#and if they are so incredibly open to interpretation that an entire ass other person can be the prince who was promised

[leupagus]

You know what else is bonkers? Stannis getting trapped BY A SNOWSTORM. This guy's one of the greatest military geniuses in Westeros! He almost takes King's Landing AFTER HIS WHOLE NAVY GETS MURKED! He does all this insanely cool shit in the books and single-handedly beats the wildlings so hard they actually end up preferring JON to this dude! This guy travels all the way to THE WALL and then decides he's gonna retake Winterfell (why??? never explained, other than he does not like the Boltons I guess???) and he has no plan!!!

Like yes absolutely you could write an incredibly interesting plot about his monomania for the throne leading to him relying so heavily on Melisandre that he's incapable of devising any strategy that doesn't rely on magic/miracles/fire, but NOBODY WROTE THAT PLOT, DID THEY.

Fuck it, Shireen's getting rescued by a bunch of Northerners on Westerosi Yakutians. Sansa's gonna roll up on one of these like "you guys didn't even bring wool undies, you fucking dumbasses."

I'm fine, it's all fine.

Me before writing this GOT fic: this will mostly be about Sansa, my main squeeze, my best girl and beloved

Me while writing this GOT fic: so instead of the whole dumb shit that happens to Daenerys in seasons 5 & 6 what if instead she’s presiding over Meereen while it invents democracy so it can vote her out of the city. Along the way Meereen invents journalism and soccer.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Bsd except Dazai was never part of the Port Mafia.

But he keeps somehow getting involved with them. To the point a lot of the Port Mafia think he is.

Like Dazai was just going for a walk through Suribachi city, because he was bored.

Next thing you know, he and Chuuya are facing down the dead Port Mafia Boss.

Chuuya joins the Port Mafia, Dazai isn't even part of it. And they still end up becoming Double Black.

Because their both chaos magnets and keep running into each other during various crisis's.

Mori keeps trying to recruit Dazai and he refuses every time.

There's an executive spot open for him, but no one realises that it hasn't been taken.

There's a whole ass legend about the Demon Prodigy of the Port Mafia. That he's so sinister and evil no one knows what he looks like.

Meanwhile Dazai's just some broke artist that works at some cafe.

He found the Akutugawa siblings starving on one of his walks and invited them into the cafe.

Where he teased em for putting way too much sugar in their tea and they've been close ever since.

They both still end up join the Port Mafia and visit often.

Dazai's given Akutugawa some pointers on his ability.

And because of that, Akutugawa works hard to make him proud. He considers Dazai his first mentor and respects the hell out of him.

This story is interpreted very differently by the Port Mafia. Who see Akutugawa's rage and violence. And assume his mentors to blame.

And not... Him being 16 and incredibly emo.

His actual mentor in the Port Mafia is Chuuya.

But people rarely see them together and assume it's the mysterious Demon Prodigy. A man so dead inside he probably beats up his subordinate and is endlessly cruel.

Cut to Dazai at the cafe, lighting up and bouncing over as soon as the Akutugawa siblings show up at the cafe.

Mori's not exactly helping to stop the rumours.

Dazai still befriends Oda and Ango, they're regulars and they frequent Bar Lupin together. And Mori still uses them against him.

Odasaku dies and Dazai joins the Agency. To make the most out of his life, and to personally spite Mori forevermore.

Dazai meets Atsushi, gets him some food and is just like welp another stray.

Reasons that with Atsushi's lack on control with his ability, and desperate need of a job. Helps him land one at the Agency.

There's like 3 minutes of Akutugawa and Atsushi having a stare off before they just sit, drink tea together and have a nice conversation.

Though they have to put up appearances in battle of course. Since their technically enemies but only at work.

Dazai's "secret" comes out and he spends a good long hour screaming profanities into a pillow before explaining himself.

The layout of the Port Mafia being one Dazai knows, it's because he's been kidnapped that many times and has made fun of the structure.

Mori took that as constructive criticism and made the changes.

Dazai just really hates Mori.

He makes it very clear to everyone at the Agency that everything he knows about Mori and the Port Mafia inner workings is entirely against his will.

But man it took a lot of convincing.

Like yes I might have Port Mafia connections, some personal ones. I might also resemble the vague description of the "Demon Prodigy."

And sure there's an executive spot quite literally with my name on it. And yeah I know Mori, unfortunately better than most people.

But I am not a member of the Port Mafia and I never have been.

... See this is why I kept my past a secret.

Yosano is just like, no yeah that checks out he would do that.

And Ranpo is just laughing his ass off and says Dazai's telling the truth and there is peace... For now.

[macethelaboratoryrat]

I hadn't realized on the previous read how incredibly uncomfortable the Marmeladov death scene is.

Because first, the man gets run over by a HORSE CARRIAGE, which is an incredibly strange thing to have happen, and it's almost comical. But like, the driver is just trying to get off the hook for severely injuring a man, and the police don't care because they also want to make sure the rich people's cab arrives on time and the man gets out of the road.

And then Rodion is Raskolnikov-ing, which is honestly kind of weird because we haven't seen this side of his character anywhere in the book, which is also kind of awkward. The way he spends money in general stresses me out as well, so the "I'll pay for everything" attitude contributes that to my interpretation of the scene.

So a bunch of (ultimately apathetic) cheerful townspeople are carrying an entire man into these people's apartment. And on one hand, there's the beef between Katerina Ivanovna and her landlady, and all of the people who enjoy listening to them fight, and there are all of these spectators, and Rodion is very pleased with himself, and it all has this light-hearted air, even though a man is dying. And even in Marmeladov's introduction, people tend to just laugh at him and make fun of him, and his character and actions are deplorable, so his death doesn't mean much to "us" as the audience. And maybe it even is kind of funny.

But then there is Katerina Ivanovna and their children. And that really turns the scene on its head for me. Because the children are in multiple stages of dress, they're practically helpless, the oldest has to take care of the younger two. Katerina Ivanovna is having smoke poured on her from the apathetic inhabitants in the other apartment, and she's working her ass off trying to maintain some semblance of nobility and her former self, even though she's very sick. People just stand there gawking at her, and at all of them.

Marmeladov's entrance in this scene interrupts a significant and fragile ritual in their lives. They can barely manage as it is, and then they have to take care of him, and the children are afraid. But once again, people are coming out to make some spectacle of this family that is hanging on by a thread and has just had the rug pulled out from under it.

Katerina Ivanovna's and Marmeladov's relationship is really something. And she's an absolute firecracker. And her pride almost dissociates the mood of the scene in my opinion.

Sonia in herself almost brings more to the "spectacle" which degrades the scene more. But then, in spite of what she's wearing and her notoriety she still has a tender moment with her dying father. (I wish I could say more about Sonia, but I'm having trouble describing her well because in Rodion's eyes she's an object of shame and pity. And I think his opinion of her is absolutely rancid and disgusting. But she's described through that lens throughout the whole book.)

I think it's because it makes the personal impersonal. What should be a personal and quiet family scene has open doors and flies on the wall. And Rodion's whole expression just feels really off. He's a stranger, and he offers them money. He feels sorry for them over something a stranger wouldn't normally know about.

yeah...

[thealogie]

To me it’s so glaringly obvious that the “boyfriend” comment could have just as well been a “girlfriend” comment? it’s about being possibly romantically entangled with a (GASP) demon, as an angel. that’s unheard of, them even being friendly is looked down upon from both sides. FFS it’s hell vs heaven! what do you meannnn

i truly don’t understand why people are acting this way. maybe having faced so much sly homophobic jokes that you’re projecting it onto everything that even just includes a gay person.

maybe i’m missing something else entirely that explains this (please do tell my ignorant ass). but if you’re really just referring to that comment and projecting homophobia on it.. i can’t understand.

I don’t know if “you’re projecting homophobia onto this is” is your own take or if you’re just trying to regurgitate Neil’s points as you are in the rest of this ask but that wasn’t what he was saying. He was saying “that’s a societal thing you’re bringing to this as a reader.” If it’s your own take: incredibly bizarre to undercut other people’s interpretation by being like “you guys get called faggots too much in real life” instead of engaging with them in good faith.

Assuming you actually sent this in good faith and you’re open to an explanation: no one is arguing that the angels were literally being homophobic to aziraphale within the universe of good omens. But good omens is, in part, a story about rigid systems/dogma and specifically how the two main characters can’t be together because of it. They even have them meeting secretly in England when homosexuality is illegal and have aziraphale basically say it would be too dangerous to continue their relationship. Against that backdrop: having heaven (the side associated with religion) treat aziraphale’s relationship with demon as something forbidden reads as a metaphor for homophobia. This is strengthened by the fact that they both read as gay men.

We are laughing because it is incredibly silly for the author to say “no they weren’t being homophobic they were being demon-phobic” and not even show any understanding of deeper meaning in the work.

[xiaq]

Hi, I have a question re:sex and Christianity. Small background: I still go to church, and I still live with my parents even though I'm not much younger than you, because housing is very very expensive where I live (pretty common here, I would say about 2/3 of my friends live with their parents and we are decently privileged kids)

Anyway. How does one get over purity culture? To be clear, I've never been told in church not to have sex, I've never gotten the gendered lessons that you got. But I am terrified of having sex. My first real, multi-year relationship just ended and while there was hand stuff etc, there was never any p in v sex (lol I feel 12). But I still had insane anxiety about being pregnant despite being on bc. And I think its because I know my parents would be so disappointed if I had sex. And if I was pregnant I could imagine all the gossip. And honestly I think im from a pretty open church, b/c one of our previous ministers kids recently got married at 8 months pregnant and lots of church people were at the wedding and supportive and her parents were there and everything.

I dont even think I particularly like sex, i might be on the ace spectrum, but how do I remove it from all the anxiety that's tied to it so I can even give myself the chance to find out???

(Asking because it seems like you've been pretty open about purity culture/removing yourself from it)

CW for sex talk (again)

How does one get over purity culture?

Oh man. That really is the million-dollar question, huh? Obviously, I can only answer re my personal experiences, and this is something you should talk to a therapist about, but I can tell you how I’ve tackled it with my therapist at least.

Purity culture is, at its core, an ideology that is perpetuated by shame. If you’re indoctrinated into purity culture when you’re a kid, the concepts become baked into the way you construct your identity, your perception of self, and your perception of your sexuality. It’s practically intrinsic, by the time you’re an adult, to feel shame any time you’re reminded you have a body, much less a sexuality.

According to the chapels I sat through every week as a kid, a girl's body could be 3 things: an intentional stumbling block for men, an accidental stumbling block for men, or unnoticeable. Women were to strive for the third option so as to keep their (and their male friends/authority figures) purity intact. After all, if a boy, or even your male teacher, had impure thoughts about you, it was your fault for tempting them (which, holy shit. I still can’t believe that was a thing I bought into for so long. If my 45 yr old grown-ass teacher had impure thoughts because he could see my 12 yr old collarbone, that sure as hell wasn’t my fault. But I digress.) The Only time a woman’s body can be something else, is when she gives it to her husband, at which point she must suddenly flip the switch in her brain that she is now allowed to be a Sexual Being and she must perform Sexual Duties despite living in outright fear of her own body and sexuality for years (decades?) up until this point. Jesus take the wheel.

Purity culture isn’t a thing you can just decide to walk away from if you’ve grown up in it. Because its ideology is insidious and internalized. So first you need to submit to the fact that you’re going to be fucked up about sex. It sounds like you’re there. Second, you need to interrogate what you believe. If you’re leaving religion behind entirely, you’ll approach removing yourself from purity culture differently than if you still identify as a Christian. It sounds like you might be the latter, which meant, for me, separating what’s actually biblical and what’s shitty, contrived, doctrine that I was told is biblical but is actually more political than spiritual. This helps you address the shame issue.

You need to throw away I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Lady in Waiting and all those ridiculous books you read and reread in the hopes of somehow obtaining impossible marriage perfection and look into actual scripture interpreted within its historical context. I could write a book on this, but the TL;DR is that the text of the Bible was written, translated, curated, and changed multiple times over thousands of years by human beings with human biases and, often, personal and/or political agendas. It contradicts itself! Reading it as it is—a flawed historical document—rather than some sort of God-breathed perfect document—is incredibly freeing. When you do, you’ll probably realize that purity culture is bullshit on a spiritual level. Which is a good start, if that matters to you. Because any time you start to feel shame or guilt you can ask yourself: does God actually care if I wear a bikini or touch a dick I’m not married to? Probably not. Wear the bikini. Touch the dick.

The most important therapy session for me was when my therapist asked what I would do if I got to heaven and God was actually the God I’d been raised to fear. What would I do if he condemned me for being bisexual and having premarital sex and becoming educated, for arguing with men, and failing to isolate while menstruating, and wearing mixed fabrics? If Montero had come out at the point, I probably would have said I’d pole dance down to hell. Instead, I said I would spit on heaven’s gates. If a god that cruel and that pointlessly demeaning really exists—a god who would create in me condemned desire—I won't worship him. The good news is, I’m 99% sure he doesn’t exist. At the very least, he isn’t supported by scripture.

