#and please don’t post the panels on my post without IDing them

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

we don’t talk about how gay edwin and charles are in the comics enough like what do you MEAN they just walk around holding hands what am i supposed to do with that

[just-like-playing-tag]

A totally self indulgent compilation of my favorite works on this blog of the year June 13, 2020 - June 13, 2021

2019-2020

The following lists are all in chronological order according to the date each post was first published.

Top 10 panel edits:

#1: It's our first morning

Date: Aug 20th, 2020 Time: ~ 2:18 h I really like how this one turned out!!! The 2020 Emma b-day edit has a lot of major panel redraws, but this is probably my favorite. I I really enjoy how I made the shadows work!! And the ear banfage looks pretty neat. Nice!!! Immagine

#2: Norman birthday edit 2021

Date: Mar 20th, 2021 Time: ~ 2:21 h Awww, soft Norman :') There was a bit to redraw, but I think everything turned out pretty neat!!! I believe everything works out fine. Though looking back at it, the part of the ID I added is definitely top small :')

#3: Manga dub: Yuugo gets knocked out

Date: Mar 27th, 2021 Time: ~ 5:05 h Here start the Manga Dub redraws to which I gave my everything ahah. This one turned out nice! I think the shoes turned out particularly good eheh. I like how Yuugo's clothing lineart- for the texture, I wanted to go for something heterogeneous, but I'm not fully confident in the final result. Gilda looks very rushed but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#4: Manga dub: Yuugo makes his dramatic entrance

Date: Apr 5th, 2021 Time: ~ 4:02 h This is pretty cool!!!! The coat took ages to redraw, but sis it turned out perfect!!! I'm very proud of this.

#5: Manga dub: RayGildEmma hug!!!

Date: Apr 9th, 2021 Time: ~ 1:31 h Awww, a beautiful panel I was really happy to have the chance to redraw. Taking into account what there was to redraw, I'm actually surprised with how little this took! Ray's backpack was a pain to make, but I think it turned out fine. I'm very happy with Emma and Ray's heads!!

#6: Manga dub: Formalities

Date: Apr 12th, 2021 Time: ~ 5:31 h It is not always easy to give sense to Demizu's perspective, but I do my best!!! In this I am *so* happy with how Don and Ray turned out, they look neat! The background on the other hand... It took hours to make ahah. I'm not fully confident in the perspective, but I'm happy with the details I've added- I really did my best to make it look like athe other manga panels and I think it paid off!!!

#7: Manga dub: We may be weaklings, but we're still alive

Date: Apr 30th, 2021 Time: ~ 1:37 h This little Emma is so cute!!!!!! I think the redraw turned out pretty perfect. I'm really satisfied with how this one turned out, and it's such a cute little Emma!!!! She's so brave and optimistic, I love her. It's a shame this panel didn't make it to the episode :')

#8: Manga dub: Goldy Pond Gang

Date: May 7th, 2021 Time: ~ 8:44 h lmao This is probably the panel redraw I'm the most proud of ever :') Just think everyone turned out very nice!! The ceiling is not exactly perfect, but it still works somehow. I'm very happy with how Gillian's back turned out!! I don't really like the fading effect on the right, but 8h in I got pretty tired of working on this ahah

#9: Manga dub: This is Goldy Pond

Date: May 21st, 2021 Time: ~ 1:29 h I'm very glad for how the Manga dub has been challenging me to learn to redraw backgrounds, something I had quite literally never tried before. It can be a little frustrating, but it's so satisfying to see the final cleaned piece!! With this panel, I also learnt to use copy and paste, which is something I had never done before beyond texture

#10: Manga dub: Good morning doctor

Date: May 21st, 2021 Time: ~ 3:42 h This is another background that turned out pretty good!! That one Norman is one I knew I would have had to fully redraw sooner or lager- the background was a bonus ahah. I'm very happy with the final result!!

Top 5 edits as whole:

#1: The Promised Neverland manga ending edit

Date: Jun 14th 2020 Time: ~ 12h 41min (5h 45min of cleaning panels in the edit + 5h 37min of cleaning panels that didn't make it to the edit + 1h 19min of resizing) + time spent cleaning panels I've deleted the file of so I can't see lmao This is overall very nice!!! The concept of an Emma evolution through her back is cool, and I think overall the edit turned out very aesthetically pleasing. The concept idea came to me while I was working on the 2019 Emma's birthday edit, a long time before the manga ending announcement- back then I wouldn't have imagined using it in occasion of the manga ending, but I think it ended up making a nice tribute. The colors add a nice touch, since so far my edits had always been black and white- it makes a sweet closure. To make that edit I selected 76 panels of Emma framed from her back; I plan to make other versions of that edit using the discarded panels eventually!

#2: Emma - Chapter 181: Beyond Destiny

Date: Jul 12th 2020 Time: 2h 57min My last edit for the manga 🥺🥺 I think this one is my very "manga ending edit" because to me it really signed the ending of weekly chapters and their weekly chapter edits. It makes me a little sad to look at it, but it's also, I don't know, kinda sweet to see how I grew both in my panel cleaning and as a person since I first started my blog. I'm glad I got into TPN!

#3: Emma birthday edit 2020

Date: Aug 22nd 2020 Time: 8h 54min This one turned out so well!!! Though I used the same concept for all the trio edits, I think this one is the best one. The two panels on the left / two panels on the right alternation combo never fails ahah. The colors are nice (shout-out to my sister for making me a palette), despite the fact that it was hard for the lighter ones to make them work with the images without having those disappear. I'm very satisfied with the panels I chose for this, I think they work really good together! Also, it got me very happy to read everyone's comments saying they liked the fading effect in the last panel :)

#4: Emma + Eyes Close Ups [1/?]

Date: Jan 24th 2021 Time: 5h 55min This one was really nice!! Another idea I got when working on the 2019 Emma birthday edit I was glad to finally execute. Started the edit in September, finished it in December. I'm overall very happy with how it turned out... I hope I will be able to make more in the future!

#5: The Promised Neverland Parallels → (9/?) » 114 // 122

Date: Feb 23th 2021 Time: 5h 7min (panel cleaning only) Aaaaahh I really like this one!!!! A parallel I love very much, and I'm really happy with how the edit turned out. All the hair redrawing looks neat!!!! The gif is maybe a little excessive, but I think overall it's a nice edit. I like it!!! Fun fact, I completed it on August 26th 2020, but I couldn't find the right moment to post it ahah.

Honorable mention: The Promised Neverland Parallels → (5/?) » 08 // 16

Date: Aug 30th 2020 Time: 2h 52min (Second picture cleaning only; I deleted the first picture art file so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) I don't have much to say about this one except!! It turned out very nice!!!!! Love the pen lmao.

Top 10 analysis:

Too many analysis,,

#1: Post chapter 181 Emma analysis

Date: Jul 9th 2020 Mmmh a nice analysis. I think it was important for me to put down in words what I think of Emma's characterization and the manga ending, so I'm happy I did it!

#2: A long Oliver analysis because I love him very much

Date: Dec 6th 2020 What can I say I just love Oliver tons 😔😔💕💕 This was very fun to make!!!

#3: TPN s2 previsions

Date: Jan 14th 2021 Really love the effort that went into this + me proving that 11 episodes GP could have possibly worked + it's just a lot of fun to read again after s2 ended pffft

#4: More s2 delusional previsions lmao

Date: Jan 27th 2021 I think the points and previsions I made where pretty neat!! In my defense, it was pretty impossible to predict the anime would have ended with this season. I always feel honoured when friends and Anon ask for my opinion, I'm like "you wanna know what I think? Wow. I'm flattered (◍•ᴗ•◍) " Thank you to anyone who ever sent me an ask!!

#5: Why Emma not wearing pants is 𝕨𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘

Date: Jan 29th 2021 Really proud of this!!! Pants Emma is important!!!!!

#6: Post episode 5 manga Emma analysis

Date: Feb 4th 2021 A depressed analysis, but a necessary one 😔

#7: Norman analysis

Date: Feb 12th 2021 I love him!!!! And I'm happy I eventually got to put down in words what I love about his character. The day I posted this ww3.readneverland was in maintenance so I couldn't use the volume scans for it- the thought of that post having fan edited and fan translated scans still haunts me

#8: RayDon rambles

Date: May 12th 2021 I had a blast writing this and like. It's likely the post of mine I reread more often of them all. I love this ship tons!!!!! I'm satisfied with how I put down in words what I like about them. I LOVE THIS SHIP

#9: Chapter 58 analysis

Date: May 23th 2021 I've wanted to express this concept since like the first time reading the manga- I'm so happy I finally did!!!! This concept is one of my absolute favorite things about tpn- the feelings that people are good. The concept that kids who got to live in an healthy and supportive environment will always be inclined to kindness and altruism, because humans are just inherently good. From the Three Character Classic: “people at birth are inherently good”. I want to have faith and courage to hold on the goodness in myself, and to hold on the goodness in the world, no matter how difficult it to do that (Chloé Zhao).

#10: Norman and Lambda squad relationship analysis

Date: May 24th 2021 I think this was a pretty sharp analysis and I like what I did with it!!

Other stuff:

#1: Krone birthday edit

Date: Jul 15th 2020 This edit is so good ;; Like not perfect since it was my first attempt at coloring gifs but still I believe it turned out so good ;;;;;; The time and effort that went unto this is crazy, but... Maybe I'm happy to have dedicated time to something I like for a satisfying result.

#2: Get to know my ship- Wolfpack Trio

Date: Aug 24th 2020 Uuuh a good post. A good ship.

#3: Gilda + blank glasses

Date: Aug 27th 2020 This is such a cute nice compilation!!! I love looking at it. A few panels are missing but still :')

#4: Apollo Ray AU

Date: Sep 7th 2020 (Though it was written Sep 2nd 2019 lmao) I'm so happy I finally gathered the courage to post this 😭😭 I really enjoy what I did with this AU, so this one and its other installments are all posts I have a lot of fun rereading. More than everything, I was astounded and overjoyed by the positive response it got: that gave me tons of confidence to put my ideas out there, no matter how unique they sound!!! Here's to hoping I will be able to post my RayEmma Hadestown AU, by other big AU from late summer 2019 :')

#5: TPN timeline project

Date: Dec 2nd 2020 This is like. I don't know it's a lot ahah. Arguably the project I'm the most proud of ever making. I'm just so happy of all the months long hard work and of the final result!! The post didn't receive much response (though the ones I got were extremely kind and sweethearted so that totally makes up for it), but in the end I don't really mind? I'm just so proud I accomplished that idea :')

#6: TPN calendar

Date: Jan 4th 2021 A nice sum of the tpn timeline + everyone's birth dates!!! I really like how it turned out visually. It's a cute little tpn calendar!!!

#7: Ray smiles compilation

Date: Jan 17th 2021 Ray's smile. That's it that's the post :')

#8: Trans Oliver headcanons

Date: Jan 24th 2021 MMMH really like this headcanon I think about it a lot

#9: Thoma and Lani theory

Date: Jan 28th 2021 I really don't want to brag but this is the best joke I've ever made :')

#10: My TPN AUs

Date: May 10th 2021 Ok you gotta admit those are very good AUs, I'm glad to have made a list out of them!!!

#11: Ranking Emma promotional art outfits

Date: May 16th 2021 This is one people seem to have liked a lot which makes me happy ahah. I'm glad to know we can all agree Emma deserves more pants outfits!! Please stop it with the gendered clothing :') This is the post I want to be remembered for

#12: TPN musicals AU part 2

Date: May 20th 2021 A GREAT POST I can't stretch enough how happy I am with those character-song associations. I hope I have time to make a part 3 in the future!!

#13: TPN Drive folder

Date: May 30th 2021 This was born as a way for me to have all the tpn extra contents easily accessible, but I'm happy to have shared it with people- I hope it will turn out to be useful to others too!

#14: TPN s2 recolorings

Date: Jun 12th 2021 A more diverse children cast is good for the soul :')

That's it, this year was really fun!! Thank you to everyone who supported me through it, I can't express how grateful I am for all the kindness and validation I received. Here's to many more months in the fandom!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧

[annewritesfic]

Happy Endings Don’t Exist

i sat down and worked on this for the last FIVE HOURS y’all better appreciate it

based on chapters 4, 6, 9, and 10 of scarlet by marissa meyer

tw: mentions of gun, knives, blood, attempted murder... i think that’s it but lemme know if i missed anything

word count: 7266

The incarceration of Captain Farrah Thorne had gotten off to a rocky start.

(Farrah was fully aware, of course, that technically she’d been only a cadet when she’d gone on the run, but captain just sounded better.)

After the soap rebellion, Farrah had been put in solitary confinement, but she’d managed to sweet talk one of the guards into giving her their port screen. It was honestly probably because the guard thought Farrah was an idiot and wouldn’t be able to do anything with it, but no matter the reason, Farrah was now sitting cross-legged on her bed, fidgeting with the port screen.

Of course, the guard was right about Farrah not being able to do anything with the port screen.

She’d had it for several hours now and still hadn’t accessed her comms, any news feeds, or anything else useful. Looking up “how to break out of a high-security prison using only a port screen” probably wouldn’t get her anywhere, so now she was just absentmindedly entering the names of people she used to know, wondering where they were now.

The cell was painfully, obviously quiet, but slowly, Farrah noticed the sound of what almost seemed like a drill, coming from the ceiling. She looked up and briefly scanned the room, but there wasn’t much to see - the same plain, shiny white walls. If the prison was remodeling, Farrah hoped her cell was next.

The drill noise suddenly came louder, clearly directly above Farrah’s cell, and she watched curiously as one of the ceiling tiles was removed and someone jumped down, landing in a crouch and facing the wall opposite Farrah. The someone had messy brown hair tied in a ponytail, a crumpled white prison uniform, and one bare foot… and one metal foot. In fact, Farrah realized that the person’s left hand was plated with metal, too, and one finger had a screwdriver sticking out of the tip.

“Hello,” she said pleasantly. The cyborg jumped and slipped, turning to look at Farrah. “It seems you’ve stumbled into the wrong jail cell. Do you need directions to get back to yours?”

The cyborg narrowed her eyes at Farrah. “What…?”

Farrah smiled charmingly.

“These cells aren’t supposed to be occupied,” the cyborg said. Her voice was a little bit hoarse, like they hadn’t spoken in awhile.

“Special circumstances.”

“You’re not a murderer, are you?”

“Stars, no.” Farrah popped her collar proudly. “I started a riot in the yard. We were protesting the soap.”

The cyborg stared at her.

“The soap,” Farrah said again. “It’s way too drying. I have sensitive skin.”

“Huh,” the cyborg said, turning away. They stood up and kicked the fallen floor tile to the side, looking around, then knocked the side of her head with the heel of their human hand. “Stupid, stupid… one room off.”

Farrah watched them press a hand against the wall and blink a few times, like there was something stuck in their eye. “You’re escaping, aren’t you?”

“Not at this very moment, but that is the general idea, yes.” The cyborg sighed frustratedly, then spotted the port screen in Farrah’s hand. “Hey, what model is that?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” Farrah said honestly.

The cyborg crossed the room and snatched it out of her hand. “I need your vid cable.”

“My what?”

“Your vid cable. Mine’s on the fritz.” The cyborg sat cross-legged in the center of the room, port screen in her lap. Farrah realized that the screwdriver in their metal hand was a drill, and she watched curiously as the cyborg used it to remove the back panel and pulled out a yellow wire. She kicked the port screen aside and reached up to the back of their neck, unlatching a panel there. After a moment of fidgeting, the cyborg pulled out a blackened wire and then replaced it with the yellow one from Farrah’s port screen. She tossed the blackened wire aside and sighed, a brief smile crossing their lips. “Ugh, that’s so much better.”

Farrah picked up the port screen, mind whirling. “You have a port screen in your head?”

“Something like that.” The cyborg began running a hand across the wall. Farrah watched her pry one of the panels off the wall, and tried to make small talk, but the cyborg ignored her.

“When they locked you up, didn’t they think that maybe there were some… security weaknesses with you?” Farrah asked.

The cyborg sighed, sitting back on their heels and blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. “There weren’t. The hand is new.” They stared at the open wall for a moment, thinking.

“You wouldn’t happen to be convicted of breaking and entering?” Farrah said, only half joking.

The cyborg rolled her eyes. “If you really have to know, two counts of treason, resisting arrest, and unlawful use of biolectricity. Oh, and illegal immigration, but I kind of think that’s a little excessive.”

Farrah squinted at her. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“How the hell-”

“It’s really complicated and I don’t wanna talk about it,” the cyborg snapped.

“O-kay.” Farrah sat back. “By the way, what’s your name?”

No response. The cyborg kept doing… whatever they were doing behind the panel.

“I’m Captain Farrah Thorne,” she said. “Most people call me Thorne, though. Or Captain. Or Captain Thorne-”

“Kate,” the cyborg said. “Just Kate.”

“Wonderful to make your acquaintance!” Farrah smiled brightly. “Are you in need of an accomplice? Because I happen to be a criminal mastermind-”

“Go away.”

“Um.” Farrah looked around the small, one-room cell. “Where?”

Kate closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, then kept working.

“What’s your plan for when you get out?” Farrah asked.

“The most direct route out of the city is north,” Kate muttered. White flecks of plastic from the wall dusted their dark hair, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh, my poor, sweet, naive little convict,” Farrah tutted. “That’s exactly what they���ll be expecting from you!”

“Please stop distracting me.”

“We might be able to help each other!”

“Leave me alone.”

“I have a ship.”

Kate actually looked at her.

“A spaceship,” Farrah said in a sing-song voice.

“A spaceship,” Kate repeated doubtfully.

“Yep!”

The cyborg paused, as if reading something on the wall behind Farrah. “It wouldn’t happen to be a stolen ship from the American Republic?”

“Yeah, how did you…” Farrah trailed off, then grinned and tapped the side of her head. “Port screen in the head?”

“The Republic hasn’t found the ship yet?”

“Nope. At least, I hope not. Stripped the tracking equipment, and it’s hiding in a warehouse over by the plague quarantines.” Farrah raised an eyebrow. “So? Need that accomplice?”

Kate said nothing and turned back to the wall.

“You look exhausted,” Farrah commented. “Need a back rub?”

Kate jolted upwards with a growl and whipped around to face Farrah. “Please, just-- just stop talking. Leave me alone.”

Farrah gasped a little and fell back against the wall, mind whirling. Kate’s image wavered just a bit, like heat in a desert, and Farrah’s heartbeat sped up, her head filling with thoughts of worship and devotion and surrender.

She was beautiful. Divine. Perfect.

“All right,” Farrah said slowly. “Anything you’d like.” She turned to face away from Kate, eyes watering, and the silence settled over both of them. Farrah and the cyborg, prison mate, goddess.

~

FARRAH THORNE

ID #0082688359

BORN 4 JUNE 106 T.E., AMERICAN REPUBLIC

FF 437 MEDIA HITS, REVERSE CHRON

POSTED 12 JAN 126 T.E.: EX-AIR FORCE CADET, FARRAH THORNE, HAS BEEN CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO A SIX-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE AT THE END OF A SPEEDY TWO-WEEK TRIAL…

The green text scrolled across Kate’s vision without prompting, showing them a detailed record of the crimes of the annoying convict sitting just ten feet away. Despite only having turned twenty a few months ago, Farrah Thorne was guilty of one count of military desertion, two counts of international theft, one count of attempted theft, six counts of handling stolen goods, and one count of theft of government property.

“Government property” didn’t seem to do justice to the fact that Farrah Thorne had stolen a spaceship from the American Republic military. The spaceship she was so proud of.

She was currently about six months into her six year sentence in the Eastern Commonwealth (for attempted theft of a second-era jade necklace), but she was also wanted in Australia and, of course, America, and after this sentence was completed, would be standing trial and serving time in those countries as well.

Kate didn’t pause their work to think, even though her mind was racing. Escaping from prison was one thing, but could she really aid the escape of this actual, real criminal, in a stolen spaceship?

It’s a whole lot harder to find a criminal in space than on Earth, their mind tempted. Kate scowled and shoved away the thought.

Behind them, Farrah Thorne sat on the little white cot, chin resting in both hands, staring at the wall. Kate only risked half a glance back every few minutes - just looking at her made them feel guilty.

Leave me alone.

The words had tasted like fire, like ashes and burning and smoke. That heat had spread through Kate’s veins again - not as painful as it had been at the ball, but still not comfortable, either. She was pretty sure that using her gift - a genetic trait Lunars were born with that allowed them to sense and manipulate the biolectricity of other living creatures - wasn’t supposed to burn like that, but it was probably just a side effect of using it again for the first time in years. Probably for the first time ever, really. Kate didn’t know much about the Lunar gift, but it seemed unlikely that a three year old would be able to control it, and she’d only lived on Luna until they were that old.

Thirteen years ago, though, Queen Levana had tried to murder Princess Selene.

She’d tried to murder Kate.

By some miracle, Kate had survived and was smuggled down to Earth, and now thirteen years later, the lost Lunar princess was kneeling in a jail cell, white flakes of plastic decorating her white prison jumpsuit, the drill implanted in their metal hand helping her break out of New Beijing prison.

Literally, what the fuck?

Dr Erland had figured it out weeks ago, but had only decided to tell them less than twenty four hours ago, after Levana had recognized them at the annual peace ball and threatened war if Kate wasn’t immediately thrown in jail for being an illegal Lunar emigrant. Dr Erland had decided that was the perfect time to pay Kate a visit, give her a new foot (seeing as theirs had fallen off on the palace steps), a fancy new cyborg hand with the latest attachments, the biggest shock of her entire life, and instructions to meet him in Africa. Right. Easy-peasy. Break out of a high-security prison and meet a crazy doctor in Africa.

Kate risked another glance back at Farrah, still sitting on the cot with that dazed smile. A spaceship would make it easier to get to Africa…

Still, just looking at Farrah brought back that flash of guilt, and Kate had to turn away.

She hadn’t meant to use their gift on Farrah. They were still learning how to use it. It took three tries to convince a guard to move her to a more convenient cell, and shutting Farrah up had been completely on accident - she’d just wanted Farrah to stop talking for ten seconds, and the heat of their gift had surged from the base of her neck and spread to her fingertips and leaked into her voice, prompting Farrah to do…

To do exactly what Kate wanted her to do.

It hadn’t felt good. It made Kate feel awful and guilty and like the worst person on Earth - stars, how could Lunars stand having this gift, let alone love it the way they did?

I don’t want to have this gift. I don’t want to be Lunar.

I just… wanna be the old me again.

Kate pushed away their spiraling thoughts and stood up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Farrah looked up at them with wide eyes, sitting up eagerly.

“I’m sorry I manipulated you,” Kate said, the words coming out a little bit jumbled. They tried again, slower this time. “It was an abuse of power and it wasn’t fair. I’m sorry.”

Farrah frowned. “Are you the same person who was just here?”

“Yeah…?”

“Oh.” Farrah looked her up and down. “You seemed a whole lot prettier before.”

A little bit of Kate’s guilt faded away. “Listen, Cadet-”

“Captain,” Farrah corrected.

“Cadet,” Kate repeated forcefully. “You can come with me if we make it to your ship, and if you try not to talk so much.”

Farrah eagerly stood up, almost losing her balance for a moment. “Sick!”

Kate glanced back at the hole they’d created, having found the entrance to the air ducts. “So this ship of yours is the one you stole from the American Republic, right?”

“I prefer borrowed. They didn’t exactly have proof I wasn’t gonna give it back.”

Kate immediately began to regret this.

“And you’re sure the ship isn’t traceable?” they asked.

“Of course I’m sure.” Farrah tossed her hair over one shoulder. “I told you, I removed all the tracking equipment immediately.”

“Oh, that reminds me.” Kate held up her left hand and ejected the stiletto knife in the thumb. “We need to remove your ID chip. Hope you’re not squeamish.”

Farrah’s eyes widened, but she closed her eyes and held her wrist out. “Please try not to hit anything important, okay?”

Kate quickly removed the ID chip and tossed it aside, then cut a strip of cloth from Farrah’s sleeve for her to wrap around the wound. There was already a scar there, probably from where she’d cut out her ID chip the last time she’d been on the run.

Farrah pressed the cloth against the cut on her wrist and grinned at Kate. “Is it just me, or is this a big moment in our relationship?”

Kate glared at her. “Do not make me regret this.”

~

The air duct was cramped and hot and uncomfortable. Kate’s metal leg scraped against the bottom of it every time they crawled forward. Farrah, to her credit, stayed quiet, but Kate was so agitated that even just her breathing was annoying. Any sound ran the risk of getting them caught. Honestly, it was a surprise they hadn’t already been caught.

Kate checked the clock in her head. She’d left their cell thirty two minutes ago.

The prison blueprint glowed brightly on the retina display over the dark air duct, a tiny blue dot representing Kate and displaying where exactly they were - and with Farrah in tow.

Stars, Kate had to sneak both of them out safely. This was going to be hard enough on their own, how was she supposed to get both of them out?

You could glamour her.

Kate bit their lip. That was true… she could convince Farrah that she wanted to tell them exactly where her ship was, then make her decide that she didn’t want to come after all. Farrah wouldn’t have a choice but to listen.

“You good?” Farrah asked softly.

Kate shook her head just a tiny bit. No, they wouldn’t glamour her. Not again. She’d made it sixteen years just fine without a Lunar gift, and they’d be fine without it now.

“I’m fine, just… checking the blueprint,” she whispered back to Farrah. “Almost there.”

“Bluepri- ohhh, port screen-”

“In my head, yes.” Kate rounded the corner and saw a grate just a few feet ahead, casting a checkered square of light into the duct. “Okay, that’s it.”

Slowly, carefully, Kate crawled over the grate and then awkwardly turned around so both of them could look down. Below was a loading dock, where food and other supplies were brought in for the prisoners, and almost directly below the grate, a storm drain, exactly where Kate’s blueprint promised it would be. The drop was a full story, and there was concrete below, but besides that, this was almost going to be easy.

“The exit ramp should be that way,” Farrah whispered, pointing.

Kate shook their head. “No, we’ve got to get into that storm drain.”

“We’re going through the sewer?”

“What, did you think we’d just walk to your ship in broad daylight wearing bright white prison uniforms?” Kate rolled their eyes. “The sewer is our only way out.”

Farrah started to reply, but the sound of voices below made both of them duck away from the grate, out of sight.

“I didn’t see her dancing with the cyborg, my sister did. Her dress was soaking wet and wrinkled like a garbage bag.”

“But why would the empress dance with a cyborg? And then for them to go off and attack the Lunar queen like that… no way. Your sister was seeing things. I bet she was just some crazy who wandered in off the street, bitter over some cyborg injustice or whatever.”

The conversation cut off at the sound of a delivery ship. Kate bit their tongue at the voices shit-talking them and dared to peek over the grate again. The delivery ship passed by below, backing towards the loading bay and coming to a stop directly below where Kate and Farrah crouched in the duct. Kate took advantage of the noise and unscrewed the grate’s screws, then Farrah carefully lifted it up and to the side. Kate ignored the way their heart was thundering and carefully moved lower, looking down to get a better view, and saw, just a foot away, a rotating camera.

Kate jerked back up and crouched lower automatically, her retina display recommending deep breaths to calm down. The camera wasn’t facing their direction, thank God, but between the camera and the delivery workers unloading below, there was no way they’d make it to the storm drain undetected. And every second brought the risk of a guard discovering their empty cells - twice as many empty cells as Kate had planned to leave behind.

They made a decision and, without leaving time to question it, slowly and carefully reached their cyborg hand out, palm flat against the ceiling, and felt around for a moment before finding the camera’s lens. The plastic crushed easily in her bionic fist, the crunching noise terrifyingly loud.

“What the hell was that?” Farrah hissed.

“Camera.” Kate listened for a moment, but none of the workers below seemed to have noticed. “Time to go. We probably only have a few seconds before they realize they’re missing a camera.” Kate took a deep breath, pulled herself over the edge, and dropped down onto the roof of the delivery ship. Farrah followed.

