#and there were at least TWO moments foreshadowing that would happen

[jagibee]

Call Me Luna

(Stray Kids x Reader)

Chapter 8

5,994 Words

A/N: A bit of a longer chapter as an apology for taking so long but also bc it was originally supposed to be two chapters and I just couldn’t find a good split point😭, and I did change the story title bc I got bored with Stray Pack but this is the same story and plot, and I’m sorry but my taglist is at its limit (which I didn’t even know existed?) so if I didn’t tag you on this post, it will be on the reblog!

Also, Happy Birthday to the love of my life who isn’t in this chapter nearly enough, but will be in the next chapter. Bang Chan, you have brought me a light and inspiration that I haven’t felt in a very long time and even if you have no idea who I am, you will always be the one for me🖤

Also

Nobody:

Me with the foreshadowing in this chap:

Let’s get started!

TW: references to sex, mentions of spanking (not necessarily sexual but could be interpreted that way)

…

You all settled down so that they could get through recording. Felix was sandwiched between you and Hyunjin, just as a small precaution in order to prevent any more growling. On your other side was Jisung and Seungmin sat on Hyunjin’s other side, providing extra padding against alphas. Chan and Changbin were both at the sound table and Minho was currently being recorded, so you didn’t have to worry much about them getting too close anyway, at least, not at this exact moment. Jeongin himself was settled at Felix’s feet like a trusty guard dog.

You, Chan, and Felix had all taken off your scent blockers as well, which helped to calm Innie down.

Minho was the last one recording, so everyone was a bit subdued. Changbin had paced around a bit while being sure to keep enough space between him and Jeongin. When the youngest alpha had recorded, everyone in the room held their collective breath, but he seemed to be doing fine.

Next to you, Jisung had leaned down so he was laying down on the couch with his feet splayed out in front of him, body posture indicating that he was zoning out, but one look at his eyes told you that he was paying rapt attention to what was happening in the recording box and at the table.

On your other side, Felix leaned his head against you and pulled out his phone instead of watching the older boys.

He pulled up Twitter and started scrolling through. You wanted to give him some privacy, but curiosity got the best of you. It’s not like he’s actively turning his phone away, you told yourself.

Once the word ‘caretaker’ caught your eye, you gave up the pretense and shifted even closer. The movement caused Felix to notice and he tilted his phone so you could see it more easily. “They’re sort of all over the place with the caretaker news.” He told you, deep voice soft as he tried to not interrupt the others. “Some people are really supportive of it but of course there are some people who think that either caretakers are sasaengs who manipulated the system so that you could be close to us, or that you’re going to steal our attention away from our fans.”

“Both of those statements are true, also, did I forget to mention I’m a spy from Dispatch meant to expose your secrets?”

Felix giggled and you let your eyes scan over the comments.

Maybe if y’all stanned TXT this wouldn’t have happened🤷‍♀️

tell this random weirdo to stay away from my lixie!!!!!!!

YALL IVE CONNECTED THE DOTS THE CARETAKER IS THE ONE IN FELIX’S BUBBLE POST

Reading over the last one, you bumped your shoulder lightly against Felix. “What exactly did your bubble post say?”

He frowned. “It just said ‘lunch with a new friend’ with a yellow heart emoji. It’s kind of impressive that they did actually connect the dots.”

You hummed thoughtfully. “Well, at least people probably won’t recognize me out on the street just from my hand.”

Felix smiled and went back to scrolling, giggling at a semi-professional debate about what Lee Know would give up for the rest of his life between pudding or butt hunting.

Said pudding lover and butt hunter then finished recording, striding out of the recording box as Chan spun his chair to face the rest of the room. Changbin rolled his own chair across the floor until it stopped in front of Minho, who grabbed it and spun it so he could sit in Changbin’s lap. Changbin squeaked in surprise but didn’t make any signs of protest when Minho brought the younger’s arms to wrap around his waist.

“Alright,” Chan began, “I think it’s pretty much a free day from here on. I know Jisung has a vocal lesson and Hyune wants to talk to Y/N, but other than that, I’ll be in the studio and Minho is going to be going over choreography so if anyone wants to join either of us, feel free.”