Okay. The final thing you need to do is figure out what you actually want, sexually speaking. This bit is probably the hardest. I’m still in the early stages of this myself. You say: “I dont even think I particularly like sex, i might be on the ace spectrum, but how do I remove it from all the anxiety that's tied to it so I can even give myself the chance to find out???” Bro, I wish I had an easy answer for you. For me, whenever I’m feeling anxious about Sex Things, I tell myself: 1. My God does not equate my worth to my sexual habits. 2. My partner does not equate my worth to my sexual habits. 3. I do not equate my worth to my sexual habits. It seems silly, but reminding myself of those three things is massively helpful. If, after I’ve sorted through those, I’m still anxious or uncomfortable, I stop doing the thing. I evaluate. Am I overwhelmed and I need to try again some other time? Do I just not like the thing? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Sometimes you change your mind. Sometimes you just don’t know. That’s why having a partner who you trust and who’s willing to patiently explore your interests (and respect your disinterests) is so important. Half the battle, for me, was having a partner who told me they’d be ok with no sex at all. Because that took the pressure off me. If the bare minimum they need is nothing, then anything more than that is a bonus! Hooray! This is maybe TMI, but let me tell you. I thought I was asexual* right up until I was able to have moderately non-anxious sex. Never in my life did I think I would initiate a sexual situation but… I do now. It’s a fun thing to do with a person I love and, holy shit. I am furious that I nearly missed out on it.

Finally, re birth control: I don’t know how you can approach that fear in a way that works for you. If you don’t want to ever have penetrative sex, that’s fine! If that’s a point of anxiety you can’t get rid of, then don't push yourself to do it. If you find out you like other sex things, do the other sex things! If you don't like doing any sex things, don't do any sex things! Also, have you considered sleeping with people who can’t get you pregnant? Always an option if it’s an option you want to consider. ;)

Okay. I hope this was even a little bit helpful. Sorry if it’s a little convoluted, I typed it up in bursts during my work breaks.

*This is not at all to say that asexuality can be “fixed." Rather, it’s to say that things like purity culture can drastically confuse your sexuality in general. If you’re asexual, then this process is still important to discover what you like/dislike. Then you can be explicit about those necesities and find a partner who’s a good fit (if you want a partner at all, that is).

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 316: We've Had One, Yes, But What About Second Explosion

Previously on BnHA: Deku was all “[powers up like whoa because it’s time to end the fight]”, and he saved Overhaul from getting not-shot, and then smashed up Nagant’s arm with the power of his new rechargeable super knees. Nagant was all “yoooo this kid is crazy strong whaaaat, it’s like he’s some kind of protagonist or something.” Deku was all “I AM A PROTAGONIST, ACTUALLY, DO YOU WANT TO JOIN FORCES AND FIGHT BAD GUYS WITH ME?” Nagant was all “ah shit why the hell no -- ” and then AFO was all “SURPRISE” and everyone was all “?!?!?!” and AFO was all “TIME TO EXPLODE NOW” and made Nagant explode because he’s an absolute fucking dick. And then Hawks showed up, because Horikoshi just wanted to stuff as many plot points as humanly possible into a single chapter I guess.

Today on BnHA: Hawks is all “good job giving motivational shounen redemption speeches Deku but I’ll take it from here” and screams very earnestly right in Nagant’s face until she finally wakes up. Nagant is all “oh hey it’s my successor, you seem surprisingly unfucked-up from your own HPSC tenure, how did you manage that?” Hawks is all “fandom is going to love hearing this one, but basically it’s because I’m very upbeat and also I had the world’s best role model Endeavor to look up to,” and I swear this man stirs the pot on purpose, but damn it I still love him so damn much. Overhaul is all “HELLO AGAIN, JUST A REMINDER THAT, THE BOSS!!” and Deku is all “MAYBE TAKE TWO SECONDS TO REFLECT ON HOW YOU TORTURED A LITTLE GIRL,” which, thank you, lol. Nagant is all “btw AFO’s hiding in a house in the woods”, and so Deku and the gang go to the house in the woods. Video recording!AFO is all “hi I’m AFO welcome to Jackass” and blows up the house. Sometimes I wonder if this manga is just a weird dream.

I am once again reading the Bean version because I think it was actually the best out of all three translations last week. and that is surprisingly including Viz’s. “faux” is not nearly as entertaining as “knockoff”, and also I have literally no idea why Caleb thought Deku was saying the Third’s lines lol

oh hey, Endeavor’s here too! not that you’d ever be able to tell from this first panel lmao

glad you received All Might’s call, mysterious unidentified glowing smudge

oh snap he says he’s weaker in the rain. is that why AFO told Nagant to attack then?? except that as we discussed the other day, I believe that AFO fully intended for Nagant to lose the fight, so him giving her info that would give her an advantage doesn’t really fit in with that. maybe he wanted Deku to be separated from Endeavor and the rest for maximum angst, though

btw Deku’s eyes are unsurprisingly back to the new normal here

alas, the angst continues. I say, pretending like I’m not totally eating it up each and every week and writing essay after essay about it lol

anyway so apparently Hawks can’t actually fly lmao. he was just yeeting himself with style

for some reason this is the funniest fucking thing I’ve ever seen omfg. wave to Hawks, kids! say “bye, Hawks!”

j/k of course Deku is catching them. -- except???

wow so he was just running on fumes there at the end. well, good to know there is actually a limit to his shenanigans, particularly regarding this new “knockoff” 100% OFA. it will definitely not alleviate any of the discourse, but it’s good for my own peace of mind because it’s solid confirmation that he still needs his pals in order to win this thing

anyway, but on to the rest of this conversation, which is basically Deku deducing what we all deduced last week -- AFO implanted some sort of trap into Nagant when he gave her Air Walk. though I’d still like to get the actual details from AFO and/or Horikoshi, because this was particularly wild even by quirk standards lol

omgggggg

she still has a face after all!! so it’s confirmed, Horikoshi has no idea what “blowing up” actually means. we might have guessed, based on what happened to Toga in the MVA arc, and also based on everything Katsuki does ever, but shhh

so now Hawks is all “NAGANT PLEASE WAKE UP, IF I SHOUT MY NAME AT YOU WILL THAT DO THE TRICK”

this is actually kind of touching though because even though we all know (or most of us acknowledge at any rate) that Hawks is a pretty caring person, it’s rare to see him actually panic over someone’s welfare like this

oh shit Horikoshi is really doubling down on it

I wonder how much Hawks knew about what really happened between Nagant and the HPSC. regardless, he probably sees her as a kindred spirit of sorts, and I’m more than happy for Deku to pass the redemption torch onto him now that he’s on the scene. like no offense Deku but they actually know each other and stuff lol

DAMMIT NAGANT CAN’T YOU SEE HOW LOUD HE IS YELLING

apparently being freed from his HPSC shackles has finally given Hawks the space to embrace his own inner shounen protagonist. is there anything more shounen than trying to motivationally scream someone awake when they’re lying in your arms inches from death?? 100% guaranteed to work

!!! IS THIS NAGANT’S POV OMG

SO SHE IS ALIVE. THANK GOD. Horikoshi doesn’t want to meet with my emotional distress lawyer today after all

love how she’s all “just gonna stir up the weekly Hawks Discourse pot here by implying that he probably committed a lot of Atrocities just like I did, so now people can get all hopped up about that, even though there’s no evidence he’s ever killed anyone aside from that one horrible ‘damned-if-you-do...’ situation with Twice.” no one asked for your provocative speculation young lady!! trust me Nagant, our rabbles don’t need the rousing lol

but nice save there with the “so how are your eyes so untainted” well you see it’s because even when he was following the HPSC’s orders he always went to great lengths never to go against his own moral compass. which just to be clear was incredibly difficult, and led to a ton of pain and suffering on his part, because the life of a spy is basically just one impossible situation after another. but in spite of that he never stopped trying to do his best to help people. I don’t really know where this tangent came from or is leading to, lol, but anyway p.s.a. I love Hawks a lot and he’s a good kid dammit

oh shit??!?

how is the League always able to swing all these fancy forest mansions. where do they find them. how many do they have

so Deku’s dropping them -- very roughly, not sure if he was reacting to finally getting AFO’s location, or if his energy really is giving out -- and now Nagant’s saying that AFO hired other villains as well. well of course he did. gotta keep chipping away at OFA’s ninth successor little by little

now Nagant is asking Hawks how he’s able to keep making “that” face. I assume she’s again talking about the fact that he somehow didn’t let the HPSC wear down his spirit

oh my god???

thanks for stuffing this chapter to the brim with good nutritional Hawks Feels, Horikoshi. what a good. he just keeps on trudging forward undeterred no matter what bullshit comes his way. what a steadfast little guy. I WILL PROTECT YOU FROM DISCOURSE MY SWEET SUNSHINE

lmaoooo

“SPOTTED THIS DUDE JUST CHILLING OUT THERE ON THE ROOF WITH NO ARMS, SEEMED PRETTY SUS” good job Endeavor

anyway so you don’t really need me to tell you that Overhaul is immediately starting in with the “BUT THE BOSS WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE ME TO THE BOSS YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD TAKE ME TO THE BOSS” stuff again. but I will go ahead and tell you anyway. so yeah. he’s doing that

OMG YOU GUYS LOOK AT DEKU’S “of all the fucking assholes to just randomly drop in on my life once again why did it have to be you” FACE THOUGH, OMG

fun fact, if you go back to chapters 124 through 160, there was an entire story arc where Overhaul imprisoned and tortured a little girl. yeah, I know!! suuuuuuuuper evil. anyways just an interesting little anecdote for you all that’s somewhat relevant to the current situation

OMG, YES. FUCK YES, DEKU

THEN WHAT ABOUT SPARING ONE FOR HER!!! YES!!! EXACTLY!!! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, SOMEONE GETS IT

HERE’S THE PANEL OF DEKU SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING I’M SAYING LOL

(ETA: so apparently there’s some discourse about this because some people are interpreting this as Deku saying “you should apologize to Eri”, which would obviously be a terrible idea even if Overhaul actually wanted to do that, because Eri shouldn’t ever have to see him again. however I just want to point out that there is a HUGE difference between saying “it would be nice if you could direct that feeling of regret/being sorry towards Eri as well”, vs saying “you should also apologize to her.” all Deku is doing is rightfully pointing out that Overhaul has hurt way more people than just his boss, and if he really is remorseful, then he should extend those feelings of remorse to Eri and the rest as well. it’s not a directive to take any specific action, and I’m 1000% sure no one at U.A. would let Overhaul within 100 miles of Eri ever again.

tl;dr “try feeling remorse sometime” =/= “do you want me to fly you over to U.A. right now to surprise the little girl you traumatized”, lol.)

[slings an arm around Deku’s shoulders] you’re a good kid. I like you. I don’t know if I tell you that enough, but it’s true

meanwhile here is Overhaul’s “spare... a thought... for Eri...???????” face sigh

the struggle is real y’all

(ETA: and that’s... the last we ever saw of Overhaul, I guess? well all right then. I assume Deku will make good on his promise, so we know he’ll get that little bit of closure before going back to jail or whatever, and I confess I’m more than fine with leaving the rest of it open-ended, especially given his character’s history. I think this was pretty generous all things considered.)

lmao holy shit

All Might what did you do to those tiki torch guys?? did you thrash them. did you give ‘em those hands. did you deliver their own asses to them complete with a sticker reminding them Amazon Prime Day is on June 21. we missed out goddammit

so Endeavor, who wasn’t the one he was asking, is telling him that they captured (well let’s be real, Deku captured, give the credit where it’s due) Nagant and Overhaul. and so I guess they’re going to take Nagant to the ER now

fire is no one’s weakness

-- oh my GOD I scrolled down and audibly gasped

[is politely but firmly approached and asked to remove my arm from Deku’s shoulder by the physical manifestation of all this Dekuangst] “we’re sorry, he’s not allowed to have visitors right now” oh shit, my bad. [goes to stand behind a police barricade]

lmao what. did you run out of room on the previous page

what an exaggerated fade to black lmao

-- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I actually can’t see what he’s reacting to so maybe I’m just seriously jumping the gun here lol, but THE HELL WITH IT. the next panel appears to be a cut to Haibori Forest, so I’m just gonna go ahead and declare that Deku ran off on his own all wounded to go have more Dekuangst, just like I manifested. now go call Katsuki goddammit

[scrolls three more inches down] oh

yeah so like I said, Deku is walking very slowly a few feet in front of Endeavor, who’s telling him to wait up. yep. we’ve all gotta be so careful to not just jump to conclusions. I know we’re excited but still

anyway, so! welcome back to Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods (ARE YOU GUYS DATING) and Edgeshot! have fun walking into this obvious trap lol

dammit Deku why are you so determined to tempt fate

[monkey puppet meme faces]

OH MY GOD THIS IS PURE GRADE-A CHEESY COMIC BOOK VILLAIN 101 SHIT AND I’M HERE FOR IT

that’s such a weird way of clapping who claps like that

unlike certain other people who shan’t be named, AFO doesn’t feel the need to inexplicably take his shirt off when recording sinister villain monologues. I think we’re all pretty grateful for that

high fives to everyone who called it!! yep yep

anyway so this whole scene has major booby-trap vibes, which I’m enjoying immensely even though I don’t think anything is really going to come of it lol. probably just another long-winded AFO Speech. but wouldn’t it be funny if like the ceiling started lowering down to try and squish Deku afterwards lol

(ETA: well the explosion was still pretty funny too ngl.)

ffff

[“Dekuangst is the trap” intensifies]

anyway so yeah. he’s just hitting up all of his usual villain talking points. we get it, you’re so smart and you see right through the thin veneers of society and people who don’t conform are left to fend for themselves and labeled as villains and history is written by the victors, and blah blah blah dude are you just jumping randomly from one soundbyte to another lol. literally what are you talking about. what does this have to do with you blowing up Nagant

-- holy shit??

