so cramped that there wasn’t enough room to stand or even get more than a few feet away from each other. The raccoon sucked in a worried breath through his teeth.

“Don’t try to break through it,” she warned him before he could even think of it. “I already tried, and the whole thing nearly came down on top of us. There’s no telling how much snow is above us right now, and I don’t want to risk suffocation if it falls.”

The thief swallowed. His whole body was shivering, now. “How long was I out?”

“Only a few minutes. I think you got hit in the head with a piece of whatever you were blowing up.” When he gave a meaningful, scrutinous look towards her cradled hand, she shook her head. “Happened when we were rolling after you tackled me. Feels more like a sprain than a break.”

Sly couldn’t help the way he visibly relaxed at that. Carmelita watched him like a hawk.

“Have you called your mercenary friends to tell them what happened?”

“No. My radio got lost somewhere in the avalanche.” This time, instead of glaring at him with obvious blame, she simply closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Just my luck, huh? You’re finally trapped right in front of me with nowhere to go, and I can’t even call for backup.”

“Maybe not, but I can.”

Her eyes snapped open when he pulled out his binocucom, but she didn’t say a word as he started calling Bentley. The line rung for less than a heartbeat before the turtle answered.

“Sly! Where are you? Did you take down the last crypt?”

“Sure did, Bentley, but there were some, uh…complications.”

He pulled up the visual aid and did a slow scan across the tiny space, including Inspector Fox’s scowling face, then flipped it back around towards him. His best friend let out a string of words that were very complicated but probably very vulgar. Sly could tell he was in for a hell of a lecture about this later.

“Give us ten minutes max and we’ll get you out of there. Both of you,” he amended when Sly raised an eyebrow. “Just don’t do anything stupid until then, and leave your binocucom on so we can find you.”

“Roger that.”

The raccoon put the device back in his leg pouch and wrapped his arms around his knees, suddenly all too aware of the bitter cold making him shiver. Ten minutes was a long time to wait in the snow when you were only wearing a sweater-shirt and boots more built for stealth than snow.

As if sensing his thoughts, Carmelita let out an irritated huff and patted the ground beside her. Sly didn’t move an inch.

“You, uh…you sure?” He asked.

“I’m only offering because you’ll freeze to death before your gang shows up,” she said pointedly, shifting her weight to very obviously hide the way she was also shaking. “You can’t be brought to justice if you’re dead.”

A smile finally crossed the thief’s lips. “Of course, not. We wouldn’t want me to escape the consequences of my actions with such a pathetic way to go.”

“Exactly.” The word was hissed with as much conviction as possible, but he could still see the faint flicker of her own smile before it was quickly buried under indifference. “Now get over here before I change my mind.”

He did so.

“If you ever tell anyone about this, Ringtail…” she threatened as they huddled together, arms wrapped around each other.

Sly smothered his grin, partly because he knew she wasn’t bluffing and partly because her tail was curling around his seemingly without her conscious knowledge.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Inspector.”

And he meant every word.