#and now the icons on my dash are fully gone

[tarudce22]

i cant see anyones icons anymore on my dash

now i have to read to see which of the way to many people i followed reblogged/posted what

i hate this

please why did the icons vanish?!

[jewish-vents]

first - i just want to say thank you for making this blog. it’s so important to know that we aren’t alone in the many things we’re experiencing and feeling right now, especially when so many of us have become painfully isolated as of late.

i apologize for how long this one is going to be.

i’ve been feeling so, so alone recently. my tumblr dash has been cut down to just a handful of jewish blogs that i can trust to be kind and understanding and nuanced, but it means that the majority of the content i see is about antisemitism and the war. after a while, it becomes draining to scroll through what feels like endless sadness. i turned to looking at fandom tags instead of following fandom blogs, but it makes me feel equally as insane to click on a blog about race cars and immediately see a post with 60k notes calling what’s happening in gaza “the new holocaust”. i started going back on twitter, but fan accounts on there too are only safe for a day or so before the account owner shares some awful antisemitic tweet from an account known to be an anti-jewish extremist. i went back on instagram briefly, but i was soon afraid to look at people’s stories for fear i’d see something terrible and lose yet another trusted person from my life.

in person, i have to walk by signs saying “zionism = genocide” and hastily scribbled palestinian flags with the colors in the wrong spot on my way to class every day. a wall across from my apartment says “BDS” in giant letters. i haven’t opened my curtains in months because of it. a “protest” of about 25 people stood in the center of campus and yelled and waved their fists in passing students’ faces, so jewish students didn’t go to class on any of the days they gathered. i only have one non jewish friend left at school - the rest abandoned me because i either called them out on antisemitic rhetoric or refused to go along with the idea that anyone, palestinian or israeli, muslim or jewish, is less than human. i had taken several of them along to our hillel’s seder in the past. i don’t know who i can safely go with this year. i have a few jewish friends, of course, but i love bringing goyische friends with little connection to judaism along to experience how joyful and loving jewish holidays can be.

it feels like there is no escape from this fucking war. it sickens me that it’s the only thing people pretend to care about - where is the attention for sudan, ukraine, armenia, uyghurs in china, syria, guyana? how is putting an emoji in your twitter bio or putting a translucent overlay of the palestinian flag on your tumblr icon any sort of real activism? how have we gone from “antisemitism is wrong” to “(((zionists))) control the world media”? it seems like the war is a fandom to these people. it seems like nobody cares enough to fully read and think critically about what they share, let alone do real research beyond looking at an infographic somebody shared on their instagram story. they’ll add on “don’t forget your click today!” to an unrelated twitter thread that went viral, flip the bird at the local starbucks, and put “won’t you free my palestine” on their instagram stories. they’ll anonymously tell a jew online to commit suicide. they’ll feel secure in the knowledge that they’re the perfect leftist, that this is somehow “good trouble”. all this praxis, and nothing to show for it but massive surges in hate crimes against jews. good job, guys! you singlehandedly saved every innocent person in gaza!

it’s isolating. it’s scary. jews can’t mourn. jews can’t be angry. jews can’t disagree. jews can’t suffer. jews can’t be whole, complex people with diverse beliefs and experiences. suffering is a game, and the goal is to hurt the most, scream the most, die the most, all to appease western leftists whose closest connection to war and violence was reading the hunger games in middle school.

i’m tired of it all. i want a peaceful and just resolution to the war. i want the mindless hatred everywhere to stop. i want to be able to scroll through social media and see nothing but fandom. i want to walk through campus with my magen david showing and all the friends i lost by my side on the way to the hillel seder. i want to open my curtains again. i know the experience of one diaspora jew is nothing compared to what people living in israel and palestine are currently going through, yet i still need this all to end. i don’t think any of us can go on like this, but we must, because we have. for thousands of years, we’ve gone on. that still doesn’t mean it has to be this hard all the time.

all i can think is “now we are slaves. next year may we be free.” now we are slaves to hatred and violence and suffering. next year may we all be free. next year may we all be in jerusalem.

.

[mae-i-scribble]

Since I am entirely too unwell about Ancient Magus Bride at all times of the day I have decided to break down the latest opening because I cannot do so for the friend I am watching season 2 with since she hasn't read the manga. Hands down this latest opening, Nemurasareta Lineage by Junna, is the best in the series to me. And I don't make that claim lightly, the first opening is iconic on so many levels from the visual to the lyrics, we ignore the 2nd opening bc it sucked (sorry to the fans out there I just do my best to pretend this one doesn't exist, no i have not moved on from my bitterness at its reused animation since 2016 next question), and season 2's first opening is also incredible.

However, what this latest opening brings to the table is some of the most spectacular visuals I've seen in a hot minute- and I don't mean from purely visual, I mean thematically, this opening is fucking spectacular. Every single moment has purpose and meaning behind it.

I will be putting the rest under a read more as to not clog anyone's dash bc this is gonna be l o n g

Starting off from the very first shot we already have so much thematic meaning crammed into this.

Firstly, the shot of Elias opening the book has many connotations, alluding to how he has read the Testament of Carnamagos while also alluding to the fact that him reading that book is ultimately what lead to this story happening at all. If Elias had never read it to try and transfer Chise's curse, Chise would not have done what she did and Elias wouldn't have learned how to let Chise be independent, and then Chise never would have gone to the college. In that respect it's a perfect opener for this "play," as it was the prelude to this act.

Then we have the next shot of Elias hanging like a puppet, showing us an empty vessel-like appearance before being pulled upwards. There are a lot of different ways to interpret this, personally it drew me back to how the Wil O' Wisp described a magus as "someone bound to their fate." Elias, a tried and true magus, is bound to his fate like a puppet on a string while Chise, someone who is not yet fully a magus is free to walk around the stage as herself. Elias' removal from the set, and subsequently the way he claps to bring forth the next "acts" in the show, I think speaks to the way he is largely removed from this arc. Of course he is there, watching over Chise and pushing her along as best he can, but he has very much taken more of a spectator role in this arc. He guides his pupil the best he can but lets her make her own choices.

Now, onto Chise's entrance.

With the college/the sorcerer's society as our stage, the protagonist enters. Chise walks in and looks around confused, just as she did when first entering the college and when she first learned of the dark politics lying underneath it. She is the only one not a part of the performance, the one factor that ultimately destroys the narrative the Sargent and the Rickenbacker families were trying to create.

At first, I thought these cardboard figures were a representation of the 7 powerful sorcerer families we are introduced to, but then I realized there were actually 8 figures so that theory is thrown out the window. This is something I'm not actually that confident in so if anyone else has interpretations I am so down to hear it. Obviously the woman in red holding the spider alludes to Lucy. The wolf next to her is most likely then the werewolf mother. The hooded man with the hammer I think can reasonably represent Isaac. While the knight beside him I honestly see as Rian (his sort of knight in shining armor attitude when it comes to Philomela, his very straight-laced straightforward view of things). The nun-like figure with the owl is mostly likely representing Philomela/Lizabeth Sargent. I can see the jester with the snake wrapped around him to be Zoey. For the last two figures though, I am absolutely stumped. The two women with the songbird remind me of Veronica, from the way she was raised up by her family to be a bird in a cage while simultaneously holding Philomela in an even smaller cage. For the family on the far right though I have absolutely nothing. However, I know there is some meaning behidn it, this opening is too packed with symbolism for it not to.

Speaking of symbolism, the sequence that follows is chalked full of it.

Elias ushers in the entrance of Philomela, trapped in her cage. The design of the cage and the flowers around it make it seem extravagant, exactly what Philomela's life might look like to someone not aware of what's really going on. But a cage is still a cage, and this one comes with a guardian owl, keeping watch over Philomela in place of actually showing Lizabeth. The toys lining the bottom are representative of one of the key moments that made Philomela realize just how tight the bars around her were- that she would never have her grandmother's love, no matter what she did.

Then we cut to moments of Philomela's childhood, again deceptively happy with what we know of Veronica and how she treated Philomela. The baby bird hatching from the egg, Philomela when she was still young and innocent and far too fragile. This association of the baby bird with Philomela also comes back later in a heartbreaking way so :')

Then Chise reaches out with the potpourri, and Philomela becomes alive. It's so fitting, in that Chise's kindness to Philomela, the understanding she has to exactly the pain Philomela is going through, is what touches Philomela so deeply, reminds her of the time where her life was not structured in this way. Chise gives her hope that it doesn't have to be, Chise pulls her out of it and gives her a perch to stand on, and it all began with one fateful meeting.

The shot we get of Chise smiling and swaying in the breeze is all too perfect, in showing that this desire for connection is mutual.

Fittingly, we then see Chise reach out to her friends one by one. Lucy and Zoe's each have a bit more meaning behind them, as we're still somewhat in the dark when it comes to Rian and Isaac's histories, but it still examplifies the ways in which Chise tries to help those around her as best she can. It also makes it abundantly clear why Philomela, and subsequently everyone else, are presented as children in this sequence: a direct reference to chapters 86-87 in which they all are mixed up due to Chise's influence and Chise goes around helping them regain themselves. It marks the turning point in which Philomela tries to take a stand against her grandmother and start believing in the people who have come to try and save her.

There is one gaping hole in this in that Zoey is in fact, not present at all in the whole mind melding thing, but I'm taking that as the animators/directors wanting to include him in this sequence as another main player. Plus the shot we get of him is very cheeking in showing a broken shell- in the way Chise figurative helped him break out of his shell and very literally revealed him to be a gorgon/human mix by accident.

In that interpretation it is also crucial to think about why Chise was kept as her teenage self and not also scaled down to baby form as in the original chapter. But overall keeping her as a teenager flows with the story of the opening itself better while still keeping those same allusions and thematics.

The next big shot to talk about is this one right here.

Many have already pointed out how it is an homage to the classical painting "The School in Athens." Which is very fitting for the college setting of this arc. More so than the reference itself, the way in which the characters are placed is so meaningful.

We have Chise in the center of it all as the catalyst of course. But we once more get that repetition of Elias as a bystander, observing the situation while remaining more in the background when it comes to Chise. Parallel to him is Lizabeth, who is similarly an outsider but with none of Elias' good nature, she is an outsider in that she wants to watch this scene burn to the ground (and probably why the choice was to then introduce a werewolf who leaps forwards on the attack, still under Lizabeth's control.)

Ruth and Alcyone are also parallel to one another, highlighted in a shot mirroring the two of them. This is interesting in that Alcyone is far more often paired with Elias when being given a point of comparison. While she is quite literally an artificial familiar, her presence is what sparks the idea that Elias might be something similar to her, and yet here she is paired with Ruth. They do have their similarities in the way they would do anything for the person they live for. A thought that struck me was in this mirroring there is also a contrast, Ruth shares his life with Chise, if he dies she is to die as well. However Alcyone's death was meant to be a way for Philomela to live- it was crucial in ensuring Philomela's freedom from her grandmother.

Also notably, Veronica is given a long, lingering shot. As a child, she is far more innocent looking, but the shot stays just a moment too long, as if trying to confirm the suspicions surrounding her (which manga readers will know are true). We also have Jasmine and Violet prominently featured, a very interesting choice considering how little a role they play in this arc, but I feel that current suspicions about how they will have a large role in the upcoming arc might be supported by their presence here. There actually isn't much to say about the shots with the werewolf and our first glimpse of how the show portrays the Testament as it gains a physical form.

While gorgeous there's just not much to say about them from an analytical standpoint. Besides for the way in which everyone is turned back into their play forms upon being killed, as if that was their original fate before Chise's interference with the story.

We then see Chise look devastated, the carnage of her dead friends behind her on the stage. It truly captures just how terrified she is of losing people she cares for. But then she looks at the thorn rune- plot relevant in the way her rune charms protected her friends from being killed. But it's also Elias' symbol, and yet another reminder of how he is still watching over and protecting her throughout all of this. It's only after she activates the magic that she looks up, determined to carry on and change this fate.

The start of our final action sequence for this opening is a bang, giving us this chaotic shot.

We see both bits of the classical painting and of our original stage figures being tossed around in the background referencing how the Testament literally rips its way through both the college itself and the students/teachers there. It also, notably, is not contained within the story, instead existing on the same plane as Chise. It's a being far too powerful to be contained in such a way, so it makes perfect sense for it not to be confined to the theatrical setting of this opening.

The next flash of shots is perhaps one of the most hearbreaking ones in this entire opening. First we're shown Philomela and her grandmother, then we cut to this:

Y'all the layers to this, the l a y e r s. We've already seen this bird represent Philomela in the opening itself as a hatchling. However the adult form of this bird is exactly the same as what Alcyone's base is, it is the only thing remaining once Alcyone dies. However we see all 3 stages of life here, lying dead on the ground. The Sargent family is a family of abusive cycles. Lizabeth passes down her abuse to her son, having been doomed to this path from the moment she was born. It's Adam who tries to break the cycle but ultimately fails, choosing to end his own life rather than return. This dooms his baby daughter to the same fate, nearly killing her as well. It's Alcyone, the last remaining gift Philomela has from her father and the one way he thought of to keep her safe even if he was gone. It's both about the cycles and about how they are broken and how Philomela will never truly escape the violence of the family she was born into, even after her grandmother is gone. This is then followed by the 1 picture of her parents that Philomela tries so hard to remember but cannot. Anyways I am going to be physically ill, next.

While the last sequence is just a build up to the final fight (cool as fuck but again, not much to say analytically), I do want to point out that when the Testament pulls in all the surrounding settings, it pulls in both the theatrical characters and the actual representations of Chise's friends with them. Which is such a cool little detail my jaw in on the fucking floor.

And after a brilliantly animated scene of Chise running to try and save Philomela from the jaws of this monster, everything abruptly comes to a close. Leaving us unsure of whether or not Philomela was truly saved, as the last set piece to fall away is that gilded cage, the angle making it unclear if Philomela is still inside before our title card appears. The quiet, peaceful shot of the classroom the title lingers over in favor of the chilling set pieces of the opening before it is an excellent place to end, leaving that sense of urgency and notions of the sinister lying in wait at the college.