[”Dekuangst is the trap” intensifies MORE?????]

LOL WHAT

BRO. WHAT IS WITH YOU. DON’T YOU KNOW HOW TO LAY ANY OTHER KIND OF FUCKING TRAP GOOD LORD

“YOU’RE NEXT” THE CALLBACK?? THE PARALLELS?? THOUGH WHEN ALL MIGHT POINTED HE MADE IT LOOK WAY COOLER. AFO’S POINTING JUST LOOKS LIKE SMOKEY THE BEAR

HAS ANYONE CHECKED IN ON KAMUI WOODS I HEAR HE IS WEAK TO FIRE?? THE ONLY ONE WHO IS, APPARENTLY

r.i.p. to this particular forest mansion. don’t worry they have a ton of backups

remember last week when I said maybe AFO thinks explosions are gauche. well never mind. he fucking loves explosions

anyway so that’s the end of BnHA, everyone. hope you enjoyed. it was a good ride while it lasted. see you all, good luck in your travels

[gayteensupreme]

The Batman - Spoiler/Free Review

Alright. First part of this review is gonna be spoiler free and the second part is going to go more in-depth and yes, that means MAJOR spoilers for The Batman (2022). Don't click the Read More if you're wanting to go see it and don't wish to be spoiled. Anyway, let's carry on.

The Batman (2022) - 4/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⬛

The Batman is, in my opinion, the best live-action interpretation of Batman out of them all. The Christopher Nolan trilogy comes in at a close second, but even that didn't enthrall me nearly as much as this film. The characters are fresh, re-defined and unique - something that has been sorely lacking in a lot of superhero movies, especially other DC properties. In fact, I'm not even sure it's fair to boil The Batman down to just a superhero movie. It is a superhero movie, but that's not all it is.

The Batman gives us one of the best and most unique looks at the character of Bruce Wayne to date. This whole movie is not just about Batman saving Gotham, it's about Bruce Wayne saving himself.

With The Batman, we get a look at a period of Batman's career that is not usually very exposed in the other films. It's not the very beginning, but Bruce is still very new to the vigilante game - which opens up the character to make interesting choices and also opens opportunities to watch him grow into a sturdier Batman.

Not only that, but Zoë Kravitz's performance as Catwoman is deep, emotional, and thrilling. Going into too much detail about her Catwoman will no doubt lead to spoilers, so I'll save that for later - but rest assured it is an excellent performance.

And of course how can I review The Batman without talking about Paul Dano's electrifying performance as The Riddler. If Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is an impressive re-imagining, then Dano's Riddler is practically a new character entirely. His performance is genuinely terrifying and adds a significant edge to the Riddler not seen before - without going over-the-top with darkness.

To conclude the spoiler-free portion of this review, I will say that the soundtrack of this movie is absolutely astounding, and I believe Nirvana's "Something In The Way" will go down as one of the most iconic Batman songs, along with just being an iconic song in its own right.

Now, onto the part of the review that basically spoils the entire movie.

Bruce Wayne/Batman

Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is incredible, and importantly, fresh. Gone are the days of billionaire playboy philanthropist, always in the public eye Bruce Wayne - Bruce is imagined in this story as a total recluse - who spends most of his time obsessing over his role as Batman as a way to cope with his traumatic past. Not only is Pattinson's performance stunningly fresh, but so is the costuming and styling of this Bruce. His hair is greasy, he mostly wears plain T-Shirts while inside his house - his appearance and personality cement this Bruce as someone who puts the "Goth" in "Gotham".

His character growth over the course of the film is also great, and him grappling with "the sins of his father" is a genuinely great inner emotional turmoil .

Also, his Batman totally kicks fucking ass.

Alfred Pennyworth

Andy Serkis does an incredible job as an Alfred who takes care of Bruce but is still not quite the father figure of previous iterations. This Alfred pretty much runs Wayne Enterprises in lieu of Bruce, who is usually busy beating up street thugs while dressed as a flying rodent - but this Alfred is still one who cares deeply for Bruce's wellbeing.

Selina Kyle/Catwoman

Zoë Kravitz gives an incredible performance as Catwoman. She gives a depth to the character that honestly I haven't seen much of in other iterations. With an in-depth backstory ripe with tragedy and misfortune, she will definitely go down as one of the best Catwomen of all time. The twist of her father being Carmine Falcone gives her a great emotional motivation for her characters actions, and gives her a great dynamic of what she wants vs what she needs.

Furthermore, this film is the only Batman film so far that's managed to actually sell me on the Batman/Catwoman romance. It just always felt like some level of depth and vulnerability was missing from previous iterations.

Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin

I honestly didn't know what to expect when I heard Colin Farrell was cast as the Penguin, even after promo photos of his makeup were revealed. He's Irish, for a start, and the Penguin definitely isn't, so I was wondering what he was going to sound like.

Farrell, luckily, managed to give a good voice to the Penguin - a fairly standard New York/mobster accent but one that still fitted the character uniquely in the film.

Furthermore, his performance is great. Farrell gives a great performance in every scene as a Penguin who's only just beginning to find some major footing in the Gotham underworld.

Carmine Falcone

Nobody fucks with the Jesus! And nobody fucks with Carmine Falcone either! With a performance by John Turturro that in my opinion brings Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone to mind, Carmine Falcone is the seedy yet high-class gangster that Gotham needs to be a truly gritty, crime-ridden city. I'm so glad that we finally have Carmine Falcone playing a big part in a live-action Batman movie.

(and yes, I know, a Big Lebowski reference? In 2022? That's just who I am unfortunately.)

Edward Nashton/The Riddler

Paul Dano's performance as The Riddler is by far the most electrifying performance in this movie, and one of the most electrifying performances in a comic book movie I've ever seen - his Riddler is perfect amounts calculating, energetic, demented and criminally insane.

Both his performance, his costuming, and the plot drive new life into the heart of this villain who has mostly been written off as a total joke. (For example, Batman Returns). And speaking of jokes...

The Joker

Alright - I'll admit this character has less than 5 minutes of screen time and is largely unimportant to the plot but - it's the fucking Joker. I can't not talk about him.

I can tell you with certainty that I was absolutely fucking frozen with excitement when I saw him on screen - when I first heard Barry Keoghan that whispery yet strong voice and that zoom in on the upper half of his face through the cell door.

I'll admit part of me does agree that there might be a little too much Joker in Batman movies, but you know what? I'm gonna trust Matt Reeves on this one. I think he knows what he's doing, and I trust Barry Keoghan to deliver a great performance when his time comes - maybe not in The Batman 2, but there will certainly be a time for him.

Anyway, onto the plot of the movie as a whole.

The Plot

I love the plot of this movie. The Riddler's plan is something I genuinely did not see coming - when Batman realised that he was going to blow up the city and send his followers onto the streets with guns, I was just as shocked as he was. It was brilliant.

I love how all the characters connect and interact in this world. It's great. It feels so natural and real - it establishes Gotham as it's own city, with the grittiness and infestation of crime feeling genuinely believable.

The twist with Falcone being Selina's father was genuinely good, and I did not see it coming. The twist with Thomas Wayne having a reporter killed? Masterful. It shows the Waynes in a whole new light - and really cements how much of a cesspool Gotham city is. Sure, as Alfred remarks in hospital, Thomas didn't order his death directly, and he did it to protect his wife's image - but ultimately he still dealt with mobsters, and he should have known that mobsters have awfully quick trigger fingers. It shows that no figure in Gotham city is untainted - the reach of crime and corruption is everywhere.

The climax - with the Riddler goons descending on Gotham Square Gardens, armed to the teeth, was genuinely suspenseful. That scene could have been an absolute bloodbath.

Speaking of suspense, and turning the clock back a bit - when Alfred gets blown up. Now that was suspense on so many levels. First, you assumed that Bruce was rushing to Wayne Manor at the same time Alfred was opening the package with the bomb, an extremely suspenseful sequence - then the reveal it happened an hour ago is devastating. Now the suspense is - what happened to Alfred?

To be honest, I actually seriously considered he could have died at the time, which I found - unusual. Usually, I'd think something like "Ah, Alfred is too important to Batman's story, he can't die!"

But the storytelling on this one was just so masterful I genuinely considered he could have died - although I am extremely glad he didn't.

In conclusion, The Batman is a masterful adaptation of the Batman mythos into a gritty, realistic setting that I feel is well-balanced and not too over-the-top.

I am looking forward to the sequel immensely.

[thatmidnightkid]

ok ok i have THOUGYTS on this because. remember the end of the couples’ therapy scene with Sam (a whole different kettle of fish by the way)? Bucky asks her what rule number 2 is. and instead of repeating rule number 2 with the wording we’ve been given so far every time it came up “nobody gets hurt”, she tells him it’s “don’t hurt anyone”. I loved that line and it killed me and solidified my absolute love of this extremely dysfunctional therapy dynamic and my absolute dislike of Dr Raynor as a character (not necessarily that she was written like that, although again, different kettle of fish).

What I love about it is both the implications of that line and the implications it leads me to have about Bucky as a character in tfatws. His whole thing in the series is him trying to make amends, right? As many more eloquent people before me have pointed out and elaborated, no one in his life is telling him that he should not have to because it’s not his fault. My guy was brainwashed. Anyway, as this meta has pointed out, Dr Raynor does not point this out to him either (at least for when we see them) which contributes to their extremely dysfunctional dynamic. The entirety of this making amends arc highlights how warped Bucky’s own self understanding is and while he does improve a little bit on that front through his relationship with Sam and him being reframed in a positive light (even so far as that Karli points out they have to give him something to save to get him off their asses which is incredibly hero coded as opposed to antihero/villain coded) specifically in regards to the GRC/Flagsmashers final showdown situation, it gets shaken by Zemo’s general existence and taunting, by the involuntary removal of his arm that he didn’t know about was even possible (side note this is also one of my fav scenes that i could probably write an essay about) and by Dr Raynor with this line.

Because “don’t hurt anyone” and “no one gets hurt” in this context differ in only two factors. One; the latter also includes Bucky getting hurt himself, whether self inflicted, accidental or due to other people, be that physical or emotional. Two; in the latter, Bucky is not necessarily the aggressor. In the second, he necessarily always is and his own feelings are dismissed entirely because of it. And it seems to solidify this self understanding that Bucky (mistakenly) carries, of himself as an aggressor, as the one who initiates and inflicts hurt on other people. For Dr Raynor, who, as a therapist should always be in their patients corner (to a certain extent depending on the client and the circumstances, professionals please don’t come for me), to almost disregard Bucky’s feelings and on top of that confirm this flawed, false and trauma-borne self image is shattering and horrible. And she does it in an off hand comment, something that has presumably been discussed between the two of them as a rule hanging over Bucky’s head as “nobody gets hurt”. It leaves the implication open that this is what she always thought of as rule number 2, with all the implications that come with it, and leave Bucky with another person not in his corner. I think this plus the removal of his arm by the Dora Milaje (which you absolutely can interpret as a safety should he ever turn against them given the circumstances in which he was given the arm + the fact he prefers to see his arm as the weapon that makes him deadly, not his super soldier existence because it makes him violently uncomfortable as this meta points out) highlights the ways in which Bucky understands himself to be dangerous first and foremost, and as someone who cannot be trusted. (This all on top of the fact that the arm should be prosthetic more than anything because the Hydra arm certainly wasn’t, but, you know. Bucky’s feelings don’t matter.)

I would argue tfatws shows Bucky at his worst mentally.

There are hints of his genuine conviction of these trauma-borne beliefs all over tfatws, and sometimes he leans into it to get away with quite frankly reckless behaviour to the point he almost embraces it (“i am crazy”) but he also shows signs that he knows it can’t be the entire truth. The aforementioned dialogue between himself and Dr Raynor is no exception, and this will certainly depend on your interpretation of Sebastian Stan’s acting, but his face is so resigned and tired when he says goodbye because he’s so fucking done. It’s Bucky being done with Dr Raynor, really. I see him like that in any case. If he doesn’t see the subtlety in the false repetition (or the true meaning if you wanna go darker) he certainly feels as if Dr Raynor has just pushed him into deeply, deeply hurting one of the closest people he has to a friend right now. He’s also certainly been hurt by this entire interaction and by the events leading up to it, and they go completely unacknowledged. “don’t hurt anyone” takes Bucky’s own feelings completely out of the equation as something that fundamentally doesn’t matter, because it’s irrelevant toward Bucky making amends because that’s all that really matters to the people who pardoned him, and Dr Raynor by extension if you want to go there. After implying all of that with one single line, how can you still think this person has your best interest at heart? It confirms the belief that Bucky is an aggressor, Bucky is the one to hurt people, his own feelings and desires do not matter and good writing will pick up on it and bring this arc to a close properly post tfatws.