“But not too free, I need a break from you degenerates sometimes.” Minho retorted from where his head lay against Changbin’s shoulder.

You missed what Chan said in response as you leaned across the back of the couch behind Felix to consult Hyunjin. “You wanted to talk to me?”

His wide eyes met yours then quickly moved to Felix’s hair as Hyunjin started twirling it nervously between his fingers. “Yeah. Chan-hyung said we should talk about my h-heat. Especially since it comes so quick after Felix’s that we might not have enough time between our heats to properly talk.”

You could hear the other members join Chan and Minho’s discussion, but your focus remained on Hyunjin. “That’s a good idea,” you murmured, “But you don’t want Chan or another member to sit in with us?”

He shook his head, glancing back at you and biting his lip. You didn’t want to push him when he was so clearly nervous so you nodded and turned back to the others.

Right next to you, Jisung was declaring that “this group is not a democracy, hyung”.

“Sungie, you are the one person in this room that has a strict schedule today.”

“Don’t you start with me, Kim Seungmin-”

“Okay, okay!” Chan raised his hands. “I think that’s enough. So, Han will go to his lesson, Jinnie and Y/N will talk, Seungmin and Felix will come to the studio with me, and Bin and Iyen will go with Lino to the dance studio. Wait.” He paused and turned to you. “Is it okay to have Innie with the two members he’ll be aggressive towards?”

You considered it for a moment. “I think it should be fine. It might actually be better, hypothetically, since Innie won’t have to deal with either of them getting too close to Felix, so I think he’ll actually be less aggressive.”

“If my aegi-alpha gets too aggressive, I’ll just give him a good spanking.”

Chan turned to Minho and stared at him, narrowing his eyes while his knuckles turned white from his grip on his chair arms.

Instead of retracting his statement or apologizing for it, Minho simply basked in the attention, leaning back against Changbin and crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.

You glanced at Jeongin to see his reaction, but he was a bit preoccupied with Felix’s fingers running through his hair. Innie’s eyes were shut as he leaned his head back in between Felix’s knees.

You felt like you were intruding on a special moment, so you looked up and your gaze met Chan’s. He had a soft smile as he glanced from you to the two boys.

He blinked as if coming out of a trance and cleared his throat. “So, everyone know where they’re going?”

“Wait, hyung!” Jisung’s hand shot up in the air like he was a student eager to be called on. “I know you told us that we can be comfortable around Y/N-noona, but exactly how comfortable is that? Like, is it the same level as we are with our managers, or our makeup noonas or what?”

Chan smiled at him and swiveled his chair to face him more directly. “Since Y/N’s job actually involves a little more… familiarity with our group, especially when it comes to our emotional and physical health, I figured that we could be a little more open with her. She knows about our relationship and everything. The company did ridiculously thorough background checks and she’s signed several NDAs, so we can be as honest with her as we want.”

Han scooted forwards until he was barely on the couch and gestured with his hand for Chan to come closer. When Chan rolled his chair over, Jisung leaned to whisper in his ear. Whatever he said caused Chan to giggle. “Yes, we can kiss in front of her.”

“Oh.” Jisung blinked twice. “Well, in that case…” He grabbed Chan’s collar, pulled him close, and planted an obnoxious, cartoon-level, lip-smacking kiss right on the alpha’s lips.

Chan sputtered and his ears burned as he pulled away. “I meant- why did- you didn’t have to kiss me now!”

“Nope.” Jisung wiped his mouth with the back of his hand theatrically. “But I enjoyed it.”

…

Once everyone had reapplied their scent blockers and straightened themselves up, you followed Hyunjin out of the recording room.

Instead of going to the small meeting room like you did with Chan and Felix, Hyunjin led you in the opposite direction you had come from.

He fidgeted with his hands as he walked you rode down the elevator. First, they fiddled with his jacket buttons, then his rings, then tapped against his thighs.

It was obvious he was nervous, but you didn’t want to make him even more so by pointing it out.

The two of you made your way into a room and you realized that it was the same small dance studio you had met Hyunjin in.

He stopped in the middle of the room and frowned at the wooden crates you had all sat on last time. “I guess we could move them so we sit across from each other, that seems the most professional,” he murmured while rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb.