All of this, and I haven't even touched on the lyrics- which I won't do so here. I am not a qualified translator and frankly this post is long enough as it is. It isn't as if this opening needs anything else to explain how fucking fantastic it is- the visuals themselves are stunning on a level few openings are these days. Not only does it tie into already existing thematics of the show, not only does it go through plot points we have seen and those yet to come in unique and engaging ways, the opening *itself* brings forth its own thematic reading of the college arc and Chise's place in it while telling its own story of events. Truly a masterclass piece of animation all around.

[lesbiancolumbo]

Question from the genuinely ignorant what is The Post?

because this is a good faith question and this was so long ago, i’m gonna answer it and then respectfully and kindly ask people to stop asking, and i think once you read my answer you’ll hopefully understand why lol

in 2017 as an extremely suicidal and isolated 23 year old, i watched lady bird after a really long and difficult weekend of being with my emotionally and verbally abusive mother. the movie was good but extremely triggering for me - i saw a lot of my self and my mother in the film. instead of killing myself that night (and i’m not being flippant, i walked home from the theatre to my tiny little apartment contemplating stepping onto the highway) i decided i would just get it all out somewhere. at the time, letterboxd was a small website and i was a no-one. i wrote a review and vomited all of my feelings.

it’s not a good review. i wasn’t even really able to fully articulate what my own relationship with my mother was at the time. i was still too young and vulnerable to her abuse. but it made me calm enough to go to sleep and start a new week, so i did. it got no attention, except from some friends who liked it and knew my situation.

cut to literally new year’s day 2021. an eighteen year old on tumblr finds my review, screencaps it in its entirety, and posts it on here. it makes it way onto my dash. at first im shocked - that’s me! and i think i reblogged it to say that hey, that’s me! omg! wow! after i did that i almost immediately regretted doing that, because the attention and harassment i’ve received in the THREE YEARS since this post has gone up has honestly been so detrimental to my mental health. my fucking FACE and NAME are in the post bc the op didn’t bother to crop them out. every day i wake up and thank a higher power that my mother hasn’t found this post. people made fun of me, downplayed my (admittedly not very well articulated) experiences, armchair diagnosed me and my mother, posted my letterboxd icon which was MY REAL FACE on this website to MAKE FUN OF MY APPEARANCE and insinuate i deserved everything that happened to me. white supremacist blogs were SPREADING MY FACE AND NAME AROUND.

i got a lot of followers and attention and wanted none of it, and because tumblr is a website and the internet is written in ink, a post never truly gets deleted, and now every 6-12 months my privacy and something i impulse wrote in a moment of pure and true pain gets spread around this website and i can’t do a god damn thing about it.

and like……… i get it. it clearly resonated with people. and i don’t like drawing a hard line. but the violation and the harassment that proceeded from it for MONTHS has made me intolerant. the op of that post is the same age now as i was when i wrote that review, and i hope to god they learned from that experience, because i still have to deal with the ramifications of their fucking choice.

and it sucks. because i love lady bird. but my health is already precarious and i do not want to go through this all again.

[rpschtuff]

Hi! You’d mentioned you hadn’t heard anything about accessibility issues with the new layout, so as someone who does actually enjoy the new layout but only reverts it because I can’t adjust it code-wise the way I’d like to make it fully accessible for my needs, here’s a few ways it’s not accessible!

OVERSTIMULATION: Compared to the previous layout, the dashboard feels very cluttered. Everything is squished together in the middle (and I’m saying this as someone running on a 1920x1080 resolution, so not a small screen). I personally had to Stylus in some extra spacing between the dashboard and the two sidebars, for example, and make the left labels slightly smaller text-wise and icon-wise so that they felt a little more spaced out. It just opened up the dashboard a bit more and made it a little bit less overwhelming.

TOO MUCH CONTENT: In addition to the above, there’s just a lot going on on the new dashboard, at least compared to the old one. Previously, with the old icon labels there wasn’t a lot of visual stimulation from those, whereas the new layout adds that. When you add in the mix of the recommended blogs, the What’s New carousel, Tumblr Live, and necessities that I use regularly from other addons (ex. xKit Tag Tracking+) it becomes A LOT. I actually had to hide a bunch of icons that I don’t use (ex. Live, Domains, TumblrMart, etc) in order to declutter the shit out of the dashboard so it wasn’t so horribly overwhelmed.

DRAFTS AND QUEUE NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE: This I think is a big one. We as the RPC are attached at the hip to our drafts and queue, are we not?! When they had the account subnav in the left bar, I LOVED how accessible that felt; I loved how it just felt more easily accessible because I could keep it open and access it from any page in the left bar. But… then they removed it. This is probably my biggest gripe, because I just want the links to at least my drafts, queue, and blog settings back! Personally, I think in order to combat the redundancy, they should have removed the jump that was in the right menu when you’d gone to your blog’s view, not remove it from the left menu. That, or find a way to better organize/condense that blog jump so it’s not so crazy.

Personally, I think the first two are really problematic for those on the neurodivergent spectrum (which includes myself), and as someone who was in school for UI design and works in a field that involves customer feedback (I work in market research), I do feel that Tumblr’s method of sourcing feedback from users is incredibly poor. Whether that’s a monetary issue or not, I’m not sure. Thus far, it feels like support tickets go unanswered, and that Staff seems to pretty heavily handwave it as “not a big deal” rather than finding proper ways to source community feedback. That in general is the crux of the issue, I think, and forcing users to rely on external codes to retain their accessibility is a poor method to go about things.

Hey! Thanks for this, this is a good explanation. I am not entirely sure I agree on all of these points but I appreciate the input.

I do agree that the layout feels a bit too squished -- the sidebars should really be all the way to the side rather than right up next to the dash. I'm not really sure I get the "too much content" one, though. All the same content is on the dash as before, it's just arranged differently. In fact, I actually prefer that the main links now actually say what they are instead of just the icons, and I know I'm not alone in that. It seems to be one of those things that some people find better, some people find worse, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

I absolutely agree on drafts and queue being so hard to get to -- I noticed that the other day. It takes quite a few clicks to get to them when they were previously available right from the main page.

And the biggest agree on Tumblr's feedback sourcing being terrible. I really don't begrudge staff for this -- they have to appease the upper management who are pushing changes without really understanding things, all the while dealing with a userbase who will flip the absolute fuck out over literally any change to the site. And staff has generally been much more communicative about changes than I've ever experienced. But it would be nice to feel like feedback is actually going somewhere other than the void.

Anyway, the ideal would be having a simplified layout that you could opt into via settings, but I doubt that'll ever happen.

[somenamewithepineapple]

✨Hellooo giftee, I’m back again! Wie gehts?✨

I’m so glad you replied to my previous ask, I was getting worried you had gone and abandoned me 😢*sniffle*... Just kidding, I already figured you were busy, and was waiting patiently (and not at all refreshing tumblr several times a day, nuh-uh).

As to your answers, I’ve included your songs in my HEX inspiration playlist (if you'd like I can share it with you after HEX is done)!

And I fully agree with Farah being the reckless one, it’s immediately clear the first episode in how she handles the burned one. I will fight with you against anyone that claims otherwise.

I’m glad I’m thinking in the right direction! I agree on Farah having a big savior complex as well. I even think Saul has it too, to a degree, mostly with Sky (tell me if you agree!). The things these two could uncover and solve through therapy, seriously.

And… would you please share your enemies to lovers playlist with the class? Pretty pleeeeease?🥺 (Alternatively you could just share a few of your favorite songs from said list, if that feels more comfortable.)

Your replies have been amazing, but were still not done. No no, I have plenty of questions left to ask you, I want to know it all🤓! This time I’ll keep them short and present them to you in a kind of quick-fire round.

Would you like your gift to be or contain:

Magic or non magic?

In a different world (Earth, somewhere alien, different series or movie, etc) or within the Fate universe?

An established Silrah separation or the full story (including their break up)?

A quick resolve or a slowburn?

Entirely focus on separated Silrah and their rekindling, or to have a sub-plot as well?

Once again you may be as elaborate (or not 😊)as you’d like!

Until next time, Tschüss! 🧚‍♀️🎆

Hello my dearest gifter 🥰

This time I managed to reply earlier (despite everything that‘s happening rn)

Yes please let‘s exchange our playlists after the gift exchange! That would be so cool! (also the playlist is still a work in progress)

Farah and Saul both have gigantic saviour complexes, certainly influenced by their soldier days under Rosalind.

Now to your questions:

Good question, I am fine with either magic or non-magic, just do whatever you feel like ✨✨✨

Earth or within the Fate universe (I feel sooo unhelpful but I am honestly happy with whatever)

Ooohhh maybe an established Silrah separation? We‘d get right into the enemies to lovers game which I am soo excited for!!

I don’t mind a subplot but you do you, let your creativity out into the WIP ✨✨

I‘m sorry for not being as a elaborate as usual, I still love you and I am super mega excited for my gift 🥰😍

Adioooooooooos 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

PS: some songs from my enemies to lovers playlist:

Lion - Saint Mesa (picture Farah entering the ballroom in a dashing dress, Saul almost chokes on his drink because his nemesis has an unfortunate effect on him)

Warrior - Icon For Hire (fight fight fight)

Angel With a Shotgun - The Cab (you know that moment when our enemies - who still think they‘re enemies despite clearly being in love - either team up to fight someone ooorrr one of them needs the other to fight for/with them)

[artisplatters]

Okay, now that I've calmed down enough that I no longer am trembling with excitement, let me give a more in-depth review of the Five Nights at Freddy's film

I will be talking of a few spoilers, so I'm gonna put it under a cut, but the basic review is:

4.5 stars; excellent experience

The cut is in place, and from now on it's spoiler territory, you've been warned

.

.

.

Fear Elements:

First of all, it has very minimal gore, which was surprising to me given what the film is about, but it's not minimal in the negative way. Any depictions of gore were well-placed to drive home the sense of horror in our characters, and any of the acts of horror were heard off-screen, rather than shown.

And this is a masterful use of our imagination, because what we see in our mind's eye can be infinitely more terrifying than anything they could make.

And yes, there were jump scares aplenty, but they weren't used excessively. Like a fine dash of salt, except, y'know, jump scares.

Also, there is not a "We Are Fnaf" type scene, further cementing my theory that the picture of Mike and Abby in the parking lot with the animatronics is simply a behind-the-scenes image. The closest we get to such a scene is when Abby is playing with the animatronics and building a fort, which makes sense since they're just kids, dead kids but kids nonetheless.

Props + Set:

Everything looks like it was pulled right out of the first game, I am not even kidding. The animatronics especially.

The classic tile, the posters, the way the stages were set up. Its like they used the blueprints of the game vers. of the pizzeria. Plus, many of the "prize booths" and such seemed to use actual irl merch items such as the iconic plushies and some T-shirts.

Specifically on the animatronics: They looked incredible, as if they were the real, original things come to life. The Jim Henson's Creature Shop did an excellent job re-creating them down to the delicate detailing. Even they way they move feels authentic to how they'd really move.

Cinematography:

The cinematography of when animatronics go after characters heavily reflects the games, another excellent execution. The angling of hallway shots, rooms, etc. all feel somewhat like we watch them through the security cameras.

In fact, there's several scenes where we literally watch through the security cameras, on the security monitors of the iconic office. And speaking of watching through the cameras, the positioning is identical to the games, as if it were the exact footage in higher quality. The use of flickering lighting to have the animatronics appear and disappear is identical too, and incredibly done.

Storyline:

More specifically, the differences.

Our main C is Mike, obviously, but his sister Abby still lives, and he's raising her on his own. The premise of why he takes the job is so he can support her and avoid losing custody of her to their aunt (Who Fully Radiates Karen Energy).

Vanessa (yes indeed that Vanessa) is a main character too, and enters into the limelight by the second night. She guides Mike and repeatedly gives hints and suggestions for him to leave, and is revealed towards the end of the film to be Afton's daughter, a surprise twist as up until this point we're lead to believe that Mike is the child, for obvious reasons.

Hopes that became Reality:

MATPAT WAS IN IT, HE MAKES A CAMEO AS A WAITER ABOUT MID-MOVIE, I NEARLY YELLED IN THE THEATRE WHEN HE APEARED AND I PROBABLY BRUISED MY DAD'S SHOULDER SHAKING HIM IN EXCITEMENT

There were also so many other amazing cameos, like CoryxKenshin being a taxi driver, and Baz, 8-BitRyan, Dawko, Razzbowski, and FusionZGamer are cameo'd as "Employee of the Month" photos.

(I am disappointed Markiplier didn't get a cameo but he's a busy guy working on another amazing horror-game-movie)

THE SPRINGLOCK SCENE IS IN IT AND IT'S PRETTY DAMN ACCURATE TO HOW IT WOULD'VE GONE DOWN, Not as gory but his yells are quickly cut off as the springlocks click into place, AND MR AFTON SAYS THE LINE! HE SAYS "I ALWAYS COME BACK" BEFORE THE SPRINGLOCKS GET TO HIS THROAT

THE LIVING TOMBSTONE'S "Five Nights at Freddy's" IS THE FIRST SONG IN THE CREDIT SEQUENCE, I ACTUALLY YELLED FOR THAT ONE, I accidentally startled an elderly couple in the row in front of us too lol, BUT THEY'RE IN THE FILM! THE SONG! IS IN THE MOVIE!!!!!!! OH!!! MY GODS!!!!!! EUGHFYTREHIWSEHFCERWYIFUCK

Not Really Movie-Specific:

I wore a purple-guy cosplay to the film, which consists of:

Black Sneaker x2

Black Slacks x1

Purple Button-Up x1

Costume Cop Hat x1

And I looked pretty fantastic if I say so myself.