It pains me to see Bucky like this, but if it’s intentional, it’s beautiful and brilliant writing. I do hope he gets a proper arc to work through the fact that fundamentally he’s a victim first and foremost, because otherwise Ill need a hell of a justification as to why no one fucking sits him down (like the way it happens with other characters in the mcu, it’s not an mcu problem) and tells him he has to stop with that part of his life. It’s over, it’s done, and he’s done the most he can when he didn’t even need to in the first place. If they use this making amends arc to highlight how it’s borne out of Bucky fundamentally being driven by things that could only be classified as good if you wanted to classify them (i’m struggling for the right vocab here, please help me out lol) then i’m actually strangely cool with it. If not…. imma need marvel to justify that. Although given how they’ve yet to justify endgame!Steve….

so random thought, also TW for suicide.

once again bringing up the article where Dr. Raynors actress said Bucky’s therapy was important bc her character was working to keep Bucky from killing himself. I wonder if when they were making the three rules, if they ever talked about rule number 2 including himself. Like when she gave him the rule “don’t hurt anyone”, she pointed out that also meant he couldn’t hurt himself.

[andypantsx3]

statistically significant | 1 | bakugou/reader

length: 23,490 words | 7 chapters

summary: You’re the scientist who developed a neural net to model the value of assists. Now that your work is feeding into the hero rankings, pro hero Ground Zero has a bone to pick with your results.

tags: romance, enemies to lovers, sexual tension, reader-insert

warnings: aged up characters, eventual smut, m/f threats of violence, problematic behavior

note: I cannot overemphasize that this interpretation of Bakugou is based on season 1 Bakugou, which means he behaves very questionably at the beginning. Please heed the warnings!

Last year

You had been ferreting snacks out of the Hero Awards when he found you.

In retrospect, the whole idea of attending the Hero Awards had been a bad one from the get go. You’d just been so thrilled by the image of it in your head--getting to see all your favorite pros gathered in one place, dressed to the nines, celebrating their rankings, their wins, their saves, their successes. You’d pictured yourself flitting between heroes, collecting autographs and taking selfies, sitting down at a table with big names like Uravity and Froppy, making fast friends over the complimentary champagne.

But then you’d seen what really went into preparing for and attending an event like this, and the shine had quickly rubbed off.

When your boss at the Commission had extended you the invite, she’d told you that you would be representing the organization, and had advised you to contract a makeup artist and find someone willing to dress you. Her tone had strongly implied that this was more of an order than a suggestion. So you’d done it, but nobody had told you exactly how many hours went into getting your makeup tested, getting fitted and refitted for a dress, and fielding questions on cut, colors, fabrics, and fit.

By the time the Awards rolled around, you’d lost upwards of forty excruciating hours of your life to preparations, and had developed some kind of anxiety-induced Pavlovian response to the modiste’s name on your phone screen, where you immediately wanted to leap into the nearest storage closet and hide. And none of this was even counting the five full hours you spent on the day of the awards getting primped and polished within an inch of your life, then stuffed into some ridiculous scrap of fabric that threatened to fall off of you if you so much as breathed wrong.

By the time the stylists and makeup artist had finished with you, you were starved, cranky, and nursing a small migraine from how enthusiastic the hairdresser had been with you. You’d thought, though, that you would finally be able to enjoy yourself now that the worst was over. All there was left was to attend the ceremony, and get to see all your favorite heroes.

And for an hour or two, the Hero Awards had been just as cool as expected. You lingered on the fringes of the red carpet, gawking as pros like Chargebolt and Pinky swanned their way down the walkway, looking even cooler in real life than they looked on TV. Everyone had clearly gone all out, and they looked unbelievably good, either inhumanly beautiful or inhumanly intimidating. You had been utterly transfixed, as evidenced by the inordinate amount of time you spent accidentally staring at Todoroki Shouto as he gave an interview to the side of the walkway, looking absolutely unreal as he leaned over to speak to the reporter.

When you’d finally managed to snap out of your trance, you’d remembered to cut a beeline for the snack table, and had set about stuffing as many snacks into your dress as you could manage. And that’s where the trouble really started.

The invite to the Awards had come with the option for a very fancy multi-course dinner that you could have chosen. Instead, you’d taken one look at the price and laughed yourself sick, before resolving to sneak a bunch of the free snacks into your dress to keep you occupied during the ceremony. The problem was, the scrap of fabric the modiste had insisted was a dress was so obnoxiously flimsy and could only hold so many snacks.

If your dress had been able to hold a reasonable number of snacks, you wouldn’t have needed to sneak back out to the snack table during the presentation, and he would have never had a chance to catch you on your own. But the dress was lacking snack utility, and so you had gone back out for more.

You kept low in the aisle as you crept out of the darkened theater, keeping a hand over your chest so you didn’t spill out of the thin fabric of your dress, and emerged into the reception hall, where you were almost blinded by the harsh light. You stood for a minute, blinking the spots out of your vision, and touched a hand to your eyes, careful not to smear any of your eyeliner.

And that’s when he struck.

Almost as soon as you raised your hand, a rough hand seized your wrist, wrenching your arm down. A heavy arm went around you quickly, trapping both your arms to your sides, and you barely had time to let out a squeak before a calloused hand clapped over your mouth. Your feet left the floor, and then you were being dragged through a side door into the stairwell.

You twisted wildly, kicking out, trying to catch the wall or the railing to push off of and throw your assailant off balance, but he was strong, and clearly well-versed in combat, as he kept you well away from anything you could use to your advantage. He hauled you out into the stairwell, but instead of heading down the stairs, he moved towards the corner. To your surprise, he tossed you unceremoniously against the wall, letting you go.

You caught yourself on the rough stone and whirled around, only to reel back in shock when you caught sight of your assailant.

Bakugou Katsuki, perhaps better known as pro hero Ground Zero, leaned over you, trapping you against the wall with an arm on either side of you. He, like all the other heroes you’d caught sight of today, looked almost unreal in person, but in stark contrast to all the others, his handsome face was twisted up in unmistakeable fury, blood-red eyes bright with violence and white teeth bared in a silent snarl. Even under the thick fabric of his suit, you could see the hard lines of his body were taught with aggression, and it was all you could do to not shrink back against the cold stone of the wall.

“So,” he snarled, leaning in to put his face close to yours, “you’re the fucking statistics nerd.”

You gaped at him, mouth falling open. Your professional title was data scientist, but statistics nerd was a close enough descriptor that you could tell he knew who you were. Your brows went up, wondering why in the world Ground Zero knew you.

“E-excuse me?” you managed. Your brain rapidly kicked into high gear, running through possible reasons why he would know you, what he could possibly want with you.

Bakugou snarled. “What the fuck is your problem with me?”

You stared at him. Problem with him? Other than the fact that he’d just seized you with no warning and dragged you into a stairwell, you had no problem with him. You’d never even met him--what the hell was he talking about?

“Uh, do you maybe have me confused with someone else?” you asked, trying to shift out from under his arm. Maybe there was another data scientist milling around in the crowds that he’d meant to get his hands on instead.

Bakugou’s red eyes narrowed, and he put a hand to your abdomen to press you firmly back to the wall. “Oh no. You’re not getting out of this, you little brat. Fucking fix it.”

You eyed him warily, checking him for signs of a head injury, wandering over his shock of blonde hair and noting the size of his pupils. Maybe Bakugou had been out on assignment just before the Awards, and hadn’t stopped to get his injuries checked out before coming here. A blow to the head would explain why he was behaving so strangely, and asking for weird stuff.

“Fix what?” you asked, frowning when you couldn’t spot the signs of a concussion on him. His gaze seemed all too focused, all too intent. It was nerve-wracking, actually. You’d heard of his reputation for intensity before, but it was one thing to hear it and another entirely to have all that intensity trained on you.

Bakugou bared his teeth and leaned closer. “Your fucking nerd-ass model. Fix it.”

You froze.

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh, this was about the model. You knew his bone to pick with the model.

The entire reason you’d received an invite to the Hero Awards in the first place was because of your work on the model that calculated the hero rankings. The model had existed for years before you had come along, but this year it was different.

You’d been hired a couple months ago by the Public Safety Hero Commission after you’d contacted them with an idea on how to finally calculate the value of field assists. You’d had a rough prototype of a neural network that you’d trained on video of multi-hero operations, tracking the movements of all the heroes on screen, and had developed an algorithm capable of assigning point values to moves that contributed to but did not directly result in a win or a rescue.

The Commission couldn’t get their hands on your work fast enough, and after only a few months refining your neural net, it was hooked into the rankings model, and it had informed not only the choices for Rescue of the Year and Most Valuable Hero this year, but had entirely changed the hero rankings overall.

And Bakugou’s ranking had been very much affected.

Bakugou Katsuki was a hero very unlike the world had ever seen. Anyone could see from his stats alone that he was incredibly driven, supremely powerful, and almost unmatched by any other hero out there. A few years out from UA, he’d already entered the top ten and had been mere breaths away from the top three -- that is, until your model results had been released.

The thing about Bakugou was that he had a higher percentage of fight wins than any hero in recorded history. He came out on top of almost any situation he entered into, and had one of the highest villain capture stats and the highest villain kill stat as compared to any other hero at this point in their career. The problem was, the new model also now took into account assists, as well as applied slightly heavier weights to rescues, and as good as Bakugou was at winning fights, he was almost equally as terrible at helping others.

So when your model had been worked into the Hero Commission’s official ranking calculations, Bakugou had backslid to sit unhappily at rank number eight.

And apparently, he thought this meant you had a personal grudge.

“Okay, I understand you’re upset, but the results are the results,” you said, watching him carefully. “It’s got nothing to do with you personally.”

His expression darkened thunderously, and the hand on your abdomen grew notably hotter, a scent like gunpowder and burnt sugar rising in the stairwell. “Like hell it doesn’t. Fucking fix it.”

Your brow furrowed. How did regular people think models worked? “There’s no ‘fixing it’, Bakugou. That’s just how math works. If you have a problem with how assists and rescues are weighted then you can take it up with the Commission. I just trained the model with their recommendations, and the results are what they are.”

Bakugou apparently registered none of what you were saying. Rough fingers slid to your jaw, tipping your face up to him. “What is it that you wanted, you damn brat? Did you want to see me humiliated? Or maybe you wanted my attention?” His fingers dug into your jaw. “Well now you have it, you fucking harpy, so show me what you wanted with it.”

You gaped at him, unable to help the way your mouth hung open like a fish. Did he think you were blackmailing him? With a fucking statistical model? It was a matter of public record that Bakugou was smart--he was purportedly one of the brightest minds that had ever graced the profession of hero, with strategic skill and combat sense that was utterly unparalleled--so then why the hell was he being so dumb about this? Was he really so self-absorbed that he thought this whole thing was about him?

Your temper flared, rising like the slow heat that was building under his hands. “I know this might be news to you,” you said slowly, “but not everything is about you. The model I trained takes in video as its input, and calculates rankings based on recommended weighting criteria that the Hero Commission gave me themselves. There is no place for me to input my own biases or change the results, so if the output is something that you’re ashamed of, then maybe you should do better.”

Bakugou’s eyes brightened, narrowing on you with an intensity that made you want to curl into the wall. “Say that again, you little fuck.”

You held your ground, ignoring the dangerous way the scent of hot smoke sharpened, leaning forward to bare your own teeth. “Maybe you should do better, you self-centered asshole.”

You were close enough that you could see his pupils dilate with the challenge, like a predator catching sight of its prey. An unsettling grin made its way across his mouth. “I am going to make you wish you’d never even seen a calculator, you smug fucking nerd,” he said, leaning into you.

The scent of gunpowder burned in the back of your throat, and the hands on you flared alarmingly hot, before the door to the hall burst open, and a whirlwind of red and yellow tore into the stairwell.

“Heya Blasty,” a voice chirped, echoing on the stairs, “Found ya.”

The shock of golden yellow resolved itself into the lean figure of Kaminari Denki, aka pro hero Chargebolt. He quickly made his way to Bakugou’s side, seizing an elbow.

“I’m busy, fuckstick. Fuck off,” Bakugou growled.

A large hand reached over Bakugou’s other shoulder to pull him off you, a head of gelled red spikes materializing behind his back, and you blinked up at Kirishima Eijirou, also known as Red Riot.

“Sorry about him,” Kirishima smiled down at you warmly, in direct contrast to the way his fingers dug into Bakugou’s shoulder. His teeth looked incredibly sharp in person, but this fact somehow failed to detract from the warmth of his friendly expression. You blinked, stunned that you were being addressed by Red Riot.

“He’s been a little worked up since the results were released, but he’s harmless,” Kirishima explained, grunting a little as he jerked Bakugou away from you. Bakugou snarled and turned to his friend, a small volley of sparks lighting off of his palm.

“I said fuck off,” he growled.

You let out a choked laugh at the idea of Bakugou Katsuki being called harmless. Just this week he’d perfected a technique where he melted clean through concrete, and you’d seen the replay of him liquifying the side of a skyscraper on the news this morning as you’d been getting your makeup done.

“Harmless, right. Definitely felt that way,” you uttered as Kirishima struggled to get a grip on Bakugou.