Kate’s metal leg clanged loudly against the roof of the ship, and the whole thing shook on both impacts, immediately drawing the attention of all three workers. For a moment, the five of them just stared at each other, but then one of the workers reached for the port screen on his belt.

Kate focused for a moment, and the man’s hand never reached his port screen, hovering in the air just above it instead.

“Don’t,” they hissed, pushing away the guilt. The fire began to spread through her body again, but they ignored it, mind whirling.

Turn around.

They did.

Close your eyes.

They did.

Cover your ears.

They did.

Hum.

They did.

Farrah gaped at Kate. “What are they doing?”

“Obeying,” Kate muttered over the buzz of the humming. Hopefully that would keep them from hearing the storm drain open and realizing where the two escaping convicts had gone, and that was the only thought that kept Kate from releasing them, even as the guilt and the hatred of this stupid goddamn gift began to spread alongside the fire.

The fall into the storm drain was about as far as the fall onto the ship, but this time, Kate almost gagged at the sensation of the oily water against their bare foot. She envied Farrah’s shoes as she landed beside them, replacing the grate, and then they both turned to the round concrete tunnel beside them. It was only waist height and stunk like garbage and mildew, but Kate set their jaw and crawled into it.

~

“Ew, oh my God, that’s disgusting! Get it off me!”

Kate nearly slipped in their haste to turn around and look back at Farrah, who was jumping and squirming in the cramped tunnel, shrieking. Kate’s embedded flashlight flicked upward to the ceiling, and the cluster of cockroaches made her shudder, but they turned away and kept going.

“A cockroach won’t kill you,” they called.

“It’s in my fucking uniform-”

“Be quiet, there’s a manhole up ahead.”

“And we’re exiting through that manhole, right?”

Kate scoffed.

The idea of a cockroach in their shirt did make her shiver a bit, but Farrah’s squeamishness wasn’t as important as the map of the sewer system overlaid on top of their vision, guiding her to the warehouse where Farrah swore her ship was.

Plus, Kate was walking through ankle-deep sludge with one bare foot. That was easily worse than a thousand cockroaches.

“Wait, what's that noise?” Farrah asked.

“The combined main line,” Kate answered just as the worst stench Kate had ever had the displeasure of experiencing reached them.

“Aces and spades,” Farrah said, choking. “That had better not be what I think it is.”

“We’re not just gonna be walking through surface water runoff soon,” Kate said simply.

“You’re joking. For the love of fuck, tell me you’re joking.”

Despite the stench, Kate smirked.

That smirk didn’t last long as the stink got worse. They both took shallow breaths, but Farrah had her shirt over her nose by the time they reached the sewer connection. Kate’s flashlight washed across the edge of a concrete wall, then against the metal grate on the far edge. It was stable enough for maintenance workers, although unfortunately covered in rat droppings - although the rat droppings were easily preferable to the churning, brown, two-meter river of sludge between them and the grate. Kate hadn’t eaten since before leaving the apartment building before the ball, which was the only reason she didn’t vomit from the stench.

“Alright, ready?” She inched closer to the edge. “The faster we do this, the faster it’s over with.”

“Wait- no, no, what the hell are you doing?”

“What do you think?”

Farrah almost backed up against the wall, but thought better of it when she felt the slime there. “I’m not walking through that. Don’t you have some sort of gadget in that fancy hand of yours that could get us across?”

Kate rolled their eyes and glared. “Oh, wow, thanks for reminding me about my grappling hook.”

The water, thankfully, only went up to their thighs, but Kate still barely managed not to gag as they crossed, the current surprisingly strong against her legs. Something squished under her foot, and Kate almost screamed. Thankful for the weight of her metal leg keeping them from losing her balance, Kate made it to the other side and crawled up onto the grate, still taking shallow breaths even as they began to get light headed.

“Okay,” they shouted across to Farrah. “You either cross, or you can go back and serve the rest of your sentence, but you have to decide right now.”

Farrah gulped, staring at Kate’s legs. They risked a glance down and pushed away the wave of nausea at the way the stark white pants now clung, greenish-brown and sopping wet, to their legs.

“Are you coming?” Kate shouted.

Farrah scrunched her face up and muttered a series of creative curses, then lowered herself into the sewage and trudged across, still muttering curses the entire time. She finally made it to the grate and heaved herself up beside Kate, glaring daggers. “That was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“That’s what you get for complaining about the soap,” Kate said lightly. “Which way?”

Farrah pressed her lips together, thinking. “It was near the old Beihai Park, whichever way that was.”

“You mean we didn’t have to cross that river?”

Farrah’s eyes widened. “What?”

Kate smirked again. “Only messing with you. C’mon, this way.”

“How long have we been walking?” Farrah asked as they started down the tunnel. “Feels like hours.”

Kate checked her internal clock. “Twelve minutes.”

“Bullshit.”

Kate saved their breath and didn’t answer. To Farrah’s credit, it did sort of feel like they’d been walking for a few lifetimes, hearing the sounds of rats skittering past and water dripping from the ceiling. Kate’s flashlight glistened on the slimy walls, and they passed another manhole before finally making it to the one by Beihai Park.

“We’re about a block away from the park,” Kate said, putting a hand and a foot on the ladder. “Does West Yunxin sound familiar?”

Farrah squinted. “I think?”

Kate rolled their eyes and started to climb. She pushed the manhole cover up and to the side, almost gasping at the sudden gust of fresh air, before a hover glided overhead. Kate ducked down below the manhole, heart pounding at the lights atop the vehicle, but then it turned a corner and the red cross painted on the side revealed itself as a medical hover, not a police one, easing Kate’s fearful vision of androids with cold, emotionless voices and brain-interface-overriding tasers. The old warehouse district was near the plague quarantines, so it made sense that there were medical hovers.

Kate glanced to make sure the road was deserted before pulling themself up and into the sun, uniform glaringly bright against the pavement. Farrah followed and replaced the manhole cover, and Kate crossed her arms, pushing down the worry about being caught. “Okay, which way?”

Farrah squinted. Turned in a circle. Twisted her lips to the side thoughtfully.

Kate resisted the urge to scream.

“You have to recognize something, right?” they asked desperately.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just been awhile,” Farrah said quickly. She turned to face down the street. “This way!” She walked five steps, then stopped and looked around again. “Or, um… maybe this way?”

“Do you have an address?” Kate demanded.

“A captain always knows where her ship is! It’s like a psychic bond,” Farrah protested.

Kate glared. “If only we had a captain, cadet.”

Farrah rolled her eyes and marched down the street with spectacular confidence, and Kate followed, jumping at every sound and hugging themself nervously. They walked for three blocks without seeing anyone, and Kate started trying to think of a backup plan as Farrah slowed and began scanning the nearby buildings.

“There!” Farrah said, pointing. “That one, I’m sure of it!” She walked up to the warehouse, which looked the same as every other warehouse within a mile, and tried the door. “Goddamnit, it’s locked.”

“D’you have a key?”

Farrah glared at Kate. “Yep, let me just pull it out of my prison issued pocket.”

She’s got your escape ship, Kate reminded themself, teeth grit. You can’t hit her.

They kneeled down besides the ID scanner, examining it. “D’you think it’s alarmed?”

“It had better be! I’ve been paying rent this whole time, and it wasn’t for my darling to be sitting in an unprotected warehouse.”

Kate was beginning to wonder if one punch would really be so bad when the door swung open.

“Thorne!” the strange man said loudly. “I just saw the news, thought you’d be showing up here soon!”

Farrah’s eyes lit up. “Hey, Alak, what’s up? I’m on the news? How do I look?”

Alak’s attention flitted over to Kate, and the smile slipped from his face. Kate kept her expression neutral (mostly, but a glare was part of their resting expression anyways) and took a second to check the newsfeeds. Sure enough: ESCAPED CONVICT. CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS. IF SEEN, COMM THIS LINK IMMEDIATELY.

“Saw you on the news, too,” Alak said flatly.

Farrah coughed a little. “Hey, I need to pick up my ship. We’re kind of in a hurry.”

Alak shook his head. “Sorry, Thorne. The feds already watch me close enough. I can always claim ignorance to storing a stolen ship, but assisting a felon, and assisting… one of them-” Kate wondered if he was referring to their Lunar heritage or cyborg limbs- “If they track you here, I’m toast. I won’t tell anyone I saw you, but I can’t let you take your ship ‘till this all blows over. You understand, yeah?”

Farrah made an extremely offended face. “But she’s my ship! I pay you a lot of goddamn money, Alak, you can’t keep her from me!”

“Every man for himself, you know how it is.” Alak looked back at Kate with an expression of revulsion. “If you leave now, I won’t comm the police. And if they show up here, I’ll tell them I haven’t seen you since last year when you dropped off the ship. But if you stay a minute longer, I swear to fuck, I will comm them myself.”

Kate glanced down the street, and their heart leaped into her throat at the sight of an emergency hover without the red cross on the side. “Look, we need that ship. We don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Alak sneered and stepped back into the doorway. “I’m trying to help you out, ‘cause Thorne’s been a good customer for awhile, and I don’t rat out my customers, but it isn’t a favor to you. I wouldn’t blink twice about sending you off to rot. It’s the best you freaks deserve. Now fuck off, before I change my mind.”

Kate clenched her fists, barely containing a cry of pain as the burning returned, white hot as it spread from the base of her neck. They managed to stop the burst of electricity, white spots blinking in their vision, just in time to see Alak’s eyes roll back as he passed out.

Farrah caught him, groaning. “Aces, he weighs a ton!”

Kate fell back against the wall, suddenly dizzy. “He’s not- fuck, he’s not dead, is he?”

“No, I think he’s fine.” Farrah groaned again under the weight. “Ugh, help me, will you?”

Kate reached for Alak’s feet, and they tugged him into the building. The office to the left had two net screens with security footage on one side and a newsfeed on the other.

“He’s a selfish ass, but he’s got good taste in jewelry,” Farrah murmured, holding up his limp wrist with a golden watch.

Kate slapped her hand. “Can you focus?” They both turned and scanned the warehouse, packed with all sorts of ships - cargo ships, podships, personal flyers, raceships, ferries, cruisers-

“Hey, look, there was another jailbreak.”

Kate looked back at the netscreen, reading the words that scrolled across the bottom. LUNAR ESCAPES FROM NEW BEIJING PRISON. CONSIDERED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Wonderful.

“This is awesome!” Farrah said with a laugh. “If they’re tracking down a Lunar, they won’t think twice about us!”

Kate pressed her lips together and looked back at the array of ships.

“Wait… you’re Lunar?!”

“Yes, dumbass, I can’t believe you haven’t noticed.” Kate put their hands on their hips and raised an eyebrow, hiding the way she wanted to curl up under the desk and hide until the world forgot Kate Dalton had ever existed. “Which ship is yours?”

“Woah, woah, woah. Assisting a crazy Lunar is a bit out of my league-”

Kate laughed sharply, humorlessly, throwing their hands in the air. “If it wasn’t be me, you’d still be rotting in that fucking jail cell, so you owe me. And you’re already on the news as my accomplice, so it’s a bit too late to go back. You look stupid in that picture, by the way.”

Farrah looked at the screen that showed her own prison picture besides Kate. “I think I look pretty good.”

Kate took a deep, shaky breath. “Farrah, please.”

Farrah thought for a moment, then sighed heavily. “Fine, let’s go.”

Kate managed a sigh of relief and followed Farrah into the mess of ships. “I hope it isn’t one in the middle.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Farrah pointed up. “The roof opens.”

“Huh.” Kate looked where Farrah was pointing, at the seam across the ceiling. “Convenient.”

“Here she is!”

Kate’s retina display automatically began downloading the ship’s information as Farrah proudly pointed to it. It was larger than they’d anticipated - way larger. A 214 Rampion, Class 11.3 cargo ship. Two satellite podships, six crew quarters, a galley and a washroom… definitely enough room to avoid each other.

“You know, there was a time when she housed a crew of twelve men,” Farrah said, patting the side of the ship.

Kate walked around to the main entry hatch, noticing that the seal of the American Republic had been hastily painted over with the silhouette of a lounging woman. “What the hell?”

“Painted it myself,” Farrah said.

Kate sighed.

“Over here!” an unfamiliar voice shouted from across the warehouse. Kate glanced back and saw a man in the uniform of the Eastern Commonwealth’s military crouched over Alak’s unconscious body.

“Shit, fuck, shit,” they muttered and shoved Farrah’s shoulder. “C’mon, time to get out of here, let’s go.”

Farrah turned to the hatch and cleared her throat. “Alright, Rampion. Code word: Captain is queen. Open hatch.”

Nothing happened. The hatch stayed stubbornly closed. Kate started to panic.

“Captain is queen,” Farrah said again. “Captain is queen! Rampion, it’s me! Captain Thorne! What the hell-”

“Shh,” Kate said quickly, pressing up against the hull of the ship. Just on the other side, soldiers with searchlights had begun making their way through the warehouse, combing it for them.

“Maybe the power cell is dead,” Kate thought aloud.

“But it’s just been sitting here-” Farrah cursed. “I left the headlights on, didn’t I?”

Kate ignored their rising panic. “Maybe it’s the auto-control system? I’ve never worked on anything bigger than a podship, but I doubt it’s that different.” They put a hand on Farrah’s shoulder. “Stay here and keep trying to get in, okay?”

“Where are you-”

Kate snuck around the side of the ship, moving as quickly as possible, the blueprint she’d downloaded a few minutes earlier glowing over their vision. She found the access hatch easily and got it open even easier, and crawled into the undercarriage of the ship, barely avoiding the wires that criss-crossed in her way. The second interior door was more of a challenge, but with their flashlight and screwdriver, Kate was in the engine room within a minute.

The engine was bigger than she was, looming against the opposite wall. Kate brushed past it and found the computer motherboard, pulling the universal connector cable from their hand as they went, and snapped it into place. The flashlight dimmed, and Kate turned it off as her power was diverted, reading the pale green text that took over her retina display.

DIAGNOSING COMPUTER SYSTEM. MODEL 135v8.2

5% … 12% … 16% …

~

Farrah pressed herself behind the landing gear, heart pounding in her ears. “Captain is queen, captain is queen,” she hissed, even though she was pretty sure it was useless.

A subtle hum started up over her head, and she looked up at the running lights flickering on near the ship’s nose with a spark of hope. Gears started to rumble, and Farrah rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being squashed beneath the ramp.

“There!” shouted one of the soldiers.

Farrah swung herself up onto the ramp. “Rampion, close hatch!”

Nothing happened.

A bullet pinged off the overhead light. Farrah swore and ducked behind a plastic crate. “Rampion, I said close hatch!”

“I’m working on it!” said a voice overhead.

Farrah froze and nervously glanced up. “Rampion…?”

No response.

Just before the soldiers could follow Farrah onto the ship, the ramp creaked and began to rise, blocking more and more bullets as it went. Once it was safe, she rushed to the cockpit, keeping her balance with a hand against the wall as she slid into the pilot seat. The windows were filthy, but she didn’t have time to worry about that right now.

“Rampion, ready for liftoff!” she ordered.

The dash lit up - only the most important controls and screens.

That same cold feminine voice rang over the speakers. “Farrah, I can’t set the automatic lift, so you’ll have to take off manually.”

“Why is my ship talking back to me?!” Farrah yelled, panicked.

“It’s me, dumbass!”

Farrah furrowed her eyebrows. “Kate?”

“The auto-control system has a bug, and the power cell is weird, too. I think it’ll make it, but you have to take off without computer assistance.”

Farrah gulped. “Without- are you sure?”

“You know how to fly, right?”

“Y-yeah, of course!” Farrah scanned the controls.

“We’re fucked.”

Farrah reached for the controller on the ceiling and blinked as the warehouse doors opened, smacking her in the face with a bright beam of sunlight. She jabbed at the ignition and engaged hover mode, smoothly easing the ship off the ground with the help of the magnets beneath the city. Farrah’s breathing began to steady.

Then the ship began to tilt to the left.

“Woah- hey, stop that!” Farrah shouted, leveling the ship.

“The power cell is going to die. You’ve got to engage the backup thrusters.”

“The wha- wait, no, I found them.”

The sudden jolt of power made the ship lurch to the right, and Farrah winced as she slammed into the ship beside her. A wave of bullets slammed into the starboard side. Farrah shivered.

“What’s going on? What the hell are you doing?”

“Stop distracting me!” she shouted through gritted teeth. She tried to right the ship, but overcompensated and they tilted too far to the right.

“We’re gonna fucking die.”

“This isn’t as easy as it looks! Normally I have an automated stabilizer to take care of this for me!”

Oddly enough, she received no sarcastic reply.

Another panel lit up to her right. MAGNETIC CONDUCTORS STABILIZING. POWER OUTPUT: 37/63 … 38/62 … 42/58 …

The ship settled and once again began to hover evenly.

Farrah grinned. “Exactly like that!”

The engine roared as the ship soared upwards, a last wave of bullets sending them away as they broke free from the warehouse.

“C’mon, darling,” Farrah said softly, as the ship easily broke through the magnetic field of the city and speared through the clouds of the morning sky. The skyscrapers of New Beijing were only visible for a moment before they dropped away, and then it was just Farrah and the ship and the open starry sky ahead of them.

Farrah’s knuckles were white around the controls until the ship made it to neutral orbit, then she slumped back into the chair, shaking. She forgot to speak for several minutes, her heart too loud to hear anything else, before she said “hey, if you want a permanent position on the crew, you’re hired.”

No response.

“And I don’t mean, like, the lowest rank,” she continued. “First mate? I mean, everything’s available. Mechanic… cook… a pilot would be nice.” She waited. “Kate?”

Nothing.

Farrah sighed and pulled herself to her feet, leaning against the wall as she walked along the hallway that was as familiar to her as her cell in the prison had eventually become, down to the engine room. The screen by the door didn’t say anything about space vacuums, or about a living cyborg inside.

Farrah unlocked the door and shoved it open. The engine room was loud, hot, and stank of melted rubber. It was too dark to see, but Farrah squinted anyway, a bit terrified of what she’d see.

“Cyborg? Are you in there?”

Nothing.

Farrah squeezed her eyes shut. “Lights, on.”

A red emergency light was the only one that turned on, casting a sinister light over the revolving engine and masses of cords. 

Farrah spotted something white.

“Kate?” she called again, getting closer. Kate didn’t move. As Farrah got closer, she saw them on their back, dark hair fanned over the steel floor, eyes closed and bionic hand plugged into a computer panel.

“Hey,” Farrah said nervously. She put a hand on Kate’s shoulder and gently shook, but got no response. Farrah pressed an ear against her chest, but the engine was too loud to hear a heartbeat.

Farrah reached and unplugged Kate’s hand from the computer panel, and a robotic voice came overhead, the same one Kate had used to talk to Farrah during takeoff. “Auto-control system disconnected,” it said. “Engaging default system procedures.”

“Cool, you do that,” Farrah said, dragging Kate into the hallway. God, whatever the hell those cyborg limbs were made out of, it was way heavier than a normal human limb.

Farrah propped Kate up against the wall and frowned. At least in this brightness, it was obvious that they were breathing. “Do you have, like, a power button or whatever?”

Her gaze fell to the hand, a cord still dangling from her pinky.

“Aha!” Farrah leaped to her feet and opened the podship dock, then tugged Kate in between the two small podships. She grabbed for the podship’s charging cord from the wall, then paused, looking back and forth between the charging cord and Kate’s cord. Dammit, two males. They’d never connect.

Farrah glanced down and saw the small latch on the back of Kate’s head.

“Aces and spades,” she groaned. “Tell me it’s not…”

But all signs pointed to yes.

Farrah kneeled next to Kate and looked away as she opened the panel, then snuck a glance and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized Kate’s control panel hid any brain tissue from view. The compartment was shallow enough that the ship’s lights were enough to see by, and she quickly spotted a small outlet, the same size as the plugs.

“Gotcha,” she whispered, hoping she wasn’t about to majorly fuck up as she plugged it in and leaned Kate back against the wall.

For a moment, nothing happened, but about a minute later, something hummed inside their skull. It got louder and louder, but then stopped, and Farrah gulped, tucking her knees up to her chest.

Kate’s eyes flew open, and she gasped, looking up at Farrah.

“Kate…?” Farrah said nervously. “Are you dead?”

Kate took a moment to speak, and when they did, the words were slurred. “Auto-control defaults… almost drained my power system…”

“Uh, I think it did.”

Kate stared at her for a moment with a confused expression, but then reached up for the cord still plugged into the back of their head and yanked it out, slamming the panel shut. “You opened my control panel?” they demanded harshly.

“I didn’t want to! And I saved your life!” Farrah pointed out.

Kate paused and thought for a moment.

“Well… I guess that was quick thinking,” Kate finally assented.

Farrah grinned. “Are we having another moment?”

Kate slumped back on the floor. “I guess. If you consider another moment to be me not wanting to strangle you for the first time since we met - although maybe I’m just too exhausted.”

“I’ll take it!” Farrah stretched out on the floor beside Kate, enjoying the coolness of the steel, the humming engine next door, the smell of sewage still wafting from their clothes, and the sensation of freedom.

[ahsoka-lives]

Iris pt. 1

The Elevator  Inquisitor!Cal x Reader- Parts 2&3 are up now!

Word Count: 1417

Warnings: none. nosmutyet

A/n: I cannot write summaries to save my life but this is the first part of a series I’m doing for Cal because I love him sm and there just is not enough fics for him! Pleaseeee be gentle I haven't written in ages but I am open to constructive feedback. Ty!!!  I Forgot to put this in when I originally posted so I’m sorry about that but, the gif is NOT MINE. It’s by @calkesttiss​ 

   You considered yourself lucky. There were thousands of jobs to fill throughout the Empire, and you had managed to get one of the more comfortable ones. You were a droid technician on a remote imperial base where high ranking officers, special forces, and the ever-intriguing inquisitors lived when not doing the empire’s bidding. Unfortunately for you, there were more droids aboard the ship than people meaning your days were often busy. Each room was equipped with a kitchen droid and an automated laundry machine etc. Its a bit ridiculous, but you were in no position to make such comments. 

You had just finished your last appointment for the day, the light control panel had given out in someone’s office, and you were making the fairly long walk back to your living quarters. As you walked past the massive training room you couldn’t help but let your gaze wander over the last few who were still going at it at this hour. Your eyes linger on a man who was blocking blaster shots fired from a training droid with a staff. His back muscles flex with every subtle and not so subtle movement of his arms that were equally toned. You felt your breath catch in your throat when you caught a glimpse of his face. He was beautiful. His hair was a brilliant reddish-orange that contrasted well with his black training gear. His jaw was sharp and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. And his eyes were such a nice compliment to his freckles, a deep green that reflected the light emitted by the blaster, and oh they were staring right at you.

Oh, Gods. How long had it been since he realized you were being a creep! A blush burned into your cheeks as you quickly turned to continue down the hall as fast as you could without running. What was Wrong with you?? Why did you have to drool over the possibly very dangerous man who was training to be more dangerous? You sigh to yourself as you reach the elevator and quickly push the button and step inside. 

“Safe at last.” You mutter as you enter your floor code into the elevator pad. A light ding sounded and the doors began closing and they were so so close to shutting but you just weren’t that lucky. A hand shot between the doors causing them to hum open again. Tall and lean, the man you had been gawking at stepped in beside you. 

You stiffened and forced your eyes ahead of you, wanting to avoid all and any eye contact. You can’t believe your luck. All this time on this base and you had managed to keep yourself out of any distasteful situations. And now, here you are chest pumping, eyes frozen ahead of you and thinking of how quickly he could take you out. Hell, he was probably trained for it and the men(and women) who resided here did not handle disrespect well. You frequently had to repair damages caused by the temperamental and egotistical residents. You recall how defined his arms were as the thought of them being used to snap your neck crossed your mind, only to be interrupted by the feeling of someone standing unbelievably close to you. 

An arm was reaching over your shoulder with ease to input another floor causing you to gasp lightly. His chest was radiating warmth and it seeped across your shoulders and back. Before he could finish punching in his floor code you were shuffling away from him, putting as much space between you and his enticing warmth. 

“Sorry, I- I wasn’t paying attention.” The words just tumble from your lips before you catch your brain forming them. 

“Was I that distracting?” He muses now leaning against the elevator wall, relaxed and now he is the one staring. You feel his eyes burning holes into your head.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Great plan. Just pretend nothing ever happened. You almost want to laugh at yourself. 

“Oh, so that was someone else’s heart I could feel pounding when I caught your eyes? Good to know.” You could practically hear the smirk forming on his lips. 

Bing! Sweet relief, how long was that elevator ride?? 

“No, sorry you must be mistaken.” You rush your words and hurry to get off but your wrist is caught in his warm and surprisingly comforting hand- you’re cursing yourself for your thoughts and turn to face him. You’re certain your heart had stopped all together now. He was so close. His eyes boring into yours as you tried to wipe the scared look off your face. 

“There’s no need to be afraid of me. I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice is deep and gentle as his eyes scan your face. He is so much prettier up close. His lips are a subtle pink and you can’t help but think how they might feel agains- Wait.. was he smirking again?

You snap out of it and you take your wrist from his grasp. You realize how flustered the elevator made you as you take in the free air. You also realize the man was now wearing a sweater, also black, but the most surprising was the symbol on the right side of his chest. He’s wearing the badge of an Inquisitor. 

“Are you always this quiet...” He pauses and leans a bit toward you to read your ID badge. “Y/n” He sighs your name testing it on his tongue, seeing how it tastes. A small smile creeps onto his face and steps back into the elevator, letting the doors seal and finally carry him away. 

You turn and rush to your room. You quickly lock the door behind you as if he would be knocking on your door at any moment. And if he wanted to, he could. Inquisitors are the highest ranking in the building. They lead the special forces units and the officers. They’re force-sensitive assassins with the utmost skill. Hell, some can even read minds. They each have their own private hall and keep mostly to themselves. They live by a different set of rules than the rest of us, they have more leeway to do as they please. It makes sense, with what they do for the empire, they must be kept content. 

But what did that mean for you? He had said he didn’t want to hurt you which is a good sign. 

You sigh and make your way to the shower. You turn on the water and let it warm up while you strip off your uniform. A simple pullover sweater and pants, your dress code was relaxed since you work where people live. You step under the warm water and let your brain unwind. Before you know it, your mind is back on the Inquisitor. Maker, he was pretty. Strong, agile but also somewhat kind and reserved. He gave off confidence but it wasn’t arrogance. Your mind wandered to his hands and how his touch felt against your skin, it made something swell inside of you that you almost didn’t recognize. 

You groaned and shook your head. You did Not want to end up being tied to an Inquisitor. Could they even be involved with someone? You tell yourself you shouldn’t even care because it was never going to happen. Why are you even assuming he wants anything to do with the girl he caught staring at him from across the room? 

After turning off the water and wrapping yourself in a towel you pick up your clothes to carry to your room. A light thud makes startles you, your ID had fallen from your sweater. You pick it up and glance over it, a nervousness comes over you as you remember that your badge not only says your name but your occupation and call number. 

How much attention had the Inquisitor paid to your badge? 

Beeeep boop beep!

A notification sounded on your tablet, someone booked an appointment with you. 

“Read it to me, B-5.” You call to your droid who was cooking dinner in your kitchen. 

“Appointment for Malfunctioning BD-1 Droid at 0900 Hours. Location: Floor level 7, Cal Kestis.” Your droid recites. “Would you like to see the full card, y/n?” 

“Sure pull it up, B-5” You couldn’t remember issuing anyone a BD-1 droid so they must have brought it in themselves. You go meet your droid companion in the kitchen and  there was the answer to your question, one of them anyways.

The Inquisitor paid great attention to your badge. 

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Medical Help

(Story Post; New Character!)

The building was rather unassuming at first. It appeared to be similar to the government building Theo worked out of, but a little bigger. Henderson used his ID to get them inside and then took him to the elevator. There were a lot of buttons inside which surprised Theo since the place was only a few stories high. After a moment he realised that the numbers on the bottom three quarters of the panel were all basement floors. Henderson selected one and they were on their way down quickly. The unexpected drop made Theo hold his stomach in shock. It felt like a lot of fluid sloshed around and it threw off his balance a bit that he had to grab Henderson for support. When the doors opened up, they were in a room that looked like any other reception at a small hospital or private practice. There was only one person in the waiting area minding their own business and they looked completely human. At the front desk, Theo saw what appeared to be the most beautiful human being he’d ever seen. Köbi smiled at them. “Hi there. Can I get your name, please?”