A really pretty lady in a Foxy cosplay complimented my look on the way out of the theatre. We talked about the film for a minute before she had to go. If I hadn't been in shock and amazement by the film and by her complimenting me I may have asked for her number. Probably a good thing I didn't though. But yeah. Gorgeous nerd complimented me. Me! What an amazing day.

The theatre we went to was one of those fancy dine-in experiences, so obviously I got a mini pep. pizza to feast upon during the film. We were also brought a candy assortment bag that neither of us ordered so I got free candy too.

All in all, it was an amazing experience. I'm so glad I stayed around to see it lmao. So many people and references and such were lovingly added, like an allude to the Circus Baby animatronic, and a Balloon Boy figurine that was a little creep the entire film despite not being haunted.

I just know I'm gonna be rewatching it again and again for the next several weeks. And as soon as I can figure out how to redownload my art program I am gonna create So Much Fanart™

FNAF AT FREDDYS

THATS WHERE I WANNA BE

FNAF AT FREDDYYYYSSSSSSSSSS

[applejackofalltrades]

Why Do I Like AppleDash So Much?

Literally nobody has ever asked me this but I'm going to answer this question anyway.

Intro: How I Got Into My Little Pony

Imma be real. The reason I started watching the show is because some of my old Twitter mutuals were interacting with posts about the Friendship Is Magic 10th anniversary. Some of them were talking about Rarijack and how it was a good ship, and others were discussing the implied canonicity of Appledash.

I had, at the time, just finished catching up on The Owl House that had recently been in the process of finishing up season one or had just gone into hiatus (can't remember which) and I was losing interest in my old hyperfixations fast.

See, I do this thing where I get really REALLY invested in a show and then as soon as it ends or as soon as I absorb every bit of media in it, I lose some of the interest or it fades. I don't usually lose full interest. For example, I still love She-Ra (my last big fandom) and I'm obviously still invested in The Owl House, but ever since both of those shows ended/stalled, I was desperately needing something to distract me from the trials and tribulations of my will to live that my daily life often forced upon me.

As you can guess, ponies was my solution.

I went into the show with a Rarijack mindset, but knowing that Appledash existed. I guess my mutuals just really liked Rarijack. I decided to give season one a chance. Actually, I felt quite silly for even deciding to watch the show. You see, back in 2018, I was still quite... trivial about watching anything that was seen as "girly". I didn't really have any problems with watching cartoons (ie. V*ltron, Steven Universe, Avatar, Pokemon etc.) but it was the fact that a show was "girly" that made me iffy. I had a very fragile masculinity, okay?

Anyway, so I actually was really afraid to watch She-Ra, even though the teaser images and trailer looked good. But I did and I decided that even "girly" shows could be good and that I was silly.

But, oh boy, cringe culture really messed with me. In mid/late 2020, I was ashamed to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I said I'd watch one season just so I could laugh at it. I wanted to watch it as a joke, and who knows, maybe I found a guilty pleasure to watch while I waited for The Owl House to come back?

I loaded up Netflix and I hit play. Instantly, I was cringing at myself. Can you blame me? Early season MLP was obviously meant for kids. Not that it was immature or bad, but it was definitely a kid's show, especially considering the iconic storybook opening of episode one.

I watched the episodes, but they mostly were just background noise as I did other things. I remember watching them, but I was indifferent, although frustrated that I found myself chuckling at a few of the jokes and quips. I wasn't that invested, though. I thought Twilight was boring, Rarity obnoxious, Pinkie annoying, Fluttershy frustrating, and Rainbow Dash infuriating. I didn't really mind Applejack, I mostly kinda just thought she was the best one. (Nothing's changed, eh?)

And then....

Fall Weather Friends

Season One Episode Thirteen rolled around.

It starts (as y'all know) with Rainbow Dash and Applejack throwing horseshoes.

I don't know why, but this caught my attention. Of course, being only a few episodes after Look Before You Sleep, I had Rarijack on the mind. But I did think that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were probably good friends and would make for an interesting pairing, and a more interesting episode given their similarities, but also their differences.

I found myself fully watching this episode, and I dare say, it's the episode that dragged me fully into the show.

Maybe it's because I see myself in both of them in a way. Maybe that's why I connect so much with the pair, but them having an episode together? That was really good for me. I wasn't in the best state of mind, and something about seeing two characters that were in some ways reminiscent of myself interact and argue and have an endearing episode together made me smile.

It was then that I discovered the simple amazingness of AppleDash.

I mean, who doesn't love obnoxious, competitive girlfriends that are both prideful and headstrong?

I know I love it.

Anyway, so at that point, my mind kinda just clicked and I decided that my OTP was AppleDash. However, poly rights and Applejack has two front hooves *cough* Rarijackdash *cough*

But yeah so that's how I got into AppleDash. Fall Weather Friends, which was kinda the episode that made me love MLP.

How That Progressed

Well, obviously, I still love that ship I mean I live for it. If I could have any one single ship it'd be them. It just kept getting better and better as the show progressed, I mean their dynamic is great whether you want to see it platonically or romantically. They have a lot in common right off the bat (example, they are both incredibly stubborn, though AJ would take the cake for that) and seem to be close (I mean right from episode one they appear to already have a pre-established friendship), but they're also different. Applejack is a hard worker all of the time with anything she does, while Dash tends to be lazy but can be extremely driven when she is motivated (for example, when she wants to achieve her Wonderbolts dream). Applejack is immensely caring and family-oriented and does things for the good of everypony, while Rainbow Dash can be kind of a jerk and not mindful of her actions when she's wrapped up in the stuff she's doing for herself (not to say she isn't caring, but she tends to be kind of an ass, even to Fluttershy sometimes).

Their growth was immensely fun to watch and as time went on, they shared more and more screentime together. Even if it's not an episode that revolves around them, whenever one of them is in frame, most of the time the other is close by, and they often stand next to each other.

Now, in terms of why they work in the show's canon (in my opinion, either romantically or platonically, they do make a great pairing):

They are both competitive and enjoy competing with each other, though they know (especially after FWF when they've taken it too far)

They watch out for each other (AJ often holds Rainbow Dash back when she's about to rush into danger, especially in early seasons, and Dash always lifts AJ out of danger first [the two examples I can think of off the top of my head are in Best Gift Ever and My Little Pony: The Movie])

Their personalities even each other out. (AJ is a lot more calm than RD, and while they can both get worked up, Applejack is usually the calm one)

Their colour schemes are literally complementary. (AJ's coat is orange while Rainbow's is blue. AJ's eyes are green while RD's are pink/red).

They share a lot of cute moments. (You can just look these up)

THEY'RE HECCING CUTE.

AND FINALLY

I mean fuck, the finale. They're literally canon, you cannot tell me otherwise. It was absolutely intended and you cannot prove otherwise. (read the script notes l o l "we actually could do sort of a subtle wink to the idea that they are now a couple???" < RE Appledash). They live together, they have domestic arguments about chores, they are always giving each other fond looks throughout the episode, always standing next to or near each other, and well we all know Rainbow's iconic hoof on AJ's head in the last shot of the show.

Ashleigh Ball really was the OG shipper and fuck it, she was right. We all know they are in love, she knows they are in love. The only reason they couldn't explicitly state it in the show is probably bc Hasbro would have been against that at the time (I mean, Lyrabon had to be very subtle but hey we gottem).

Oh and, I know this isn't exactly canon canon, but it is an official game: The My Little Pony Magic Princess app. Future AJ and RD's descriptions allude to them being together.

You could negate this and say that this is just them being friends but I mean... come on. Come on. Sweet Apple Acres is Apple family land, and the only people who live there as of The Last Problem are Apples. (AJ, Sugar Belle and Big Mac and their foal, and you guessed it... Rainbow Dash).

You cannot tell me that they aren't canon. You'd really have to be grasping at straws because all the signs are there. They had build up, development, and it just makes sense.

If you don't think it makes sense... did we watch the same show??? It absolutely makes sense.

Anyway, AppleDash is canon. :)

[gracy-simsie]

Tagging game

I was tagged by @queenofvraquin ♥ Thank you !

Why did you choose your URL?

Well, my name is Grace and I wanted something similar to my name, so here you go! But I've felt like changing it back to one of my old names from my old blogs!

How long have you been on Tumblr?

Poe I've had this blog since 2021, but... I've been on here for a while, I looked it up and it since 2013! I was so smoll when I started here, I was a little shocked when I found out haha. My previous names were @ambrosiay @lagraziasims @lagraziana maybe someone knows me when I went by those blogs haha! The reason I changed blogs was mostly due to me being sad a lot of the blogs I followed were inactive (because I was gone for a year for example), so started fresh and new felt like the right thing to do! No worries, I am not gonna change anymore :P.

Do you have a queue tag?

No, I do queue my posts, but no tag for it ;).

Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I don't remember so well - cuz wel 2013 haha - I believe it was because I used to post ingame pictures on the sims 3 website and then somebody on there said something about a simblr and tada I found my place!

Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

Because Ruby is my currrent obsession ♥

Why did you choose your header?

"

What's your post with the most notes?

I really didn't know so I used an online counter >.<! It was a post I made about looking for story telling simblrs, and ofcourse people love to find new stories and share their own!

How many mutuals do you have?

I am ... I am really not sure, so I counted them 63! :)

How many followers do you have?

268! Thank you for being interested in my stories and gameplay guys! ♥

Have you ever made a shitpost?

Oh Yes, when I see something I posted a long time ago, I am like fhghjjgfgh did I really think it was good? But well, on the positive side I like to keep those shit posts, because they remind me I grew a lot! Also nostalgic !!

How often do you use tumblr every day?

A lot haha, I have it on my phone. I use it more than my instagram or any other social media, because they just don't interest me as much :P.

Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won?

You won't believe this, but no. When I was younger I ignored hate anons, because I thought why would I take the time to answer some petty ask when I could interact about nicer and more important things ;). TBH I don't know if it's because I notice different things now I am older, but I do like that people stand behind certain opinions or facts as of late. It is really interesting to read and I feel like I learn more, you know? I am not gonna interfere with it myself though, I am not certain I would be able to fully explain things in English. Sometimes I just need my passionate and harsh dutch words and phrase haha!

How do you feel about 'you need to reblog this' posts?

I see it more as a nudge than as a real obligations. It's still your own blog and I think people should post what they feel like. But I do confess I always read them, because most of the time those are very interesting real cultural, political etc. topics.

Do you like tag games?

Yes I do!

Do you like ask memes?

Haha, yes. As I said in other posts I like to talk. I have no filter in the amount I comment to people. I hope you are all okay with that, because that's not gonna change anytime soon! ;)

Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

I need a picture of a meme I saw rolling on my dash as of late...

Do you have a crush on a mutual?

No! I need to actually get to know someone before I can crush on someone! But I do sometimes crush on some of their sims for example @buglaur Theo , @gothoffspring Jet & @simgerale Sheridan 🥺🥺

I tag @simgerale , @buglaur, @alicesimblr & @gerbitfizz ! No worries of you don't want to or have already done it !

[happybunnykat]

♣️

HELLO I ALSO MEANT TO ANSWER THIS MUCH EARLIER THEN I DID WHOOPS-

You are the mutual who I am making care about Michael

How I met you: I'm pretty sure I followed bc of Ace Attorney, just like with Joey

I follow you for your art and also seeing your good opinions on fictional characters. You are also a friend to me

Your blog is an ace attorney blog to me, even though you have been mainly posting about splattoon recently. (First impression I suppose)

Your url is Ashenberry! I fully process both words every time I read it and that is your name to me.

Your icon is a Squidling? Octoling? I forget what they are called, but one of the kids from splatoon.

Random fact I know about you: You associate Michael Afton with the color green rather then purple.

General opinion: Good vibes!!! I see you in my notes and on my dash and !!!!!!

Random thought I had: each and every time I get to this part I struggle and no thoughts come to me... like I have adhd I have an unending supply of random thoughts the rest of the time why is it now all the thoughts are gone?

[your-turn-to-role]

Hello there! i saw someone else doing this and i thought it was a fun and cool idea so: Headcanon Saturday (or sunday if its sunday for you): share a favorite headcanon (or lots of headcanons), big or small, if you feel like it! Your blog is very cool and I love seeing your thoughts whenever they pop up on my dash! keep doing what you do :D

it is in fact sunday for me! (or, it was when you sent this, it's wednesday now bc i had an assignment i had to do and uh, nz just went back into major lockdown so that’s fun)

but thank you so much!

and honestly this question had me stumped for a bit, because, in theory i have some, right? but, one, i'm less of a theory fan and more of a collector fan, i can put together minuscule details from all over the show to get a big picture of a character, but i rarely have headcanons that aren't based in some show evidence or other

and when i do have some, they either end up in a meta post im writing, or in a specific tag (like my cr nd headcanons i'll link a bit further down), or in a fic that i will write half of and never post bc i am chronically terrible at finishing things 😂

that said! i have scoured through fic ideas and discord server messages, so here have a few

fave headcanon that's not mine

disabled essek. like, thank you fandom for this one, it's incredibly dear to my heart, i consider it canon, nothing can convince me otherwise, it is going in all my fics, just.... comfort character

sometimes a character can be a neutral evil criminal and a disability icon okay

fave identity headcanon

see this tag for my various "why cr characters are neurodivergent" essays, also, fjord and jester are arospec thank you good day

a couple ones just based on dnd mechanics that i enjoy

- gilmore is a couple levels self taught in wizard

(he at the very least would have magic initiate if you were to build him like a pc bc he has identify, which is not a sorcerer spell, but... something about how he loves magic and was very determined to stand out but also something happened to him with the whole runechild thing that makes him scared to admit he is one so obviously he wouldn't flaunt that power, also the way he's kinda self deprecating whenever he has to admit he doesn't know wizard stuff, yeah, he definitely tried to teach himself magic the non sorcerer way)

- percy has a pristine organisation system for every room he owns and if you mess it up he can no longer find anything

this one is based off of two things. 1) percy is canonically a very neat and tidy person. after the feast with the briarwoods he goes home, wrecks his room trying to vent his feelings, and then barricades himself in his workshop. when vox machina find his room the next morning matt notes that percy's room is never messy like this. also, just in how he talks to grog when grog's snooping in his workshop, percy definitely knows the precise location of every tool in there. also he's just a precise person in general.