“I’ll fucking show you harmless,” Bakugou spat, turning back to you, sparks crackling louder in his palm. Kirishima seized his chance quickly, getting a bulky arm around Bakugou’s chest and lifting him straight off the ground. Bakugou snarled and gripped Kirishima’s forearm, letting off an explosion that would have blown anyone else’s arm clean off, but Kirishima just laughed, ignoring that the sleeve of his suit had caught fire, and hauled Bakugou back through the door.

A litany of swears filtered back through the door before it swung shut again.

Kaminari turned to face you, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry about that. We didn’t realize he was gonna come after you like that, though I don’t think he would have actually done anything. He’s pretty much all talk.”

You waved a hand, still stunned that Chargebolt was speaking to you.

“Uh, it’s okay,” you said. “I just...didn’t expect that kind of a reaction.”

Kaminari chuckled. “He’s usually a little more chill these days--I think he’s just pissed he’s losing to Midoriya now.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “I gotta say, though, he was even more worked up than I expected when we got here. What did you say to him?”

You grimaced, thinking back on the tense conversation. “That if he was ashamed of his ranking, he should do better.”

Kaminari choked. “Oh fuck, he must have been pissed,” he managed, before dissolving into peals of laughter. “Do better. No wonder he looked like he was gonna give himself a hernia. Mina’s gonna wet herself when I tell her.”

You shifted uncomfortably. “He thinks I altered the results to get his attention.”

Kaminari’s chuckles tapered off as he set a comforting hand on your shoulder. “Oh, he’s just saying that. He knows he’s shit at assists. He’s just salty he’s actually gotta do something about it if he wants to be number one.”

You thought back to the feeling of that hard body pressing you up against the wall, the disdain that had twisted his handsome face, the burning heat that had built up under his palms. A shiver went down your spine. It had seemed like he was a little more than salty, but if that’s how his friend wanted to put it, then fine.

“Well, thanks for the save anyway,” you said, giving Kaminari a little smile. “I’d definitely give you and Kirishima Rescue of the Year if I was pre-determining my results.”

Kaminari laughed, turning back to the door that Kirishima had dragged Bakugou through. As if on cue, a small boom sent the door swinging open a little. “Speaking of which, I’d better get back to make sure I don’t have to rescue the rescuer.”

He gave you a casual wave, then crossed to the door quickly. He hesitated at the threshold, then peeked back over his shoulder at you.

“By the way,” he said. “You might want to take a look at your dress. I, um, think Bakugou may have gotten a little carried away.”

He disappeared before you could ask what he meant, but a quick glance down clarified soon enough. Right on your abdomen, where Bakugou had pinned you against the wall, lay a scorched cut out, exactly in the shape of one large hand.

Your mouth dropped open in horror.

That fucking dick.

[ducktracy]

What’s your favorite LT scene?

the climax to Baby Bottleneck, 0 question

i’ve posted this scene over and over and over and over and OVER again, but i’ll still jump at every chance i can to shove it in someone’s face HAHA. a link isn’t good enough!!! you deserve to have the magic right in front of you! stare at it, i say!

BUT FOR REAL, i’d say the entire egg scene in particular is my FAVORITE favorite, yet i can’t get myself to crop any of this out because it’s all so excellent. this video’s been in my camera roll since the very first time i watched it in 2019, me being the sentimental sap i am i can’t get myself to delete it 😅

there are a TON of reasons why i love this, but i think the biggest is from association—when i finished watching this short for the first time i was genuinely in a panic because i thought i was Actually Having a Heart Attack, my heart was pounding SO FAST. this was my “i wanna do this” moment, it’s just. GOSH. it leaves me speechless every single time i try to dissect it, which is infuriating because i have so many thoughts about it and can never get them to come out! it leaves me awestruck!

the biggest reason is this scene here, this piece of Rod Scribner animation is my favorite piece of animation in general. is it the best bit of animation to ever exist? probably not, but it’s easily MY favorite. that in conjunction with the orchestral build and resolution chord (which, to my chagrin, hits a LITTLE after Porky lands on his tongue… i tried to rectify it last year for my own personal satisfaction), it gives me CHILLS!

there are a lot of “flaws” so to speak in this scene. layouts are incredibly sparse, if not non-existent, there are confusing jump cuts, the scene can be inarticulate at times (it took me months to figure out that Daffy was mocking Porky’s stutter, and even then i’m STILL not entirely sure of its intent—i always interpreted it as Daffy resorting to mocking Porky since he has no other means of attacking him physically. if ya can’t smack his ass with a piece of wood, might as well hurt him with words instead), odd splices in animation, but the entire scene STILL manages to be SO STRONG in spite (or rather, BECAUSE) of that.

it hinges much more on emotion and adrenaline than “looking pretty”, so to speak—the jump cuts and quick action disorient the audience and allow the adrenaline rush to be stronger, the sparse layouts encourage the action to be front and center so you don’t miss a beat, etc. it’s a very immersive experience that prioritizes the audience and their viewing experience, which is a nice focus to have

i absolutely encourage you to watch this frame by frame, or at least watch it on .25x speed with the sound off and just study every little frame. so many fantastic facial expressions and movements and details from the work of Izzy Ellis, Rod Scribner, Manny Gould and Bill Melendez… all packed in a 1 minute clip!

SEE, i’ve rambled enough here and i’m STILL frustrated that i haven’t put even a TENTH of how i feel about this scene (and this short) into words. i guess that’s what my reviews are for, whenever that day comes, but AAAAH!

a runner up would be the entire opening to The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, from the opening pan of the farm to Daffy socking himself in the face and delving into his Dick Tracy fanboy fantasy (i have about the first half of the opening here). if you haven’t seen either short, i BEG of you to check them out! both these shorts have really changed me HAHA they made me a much more passionate cartoon fan(atic) and i feel that i wouldn’t be where i am today had they not lit that fire under my butt. at the very least OGLE AT THESE SCENES!

[tsarisfanfiction]

Explosive

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort Characters: Gordon, Scott

The erupting volcano was almost sedate compared to the fraying tempers in the danger zone.

For @whumptober-archive’s day 5 “I’ve got red in my ledger” using the prompt broken nose.  Today was tough - I actually started poking at alt. prompts for a while, but they didn’t want to flow, either.  Still, we got somewhere in the end!

The sound of a breaking nose was distinctive.  Cartilage crumpled, bone shattered, and it all combined into a unique symphony that once heard once, was never forgotten again.

Gordon had known that Scott was having trouble with some rescuees; it was hard not to, when their loud and explosive protests had been broadcasting clearly through Scott’s open comm. That was the whole reason he’d left the other part of the danger zone – a small town directly in the path of a leisurely yet unrelenting volcanic eruption – to Virgil and Alan in order to back their big brother up.  Sure, Virgil probably could corral their reluctant rescuees with a combination of his seemingly-eternal patience and sheer bulk, but if Scott’s Commander persona wasn’t getting through, then Gordon wasn’t a fan of throwing Virgil into the mix. Alan wasn’t even a consideration.

He’d recommended himself, John had agreed, and Scott hadn’t even given any indication that he’d heard him over the increasingly-aggressive sounding rescuee, so he went.

Unfortunately, it sounded very much like he hadn’t got there in time.  There was, of course, a chance that Scott had snapped and been the first to lash out, but Gordon was doubtful that that was the case, even if he’d personally prefer it over Scott being the victim.  Scott was good at keeping his temper under control on rescues, provided none of his family were threatened – and as he was alone in his sector of the danger zone, there was no way they were successfully threatening the rest of them. Ergo, the one with the freshly broken nose was Scott, and Gordon was incredibly displeased at that.

They were still shouting, none of their voices tinged with the tell-tale thickness of a broken nose, and the sound of more contact echoed across the comm.

Gordon accelerated a little more, breaking into a risky jog as he closed in on Scott’s location. Ungrateful and difficult rescuees were the worst, especially when they got violent towards his brothers.  Scott could, in theory, handle it – although it was sounding rather like this time he couldn’t – but Kayo was the only other one of his siblings whose self-defence skills were greater than simply passable so Gordon often ended up as some form of defence.

That didn’t mean he liked doing it.  They were there to help people, not fight them.

He slowed his pace again on the final approach, wanting to get a visual on the situation before actually getting involved.  Blue and yellow wasn’t the best for stealth, but if no-one was actively looking for someone else nearby, he could disguise his presence reasonably well.

There were three of them, all yelling loudly.  Smart businessmen in suits, but one was built a lot like Virgil and his face was a similar colour to Thunderbird Three as he roared at Scott.  Gordon’s brother was backed up against a crumbling building that looked like it had been victimised by the warning quakes – another concern to keep an eye on – with one hand cupping his face in a way that made it perfectly clear that he was the one with the broken nose and the other balled into a fist of frustration.

His restraint was admirable; Gordon could tell that his temper was seething, and that the temptation was there to lash out in retaliation, but so far he hadn’t stooped to their level.

Gordon’s job was to make sure he didn’t.

“What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?” he inquired, stepping over some other quake-caused rubble as he made his presence known – still far enough away that they couldn’t just take a swing at him.  “You know, this area is in the path of a whole load of lava and leaving would be a really good idea.”

“We’re not leaving!” the red-faced hulk snarled.  To Gordon’s relief, he turned away from Scott to face him instead.  “Get your fancy machines over here and protect my property.”

One of those, was he? Gordon wished he was surprised, but the arrogant, sharply dressed businessmen almost always cared more for their property than their lives.  It made them incredibly tiring to deal with.

“Sir, that’s a wall of lava bearing down on us,” he pointed out, taking another step closer.  “We can’t stop it, just get everyone out of its path before they end up like the residents of Pompeii.”

And Herculaneum, John’s voice snarked in the back of his head, although John himself was too busy directing Virgil and Alan while keeping an eye on the volcano itself to contribute to the conversation.

Red turned to a rather impressive shade of purple instead.  “I demand that you protect my property,” the man exploded, rather like the erupting volcano itself.  “It’s worth more than you could possibly imagine.”

Considering the Tracys ranked somewhere particularly impressive in the list of richest families in the world, Gordon probably could.  The attending Thunderbirds alone were likely worth more than whatever it was he was trying to protect.  He knew better than to mention that, though.

“That volcano really doesn’t care,” he said instead, which probably wasn’t much better.  Movement behind the men facing him indicated that Scott was doing the smart thing and getting out of his cornered situation, although Gordon wasn’t naïve enough to think that he was being smart enough to leave the confrontation entirely.

“I don’t care what the volcano thinks,” purple-face yelled, lunging forwards.  Gordon had been wondering when he’d snap again.

Already on guard, and not hemmed in against a building with nowhere to go, it was a piece of cake to duck down beneath the flailing arm, watch him overbalance, then grab his wrist and yank him into a submission hold.

“Hey!”  The other men reacted, but Gordon glared at them and they halted in their tracks.

“Look,” he told the struggling man.  “Our job is people, not properties, and we’re not leaving you to die so either you come with us peacefully, or I’ll force you.”  He tightened his grip.  “And we do not appreciate being attacked for trying to save your sorry asses.”

“Gordon!” Scott scolded, although his name came out all mangled thanks to the broken nose. Gordon elected to ignore him.

“There’s nothing International Rescue can do to stop the volcano destroying whatever it wants to destroy,” he continued.  Purple-face gaped breathlessly, while the other two watched.  “So are you going to go to the evac zone willingly, or do I have to force you?”

Scott’s hand clamped down on his own shoulder, but Gordon continued to ignore him in favour of waiting for the answer.

It didn’t take long.

“I’ll go, I’ll go! Let me go and I’ll go right now!”

Like many of their more aggressive encounters, it was all bravado shielding a delicate ego.  Gordon released him and quickly stepped backwards, out of range of any other potential attacks – pushing Scott out of the way as he did – but it seemed that this one actually knew when he was beaten.

A dark look, an under-the-breath grumble that was probably some version of the cliché I’ll get you for this, and the man scarpered.  The other two, who were almost certainly just lackeys, followed hot on his heels, and Gordon watched them go with narrowed eyes.

“Gordon,” Scott repeated again, all nasally and disapproving.  He rolled his eyes – it wasn’t like Scott wouldn’t have done the same or worse had their situations been reversed – before turning to face his big brother.

“How did you let that guy get a hit on you?” he asked, mostly as a distraction and not because he was interested in the answer.  Scott huffed, then winced.

Gordon closed the gap between them and reached for his cheek, carefully prying the concealing hand out of the way so he could see the damage properly.

“Gordon-”

“There’s no-one else left in this sector, Virgil and Alan have the rest of it under control, and that lava’s taking its sweet time approaching,” he reminded him coolly.  “There is plenty of time for me to check you over."  He lay his hand gently on Scott’s cheek, pushing himself up on tip-toe to be closer to eye level.

His nose was going to need re-setting; Gordon could do it right there, but it’d be without painkillers, whereas if they waited until they were back to Thunderbird Two they’d have the full medical compliment, including Virgil.  Blood dripped sluggishly down, crossing Scott’s upper lip and dripping periodically onto his lower, and the classic twin black eyes were already beginning to blossom.

Scott suffered the inspection impatiently, switching his weight from foot to foot and glancing around the danger zone with an angsty air.  Gordon was too used to his big brother’s quirks to be bothered by any of that.