“Henderson Neil, but I brought my friend to be looked at,” Henderson said. “Do you have an appointment?” Köbi asked Theo. “No, but I'm looking for a second opinion on something and Henderson suggested I come here,” Theo said. “Oh, um... We don't usually take walk-ins I think... Lemme ask the doctor.” Köbi picked up the phone and called the doctor through the intercom. When it was picked up, he talked softly. “Hey, Syd. We have a walk-in here... They're with an employee... Okay, thank you.” “So?” Henderson probed. “You're in luck,” Köbi said. “We just had a no show, so the doctor has some time for you before the next patient. In the future though, we are very busy so you will have to make an appointment.” “Thanks a lot,” Henderson said. “Can I leave my buddy here in your hands? I gotta make a class.” Köbi nodded. “Mmhm. Can I get your name, buddy?” “It's Theo. Théodore Bernard.” Köbi typed it into his computer. “Ah, you're in the system. That's convenient for me...” “I'm sorry, I'm in the system?” “Yes, you're a government employee, right?” Köbi stated. “Even if you don't work directly with this department, APID has records of all government employees. It's a security thing.” “Oh... Okay, I see.” The doctor appeared from down the hall and placed a file folder at the front desk. “Köbi, I'm going to need you to input these while I'm with this patient, please.” “Sure thing.” Köbi took the file and placed it beside his computer. “This is Théo. He's your walk in.” Theo was a little surprised that Köbi actually pronounced his name the proper French way, but then again, he did have some kind of European accent. While he liked that, it was a little weird because he hadn’t heard it like that in months. “Hello, Théodore. I am Dr. Sydryn Aias. Please follow me,” Sydryn said, turning and heading back down the hall. The full name drop was a little weirder to hear. Usually only his aunt called him Théodore. “Oh, um...” Theo started following them. “Hi, doctor. Uh, I don't do it often, but last time I did a walk in, I had to fill out a form...” “Yes, yes. Information on your medical concern so that we can determine the level of urgency. No need,” Sydryn said bringing him to their office. “You can just tell me, although I imagine from the way your clothes don't fit that it has to do with sudden unanticipated growth in the mid-section.” “Y-Yeah!” Theo was a bit impressed. He located the exam table and got himself up onto it. “My doctor didn't really seem to think much of it, but I swear, when I woke up this morning, I just had a few rolls. Now it's like a beach ball.” “Théo, your gender, please,” Sydryn asked. “Oh, I'm a man,” Theo answered, though a little caught of guard. “He/Him. But it sounds like you guessed that I'm trans.” “Not necessarily, but it is relevant to the questioning,” Sydryn stated. “So, I imagine your GP ruled out pregnancy.” Theo nodded. “He did an ultrasound. It showed nothing more than fluid.” “Fluid?” Sydryn started typing on their computer. “In what part? Stomach? Liver? Intestine? Uterus? Kidney?” “He didn't say but I imagine it was just in the general...space of my stomach,” Theo said. “I dunno.” “You ‘dunno' is right... Do you have copies of this ultrasound?” Sydryn asked. “No, sorry.” “Fine... We'll have to do another.” Sydryn got up from their computer. “I recommend a trans-vaginal ultrasound but I won't do it if you're not comfortable with that, considering I am new to you.” Theo flushed. “Trans-vaginal...” He rubbed his forehead. “Honestly, I just want to know what's wrong with me, so whatever... Let's do it.” “Good. Do you have any ongoing medical conditions that may cause you pain in your pelvic region?” Sydryn asked. “No.” Theo shook his head. “Are you menstruating?” “Nope.” “Have you ever had a trans-vaginal ultrasound before?” “No. Does it hurt?” Sydryn shook their head. “It shouldn’t hurt, however some find it uncomfortable. The tool used is called a probe. It's about two centimetres in diameter and it is placed inside a condom and lubricated to ease passage into the vagina.” Theo chuckled uncomfortably. “You could've taken me to dinner first...” “It's better that you haven't eaten yet so that we can rule out any meals as an effect on your condition,” Sydryn replied. “Have you eaten recently?” “Not since lunch...” Theo said, a bit more uncomfortable since the doctor didn't share in his joke. “Good.” Sydryn got up and retrieved a patient gown for Theo. “Please put this on.” They pulled the curtain closed that encircled the exam table to allow Theo some privacy. Theo did as told, nervously undressing and pulling on the gown. The doctor had picked out a decently large one, so his middle didn't pull too much on the thin material. When he was done, he pulled back the curtain. Sydryn had stepped out for a moment but came back into the room when they heard the curtain. “Follow me, please.” Theo nodded and followed the doctor to another room where the imaging equipment was set up. He was directed up onto another exam bed and he reclined, resting his hands on his stomach. “Please rest your feet up on these platforms here and here,” Sydryn said, pointing to the pedal like appendages of the bed. Theo spread his legs as he did as told. He watched as the doctor prepared a very long probe and lubricated it. He tensed up instinctively as the probe was brought near his nether regions. “Theodore, please relax,” Sydryn said. “Have you had a pap smear before?” “Yeah.” “The pressure should be similar. Some would say this is easier,” Sydryn said. “Should you feel any pain however, do tell me.” “Okay.” Theo tried to breathe deep and relax himself. The probe was inserted moments later. The doctor looked to the monitor for information. For the next few minutes, they turned the transducer slowly, stopping occasionally to study the image. Theo didn’t really know what to look at so he just waited for it to be over. When it was, Sydryn removed the probe and set it aside to be cleaned later. “So?” Theo asked, putting his legs together. “Did it show anything?” Sydryn sighed. “It's inconclusive. However, it is clear that you have a large build-up of fluid within your uterus, much like with a pregnancy. There is an intact membrane like that of the amniotic sac, however there is no evidence of a foetus within. The question now is, what is this fluid build up and what caused it.” “So what do we do?” Theo asked. “I have this balloon of liquid in my uterus and what? Do I hope it goes away?” Sydryn shook their head. “No. I suggest we pop it.” Theo tensed at the thought. “Uh, what?” “If we, quote, break your water, unquote, we can, a., reduce the distension of your stomach, and b., collect some of the fluid as a sample and study it to determine its origin,” Sydryn explained. Theo rubbed his stomach. “...Oh... Do you think it's safe to do that?” Sydryn nodded. “Yes, it's like you're giving birth to an imaginary baby, but without a lot of the pain and stretching.” Theo swallowed hard. “If it'll make this stomach go away, then I guess let's do it...” Sydryn went to wash their hands and get new gloves. They called in Köbi from the front desk to assist and he got the tools ready. As Köbi was placing a plastic basin underneath the edge of the bed, Sydryn had Theo put his feet back up on the stirrups. “Now, is this going to hurt at all?” Theo asked. “It's not likely to hurt so much as give relief,” Sydryn said holding up what looked to be a hook on a stick. “It might feel like you're urinating but from a different hole.” “Alright...” The hook was inserted inside and Theo tried to relax again. After a moment inside, he felt a sudden popping sensation and then the rush of fluid out of his uterus and out between his legs. It was incredibly satisfying and he even noticed his stomach visibly deflate. “...Well, that's new,” he heard the doctor say. “What?” Theo asked. “Is something weird?” He sat up to try and see what the doctor was seeing. In the basin below the bed, a swirl of transparent but clearly blue and sparkly liquid pooled. Köbi had taken a sample in a beaker and left the room with it. “...Did that come out of me?” Theo asked, flabbergasted. “Indeed it did.” Sydryn pressed a little on Theo's stomach to coax the rest of the liquid out. When it seemed to have stopped, he gave Theo a towel and helped clean him up. “What is it?” Theo asked. “I can’t be sure,” Sydryn said. “We're going to run tests... For now though, I believe it's best you rest here overnight.” “What? But I have work—” “Your employer will be informed,” Sydryn said. “This is now an APID case and your health needs to be watched. This is a unique case, so we'll have to gather as much data as we can to determine the origin of this condition.” “...So I don't have a choice?” Theo asked. “Theo, the concern here is that we don't know what this might have done to you internally,” Sydryn said. “We don't know what affect it has on the human body beyond the distention. I can let you go home, but I believe it’s safest for you to remain here. If anything develops, we'd want you to have a medical professional nearby. It's up to you.” Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “Is this all covered by OHIP?” “A little late to ask that, and the answer is technically no, but there is no charge for diagnosis,” Sydryn stated. “Should we determine that there is non-human interference in you're health, which I am almost certain there is, then further care will be covered by our program.” “So... To be plain...?” Theo asked. “To be plain...If aliens or other non-human people are involved in this, a.k.a. this is not a human condition, you won't pay anything.” “And if there isn't?” “You won’t pay anything here, but you'll have to seek your usual human healthcare. Although I would suggest you find a new GP. Your current one is less than useful.” Theo nodded. “Okay, I understand...” “Do you have any questions?” “Yeah, well... Not exactly a question...” Theo looked at the doctor. “You say a lot of ‘human’ this, ‘non-human' that... Are you...human?” “It is not particularly polite around here to ask people whether they are human or not,” Sydryn answered. “Oh, I'm sorry...” “It's fine, it's your first time at APID. Please, have you chosen to stay as I requested?” “Well, where would I be staying?” Theo asked. “And I'm not really prepared for an overnight stay... I don’t have pyjamas or toiletries...” “I'll have the receptionist show you a room and he'll provide you any essentials you might need for the night,” Sydryn explained. “Let him know if you do plan on staying so that I am aware of the decision.” “Okay...” Theo got off the bed. “Should I go back and change?” “Please.”

After touring the overnight rooms they had, Theo agreed to stay. The rooms were much like a hotel and reasonably homely so he tried to treat it like a vacation. There was a set of buttons in the room near the bed, one of which he was he could use to call in a doctor or nurse to check in on him. He figured be might as well catch Henderson up so he texted him to call him when his class was over, and his friend kept the promise. Henderson sounded really excited about that idea that some alien had done this to Theo and he was rather proud that he'd called it. Theo reminded him that nothing was confirmed yet, but he was pretty sure Henderson was right as that liquid that had come out of him definitely looked otherworldly.

The next morning, Theo woke up groggy and delirious. It took him a minute to recognise where he was, then he sat up to get out of bed. It wasn't so easy as, once again, his stomach had swollen to unnatural proportions. He started to panic. What in the world was going on? Why was it back? They had drained him! It should've all left his body! Remembering the buttons, he picked the one to call the doctor. It was relatively early in the morning so he wasn’t sure if the doctor would be in, but sure enough, the pink haired physician was there within minutes. “It’s back,” Theo said, getting up and lifting his shirt. “What’s going on, doctor?” “Theodore, no need to reveal yourself,” Sydryn said. “I chose to prioritise looking into your case so I examined the substance we obtained yesterday and it is beyond what I’ve frankly ever seen. As such, I had to consult another doctor on the matter and I’d like them to speak with you.” Theo nodded, though he was starting to sweat a little. So far it seemed like no one knew what was happening to him and he just felt so lost. “Okay, um… So you don’t know anything?” “I know a lot of things, but this case in particular is new to me,” Sydryn said. “That doesn’t mean that I’m not trying to learn everything I can on the matter. I’d like to see you get through this.” That made him feel a little better. “Okay, who’s this other doctor?” Sydryn got up and went outside and returned with two others, one a handsome wavy-haired man with green tips and the other was none other than a Yulinian. Theo had never met a Yulinian, or any other alien for that matter, in his life and part of him was both very excited and another part was terribly nervous. He had no idea how to act and couldn’t help staring. “Théodore, this is Fay Demers and Dr. Ix,” Sydryn said. “Dr. Ix is our resident medical delegate from Yulin. They have been educating me on the physiology of various extraterrestrial species for the sake of my practice and I believe their knowledge on extraterrestrial life forms to be of benefit to you at this time.” Theo rubbed his legs nervously. “Hi, um, I’m Theo.” “It’s nice to meet you,” Dr. Ix said, smiling warmly. “I’m sure you’re feeling very worried for your health and I can assure you that this is the best place on this planet for you to receive the best care.” “Yeah, uh… Thanks.” Theo tried to look away, thinking he was making too much eye contact. “I’m really sorry if I act weird… I’ve just never met a Yulinian in person before.” “That’s quite alright,” the doctor said. “I get it a lot and frankly you’re one of the politer ones. Now, about your condition… I have a few questions.” “Okay, shoot.” “Have you been experiencing any strange dreams lately?” Dr. Ix asked. “Anything perhaps space related?” “Actually, yeah,” Theo said. “I have space dreams a lot.” “Can you describe them to me?” Dr. Ix pulled out a tablet to write on. “Yeah, um… Usually it’s the same dream from when I was younger,” Theo said. “I’m at a cottage with my friends, but I always breakaway to go look at the stars from the dock.” “How long have you been having this dream?” “I really don’t know. For as long as I can remember since that event.” “Has the dream changed at all within the last couple days?” “Yes! Actually, the night before last, I was on the dock but this time it was like…the night sky lifted me up into space,” Theo said. “And then it turned into a person with like, space hair. Galaxy hair.” Dr. Ix nodded silently, writing down some notes. Sydryn looked to the other doctor. “Does that line up?” “It does,” Dr. Ix said. “What does?” Theo asked. “You can diagnose me based on my dream?” Dr. Ix wobbled their head. “These types of ‘dreams’ are consistent with people we’ve found to share your condition. However, I also got to analyse the sample Dr. Aias procured and the two confirmed what I suspected you’re going through.” “So you know what’s wrong with me?” Theo asked, lighting up. “Yes,” Dr. Ix said. “I will say that not many beings go through what you are experiencing right now so our data is limited, but there is enough information that I believe we can help you with.” “So what is it? What’s wrong with me?” Dr. Ix crossed their hands over their tablet. “This appears to be a celestial pregnancy.” “Celestial what?” Theo placed his hands on his stomach. “I thought we determined I wasn’t pregnant…” “It was inconclusive,” Sydryn said. “What does it mean?” Theo asked. “Celestial pregnancy?” “You’ve been visited and impregnated by a celestial,” Dr. Ix said. “A celestial is a broad term for a number of extraterrestrial beings that do not inhabit planets but the space between them. Their existence and abilities are not easily explained by science, much like earthly creatures such as mermaids or dragons.” “Wait, hold on…” Theo said. “You’re comparing these celestial things to mythological creatures.” “I can assure you, they are not myths,” Sydryn stated. “The whereabouts and identities of such people are kept secret for their protection but they very much do exist.” “I for one am a merman,” Fay stated for the sake of proof. “Fay,” Sydryn warned. “You don’t know him…” “Relax, Syd. He’s clearly scared and harmless,” Fay stated. “Théo, I should probably explain why I’m here.” “You’re a merman?” Theo asked. Fay smiled and nodded. “Correct. I’m a case worker here at APID and Sydryn suggested I pick up your case.” “Fay here is one of our top case workers,” Sydryn stated. “He can help you with handling this condition on a more administrative and support level.” “Wait, hold on!” Theo said. “This is all a lot of information! I just want to know what we're going to do about this!” He patted his stomach. Dr. Ix nodded. “I'll continue. As I said, celestials are extraterrestrial beings. They do not belong to any one planet. Because of this, they are lesser known and often treated as mythological creatures. What we do know about some of them however is that on occasion they may visit a person in their sleep, often soothing them in pleasant dreams and they proceed to impregnate them with their celestial hybrid children. Implantation is certain and the, in your case, uterus swells with fluid to nurture the embryo as it grows.” “So you're saying...” Theo held his stomach. “This fluid builds up first? Then the baby grows inside it?” “Correct. You won't likely grow any larger than you are now, perhaps a bit more near the end of the pregnancy,” the doctor said. “From draining it yesterday, you only invited it to fill up again.” “Where is it coming from though?” Theo asked. “How can it fill up so fast?” “The fluid itself is...incredible to say the least. Exactly how it develops is hard to determine,” Dr. Ix said. “A microscopic examination showed that in fact, it contains micro-galaxies within. This is what feeds the offspring in the womb.” “I have...galaxies inside of me?” Theo asked. “Are you kidding?” “I don't kid,” Dr. Ix said. “I wouldn't concern yourself for the health of these galaxies. Something at such a small size is too delicate to worry about the condition of.” “I promise you; I'm not concerned about the health of micro-galaxies in my uterus,” Theo said, rubbing his head. “What do we do?” Dr. Ix placed a hand on Theo's shoulder. “We're going to monitor your pregnancy closely and make it as easy as possible for you. You'll get through this.” Theo shook his head. “But I don't want to be pregnant. I have no desire to have this kid. There has to be a way to get rid of it.” Sydryn shook their head. “Unfortunately, Théodore, the pregnancy is certain just as much as the implantation is. The will of a celestial is not one we can defy. This is why some cultures worship them as gods. We can help through the pregnancy, but we're not capable of terminating it. And I don’t mean it in the sense that we won’t or that we legally can’t. If we could, we would do so for you. There are no known methods for doing so.” Theo looked at all their faces, these people just staring at him. He knew they were there to help, but he couldn't help feeling despair. He started to tear up and tried wiping his eyes. “So...So I'm just stuck like this?” Fay came over to his side and rubbed his shoulder. “I know this is hard for you. This kind of thing is so uncommon and unheard of that it would make anyone scared. But you're not going to be alone through this and we're going to work out what we're going to do from here on. If it helps at all, think of it as being chosen by a higher power.” “On some planets,” Dr. Ix interjected, “These children are seen as blessings and become important pillars of their societies, oracles and shaman and so on. Their parents are treated like kings.” “Wait, am I expected to raise this thing?” Theo asked. “No, that is up to you,” Sydryn said. “You can take custody or APID will take them on as a ward. We wouldn't want to force you into parenthood against your will.” “But I have to give birth to it?” Theo inhaled sharply. “I... Guys, I can't process all this right now...” “Of course. It’s a lot,” Fay said. “It's not easy waking up to three strangers telling you a space alien impregnated you.” “Why don't you come with me,” Sydryn said, “And we'll do another examination just to determine your overall health today as well as get some measurements.” Theo nodded. “Okay.” “After you guys do that, I can get you some breakfast,” Fay said, patting Theo's arm. “What are you, an egg man? Bacon? Pancakes?” “Is there food here?” Theo asked. “Yes, of course. We have a lot of residents living here,” Fay said. “We have a really large cafeteria. But honestly, the food is really good.” “I wouldn't mind bacon and eggs,” Theo answered. “Thanks.” “Don't mention it,” Fay said. “Syd, can you send him to my office when you're done?” “Sure thing.” Sydryn motioned for everyone to leave the room. Theo called to them as Dr. Ix began to leave. “Sorry, um, I have another question.” “Yes?” Ix turned around. “How long will this pregnancy last?” “The few recorded celestial pregnancies lasted the length of a host species’ typical pregnancy so, it’ll likely be nine months,” Dr. Ix determined. “A whole nine months looking full term?” Theo paled. “No way.” Dr. Ix started to leave again. “I’ll be consulting on this with Dr. Aias. Should you wish to speak to me directly, you can come by my office. Dr. Aias can give you the location. I must go now however.” “Okay, bye…” The alien left behind Fay, and Sydryn was about to step out as well. “By the way, when Köbi had you fill out some forms last night, you put your aunt down as your emergency contact, correct?” Sydryn asked. “Yeah, why?” “Well, it's just that the address is a province over. Do you not have anyone in the city?” Theo shook his head. “I left my friends and family in Quebec to move here for my work.” “No contacts here? A significant other perhaps?” Sydryn asked. “What about that Henderson man?” “No, he's just a friend. We're co-workers, I couldn't make him my emergency contact.” “Very well, but I would suggest keeping your friends close,” Sydryn said. “Even a typical human pregnancy isn't easy to handle alone.” They paused then raised a finger. “Actually, there's a pregnancy group here at APID that could benefit you.” “Really?” Theo rubbed his neck. “For alien pregnancies?” “No, for pregnancies in general,” Sydryn said. “And if you’re worried about possibly being the only man they, it's actually majority men.” “You're kidding.” Theo lit up a bit. “Other pregnant men?” “Like Ix, I'm not a kidder. It is primarily for others who have experienced pregnancy and can share their knowledge and experiences. But I'm sure they can help you feel comfortable.” Theo nodded. “I think… Once I get my bearings in all this… I might actually think about going to that. Thanks.” “Let me know if and when you’d like to go,” Sydryn said. “They meet on Fridays. I sit in on occasion, but I can also understand if you’d rather I didn’t. Not everyone wants their doctor listening in on their personal life.” “Yeah, we’ll see…” Theo rubbed his neck. “Oh, um... I'm technically pregnant, right?” “You are pregnant, yes.” “Do I have to stop my injections?” The doctor shook their head. “Technically no, testosterone injections would not affect a celestial pregnancy, however it might cease to be effective in your transition considering the pregnancy will be preparing you for birth by raising your estrogen levels.” Theo swallowed hard. “Will it reverse my transition then?” “No, no... Fret not,” Sydryn said. “While you might find some changes seem reversed, a lot of FTM transition features are permanent. You're not likely to lose hair growth and your voice will remain the same. Your hips might get wider though...” Theo frowned. “So T. Not worth it.” “Not right now.” “I really should've scheduled a hysterectomy...” “We'll get through this. Don't worry.” Sydryn proceeded to do a physical examination, taking all of Theo’s measurements and checking his vitals. He was in good health despite the pregnancy, though it was clear the new weight was causing issues. Oddly, he didn’t have a single stretchmark from his rapid growth, and Syd suspected it was due to celestial influence. He was overall the same as he was before but with a bigger abdomen. After the exam, Sydryn suggested that Theo stay at APID one more night just to see if any changes occurred. If his growth had stabilised, then he could go home and they'd proceed from there. Theo agreed to it. He had breakfast with Fay after, and the other was keen on getting to know his new client. They talked for a while and Theo found out he was married with eight children. He and his husband both went to the pregnancy group that Sydryn had talked about and it made Theo feel a bit better about it, knowing he'd already know someone there. Theo talked about his job as a translator and they had that in common too; Fay apparently also translated for APID. As a siren however, it took him often no more than a few minutes with someone to learn their language without ever having heard it before. He could understand anyone, though he couldn't always speak the language of another species due to physiology. Theo only knew his native French and English. He was starting to think taking one of Henderson's classes wouldn't be a bad idea...

“Ta-da!” “What…is that?” Henderson was holding up a big bright green T-shirt with APID printed gaudily across the chest. He’d come back to APID after work to take Theo home. “I imagine your clothes don’t fit now so I got this for you on my way back from class.” “…Gee. Thanks.” Theo had already changed into his own clothes hours ago, but it was true, his own shirt did not fully cover his new burgeoning belly. He attempted to tuck his shirt into his pants but the slightest movement untucked it and it seemed like the APID shirt was going to have to be the one for the way home. “…You’d think the branding of a secret government organisation would be more subtle…” “It’s really not a secret anymore, you know that,” Henderson said. “And after the name change, they made up all this merch I guess to really sell the new name. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the limited edition throw blankets. Wanna come back to mine and see it?” “No, thanks… I really just want to go home,” Theodore said. “…I’ve had a shit day.” “Ah, I guess I’ll just have to bring it over then.” “Henderson!” Theo snapped. “I really don’t care about your blanket!” Henderson blinked and threw up his hands. “Sorry, I… Sorry. Bad day. Blankets don’t matter. You matter.” “Mon dieu…” Theo rubbed his face, his tears welling up again. “No, I’m sorry… I know you’re just trying to help…” Henderson panicked a moment. “Oh, shit... Um, it's gonna be okay...” He gave him a hug as best he could with Theo's belly digging into his gut. “Let's get you home.” Theo pulled away from Henderson after a few moments in the hug. “...I'll take the shirt.” Henderson nodded and handed it over. Theo proceeded to undress to his waist, his mood visibly falling once his stomach was exposed. Henderson restrained himself from reaching out and touching the belly again, knowing it would likely just upset Theo. Instead, he hooked his hands under his own armpits and tried not to watch. “So, um... Nine months of this, yeah?” “Yeah...” Theo sighed. “I don't know what I'm gonna do every day looking like this... Like, what will my boss think?” “Mm... You should ask these doctors here for a sick note of some kind, something to explain the swell and letting you off the hook in case you need some days off.” He pulled a hand out and snapped his fingers. “I got it. You've got a tumour.” “A tumour?” Theo grimaced. “What like, cancer? I don't want to lie about having cancer...” “No, no, it could be benign,” Henderson suggested. “But still not good for you because of the size. And-and it's complex and the only surgeon good enough to operate is away for the next nine months. How about that?” Theo stared at Henderson. “You're crazy.” Henderson shook his head. “Naw, you just don't want to admit that I'm a genius.” Theo sighed. “Just take me home...” “Yeah, yeah... Also, you're welcome.” “Huh?” “For the shirt.” “Oh. Yeah, I said ‘thanks' already.” “Sure, but I hadn't said ‘you're welcome' so I said it now. It's only polite.” “Whatever.”

[astro-break]

Quick first thoughts on the first ep of the Hypmic Anime. Spoilers beware (and im writing this as I watch so :p)

Otome’s speech is.... questionable from a persuasive point of view. Manga did a great job of introducing her (which you can read here) but they really cut out the more terrifying parts of her speech and how she uses force to show people that she's not to be messed with

Its cool seeing everyone in their respective environments though. thats cool. Though they could have added Sasara and Kuuko (shhh i know why they didn’t let me dream)

I love how poppy the typography is. Its amazing how the visuals just leap out at you. The OP does a great job of this. The first few seconds before the title really gives me Persona 4 OG OP vibes with the influx of information given. The rest is a clear concise and streamlined way that still gives character. Animation is sparse but still carries across a general idea of each character and shows off each character object. Rendering is really nice and pays a bit of homage to the posing artwork thats done for the MVs. They also do their division hand signals and thats cute

Love how the OP has blatant HifuDoppo and DRB matchup foreshadowing

so far I really like what theyre going for. BB is about brotherly familial bonds and they show the goods and the bads. Jiro and Saburo bickering right out the gate really cements the fact that they get along like cats and dogs but you can still see that they love each other, working together when the situation calls for it

Now the 3d models. Theyre... not great but usable if you don’t look too hard. They serve their purpose and don’t actively detract from the viewing experience.

Visual typography in the rap itself are fun and poppy but they dont.... speak to me? like theyre there yes and I appreciate them but the only ones that got me excited were from Ichiro’s rap

I take my words back the group portion was kickass and I apologize

I love how they interpret the Hypnosis Speakers though. Esp. Saburo’s organs. That was super creative and I love it! If there was one thing that I felt was missing from the franchise was a deeper exploration of the speakers but the anime puts a new and fresh spin on it! Love it, especially with their attack patterns!

If the production team ever feels inclined to, Id love to see those info sheets on Otome’s desk released. There seems to be very interesting info and stats written out about each member (like capabilities, personal status etc.) They all seem unique too so I really really really hope they release images of those sheets

OOOOOOOOKAY MTC. I have such a big biased for them so Im very torn to see what unfolds

Rio striking out on his own is interesting. Out of everyone in MTC hes the biggest team player yet here he trusts his teammates to go ahead. This either displays Rio’s willingness to trust his teammates or it becomes very OOC if the anime wants to set him up as a lone wolf like character

I love how they specify its a drug deal. It means that Jyuto surely will show up and it also shows that Samatoki knows Jyuto’s motives and willingly gives black market info that he knows aligns with Jyuto’s goal. Thats A+ detail writing there and a great establishing characteristic for both of them

OOohhhhhhhhhhhhh man Asunama-san’s voice acting is god tier his work as Samatoki is phenomenal. He pulls of Samatoki’s threatening voice so well with those almost calm words before his voice becomes loud and confrontational. Those rolling syllables in contrast to Komada-san’s almost lyrical and airy speech and Kamio-san’s strict and enunciated words is such a delight to hear. It just speaks to how amazing and great these Seiyuu’s are in order to pull of such amazing work

Im so biased but MTC has such a better rap than BB im so sorry. Just by watching Samatoki’s part, the imagery is amazing. Even the arrival of his Hypnosis Speaker was awesome and sent a shiver down my spine. using the lyrics to form blades and blood was such a great thing to do. Theres so much more variety that just him standing there and shots of his hypnosis speaker. The old fashioned vignette shots, the four panel spread, the nods to old Kurosawa era films are great and I love these small details. Even the typography looks better.