2) taliesin's weakness in rolling good for percy is investigation checks. he fails them almost every time. he has a decent int mod, but the dice just decided no investigation checks for you! (also, i haven't gone back to confirm this, so i may be wrong, but i'm pretty sure one of the few good investigation checks he makes is in whitestone castle). strict organisation system. he is absolutely useless without it 😂

aaaand, fave angsty headcanon (bc it's me, there was gonna be one)

the blumendrei didn't leave their hometown for days after they killed their parents. like. okay i've had a fic i've been lowkey writing for ages about these guys (yes i have like 40 cr fics in some form of wip status, no none are finished, this is how i exist), in the aftermath of that, bc i love them and i have a lot of thoughts about it

(also, not that i can prove it bc the fic was never posted but i kinda predicted the, cold stone tower overnight thing, which had me feeling A Way when that became canon!)

but anyway what this is based on is like... there's an idea in the fandom that trent directly ordered them to kill their parents but he really didn't. like obviously he put every step in place, but when caleb's telling that story, trent barely even comes up. he talks about how he found out his parents were traitors and how he "knew what he had to do"

so honestly, given everything we know about how trent engineers situations, it makes the most sense to me that the blumendrei, didn't want trent to know about this at all

like they believed the lie that their parents genuinely were traitors, so if you find out that horrifying secret, in the environment they'd been in for the past two years? that's shameful, horrifically so. why would they tell trent about that if they could avoid it? why risk getting branded the same, you've been told up to this point you're special, and you'd kill to keep that title. why on earth would you admit that your bloodline is tainted like that?

no, they would have tried to cover it up, as long as they could. which, is exactly what trent would want bc that again puts them on the back foot, but like... yeah, i fully believe they waited it out for a couple of days before going to trent until they were sure they couldn't wait any longer for bren to get better without drawing even more suspicion. and, since their cover story is they were supposed to be visiting their parents anyway, maybe they didn't go all that far

[mrs-han]

Here With Me

Heeey could i request an scenario where the mc is stood up by Jumin , like she waits for him at the restaurant but he doesnt arrive bc he forgot since he has been stressed out with work all week and suddenly Jaehee lets him know and its all angsty but with a happy ending pleasee♡♡♡♡

~~~

Sure thing! Thank you for your submission!

~~~

"Madam, would you like to come inside?"

"No, no. My husband should be coming shortly, and I'd like to be here when he shows," you smiled, securing your scarf over your shoulders.

As the valet entered the building that chilly august evening, the thought of Jumin kept you warm, even gave you the strength to stay outside and wait for a little while longer. It had been over a month, and you two had finally scheduled a date night—no work, no distractions - just he before your eyes and you before his.

You fiddled with your lace gloves and primped your hair, glancing at the glass window as it acted as your mirror. You were fully decked out in the most delicate lavender twill dress, six-inch stiletto pumps, and fastened in your hair was a pin Jumin had picked out himself for you to don. You always wanted to look your best for this man, and frankly, you were excited to see how he would react.

Cars passed by the grand venue - you straightened and eventually slouched as you noticed a few of them stop, but none of the occupants were Jumin. Snow began to drizzle over you, and, with a faint shiver, you checked your watch.

0950.

You blinked and tapped the watch - that wasn't right. You had only been waiting for half an hour, not an hour and a half... right? You dug your phone from your purse and tapped his icon.

"This is Jumin Han, Director of C&R. Thank you for your call, but I am away -"

You ended the call quickly and called him again. And again. You were greeted with the same voice message, and your heart sunk in your stomach.