“You’re getting some beautiful shiners,” he declared, swiping away the next dribble of blood with his thumb before releasing Scott’s head.  The look Scott gave him could only be interpreted as thank you, Captain Obvious.  “No light-headedness, double-vision, or any other signs of concussion?”

“I’m fine,” came the muffled, irritated, response.  Gordon suspected he was at least partially annoyed with himself for being jumped in the first place.  “We have an evacuation to finish.”  It came out more like we hab an ebacuadun do binid.

Gordon eyed him critically, well aware that Scott wouldn’t admit to anything if he thought he could just push through it, but concurred.

He changed his mind approximately four seconds later, when Scott stumbled and swayed slightly.

“No light-headedness?” he repeated pointedly, fingers firmly wrapped around his brother’s bicep and holding him upright.

Scott didn’t acknowledge that with a verbal response, but the way he tugged to keep walking was enough for Gordon.

“Change of plan,” he chirped, taking the lead and guiding a somewhat reluctant Scott straight towards Thunderbird Two.  “Virgil and Alan finish off the evac while I give that head of yours a proper scan and we’ll see what’s wrong.  Well, more wrong than usual, I mean.”  He ducked a half-hearted swipe and tightened his grip when Scott threatened to overbalance again.  “John, you get that?”

“F.A.B.,” their perpetually eavesdropping brother agreed, appearing above his wrist.  “Virgil and Alan have been updated and the local authorities informed about the dangerous rescuees.”

“Perfect,” Gordon said. “Hear that, Scott?  You’ve got nothing to do except let me check you over, and I’ve got nothing to do except check you over, so let’s go do that and make sure you didn’t get a concussion.”

“I’m not concussed,” Scott protested thickly.

“Which is exactly what a concussed Scott Tracy would say,” Gordon pointed out.  Scott stumbled again and he graduated from holding his bicep to wrapping his arm around his waist.  “It’s just one measly little scan, Scott.  It won’t bite.”

The glare he got in response to that was almost enough to convince him that Scott was probably fine. Almost.

Gordon chuckled as they approached the large green Thunderbird.  Her module was open, with rescuees milling around concernedly, so he made a beeline straight for the cockpit, Scott in tow.  His brother stumbled again, and Gordon firmly pushed him to sit in one of the passenger seats before retrieving a medscanner.

No concussion, but there was a minor head injury – not including the obvious.  Gordon supressed a growl that would’ve been aimed at people out of earshot regardless, and dabbed lightly at the blood still sluggishly trickling down with a clean gauze.  His brother attempted to take over, or at the least bat him away, but Gordon caught his hand in his and guided it firmly to rest on his lap.

“Let me do it,” he scolded lightly.  “I can actually see where it is.”

It was a pretty feeble reason, admittedly – mirrors existed – but Gordon didn’t particularly care because he had no intentions of passing over the ministrations to anyone else anyway. If he did, he might just cave to the roaring instincts to teach the man – men – responsible a detailed lesson on why no-one hurt Gordon’s brothers.

It was much better for everyone involved if he kept himself busy.

[kouslut]

Kousuke's smile widened when the boy took his hand to shake it, only for it to quickly fall when he realized that his supposedly playful demeanour had fallen entirely flat against the other's... he didn't even know what to call it. An excess of professional seriousness? Straight up iciness? He could tell that there wasn't ill intent behind his words, but, once again- in an attempt at maybe being polite, the guy had once again thrown out words that many other pros would have called management over. Sure, that was because most pros were fucking babies who couldn't handle anything they deemed disrespectful, but- yeah. He could see how it could be unpleasant to be met with a wall in such a way. Luckily for Masahiro, he wasn't the type to complain to the producer about an excess of friendliness and then... his inability to catch on to a joke? And he wasn't the type to take any of it too personally, either, since he hardly took himself seriously to begin with.

Still- he didn't like how this meeting was going, not a single bit. He wasn't used to people reacting in ways he hadn't predicted and gone over in his head already, and he certainly wasn't up for making an ass of himself as a first impression and then have to labouriosly fix his relationship with his co-star, which, he was going to be honest, was pretty fucking important, considering the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with a brat who hated his guts because of a misunderstanding, of all things.

Between the open mention of money in a profession that was, supposedly, vocational and passional, and the obvious ill interpretation of his good will, Kousuke couldn't help his grimace.

"Christ, kid-" he accidentally let out, only to shake his head and retract the hand he's held out to Masahiro to run it through his hair. He tried to start again, though he really had no idea what to say to fix the mess he'd accidentally made. He didn't want to be rude either, so- "I didn't mean to-" he interrupted himself once again, and, with a sigh, he resigned himself to speaking just as he might have outside the studio. "Ah, fuck it, listen up, I genuinely didn't mean anything by what I said- I was taking the piss, it's fine, sorry, or whatever."

He took a sip of his coffee, then tilted his head as he repressed his usual expression of disgust at the taste, trying his best to get his point across. "First of all, unfortunately for us both, I am every bit the hot shit I act like. Second, I don't mind, but the people you meet at the briefing will judge your every move and the way you treat us supposed veterans. Third- for the love of god, don't actually mention needing money," he admittedly rapid-fire spat out, underlining each point with a raise of a finger. Then, on that last point, he stopped to ponder something. And realized at that moment that Setagawa Masahiro was either incredibly stupid and inexperienced, incredibly rude, or genuinely did have a dire need for money. Regardless- "You don't know me and I don't know you- Ohshiba Kousuke, by the way, call me 'fuckface' in private or whatever, as long as it doesn't involve '-sama'- if you let any of those spoiled brats in there hear that you 'need money', your time on this production is going to be hell," he all but laughed. "I don't know what part of show business you've been dealing with, but they can and will consider you subhuman, dumbass."

With a cough to clear his throat, Kousuke put an end to his rant, and raised his head back up to strand straight again. "Ground rules set," he concluded with an easy smile, all too aware that, even if the boy did decide to take offense, he'd have the upper hand. "Let's start over again now, shall we?" And start over he did.

"Masahiro-san! I was overjoyed to hear you got the part! How nice that we should find ourselves working together again."

Had he somehow blundered by trying to call his new co-worker by their first name? He had thought it would put them on equal, friendly footing, but seeing as he didn't actually have friends... maybe he just didn't understand how these things worked? Hesitantly, he reached out to shake his hand, running through all the possible responses he could think of.

"I'm sorry, should I have called you 'Ohshiba-sama' instead? That's what my mother calls you. And, I guess, maybe I was rude the first time we met as I didn't know who you were. I had to dig through mom's magazines to figure it out."

It wasn't like he had time to sit and watch dramas on their tiny television, or even go and see something at the theater. If he had free time, he was working. But, he supposed he could be coming off as rude not knowing who this big star was. Not that he really cared either way. This was about a paycheck, pure and simple. If he could make more money acting than at either of his other jobs, he'd do it to the best of his ability. It didn't mean he suddenly cared about the industry.

When the man mentioned being flattered, Masahiro cocked his head incredulously. "Why would you be flattered? My jobs have nothing to do with you, right? Or am I missing something here?"

Masahiro didn't think he understood this Kousuke Ohshiba at all. During the audition he had been helpful, giving him a bit of a hint as to the overall story. Now he was coming off conceited and arrogant. Which was the actual man behind the actor façade? Would he ever figure it out? Did he even need to? It wasn't as though they would be doing more than working together for the next few months. They weren't suddenly going to become friends or anything, right? He figured he'd just keep his head down, do his work and get paid. It was what he was here for after all.

He wasn't planning to say anything else, he really wasn't, but he couldn't seem to stop the words that flowed out of him next, even as rude as he was sure they were going to sound: "Are you used to your co-stars taking the job just to get to work with you? Do you think that's what I did? Because... I really just need the money. This will probably pay my rent for the next year."

[fonulyn]

So my partner is amazing and let's me ramble about RE to them whenever I want to, and even sat down to watch Vendetta with me when I bought it, so the other day I was like explaining Leon and Chris' characters (bc my partner knows how much I love them both lmao so of course that's what I was talking about), and we have both come to the conclusion that Leon is a bisexual disaster, and Chris is a homosexual. The running joke is that Leon is also just generally a whore, out there living his best life, and Chris is the kind of gay guy who no one expects to be gay bc of stereotypes and his habit of never really talking about himself, but he also was never really in the closet about it, so he's surprised whenever people are surprised to learn that he's gay lolol but in all seriousness Leon is not only bisexual, but he's the type to fall in love easily despite all of his background and trauma related to betrayal, so his heart is almost continually broken, either bc he's betrayed or he loses whoever it is he's found himself in love with (and sometimes both i.e. Krauser, and Ada at the end of RE2), either through death or just leaving bc he knows he can't stay/can't be with whomever. As for Chris, maybe I'm reading into it wrong, but despite all of the like, romantic connotations they try to put into some of his games (which I don't. Really see? Like there was some in the first game with Jill but I just cannot see them together like that, neither seem interested in one another like that. And of course, Jessica, who I can't stand, and who Chris is supposedly totally oblivious to? Like she thinks he didn't notice her flirting in RE revelations, and Parker is like "is it that, or is he maybe interested in someone else?" And the assumption there is that he means Jill, but again, I don't see it? Even in that game! But that line of Parker's always makes me think "yeah, he's more than just interested in someone else, he's playing for a whole nother team entirely!" lmao. And I haven't seen much for 5 but I'm sure it's there between Chris and Sheva, and then for 6 from what I understand there really is hardly any talk of Chris in regards to any women at all? 8 has nothing, as well, and the DLC for 7 is just another "Chris loses his entire team in horrific fashion yet again" side plot, so nothing there either), he never seems interested. He's always focused on the task at hand, not letting emotions get in his way, and like, some could argue that that's why he doesn't show interest or why Capcom doesn't create more romantic lore around him, but if they really wanted to Make Sure he was straight and Make Sure everyone playing these games knew that, I imagine there would be some one line little hints in the games of him talking about how he can't let himself get distracted, or in his line of work there are no happy endings or what have you, but. There's none of that. Bc he isn't forcing himself not to be interested, he isn't purposefully focusing on saving the day so he doesn't have to get hurt knowing he can never have whichever high potential for a dope ass protag female character who's constantly sacrificing herself to save him bc what better purpose could they serve, right Capcom?, he's just. There, doing his job and trying to save whoever he can, not getting distracted in anyway whatsoever by any of the women in his life, romantically at least. He still cares way too much, but it never comes off as romantic to me in pretty much any way. Also the note he leaves in his STARS locker in RE2remake, Claire being like "this doesn't sound like Chris at all!" Is funny to me bc like, I don't really remember so correct me if I'm wrong, but she doesn't elaborate on WHY that note doesn't sound like Chris lmao is it bc he's respectful to women at all times and doesn't ever objectify them, probably hates when other people do? Or is it bc he would never be interested in women in this way ANYWAYS, the man is so gay, he must have left this note so that Claire would know something is Up, bc her brother is Such a homosexual.

Anyways sorry, I just wanted to ramble/get your opinion on this. Over-analysing RE is actually really fun lmao

haha not gonna lie, I opened your ask in the car on the grocery store parking lot and tried to read it on my phone, and gave up squinting at the small screen halfway through :'D now that I'm back at my laptop though, lol, all good :'D

first of all I'm happy you have someone to ramble to even though they aren't into the thing themselves! :D I regularly rant about RE fandom things to my brother haha and he listens patiently although he isn't in the fandom at all, he's only played the games and that's it. but he still listens to my shippy rambles lol.

as for your thoughts? makes sense to me tbh. I definitely headcanon Leon as a bisexual disaster most of the time, because it does seem fitting. maybe it's partly because I think he's absolutely breathtakingly stunning and it'd be a shame to deny anyone that, so, naturally he wouldn't care about such trivial things as gender, pfth, love is love.

also Leon falling in love easily? absolutely. too damn easily. c'mon this is a man who gets attached to anyone who shows him even the tiniest amount of basic kindness in the matter of minutes. he canonically forms attachments with Claire, Ada, Krauser, Helena, Buddy and JD (JD 😭)... whoever else am I forgetting? but this is the guy who meets someone and would die for them five seconds later. so. it tracks.

and you know what, I can 100% see Chris being only into men. because like. I don't see the romance there either when he's interacting with the women in his life? okay, sure, I could imagine something there between him and Jill if pressed seeing the way he so single-mindedly wants to save her and then holds her in the scene after they get that thing off her chest. maybe. but even there it doesn't really feel super romantic to me, personally.

in the first game with Jill there's not... a lot of romance I don't think? sure she falls asleep against his shoulder in the evac helicopter but i mean, i've fallen asleep against a friend like that? not an indication of romance? they're clearly important to each other! i am not trying to diminish their importance to one another at all! they'd die for each other and they'd do anything it takes to protect each other and i do think their relationship is compelling but... i don't really see anything inherently romantic in it.

and Jessica, yeah, Chris is 100% oblivious to her advances. it is implied in the game that he's into Jill instead but other than that there's again zero actual romantic interaction between Chris and Jill. I was actually talking about this with my brother, who said the same, like there were so many chances in Revelations to put something romantic in there between Chris and Jill but there just. isn't? anything? except for Parker's comment. which is why it felt so damn out of place? (and like my brother would've wanted to ship Chris and Jill, he was kinda bummed about this i feel :'D) so interpreting it to mean he's not interested in women at all would actually make more sense lmao.

as for RE5, I've played it twice (with my brother lmao do we see a theme here) and honestly I don't remember anything in the game that would've insinuated anything more than solid partnership between Chris and Sheva?? if someone who's more familiar with the game wants to correct me on this, then please! but at least off the bat I can not remember anything so I think they actually didn't try to even hint at romance for them?

and in RE6 Chris is way too focused on killing "Ada" to have any thoughts about anything else :'D so no. no mentions in there regarding him and any women. at all. not even hints of Jill which is so incredibly weird (and stupid tbh) bc she was made to be so important to him in RE5 and then doesn't even get a mention in RE6? (/shakes fist damn you capcom! the characters exist outside the games they're in!)