Again, the interpretations with the speakers is fresh and new. Its great and I love the different imagery and attack patterns. Each one is so unique but carries across each different style of rap.

The 3d modles aren’t any better tho lol

(Hi this is Astro who is reading over their assessment again and making a note. Yeah I’m a bit harsh on BB’s rap. I’m not going to change it since I still stand by it and this post is supposed to be a documentation of my first impressions. I think one of the reasons why I’m so harsh on BB is because of their dynamic as a trio of brothers. They Have to have a more uniform approach than the other divisions. Which in of itself isn’t a terrible thing, it just doesn’t catch my eye as much as MTC did. Thats all! I definitely don’t hate BB, they’re maybe my 3rd favorite division out of the current lineup [not including TDD era teams like Kujaku Posse, MCD, and Naughty Busters] its just that their rap was pretty meh)

Samatoki crouching like a real gangstar and the cigarette kiss killed me

sadjkhfjkasdghsadjkcsdjhsdfsjhf im dying i love these trio of dumbasses so uch oh y fod someone save me aaaaaaaa (Astro note here! yeah i died when the jyuto and samatoki’s stomach growled im weak please. Samatoki’s face is just so precious and funny I might set it as a profile pic somewhere)

But also my initial assessment of Rio possibly being characterized as a lone wolf is very much jossed and im very thankful for that. It seems that Rio was simply trusting his teammates to carry out their part of the plan while he carried out his own. I like that, it really shows how much of a team these three are and that they genuinely trust each other. He’s also comfortable enough around them to invite them to dinners after work casually and not just for special occasions.

I really love MTC guys

Oooh! we get Ramuda on his design process which is really cute. the inside of his studio is super cute and retro and i love it. the poppy old music you would hear in a cafe or 90′s resturaunt is also really cute (astro note: yeah i know that in ARB you see the interior of Ramuda’s office but its kinda different seeing it animated)

the translation i have has gentaro speaking in early modern english (Shakespearian english for those who aren’t english nerds like me) but from what I can hear, he doesn’t speak in a particularly old fashioned way? Its more formal than old? and hes speaking without any of his character persona lying thing that he likes to do (as he refers to himself as “Shousei” throughout the segment where hes in Ramuda’s office which is kind of his default pronoun of choice). so its kinda odd for the translation to go in that direction but im not complaining

Gendice banter is gold but it feels... flat? a little? it doesn’t have the same impact as in the drama cds or in the manga? i feel? Also Ramuda using gratuitous english is??? idk how to feel about that

kjshf thats against the rules Ramuda omgggg,,,,,,,, (astro note again: while watching i was under the assumption that using your hypmic for monetary gain such a as buskering [which is what FP is doing] is against the rules. May not be the case but whatever)

FP’s rap might be my favorite in terms of tune and lyrics though. It’s a nice laid back bop and really gives of chill vibes. the integration of 3d and 2d is really nice and i love how they play off each other in the rap. The wordplay is so fun with little nods here and there and the beat is poppy too so it really energizes me.

Ramuda’s rap concerns me slightly since he makes very subtle and small nods towards his past (being created in a laboratory, warfare, and his overall very unpleasant life experiences) but spins it into something cutesy. It could be a coping mechanism, it could be me overthinking it. But it does make me worry a bit. Gentaro and Dice’s rap really play off each other with Gentaro sticking to stories and Dice taking up the baton by carrying on that same imagery but putting his own spin on it.

the self awareness of how scattered they are as a team is interesting though. It doesn’t seem like something you’d speak about in a rap? but i guess since its not really a do or die situation they can afford to be looser on things like this.

Right off the bat, i don’t like how they handled Hifumi and Doppo in relation to Hifumi’s fear of women. Slug made a post once talking about this and I echo many of his sentiments. Hypmic has never been very tactful about tackling this particular issue and while I didn’t have high hopes that the anime would be any better it hurts to see Doppo take away the one thing that allows Hifumi to function within society.

Doppo’s breakdown mirrors a lot of my own mental state when I spiral though its shown a lot quicker than what happens to me oof. that hits close to home. though Jakurai’s advice is. Questionable. Its not the best advice to give to someone but we have no idea what kind of doctor Jakurai is so ill let it slide

Jakurai’s pose looks like hes going to do a mahou shoujou transformation lmao

I don’t have many thoughts about the rap though again. How they visualize the rap is interesting. the different imagery is quite interesting for each of them and the typography is nice a distinct but im still on the fence about the visuals here

The sound is in the same boat. The sound effects either drown out the rap or are too quet but some parts are nice at least. When they talk about Tokyo’s beating heart, the heartbeat sound is a but distracting especially since its only played once. But the imagery is at least nice

I wonder if for the eds they’re going to take a similar approach to what Enstars did and have a four different endings, one for each division. I love the blend of styles here and it really accentuates that although they’re different they mesh well together.

Ramuda’s silhouette though is hilarious. Love it.

:p and thats it. Uh not bad for a first episode. Established all 12 characters really nicely and their dynamics. I had some problems with it but then again nothing is perfect. I look forward to what they show us next week

[jughead-is-canonically-aroace]

The Man Who Was Too Awkward To Mention He Had Amnesia

i wrote this for @spookyson-zine! the art is by @katanacupcake-art

summary: yknow that one john mulaney bit where he’s like “if i had amnesia no one would ever know because when someone you don’t recognize acts like they know you you pretend you know them and pray you remember”? like that

pairing: moxiety

wordcount: 3952

disclaimer: this is a rom-com. it is not attempting to be an accurate portrayal of amnesia or post-coma recovery or medical practice. creative liberties have been taken.

Virgil, upon awakening, knew approximately three things: his name, the fact that he was horizontal, and that there were at least two people in the room with him. He could tell that last bit from the loud sobbing and comforting noises coming from his right.

“It’s not your fault, Patton. He’ll wake up soon, and he’ll tell you.”

Virgil opened his eyes. He was in a rather brightly white room. To his left, a soft, roundish man in a blue sweater covered in puppies and kittens sat in a folding chair, crying into a handkerchief. A man in truly ridiculous amount of glittery gold eyeshadow and a violently red sweater had his arms wrapped around the other in comfort, whilst a man in a dress shirt and tie sat primly and somberly in a third chair near his feet.

This was all he registered before the three noticed his open eyes and the soft one (Patton?) launched himself forwards with a cry of relief.

Smothered in hugs and with a warm, fond feeling filling him as he hugged back and a kiss was pressed to his hair, Virgil thought, I love him. And then: This must be my boyfriend.

—

Virgil was discharged from the hospital within the hour* and was quickly piled into the backseat of a bright red convertible with Patton. Business Casual watched him over his shoulder from the passenger seat as Glitter Eyeshadow (I really need to figure out their names) started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, but as they turned onto the freeway he turned back forwards, apparently satisfied with what he had (or hadn’t) seen.

“Roman, would you please put the top up?”

“Do you not enjoy the feeling of the wind in your hair? The sensation of speed? The taste of adventure??”

“No.”

Roman put the top up, and Virgil noted his name with relief. Two down, one to go.

As Virgil settled against the window, staring out at the swiftly passing shrubbery and rough-cut rock lining the road, he recalled what the doctor had told him**.

“You were hit by an ATV at an intersection where you had right of way. All your medical bills have been handled by the other driver. You, miraculously, received only minor-to-moderate abrasions and contusions, aside from a rather nasty head wound, and appear to have no lasting effects.” The doctor smiled down at Virgil, and he briefly attempted to say “Actually, I do have one extremely present lasting effect,” but the doctor breezed onward without giving him a chance. “You were extremely lucky, Mr. Sanders.”

Ten minutes later, they were pulling into the driveway of a suburban 4-bedroom house.

—

[ID: 3 panel comic, panels stacked. virgil is upstairs, anxiously looking at different bedroom doors and trying to figure out which one is his, saying “Huh…” He’s wearing a black hoodie and the background is purple. A fly flies past behind his head.

The first door has a banner that reads “PRINCE”, a crown, and sparkles. it is captioned “No”. the second is a blank door. it is captioned “Maybe.” the third is covered in flowers and hearts, and has a unicorn on it. it is captioned “No!”. the fourth is also blank. it is captioned “...Maybe?”

Virgil closes his eyes, looking nervy yet determined. he is thinking “Well... There’s only one thing left to do...”

end ID]

[ID: 3 panel comic, panels stacked. virgil is in the living room, sitting on the couch and waiting for a clue for which room is his. He looks very anxious, thinking “This is fine.” there are sweat/nerves emotes around his head and he is blushing. there is a houseplant on a stand to the left and a red lamp on a side table to the right. the background is purple.

There’s a closeup on virgil’s face in profile. he is thinking “All I have to do is wait until four-eyes picks one of our less obvious rooms.” he is on the right and facing left, and there is a stylized drawing of logan’s face with angry eyebrows and a frown on the left. the background is a black-white gradient fading into the middle, with black emphasis lines pointing into the middle.

Patton suddenly appears beside virgil and says “HEY!!”, startling him. a zig of surprise emote and the word “zoinks!” are beside virgil’s head, and his eyes are boggling. patton’s face is stylized like a cat emote, with a 3 mouth and greater/less than signs for eyes. patton is wearing a blue shirt with a red cardigan tied around his shoulders. patton’s speech is in white bubble letters, and emphasized with many exclamation marks and a tilde. the background is purple.

end ID]

[ID: 5 panel comic, with panels 1, 4, and 5 stacked, and panels 2 and 3 stacked next to panel 1. Virgil flops over sideways onto patton’s lap. patton is sitting on the couch and virgil is curled stiffly on his side. they are stylized. the background is white.

A stylized icon of patton’s surprised face is looking down, with a loading bar next to his head, and a pink circle behind him. the background is white. Below that, the same stylized icon of patton’s face is happy and smiling, surrounded by yellow flowers and delight emotes. it is captioned “cuddle time!”

Next is a shot of virgil’s face where he is lying down. he is thinking “Wow this guy definitely is my boyfriend...” he is blushing, and looking to the left. there are white hearts around him and the background is navy blue.

A view from behind the couch over logan’s shoulder shows the stylized back of patton’s head surrounded by delight emotes and yellow flowers. logan’s face is in the right of the panel, looking suspiciously at the camera. it is captioned “suspicious A F” with a curly arrow pointing at logan.

end ID]

—

Later…

Virgil followed Patton up the stairs. They stopped in front of one of the blank doors. Please please please let this be my room and this not just be Patton stopping in front of the upstairs bathroom door or in front of Business Casual’s door for some reason or maybe I completely misjudged him and this is HIS room- “Well,” said Patton, “Goodnight! Sleep well!” With a final hug, he turned and crossed the hall back to the sticker-encrusted door, stepping inside, and Virgil nodded with a quiet “You too.”

Virgil tried to convince himself to try the door, but the imminent fear that Business Casual would appear, find him breaking into his room, and immediately unearth him as an amnesiac imposter and no longer the friend they knew and loved and kick him out on the street with only the clothes on his back and he’d have to resort to dealing drugs at Denny’s-

Business Casual, dressed in actual pajamas patterned with actual erlenmeyer flasks and test tubes of bright liquids, stepped out of the bathroom at the end of the hall and walked past him to the other blank door, opening it. He paused, and turned back. “Virgil, are you alright?”

“Yes! Fine!” Virgil jolted into motion and opened the door before him, stepping inside and turning to close it quickly. He caught a glimpse of Actual Chemistry Pajamas’ face, confused, mildly concerned, and contemplative, as he closed the door.

Virgil turned to look at his room.

Posters for The Nightmare Before Christmas and Welcome to Night Vale hung on one wall, while album covers for My Chemical Romance, Gorillaz, and a myriad of other bands covered another. An easel with a black canvas stood in a corner next to a bucket of oil paints, surrounded by a drop cloth. Next to it, a desk cluttered with notebooks, colored pencils, pastels, watercolors, and other art supplies. A paint-splattered pair of white jeans and large t-shirt was tossed over the back of the chair. Filling the remaining wall was a large bookshelf. Miscellaneous clutter formed a patchy layer over his floor, and a laundry bin half-full of clean clothes sat beside a pile of dirty clothes by his dresser.

Virgil’s eyes pricked with exhaustion, and he delegated all… that to tomorrow. He carefully stepped over to his bed, and sat down.

Reaching over to his nightstand, he picked his phone up and unlocked it.

Wait.

Virgil quickly popped into settings and removed the password, then set about searching the rest of his phone for clues.

Contacts had only “Puff🐶💙💜” (Patton, who is definitely my boyfriend), “Moi✨💄🌟” (Roman.), “Nerd🍇🤖🌡” (@god why. Please I just need to know his name), some tech support numbers, and “Manager”. He had Temple Run and Subway Surfer and Geometry Dash, but not much else. He had the Tumblr app, but it crashed as soon as he opened it. Finally, he checked Notes.

I don’t know why I didn’t start here. The Notes app was a jackpot. His social security number, directions to an unknown location, the address of a cafe in Rochester, his computer password (!), and “hamlo”, whatever that was.

Searching through the rest of the notes yielded slightly less lucrative results - numerous notes with random thoughts apparently written whilst trying to fall asleep (“dog pants?” “burger pant’s son, burger shorts. jr pants. shorts = young pants?” “Dumbell/Sawdust” “rubix cubes physically manifesting in your home” “burger pusher/at least im not a burger pusher. im a coffee pusher. im a cat?”), a note with translated roman numerals, and a note that simply read “modo g^5 plus”.

Virgil shrugged, called it a success, and went to get ready for bed.

—

Roman has an arm on Virgil’s chest, preventing him from grabbing his (“Be careful! That’s new!”) phone back as he quickly changes the contact names, adding several emojis to each. Business Casual leans over the back of the couch to read the screen.

“Why am I a thermometer?”

“It’s the closest thing I could find to a test tube.” Roman looked dramatically into the distance. “Sometimes, we have to make do with what we have.”

Virgil, upon return of his phone, reddens at the blue and purple heart emojis Roman put in Patton’s contact name. But he also doesn’t change them.

—

Virgil woke up the next morning at 6:58. He lay in bed for several minutes, blinking sleepily at the ceiling, before he registered the smell of pancakes drifting under the door.

Downstairs, he found Patton putting on his coat, shoving folders into a backpack, and eating the last few bites of his breakfast while glancing frantically at the clock. “Morning Virgil! You’re up early! Can you put this in the sink?” Virgil took the sticky plate as Patton slung the backpack over his shoulder, wriggled into his other sleeve, and darted out of the kitchen. “Bye Virge! Love you!” The door slammed.

“Bye,” he replied to the empty room. He put the plate down.

Investigating the cupboards, he eventually found a plate and fork, and pulled a few pancakes off the cooling rack in the middle of the table. Chewing slowly, he listened to the birds chirping out the window and the sound of someone jogging by.

Jogging up the steps.

Roman swung sweatily into the kitchen in running shorts and a tank top emblazoned with a logo of a yellow “watch out for children”-style road sign with two people running across a stage. He breezed over to the cabinets without noticing Virgil’s presence, dancing a bit to the pop music faintly drifting from his headphones, and humming a few notes. He turned to the table and startled violently.

“Virgil! You’re up early.” He quickly pulled his headphones off.

“Haha, yeah, I mean,” Virgil frantically dug for an excuse. “I have just been asleep for a month.”

Roman laughed, settling into a chair. He forked five pancakes onto his plate and splashed fruit sauce onto them before diving in. Virgil quietly finished his breakfast to the tinny tune of Lady Gaga’s Boys Boys Boys still drifting from Roman’s headphones.

“Hey, so, um, what’s the situation with like, work?” Virgil prayed he had been fired. He could not handle having to do this with his coworkers, too.

Roman looked awkwardly to the side. “I’m sorry, dude. They said they couldn’t keep you on past three weeks. So.”

Virgil nodded, trying not to let the relief show on his face. “That’s valid.”

Roman barked out a short, surprised laugh. “I saw a hiring sign at Starbies this morning though, you could try there.”

Virgil nodded again, and they lapsed into silence. Roman turned off his playlist.

Later, Roman tugs the last of the pancakes onto another plate and sticks them in the microwave, muttering something about how “pocket calculator probably pulled another all-nighter”. Virgil treks back up to his room to look up which Starbucks is near enough to be the one Roman was talking about, and Roman disappears into the bathroom to take a shower. 15 minutes later, Business Casual runs past his open door trailing a tie and a partially-unzipped backpack, and soon after the door slams once more.

—

Virgil walked the 4 short blocks to the hiring Starbucks, bought a coffee, and completed & turned in his application within half an hour. He got a call a week later, sweated and bullshitted his way through the interview, and miraculously got hired anyway. He was scheduled for 5-hour timeslots at various times Monday-Saturday. Thus, the following Sunday, neither Patton nor Virgil had any work they needed to rush off to.

The two had almost absentmindedly migrated from breakfast to the dishes, and they quietly coexisted while Patton washed and Virgil dried. As Virgil put away the last plate, Patton tapped him gently on the shoulder.

“Hey, Virgil?” asked Patton quietly. He looked down, fiddling with his fingers uncertainly. “D’you want to do some painting with me?”

“Yeah, sure,” replied Virgil, smiling. “Sounds fun.”

The change in Patton’s demeanor was immediate. He bloomed like a cereus in the night, rising and filling the room with his bright smile and luminous aura. “Alright! I’ll get the stuff!” He bustled off upstairs, leaving Virgil, stunned and very gay, in the kitchen. He recovered after a minute and went to change into paint clothes.

Patton and Virgil set up in the living room, spreading a large piece of thick brown paper over the rug and scattering paints and glitter within easy reach. He plopped cross-legged on the paper, and Virgil followed suit.

“What are we making?” he asked.

“Whatever we want! This is one of my favorite projects to do with my kindergarteners, just give them a big piece of paper and a lot of craft supplies and let them do wherever they want.” Patton opened up a bottle of blue paint and squirted a bit into his hand. He continued, “Kids have something really special when it comes to art, they don’t focus on the end, they just grab some paint and go.”

Mixing in some white, he spread the paint in his palm in a wide circle over the brown paper. “I think we forget how to do that when we grow up, and I’ve been trying to relearn it from my students with this activity.”

Virgil hummed. He grabbed a bottle of purple, and, squirting it into his hand, began to add little dots and curlicues to the paper with his pinky, carving tiny cracks with his fingernail.

Patton continued to talk quietly about some of the other art projects he had done with his kindergarteners as the picture began to take shape. The two crawled and reached around their workspace and each other, trying their best not to smudge the paint. Virgil put his hand down in a colorful patch, shrugged, and slapped it down in a bare space.

They continued for some time, until eventually they both tired. Virgil leaned against Patton and they looked over the smudgy, colorful, glittery painting. Patton leaned into Virgil, too, with a happy sigh.

—

Virgil stared at the black canvas in his room. He tilted his head to the left. To the right.

I don’t get it.

Turning to the desk, he flipped through a few notebooks. They held heavily pigmented, shadowy works in pastel, deeply layered colored pencil, and many, many half-finished sketches, some violently scribbled out. He found one sketch of what was apparently going to be an oil painting, with a list of what sections were going to be added on which layers, but the background was purple, not black.

Another notebook held loose sheets of watercolor paper, some filled with so much paint portions were almost black, others with only a few layers, clearly in the early stages.

Dang, I sure do like dark colors.

Turning back to the canvas, he shrugged and picked up a pallet.

Fuck it. I’ll just Bob Ross it and do whatever.

—

Virgil snarls at the canvas. Nothing is coming out like it is supposed to. In a fit of anger, he grabs his largest brush, and slaps black paint over the entire surface, obliterating the slightly wonky figure of a person in profile. With another growl, he tears out the page the sketch for the piece had been on and crumples it up, pitching it into the trash. Stripping out of his paint clothes, he crashes straight into bed. The clock greenly blinks the time at him: 4:37 AM.

—

Saturday afternoon, Virgil had learned, Patton volunteered at the SPCA. Virgil lounged in the living room with a book as Patton bounced around, humming as he gathered his coat and his bag.

Patton poked his head in. “Hey Virge! Wanna come to work with me? I think Buster misses you.”

Virgil looked up from his book. “Hm… Yeah.” He smiled, marking his place and standing. Leaving the book on the coffee table, he followed Patton out the door.

When they got to the SPCA, Patton immediately led him into the back and over to where a tiny corgi and a large mastiff lay together in a pen. The two dogs jumped up as they approached, the corgi hopping eagerly over to say hi to Virgil.

“Let me just grab Keaton…” muttered Patton, reaching over to take the mastiff’s collar. Virgil, however, had already reached out and was scratching Keaton behind the ears. Patton raised his eyebrows, then smiled, bouncing on his toes a bit. “Virgil! I’m so proud of you!!” Virgil nodded absently, leaning further into the pen to waffle his hand along Buster’s back.

“You can step into the pen,” Patton told him with a laugh. Virgil was quick to do so, plopping down on the floor.

Checking their collars discreetly to be certain of their names, Virgil murmured various baby-talks at Buster and Keaton as the two tumbled over him. Patton cooed at them, watching the three as Virgil tried to pet both dogs all over at once. He took many photos on his phone.

—

“…And Virgil did so much better around Keaton, too! They were like best buds, Keaton was all over him and he was fine! I’m so proud,” Patton finished, stirring the dregs of his soup as he spoke.

“Oh, well done, Virgil,” said Business Casual through a mouthful. He swallowed, and continued. “I know larger dogs have been a difficult issue for you for quite some time. I’m glad you’ve taken the initiative to work on your fear.”

Virgil tried desperately not to show his panic. I was afraid of big dogs?? Ffffff-

“Yeah, uh, I just felt bad about separating Buster from his buddy when I visited.” He awkwardly fiddled with his empty water glass. Business Casual was giving him a weird look. What did that mean.

Thankfully, Roman inadvertently saved him by changing the subject to his own day at work, running a Saturday workshop on improv at the youth theatre company he worked for.

—

There was a box of brownie mix in the cupboard.

Virgil leaned into the living room, where Patton was working on a lesson plan. He waggled the box. “Wanna make brownies?”

Patton’s head popped up, beaming. “Yes!!!” He stood, putting a hand to his back, then bounced over. “I forgot that was in there!”

He started pulling out measuring cups, and Virgil glanced over the instructions before opening the fridge to grab eggs.

Virgil measured the oil, eggs, and water into the bowl as Pat stirred. Once the liquid ingredients had been thoroughly combined, Virgil measured out half the bag of mix and poured it in. Patton folded the two together, blending carefully before stirring more vigorously. Flecks of batter flew out of the bowl, and Virgil grunted in surprise as a drop hit him in the cheek.

Patton stopped and looked over at him. He giggled, glancing back down at his own shirt. “I guess I battered it a bit too much, huh?” He grinned cheekily up at Virgil, sunlight breaking over the horizon. A bit of batter had landed on his lip.

Virgil leaned down and kissed him.

Patton jumped back with a loud shriek, eyes widening in shock. “What!?”

Virgil took a step back, raising his hands defensively. “What?” Should I have given him more warning? Isn’t kissing something you do with someone you’re dating? Am I wrong about that?? Did the brain injury screw up my factual knowledge too???

Footsteps thudded from upstairs, and Roman bounded into the room, followed by Business Casual. “What happened?!”

“What!” Patton squeaked again.

“I’m sorry!” Virgil frantically replied. “I’m not- I’m confused. I’m sorry!” He waved his hands frantically.

“What happened?” Business Casual asked, stepping between the two. “Wh. Why are you covered in batter?” Virgil and Patton ignored him.

“What- Why did you kiss me??” shrilled Patton.

“Because we’re dating???” Virgil replied incredulously. Patton’s eyes blew even wider.

“I- You- Virge, since when?”

Virgil paused. What?? “Are. Are we not dating?”

“No! I think I would know if I was dating you!”

Everything Virgil thought he knew was crashing down around him. The world was ending. This was his worst nightmare.

“But! I thought! Everything adds up to you dating me! You spend more one-on-one time with me than anyone else! You hug me more than anyone else! You look at me different and you smile at me more! You said you loved me! You kissed the top of my head when I first woke up!” he explained frantically. Everything is over. Patton will hate me now and they’re going to kick me out and realize I have amnesia and I’m going to be homeless and lose my job and-

“Yeah, because I’m hopelessly in love with you and can’t handle how gay I am!”

For a moment, everything stopped. What?

“You’re in love with me?”

“You thought we were dating!”

“You just said we weren’t!”

“Virgil, why would you not recall that Patton and yourself were not dating?”

Everyone turned to Business Casual, who had stepped away from the two and was now leaning against the opposite counter.

“Virgil, you said you had extrapolated from Patton’s actions that the two of you were dating, citing specifically when you, quote, “first woke up”. Odd phrasing in any situation, but particularly when compounded with the rest of this situation. So, Virgil. Care to share why it was you needed to extrapolate from such details your and Patton’s relationship status?”

Virgil slumped hopelessly. This is it. I’m going to have to sell drugs at Dennys. “I don’t remember anything. I have amnesia.”

Business Casual smirked. “As I suspected.”

“You knew?? Why didn’t you say anything? Do you know how worried I’ve been that you all’d find out and be mad at me for not telling you sooner and kick me out for being an imposter?? I don’t even know your name! Do you have any idea how stressful this has been for me??”

“It’s Logan. And you could have just said something yourself.” Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but like, there was never really a good time… and I didn’t want to be rude and be like “Who are you!” ‘cause you all were so happy to see me awake… and then it had been so long that it would have just been weird…”

—

Virgil and Patton sat awkwardly on the couch, facing each other. Logan had volunteered to call the doctor for Virgil, and Roman had quietly disappeared back upstairs.

“So,” said Patton. “Um. I guess you know I’m in love with you now. I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable to be around me now, I can leave you alone for a while if you want, and I’ll try to get over-“

“Patton,” Virgil interrupted, perplexed. “I kissed you.”

“Yes! But! That was just because you thought we were dating!” Virgil had never heard anything more dumb in his life (the past month). And he worked customer service.

“Pat, I wouldn’t have thought we were dating if I didn’t like you too.” Virgil took a breath. “I thought we were dating because, when you hugged me after I first woke up, my first thought was that I loved you. I may not remember you, but I remember how I felt about you. And how I felt about you was that I loved you so much that even a major brain injury couldn’t take it away.”

Patton stared into Virgil’s eyes. “So you like me too?”

“Yes.”

“Can I kiss you?”

Virgil leaned down in reply, and Patton met him halfway.

—

“And so as you can see from the compounded evidence, combined with his recent confession, Virgil definitely has amnesia.”

“Why was this necessary?” asked Roman. “You just listed all the times you saw Virgil doing something suspicious and out-of-character. We already know Virgil has amnesia. You didn’t need to make us sit down and watch a powerpoint about it.”

“In my defense, I spent a very long time doing this instead of my homework and wanted to share it with someone.” ***

—

*dont @ me, you read the disclaimer

**DONT FUCKING @ ME

***the note in my outline for this is: logan: here is my powerpoint on how virgil definitely has amnesia

[shizekarnstein]

Ok let's get over this.

This fucking chapter? With the heartwrenching title? This is saddest thing I've read in YEARS.

I'll do a brief commentary of every chatacter.

Reiner: he's done. So done with everything. The only thing that keeps him going is saving those kids and like Bert 5 years ago, to put and end to everything. If they manage to stop Eren and Zeke in his mind everything will be alright. That's why he fought so desesperatly until the end, reafirming his words back from 5 years ago about Eren's possesion of the FT. When he sees Falco's transformation and that Zeke is apparently out of comission, he thinks the mission is over and his last act is to try and save Falco. He's at peace with his choice. Sadly for him Porco beats him to it, and seeing Porco sacrifice himself just like Marcel is the final nail: he snaps. I've never see him like that and wasn't ever aware he possesed that kind of determination. We'll see what's to become of him in the future.