He didn't forget... did he?

~~~

"Mr. Han, it's getting late," Jaehee smiled forcefully, gripping her pen in one hand and her travel mug in the other. "This is a good stopping point, don't you agree?"

"Not quite," Jumin sighed, pushing his hair back and tapping his diamond pen against his desk. "We're missing something... something important."

"A meeting with the Prime Minister of Sweden is no small feat," Jaehee huffed, pressing her back against the chair. "But I assure you, we've covered everything we need to cover. You know everything about him, perhaps too much."

Jumin examined his notes and furrowed his brows. "No... no, something is missing."

Jaehee raised a brow and crossed her arms. "I assure you, Mr. Han. This missing artifact has nothing to do with the prime minister."

"I don't see what your hurry is. Tomorrow is Saturday, you have plenty of time to rest then."

"Until you call me in to do something," Jaehee muttered under her breath. "Listen, Mr. Han, with all due respect. It is going on twenty-two hundred hours and fifteen minutes, and I would like to go home."

Jumin looked dubiously shocked. It had gotten that late so quickly... his eyes widened. "Today is Friday."

"Yes, today is Friday," Jaehee nodded.

"No, no, no." Jumin slammed his folders closed and adjusted his tie, a frantic air about him.

"What is it?" Jaehee asked, observing his facial expression turn to one of confusion to one of realization.

Jumin dashed past his chief assistant, muttering slurs under his breath and heading towards the penthouse's front door. "I don't have time to explain."

"Mr. Han, if you're heading outdoors, you'll need your coat -"

Jumin flung the door open... and there you stood, shivering and dripping wet from the melted snow. You lifted your eyes and met his apologetic gaze.

"My... my love... I -"

You shoved your way past him, wrapping your scarf around your reddened face. There was no way you were about to let him see you cry.

Jumin stumbled back and tried to reach for you, but you were too fast. You ran down the hall and into the guest bedroom, slamming the door behind you.

"MC!" Jumin called while chasing you, slamming against the door as it closed. He pressed his palms against the wood, then his forehead. "MC, please."

Jaehee quietly gathered her coat and murmured, "I will see you on Monday, Mr. Han."

Jumin, too distracted by you, didn't care to hear her. "MC? MC, may I come in? Darling?"

He placed his hand over the doorknob and gripped it, ready to turn the handle - when he heard your sobs. Every sniffle, every sad moan, he listened to, desperate to soothe you.

"My love... my love -"

"Go away! Get away from me!" You hollered, throwing several objects at the door. "I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you!"

Jumin closed his eyes, your words piercing all parts of his heart. He waited for more words to come from you; he wanted to hear from you, even if your words had the potential to kill him from the inside out.

But you didn't say anything. Instead, you wailed and sobbed... and those sounds alone did more damage to him than any insult.

Jumin pressed himself against the door and sank slowly, his hand still on the doorknob. He would respect your wish and leave you alone, but he refused to be too far away. When you were ready to talk, he would be there.

His determination did not falter after an hour had passed, and another. He sat patiently outside of the guest bedroom and began to nod off when he realized - there was no sound coming from the other side of the door. It was utterly silent.

"MC? I'm opening the door," Jumin cooed, pressing the door open slowly.

He peeked in and saw you, not sound asleep as he had imagined. No, your back was facing him. Your gown, gloves, shoes, and jewels had been thrown onto the floor, a thick blanket the only thing covering you. You sat erect, like a graceful statue, gazing at the city below.

Jumin waited for you to throw him out with your words again, but no such thing happened. You were completely silent. He wasn't much of a risk-taker, and he didn't pride himself on being one. But for you, he was willing to do anything.

Jumin stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, his eyes squarely on your figure.

You didn't make a sound.

He walked towards you, slightly shier than his naturally confident stride.

You didn't make a sound.

He sat down beside you and, without hesitation, wrapped an arm around your body.

Your statuesque figure faltered, and you crumbled at his touch.

"My love -"

"How could you," you trembled, covering your face with your hands. "We had planned this date for a long, long time now! How could you forget!"

Jumin didn't say a word. He hung his head shamefully and pulled you closer to him, grateful you didn't draw away.

"I looked like such a fool, waiting for you out in the snow!" You sniffed. "I, I watched cars come and go, and I thought, that's him! In that car there! But it was never you, Jumin, you never showed up!"

Jumin looked at you, sorrow and regret the only legible expression on his face.

"I'm so embarrassed, and so... I'm so disappointed, Jumin... and I've never felt so much... anger towards you before..."

You wiped at your tears many times over, but they continued to bombard you, and your vision blurred. "I'm so angry," you sobbed. "So, so angry..."

Your emotions pounded within you, overtaking you; you curled into yourself and trembled vigorously.

A soft thump. That's what you heard. He's gone, you thought, moving your hands away from your eyes.

But no. Jumin was still there with you, now on his knees.

"What... what are you -"

Jumin grabbed your bare foot delicately and kissed your arch once, twice, three times over. "Forgive me," he whispered fiercely, pressing his forehead against your cold skin. "Forgive me, MC. I was a careless man, a thoughtless man, and my foolishness meant leaving you out in the cold, waiting for me..."

Your lower lip trembled, and, as much as you tried to stop it, more tears came flooding down your cheeks.

"I hurt you," Jumin whispered, kissing your ankle, your calf, your knee. "I hurt you terribly, my angel... and I beg you to forgive me."

"Jumin..."

"I'm so sorry." His hot breath created goosebumps through your bare legs and up to your bare arms. "I'm so sorry."

You fell to the floor and tried to wrap your arms around him, but he was much faster than you. Jumin pressed you to his body, engulfing you entirely. You sobbed against his chest as feelings of anger turned into feelings of complete and utter devotion towards this man, your husband - your Jumin.

In his arms, you stayed until exhaustion overcame you. Jumin glanced down at you, lifting your chin to meet his eyes - you were fast asleep. Many thoughts ran through his mind - you needed a warm bath and a warm bed, who knows how long you had been standing in the cold. He needed to snap to it and make you as comfortable as possible.

But as he moved to pick you up, you pressed your head to his chest and let out a small groan. You were no longer crying, no longer in a state of despondency... no, you seemed to be in a place of peace. Perhaps he could treat you to a nice, warm bath, luxurious bedding, delicious food, and an enjoyable movie - whatever you wanted. For now, he wanted to watch you sleep. Indeed, he wanted to etch the peaceful expression in your face into both his brain and heart.

Besides - he was in an extremely uncomfortable position, his legs falling asleep and his back steadily aching. Yes, this well deserved, self-inflicted punishment would work magnificently.

[maxwell-grant]

Thoughts on the Shadow's Doppelganger, Lamont Cranston

The funny thing about Cranston in the original stories is that, yeah, one of the most famous scenes across all Shadow media is the “Lamont Cranston Talks to Himself” chapter in The Shadow Laughs, where we learn that The Shadow is not Lamont Cranston, but has usurped his identity, and now shows up at his bedside looking like him, talking like him, knowing more about his own life than he himself does, and ordering him to leave town, effectively blackmailing him into letting him use his face. It’s a very iconic scene that exemplifies a lot of what makes The Shadow unique as a character, and you can imagine why so many adaptations have gone with the idea of Cranston being either a hapless stooge bullied into submission, or an actual villain, because that whole scene is very much a horror movie scenario. 

Thing is, none of them seem to remember how Cranston and The Shadow’s relationship developed past this. I’ll post this excerpt from Atoms of Death:

"Good morning, Cranston," came a quiet tone from the foot of the bed.

"Good morning, yourself," returned Cranston, rubbing his eyes without noticing the visitor.

"You should say: Good morning, myself," chuckled The Shadow, dryly.

Cranston was pulling down the sleeves of his pajama jacket. He sat bolt upright, staring. Then a slow smile showed on his lips; one that was almost a replica of The Shadow's.

"So it's you," remarked Cranston, sleepily. "Well, I knew that last night. It was about time we crossed paths again. Well, old man, you landed me in for plenty this trip."

Cranston shoved bedclothes aside and perched on the edge of the bed. He found cigarettes on the telephone table; The Shadow supplied a flame from a lighter before Cranston could ignite a match. The millionaire noted that The Shadow's lighter bore the initials "L. C." 

"You handle every detail, don't you?" questioned Cranston in admiration. “Jove! I remember the first time I met you. In this very room. You dropped cloak and hat and left me looking at my own face as plainly as if I had seen it in a mirror. Just as it is today."

"And I advised you," recalled The Shadow, in Cranston's own tone, "to take a trip abroad, while I used your identity. You were a bit exasperated at first."

"I must admit that I was. I threatened to have you arrested, as an impostor, until you proved that you knew more about my affairs than I did. I really believe that if it had come to a showdown, I would have been proven the impostor and you the genuine Lamont Cranston. Jove!"

"Jove," repeated The Shadow, quietly, "You have acquired that expression recently, Cranston. I shall remember it for future reference. You have a penchant for acquiring anglicisms during your sojourns in British colonies. Jove!"

"Bounder and blighter," laughed Cranston. "Don't forget those. I still use them occasionally."

Or this excerpt from The Hydra, which is an incredible book where the chemistry between the two really shines:

Lamont Cranston woke up and wondered why his head still whirled. It took him about half a minute to learn that the motion came from the fact he was riding in his limousine. Someone must have put him back in the limousine and Stanley was driving him home. 

He didn't have to guess who had helped him on his way, for at that moment Cranston heard a low-toned laugh beside him. He turned to see the black-cloaked figure of The Shadow.

"What did you hit me with?" asked Cranston. "All four of your automatics?"

"I'm only carrying a pair tonight," replied The Shadow

Look at these two dorks, just palling around and getting into shenanigans and The Shadow outright joking around Cranston, like they are just two old chums having a laugh at the weirdness of their lives. The “real” Cranston didn’t show up very often in the original stories, especially in the last stories when Lamont Cranston essentially became the real identity of The Shadow, but when he did, part of what makes him stand out as his own character is that he’s funny. Gibson gets a lot of mileage out of Cranston as this guy who is completely nonchalant and chill about all the weird shit that happens to him, even in The Hydra after he kills a man with an elephant gun, he’s still more or less the same, he largely just walks out of it with a newfound realization. 

Relieving Cranston of the elephant gun, The Shadow steered his friend into the closet. Hauling the big weapon with him, The Shadow opened the door to meet and dismiss arriving servants who had dashed upstairs when they felt the house quake. 

"Whenever I see this gun," began Cranston, coming from the closet, "I'll remember what I did with it -" 

“Quite right," interposed The Shadow approvingly. "What you did to Mance will make amends for any elephants you may have killed. Too bad Mance didn't bring along a few more Hydra Heads.”

Slowly, understanding dawned on Cranston. He'd never compared his big-game hunts with The Shadow's quests for men of crime. He felt that The Shadow's cause was justified, but it had seemed outside the field of sport. It still was, but Cranston, now that he had dealt with a murderer who deserved to die, was realizing that his game hunts were more deserving of rebuke.

His encounters with The Shadow gradually changed Cranston from a useless millionaire wasting his resources and talents on idle pursuits, to...still largely a useless millionaire, except his resources and talents are no longer wasted and he’s gradually grown into a useful ally and friend to The Shadow. The Shadow tends to have that effect on people who work by his side and even Cranston, the guy whose main role in his organization is to just stay away and be useless somewhere else, can’t help but change a little into a better person when he appears. 

There’s an interesting article written by Bob Sampson called “The Third Shadow” which refers to the Bruce Elliot run of The Shadow Magazine, which is incredibly maligned by fans and not without reason, the stories all largely suck and the Shadow bears little resemblance to his former self, instead mostly feeling like a diet take on the radio show Lamont, more of an average detective. The theory Sampson puts out is that, during this period, it was actually Lamont Cranston who became active as The Shadow while Allard was busy overseas, and I definitely like this theory. It makes sense specially considering The Hydra sets up for Cranston to become more pro-active and serious:

While not the towering master-mind of Allard, he does become the next best thing: A post-war sleuth. He even indulges in wearing the cloak and slouch hat from time to time (to varying degrees of effectiveness), while trying to laugh like Allard (also to varying degrees of effectiveness) as if to fulfill that forbidden fantasy until he finally gets it out of his system. After all, The Shadow pretended to be him, why not the other way around?

As Bob Sampson put it: “It is always Cranston who explains all and takes the credit”. 

Probably very cathartic for Lamont, who for the last 18 years was relegated to being a distant supporting player in his own life. Cranston is still in contact with the agents however. He even receives "assignments" from Burbank. 

This entire arrangement could only be with The Shadow's tacit approval. Let us remember, Cranston was not merely some insipid fop. He certainly had done his own share of exploring and was indeed a hunter. He could handle a variety of firearms, was familiar with exotic peoples and their customs, knew how to stalk dangerous animals through the jungle and veldt, but he was not, nor ever claimed to be, a master secret-agent and soldier.

I think it is fitting that the writing is completely different for this period as well. Not the enigmatic journalistic style of Allards exploits, but the witty, modern champagne fizz of Cranston's odyssey in a Post-War world. He feels a full range of emotions. In the Gibson stories, The Shadow is at arms length. In the Elliott stories, Cranston is sitting right next to you on a train or an airplane or roadster. 

It’s also interesting to consider how Lamont Cranston has basically become the true name of The Shadow in pop culture. Often times it’s the name people use when they specifically want to reference The Shadow, the supposed “Ghost of Gay Street” hauntings in Gibson’s former apartment took the form of Lamont Cranston, and even in the stories, more and more people became aware of it as the years went by (which also helps reinforce the idea that the “real” Cranston eventually took to acting as a fill-in for The Shadow, to draw attention away from the real Shadow’s operations), and Gibson even mentioned a few times that Cranston was The Shadow’s “favorite” identity along with Arnaud. Which is kinda fascinating to think about and does hint at some weird underlying aspects of The Shadow’s psyche, that his favorite identity is one not his own.

And at last, there’s these passages from The Whispering Eyes, a book that does not mention Allard once, and the very last Shadow novel: 

From beneath the seat he was taking his black garb. Cloaked and hatted as he stepped from the cab, Cranston merged immediately with the darkness. He had become The Shadow. 

Cranston's switch to his other self could well be attributed to a hypnotic mood. The mental lapses produced through hypnosis were the sort that would often cause a subject to revert to habit. Now, as The Shadow, Cranston was still in what might be termed a haphazard mood. He was skirting through darkness, pausing, changing direction, behaving generally as though avoiding something that did not exist.

Lang had flung away his glasses; his eyes now showed the shining, hypnotic force that the lenses normally softened. He recognized the eyes that met his above a leveled gun muzzle.

The Shadow's eyes, yet strangely Cranston's, for this was one time The Shadow did not care to disguise them.

Which begs the question: Did Cranston succeed in fully becoming The Shadow? Or did The Shadow succeed in fully becoming Cranston?

[miracul0us-multishipper]

Lady Wifi (Part 2)

Marillion AU

- - -

“He can’t do that! It’s illegal! I'm a superhero, for gods sake!”

Alya was fuming. How dare they? Expulsion would go into her school record permanently, it would influence her future career forever!

“But he doesn’t know that.”, Tikki reasoned. “And it better stays that way.”

Alya was tempted to change that. But if it came down to it, being Ladybird would always rank higher than revenge on Damocles in her priorities.

“I'm going to get them for this!”, Alya swore under her breath. “The principle, Chloé and her Alter Ego Marillion!”