I think that's pretty much the main difference between Chris and Leon tbh. Chris sees the job at hand, and he knows it'll help, he knows it'll save people and it'll make the world safer and he's so single-mindedly focused on the job that he sees nothing else. while Leon sees people, for the better or for worse, and he is willing to take detours if it helps even one person in the meantime. like in RE6, Leon willingly ignores the task at hand to go help just about anyone. Chris doesn't want to pause even when pressed bc he has an end goal in mind.

and bear in mind, I am not trying to say this somehow makes Leon better or Chris better or anything. they're both doing this to help. they both have their heart in the right place. they both care. but they're just so different! their personalities, and their way of dealing with things is different! I feel Chris is really target oriented and wants to get the job done. while Leon's easily distracted from it, because of all the damn feelings :'D

but yeah. i love them both, and i think it's really damn fascinating how they're both the good guys, the heroes of the franchise, but they both take to things so differently.

i don't know if any of this makes sense, I think i rambled too :'D but hey-o, it was fun lmao.

and hey no need to apologize at all!! always feel free to shoot me a message if you wanna chat!

[ladyhallen]

nebula-n

Either somewhere that is completely normal, like a tea-shop or something that is completely wild, but the two of them treat like normal - like an underground fighting ring, which is just another tuesday for both of them

The case was this: there was a group of people doing a lot of kidnapping. No one knows the criteria but one, that they took strong people.

Harry didn’t like kidnappers or people who forced others in general. It just didn’t sit well with her.

Still, the Kingsley’s plan of, “Be bait,” was actually working. Walking home slowly and taking a lot of back alleys, reading a book and being the picture perfect person of oblivious.

She wasn’t surprised when they took her, but did they have to hit her so hard?

Sitting up, she winced when the ache on her stomach pitched into a throb. Fuck, but that hurt.

Looking around, she noted that it was an actual arena. Gladiator style, with cages upon cages of people and bloodstains on the floor.

People had died here, she realized with no small amount of anger. People had bled here a lot. The floor was a mess of stained blood and everywhere there was the scent of iron, of people still bleeding.

Her cage was shared with a group of other people. Most of them were angry, savagely pacing and occasionally rattling the bars. One man stood out of the entire group.

One, for how calm he was. And two, for how clean he was.

A lot of them had dirt or blood on their person somewhere, but this person…was spotless. He didn’t even have wrinkles on his clothes. He sat with that preternatural stillness of a snake, of a person who was ready to move at any given moment.

Others might have mistaken that posture for relaxation, but Harry had seen Aurors with less polished stances. She knew coiled readiness when she saw it.

Taking her courage and her curiosity at hand, she approached him.

“Excuse me,” she said politely. “Pardon me, but do you know what’s going on?”

He opened his eyes and looked it at her. It was almost like a trick of the light, but his dark eyes flashed red for a second.

“When the sponsors are ready,” he explained in a deep and calm voice. “They’re going to open the cages, and we’re going to fight to death. Whoever impresses the sponsors leaves here alive.”

Fuck.

It was worse than she thought.

Death matches. Underground fighting rings with only one person walking away.

Fuck it, it was actually an underground brawling ring, because she had no illusions that it would be a neat and tidy one on one match.

“Has anyone ever tried to leave?” she asked him, voice just as low and quiet. It wouldn’t do for anyone to hear.

He cocked his head at her. “No. There is something preventing people from leaving. Some sort of net. They can’t attack the sponsors.”

Attack was a very broad term. So many loopholes…

And something was niggling her mind about this person. There was calm and then there was calm. He was too freaking relaxed at the thought of a fight to the death.

Either he was insanely good, or he was planning something.

She tilted her head and considered him thoughtfully. Or maybe both.

“I want in whatever you’ve got,” she decided. “I have to get back to work on Monday. I can’t take too much time in this little holiday.”

He fully opened his eyes and looked at her. It felt like he was looking into her soul.

After a moment, he smiled.

.

.

Fon had gotten caught intentionally and he would bet that the very strong woman with incredible Cloud Flames was the same.

She was angry, focused and very smart. She’d taken one look at him and known he wasn’t there by accident.

He liked her. She reminded him of his old master.

When the cage doors opened, Fon darted out quickly and wasn’t surprised that she kept up with him. Even when he ran up the wall with carefully applied Storm Flames and jumped in to the sponsor balcony, she was right beside him.

The sponsors, the disgusting and vile men who ordered these matches, didn’t even blink. They weren’t afraid.

But honestly, the word attack was ridiculously broad. There were so many ways you could interpret it.

He broke the fancy chairs they were sitting on and then they started to be afraid. One woman started to tremble.

The Cloud caught on, which he knew she would. She darted forward and broke the wristband. It was the only thing identifying a person as a sponsor and it was practically unbreakable. She broke it.

Fon stared for a second, enthralled. What lovely application of Flames. Sure, he could have done it, but Storm Flames were uncontrolled disintegration. He could have accidentally disintegrated the sponsor’s hand just as well as the wristband if he moved that quickly.

“You can’t do this!” the man who had been a sponsor blubbered.

“Sure can,” the Cloud nodded. She tripped him over his ass and tossed him over her shoulder, over the balcony and down to the brawling mass of people. All of whom were no longer brawling, very much aware that something was happening.

Fon settled in front of the door, blocking it and smiling meanly.

Yes, the Cloud was scary but she was a woman. Most of them ran towards her.

The enterprising few who ran towards him were dealt with. He just had to think about targeting the wristbands and not attacking them. Because if he did, he would end up pulling his punches involuntarily.

Eugh, Mist fuckery.

He would have to ask Viper if he had any residues on him later, he didn’t want to think about that sort of order interfering with his jobs.

Fon finished, looked at the Cloud woman having so much fun tossing sponsors over her shoulder after breaking the wristbands.

He felt himself melt a little. She was so bloodthirsty, it was adorable.

When the last sponsor was done being tossed over, she went to him, flushed and smiling with glee. He resisted the urge to stroke her bloodied cheek. It would be inappropriate, he didn’t introduce himself yet.

Oh, but he wanted.

“Ah, I love doing vengeance,” she hissed, looking a bit disheveled. She fixed her hair into a braid and threw it back. “So, where’s the way out?”

He chuckled under his breath. She was so cute. He was willing to bet she was looking for the people who kidnapped her.

“Yes, I memorized the layout,” he said, appreciating the eldritch purple light in her eyes.

.

.

After everything and they were standing under the stars again, the man who’d introduced himself as Fon looked to her and said, “Monday is still four days. Want to come with me for a bit?”

The thing was, Harry shouldn’t. He was a stranger and a dangerous one.

Except, the entire time she was with him, Harry had also never felt happier, or more alive.

Sure, she loved her job and her life, but it had gotten to the point that after the Death Eater’s were hunted down and put away, it had gotten boring.

This man, she thought. He would never be boring.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“It’ll be fun,” he coaxed.

With a smile, Harry nodded and took his hand.

.

.

Harry is a bloodthirsty Cloud Lady here and Fon adores her.

[telehxhtrash]

hii,,,,,,,,,, i know that hunterpedia isnt canon to the storyline but killua and gon literally kissed on it like twice and some ppl INSIST its platonic. like yes,, there can be platonic kisses,, BUT. i do not think after all the work togashi has put into making killua’s feelings towards gon so subtle they would just;; add that in for no reason

Hi anon! I can’t thank you for this ask enough because I was looking for an excuse to make a post about it but couldn’t find one so THANK YOU!!

ok first of all quick parenthesis but i’ve seen so many people say that “even if they kissed it could be platonic” like. funny how that argument is only used for same-gender pairings and people never say a straight kiss is platonic. when you look at it with this mindset, everything can be platonic. kissing, hand holding, sex, marriage. that’s why context and subtext is important, and that’s why togashi is going out of his way to provide us with very emotional scenes (like killua comparing gon to light itself, him saying he wants to commit lovers’ suicide, gon saying that he’s really glad he met killua out of the blue while blushing, and many, many others) to back us up on the fact that if they kissed, it’d definitely be because they’re in love with each other.

OK now onto the real part of my post HAHA

I think it’s extremely telling that both the 1999 and 2011 anime adaptations emphasize on the gay content. 

1999 is........ extremely gay. Like there’s no other words. The “Ohayou” opening and the “Do You Feel Like I Feel” ending have romantic lyrics over visuals that are just. gay. Like. Just look at this. 

i can’t find a version with the RIGHT lyrics but "koibito datari tomodachi de itaikara” literally means “because i want to to be your lover and your friend”

and this ending is just. peak gay. the visuals are gay. and the lyrics are stuff like :

like man. they didnt have to go this hard. those songs were specifically written for hxh btw. like, they didn’t exist before. they were commissioned for the show. just so that’s clear.

Throw in the incredible amount of subtext and gay moments in the show itself, like this for example. 1999 version is drowning in gay subtext.

But why ? You don’t randomly decide to turn an anime gay ?? especially when at the time the anime came out, there was literally no subtext between either Leorio/Kurapika or Killua and Gon. Like, none. 

We talked about it with @/reeeyachi, and I really, really believe that Togashi told them where the story was headed. Like, he straight off the bat told them “these two pairings will be canon by the end of the manga”. Reeya explained that at some point, they had to ask Togashi for his opinion on the plot before animating, so Togashi was definitely involved in the show to some extent (and i also found canon confirmation that he was involved btw, picture below). They probably presented their general idea, and Togashi approved. Which leaves two options : either Togashi found it funny that they interpreted the story as having gay undertones when it has none and let them do whatever they wanted, or he specifically told them straight off the bat that his manga was going to be queer. The first option is highly unlikely to me, considering that in the end, canon material has even more gay subtext than 1999. It only leaves the latter option. That’s the only logical explanation for why 1999 went absolutely crazy with the gay content : Togashi must’ve told them.

And okay, let’s assume that 1999 was a fever dream. Let’s assume that it’s not an accurate representation of the spirit of HxH at all. 

We still got 2011 version, which focuses heavily on Killua and Gon’s relationship, and emphasizes the gay aspect of their relationship too. Not only did the 2011 emphasize the cute heartfelt moments between the both of them, they also added a few moments, like for example that scene on Greed Island where Killua looks at Gon with heart eyes and doesn’t say anything for like 3 seconds because he’s awestruck. (let’s not mention all the times when they made Killua look at Gon with a pure look of love on his face) 

Let’s also throw in Yuzu’s ending songs, especially Nagareboshi Kirari that’s just. A fucking love song. And this song was commissioned for HxH once again, the song uses male pronouns and Yuzu said that they wrote the song after their interpretation of their reading of the Chimera Ant Arc.

And like you said, the Hunterpedias !

I often hear dudebros say that “HxH 2011 was made by shippers and doesn’t represent canon material”. But isn’t it weird that the entire cast of HxH 2011 agreed on emphasizing the gay subtones of HxH ? Like, it’s not just one animator. It’s all the crew that worked on the anime adaptation. From the director to the animators. The majority had to agree to highlight this, it’s not just the decision of one person. 

And that brings me to my last point. I might be talking out of my ass, but I feel like it’s mostly general knowledge in Japan that HxH is queer work. I feel like it’s linked to the cultural subtext that we don’t have but that definitely echoes with the japanese audience and leads them to think that HxH is queer work. I’m mostly thinking about Killua’s story echoing Tanabata, the “Killua ja nakya dame nan da”, the “shinjuu” line, etc. All of these don’t ring the same way to our ears, because we don’t have the cultural upbringing or context. But it makes sense for the japanese audience to hear the word “shinjuu” and immediately realize that “oh, that’s a romantic word. Killua must love Gon”.

I feel like that explains why not one, but the TWO anime adaptations decided to go apeshit with the gay content. It’d explain why “the 2011 anime crew are shippers”, why Yuzu wrote a love song as an ending, why the Hunterpedias feature kisses. 

Either it’s mostly clear for Japanese people that HxH is queer and represents a love story, or Togashi directly told the anime adaptation crew. I personally think it’s a mix of both tbh : Togashi probably never intended to hide that his story was queer from either Shonen Jump or the 1999 crew and probably told them straight off the bat, and the subtext rings louder for Japanese speakers, which emphasizes it even more.

One thing’s certain. You don’t randomly make an anime gay for the sake of being gay. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never heard of any other manga being randomly turned gay in the anime adaptation. 