Porco: oh god Porco. Finally touching Reiner, who was touching the FT, allowed him a glimpse into his brothers memory and to at last understand Marcel's feelings and the sheer love he had for him. He manipulated the military just to spare him and even died trying to protect other people. Not only that, he realised one of the reasons he saved Reiner is bc of guilt; after all Reiner was only in that island bc he couldn't bear to see his little brother enduring that burden. When Zeke and Colt are conversing and Zeke states that he totally understands where Colt is coming from, he's deeply shaken. That's why he decides to save Falco. He has the power to, and is once and for all free of all the doubts he had concerning his own brother and his own place in the world. He could had let Falco eat Reiner, but choose to offer up himself. I shed bitter tears for him, bc it was not only very brave but also such a caring gesture; just as his brother chose to save him and later Reiner, and witnessing Colt trying to comfort Falco until the end, he decided that saving Falco was the right thing to do.

Zeke. Agh. Everything about Zeke hurt me. How can someone commit such vicious acts and at the same time remain so utterly human about his decisions? It was portrayed marvelously. Even empathizing with Colts feelings and caring about his former comrades, he still makes the choice to scream and complete his mission. His worry for Eren beyond just a part of his goals has always been clear to me, but I dare anyone to read this chapter and say that Zeke doesn't give a fuck about Eren. He loves him. And seeing himself in Colt and even Eren in Falco shook him so much. He felt remorse for what he was about to do, and decided to sacrificing them still despite of that. Zeke is an amazingly complex character and I can't wait to see what's he going to do now. Did you all see his face and his frantic attempts to reach out to Eren? The sheer sorrow in his eyes when Gabi pulled the trigger? Im devastated along with him.

Colt. I don't know what to say about Colt. Just thinking about him has me sobbing. How he begged and plead with his former mentor to please spare his brother. At that point he didn't give two flying fucks about the war and eldia and marley. The only thing he wanted was his brothers safety. He tried to appeal to Zeke, to remind him that the only reason he had joined up is bc he didn't want his family, a family of former traitors, to be titanized. And after everything he tried that exact scenerio would still happen. He even clarifies that the only thing he wants is time to get Falco away from hearing range, just a few minutes. After all Zeke would never harm children. Sadly, even though his feelings reached Zeke, it's all for nothing. He failed. And even then he spent his last seconds hugging his brother and reassurring him. If that was the end he wasn't about to let go of Falco and leave him alone. He was going to die, and Falco was about to turn into a mindless titan, but he could still share one last embrace with his little brother. After all what's the point anymore if Falco is a gonner? Excuse me I'll never stop crying about this. Colt loved him so deeply and still he couldn't save him how is this ok?????

Eren.

Oh Eren.

A quick check into my profile would tell you that he's my absolute favorite character. As you can guess this chapters been hell to me. There's no much I can say about him without ugly sobbing all over my phone, but here's a few things. Eren cares. His face when he noticed the 104th was out there fighting. His terror that anything bad would happen to one of them again. His expression when he heard Colts pleas. Im 100% sure he's gonna be alright but I didn't need to see a panel of his head getting blown up. It's the stuff of nightmares for me. I love him the best, and seeing him getting hurt like that or even terrified like in the rest of the chapter hits me ten times stronger than if the same thing was happening to any other character. I've already cried rivers over him. And I pray with all my strenght next months delivers swift answers regarding his fate bc Im physically unable to bear this anxiety and sorrow for longer than that.

I could talk about Pieck or the Military of Paradis. I could talk about Armin, Mikasa, Connie and Jean and how great it was seeing them in action again. I could even talk about Floch and how he's again the sole survivor of his squadron in the same fucking city. Even Yelena's creepy panel merits tons of analysis.

Instead of that Id like to end this post talking about Gabi.

Gabi is a character that always made me uncomfortable bc I can't bear the idea of child soldiers. It's sickening and disgusting and all manners of fucked up. Shes a brainwashed child soldier to boot. What a joy. Violence is second nature to her thanks to her enviroment and her training. Beneath all that tho, she is a selfless girl that only wants to save her people.

This chapter we see her grabbing a fucking horse to help Falco get away from the range of Zeke's scream. I teared up right then. After that she witness Falco's transformation along side with Colts death. And then Porcos death. When she sees a chance to stop the man that's the center of all this conflict, filled with grief, she grabs it. That is the same man that wrecked her hometown and caused the deaths of her friends. The same man that's right now running towards Zeke, for who she has mixed feelings bc even if he's betraying them she knew him. It's easier to pour all her pain into Eren, someone she doesn't have sentimental ties with. That's why she shoots. It's easy to understand and even if her sudden mastering of a new gun model without repercutions raises a few eyebrows, that's all there is to it. That a child is so used to violence to make the decision so quickly fills me with pain.

That's all y'all I'll be over here crying my eyes out and praying for Eren.

[snkpolls]

SnK S3E22 Poll Results (Manga Reader Version)

The poll closed with 305 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated! And we apologize for the delay in getting the results posted! 

Please note that these are the results of the manga reader poll. Anime only watchers are suggested not to read if you do not wish to be spoiled about certain events! Anime only viewers, click here to view your poll results!

RATE THE EPISODE 290 Responses

The final episode received mid to high ratings overall, with 74.5% of participants rating it at a 5. No doubt the anime staff did a great job closing the season.

Greatest ending of a season ever.

i cant watch the ocean scene without crying so id say it was a pretty good ep

This episode was beyond boring and the ending was captivating, but still not enough to make up for such a boring episode.

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? 299 Responses

Several of the preferred moments in the episode took place at long-awaited ocean. 40.1% of participants were most impacted by Eren’s despairing words while looking across the sea. 18.1% enjoyed seeing exchanged smiles between Armin and Mikasa, and 14.7% most loved the first time the Survey Corps laid eyes on the ocean.

Rarely have I seen a scene so beautiful that had so much episodes of set-up. The ocean scene lived up to the hype. EMA finally got to the see the Umi

The ocean scene was more beautiful than I could've imagined.

Floch was spitting FIRE!!

At this point I'm just glad they did justice to everyone finally seeing the ocean. The scene seemed to fall a little flat in the manga - not too badly, but enough that it didn't hit me the way I thought it would. The extra build up the anime added, along with seeing it in motion and hearing the voice acting, gave the anime version a lot more punch.

DID PIXIS AND HISTORIA MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION BY CHOOSING TO REVEAL THE TRUTH TO THE PUBLIC? 298 Responses

Pixis and Historia decided it was best to share the truth of the outside world with the public, no matter the response. 93% of participants believed this was the right call, while a smaller percent thought otherwise or were unsure.

They did it, but it was just kinda spilled to the public and caused a lot of uproar. I dunno if letting the newspaper report on it was the best idea.

WHO DO YOU THINK WROTE THE “INTENTS FOR THE FUTURE” EXCERPT IN THE EYE CATCH? 294 Responses

The mid-episode information card showed an entry about “Intent for the Future” in response to the truth of the world. 49.7% of participants believe the talk of diplomacy implied Armin was the author, whereas 16.3% believe it was Hange. 13.9% think the contemplative tone may have been Eren’s doing.

I think the "intents for the future" is written by Hange, since it says "watashi" and only they have "the duty" to come up with a better plan than the rumbling.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO FIRST IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN OR KNEW ABOUT THE OCEAN BEFORE? 294 Responses

Had there been no prior real world awareness of the ocean, 60.9% of participants would choose to slowly dip their feet in the water during their first encounter. 17.7% would rather observe the strange discovery from afar, and 11.2% would contemplate the meaning of life.

WHOSE INITIAL REACTION TO THE SEA WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 299 Responses

The characters’ first reactions varied upon their initial encounter with the sea. 30.4% of participants most enjoyed Armin’s marveled gaze at his most anticipated dream, while 22.7% liked Mikasa’s surprised reaction the most. Eren’s less impressed and discouraged expressions were most favored by 18.1% of participants.

Armin and Mikasa at the ocean scene was one of the BEST THINGS EVER.

I thought the animation in the first half was a little weak, but damn, I could watch Armin gaze fondly upon the ocean for hours. The animation there was on point. 

Armin and Mikasa were so cute in the ocean scene, smiling and blushing!!! Seeing Armin's happy tears after finally seeing the ocean was really moving too!! <3 I'm sad though Eren couldn't enjoy it the same way as them...

HOW WELL DID THE ANIME TEAM ADAPT CHAPTER 90? 295 Responses

The episode only covered chapter 90, but a majority of participants believed the anime did a faithful adaptation of the manga, with 78.6% saying it was near perfect.

It was fucking perfect and I even dare to say it was better than in the manga. Animation, background music, characters expressions, seiyuus - these made this episode so great. I really cried when I watched and listened to Eren talking about freedom and enemy, what didnt happen to me when I read it. I could feel his deep sadness and it was better shown how much he's changed. Kudos to everyone at studio WIT involved in snk and especially this episode

The pacing was a bit too slow. They could’ve picked up the pace a bit by maybe adding one more anime only scene. Also, they should have left off with Falco.

HOW WELL DID THE ANIME DEPICT THE FIRST MOMENT OF SEEING THE OCEAN? 296 Responses

Finally seeing the ocean animated in full color, 54.7% of participants thought the moment exceeded the manga version with the captivating visuals and awed expressions. 38.2% compared it equally emotional as the manga version while 5.1% were pleased but preferred the moment in the manga.

They made it look so wholesome I nearly forgot Eren’s suffering

Idk I didn't see because there was water in my line of sight. That happens every time since the episode that broke my heart.

It felt so unreal, they did an incredible job of transcribing from the point of view of the characters and I think I felt at least as upset as they were by discovering the beautiful graphics of the ocean.

It was underwhelming and I didn’t care for the scene at all

IN THE ANIME, EREN GETS OFF OF HIS HORSE AND TOUCHES THE IMMOBILE TITAN. WHAT’D YOU THINK OF THIS CHANGE? 299 Responses

The anime altered the moment Eren sees the immobile titan by including him dismounting his horse and physically touching its head. 74.9% of participants thought the moment properly captured Eren’s newfound sympathy for the titans as fellow compatriots. 9.7% believe it made him look more sympathetic than in reality, and 5.7% didn’t think the change was needed.

It made more clean to the audience that Eren new target/enemy are not the titans anymore, now feeling pity for their compatriots. And his templance and tone remind us Kruger/Grisha presence on him, his hatred for Marley.

I was pinned on the spot, and I had to look at this passage several times to be sure of having seen well. Wow, Eren touched a titan and considers him "one of theirs".  This passage was made without special emphasis, as if it was normal that Eren had compassion for a titan, and it really shaken me.

I think it was a rly nice addiction but I dont think its about Eren symphatizing with the titans, rather to me it shows Eren's melancholy of facing the truth about the titans. He wasnt feeling sympathy or pity for that titan, just the truth that it was once a person, the truth outside the walls, beyond the ocean.

it was an odd change but it kinda illustrated just how much of an impact memories/paths are having on eren’s mind

It was a bit cheesy

Eren is now the titan whisperer

HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FEW FRAMES OF THE ATTACK ON LIBERIO IN THE END CREDITS? 297 Responses

The ending credits revealed some scenes of the Attack on Liberio and its aftermath. 64.3% of participants felt the inclusion was a good way to build suspense for the final season, while 24.2% think the scenes were too subtle for anime viewers to react and specifically catered to manga readers.

As for the ending itself, it's a good thing they released extra pics, but the main issue; if you follow the anime, is this: the screencaps don't show where it's located, not when these events take place. It could take place on Paradis, it could mean the mean Marleys are attacking in full force again, or if we're this far in the manga, it could be assumed the characters at the sea have no choice but to become monsters to fight the monsters of the outside world... which goes against what the manga portrays when you take into account there's been 9 chapters dedicated to show the POV from the other side of the ocean.

THERE ARE A COUPLE SCENES IN THE END CREDITS THAT HAVEN’T BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN THE MANGA. DO YOU BELIEVE THESE ARE FUTURE PANELS THAT WILL APPEAR LATER IN THE STORY? 297 Responses

There were a few scenes in the credits that were not illustrated in the manga. 53.2% of participants believe these will be future panels in the upcoming manga chapters, but 38% aren’t quite sure. A smaller 8.8% think the scenes are just for show or anime only and will not make a comeback in the manga.

WHO IS THE GIRL STUDENT IN THE UNIFORM? 296 Responses

One of the unillustrated scenes showed a girl in a school uniform among other students. 37.8% think the student is an Eldian, and 35.8% think she is Marleyan. 19.6% believe this is the future depicting a modern-day student. Will she be shown again? Some believe this is someone we already knew.

Also, I'm leaning towards the theory that the girl in the uniform is Lady Tybur when she attended a private school.

The girl student in the uniform is likely Ms Tybur (the Warhammer titan), as the school looks quite prestigious, and they are the only high class characters of importance in Marley.  I hope this means that we might get a bit more on her character in the anime adaptation.

WITH THE PV CONFIRMATION THAT THE 4TH SEASON WILL BE THE FINAL ONE, WHAT’S YOUR GUESS FOR WHEN THE MANGA WILL END? 298 Responses

The brief preview announcement of the 4th season set to release confirmed it would be the anime’s final season. With the release date in the fall of next year, 44.6% of manga reading participants believe the manga series will conclude in mid to late 2020. 22.8% think the manga will end early in the beginning of next year, and 14.8% believe Isayama and the animation studio will work together to release the finale of both the manga and anime around the same time. As of recently, Isayama thinks he has about a year left to complete his story, but only time will tell when it actually ends.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

Not your usual beach episode lol. Wished the stinger is they show Falco looking up on sky in Fort Slava, but maybe it's too revealing for anime onlies? 

I can't believe we've come this far already. Everything was beautifully done, the end credits were just absolutely poignant and the extra scenes have only made me more impatient for more Manga chapters.

It's probably the episode of Snk that caused the most emotion in me. Eren's seiyuu especially, but also Armin's were really excellent. The melancholy of Eren's voice, and the hope so fragile and so beautiful of Armin, appeared to me strikingly thanks to that. The separation that prefigures in EMA trio, and the dreams that break as they face what they had sought from the beginning pierced me.

That piano score that played throughout the end credits...Sure Sawano you can tear out my heart, this show's gotten me used to it anyway…

Also can I just say Mikasa in the ocean was really fucking adorable? Because she was. I've always had this headcanon that she would love the ocean because the half of her that isn't an Ackerman is from the ""East Sea Clan"" and so I would think coastal life and seafaring would be in her blood. This episode has only strengthened this headcanon for me. :)

I miss Erwin. I don't think that'll ever change, but duuudes Floch made me cry every harder. He's such a lost kid and he's alone in his grief. No one should be alone 😭

years of waiting and god has finally gifted us with a masterpiece.

The anime-only scenes were a very nice touch, and added to the emotion of the arc. Considering what's become of Eren and Floch (ugh) now, the scene where Eren touches the Titan, followed by Floch hanging behind for a moment, seemed quite telling. Can't wait to see the next season (and all the death and destruction that unfortunately accompanies it).

Honestly this season, and potentially the entire series was ruined for me  because of how they handled Uprising. It was an alright adaptation, with some admittedly outstanding scenes, but the first part of the season really killed my hype for the second part. 

Mikasa’s smile to Armin was the only part of this episode I thought was done more effectively than in the manga. She’s been through so much; it was sweet to see her out of her element in a GOOD way, WITH her family there. This scene cemented her as my 3rd favorite character.

I picked up on the little, subtle changes, and I really enjoyed them. WIT did an amazing job on this episode, and it was fairly lived up to.

There wasn't much filler, but I liked what they did with adding Grisha's distorted facial expression and how they conveyed Eren's at the end of the first half. Also nice Floch filler where he asks why the SC doesn't cull that titan lol.

Hitch broke my heart ;-;

I’m not ready. Somebody save us! I don’t want hobo Eren yet!

Truly amazing. It was really refreshing to see the characters taking a break from all the gore and enjoy the moment. Great ending.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 284 Responses

Thank you to everyone who participated! 

[daresplaining]

Who are your favourite DD villains? Fisk, Bullseye and Mr Fear all sound brilliant from what I know of them, but are there any others with similarly iconic influence on Matt?

    There are! Daredevil comics aren’t known for their well-crafted villains to the extent that, say, Spider-Man or Batman comics are, but I really enjoy a lot of Matt’s rogues gallery. Fisk and Bullseye are probably the two biggest names, but there are many others who have had major impacts on his life, and the Marvel Universe in general, over the years. Here are some of the most notable DD villains, in my opinion:

Gladiator (Melvin Potter) is a major antagonist who, over the years has become arguably one of the most nuanced and interesting Daredevil characters. I wrote a longer post about him, way back when we thought we might actually get a Gladiator origin story in the Netflix show, but in general, a lot of his lasting appeal comes from the complexity of his character. When he was first introduced in Daredevil vol. 1 #18 he was a pretty standard Silver Age villain: a guy with semi-logical origin story, a funky costume, and a penchant for monologuing. Specifically, Melvin Potter was the owner of a costume store who was sick of being disrespected by his customers, and so decided to make a name for himself by attacking people with spinning blades. 

[ID: A panel from Lee’s Daredevil run. Daredevil is battling the Gladiator. Daredevil hoists himself up on a big crate to dodge one of the Gladiator’s spinning wrist blades.]

Matt: “He’s not fooling with those wrist blades… he’s fighting for real! But, why? I’m certain I’ve never met him before!”

Melvin: “You can’t keep dodging me forever! And the moment you slip, you shall have the honor of being my first victim!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #18 by Stan Lee, John Romita, and Sam Rosen

    Over the years, various writers have worked hard to add nuance to his character. Despite his fearsome appearance and goal of gaining respect, most early Gladiator stories involve Melvin being manipulated by stronger, smarter supervillains. Later, he becomes even more sympathetic: a dangerous killer who, at heart, is gentle and naive and hates when he loses control and hurts people. This creates an inherent discord in his character that adds an emotional hook to all of his stories. Matt tries to help him, and Melvin is grateful for Matt’s friendship and returns that favor when he can, but sometimes they end up having to fight each other. Essentially, Melvin’s story is the relentless tragedy of a man who wants to live a peaceful life but keeps falling victim to his own demons and the cruelty of the world around him. 

[ID: A page from Miller’s Daredevil run. Matt Murdock, in civvies (a tan suit and blue tie) confronts Melvin Potter, who is in a prison uniform and holding his Gladiator helmet.]

Matt: “Melvin, we’ve come so far. I know how much you want to be well… to go straight. We can help you, Betsy and I.”

Melvin: “I been trying, Matt. I been sitting in that courtroom, listening to them say those things about me, feeling my guts churn up, wanting to rip them all to pieces… They hate me. They all hate me… so I’m gonna hate them back!”

Matt: “I’m not letting you off that easy. If you want to become the Gladiator again, you’ll have to get past me.”

Melvin: “Past you?! Look at you– you’re just a skinny little blind guy! I’d break you in half! It’d be easy…”

Matt: “Is that what you want?”

Melvin: “Why not? I’m the Gladiator! The Gladiator! When I’m wearing my armor, I’m unbeatable, I’m…” 

[ID: Melvin throws the helmet and falls to his knees.]

Melvin: “I’m all alone. Help me… please…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #173 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Glynis Wein

    This complicated and heartwrenching characterization has helped Melvin to remain a fresh and popular antagonist (anti-hero, even) and a regular guest in Daredevil. He is one of several characters who complicates the hero/villain dichotomy, and thereby both emphasizes and challenges Matt’s own heroism. 

Typhoid Mary/Mary Walker is another one of the more famous Daredevil villains, and someone who has had a significant impact on Matt’s story over the years. I wrote a longer post on her as well. Female antagonists in particular seem to suffer from a variety of weaknesses in their depictions, and Typhoid– as a sexual character by nature, as well as someone who plays upon “crazy” villain tropes– has had her share of not great depictions over the years. However, at her core, she is a wonderfully compelling character and a dangerous villain who is literally multifaceted by design. Even moreso than Melvin Potter, Mary plays upon the concept of a good person who is powerless to prevent themself from doing violent things– in Mary’s case, through genuinely having multiple psyches inhabiting one body. She is in constant conflict with herself, as gentle Mary and bloodthirsty Typhoid battle for dominance. As much as she is an antagonist to Matt and the other heroes whose paths she crosses, she is her own arch-enemy. 

[ID: An excerpt from Nocenti’s Daredevil run. Typhoid Mary and Daredevil are both underwater, in the East River. Mary looked panicked partway through strangling Daredevil, and flees out of the water.]

Mary/Typhoid: “Don’t kill him! You! Shut up! I love him! Stop! Get out of my head! You can’t kill him! Get out of my head! Oh, god! Where am I? Why am I dressed like this? What have I done?!”

Matt: “Curious. That’s a completely different woman running away! What came over her?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #256 by Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., and Christie Scheele

    Matt’s dealings with Mary have brought about some of the more unheroic moments in his career. In Joe Kelly’s attempt to integrate the Man Without Fear-verse origin story into the 616 universe, he proposed that Matt nearly killed Mary on his first superhero outing. When Typhoid, in her introductory arc, is hired to seduce Matt, it works– he cheats on Karen with her. Later, when attempting to bring down the Kingpin’s empire, Matt removes Mary from the equation by sleeping with her to get her guard down and then forging documents to have her locked away in a psychiatric hospital. She hits all of his weak points: as Mary, she is a victim who needs rescuing… and an attractive one at that. As Typhoid, she is a dangerous enemy who must be stopped. In addition to her skill with weapons, she has all kinds of awesome psychic powers– including, most notably, pyrokinesis– and something about her physiology messes with Matt’s senses and makes her difficult to fight. She is a challenge on every level, and in many ways, Matt serves the same purpose for her– Mary (and, arguably, Typhoid as well) accidentally falls in love with him, representing a loss of power and control that she can’t stand. 

[ID: Excerpt from Nocenti’s Daredevil run. A series of panels alternating between Daredevil falling off a bridge and a tear sliding down Typhoid Mary’s cheek.]

Daredevil vol. 1 #260 by Ann Nocenti, John Romita Jr., and Christie Scheele

The Hand I love the Hand– which is to say, I love the Chaste, and part of why I love the Chaste is because I love their rivalry with the Hand. On some levels, the Hand are your standard Big Bad Secret Organization, but I also find them to be a lot of fun, and they have been a significant force in Daredevil comics since they were introduced. The Hand are key players in Miller’s updated version of Matt’s origin, which introduced Stick and gave him a purpose for training Matt. They also had a huge role in Elektra’s origin, since her attempt to singlehandedly bring them down from the inside led to her becoming an assassin. And of course, Matt’s role as leader of the Hand and temporary vessel for their patron demon, the Beast, was a defining moment in recent DD comics and a low point of Matt’s career. The Hand are dangerous because they are vast, and their high-ranking members have all kinds of cool powers, which I love. And there’s also a certain amount of weakness and dysfunction to the Hand that makes them appealing. They are a once-great organization relegated to being mercenaries-for-hire. Their low-ranking members are fairly weak– as Matt quips in Volume 1 #380, “a little harsh language and [they’re] up in smoke!” They were led by a Skrull (disguised as Elektra) for a while, and didn’t even notice. Arguably their most dangerous enemy, Master Izo, mostly just bothers them with Hand puns. 

[ID: A panel from Diggle’s Daredevil run. Daredevil, seen from the back, is standing in an empty room. The light from the sunset streams in through the windows. Izo is sitting behind him on the floor, drinking tea.]

Matt: “Look, you wanted me leading the Hand, you got it… but I never agreed to be your puppet.”    

Izo: “‘Hand puppet.’ Heh.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #503 by Andy Diggle, Roberto De La Torre, Marco Checchetto, and Matt Hollingsworth

    I also enjoy the way the Hand and the Chaste operate and Matt’s relationship with them. Matt isn’t an official member of the Chaste (like Elektra, he was rejected for being too emotional– which, in his case at least, is a fair assessment) but he still teams up with them on occasion, and the experience almost always puts him out of his depth in really entertaining ways. Matt is one of the Hand’s biggest enemies and one of the Chaste’s most useful allies, so he gets dragged into their business even when he doesn’t want to be involved. 

[ID: Excerpt from Daredevil: Ninja. A conversation between Daredevil and Stone in a series of face close-ups.]

Stone: “We need your help.”

Matt: “You should have asked me to come.”

Stone: “Would you have?”

Matt: “I hate this ninja crap. I hate it. Every single time it’s nothing but lies, half-truths, and misguided loyalties. Stay away from me and my life.”

Daredevil: Ninja #2 by Brian Michael Bendis, Rob Haynes, and David Self

    There are also two excellent (and, I’d say, influential) alternate universes in which Matt joins the Hand and thrives in their presence: What If? Daredevil vs. Elektra and Earth-65 (Spider-Gwen-verse). 

Lady Bullseye (Maki Matsumoto) And if we’re discussing the Hand and the Chaste, I have to mention Maki– undisputed head of the Bullseye Fan Club and another of my favorite Daredevil villains. She’s relatively new (she was introduced during Brubaker’s run) and so hasn’t had a particularly big long-term influence on Matt, but she is a great character with extensive connections to Daredevil history. One thing I love about her is the fact that while she modeled her look and identity on Bullseye, she isn’t treated as just female version of him, as her name might suggest. They actually have very little in common; she just chose to honor Bullseye because he played a role in her origin story by indirectly rescuing her from a human trafficking ring.

[ID: Panels from Brubaker’s Daredevil run. Bullseye is single-handedly beating up a bunch of gun-toting mobsters in a warehouse building. Maki Matsumoto watches him between the bars of a large cage.]   

Caption: “She remembers that so vividly. Remembers the joy she beheld that day from her cage. She had never seen anything so beautiful, she thought. Of course, she was nearly insane already by then. But then, like a miracle… freedom.”

[ID: Maki reaches between the bars of the cage and grabs a key from a dead mobster’s pocket. As she tries to escape, another mobster runs toward her.]

Man: “You– back in your cage, girl!”

Maki: “I think not.”

[ID: Without looking at him, she slices his throat with the key.]

Daredevil vol. 2 #111 by Ed Brubaker, Clay Mann, and Matt Hollingsworth

    Since then, Maki has teamed up with Bullseye– mostly notably, resurrecting and caring for him after his death in “Shadowland”– but more often, she operates on her own as an assassin. Like both Elektra and Matt, she was trained by the Hand and the Chaste without forming an official allegiance with either, and it seems her primary teacher was Master Izo– thus making her Matt and Elektra’s ninja aunt and/or sister in the Chaste Family Tree that definitely exists in my head and nowhere else. 

[ID: Excerpt from Brubaker’s Daredevil run. Lady Bullseye and Izo are standing on a Manhattan rooftop as the sky brightens behind them. Pigeons are flocking around them; Izo has one perched on his hand.]

Maki: “You said I would lead the Hand.”

Izo: “I said a lot of things when I was training you, girl… Said whatever I needed to say.”

Maki: “You’re as bad as them.”

Izo: “No. I didn’t put you in a cage and sell you to the Yakuza.”

Maki: “You still used me.”

Izo: “Yes, I did… but I’m not going to apologize.”

Maki: “Someday I’ll kill you for this. You know that, right?”

[ID: Izo leaps off the roof.]

Izo: “Yeah, well… get in line.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #500 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

    Maki masterminds the destruction of Matt’s life that leads him to join the Hand. She is extremely smart (she passes herself off as a lawyer during Brubaker’s run and fools both Matt and Foggy; as far as anyone knows, she might actually have a law degree…?), an excellent fighter (arguably better than Matt, not quite as good as Elektra), an absolute badass, and an all-around great antagonist who deserves her own solo series (hint, hint, Marvel). 