“Alya-“

“No! You don’t get this, you won’t have to apply for jobs with “Expulsion for Theft” written on your record!”

Tikki backed away a little and Alya immediately regretted her tone.

“I... Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.”

Tikki may be an insufferable know-it-all, but she was her friend. She cared for her and only ever wanted to help.

“It's okay, Alya.”, her Kwami calmed her worries. “I know how upset you are. But think of Marillion! We can’t risk that she gets to you, and you're in a vulnerable state of mind.“

Alya paled.

“Oh my gosh... What do I do? Tikki, what do I do now?”

“Stay calm! Marillion can only akumatize people who think there is no solution to their problems. You're Ladybird! You can think of something.”

Her jaw dropped. Of course! I'm Ladybird!

“Jesus! You're right, Tikki! I can do this!”

“Awesome! Maybe we should write a letter-“

“I'm going to confront Damocles as Ladybird! And then I'll kick Chloé's butt!”

“Wait, what?”

Alya jumped up and threw her hair back, revealing the white, pearly earrings.

“Tikki, spots on!”

-

“She's not answering her phone.”, Marinette fretted, turning her own off after the fifth attempt. “This is bad...”

“Oh no!”, Nooroo zoomed around her, just as anxious as herself. “Do you think something happened to her?”

Fear twisted her guts and she shook her head.

“I can’t think like that. I can’t... I have to... think clearly now.”

No time for her worst-case scenarios, she would only scare Nooroo. No, first she had to find some clarity about Alya's disappearance from her radar.

“You're the expert when it comes to your brooch’s emotion-radar.”, she mused and turned to her little friend. “Any idea what could cause her to just... vanish?”

Nooroo stilled, thinking.

“Well... if her mood had lightened up, we would have felt it. In order to completely disappear, she either lost consciousness, entered a meditative state, came in touch with a similar magic to mine, or... hm.”

“What?”

“I remember one instance where my... wielder set a trap to upset his victim. Their pain became so great it turned completely catatonic.”

He shuddered.

“He can speak of luck it happened before he could akumatize them. A catatonic Akuma is absolutely disastrous!”

She took a step back.

“That's horrible! Do you think this happened to Alya?”

Uncertain he bit his lip.

“I’m not sure. It’s also possible that she met Ladybird. I’m not very familiar with Tikki's powers, but maybe it’s possible for her to shield people from me.”

“Ugh, that’s just what I need now!”

Nooroo ducked his head.

“S-sorry.”

“No!”, she hurried to comfort him. “Not you, honey, this isn’t your fault.”

She sighed, looking up at the door to the principals office. This is so unfair!

“We've got to help Alya.”, she decided. “And if we can’t find her personally...”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Then we'll just have to make sure her problems are gone when she returns.”

Nooroo nodded eagerly, happy she had an idea.

“What is your plan?”

“It’s... risky. But maybe we can help Alya and make sure she doesn’t suspect us to be Marillion. You know, once she realizes it’s not Chloé!”

“Good thinking, Marinette! Reveal-prevention is most effective when used early.”

“And I think I'll do it by... akumatizing myself?”

His mouth fell shut.

“Oh.”

“Is that possible?”

“Um. Well, yes.”

He didn’t look very happy.

“Nooroo?”

“Hm? Oh. It’s not dangerous, I just...”

He fidgeted.

“You'll have to take off the miraculous for that.”

That didn’t sound too dramatic. She could just... oh.

“You... You’re scared that you'll get lost, aren’t you?”

“No!”, he hurried to deny. “I trust you! You'd never be careless with the brooch.”

He didn’t look at her, scared he'd offended her somehow. She petted his forehead, a quiet assurance that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Nooroo,” she soothed him, “it’s alright to be scared. And you can always tell me if something sits wrong with you.”

Hesitantly he looked up to her.

“It’s just... if you renounce me, I won’t know what happens with you. What if you get hurt? Or you get carried away, like Stoneheart did? Or what if Hawkmoth finds me while you're gone, and the next thing I’ll see is him and I won’t ever see you again? Or what if the brooch gets lost and the next time I’ll open my eyes, I’ll find that two thousand years have passed and you are... you are...”

He was crying now and she felt tears form in her own eyes.

“Oh, Nooroo.”, she whispered and hugged her little friend. “That won’t ever happen. I promise! I promise you won’t end up there again.”

He nuzzled his face into the fabric of her jacket.

“But how can you be sure?”, he asked, his voice so faint she almost didn’t hear him. As if he didn’t want her to hear him.

Gently she pulled back a little, so she could look at him.

“We can figure something out.”, she stated confidently and tapped her brooch. “You don’t want to be left behind? Then we'll make sure that you’re not.”

He blinked, confused, and she smiled.

“This is your power before it is mine, right? I'm just borrowing it when I transform.”

“In a way.”, he answered, his voice still wobbly. “But I can’t create akumas without a wielder. At least no stable ones.”

“Then I‘ll create the akuma. I'll detransform and take off the brooch. I take the akuma and take care of Alya. And you stay close-by, guide me like I guide my champions, and hold on to your miraculous while I’m busy. Okay?”

He leaned his head sideways.

“You... you want me to take the miraculous? All alone?”

Was that a taboo for kwamis?

“If that's alright with you!”, she hurried to add. “If you don’t feel up to it, we can deposit it in my diary case. Or put it in Dad's safe.”

Nooroo shook his head, wiping his tears away. When he spoke, his voice was soft but firm.

“It will be my honor.”, he said. “To watch over it and you. I’m sure you can find Alya.”

She smiled and petted his squishy little cheek one last time.

“Then we're ready. Nooroo, dark wings rise!”

He vanished in a blur of sparkles and her transformation washed over her. Careful that the schoolyard was indeed empty, she dashed out of the bathroom and jumped on the roof of the school, eyes darting over the nearby park.

It was spring and butterflies weren’t hard to come by. As soon as she spotted one it was already fluttering towards her, settling on her outstretched palm to be of service.

“We have to help Alya.”, she whispered and covered its wings with her other hand. “But this time I'll do it on my own. Stay close by, my akuma!”

Her fears and concern for Alya transformed into inky shadows, drawn into the the white butterfly and sparking with potential. The newly dubbed akuma took off and fluttered around her, ready to fulfill its mission.

“Dark wings fall.”, she released her transformation and caught Nooroo in cupped hands. Exhausted he took the bonbon she offered him.

“Are you completely sure?”

She nodded.

“I'm not renouncing you, Nooroo. You'll be on your own for a bit, but if anything goes wrong I need you to take control. I trust you, okay?”

He swallowed, but when he took the rosy brooch from her hands, he looked determined.

“You can count on me.”

Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the akuma and took out her phone. She had thought a lot about this, and... well, if she was going to avenge Alya, she might as well choose a form her crush would approve of. Already sketching out a design in her mind she held up her phone.

“Let's do this!”

The akuma took a dive for her and a bubbly feeling shot through her hand.

“It'll be fine, Nooroo.”, she waved him. “But this is a job for Lady Wifi!”

-

The door to the principals office flew open with a crash.

“Monsieur Damocles!”, Ladybird roared, righteous fury burning in her chest. “You have unjustly thrown out an exceptionally talented student! So now you must answer to- Monsieur Damocles?”

The principal was frozen in place like a mannequin. A pinkish Pause icon hovered in front of his chest and send a chill down her spine. Her fury fizzled out like a cheap sparkler and she dropped her dramatic pose.

“What the...”

She waved her hand in front of his face, to no avail. Before she could take a closer look at the problem, the computer on his desk flickered to life. Alya gasped.

“Marinette?!”

If someone had asked her how she'd come to this conclusion, she wouldn’t be able to answer. By all accounts, the girl on the desktop looked nothing like the Marinette she knew. She was dressed in pitch black spandex, accentuated by white stripes and a symbol resembling a Wifi icon. Her skin was ghostly pale, and pink eyes glared out of an angular butterfly mask. The soft black hair Alya had braided during countless sleepovers was out of its usual pigtails, loose and unkempt. The most striking difference however was her bearing.

Marinette tended to make herself small, to slip in the gaps between people or hang onto her friends. When she walked there was always an endearing air of hurry or absent-mindedness to her, which had caused her to bump into Alya more times than she could count.

Now, on the other hand... she was so forebodingly present. She was commanding attention, fully in control, her posture relaxed and confident.

“I'm Lady Wifi,” Not-Marinette informed her viewers with a grin, “Revealer of the Truth! For my first Exposé, your Principal would like to share a tidbit with you.”

The camera zoomed out, revealing an intimidated Damocles behind his desk - alive and moving. This had to be a recording!

“So, Monsieur Damocles”, Lady Wifi addressed her hostage, walking with a grace she hadn’t possessed before. “Is it true that you wrongly suspended a student named Alya today?”

Damocles avoided to meet the piercing glare in her glowing eyes.

“Y-yes, I have.”, he confessed, having the decency to look ashamed.

“So you were biased, unjust, totally unfair?”

He sighed.

“Yes, I was.”

Her phone came into view and Ladybird narrowed her eyes. The rest of Marinette - her clothes, her mannerism, her eyes - had changed, but the lucky charm on her phone still looked the exact same. A lavender little spiral, bought the same day that Alya had gotten her Ladybird-themed one. And if the little charm was the same, then so was her phone.

“That's were the Akuma must be!”

“There you have it!”, Wifi snarled into the camera. “He confessed his crimes! And so will everybody else who harmed Alya, before I give them the punishment they deserve.”

She raised her phone and turned towards her prey, swiping over the display of her phone. A glowing pause button shot out and froze Damocles in place before her could escape.

“Stay connected.”, Lady Wifi dismissed her audience and the screen turned black.

Ladybird let out the breath she had been holding and slumped onto the nearest chair.

“Oh no...”, she groaned and pressed her hands over her mouth. “Not you, girl!”

And it was Ladybird's own fault, too! If she'd just kept quiet about her discovery, or at least talked to Marinette beforehand. But now Chloé knew she was onto her and was targeting the people she loved!

“I'm going to fix this.”, she mumbled into her gloves. “I promise, Mari.”

Fueled by the determination to get her friend back, Ladybird stood up and reached for her Yo-Yo.

“Chat Noir, it’s me.”, she told her partner's voicemail. “Get moving, buddy. We've got a job.”

-

“You have a crush on Chloé, you have a crush on Chloé!~”, the pest that was Adrien's Kwami teased him in his most annoying sing-song. The teenager swatted him aside and pulled the bathroom door closed.

“If you don’t show some compassion for my heartache very soon, I’ll loose my tolerance for your gross Camembert.”

“Not as gross as the idea of kissing Chloé though, is it?”

Adrien groaned and raised his fist in defeat.

“Plagg, Claws out.”

This day couldn’t get any worse. His great love had turned sour, his good friend had turned evil, and his partner had left him a message. That couldn’t be a good sign. A message meant she had a plan. A plan meant she was impatient to start. Impatience meant that his hotheaded partner would barge headfirst into danger, without any backup.

“We've got a job,” she informed him for the pure drama of it. “I have no idea where Lady Wifi went, and I honestly don’t feel like fighting her at all. So here's what we'll do: instead of fighting a girl everybody likes, let’s fight a girl no sane person can stand! Oh, Chloé is Marillion, by the way, meet me at her Hotel; we're kicking butterfly butt tonight.”

The message ended and Chat Noir sighed deeply. There was no time to try and convince her of a different strategy, she was probably already there and ready to fight.

“This is the worst day ever.”, he complained to no one. But alas, the universe was not inclined to have mercy on its favorite black cat. So he sighed once more over his broken heart, kicked the door open and vanished into the night like the ninja he was always meant to be.

-

“There you are, Kitty!”, Ladybird greeted him, already brimming with excitement. “Just in time!”

She pulled him down to take cover behind a chimney and took out her Yo-Yo.

“Look!”

Zooming through a window - a feat impossible for any normal device - the display of her weapon revealed exactly what he had feared: Marillion in all her purple glory, swinging her staff at imaginary opponents. She was so obviously Chloé that he wondered how he hadn’t noticed it before.

“This is horrible.”, he mourned his disillusioned crush.

“Right? Her form is so sloppy!”, Ladybird agreed far too enthusiastically, missing his point by the length of her Yo-Yo-cord. “She looks like a toddler!”

He groaned and hid his face behind his hands.

“Why couldn’t it have been literally anyone else?”

There were thousands of girls in Paris, but somehow the one behind Marillion's tragically pre-redemption-villainous mask was... Chloé. His oldest yet brattiest friend, the last person he could ever feel attracted to.

“When this is over I'm so going to give the brooch to Marinette.”, he grumbled. He didn’t even have the time to fully process what he had said - let alone imagine how amazing Marinette might look in purple - before Ladybird had grabbed his shoulders and dragged him closer.

“That,” she gasped, “is the best idea you've ever had, Kitty! We'll be a trio with the smartest little bean in Paris, ohmygosh!”

“Wait, you know her too?”

“Dude, I adore her! Let’s get this Miraculous and pay our girl a visit, yes?”

“Aye, aye, Ma’am!”, he eagerly saluted and readied his baton. “Chat Noir, reporting for duty!”

“Then here we go!”

[iam93percentstardust]

I'm bombarding you with those prompts, so I fully understand if you just ignore all those you don't like, lol. Would WinterIronFalcon be an OT3 you're intrested in writing? Some established WinterFalcon with Tony pining helplessly after them, not believeing he could have a chance? With a dash of angst in it? Thank you ♡

There isn’t much angst in this but there is hopeless pining so yay?

Also on ao3 here

~

“Share Bear, it’s not fair,” Tony whines into the phone.

“What isn’t?” his cousin asks, sounding patient but also kind of amused. He takes the phone away from his ear and squints at it. Is she making fun of him? She probably is, Sharon always makes fun of him. She’s mean like that; he’s pretty sure she gets it from Natasha.

“They’re so fucking gorgeous, I can’t stand it.”

“Oh. Them again. Seriously Tony, didn’t you used to have better taste?”

“Excuse you,” he says, offended. “My taste is perfect.”

“They think arguing is foreplay.”

“It’s bickering! And it’s cute!”

“Gross,” Sharon says cheerfully.

“God hates me,” Tony says dramatically, flinging his hand over his eyes. “That’s why he cursed me to work with two such beautiful humans who are already dating each other.”

“Tony—”

“I know Bucky stays up to date with the fandom,” he continues, going a little quieter. “He’s gotta know that tons of people ship the three of us. But he doesn’t say anything about it. Share Bear, why doesn’t he say anything?”

“Probably because for every person who ships all three of you, there’s twice as many who ship just you and him,” she admits. “I know that if someone were shipping Maria and Nat and ignoring that I even exist, I’d be pretty upset.”

“Yeah,” he says glumly.

“What’re you filming today anyway?” she asks.

“True Crime. We were supposed to be doing an episode of Supernatural at the Odinson Mystery House, you know, over in Norway where the son found out he was adopted and then got super into Norse mythology and supposedly disappeared into a rainbow?”

“Oh yeah, that guy was crazy.”

“Wasn’t,” Tony insist stubbornly. “There are three different eyewitnesses and they all saw the same thing.”

“All three eyewitnesses tested positive for meth.”

“It was trace amounts and ruled irrelevant to the case. Anyway, there’s some sort of blizzard so our flight got canceled. We figured we’d get a jump on this season’s True Crime episodes instead.”

“What are you doing this week?”

He scowls into the phone. “Fandom episode. They voted for Captain America.”

He can practically hear Sharon wince. “I’m sorry. That fucking sucks.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, not least because both of them know exactly what happened to Captain America. He was recovered from the Arctic back in the 50s and went on to live a very happy and fulfilling life with Aunt Peggy. But that’s a very closely guarded state secret; the U.S. government can’t let it get out that Steve Rogers survived nearly a decade in the ice. Technically, Tony and Sharon aren’t even supposed to know but Aunt Peggy had insisted she be allowed to tell them after she took custody of Sharon and Tony moved out of Howard’s and into her home. It’s kind of cool actually, knowing that Uncle Steve is really Captain America. He’s a pretty great guy. It just kind of sucks that he can’t tell anyone about it and now he has to do a whole episode about it when everyone knows he’s a shitty liar.

He’d talked it over with Uncle Steve and Aunt Peggy when the results of the vote had first come in. Aunt Peggy’s advice had been to act more manic than usual, throw even more outlandish theories into the mix, and really make this episode about the banter between him and Bucky. “Direct their attention away from Steve,” she’d said. “They’re already going to be looking at you. Just make sure they’re doing it for the wrong reason.”