And at the end of the day, the canon material features a LOT of gay subtones, so I think it truly emphasizes that at least, 1999 version HAD to know where the story was headed, and decided to overplay it because they knew that at the end of the manga they’d be canon. Because Togashi probably let them know.

(man i feel like im a delusional shipper typing this LMFAO - but like thats really my take on it. i definitely think SJ knows that hxh is queer, and i feel like togashi had to let 1999 crew know too. it’d make sense. u don’t pull gay content out of ur ass for the fun of it. especially since there was no gay content at the time, until later where togashi put a shitton of gay subtext -like, 1999 had to know in advance. ++ add all the cultural nuances like i said - itd make sense for japanese people to realize that yes, hxh features a gay love story. to me thats why both the entire crews of 1999 + 2011 are “shippers”) 

[mego42]

fav lines tag

RULES: share your favorite sentence/paragraph from each one of your fics and tag 6 other fic writers to do it too :)

tagged by the talented brilliant incredible @foxmagpie (💖)

tagging: @pynkhues @hypermania @bethsuglywigs @riosnecktattoo @missmaxime @sothischickshe @joeyjoeylee

some ground rules: I’m only doing brio fic bc at some point when I wasn’t paying attention I wrote a metric fuckton of it and we’re already gonna be here all day bc my other ground rule is I’m allowed to interpret the concept of a line however i want. i’m also gonna tell you why i picked them bc no one can stop me. cool? cool. good talk. 

your monster looks like mine

okay so my first choice for fav would be the entire ~conversation around whether or not beth had a choice when she set rio up bc oooof I just love how that came out so! much! BUT if I’m limiting myself to something closer to a line, I’m going with this one. i love what it establishes for rio’s emotional state when it comes to beth, i love how it captures their push/pull constant one upping battle, I love the rhythm of the flow of it and the grandiose verbiage (i was having a frankly unreasonable amount of fun with natural phenomena imagery throughout the whole fic and this captures a bit of it). idk I just think it’s neat.

The words rip through him, a bright, blazing comet trail whipped across his sky, illuminatin’ his landscape, impossible to ignore.

Elizabeth’s spread out on the bed below him, golden hair tumblin’ around her face, mouth red and swollen, lookin’ up at him like she’s got him. Like she’s figured some shit out. Like she fuckin’ did something by putting that together.

Like Rio doesn’t fuckin’ know. Like that doesn’t fuckin’ haunt him, torment him, mock him every time she pulls some of her bullshit and he’s left picking up the pieces, knowin’ damn well what the right answer is but also knowin’ he’s always gonna be wrong when it comes to her.

--

a song inside the halls of the dark

another one where I’d pick a whole scene if I could BUT if  the whole opening flashback isn’t on the table (idk I love it for 14,000 reasons including how it sets up the bookend structure for the chapter, how it sets up a bunch of the final payoffs, the tone of it, idk everything about it came out exactly how I wanted it to and I really love how it tees up the ending), then I’m going with this bit from the final brio scene. it ties back in a whole bunch of threads that have been woven in and out all the way back to the first chapter and closes them out in a way that also feels (to me) like a beginning which I love bc the whole theme of the chapter is it’s a beginning, not the end.

What does it mean then, that he’s slept so soundly beside her?

The playhouse glows softly. She wonders how many more times she can get away with sanding it before it weakens past the point of supporting the kids’ weight and the whole thing collapses.

Behind it, she can see the long shadow it casts reaching for the boxwoods bordering the yard. The lines of the structure frame windows of bright moonlight on the grass, eerily reminiscent of the windows that loomed large in the nightmares Beth abruptly realizes she hasn’t had in weeks. Not since that last night at Rio’s loft. And that’d been the last one since...his car. Canada. The night all of this started.

Beth blinks. What does it mean that she’s slept so soundly beside him?

A-live, alive, alive, I—

Her breath catches.

—

pills’n’potions

I don’t have any grand reasoning for why I picked this bit from the 4th (i think?) ~ch as my fav, I just really like writing annie and rio interacting and I especially love writing them with annie like, intellectually aware that she should probably be afraid of him but also spiritually incapable of not being herself and rio being wildly annoyed by it

"What?" He asks, giving the t an edge sharp enough to cut.

There's a pause. "What like you didn't hear me, or what like what do I want?"

[...]

"Hello?"

Now the sister sounds like she's getting annoyed, and Rio's really gotta do somethin' about the two of them runnin' 'round actin' like he's someone they can get away with not takin' seriously. Like he's some sort of pet. Defanged. Declawed. Fuckin' neutered.

"Get to the point."

"I mean, I kind of did in the message."

—

trade my heart for honey

the only thing sexier than rio being good at pool is beth being a fucking shark and rio being out of control turned on by it.

Dropping all pretense at being less than she is, Beth grabs the cue ball, positioning it slightly to the left of center where the felt is slightly more worn. Even without the tell, she's seen Rio put it there enough times to know it's the table's sweet spot. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Rio shift his weight before she tunes him out entirely, drawing the stick back and letting it fly.

It's as close to a perfect break as she's probably ever managed. The cue ball connects dead on, scattering the rest far and wide. The one and the six drop neatly into pockets, the four and five coming to a stop right on the edge of the left side and far left corner, nearly closing off that whole side of the table.

Every stripe remains in play.

"Solids," she says, not letting herself dwell on the way Rio's mouth hangs slightly open, his eyes glazed over.

—

swaying evergreens

the whole theme of this fic is the terrifying intimacy and vulnerability of sharing your most precious moments and memories with someone you care about and I like how this touches on that along with sort of nutshelling the double edged sword of grief-tinted memory which is another major theme

There's somethin' extra about these unguarded moments. That Elizabeth trusts Rio enough to drop her guard completely and give him this completely unvarnished look at her. It's been over a year since he's been back in her bed, since the first time he'd slept here, but there's still somethin' tentative about it. Like there's a part of him that's never going to be all the way over the first time he'd been here, that can't fully believe how far they've come, that this isn't going to crumble, melt, drain away.

Truthfully, Rio doesn't mind it, that faint edge. He's well acquainted with the different flavors of loss, and the threat of it's a counterpoint that keeps him sharp. Lets him know this is real but not somethin' he'll take for granted.

—

swear on a silver knife

there were a couple of sexy tension bits that made for strong contenders but ultimately this won bc I’m obsessed with how this reference to 306 came out.

“I told you. I got my own debts to pay.” He bit off the words like it cost him something to repeat them.

Beth shivered, abruptly right back at that picnic table, cheeks wet and staring at him, searching for any hint of the man she’d—she’d—anyone besides the cold, unfeeling stranger sitting beside her, blood so fresh on his hands she could nearly smell it underneath the scent of the cold, misty night rain falling around them, blurring her eyes, beading in her hair and on his eyelashes.

—

listening through the air shaft

this was a really hard one to narrow down but I ultimately went with this but bc I love it for a culminating look at how beth and rio’s relationship has evolved throughout the fic and also bc a version of this scene was the first thing I wrote for the whole fic so it was fun to finally get there with everything in place behind it. I also just love it as a reference for the dichotomy of both beth and rio and also how complicated that is makes being around them for everyone else

They aren't even doing anything, just quietly working side by side, but there's a synchronicity to their movements, a quiet peace that makes Dean feel more like an intruder than anything else that's happened today, and he hates it.

It’s so far from the guy that’d broken into his home, beaten him up. Who’d looked at him with those terrifying, blank, shark eyes before casually shooting him in the chest like it was nothing right where they’re about to sit down and share a meal.

A guy, Dean suddenly realizes, he hasn’t seen any hint of in a long, long time. It’s not that he doesn’t think that part of him isn’t there, it’s just...it’s weird, is all, how completely he puts it away.

It reminds Dean of Beth, actually, now that he’s thinking about it.

God. They look so...so domestic. Sweet. Disarming in a way that completely undermines everything Dean thought he'd known about the guy and their whole...thing.  

He just—he doesn't get it, what Beth sees in him.

—

now use both hands

idk I just like this bit let me live

"What are you—what service?"

He makes himself take the route through the showroom that brings him right past her, leaning in and softly brushing a lock of hair out of her face for the first time in longer than he can remember.

Her eyes flutter shut, and he feels absolutely nothing.

"Helping sad, lonely housewives get off once their husbands are done with them."

Her eyes snap open, and he makes himself look at her long enough to watch the hit land and the hurt bloom.

He's empty, untouchable, she's nothing to him.

Rio doesn't look back.

—

I'd give her a HA! And a HI-YA!

you can take my made up backstory for rio and mick from me when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

Mick had been there the first time Rio'd had to get his hands all the way dirty and had kept an eye on him when he'd gotten blackout drunk after, and Rio'd done the same for him. Every bloody, grimy step Rio'd climbed, Mick had been right there with him, watching his back all the way to the top.

The point is Rio's Mick's brother in every way that counts.

Mick'd seen him twisted up over business and twisted up over personal shit, but he's never seen him let both get twisted up like he had since that fuckin' weasel Boomer'd got his ass handed to him and Rio'd gotten curious about it.

—

as the world turns, the blunt burns

I pull this every time I have to pick a fav and I can’t even really explain it aside from I think I’m really, really funny and that’s enough

Beth suddenly sobers as much as she can when she feels like she's simultaneously floating away and sinking into the Earth and wipes her eyes. "Are you gonna get in trouble?"

"You're in the house, ain't you?" He's answering Beth but looking at Rio.

"Mick," Beth frantically tugs at his pant leg because apparently, he doesn't have all of the information. "We're in the yard."

"Yeah, Mick," Rio says, glaring. "You're in the yard."

Mick shrugs, and Beth realizes he isn't scared of Rio at all. That's a neat trick. How does he do that? Maybe he can teach her.

—

smoke, fire, it’s all going up

there are realistically many other better lines in this fic but this one never fails to make me laugh so it remains my fav.

"You- you-" She sputters at him, flailing around a little. "You were the one that started mailing me pieces of a dead body."

"You blocked my number." Rio snarls, which is not what he'd meant to say, and he hates that she trips him up.

"That is not a proportionate response!"

—

got a kiss (with your name on it)

it was this or the text exchange at the beginning of the fic bc I strongly believe established relationship brio would continually roast each other for their past dumbassery but the elizabeth kink won out

"Come here," Rio's voice is thick but insistent in a way that brings every cell of Beth's body to attention. She hooks her thumb over her bottom teeth and drags her lower lip a little, a gesture full of who me mock innocence, waiting for him to say-

"Elizabeth." There it is.

There's an endless amount of things that Beth finds ferociously, irresistibly sexy about Rio, but when he says her full name in that commanding tone? Even if she's pissed the fuck off and has no intention of doing what he wants, it gives her goosebumps.

—

say it’s all in my head (i remember what you said)

I will be real with y’all, I forget I wrote this fic a lot of the time hahahaha but! that means every time I’m reminded I go back and am like oh yeah! I like this! anyway there isn’t like, one specific but I really love most as much as I really like the tentative breathless nervousness and then also overwhelming so muchness and I like how this but captures both of those

For a single, breathless moment, she stands in the middle of the room, alone and terrified.

Then Rio wets his lips and comes towards her, moving with that languid grace she's never been able to look away from even before she had any idea why that could be.

All of the fear collapses like a dying star, sending a supernova of relief and molten heat zinging through her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Her head swims, and every cell in her body feels like it's leaning towards him- like she's made of magnets on a molecular level and he's the lodestone.

He gently pushes her bangs off of her forehead, slowly running his fingertip down the side of her face, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. He tilts his head towards hers and stops, going no further than halfway, leaving it up to her to close the distance.

She lets her eyes fall shut as she leans into him and tentatively touches her mouth to his for the first time.

—

the world is on fire (and no one can save me) / what a wicked game you played (to make me feel this way)

two for one!!! idk if either of these is my number one favorite line from either fic individually but I really like how they both play together. I like writing beth and rio pov and having them mirror each other’s narration both in thought and structure a lot bc I like thinking of them as two versions of the same

Beth checks her phone, nothing from Rhea, and sends a quick I'm here, text me when you're close, and I'll grab a table before wetting a paper towel and wiping away the last of her smeared mascara. With precise, brisk movements, she snaps open her bag and fishes out her compact, her lipstick, and her mascara; lining them up click, click, click on the tiny shelf below the mirror.

She can live with this; she has to live like this; she will live like this.

She flips open the compact and methodically dabs away the flush and pallor and shadows that are not grief, are not loss, are not anything other than shock and horror that she'd gone so far, that she'd lost control, that she'd killed a man (that man).

and

So what the fuck had he been doin' with Elizabeth fuckin' Boland, giving her chance after chance to cross the line? What the fuck was the point of a line if it might as well not be there at all? All because he liked her big blue eyes and the way she worked a tight sweater? Nah, that ain't him. That can't be him. That's the kind of shit that'll get you killed, and he's got three spent bullets in his pocket and a scar next to his heart if he ever needs the reminder again. 

He shifts in the driver's seat, reaching into his pocket and fishing the bullets out. Lining them up on the dashboard with a definitive click, click, click. He looks past them to the brightly lit valet station. He's been parked in the back of the lot for ten minutes now, waiting for Rhea to give him the go sign. He ain't hiding, doesn't need to, Elizabeth ain't lookin' for him, he just wants to make sure he sees her before she sees him. Get a good look first, so he can size up the situation.