Death-Stalker I’m not sure Death-Stalker counts as a major Daredevil villain, but he was used about once a week in late 70s Daredevil so he’s certainly been a recurring presence. I also just find him really cool, conceptually. One of the interesting things about Death-Stalker is that he started his existence as a completely different supervillain: the Exterminator, who is best known for “killing” Mike Murdock! The Exterminator had a weapon that could shift its victims out of sync with the time-stream. When Matt blows it up to fake Mike’s death, the Exterminator is caught in the blast, with shocking consequences: 

[ID: Excerpt from McKenzie’s Daredevil run. A series of flashback panels: the Exterminator (a kind of goofy-looking villain with a purple and white costume and blue antennae on the side of his mask) watching Daredevil pull a lever, then the Exterminator getting caught in an explosion and falling into a void.] 

Death-Stalker: “How many long and empty years has it been, Murdock? How many… since you so callously destroyed my awesome Time-Displacement Ray… catching me fully in the time-shattering explosion?! How long has it been since I was hurled through the fabric of time? But what you believed to be my death proved instead a macabre rebirth! I found myself in a timeless limbo! Unobserved, I could go anywhere! Do anything!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #158 by Roger McKenzie, Frank Miller, and George Roussos

    Thus, the Exterminator returns years later as Death-Stalker– a villain who can move freely through time and space, become intangible at will, and whose mere touch is lethal. This, combined with his new appearance (glowing eyes, bony hands, huge billowy cape…) makes for an excellent creepy character concept, and some of the Death Stalker issues feel more like horror stories than the typical Daredevil comic. 

[ID: Excerpt from Gerber’s Daredevil run. A tired Daredevil is making his way through a swamp. Death-Stalker appears behind him out of the fog and puts a skeletal white hand on his shoulder. Daredevil collapses.]

Matt: “H-he’s gone! Nothing but an empty cape! It’s not possible! It– where did he go?!”

Death-Stalker: “Here, Daredevil. I am here. Death is at your back.”

Matt: “Huh? Wha– No!! My… shoulder… your fingers… like ice–!”

Death-Stalker: “Like death, Daredevil. Like the grim, glacial embrace of the North Wind. No use to flee… you can’t outrun the wind.”

Caption: “For Daredevil, for this sightless adventurer, all the world is blackness, all the time. But now, a different kind of darkness envelopes him, a sort of oblivion he has never known before. He hears his heartbeat slow… feels his mind empty of all thought… feel his every nerve tingle, then go numb… and he knows that he is… dying. And that is all he knows when the darkness claims him and the Death-Stalker relaxes his grip.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #114 by Steve Gerber, Bob Brown, and Stan G.

    Sadly, though, I don’t feel he was ever used to his full skin-crawling potential, particularly considering how dangerous his power-set was. He was mostly just a nuisance who rarely got the upper hand, and he was killed in Daredevil #158 when he accidentally materialized through a tombstone during a fight with Matt. One of my favorite details about Death-Stalker isn’t Death-Stalker himself– it’s that his mother lived in a booby-trapped mansion and owned an army of exploding robotic children that she sicced on Matt to avenge her son’s death. But that’s a story for another post… 

Jester (Jonathan Powers) The Jester gets no respect, and it’s a shame because he’s both genuinely a great villain when he’s used well and highly entertaining when his 1960s goofiness is played up, and he manages to embody both of those characterizations with absolute panache. He has played a role in some fairly major Daredevil stories over the years and I’d consider him a staple DD villain. His origin story is pure Silver Age silliness: he was an actor who received bad reviews for his first major starring role, found his career heading downhill, and so decided to become a supervillain instead. This is pretty typical of motivations for villains of this time period (see the Gladiator’s origin story above, and Stilt-Man below), but even this aspect of his character has been put to good use. Daredevil #218 features a surprisingly touching story of the Jester stealing the chance to reprise that first starring role– and of Matt keeping the cops distracted (by pretending to be the Jester!) so that his enemy can finally live his dream. 

[ID: Excerpt from O’Neil’s Daredevil run. The Jester is dressed as Cyrano de Bergerac. He pulls off his false nose and bows dramatically to Daredevil and the cops who have come to take him in.]

Jester: “A moment ago you unmasked. Now I shall perform a similar gesture… I am your humble and obedient servant… the Jester! At your service!”

Matt: “You deserve the bow. You were magnificent.”

Jester: “Indeed! I trust the critics will change their tune.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #218 by Denny O’Neil, Sal Buscema, and Christie Scheele

    Throughout the issue, Matt draws comparisons between himself and the Jester: their shared mask-wearing and the experiences of disillusionment that shaped their lives– and while it certainly doesn’t give the Jester the emotional depth of certain other Daredevil villains, it’s a memorable connection. 

    But where the Jester is at his most dangerous is not as an actor looking for attention– it’s as a creator of chaos. The Jester is a master of illusions and media manipulation. In his introductory arc, he frames Daredevil for his murder and turns Matt into a wanted criminal. Later, he uses a campaign of false news reports and misinformation to sabotage Foggy’s run for District Attorney, turn the superhero community into targets, and throw the whole country into an uproar. Most recently, in Waid’s run, he manipulated TV footage to cause rioting in NYC in the wake of an unpopular and highly publicized court ruling. His plans don’t always succeed, but even then, the scope and effectiveness of the damage he causes makes him a truly formidable villain.

[ID: Excerpt from Waid’s Daredevil run. The Jester is sitting in front of computer monitors in a dark room, yelling into a microphone. In the next panel, we see random civilians in a cafe, watching “Mayor Jameson” (played by the Jester) on TV.]

Jester: “Listen to him. God, he’s so smug. No matter. This is a minor setback. Daredevil’s not the ultimate target, after all. The city’s the target, and it’ll burn. Voice synthesizer on… People of New York… this is Mayor Jameson! Effective immediately, I am rescinding all handgun regulations in Manhattan! Take up arms– for your own protection– and await further instructions!”

Daredevil vol. 3 #32 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez

The Owl (Leland Owlsley) The Owl has, unfortunately, been overshadowed by the Kingpin for most of his existence, and as such, hasn’t been given anywhere near the same amount of character development or nuance. They were created based on the same character concept: a high-powered mobster with a shadowy network of pawns who controls the city’s criminal underworld. 

[ID: A series of panels from Lee’s Daredevil run, showing a man in a long green coat and brimmed hat walking into an office building. His face is not shown; the people he passes looked at him with fear.]

Caption: “This is Wall Street, heart of New York’s Financial District, where fortunes are made and lost by the world’s greatest financial wizards! And, within the canyons of this street, we are about to find one certain man… a merciless man… a man with no friends… no loved ones… nothing to connect him with the human race, save the fact of his birth! Let us follow this man… let us study him as he walks into a towering office building, his heavy footsteps reverberating through the huge marble lobby! For we shall see much of this man on the pages that follow… He walks slowly, but with a sure, steady tread… looking neither to the right nor the left… ignoring those he passes and those who pass him! But he himself cannot readily be ignored by others! His very presence seems so fraught with evil, with menace, that his fellow humans shrink back from the mere sight of him! There are some who recognize him… who speak his name in whispers… for his wealth is said to be legendary, and his power almost beyond measure!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #3 by Stan Lee, Joe Orlando, and Sam Rosen

    Unfortunately, the Kingpin just ended up doing it better, and while there are a few Owl story arcs that I really like, I’ve never found him that interesting. However, he is hugely significant because he was the very first Daredevil supervillain, introduced all the way back in Daredevil #3! (In #1 Matt fights the mobsters who killed his father, and in #2 he fights Electro, who is a Spider-Man rogue.) Thus, he has had an impact on Matt’s life simply from having been around for so long. This also means there’s a huge range in his stories, verging from extremely ridiculous (he sometimes eats rats, and used to own an owl-shaped airplane. How cool is that?) to slightly more grounded. There is a great Owl story arc in which his bird-like body modifications start killing him, which gives his law-breaking more nuance, because he is doing it to look for a cure. Matt, upon discovering this, tries to help him. 

[ID: Excerpt from Chichester’s Daredevil run. Daredevil and the Owl are on a fire escape together. The Owl has metal cybernetic legs and has collapsed. Daredevil is comforting him.]

Matt: “You’re going to make it, hear me? You’re gonna–”

Owlsley: “You should’ve let me…”

Matt: “Unh-uh. You take my hand– you’re willing to take my hand– I don’t let go. You’ve got some long ways to go, mister… but you can count on me…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #303 by D.G. Chichester, M.C. Wyman, and Christie Scheele

    There’s also great point in Bendis’s run when the Owl, in a surprising demonstration of cleverness, hires a lawyer to sue Daredevil for breaking and entering. It doesn’t work, but it throws Matt off and is absolutely priceless. 

    The Owl has also had several children– two unnamed young kids who were introduced in Alias, and Jubula Pride, who was introduced in Daredevil Volume 4 and worked alongside Matt to rescue her father. Jubula’s brief-but-memorable appearance added a bit more depth to the Owl– allowing us to see him in the role of a parent as well as a villain. But mostly, over the years the Owl has remained one of the more insidious of New York’s mob bosses, always scheming to stay in power and fight his way out of the Kingpin’s shadow. And he’s been doing it for so long that he feels like an integral part of Daredevil comics. 

Turk Barrett He’s not a costumed supervillain or even much of a threat, but Turk has become an iconic Daredevil antagonist for both his sheer ineptitude and his plucky ability to stay alive. Of all of the recurring low-level mobster characters, he has the most engaging personality, and his dynamic with Matt is one of long-held friendly animosity. Daredevil isn’t the most dangerous person in Turk’s life, Turk isn’t the most dangerous person in Matt’s life, so they mostly just annoy each other. They’ve even been known to team up, when Turk thinks the odds of survival are in his favor. 

[ID: Excerpt from Daredevil: Love and War. Turk Barrett (dressed in a white shirt and blue pants) is mopping the inside of an elevator. The doors open, and Daredevil walks in. They ride the elevator together.] 

Matt: “Turk! You got the job!”

Turk: “No, man… this… I mean, I’m working undercover, man… I’m your backup!”

Matt: “I believe you, Turk.”

Turk: “Even know what level the doc’s on, man… So how’d you get in, Devil?”

Matt: “I flew in, Turk.”

Turk: “…Course. I knew that. ‘Spose the window locks weren’t much trouble…”

Matt: “Melted them with my heat vision.”

Daredevil: Love and War by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz

    Turk is an underdog. He’s kind of a goof and he’s certainly a criminal, but he’s also a small fish in a big and dangerous pond, working in a career where most people eventually end up at the bottom of the East River in concrete shoes (or a taxi, as the case may be). He’s slippery and resourceful, he stays just harmless enough to keep himself out of danger, and you can’t help but root for him, even when he does dumb things like stealing Stilt-Man’s stilts or trying to kill Daredevil for the hundredth unsuccessful time. 

Stilt-Man (Wilbur Day), of course, requires no introduction. He is another personal favorite of mine, and a rare case of a goofy Silver Age villain surviving into the modern era while remaining exactly as goofy as he was when first introduced. The great appeal of Stilt-Man is, in fact, that he’s a bit of a joke, while at the same time being quite dangerous, in a comic book physics-kind of way.  

[ID: Excerpt from Lee’s run. Daredevil is battling Stilt-Man on a daytime city street.]

Wilbur: “Hah! You missed!! Have you forgotten so soon how easily I can change my height, thanks to my magnificent hydraulically-operated stilts?!!”

Matt: “Mebbe so! But I haven’t forgotten that I’m the gent who whumped you good last time fought! (Man! It sure is lucky I was here! If Stilt-Man ever managed to get the Leap-Frog safely away, what a team those two would make! But, I hear the boys in blue hauling that human jumping jack right now! Which means Stilty and I can go it alone!) Heads up, dad! It’s time for fun ‘n games again!”

Wilbur: “Hah! Didn’t expect me to seize your cable, did you? I should have warned you, little man– I’ve modified my protective armor in such a way as to double my strength! Which means I’m more than a match for your limited talents!!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #26 by Stan Lee, Gene Colan, and Artie Simek

    Part of the charm of this characterization is the fact that he’s a joke in-universe as well; most of his appearances in modern comics consist of Stilt-Man being made fun of and/or of the audience being reminded that he’s actually a threat. This creates a great balance in his depictions; the jokes are fun, the sight of various superheroes being beaten up (at least a little) by Stilt-Man is fun, and he remains an enjoyable, mostly lighthearted presence in a landscape that has become dominated by Dark, Serious, and Disturbing villains. 

[ID: Excerpt from Bendis’s Daredevil run. Matt is sitting at his desk in his darkened office, talking to Wilbur Day– a short, bald guy in a black jacket, with his arm in a sling.]

Wilbur: “Wilbur Day– I’m Stilt-Man. We’ve met four hundred times.”

Matt: “Stilt-Man– Huh. Oh, you mean that burglar guy Stilt-Man? Who wears the stilts and robs things?”

Wilbur: “Can we please just–”

Matt: “We’ve met when?”

Wilbur: “I–”

Matt: “Are you in some kind of legal trouble? Is that why you’re here?”

Wilbur: “Okay, fine.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #41 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Matt Hollingsworth

    Stilt-Man is just a short guy in a ridiculous outfit who wants to commit some crimes and get a little respect– and really, who can’t relate to that?  

Ikari (???) I’m mentioning Ikari not because he’s a long-established Daredevil villain– he’s not– but because I am fascinated by his potential. He’s a favorite of mine as much for what we don’t know as for what we do. In his introductory arc, we learn this: He was engineered/commissioned by Bullseye to kill Matt, his fighting abilities equal Matt’s, he has hypersenses, and (as a horrified Matt discovers later) he can also see.

Ikari: “Someone has, in fact, managed to re-create the toxic chemicals that blinded you, gave you enhanced senses. Someone whose hate for you keeps him alive. But he didn’t waste the process on weak, malnourished vagrants. He used it to baptize a warrior. A fighter trained to be every bit your equal in skill– and now, in power.” 

Daredevil vol. 3 #25 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez

    And that’s it. We don’t know who he is or where he came from, or what the consequences are of having that degree of sensory perception (presumably his vision is heightened too?). We don’t know what his personal goals or motivations are, since we’ve only ever seen him as a pawn– first of Bullseye and then, later, of the Kingpin. But the concept of his character as someone who shares Matt’s powers plus some– who is essentially, skills-wise, a criminal version of Matt– and all the mystery that surrounds him, is hugely compelling to me. 

[ID: Excerpt from Waid’s Daredevil run. Both Ikari and Daredevil are out on the street, being shot at by cops. As Daredevil hides behind a parked car, Ikari attacks the cops and cuts their guns in half with his blades.]

Matt: “The cops are hunting me under an open-fire command. Presuming they’ve been advised of Ikari’s prison break, I’m sure the same order applies to him. I wish it scared him. I wish anything did.”

Daredevil vol. 4 #17 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson

    In his last appearance he was killed by the Shroud, but his body was stolen, leaving the door open for him to maybe return sometime in the future and receive more development. I hope he does. 

[wafflesetc]

I’ll be there for you, Chapter 17 (previously)

A/N: Folks, this is it. The final chapter of IBTFY. It’s been a long, slow, ride for these two. And it’s ending on nothing but a good time. Thank you for every kind word, like, kudos, DM, ask and reblog you’ve given this fic. It means more than you’ll know. 

The biggest of biggest thank you’s to @kkruml and @missclairebelle who fix every wrong, make it right, and give me something substantial to post. They’re the real magic workers BTS of this fic and I literally could not have done it without them.

To @jules-fraser and @thefraserwitch thank you for the constant encouragment.

And the biggest thank you for this fic has to go to @balfeheughlywed, for without her text post I don’t even know how many months back, this fic wouldn’t even be here. 

One Month Later Claire

I found it funny how while to any passerby who came through our apartment nothing had changed .We still had the black couch. The coffee table still had a dent in it from a game night six months past where John had inevitably drunkenly fallen and hit his head causing me to do my first ‘at home’ stitches with nothing but the unfinished vodka handle to clean out the wound and no localized anesthesia for the poor man

The kitchen still had a few broken tiles that needed to get fixed from where Jamie punched the wall. The floor still had some stains from a spot where I left a cold beer too long.

So while nothing had seemingly changed, everything too had also changed.

We had yet to out ourselves to our friends, Geillis being the one exception. We had practically almost gotten it on in her kitchen- and she’d never let me live that one down. Jamie’s belongings had slowly trickled from his bedroom to mine. ‘Ours’ I had to remind myself. His extra firm pillow was on the side of the bed where he said he liked to sleep- but I knew well enough after waking up with my entire body spooned against his, we both preferred the right side of the bed. I had learned he liked getting up with me at my ungodly hours when I was on call. There was always a whisky or cup of coffee waiting on me before I left or for whenever I came home.

He never complained when I did our laundry. He caught on rather quickly that folding clothes was not my forte and I had a tendency to leave the clean clothes in a basket in front of the dryer. That would leave him unsure if they were truly clean or dirty… Soon enough he caught on and I would come home to folded clothes that had also been put away. We had set into our own rhythm the last month. It was shocking at times when I stopped and thought about it- being with Jamie was as easy as breathing. I was coming off my sixth night on call- My trauma rotation was nearing its end, and after a massive car accident off the freeway where I had a mass casualty with six dead bodies on my watch.

I had never had that many patients die on my service in all my years as a resident and in one night it had nearly doubled.

I could feel the imaginary weight of the day on my shoulders as I entered the apartment. I could smell the beef stew in the crockpot. The table had been set, a glass of whisky waiting for me (per usual) and a large, red headed Scot with a smile.

“Ye look like ye didna have a good day. Please tell me ye dinna feel as bad as ye look.” The shrug on his shoulders and half smile made me feel like I had just kicked a puppy. He had had something planned tonight and I was coming in ruining it.

Did I look as bad as I felt, though? Apparently. His words were the tip of the iceberg for me, sending me down into full meltdown mode.  “I had six patients die in the A&E tonight.”

“That massive accident I saw on the news?”

“Yes.” My voice faltered. I took a step towards him and he rushed to my side. His arms encompassed me and I felt him crush me tightly against his body.

“Ye did everything ye could to save them, I know ye did Claire.” I felt the tears running down my face as he continued.  “Christ. Ye have a gift, Sassenach. Yer hands- ye’re a healer. I know ye did everything you could and then some. Just because the devil is tryna scheme ye, dinna let him get ye.”

“I could have done more…” My voice cracked as I tried to defend circumstances I knew were well out of my control.

I felt his chest tighten as he squeezed me even more taut to his body. “Dinna go there. Ye did everything ye could. Ye look like ye have been hit by a train. Hell I havena seen ye in nearly a week, Sassenach. Ye’re tired, overworked, and hungry.” He kissed  the top of my head and gave my rear end a tight squeeze. I could tell he was trying to lighten my mood and he was doing a decent job at it so far. “We’re no’ going to have a pity party because that’s no’ who ye are.”

“I love you.” I mumbled into his chest. He knew me better than I knew myself sometimes- and he was right. I had endured a hard week and this was just the cherry on the top.

“I ken ye do, and I thank ye for it. How about I draw ye a bath and then we can eat and try and take yer mind off of things?” I looked up to see his blue eyes darken in the centers.

“You just want to get laid.”

“Maybe.” He smiled, kissing the bridge of my nose. “Ye will have yer courses any day now, and I just want to love on every inch of ye….”

“I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been moody lately. It’s probably the combo of being overworked and PMS. It has been a while since we’ve…”

“Eight days, no’ that I’m counting.”

He was counting and I had to admit it: I found it rather endearing. He had tried to seduce me this past week. The first time was on my first morning of my seven in a row, but when my cellphone went off with an emergency trauma surgery, our supposed hour to get ready together was cut short. The second time he had texted me naughty phrases all day and told me to stay up a ‘wee bit’ past my bed time- and I had tried and failed miserably.

I blushed as I nudged his chest with my head. “You’re involved with a doctor now. Odd hours of being on-call and mood swings come with the territory. This weekend I will be all yours- you can do whatever you’d like to me.”

“A whole weekend, aye?”

“Relationships are compromise right? I’ve been too exhausted to satiate the fiend of a boyfriend I have- so I’ll give him my body, all weekend. Purely at his disposal.” This earned me a hearty laugh and he kissed my forehead.

“Ye make me sound like a nymphomaniac, Sassenach.”

“I mean… There’s nothing wrong with having a healthy sex life.”

“So I can make love to ye then- after ye have taken a shower?” He smiled at me and gave me the worst attempt at a wink I’d ever seen. (And threw me off just a touch.)

“Yes.” I choked. “Only if you promise to never wink at me again.”

“Deal. Do hurry though, Sassenach. I am no’ a verra patient man.”

I disentangled myself from his arms and escaped to the bathroom. I shed the scrubs from my body, tossing them in the hamper as I heard the soft croons from Frank Sinatra come from the kitchen.

“You’re such a romantic,” I said to myself. “And all mine.”

He was, and I was incredibly lucky. Turning the shower on, I felt my phone vibrate on the counter.

Geillis: You need to tell the others. I am tired of covering for you two. John knows something is up!

“Jamie,” I yelled taking a step into the shower. “When are we going to tell the others we’re together.”

“Mmphm.” Jamie grunted entering the bathroom. I rolled my eyes at him through the glass shower door and lathered my hair in shampoo.

“We both know they’ve been rooting for us since you moved in.”

“I ken.”

“And?”

He strode the few feet across to the glass and drew a heart in the condensation. “I like having ye as my little secret.”

“Bloody Scot.” I mumbled rinsing out my hair. “We can’t hide forever. I have that function next week at the hospital- John is a donor there, you know he’ll see us.”

“Fine. Game night on Friday and we can tell them.”

I mouthed I love you as he sashayed away in his defeat. “Hurry, yer food is goin’ to go cold.”

II finished washing my body and shaving my legs. Turning off the water, I heard The X-Files theme song bellow from my phone. Grabbing for my towel I saw the hospital’s caller ID On the screen.

“Dr. Beauchamp,” I answered in my doctor tone.

“Hey, Claire- it’s Geillis,” My female friend started on the other end of the line.

“Hey, what’s up? I’m off. If it’s a surgery, transfer to the night rotation doctor, I am off for the weekend.”

“It’s no’ that…” She took a breath and was silent for a moment. “I dinna ken how to tell ye.”

“What is it?” I asked as I reached for my body lotion.

“Do ye remember how ye were worried about your hemoglobin levels, anemic or whatnot since ye have been working so much?”

“Yes,” I hesitantly said. I had been scared I wasn’t eating and sleeping enough, causing some issues. I had her run a CBC panel just to put my mind at ease. I hadn’t really thought anything would come back- let alone for her to call me.  “What is it?” She caught the edge in my voice as if I were giving bad news to a patient’s family.

“I…”

“Just say it, Geillis.”

She took another breath and clicked her tongue. “You’re pregnant.”

Suddenly- it all made sense. The exhaustion and mood swings, the insatiable demand for Jamie.

“I’ll only ask once,” Geillis said. “Is it Jamie’s?”

“I…” I was speechless. “Yes.” I finished. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go.”

“I ken. We’ll talk later.”

As I was hanging up the phone, I turned to the doorframe and saw my 6’3” and rather formidable Scot standing in the doorframe.

“Ye look like ye’ve seen a ghost, Sassenach. Are ye almost ready?”

I opened my mouth to speak but failed at words.

“Is everything alright?”

“No.” I said firmly. A smile crept across his face and he shook his head at me, though I could tell it was merely from confusion. “I mean, no but yes, but no, but yes. I don’t bloody know!” I raised my hands at him and shook my own head.

“Talk to me.”

“I…” I took a breath and placed my hands on the sink turning my face away from his eye contact. “We’re getting another roommate.”

“I’m sorry, I dinna understand.” His voice was quiet. I could practically hear the wheels in his head turning.  He had a pensive look on his face, a small smile in his eyes. I could see the realization coming across his face slowly but surely.

“Another roommate.”  I whispered taking one hand and placing it over my abdomen. “Do ye ken what I mean now, Fraser?”

“Claire….” He uttered taking a step into the bathroom. “Are ye….”

“I’m pregnant.”

I felt his hands on my waist as he turned me back to face him- his eyes covered with a thin film of tears and a smile from ear to ear.

“Another roommate, then.” He agreed placing a hand on my stomach.

And it was in that moment, any unknown or uncertain fear I had about the next chapter in our lives- whatever came, whatever we endured, as long as he kept looking at me like that- I knew we’d be just fine.

“Another roommate.” I smiled, placing my hand atop his, giving it a squeeze. “Another bloody roommate.”

[theabominableblogger]

My Reaction to “Gotham” S5E5

*still reeling*  ....OK.... hold on....

AN:  I managed to record my reactions to this episode and hopefully I can transcribe what I said into this post.

*Recap shows Ed blowing up Haven in the flashback*  So why did Ed blow up Haven?

Crap, and Jim’s gonna find out.  WhooooOOOOO....

Whoa....

*has to tilt head to side to figure out what film is playing*

AN:  It’s a 1953 noir film called “Tangier Incident”

“You gonna arrest me?”  “Who said anything about arresting you?”  *raises eyebrows in surprise*

“Whaddya say, boys?”  Uhhhh...

OK, what is it with churches this season?

Take him down, Jim.

“Now, who told you I sold that RPG?”  A friend.

*gasps when a military squad rappels through the stain glass on the ceiling*

Whoa whoa wait what?

Oh I like that camera shot [when Jim took down the arms dealer]

*gasps when the arms dealer gets shot in the head*

Ohhhh is this-

*Eduardo walks up and pulls down his mask*  Yooo!

“Last time I saw you, you were running through sniper fire plucking my sorry ass from a burning truck.”  *chuckles*

I am very interested to see how Shane West is gonna pull off Bane.

*silently jams out to opening theme*

Oh, I like this slow version.

“We hated each other in boot.  Jim disapproved of my ops tempo.”  “Yeah, ‘cause you only had one speed:  too fast.”  *chuckles*

Ahhh Harvey’s being the third wheel!

“We’re here to eliminate all criminal threats.”  *starts chuckling*  Eduardo’s rolling his eyes.  He’s like ‘I can’t believe I’m here either.’

*lets out small gasp when Jim finds Ed’s name in the arms dealer’s ledger*

“What you [Harvey] are is the best cop that I know.  I’m goin’ after Nygma; he’s ten steps ahead.  If anything goes sideways, you’ll have to take over.  I need your help, buddy.”  VINDICATIOOONNNN!!

*trying to read the name of the episode writer*  Who wrote this?  Id- what?

“You saw what she did to Jeremiah.”  Did you though?

“Jeremiah Valeska deserved to die.”  *smirking because we all know he’s still alive*

“Jeremiah made Selina a murderer.  Just like Ra’s made me a murderer.”  “Ra’s goaded you into stabbing him, Master Bruce.  He used you as an instrument; you’re no murderer.”  *jaw drops* 

*sits back in seat*  Holy shit, that parallel!

“And I’m gonna go find her.”  Oh, I’m betting Selina’s not gonna be happy to see you.

*fans self*  This episode’s gonna break me.

*Ed listens to his past recordings*  A swamp?

“YOU’RE NOT A MURDERER, ED.”  Wow, I love Jim Carrey in “Batman Forever”

*gasps when Ed breaks the mirror by punching it*

*chuckling*  How did they find him so fast?!?

“No, Jim, I can explain!”  *nods*

“I can prove it!  I just- I need- I need a little bit of time.”  No, no, take him in now.  Take him in.

“The people I have hurt... they hurt me first.  I didn’t know a single person in Haven!”  What the hell kind of excuse is that?

“Your call, buddy.”  Don’t shoot him.  Just take him in.

“We bring him in.  He stands trial.”  There we go.

*The floor panel under Eduardo sinks down*  Oh my God, they put a bomb in the floor.

“Your friend is standing on a pressure-plated IED.  One of several throughout the rooms.”  Of course he found time- when did he find time to rig the room?

*laughs*  That little eyebrow [raise of Eduardo’s]- like “Really?!?”

“Once word gets out that you’re responsible for Haven, they’ll have a target on your back.”  “I’ll take my chances.”  Really?

“A wristband that monitors his heart rate?”  “Welcome to Gotham.”  *laughs*

“Puzzle?”  “There’s always a puzzle with Nygma.”  Yes, there is.

*Jim climbs over to the bookshelf on the tables and chairs*  The floor is lava!