He kind of wants to kiss Bucky. That would definitely draw attention away from the episode. But that’s not fair to either Bucky or Sam, who are very happy with their relationship and don’t need a homewrecker like Tony throwing a spanner into the mix.

“Good luck,” Sharon tells him before they hang up. “You’re gonna need it.”

“Wow, thanks,” he mutters but she’s already gone.

~

Marvels Unsolved was never supposed to be this popular. It started off as a novelty webseries about Tony trying to convince Bucky about the existence of the supernatural—he firmly believed that if science could turn Uncle Steve from an actual shrimp to the god of muscles, then magic had to be out there—and then they’d started talking about an unsolved crime from the early 20th century after filming an episode one day, forgetting that the camera was still rolling, and had ended up with enough footage to make a second episode about real crimes. They had stayed pretty unknown throughout that first season but then true crime podcasts had exploded in popularity and Unsolved along with them.

Now they have a fandom and merchandise and actual fanfiction written about them, which is the craziest thing. They both have several often-quoted gifs floating around the Internet and Bucky has somehow become the poster child for being unimpressed by literally everything (he actually makes some of the best faces when something genuinely scary happens but they always end up editing those parts out—he has an image to maintain after all).

They brought Sam on once they started gaining in popularity. Tony, by that point, already had a pretty well-established crush on Bucky. He’d even thought that he had a chance with his co-host, small as it may be, and at first, it hadn’t seemed like Sam was going to change anything. He and Bucky argued all the time so Tony had been absolutely stunned when he’d stumbled upon them making out like it was the end of the world.

They had just finished filming their second season. Sam had suggested going out to a local bar. He’d suggested it for all three of them but Tony had, inexplicably, felt like a third wheel all night as Sam and Bucky bickered. At one point, Sam had disappeared off to the restroom and a couple minutes later, Bucky had followed him. Tony doesn’t know how long he had sat there waiting for them but he’d eventually gone looking for them only to find Sam pressing Bucky up against a wall.

And that had been that.

Three years later, Sam and Bucky are still going strong, Tony is as smitten with Sam as he is with Bucky despite knowing how hopeless both crushes are, and the fandom seems convinced to either write Sam out of Tony and Bucky’s relationship or write Tony into Sam and Bucky’s. He wishes they would stop. He stays pretty up to date with the fandom as well and they have all these meta posts about the way Bucky looks at him or something. It just keeps giving him hope but, well, it’s been three years. If Bucky wanted him, or if Sam did for that matter, they would have done something long ago.

~

“Hey, you doing okay?” Sam asks him as they’re setting up.

“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?” He avoids meeting Sam’s eyes, focusing instead on adding creamer to the coffee. Marvels had presented them with these mugs last year to congratulate them on four years of Unsolved. They’ve got their most iconic quotes printed on them, Bucky’s with “Obviously I killed JFK” and Tony’s with “I’m the dramatic bitch your mom warned you about.” Sam has one too with his one and only line in the entire show printed on it (“Why did I agree to work with you?”) but since he’s always behind the camera, he doesn’t have to use the same mug for each episode.

“You just seem a little off.” The worst part is that Sam genuinely looks concerned. If they didn’t care about him, he thinks his crush might be easier to manage but they do because they’re just nice guys like that. “I know you weren’t too thrilled when we announced this week’s case.”

“Howard worked with him, practically hero-worshipped the damn guy. Of course, I’m not excited.”

Sam winces. They know all about Tony’s shitty relationship with Howard after his dad called Marvels furious that his son was hosting a webseries instead of coming home to grovel at his feet and take over the business. The whole team had been brought in to listen as Fury tried to placate him. By the end, Bucky had been furious on Tony’s behalf and Sam had berated Fury for twenty minutes for making Tony listen to the vitriol his dad had spewed. It had cemented his crush on Sam, then just a passing fancy, into something real and permanent.

“Seriously, Sam, I’m fine. Might be a little off today but I would have said if I didn’t think I could do it.”

Sam doesn’t look convinced but he agrees anyway. Tony sits down next to Bucky and passes him his mug. Bucky shoots him a grin and murmurs, “Thanks, doll.”

Tony doesn’t blush but that’s only because he has five years of practice. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Sam counting them down and he turns to face the camera, settling his hands in front of him.

“This week on Marvels Unsolved True Crime and in celebration of our 100th episode,” he begins, “we asked you what you’d like us to investigate and you came back—”

“—overwhelmingly,” Bucky interjects.

“Many, many times,” Tony agrees, “with a topic near and dear to my own heart: Captain America.”

“That’s right,” Bucky says, sounding surprised though Bucky had been the first to point out that maybe they shouldn’t do this episode because of Tony’s connections to Project Rebirth. “Your dad helped turn Steve Rogers into Captain America, didn’t he?”

“And he never let me forget it!” Tony says cheerfully.

“One hundred episodes,” Bucky says slowly, enunciating each word. “Can you believe that, doll?”

Sometimes, he wonders why the fans ship them when Sam is right there. Other times, Bucky says things like this and he understands completely.

“Not even a little bit, Bucky Babe.” Okay, so maybe he doesn’t help.

“One hundred. The big one zero zero.”

“We tried to do something extra special and get Sam in front of the camera for you guys—”

“—so you could see what a hunk he is—”

“—but Sam said that he didn’t trust anyone else to film us properly—”

“—which makes sense because Tony? If you put him in the wrong light, he’s practically a gremlin—”

“Hey!”

“I’m just telling the facts.”

“Well, the facts are wrong.”

“They’re facts, sweet thing, they can’t be wrong.”

“Can too. Anyway, since Sam refuses to join us—”

“—and that just breaks my heart because Sam, he’s one of my favorite guys, you know?”

Tony pauses. It’s not like Bucky to say anything nice about Sam. Usually, it’s all good-natured insults and bickering. He must really be fed up with the Starkbucks shippers to say something like this when they’re still this early in the show.

“Only one of?” he asks curiously.

Bucky shoots him one of those filthy grins that their audience loves so much. “Well, it’s hard not to include you on that list,” he drawls.

He’s not going to blush.

He’s not going to blush.

He’s not going to—

Damn it.

Whatever. It’s no big deal, that’s what editing is for. So what if Sam has never edited out one of Tony’s blushes yet? Maybe Tony will get lucky and he will this time.

“You know, I was actually named for Captain America’s sidekick?” Bucky asks, getting them back on track.

“Wow, that is deeply unfortunate,” Tony deadpans.

“Yeah, Dad’s a fanboy. His whole troop was pinned down and rescued by the two of them. He tells the story all the time—kind of like your dad.”

“Except my dad goes straight past into fanboy and directly into obsession territory.”

“…Fair enough.”

“Really? That’s all you’re going to say?”

Bucky shrugs and takes a sip out of his mug. “I’ve been inside your house. I’ve seen the Steve Rogers shrine. I’m not going to argue with you.”

Tony thinks about that for a moment. “It is kind of a shrine, isn’t it? Anyway, we’ve got some great stuff for you today. We’re going to crack open this cold case, show you some never-before-seen footage courtesy of my mom sneaking my dad’s old war tapes out of the mansion, and then we’ll talk a little bit about the theories out there.”

“How many of them are going to be ridiculously outlandish and physically impossible?”

Tony glares at him. “None of them. I have never once presented a ridiculously outlandish and physically impossible theory.”

“Right because alien abduction is a valid—”

“Aliens are real!”

“You said that crabs might have eaten Amelia Earheart!” Bucky shouts over him.

“It’s a valid theory!”

“I take it back, you’re not one of my favorite people anymore.”

“That really hurts me, deep inside,” Tony says sarcastically, trying to cover up that maybe that does send a small pang shooting through his chest. He likes the thought of being one of Bucky’s favorite people. He doesn’t want to lose that.

“How deep?” Bucky asks and winks.

“Very deep. Way, way deep down. Practically in my—”

Bucky’s eyes widen and he nearly chokes on his coffee. “Okay, that’s enough of that. Let’s get into the facts.”

“Hey, that’s my line!”

~

“With a missing plane and pilot and so much redaction in the files, we’re lucky to even have a name, let’s get into the theories.”

“Actually, wait, before we do that,” Bucky says, “I want to ask if you’ve ever noticed that your voice changes when you’re doing the voiceovers.”

“Wait, what?” Tony asks. He glances at him, to one of the cameras, then back to Bucky. “What do you mean?”

“You know, it gets all deeper like you’re trying to voice movie trailers or something.”

“No it doesn’t.”

“Sure it does.”

Tony shakes his head. “There’s no way.”

They both turn toward Sam, who thinks about it and then makes a ‘sort of’ motion with his hand.

“Told you!” Bucky says triumphantly.

“You’re such a child,” Tony sneers.

“Yeah, that’s why you like working with me so much.”

Behind the camera, Sam silently snickers and Tony glares at him before telling the camera, “If you’re watching, let us know in the comments. Is my apparent movie trailer voice okay or does it need to go like Bucky clearly thinks?”

Bucky goes paler. “Hey, wait, I didn’t say it had to go.”

“It was implied when you brought it up,” he argues.

“No!” Bucky insists. “I was just wondering if it was on purpose.”

They both turn toward Sam, who thinks about it and then makes a ‘sort of’ motion with his hand.

“Aha!” Tony says triumphantly.

“Traitor,” Bucky mutters into his coffee.

Sam signs, “I’ll make it up to you when we get home tonight.”

“And that was more than I ever wanted to learn about Sam and Bucky’s love life,” Tony lies through his teeth. “Let’s get into the theories. I only have two for you today, one of which I think Bucky will particularly like.”

“Oh no.”

“Our first theory is that Steve Rogers died in a plane crash on December 16, 1944. Winter months in the Arctic are known to be particularly stormy. There would have been low visibility due to the high latitude and time of year and with the waters and surrounding land being well below freezing, it’s possible that, even if Captain Rogers survived the impact, he would have frozen to death in the stormy seas.”

Bucky thinks about it for a second. “Yeah, that seems plausible.”

“In addition, Howard Stark, a known Captain America aficionado and the father of Marvels Unsolved’s best host—”

“You lie like a rug!” Bucky howls.

Tony snickers and then when Sam signs, “He’s really not,” bursts out into full-out laughter.

Once he’s recovered, he continues, “Howard Stark has spent the first fifty years after the crash of the Valkyrie and the last twenty funding searches in the Arctic in the hopes of recovering Captain Rogers’ body. He has found no evidence that Captain Rogers survived the crash although he did find part of the remains of the Valkyrie and has since stated that, ‘No human could have survived that crash.’”

The expeditions are a scam and have been since Howard first found the Valkyrie crash site and Uncle Steve along with it. He hadn’t been planning on continuing the expeditions—too costly, as he claims—but when Aunt Peggy had told him that Uncle Steve’s survival had to remain a secret, he’d kept them up for pretense’s sake.

Bucky is saying something about how it sucks that the first superhero is gone and when he finishes, Tony grins and says, “Then you’ll like our second theory.”

“Somehow, every time you say that, I end up completely hating it. Wonder why that is.”

“Our second theory is that Steve Rogers survived the crash and is still alive but cryogenically frozen in the ice. There—”

“Bullshit!”

Tony starts laughing but he tries to continue on over Bucky shouting that it’s complete nonsense. It’s hard and he knows that Sam will probably have to do some editing and maybe make Tony do some voiceover work in order to make the theory audible but he thinks he manages to do a pretty good job.

Bucky is pouting by the end of it, arms crossed over his chest. “What fucking bullshit,” he mutters.

“The supersoldier serum—” Tony starts to point out.

“Isn’t a miracle drug.”

“That’s exactly what it is.”

“No, it just made him big and strong. It doesn’t just magically keep people alive when they should have died.”

And then they’re off into familiar territory, arguing about the merits of either theory. Tony’s actually feeling pretty good about himself, convinced that he’s doing a decent job of steering the conversation away of anything classified, right up until Bucky says, about halfway through the episode, “I’m surprised at you, Tony.”

He wrinkles his nose. “Surprised?”

“Usually, you have some absolutely batshit, off-the-walls crazy theory but these have actually been pretty normal for you.” He pauses and then adds for effect, “And you’re usually much better at your research than this.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh come on, even I know that there’s one more theory.”

He starts tapping at his chest nervously, almost wishing that he had a pair of sunglasses. Aunt Peggy always said that his lies are in his eyes, that they’re too expressive to hide the truth. When he was living with Howard, in the spotlight, he always had a pair of sunglasses to hide his eyes but he hasn’t wanted to use those since he moved out. He wishes he had them now.

“And what’s that?” he asks, feigning a casualness he doesn’t feel.

“That Steve Rogers lived and came out of the ice at some point and has been living out his life in anonymity.”

He barks out a nervous laugh. “I didn’t mention it because even I know that that theory is completely impossible.”

“Hasn’t stopped you before.” Sam nods agreeably. Bucky nods back at him and adds, “Even Sam agrees with me.”

“He’s your boyfriend, he’s practically required to.”

Both Sam and Bucky laugh at that one and yeah, okay, it was a pretty ridiculous statement. Anyone who knows them knows that being boyfriends is less likely to make them agree with each other.

“Look, Steve Rogers didn’t come out of the ice alive. Howard would have known for one thing and if you think, he could keep something like that quiet, then you don’t know him very well.”

“Maybe the government insisted it be a secret,” Bucky suggests, shrugging. “There have been plenty of people who have claimed over the last couple decades to be Captain America.”

Tony scoffs. “Oh come on, by that logic, anyone could be Captain America.”

“Maybe they could be.”

“No,” Tony says flatly. “It’s like that crazy conspiracy theory guy over on Reddit who’s convinced that Bruce Wayne is Batman.”

“Maybe Bruce Wayne is Batman.”

“Ooh do the butts match?” Tony says mockingly. “I mean, really, Bucky Babe, if we’re going off of lookalikes, then my fucking Uncle Steve is secretly really Steve Rogers, which is ridiculous because the guy’s like practically ancient and faints at the sight of blood in PG-13 movies.”

That sets off another round of arguing that lasts the rest of the episode until finally Tony wraps it up with, “Whether Steve Rogers died in 1944 or is still alive today is a mystery that will remain unsolved.”

They both pause for a moment to provide time for Sam to edit in the theme music and closing title. Usually, there would be some lighthearted bantering afterwards, maybe a joke about something they said earlier in the show. This time though, Bucky says thoughtfully, “The thing is, though, I’ve met your Uncle Steve—”

Tony goes cold.

“—and he really does kind of look like—”

Tony panics. That’s the only explanation that he has for declaring, “I’m done waiting,” reaching across the tables and grabbing hold of Bucky’s shirt, and yanking him forward to kiss him.

For a moment, Bucky is too startled to do anything but then he melts into Tony, mouth opening under his, tongue pushing forward to meet his. Bucky’s arms come around him, pulling him up and out of his chair and settling him into his lap. Tony makes a small greedy sound, swallowed by Bucky’s kiss, and then they’re both pulling away. Bucky’s lips are very red; Tony can’t stop staring at them even as he’s filled with dismay.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I shouldn’t have—”

“Why not?” Bucky demands.

“You—Sam—” He glances toward the camera but Sam isn’t standing there anymore. His heart drops into his stomach—has he just ruined Bucky and Sam’s relationship? But then he hears someone drop to their knees behind him and when he turns slightly, Sam’s fingers are on his chin, gently turning his head.

“How long?” Sam asks.

“How long what?”

“How long have we been wasting our time when we could have been kissing you instead?”

Three years, two months, and fifteen days. “Too long.”

Sam kisses him then, mouth gentler than Bucky’s but no less consuming. Bucky is a hard, hot line against his front; Sam is warm against his back and Tony? Tony loses himself in the storm that is the two of them, sparks shooting through him as Bucky’s hands find their way to his hips, as Sam’s tongue slips into his mouth, as Bucky whispers into his ear, “We’re not wasting any more time.”

~

Marvels Unsolved’s 100th episode shoots to their most watched, most liked video in less than a day and when asked, maybe the smallest handful of viewers could have said what it was about.

The day after it posts, only a week after it was filmed, Tony’s phone rings.

“Kill it with fire,” Sam says sleepily.

Tony, however, recognizes Aunt Peggy’s ringtone and he rolls over to grab it before Bucky can throw it at the wall. “Hello?” he asks groggily.

“Congratulations on not blowing Steve’s cover,” she says.

“Oh yeah,” Tony mutters. “Can I go back to bed now?”

“One more thing, duck.”

“What’s that?”

“Congratulations on the new boyfriends.”

[beybladefanfictions]

Ryuga’s Return - Chapter 4

(Description: AU where Ryuga survives Metal Fury but loses L-Drago. He reunites with Kenta and struggles to figure out what he’s supposed to do without Beyblade, his purpose in life for so long. Character’s thoughts are in asteriks.)

Ryuga's POV

Ryuga walked through the forest. He had spent the last week living with Kenta and his parents. Though he tried to avoid Kenta's parents, they made it difficult by always checking on him and insisting the four of them eat together as a “family.” A family Ryuga wasn’t part of. Kenta’s parents were weirdly welcoming as ever, making Ryuga uneasy. He was somewhat grateful. However, he was starting to suspect Kenta's parents were expecting something in return for all that they were doing for him. They had to. Why else would they be treating him nicely? Whatever the reason, Ryuga needed a break from all of them every now and then so he went outside on walks in the nearby forest to clear his head, like he was currently doing right now. It was the only time he could guarantee he would be alone for long periods of time. It was peaceful.

Once he returned to the house, Kenta and his parents were in the living room, seemingly waiting for him.

“Ryuga!” Kenta’s mother gasped, staring at him with wide eyes. “Where have you been?”

Ryuga stiffened. *Are they mad?*

“I went for a walk…” he grunted, closing the door behind him. “Like I've been doing every day.”

Kenta's mother let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness.”

“You need to let us know before you just disappear like that,” Kenta's dad added, his eyes narrowed sternly. “You were gone for hours.”

Ryuga’s eyes narrowed as well. “I did nothing wrong,” he argued, taking a step back.

“Well, no, not wrong,” Kenta’s mother’s tone was more gentle, but still stern. “We were just worried about you. Please, just tell us where you're going before you take off, can you agree to that?”

She waited for an answer. Ryuga clenched his fist. *So this is what they want: to control me… just like Doji did.*

“Fine,” Ryuga grunted.

The woman smiled. “Thank you, sweetie."

Ryuga bit back a growl. Kenta’s parents hadn’t ceased with the insulting nicknames and getting them to knock it off was useless. Ryuga started toward the basement entrance.

“Wait, Ryuga!” Kenta’s dad called.

Ryuga stopped, gazing back at the man. He walked toward him and held out a small device.

“Since you’re going to be here for a while, we got you this.”

Ryuga took the device, staring at it for a few moments. He had seen Kenta and his parents using these before but had never used one himself.

“What is it?” Ryuga asked, instantly feeling stupid.

However, Kenta’s dad didn’t seem to mind as he explained, “It’s a phone. We added our numbers and Kenta’s into it so you can call or message us from anywhere.”

“Er… thanks.” Ryuga took a step back, his gaze transfixed on the device.

“Oh, of course, you don’t know how to use it…” Kenta's dad reached toward Ryuga.

“I can figure it out,” Ryuga growled, flinching away before the man could touch him. “I don’t need your help.”

Kenta’s dad looked unsure. “Alright, if you say so, kiddo…”

Ryuga gazed at the phone in his hands for a few moments, trying to look like he knew what he was doing. Thankfully, he didn’t have to pretend long.

“Alright honey, we’re ready to leave then?” Kenta’s mother asked, gazing at her husband.

“Leave?” Kenta asked, sounding alarmed. He had been so quiet that Ryuga had nearly forgotten the kid was here. “Where are you going?”

“Just to the store,” she answered. Ryuga had to bite back a sigh of relief. *Finally, I don’t have to hide in the basement.*

“You two are old enough to be on your own for a while,” Kenta’s dad added with a nod.

Ryuga’s eyes narrowed. *Of course I am. I lived on my own for a long time before I ended up here.* Ryuga didn’t say that out loud. He didn’t want Kenta’s parents to feel sorry for him and considering earlier interactions, he suspected they would.

"Take care, you two!" Kenta's parents called as they walked out the front door.

"Bye!" Kenta called back, waving.

Once the door closed, the house was drowned in a comforting silence. Ryuga sat on the couch and gestured to Kenta.

“Okay, how does this thing work?” Ryuga sighed, holding up the phone.

“I thought you didn’t want help?” Kenta asked, sitting down next to him.

“I don't want their help. They’ll just talk down to me. You have a phone. Just show me how you work yours.”

“Oh, okay…” Kenta pulled his phone out of his pocket.

He held it up and pressed a button on the back, turning the screen on. Ryuga copied the action. He was confronted by a screen full of little icons. Ryuga froze. Kenta glanced at his screen.

“That one has your contacts in it," Kenta explained, pointing to a little green icon.

Ryuga tapped the icon. There were three sets of numbers next to some names: 'Kenta,' 'Mom,' and 'Dad.'

“Ugh, how do I change these names?” Ryuga grunted, glancing at Kenta.

“Oh, just click on the name then click on the little pencil icon," Kenta explained, his gaze fixed on his phone.

Ryuga did just that, changing 'Mom' to 'Kenta’s mom' and 'Dad' to 'Kenta’s dad.'

“Wait, what’s wrong with Mom and Dad?” Kenta asked, putting his phone aside and gazing back at him.

“They’re not my parents.”

“Family is more than who you’re related to, you know," Kenta replied, sounding weirdly serious. "Some families share no biological connection at all.”

“I don’t care," Ryuga growled, placing his phone aside. “They’re not my parents.”

“Not yet,” Kenta teased, nudging Ryuga's shoulder.

“Not ever, Kenta!” Ryuga snapped, turning to him.

Kenta jerked back, his eyes wide in alarm. Ryuga froze.

Taking a deep breath, he sighed and continued in a quieter voice, “I don’t need or want a family. I’m just here because I have nowhere else, you know that.” Ryuga's head hung low.

“Yeah, I do,” Kenta sighed, pulling his legs into his chest. "I just wish you guys could get along…” He was staring off into space, his eyes watering slightly.

“Kenta… I’m trying my best.” Ryuga rested his hand on Kenta's shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him.

Kenta let out a sigh. “I know, I know." He clung to Ryuga's arm for a few breaths before looking up at Ryuga. "Can… can we do something else?”

“You’re going to make me watch more of that dumb card show, aren’t you?” Ryuga grunted, moving his arm away.

Kenta smiled and shrugged. “Well, I was going to say ‘get you some apps for your phone,’ but, sure. I’d like to watch more Yugioh!”

Ryuga let out a sigh. However, at least Kenta wasn’t upset anymore.

“It gets really good!" Kenta insisted, hopping off the couch. “I promise!”

“It's about magical cards,” Ryuga replied with disbelief.

“We fight with metal tops that have spirits in them.”

Ryuga winced visibly.

Kenta's eyes went wide. “Er- um!"

“Put the show on," Ryuga ordered, his eyes narrowing.

“Okay," Kenta nodded and began setting up the TV.

Upon being reminded of L-Drago's disappearance, Ryuga longed for anything that would take his attention away from that pain, even something as silly as a show about kids playing with cards.

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

The next morning, Ryuga was lured out of the basement by the smell of food. He pushed the door open. Kenta’s parents were both in the kitchen, perking up a bit when they noticed him.

“Good morning, kiddo.”

Ryuga looked around. *Where’s Kenta? Why isn’t he up yet?!* A feeling of dread quickly overtook Ryuga. This was the worst-case scenario: he was alone with Kenta’s parents.

“Morning,” Ryuga muttered, sitting down at the table and staring intently at the ground.

*Please don’t try to talk to me, it’s too early for this.*

“Sleep well?” Kenta’s dad asked.

Ryuga let out a sigh. *Why?! Why do people have to constantly talk about nothing in particular?! Can’t there just be silence for once?!*

“Well enough,” Ryuga answered with a grunt.

Down the hall, a door opened. Ryuga let out a sigh of relief when he heard Kenta dash into the living room.

“Madoka just texted me!” Kenta announced, holding up his phone. “Flash Sagittario is fully repaired!”

“Oh, that’s good!” Kenta’s mother replied with a smile.

“You can go get it after breakfast,” his dad added, gesturing to the food they were currently cooking.

“Awesome!” Kenta turned to Ryuga. “Oh, hey Ryuga. You’re… up before me.” He sounded shocked.

“What’s your point?”

If Ryuga hadn’t come up here on his own, Kenta or one of his parents would’ve gone to get him like they always did. It made no difference what he did.

“Nothing,” Kenta replied with a shrug. “I’m just surprised.”

He sat next to Ryuga, at their usual spots at the table. Minutes later, Kenta’s parents put food on the table, consisting of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Ryuga went straight for the scrambled eggs, scooping some into a bowl with a fork.

“You sure that’s enough food for you, kiddo?” Kenta’s dad asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Yes.” Ryuga’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to fatten me up?”

Kenta’s parents just chuckled.

Ryuga stiffened. “That wasn’t a joke- nevermind.” He let out an exasperated sigh. *There really is nothing I can say to these people.*

Ryuga stayed silent for the rest of the meal, keeping his gaze fixed on his bowl of scrambled eggs. Once he was done, he turned to Kenta. The kid had somehow eaten all of his food as well, even though he had more than Ryuga had. *That can’t be normal.*

“Ryuga, you wanna come with me to get Sagittario?” Kenta asked, hopping to his feet.

“Sure,” Ryuga replied, getting to his feet as well.

Ryuga would pretty much follow Kenta anywhere if it meant he didn’t have to be alone with the kid’s parents. So the two of them left the house side by side. When they reached the Bey shop, Ryuga waited just outside as Kenta went in to retrieve Flash Sagittario.

“Woah, it’s Ryuga!” Ryuga stiffened at the sound of an unfamiliar voice: a kid by the sound of it.

“Ryuga?” another kid replied, sounding stunned. “Gingka’s last opponent in Battle Bladers?”

Ryuga stiffened at the memory of that battle.

“Yeah, him! He’s right over here.”

“Woah… he looks mean.”

Ryuga glared at the two kids, putting on the evilest face he could muster. They yelped and ran away. However, the reaction brought Ryuga no joy. In all honesty, Ryuga didn’t know how he wanted to be treated. He hated being treated like any other kid, but he wasn’t the Dragon Emperor anymore, so he didn’t think he deserved to be treated as such.

The bell at the shop door rang. Ryuga looked up to see Kenta walking out, holding up a newly repaired Flash Sagittario. He glanced at the bey. However, he barely got a chance to look at it as Kenta dashed past him.

“Wait, Kenta!” Ryuga called.

Kenta skidded to a halt. “Yeah?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Can I see Sagittario? Just for a second.”

“Uh… okay.” Kenta held Sagittario out in his hands.

Ryuga gently took the bey in his fingers and gazed at it. Flash Sagittario lacked the claws of Flame Sagittario but in exchange, its spin track was much taller and the bey’s entire form seemed tougher overall. This was it. This was the effect Ryuga’s power had on Kenta’s Beyblade, and perhaps a reflection of the effect Ryuga had on Kenta.

Ryuga could sense a familiar power within this bey: L-Drago’s power. Though while L-Drago’s power had been overwhelming, Sagittario’s power seemed quieter, and more controlled. If L-Drago was like a wildfire, then Sagittario was like a campfire.

“I guess it’s thanks to you that his bey even exists,” Kenta’s voice shook Ryuga from his thoughts. “Are you really sure you don’t want to try controlling it?”

“No, Kenta. It’s yours,” Ryuga insisted, handing the bey back to Kenta. “I’m not taking it from you.”

“Okay…” Kenta sounded slightly unsure but he started walking. Ryuga followed. “I really haven’t gotten much of a chance to practice with this new Sagittario,” Kenta was murmuring to himself.

He pulled out his phone and gazed at it as the two of them walked. A horrible decision, Ryuga thought. Yet Kenta was still paying attention to their surroundings somehow.

“Ooh, here’s a tournament scheduled for later today!" Kenta stopped walking, gazing at his phone. "Can I… yeah! There’s still one spot open! Wanna come with me, Ryuga?" He asked, looking up at him.

Ryuga's eyes narrowed. “I can't enter."

“Well yeah, but you could um-" Kenta looked back at his phone.

Ryuga let out a sigh. “Sit and watch." That was all he could do: be on the sidelines, reduced to a mere cheerleader for his Blading friend.

“I just…” Kenta put his phone away, gazing up at Ryuga with the puppy dog eyes. “It would be nice to know that I have your support.”

*It's either that or staying at the house with Kenta's parents.*

"Fine,” Ryuga grunted, “When is this tournament?"

“In a few hours. I need to get my blading stuff from the house but then we can do whatever until the tournament.” Kenta began walking.

Ryuga followed. “I’ll come with you. Then I want to be alone for a while.”

“Um… okay.” Kenta sounded unsure.

“I’ll get there in time for your tournament.” Ryuga smiled a bit. “Not that I’ll need to watch. You'll definitely win.”

“Ah, I don’t know,” Kenta replied, resting his hand on the back of his neck. “There’s a lot of bladers I’ve never beaten. Gingka, Kyoya, Tsubasa… If they’re there, it’ll be a challenge.”

“But you’ve gotten a lot stronger.” Ryuga was surprised to find himself encouraging Kenta. “Don’t forget that. They’re strong but so are you.”

“I… I guess.” Kenta’s gaze shifted to the ground.

“Why are you so unsure of yourself?” Ryuga asked, raising an eyebrow. “You forced me to use my ultimate move and scratched L-Drago before you even became a Legendary Blader!”

“Y-yeah… but that doesn’t guarantee I’ll win. I’ve barely had a chance to learn to control my new Sagittario.” Kenta gazed at his Beyblade.

“Then this is the perfect opportunity to learn.”

Kenta looked unconvinced but he didn’t argue further. They continued on in silence. 

*Attending tournaments is the closest I’ll ever get to returning to the world of Beyblade… where people will definitely recognize me.* Ryuga’s eyes widened at the thought. *I can’t… I don’t want to be recognized, I’ll just be gawked at and questioned relentlessly about L-Drago.* However, Ryuga had already told Kenta he would go. He didn’t want to disappoint him…

Ryuga was shaken from his thoughts when Kenta pushed the door to the house open. The two of them walked inside. Kenta's parents were both on the couch, gazing at their phones.

“Oh, you two got back quick…” Kenta’s dad remarked, glancing up at them.

Kenta nodded. “Yeah, I just need to pick up some stuff. I have a tournament later today.” He immediately rushed toward his room.

“Okay, sweetie,” Kenta’s mom called after him.

Ryuga stood frozen for a few moments, trying to collect his thoughts. He was going to a Bey stadium. If he didn't want to be recognized, he would have to use a disguise of some sort. However, he had nothing like that. Ryuga cast a glance at Kenta's parents, whose gazes were still fixed on their phones. Ryuga took a step forward.

*No! No way! I am not talking to them if I don't have to!* Ryuga froze. He didn't have any better ideas and being recognized at the tournament would probably be worse than dealing with Kenta's parents for a single conversation. *I guess I have to try.*

Ryuga took a deep breath and cleared his throat. Kenta’s parents looked up at him. Ryuga froze. *I hate this already. Why am I doing this?!*

“Can I borrow a jacket?” Ryuga blurted out, glancing at the window to avoid eye contact.

“A jacket?” Kenta’s dad sounded confused. “You’re wearing one right now.”

Ryuga had nearly forgotten he had his white jacket draped over his shoulders.

“A different one,” Ryuga replied, removing his white jacket and placing it aside. “I need one with a hood…”

Kenta’s mom grabbed a jacket off the coat-hanger.

“Here, will this work?” she asked, handing it to Ryuga.

He gazed at the jacket. It was long and black with a hood and a zipper. It wasn’t quite a cloak. However, Ryuga liked to think it was one.

“Yes,” Ryuga replied, slipping the jacket on.

“Got my stuff!” Kenta announced, rushing into the room. He looked up at Ryuga. “What’s with the getup?”

Ryuga walked toward the door and pulled it open. Kenta chased after him.

“Um, bye mom! Bye dad!” he called after them.

“Bye!”

“Good luck at your tournament!”

Kenta shut the door behind them and rushed to catch up with Ryuga. He walked by his friend’s side.

“Are you really not gonna tell me?” Kenta asked, tilting his head to the side.

Ryuga glanced down at him. “Tell you what?”

“Why are you wearing my mom’s jacket?”

“I didn’t want to be recognized at your tournament.”

Kenta’s eyes went wide. “Oh…” He looked away, suddenly embarrassed.

“I’ll see you then,” Ryuga added, turning to walk the other direction. “Do your best.” Kenta nodded. Determination burned in his gaze. Ryuga smiled and walked away.

(Author’s Note: Surprise! I’m actually not done with this story. I thought I was back when I finished chapter 3 but not long after posting, I got a burst of new ideas for this AU. So I started writing the ideas down and I ended up with enough material to fill six more chapters. So… yeah. This is a first. I’ve never gone back and continued a story after I thought I finished it. I considered making these six chapters a sequel but really, this story is already so short and the same conflict is continued and expanded so it made sense to keep it as one story. So yeah, look forward to five more chapters after this one.)