Actually Jim and Eduardo work really well together.  I like that.

*sighs in relief when Jim manages to get to the bookshelf*

*still laughing*  How do you get rid of a bomb?  Easy.  The floor is lava!

“I’m gonna wring this nerd’s [Ed’s] neck.”  *laughs*  SAME!

*Jim pulls out one of the books*  ...Did he stop it?

*Jim steps down without being blown up*  YEAH!  There we go!

“You OK?”  “You left the army for this city?”  *giggles*

“It grows on you.”  *still giggling*

What is this?

“Everybody, raise your glasses to the killer of Jeremiah Valeska.”  *shaking head while smiling*  No... mmm no...

“Bring his head!  Bring his head!”  Ohhh...

Also, where the heck is Jeremiah?

*chuckles at Ed being described as a “tall, skinny man”*

...That’s not much of a description to go on.

*very confused at a group of people rallying together to kill Ed*

I miss Mr. Penn

“Edward Nygma is the monster respon-”  *gasps*

“-responsible for killing the innocents of Haven.”  *covers mouth with hands*

“...Ed, what have you done?”  *leans back in seat*  Ohhh my God.  Oh Oswald, are you gonna break my heart this episode?

I can’t believe Ed is stuck within a redneck community.

So who sent Eduardo and his team?  The government, right?

“Taking him down?  That’d be a big win.”  “Well, that’s why we’re here.” Oh my God, are they gonna take down Scarecrow?

*Ed tied to a lawn chair covered in electrical wire*  What the....

Also, Ed, I want your boots.  Also, why is a guy wearing anklet boots?

What??

What??  What am I watching?

What??

Are they gonna electrocute him?  What??

*The redneck family electrocutes Ed*  Well “Honey Boo Boo” looks terrible.

“Pay for JoJo!”  JoJo?

*The mother shows Ed a sepia picture of JoJo*  A dog?  What?!?  This about a dog?

AN:  Also the actress who plays the mother here was in the Adam West Batman show.

“300 people died in Haven!”  “Pfft, we don’t care about people.”  *jaw drops open in shock*

WHA-WHA- WHAT AM I WATCHING??

“He... always had a smile on his face.”  You’re talking about a dog.

“You anthropomorphizing nincompoop!”  Wha- *starts giggling*

“Dogs can’t smile!”  *leans back in seat to laugh* 

[Ed’s] Gotta whip out that thesaurus!

*Ed starts remembering Oswald*  Oh my God!

“I’m going to fix you, Ed!”  *starts singing “Fix You” by Coldplay*

*gasps when Ed gets electrocuted with a full charge*

“I’m gong to fix you, Ed.”  Please go find Oswald!

“Oh thank God the fuel line’s clogged.”  *leans back to laugh and slaps table in hilarity*

*The mother makes her sons “fix” the fuel line*  Oh my God, is that gonna send the charge back?  Oh my God, he’s gonna burn these suckas alive.

*gasps when the car used to electrocute Ed bursts into flames*

Please tell me Ed’s gonna like take off on down the street with the chair still attached-

*Ed does exactly that*  YES, LET’S GO!

*imitates the way Oswald says “feelers” sarcastically*

“I am surrounded by morons, Edward.”  Aaawww...

Did he really just come in through the grate?

“But first, did you name your dog after me?”  YES BITCH HE DID

Oswald’s like “I’m not answering that question.”

“Cobblepot’s on the top of my list from Walker.”  Walker?  Wait, Walker sent them?  The secretary lady?  Are we ever gonna meet her?

AN:  Yes, in the next episode.

“Shock and awe’s my default.”  *raises fist in small fist pump*

Poor Harvey’s the third wheel on this.

“You know what, take Harvey with you.”  YEAHH!

“Man, you’re killing my buzz.”  Is Selina drunk?

Yes, she is.  How old are these kids?

“Let me [Selina] tell you [Bruce] something.  That night, that your parents were murdered?”  Nooo!

“I was in that alley, on that fire escape.”  This is such a low blow.

*trying not to be sad over Selina bringing Bruce down*

“You... were the scared kid.”  *sits back in seat*  Oh my God... shut up, Selina!

I’m very disappointed right now.

“I love this song...”  *shakes head in disapproval*

*Selina and Bruce start crying*  Oh God, you’re making me... *fans near eyes* 

Whoa, that was just the most sudden cut [back to Ed and Oswald]!

“How could you?  You have made into some murderous puppet!”  *shakes head*  No, I don’t think Oswald’s behind that!

“For weeks, I've been waking up in strange places, not knowing how I got there or what I did.  Driving myself mad, thinking I had gone mad.  And now I know that it was all your doing!”  No it wasn’t!

*claps hands toward screen*  NooOOO... LISTEN!

“Of everything that you have put me through, this... this is the most cruel.”  *puts hand on chest and shakes head*  Oh my God...

Nooo...

“Ed, I [Oswald] don’t know what you’re talking about.”  He didn’t have anything to do with it!

“You didn’t fix me!  You broke me!”  *puts hands in front of mouth in panic*

“You [Ed] had been stabbed, I [Oswald] paid Hugo Strange to save your life.  I bet he did something to you when he was patching you up.”  *flailing hands around*  OK, ask about Lee!  WHERE’S LEE?!?

“What was I supposed to do?  Let you die?”  *crosses hands over chest and leans back in chair*

“After Butch, you were my only friend.”  *voice squeaky*  Oh my God!

*Holds up finger toward screen*  You [Oswald] are not gonna make me cry!

Whyyy do I recognize this music?

AN:  It’s the track called “Penguin in Love” from S3

He [Oswald] walked into the gun [that Ed was pointing at him]!

Can you two just please have a drink and just make up please?  Thank you.

“I [Ed] might have killed you, Oswald.  And if that day comes, I swear to you I will stare you in the eye as I stab you in the heart.”  *slowly nods*  Glad to know we’re back on schedule.

*slams fist down on table like a gavel*

“If Hugo Strange did something to you [Ed], it means you are not responsible for Haven.”  So what did Hugo Strange do?

*gasps when the roof shudders over Oswald and Ed*

*Ed disappears*  Of course Ed runs!  Jesus... Christ!

“Idiot!”  *giggles*  His little hop [when Oswald slapped one of his men on the shoulder in anger]!

Whoaaaa that’s a cool shot [of one of Eduardo’s men throwing a smoke bomb in the foyer]

Ohhhhhhhh that shot’s cool [of Oswald in the smoke]!

“Why hello, Harvey!”  *in same tone of voice*  Hiiiii!!!

“I hope you’re better prepared.”  Uh, he [Harvey] has the military with him.

“Or, if you [Harvey] and your friends aren’t out by the time I count to three, I will mow you all DOWN!”  Robin Lord Taylor is just killing it in this episode.  Oh my gosh...

Also, Cory Michael Smith with that [confrontation with Oswald].  That scene was so good!

“I don’t have to call anyone.  Go ahead.  Count.”  Ohhh, let’s go, Harvey!   Let’s go!

*gasps when Oswald’s men got shot down via sniper on the staircase*

“Where’s Ed Nygma?”  He doesn’t have him!

*gasps when Ed is taken to Barbara’s office*

*points at screen*  How?  How?

“There’s more going on here.”  There’s always more going on in Gotham.

“I’m saying that Strange, or somebody, can control me.  They killed those people.”  Why would Hugo Strange go after Haven then?

“Information is your lifeblood.  You help me [Ed], and I will give you the best intel you’ve ever had.”  Listen to him, please.  Barbara, listen to him.

“I don’t know where Strange is.”  Where the heck is Strange then?!?

“But I can tell you where you’ll find his Igors.”  Wait, he has his own gang called “Igors?”  Oh my God...

*gasps*  Are they torturing Oswald?

“You know, they say you can judge a man by his friends.”  “This from a man [Oswald] who has no friends.”  Wha- excuse me!  You [Jim] are his friend.

“Nygma’s a patsy.”  *cracks up*

“Jim, you want information.  I want to go home.”  Same.

“Things are changing in Gotham.”  We know.

*Eduardo opens the door to the empty interrogation room*  Oh my God, did he let him go?

He let him go.  Jiiimm...

*jaw drops open in confusion when Strange sends a cadaver down a chute*

*chuckles when Ed jumps out of a body bag to surprise Strange*

“Oh my.”  *laughs*  Yes, BD Wong, come through!  Yes!

I’m actually really glad we see Hugo Strange again

This lighting in this location is fabulous

“But I [Strange] will confess that when I was sewing up your [Ed’s] knife wound, I may tinkered a little with your grey matter.”  The frick?!?

“I put a chip in your brain.”  :O

“It allows you to be able to be controlled remotely.”  *shoves away table with screen on it*  What the [expletive]?!?

“But I don’t control you.  I gave control to others.”  Who’s controlling Ed?

“I [Strange] will write it down.  That way, if I’m ever confronted, I can honestly say that I never told you [Ed].”  That’s actually a pretty good way to go around it.

*Strange knocks out Ed*  :O

“Not to worry.  You’re experiencing a simple neural cut out.”  What?

“I suppose we’re just going to have to open you [Ed] up and take a look under the hood.”  *gasps*  OH my GOD!

Holy shit!

“Are you [Bruce] sure you’re all right?”  No he’s not!

“What if we don’t make it out of this?”  *crosses hands over chest and leans back*

“Because the little things matter.  Act by act, deed by deed, it means something.  Even if no one cares.”  Oh my God, Harveyyyyy!!

We’re adding him to the Bat-Dads.  Yes!  He’s the Bat-Uncle!

*laughs when Bruce pulls a Batman on Harvey*

*gasps when Strange turns off one of his tools*

“I apologize for the discomfort.”  You better not!

*leans back and yells in disgust when the camera shows part of Ed’s exposed brain*  Did we really need to see the brain?!?

What the frick happened?!?

*gasps when Oswald is shown carrying his dog*  Oh my God!

That’s it.  That’s the best part of this episode.

Secret door...

What is- what is this place?!?

That a manhole?

*makes aawing noises at Edward in Oswald’s arms*

He’s getting him out of harm’s way!

“Edward, I believe the time has come for a change in scenery.” *still cooing over the dog*  Yeah...

Is he [Strange] stapling his [Ed’s] head [closed]?

*gasps when Jim holds Strange at gunpoint*  Shiit...

Wait, so if Ed’s like the Winter Soldier for Gotham, who’s Hydra?

“I [Strange] am a scientist.  A contract came along; I developed a tool.”  Why??

*gasps in shock when Eduardo activates Ed’s chip*

:O

“Ta ta.”  *flips off screen in shock*

“I [Eduardo] couldn’t say anything until we had the suspect in custody, but Walker wants Ed Nygma taken out now.”  *soft gasp*

“Walker was behind this?”  Wha-

“You know I hate this spook crap.”  *chuckles*

Why would the government blow up Haven?

“Walker wants you [Jim] to put a bullet in his [Ed’s] brain.”  *shakes hands at screen*  No no nonononononono!

“Call it proof of loyalty.”  Why?!?

“IT’s what she needs from you before she can move forward with final relief plans.”  What are they gonna do to Gotham?

“Look at him [Ed].  He’s a loon.  A cop killer.”  *shakes head*

Why would they destroy Haven?

“Jim, ours is not to reason why.”  He’s [Eduardo] just a lieutenant.  He doesn’t know anything.

*gasps and slaps hands on desk*  It’s like Russo in “The Punisher,” because he only took orders from Agent Orange and Orange didn’t tell him everything!  He’s a dog on a leash!

“What’s your answer?”  He’s [Eduardo] not gonna shoot Jim.

*leans back when Jim sets down his gun*  God... oh my God...

*gasps when Jim pulls a surprise attack on Eduardo*

Wait, how is Ed just frozen there?

“You [Ed] know Jim Gordon.  You know this city.  Find him and kill him.”  What?!?

*Ed yeets down the chute after Jim*  OK, that kinda took me out of the moment but what the hell am I watching?

God, that city looks terrible.

*gasps and reels back*  It’s Jeremiah!  Yes!

He’s just sleepin’, this scary, beautiful man.

What are they doing?

What?!?

“Ouch.”  *eyebrows raise*

“Stitches still sore, huh?  Never would have happened if you [Jeremiah] wore that armor I [Ecco] prepared.”  *scoffs*  Of cou-

“That bullet is making you [Ecco] sentimental.”  Glass houses?

“Give her a shake, huh?”  *jaw drops out of mixture of shock, confusion, and being grossed out when Ecco shakes her head for him*

“I told you I had to let Selina thrust the knife into my flesh at least once.”  *tries not to be disgusted”

“Verisimilitude trumps precaution, you see.”  *ends up smiling*

AN:  What a great line.

“Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne needed to think you were dead, boss.”  “Yeah.”  Thank you, Captain Obvious-

*gasps when Jeremiah suddenly makes Ecco lean down toward him*

Where are they?  Is this still that tunnel from the Soothsayer’s lair?

*jaw drops in shock when Jeremiah and Ecco walk into the sitting room of Wayne Manor*

*slaps hands on table and leans back*  SHHHUT THE FRICK UP!

Shit, this is the music from the first trailer!

*gasps and jaw drops open in absolute horror when the surgery patients are shown to Jeremiah for the first time*

*Jeremiah laughs*  [very softly] My God...

“gasps when the camera gets in Jeremiah’s face*

“I love family reunions, don’t you?”  *just shaking out of shock*

*shoves away laptop and table at the final shot of Jeremiah*  Ahh my God!

*End title pops up*  Wait-wh-wh-wait what?  What?

*gets out of seat to take it all in when end credits roll*

*comes back after a good five seconds*  What the freak did I just watch?

*sits for a while to try to catch my breath*  Whoo...

We got to wait two weeks for another episode?  Get the frick outta here.  Oh my God...

[atmilliways]

Are you still doing the prompt thing? If so can you do 46 please?

I am always and forever doing the prompt thing, gentle reader. Sorry for taking so long. 

(prompt meme)

This one is “Nathan, baby.” I’ve actually written something for this before, which you can read here if you like, but here’s something fresh off the top of my brain as well. In other news, this was originally going to be a different pairing, but it, ah… took a turn. In other other news, Skwisgaar is a sex addict and no one is surprised. 

–

When Toki first joined the band, they all figured he was the youngest out of all five of them. He was scrawny, kind of high-voiced, and relentlessly optimistic. It was the natural assumption. Even Toki had thought that. Then it came out — at some point after their new manager had tracked down Toki’s birth certificate and obtained things like a work visa and valid passport on his behalf — that he was born in late March. Which would have been fine. Except… Nathan had been born in May. Of the same year. The jokes were relentless, and there wasn’t really anywhere he could go in their shitty shared apartment to escape them. Doesch baby want hisch bottle?Mine eyes ams older then yours, can you reads what dats say to me?Dood, I’m gonna have ta see some ID before I letcha have this. Yous, kid! Gets off my lawn!You’re the youngescht, you get up and do it. So, whens am you olds enough to drink legalies?Jest call me Grandpa! … Wait, no, don’t do theat. I’m drunk. … Sonny. Nathan hadn’t wanted to strangle a group of guys to death more since he’d made the varsity football team at fourteen and the older boys had singled him out for hazing. And the most unfair part of it all was that when he confronted Offdensen — whose fault all of this obviously was — in his swanky corner office in the nice part of the business district, the guy wouldn’t let him throttle so much as one of the bastards. “We, ah, can’t afford to miss any performances this quarter,” Charles explained patiently, “and, well, giving any of your bandmates a beating might injure their arms or hands, rendering them unable to play. Crystal Mountain won’t appreciate their newest signed band having to postpone their first official tour.”Nathan growled in frustration. Charles raised an eyebrow. “I could… speak to the rest of the guys on your behalf, if you want.”“No! That’ll just make it worse.” Nathan slouched angrily into one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Fuck. Who cares if I’m younger than Toki? It’s only by a month and a half, and I’ve done way more shit than that fucktard. Did you know we had to explain what sex was to him a couple weeks ago? He didn’t even know.”“I see.” Pausing only to jot down a note for later on a post-it, Charles folded his hands and regarded the frontman seriously. Which Nathan appreciated, because Charles wasn’t giving him any crap or just saying something dismissive and waving him off so he could get more work done. “Perhaps it would help to brainstorm some, ah, ways you might demonstrate that being the youngest doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be taken seriously.”Nathan blinked. “Uh… okay. Well… I’m the leader, right? Dethklok is my band.”“Yes, that’s one point,” Charles said. “But that might be a little on the abstract side. Best to play to your strengths, Nathan.” “You just told me I couldn’t punch or tackle anybody!”“First of all, not exactly. I told you not to punch and tackle your band mates in order to facilitate solving this particular problem, at least for now.” Charles inclined his head just a bit. “Secondly, that would be too easy. You are by far in the best physical condition out of anyone in Dethklok — although remind me to have a conversation with you about the results from your most recent liver panel, once this has been resolved.”Maybe it was shallow, but Nathan perked up a little at the compliment, while at the same time tuning out that bit about his liver completely. “You think so?”Charles nodded and steepled his fingers. “Absolutely. Toki is probably the next strongest, but he’s still recovering from the effects of malnutrition and a few other downsides of living on the streets.”Nathan found himself nodding in agreement. “Yeah, he keeps complaining about those rabies shots. I mean, it’s just a shot, why does he have to be such a pussy about it? I wish I were at risk for rabies, fucking brutal…” “Yes, well.” Charles gave him a perfunctory smile. “I wouldn’t know about that. But I hope this little chat has helped and that, ah, we should be able to stay on schedule for the upcoming tour?”It was pretty clear after that that Charles had work he wanted to get done, so Nathan left. He walked back to the apartment, hands in his pockets, idly mulling over some ideas for a song about getting bitten by a bat and turning into a rabid vampire while knowing he probably wouldn’t do anything with it. What Charles had said in his office had made sense to Nathan, at the time. The longer he walked, though, the more dissatisfied he felt. Advice was all well and good, and getting compliments on his physical prowess was a decent bonus, but it didn’t actually settle anything. So he couldn’t actually hurt any of the guys — that was fine, he could figure out some way around that. He just had to beat them at something. Maybe even just one of them. … Toki. Toki was new, the weak link. All Nathan had to do was prove he was the crybaby. Once was probably all it would take to cement that reputation with the rest of the guys forever. When he finally reached the apartment, he was disappointed to see that the van was gone. They’d pooled their money, back before they’d really had any, and bought one of those white vans that only perverts owned — there had been a token effort to repaint the thing black, except they’d put Murderface in charge of getting paint and he’d gotten the wrong kind, so it looked even shittier but in a dull, lumpy kind of way. But the thing still ran, on a good day, and getting it to start usually meant celebrating with a bar crawl. Which was kind of a bummer to be left out of, but Nathan figured that at least it gave him more time to come up with a plan to take Toki down a notch. Maybe if he started scribbling down ideas in his trust notebook, something good would jump out at him. When he let himself into the dingy three-bedroom, he heard something. A soft, rhythmic squeaking. Heavy breathing… Two sets of heavy breathing. Nathan rolled his eyes in annoyance. It wasn’t exactly unusual for Skwisgaar to stay home and invite a skank (or three) over for some fun while the rest of them were out, but he and Nathan shared a room. He knew from experience that whatever the guy had going on in there could take hours. Better to just barge in with his eyes screwed mostly closed to avoid seeing anything that might scar him for life, get his notebook, and get the the hell out. Ideally without tripping over any discarded granny panties like last time. Ugh. Or maybe it would be someone young and actually still hot… It was a toss-up, really. You never knew with Skwisgaar.He put one hand on the doorknob, the other over his eyes, and bellowed, “Skwisgaar, I’m coming in!”Three things happened immediately. Nathan pushed the door open with a little too much emphasis, sending it against the adjoining wall with a bang. It bounced back and he caught it with both hands to keep from getting smacked in the face. Skwisgaar, with a yell of “WAITS,” tried to jump up and lunge for the door, but got his feet tangled in the blanket. He ended up rolling off the bed and landing on the floor with a hard thud. Toki shrieked and grabbed for a pillow to hide his naked chest. For a moment, there was nothing but deep, awkward silence as Skwisgaar picked himself up and sat on the edge of the bed with the blanket covering his lap. “What…” Nathan looked back and forth between the two guitarists, before finally settling his glare on the lead. “… the FUCK, Skwisgaar! What did I fucking tell you? No screwing anyone who’s in the band! That’s how your last seven bands ended up breaking up!”“Knowds I shouldn’t had tells you dat,” the Swede grumbled under his breath. “And you!” Nathan jabbed an accusatory finger in Toki’s direction. “What the hell are you doing, covering yourself up like a damn girl? You don’t have tits!”“Sorries,” Toki squeaked. He did not release his death grip on the pillow, or lower it even slightly. Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose, unconsciously mimicking something his mother had always done whenever she was particularly exasperated with him. “And god, don’t even get me started on how fucking gay this is. This is really going to fuck with the band dynamics.”“Pft, no it won’ts,” Skwisgaar said dismissively. “We’ve already beens fucking for a weeks and none of yous jackoffs notice, no big deals. Besides—” He smirked. “—I don’ts remembers no complaints to suckings yous off dat one times.”Toki’s eyes widened even further, and he stared at the frontman with a cross between nervous solidarity and mild jealousy. Through the roar of blood rushing to his face, Nathan wondered if it was possible to open your eyes so wide that your eyeballs just fell right out of their sockets. “That’s… different,” he mumbled. “We were both really drunk, so it didn’t count. And… I didn’t realize you remembered. That.” Just thinking about it, to his continued embarrassment, sent some of his blood rushing south as well. Drunk or not, that had been a pretty good night. “Well I does, so whats?” Skwisgaar shrugged, his long blond hair clinging slightly to his sweaty skin. Whatever he and Toki had been doing before Nathan had barged in, he must’ve been really into it. “You had never hads your cock sucks by a guy, and little Tokis here never hads sex with anothers porsons evers. Now you both has. No big deals, you don’t gots to be a bigs baby abouts it.”The word baby made Nathan’s eye twitch, and he was one hundred percent sure that was intentional. Part of that insight was gut instinct; the rest was the way Skwisgaar licked his plush lips and winked lasciviously. Nathan knew he was being manipulated, but it was working anyway. By the time he kicked the door closed behind him he already had his sleeveless t-shirt over his head and onto the floor. “Anyones here ever dones de threesome befores?” Skwisgaar asked with a shit-eating grin. “Noes? Well, pays attentions, school ams in session—”Nathan reached the older man’s bed and shoved him down flat on his back, landing across Toki’s lap. That took care of the leer. He straddled Skwisgaar’s hips and barely had to press down to feel his arousal pushing up beneath the blankets. Toki must have seen it too, because he let out a gasp and followed Nathan’s lead, grabbing for Skwisgaar’s wrists to pin his hands above his head. The younger guitarist looked up at Nathan with an earnest puppy dog look. He really just wanted to fit in and be accepted. Nathan, flushed with pleasure at coming out on top in this situation both literally and figuratively, magnanimously gave him a nod of approval before turning the majority of his attention back to the struggling Swede. “You’re not in charge here, Skwisgaar,” Nathan growled, putting more of his weight on him to prevent any real squirming around. He was starting to regret not taking his jeans off yet — what little movement the trapped guitarist could manage was targeted and stimulating — but there would be time for that soon. Right now he had a point to prove. In fact… He’s the weak link, Nathan realized with a feral, triumphant grin. Skwisgaar, not Toki. Of course! Offdensen had even said it, Toki would probably be among the strongest of all of them once the malnutrition wore off. Murderface was borderline scrawny but the guy bounced back from most things like a rubber ball and always had a knife on him, and Pickles was small but scrappy, and claimed to know twenty-two different ways to kill a man with a broken bottle. But Skwisgaar, his default approach to life was fucking. His libido was legendary, but it was also his weak spot. Anyone who’d ever been within fifty feet of him on the rare occasion a girl took off and left him with blue balls knew that. Making him submit would get him and Toki both to shut up about the whole baby thing, and the other two guys would get bored faster if they were the only ones making the jokes. Teeth still bared, Nathan leaned down and nipped at the pale skin connecting Skwisgaar’s neck and shoulder. He felt Skwisgaar suck in a sharp breath under him and, beneath that, Toki’s legs tensing. The kid was wound so tight that, Nathan realized belatedly, his erection was pretty much right in their faces… Time to see how far this situation could be pushed. Skwisgaar’s eyes widened as Nathan grabbed his chin between one thumb and forefinger. That other time they’d messed around, it hadn’t been anything more than straight-to-business pleasure, and he could tell Skwisgaar was wondering if some sort of kiss was about to happen. It was tempting — just to mess with him, of course, of course, what kind of guy would Nathan be if he admitted to himself that kissing was more than just a means to get ladies to agree to have sex — but no. He turned the blond’s mouth towards Toki and gruffly ordered, “Suck it.” And although Skwisgaar rolled his eyes, his pupils dilated at the command, and he did as he was told. Toki’s head hit the shitty plywood headboard with a thunk. Fuck, Nathan thought as he watched Skwisgaar go to town, rolling into the task with gusto. He really, really wishing he’d taken his jeans off earlier. Last time he hadn’t exactly been in a position to, you know, watch, but he remembered how good those lips had felt.

Nathan scrambled back up onto his knees on the edge of the bed and yanked on his zipper so hard it nearly came off, but holy shit it was a relief. For a moment he got lost in just watching and just palming himself through the front of his tented boxers, but then Toki whimpered. What a baby, Nathan thought, and that reminded him of the increasingly forgettable point of all this. He scrambled off the bed to shuck both his pants and boxers in one go, and sat next to Toki at the head of the bed. Skwisgaar was kind of in the way, but Nathan just threw his legs over the guy and used his bony-ass hip as a leg rest. Then he grabbed the rhythm guitarist’s hand and shoved it towards his cock.

The hand gripped, and Nathan groaned. In this, it seemed, Toki needed little to no instruction, presumably because he’d been practicing this particular activity on himself for longer than he’d known what to call it. No willing to be outdone, a second later Skwisgaar’s hand was there too, taking over any of Nathan’s length that needed attention. The frontman even couldn’t muster any shits to give when Toki’s head thumped down on his shoulder, mouth turning wetly against his skin to muffle the squeaky little sounds that Skwisgaar was wringing out of him, or when Skwisgaar started grinding against the backs of his thighs. It felt too good, too warm, too temporary to bother with second thoughts, and he really hadn’t ever had a threesome before.

Maybe this was something to look into doing more often… With, uh, chicks, of course. Obviously. It didn’t take long after that. Toki came with a choked cry into Nathan’s hair, his grip spasming just right to bring Nathan to the edge but disengaging as he slumped bonelessly in the other direction. Nathan growled and groped blindly until he found a handful of blonde hair and tugged Skwisgaar’s obliging mouth over to finish. He felt immensely pleased with himself for managing to turn an otherwise aggravating day around, with very little resistance or backtalk from the other two men. That was real leadership. Nathan’s last thought before he went over the edge was that if anyone was a big gay baby it was probably Skwisgaar, for being so into sucking cock. And for swallowing both times. And getting off to it into his own hand. Nathan waited a few minutes to get his breath back, then languorously got to his feet. He surveyed the battlefield of tangled sheets, strewn pillows, and sweaty, limp guitarists with a warm glow of dominance and superiority, then left without comments to take a shower. It wasn’t until he was under the hot spray and working some 2-in-1 shampoo into his hair that he realized, none of them had the excuse of alcohol to hide behind. He’d been basically sober — at least, as sober as anyone who’s breakfast had consisted of beer and potato chips could be — and he hadn’t smelled anything particularly strong on Skwisgaar or Toki’s breaths. So what did that mean? Shit, what if it happened again?After a moment of silent contemplation, Nathan shrugged and continued washing. As far as he was concerned, his problem was solved. Everyone would still be able to play for the tour, so Offdensen would be pleased, even though this probably hadn’t been what he’d had in mind when advising Nathan to use strength to his advantage. And however things went from this point, he sure as hell wasn’t going to let it fuck up his band.

[nuroxic]

Start a blog free

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[zaethro]

Midwest Furfest 2018 Straw Poll

This is not science. I counted people’s hands in a video, rapidly, without double checking. The population sample was not randomized and changed throughout the polling. I did not re-ask questions after clarifying. None of this should be taken at face value as factual. Furscience.org does an okay job with demography. Ask them if you have real questions about furs. I’m here to yell at 30 people in a room and pass out napkins.

Every once in a while, I decide to host a panel at a fur convention just to shake up the basic attendee routine for myself. This year I submitted four panels to the Midwest Furfest programming team. This is the one panel they accepted, passing on an African Wild Dog meetup (unforgivable), a discussion of amorphous sexual identity (slightly more forgivable), and an ersatz talk show on furry political drama (submitted mostly to see where they draw the line). It was tempting to just mash those other topics into one power hour but, as a self-respecting pseudoscientist, I instead performed the task proposed. Here are the results.

20 to 30 people found their way to the bottom floor of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, walked through a door marked “Tech Center”, hung a right past a water cooler, then sat down in one of four stair-stepped rows of mesh back chairs. I didn’t check ID’s, so it’s entirely possible none of them were here for the convention but instead arrived in this room by random chance. 5 minutes past the hour, I instructed those present that this was the Straw Poll panel: that I would make statements and then raise my hand, at which time they would decide whether to raise their own hands in agreement. For example:

Each participant was also greeted with an unmarked Paw Patrol napkin. As a method of free response, I asked them to please write or draw something on it with the provided Sharpies. These are the results.

Analysis

Two goats: one lovingly rendered in profile, the other spelled out with descriptive adjectives (“GAY”, “Trans”). Combined with a small horse what appears to be a llama-class creature to my eye, this is a grand total of 4 ungulates. As with last time, a lot of gay self-identification as well as one entreaty to be gay. I was once again accused of looking like Owen Wilson. One person appears to have written their full actual name on the napkin, though this could be a head fake. I see only one “““mature””” drawing in the bunch: a relatively tamely proportioned sheath with “Sheathes 4 Lyfe” written next to it. Whether this is a lifelong passion for the writer or a characteristic of sheathes themselves is unclear. Two people drew ASCII emoji’s (“OwO” and “¯\_(ツ)_/¯ “), a direct breach of the internet/real-life barrier that spells doom for us all. One fish. Significant amounts of overlayering on the Paw Patrol graphics: black eyes, two cat faces, an eyepatch, a pig snout, a spinoff series called Mow Patrol. This kind of additive creativity pervades our now meme-governed culture. More will be added here as new patterns emerge.

Fistbumps

Everyone was asked to turn to the person next to them and perform a fist bump. Several styles were observed:

The Bread Loaf scale

In the interest of expanding the purview of science, the Machination Log implemented an experimental bread loaf scale for certain items. Participants were asked to raise their hand when the number of slices raised corresponded to their level of identification. The operational variable in this case was Brownberry Premium Italian.

7 of 27 participants claim to have experienced a phantom limb. 2 claimed to feel 3 or more; both believe this has improved their lives.

7 out of 26 consider themselves to be “on the spectrum”.

9 out of 26, after a lot of drawn out “ehhhhhhh”s considered themselves to be sexual deviants (the term was deliberately not defined).

16 out of 26 like to pet people who are dressed up like animals.

19 out of 26 like to be pet by people who are dressed up like animals.

The farthest flung attendee in the room was from Los Angeles. The closest were two people who both drove 40 minutes to get to the hotel; they didn’t claim to know each other.

12 out of 28 “Pokemon Go’d to the polls in 2018”.

The participant with the coolest pet in the room had a sugar glider. They also had a variety of other animals including guinea pigs and hamsters.

15 out of 26 have considered moving to a reclusive commune consisting entirely of furries or other kindred folk.

It took 11 out of 26 longer to get their badge than it did to commute to the con itself. In case you weren’t there, this picture of one half of the registration line should help explain the query:

Applause scale

For this section, we have an audio clip documenting audience enthusiasm for a variety of subjects. They include Kirby, Incineroar, bagels, representative democracy, Spanish nationalism, curling, the live-action remake of Cowboy Bebop on Netflix, Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix, Jib Kodi, dogs, cats, bread, ears, tails, haunches, snoots, paws, and maws. Feedback for this section is subjective, so we recommend auditors take a listen and come to their own conclusions. (If I find my drawings of paws and maws and such I’ll post them here; not sure where they wandered off to).

So, what did we learn? What practical lesson can we take away from the science?

Consumption-based trends in the fur community don’t last very long. Bronies were absolutely a thing in 2015 and not one walked in the room this time. We are a self-determining style of folk.

Fist bumps have a serious diversity crisis, with most participants not even bothering to “spice it up” with an exit strategy. The data recommends a 6-month re-education boot camp on the subject for all Americans.

Bread is a more contentious and confusing grading scale than anticipated, despite audience enthusiasm for the substance itself.

For a community that isn’t directly about being gay, furs remain—on balance—pretty gay.

Brown liquor was the most popular alcohol by a slim margin. Twice as many people would consume decaf coffee as dirt, despite those being the same thing.

Twice as many people prefer the bottom half of their fursona to the top half. This will require some additional exploration in a future installment.

Everyone is bad at high fives sometimes.

Furry art and furry pornography are not seen as overlapping magisteria and more people considered themselves well-versed in the latter than the former.

Paws are better than maws. We already knew this to be true going in, but replicability is important.

Naps are great and no one takes enough of them.

Until next year, or whenever.

[aisulinn]

[Translation Script Only] Florist/Bookshop(Karaoso) Manga

Source : 【おそまつ】花書(カラおそ)まとめ【腐】

Artist : 48Sensei/しば [pixiv id: 324108 ] [twitter: 48sensei ] [tumblr: 48sensei]

I DID NOT HAVE THE PERMISSION TO REPRINT so this is just the translation script! THE ARTIST DOESN’T ALLOW ANY REPRINT SO PLEASE NOTE THAT

Please read it side by side with the manga on the link~!

48sensei made a compilation of the florist/bookshop karaoso that they posted on twitter! It’s really cute so I just wanted to share it with you guys!

It’s 42 pages long so.... MORE UNDER THE CUT!

Notes:

Italic = inner thought (thought bubble or thing that’s not in speech bubble)

Bold = the writing that’s bold in manga

one paragraph = one panel

*__* = sfx

Divider = different section/scene according to the twitter post (note that 48sensei posted the pages separately on twitter)

ENJOY!!

***

PAGE 1

Radio : Good Morning! The first rank of today’s fortune telling is for you Geminis!

Kara : *yawn*

 Screen : First place = Gemini

             Second place = Sagitarius

             Third place = Aquarius

 Radio : Your lucky item iiis…. RED GERBERA!

 Kara : Heheheheh~ ♪

 Kara : Good morning my flowers. As always, today too you’re beautiful it’s blinding

  PAGE 2

Kara : heh

 Kara : Hello, my lucky baby. You will surely bring me wonderful fortunes today

 Oso : Good morniiing~

 Oso : is it open yet?

Kara : welcome!

 Oso : excuse me, is it okay if I just buy a single flower?

Kara : of course!

  PAGE 3

Oso : okay, good!

 Oso : I want the red…

Kara : Red gerbera…

 Oso : what?

 Kara : A red gerbera...

  PAGE 4

Oso : Wow! How do you know which flower I want? Are you an esper?

Kara : HUH?! Uh…

 Kara: Pardon me, the red gerbera… It’s this flower over here right?

Oso : yup! Sorry to buy just one. I happened to see my fortune today and my lucky item is red gerbera~

 Oso : Now to think about it, this flower was also in the book I read yesterday… so yeah

 Kara : Sir, are you perhaps a Gemini? Because I am one too

 Oso : You too? I saw this morning’s fortune! Haha, somehow I feel like I can relate to you more now

PAGE 5

Kara : thank you for the wait

 Oso : thank you

 Kara : *doki*

 Oso: I recently start working on Akatsuka Bookshop. If you like books, please come and stop by! See you!

 Kara: Ah, thank you very much!

 Kara: Thank you, baby. You’re really giving me wonderful fortune

  PAGE 6

Kara : COME ON NOW! TURN! MY GEAR OF LOVE!

 Naration: As he gets closer to Karamatsu, Matsuno Osomatsu starts doing stuff like “Flower Arrangement Fair” or “Gardening Fair” frequently

Co-wrkr1 : Matsuno san, we’re doing that kind of fair agaain~?

Co-wrkr2: Do you like flower that much?

Oso : It’s not that! I told you horticulture system is really popular right now!

Co-wrkr: really, now~?

Oso : REALLY!

***

***

PAGE 7

Oso : Minette sensei~ I did it!!

Ichi : Niisan! FOR REAL?!

 Ichi : then, then?! How far did you go?!

Oso : Karamatsu kun has the same zodiac as me! ❤

Ichi : then?!

 Oso : isn’t that wonderful?! The chance of that is only 1/12!! I wonder if our birthday is close~

 Ichi : eh?

 Ichi : by “did it” you mean, that? That’s all?

Oso : what do you mean “that’s all”? Well, that IS all

  PAGE 8

Ichi : huh??? What the hell! I THOUGHT YOU DID MORE YOU IDIOT! Your hands touched and your hearts went doki ☆ for instance! Or maybe he said something like, “compared to this flower, Matsuno san is more beautiful”. OR MAYBE YOU KNOW? END IT WITH A BANG AND MAKE A DATE PLAN OR SOMETHING? NO?!

Oso : You have a wild imagination, huh

 Ichi : No those ideas are overused and heck they’re actually really lame?? That is why I already expected those from you, niisan…

Oso : I mean you know, today is the first  time I talked to him! Knowing his zodiac is already a great achievement, right?

Ichi : WHAT?

 Ichi : seriously??? I mean, every day, the only thing talk about is this “karamatsu kun”…. That’s why I thought…

Ichi : What?

 Ichi : YOU WERE NOT EVEN ACQUAINTANCE YET?? YOU ONLY SEE HIM FROM AFAR? UNTIL NOW??

Oso : He doesn’t even know my name yet…  I’m sorry

  PAGE 9

Ichi : *slump*

 Ichi : hah~~~ I’m really disappointed in you, niisan… Ah~~ The deadline for the storyboard of my next series is in two weeks… Ah~~ It’s impossible… I’m dead… Let’s just die….

Oso : Come on~ I even gathered up enough courage to talk about the lucky flower with him! For you!

 Oso : niichan did his best you know? Don’t you wanna praise me?

 Ichi : …….

 Ichi : did you at least properly show him your appeal?

Oso : I said “I’m working on Akatsuka Book shop! Come by if you love books!” ❤

Ichi : Does he... look like the type that loves book? That Karamatsu kun?

Oso : ………………^^

  PAGE 10

Ichi : you fucked up didn’t you

Oso : I DIDN’T!! I'M JUST GETTING STARTED

 Oso : well, that is why…

 Oso : You’re doing book signing event at my bookshop~

Ichi : HAAAAAH??? I DIDN’T HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?!

Oso : So that I can ask for the decoration flower at Karapippi’s, don’t back out on this

 Ichi : YOU’RE USING YOUR LITTLE BROTHER FOR THIS?! I REFUSE!!

Oso : LOOK WHO’S TALKING?! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S USING YOUR ANIKI’S LOVE LIFE FOR MANGA REFERENCE!!

Naration : ★Without noticing each other’s feelings, the gear is turning!

 ***

***

PAGE 11

Co-wrkr2 : Matsuno saaan~

Oso : here~

Co-wrkr2 : Have you ordered flowers for this week’s Minette sensei’s signing event yet?

 Oso : uh.. no, not yet….

Co-wrkr2 : From Flower Akatsuka right? Should I go?

 Oso : DO--

 Oso : DON’T!! DEFINITELY DON’T DO IT!! I’LL DO IT SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO!

Co-wrkr2 : I-- I see..? But you already said that two days ago…

 Co-wrkr2 : if you’re slacking off again the boss will be mad

Oso : I’m not slacking off!!

 Oso : it’s just… I need more preparation for my heart when it comes to flowers….

 Co-wrkr2 : what?

Oso : NOTHING!! I’M GOING NOW! *dash*

  PAGE 12

Oso : Good evening~

Kara : Welc--

 Kara : --come

 Kara : ah, the red gerbera guy!

Oso : what?

 Oso : red gerbera guy….?

 Kara : pardon me… you’re the one who bought red gerbera recently, right? So I just…

Oso : Oh!

 PAGE 13

Oso : Ahaha you remember! Thank you~ HE ACTUALLY REMEMBERS?! SERIOUSLLLY???!!!!

 Oso: but red gerbera guy is like… haha that purple rose guy

Kara : purple rose?

Oso : you know? Glass Mask?

 Kara : I’m sorry, I don’t really read a lot of books

Oso : Ah I knew it. It’s an old manga anyway~

 Oso : oh, I’m not here to chat

Kara : Then what can I help you with today?

 Oso : erm… This week, our shop will be having a signing event of a manga author, that’s why we need some flowers

Kara : Do you have any certain color you’re hoping for?

Oso : The author personal color is purple so I thought maybe purple shades flower is good

Kara : purple…

 PAGE 14

Kara : we have purple roses!

Oso : eh, for real?

Kara : yes

 Kara : look! Look how pretty this girl is! *smile*

 Oso : *kyun*

 Kara : Purple rose has “Pride” or “Elegance” or “Honor”, for its meaning…

 Kara : that author surely is a lovely person that is no less than these roses~

Oso : well, sure…

 PAGE 15

Kara : to be chosen for that person’s gift…

 Kara : this girl must be very happy

 Oso : heh

 Oso : all right, I’ll take that one

 Kara : Thank you very much!

 Oso : I love this side of him~

***

***

PAGE 16

Oso : okay then, Friday at 10

Kara : okay, noted!

Oso : I’ll look forward to it!

 Oso : somehow it feels like a date. Yay~

Naration : it’s actually just delivery time

Kara : u-- um…

Oso : hm?

 Kara :  uh… last time… you told me to stop by your place… right?

 Oso : ...to my shop?

Kara : yes. Then, uh… the next day I decided to stop by

 Oso : EH!!!??

Oso : seriously~~!!??! The next day!! I!!  I was working at the back for a whole day, packing and wrapping returned goods~~~?!?! Haaaaaah~~~!!! What a waste!!

Kara : but you were not there

 Kara : that was too bad…

Oso : I-- I’M SORRY! That day was exactly the day I’m working on the back, so I already said that I won’t come...

Kara : so, Matsuno san

 Oso : eh? Why do you know my name…

 PAGE 17

Oso : oh, my nametag… Ah, it’s written my full name here, how embarrassing

 Oso : it’s because in this part of town there’s a lot of Matsunos…

 Kara : here, as a gift for coming here today. Please accept this

 Oso : eh, are you sure?

Kara : of course! It’s my sincere feelings.  I will continue on my service

Oso : Thank you… I’m really happy

PAGE 18

Oso : MINETTE SENSEI!!!!!!

Ichi : THE FUCK YOU WANT?! THE PRESSURE OF THE SIGNING EVENT YOU SET UP FOR ME IS ENOUGH TO SEND ME TO HELL

 Oso : I got a rose

Ichi : what?

 Oso : ka-- ka-- Karamatsu kun gave me this…

 Ichi : …………serious?

Oso : SERIOUS!!!

 Ichi : wait!! OSOMATSU NIISAN CALM DOWN!

Oso : *boeh*

Ichi : CALM DOWN AND HEAR ME OUT!!

 Ichi : you know, I’m a shoujo manga author that’s why I’m pretty familiar with flower language

Oso : o-- okay

 PAGE 19

Ichi : do you know the meaning of a single rose?

 Oso : I don’t

 Ichi : do you wanna know?

 Oso : no

 Ichi : WHAT ARE YOU BEING SCARED FOR! PAY ATTENTION!

Oso : NO!! YOU’RE MAKING THAT FACE SO IT’S GOTTA BE SOMETHING BAD RIGHT?! ICHIMATSU YOU IDIOT! YOU DARK! NOOOO~~!!!

 Ichi : love at first sight

 Oso : …..what?

 Ichi : a single rose means…

 PAGE 19

Ichi : “love at first sight”, osomatsu niisan

 Oso : *furiously blushing*

 Oso : ha, haaaaa~~~?!?! NO NO NO THAT’S GOTTA BE A LIE!!!?!?

Ichi : this is some content! Some progress? Right?!?! Yes~~!!!

***

***

PAGE 20

Kara : I finally gave it out~~~

 Kara : I feel so happy he actually accepted it that I could fly. But he probably doesn’t understand its meaning….? But, if he knows what should I do….? No, even if he knows it shouldn’t mattered… But I feel like it’s too soon

Kara : …but

 Kara : it has been my dream since a long time ago

 Kara : To give a flower that is attached with my feelings, to the person I love

 Kara : People who bought flowers from this shop, they all put their feelings in those flowers. When they’re happy, when they’re sad, when they want to encourage someone…

 PAGE 21

Kara : I envied them. I thought that someday I want to feel that way about someone too.

Kara : hnggh *throb*

 Kara : daaammnn isn’t that person superrrr cute?! Red flowers really suits him~~!! Maybe I should give him carnation next?

 Kara : *ha*

 Kara : I have to stick to the flower he requested. If I beautifully arranged it, I’m sure he’ll be glad

 PAGE 23

Oso : wow!! It’s great~ splendid! So beautiful! That’s what I call a pro~

 Kara : thank you very much! I did my best into this! So that I can make you happy, Matsuno san!

 Kara : But as I thought, the color red suits you better

Oso : eh? Me?

Kara : that’s right, Matsuno san

 Kara : Please allow me to give you another gift. For your charm overshadowed an even the most beautiful flower…

Oso : Karamatsu san…. *the sound of Osomatsu’s ribs breaking*

 Kara : hmm?? What is that breaking sound? Heh, my imagination is pretty wild, huh?

Ichi: No it’s overused and actually really lame!!!!!

 Kara : anyhow, I will do my utmost best *sneeze*

 Kara : heh, Matsuno san must be talking about me right now

***

***

PAGE 24

Naration : previously on this manga, he got a gift that means “love at first sight” from his crush

Ichi : There’s no way a person that works around flowers doesn’t know their meanings? He has a thing for you, I tell you!

Oso : that’s what he said but…. Isn’t it to good to be true?! Well I never thought that he hates me or anything, but to think that far….?

 Co-wrkr2 : Matsuno saaaan~!

Oso : YEASH!

Co-wrkr2 : The florist is here!

 Oso : o… okay~! HE’S HEREEEE

 Oso : Ah~ I can’t bear to look at his face right now… come on, pull yourself together

Poster : MINETTE SENSEI SIGNING EVENT, TODAY!

 Oso : sorry for the wait~

 Flo : hello, I’m from Flower Akatsuka

 Oso : hu-- huh?

 Flo : Let’s see… you ordered these flowers, right?

Oso : excuse me…

 PAGE 25

Flo : yes?

 Oso : the usual shopkeeper… um, that Karamatsu san…

 Flo : oh, I’m sorry! He should be the one who’s doing today’s delivery but he’s not feeling well at the moment

 Oso : eh?

 Flo : after making this flower arrangement his condition dropped, so he’s resting right now. I’m a temporary part time worker that helps him sometimes. I’m really sorry he couldn’t make it.

 Oso : oh no, that’s fine

 Flo: The truth is he wanted to come and deliver this himself. He said “because I already poured my heart into making this!”.

 Oso : I see…

 PAGE 26

Oso : it’s…

 Oso : really beautiful…

 Flo : I think he will come back to work next week, so if you want, please stop by! Thank you very much for the purchase!

 Oso : …..

 Ichi : that’s too bad

Oso : *startled*

 Ichi : I was looking forward to meet this so called “karamatsu kun”~

Oso : he’s not feeling well… I wonder if it’s a cold

 Ichi : maybe? I mean, this is season makes you prone to colds

Oso : ….

 PAGE 27

Ichi : are you worried?

Oso : that’s… well… That’s because I never saw him sick…

 Ichi : According to shoujo manga theory, in this situation you must pay him a visit and bring him stuff. This is an event that will surely shorten the gap between you two. But, you don’t even know his address right, niisan?

 Oso : ….know

Ichi : what?

 Oso : I actually know his house…Karamatsu kun’s house...

 Ichi : what….?

 Ichi : Niisan… No way… You’re a stalker? That far? That’s really creepy…

Oso : NOPE! YOU’RE WRONG!!!  NO NO THAT’S WRONG! I HAPPENED TO KNOW ACCIDENTALLY!

 PAGE 28

Oso : one day I just… Happened to see Karamatsu kun going home, then I got so overwhelmed and the next thing I know….

Ichi : that’s called a stalker

 Oso : BUT THAT’S ONLY ONE TIME! AFTER THAT I’M DOING IT MODESTLY!

Ichi : then why don’t you go?

 Oso : what?

 Ichi : why don’t you go bring him something?

Ichi’s face : “REPORT PLZ”

Oso : his face is too easy to read

 Oso : but isn’t this too meddlesome…?

Ichi : don’t worry don’t worry, just trust the theory!

Oso : But if he report me to the police I can never live it down

Ichi : report? you’re right…

 Ichi : welp, maybe you can’t but… I’LL THINK OF SOMETHING SO IT’S FINE!

Oso : What the heck have you been blabbering about?!

***

***

PAGE 29

*At Karamatsu kun’s house*

Oso : I DID IT SOMEHOW

 Oso : the nameplate is right. Even for me this kind of behavior is really creepy…

Oso : I mean, if I were him I’d be so annoyed if someone doing this when I’m so tired and in the middle of my sleep… Ah but, I’m already here…

 Oso : ……

 Oso : ah~~!! This is soooo unlike me!!  LET’S JUST GO WITH A BANG!

 Oso : HERE GOES NOTHING!!

*ding dong*

 *dragged feet*

 Oso : *doki doki doki*

 PAGE 30

*click*

Oso : DOKI

 Kara : yes…?

 Oso : goo-- good evening

 Oso : …..

 Kara : HUH?!

Oso : UM!! THIS IS!! I’m really sorry to come here so suddenly!

 Oso : how should I put this…. Um….  I’d rather you don’t ask me the reason why but I heard that you’re sick and sleeping in so I just came here without thinking… or something…

 Kara : ……what? A dream?

Oso : it’s not a dream…

 PAGE 31

Kara : Oh… Even though I thought my temperature has gone back to normal, the fever comes again…? Or is it my hot heart that’s continuously thinking of him creates a convenient vivid hallucination… *doki doki*

Oso : Somehow you look fine? Thank god~

 Oso : I rarely got sick so I don’t really know what to bring. I bought you pudding and Pocari Sweat

 Oso : Please take this if you want

Kara : ah, yes. Thank you very much

 Oso : well then, I’m sorry I dragged you out even though you’re not feeling well

Kara : eh? You’re… You’re going home?

Oso : yup!

 Oso : I mean, you know… I thought I could see you today but I couldn’t…? So I thought I just wanted to see your face even just for a while

 PAGE 32

Kara: *stabbed*

 Oso : Just kidding nyahaha~ Ah, but please let me tell you this real quick, about today…

Oso : thank you for the flower

 Oso : they’re really

 Oso : beautiful….

 Oso : w-- what…?

 *door closed*

Kara : …….did you come because you’re worried?

Oso : …. Yes

 Kara : I wanted to see you too, Matsuno san

Oso : Is… is that so….?? GYAAAAAA HIS VOICE HIS VOICE HIS VOICE!!

 Oso : TOO CLOSE!! MOREOVER…

 PAGE 33

Oso : ISN’T THIS WHAT I SAW IN ICHIMATSU’S MANGA?! KABEDON!!!! OR MAYBE DOADON?! IT’S SHORTEN THE GAP BETWEEN US ALRIGHT~! IT’S WAAAAY TOO CLOSE!

 (t.n: kabe= wall, doa=door)

Kara : *huggies*

Oso : ah

 Kara : I’m sorry, I’m still kinda dizzy and woobly

Oso : SERIOUSLY?!

 Oso : then go back to bed, if you don’t sleep it won’t go away. I’m going home too anyway

 Kara : don’t wanna

Oso : what…

 Kara : come with me, Matsuno san

Oso : No, I really shouldn’t…

 Kara: didn’t you come because you’re worried about me?

 PAGE 34

Kara : I’m really happy… Can’t you stay? Just for a while?

Oso : A-- are you kid...?

 Oso : okay I get it, but just for an hour okay?

 Kara : okay! Yaay!

 Oso : you… that’s not fair

Kara : can I eat the pudding?

Oso : sure... you can eat as many as you like…

***

***

PAGE 35

Oso : are you sure it’s okay to stay up?

Kara : I’m pretty sturdy and the fever has gone down anyway

 Oso : we’re sitting next to each other now… we’ve been waaay to close since then it’s driving me nuts

Kara : ah, this is really tasty!

 Oso : for real? I’m glad! I really like this so I thought I should bu…

Kara : *stare*

 Oso : ……..o...kay....

 Oso : should I eat one too…?

 Kara : Matsuno san

Oso : YESH!

 Kara : I heard from my part timer who delivered the flower, he said that the shop keeper who wear red glasses is worried about me

 Oso : o-- oh….

 PAGE 36

Kara : But I never thought that you’d pay me a visit too

Oso : a-- about that, that’s…

 Kara : why do you care that much about me?

 Oso : !!

 Kara : ah, sorry… That’s badly put…

 Kara : When I got the work request from you, even though I know it’s for the author,

Kara : the truth is you’re the only one I was thinking about while doing the arrangement

 Kara : um… I… gave you a single rose…

 PAGE 37

Kara : and I feel somewhat satisfied with that… But it’s not good enough, I have to say it to you with my own lips…

 Kara : there’s something that’s been bugging me…

 Kara : you might have found out already because of that rose but I

 Kara : I…..!!

Oso : .....

 PAGE 38

Oso : ……..? Karamatsu ku…

Kara : *wobbly*

Oso : WHAAAT??? YOU’RE KIDDING!? WAIT…

 Oso : that was close… aren’t your fever getting worse?

 Oso : I told you it hasn’t gone away yet! Sheesh…

 Oso : I’m barging in your room then

 Oso : Haah… I’m glad we’re inside your house… I wonder if your blood pressure went up because of tension and excitement….

Oso : but you know, my heart is going all over the place too nyahaha~!

 Oso : …..

 PAGE 39

Oso : *smoking*

 Oso : that was deeeefinitely a confession!!!!!

 Oso : Now to think of it! As soon as I’m alone with him the atmosphere turn into something dangerous! The feeling of the event that’s going to come was overwhelming!!

 Oso : But I didn’t think that you’re that serious, Karamatsu kun. Do you seriously like me?!?! This is baaaaddddddd

 Oso : I’M REALLY HAPPY

 Oso : but he hasn’t confessed yet… maybe he’s not but I’d like to think that he would….

 Oso : *sigh*

 PAGE 40

Oso : Should I just wait? Or I wonder if it’s better if I’m the one who says it?

 Oso : somehow, I feel like you saw right through me

 Oso : when you gave me flower I was smiling like crazy, eventhough we don’t have any special relationship I went ahead and come to your doorstep, my heart exploded with that awkward hug, and I always turn red when the atmosphere is nice…

 Oso : what am I? A teenage girl?? Well but it’s only just now…

 Oso : but I guess it’s the best if I don’t say it? Probably you want to be the one who say it right, Karamatsu kun…

 PAGE 41

Oso : what a cute sleeping face

 Oso : *looks around*

 Oso : Get well soon *peck*

 Oso : I’ll…. I’ll go ho…. What the hell am I doing just now… seriously it’s bad…

 Oso : well then, see you later Karamatsu kun

 PAGE 42

Oso’s letter :

Thank you for today!

I put the keys in your mail…

Line : Oso05

08 XXXX XXX

See you Next week! ^_^

Osomatsu

 Kara : It’s… IT’S NOT A DREAAAAM~~~~~!!!!! I feel like I’m guilty of doing something embarrassing when my health is butchered but I got his contacts as a result!! Yaaaaay!!

Author : the continuation of this probably will be in a book! Please read it if you can! Even though it ends like this, it’s actually not done yet!