Your mind blanked for a second before you refocused. “Well, this doesn’t have to be super professional. No one is grading you,” you joked. “Here, we can even chill on the floor if you want.” You brought some cushions from a stack in the corner of the room and brought them to the middle of the crates.

Hyunjin smiled at you and adjusted one of the cushions before sitting down on it.

You placed your own cushion on the ground across from him and pulled one of the crates over so you could use it as a back rest.

You sank down and Hyunjin smiled at you politely. “Where should we start, noona?”

You pulled your bag over and pulled out the file on him and his bandmates. Handing it over, you told him, “What Felix and I started with was going over the information the company gave me so that you know what I know and you can tell me if there’s anything wrong or anything big that the company doesn’t know or didn’t share with me. I don’t want to be overly nosy or creepy or anything, but as a caretaker, it’s important that I know things that relate to both your physical and mental health. Also, client confidentiality applies in my job, so I couldn’t tell your company anything even if I wanted to, unless it involves you hurting yourself or others.”

Hyunjin blinked at you wide-eyed, the file bending slightly in his tight grip. Then, his eyes narrowed and his lips pouted slightly.

You felt your own fists clenching around the straps of your bag at the sight, but you collected yourself when he started to speak.

“I thought you were hired by the company. Doesn’t that make them your client?”

Your smile widened at him. “What a smart question!” At this, you could see the corners of his mouth flicker up. “The company is my employer, but they hired me to be a caretaker for you, not for the company. If I had to be a caretaker for everyone in this entire company, I would scream.” You raised your eyebrows playfully. “Could you imagine if I went up to JYP and asked him to tell me about his sex life?” You shuddered theatrically.

Hyunjin let out a startled exhale which quickly morphed into full-on cackling. He threw his head back and clapped, leaning backwards and almost falling over which only caused him to laugh harder. You giggled along with him, relieved that the slight tension was dissolving.

Once you two managed to mostly calm down, he looked at you with his hand hovering in front of his mouth. “Oh my god. “‘“Oh my god”’”. Eugh!” He scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out in disgust, which just set off another round of laughter for both of you.

You took some deep breaths and noticed Hyunjin doing the same. You both smiled at each other and he ducked his head as he went to pick up the file he had dropped when he started clapping.

He flipped through it and got to the page with his information. As his eyes scanned the page, his smile slowly faded.

“Not particularly possessive of my nests? The only reason I’m not possessive is because they’re my pack! My m- my band! They’re always welcome in my nests! I may not be as protective as Felix but it’s not like I would let just anyone in!”

Noticing his distress, but most notably, the lack of a distressed scent, you realized that you both still had your scent blockers on. You took yours off and allowed your calming scent to sweep the room. It wouldn’t be as potent to Hyunjin while he had his own scent blockers on, but you hoped he could sense it nonetheless.

You didn’t want to touch him without his consent, so you gently pushed the file down, away from where it covered his face, gaining his attention and making it easier for him to see you.

You smiled at him. “Hey, Hyunjin. You want to take a deep breath for me?”

He blinked at you twice before nodding and inhaling. He held it for a second before his cheeks puffed out as he exhaled.

“Good job! Now, I know that you’re probably upset since the company is making these assumptions about you based on limited information. I would be, too. But, since you aren’t exactly inviting your managers into your nests, does it really matter what they think about you?”

His eyebrows furrowed as he considered it. After a minute, he shook his head.

“No, it doesn’t matter. And the ones whose opinions you do care about know that you keep the nest open to them because you trust them and love them. I promise you, they don’t think any lesser of you because of the way you keep your nests.”

Hyunjin’s tense eyes softened around the edges. “I guess… that makes sense.”

Your voice took on a more teasing tone. “Do you not believe me? I could call Chan right now, and I’m certain that he would march on down from his studio just to tell you how wonderful your nests are. And I’m certain that your other packmates would be right behind him.”

Hyunjin smiled shyly as he traced a shape on the ground that vaguely resembled a heart. “Yeah, they would.”

You tapped on the file still in his other hand. “Now that that’s settled, is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Hyunjin put the file down on the floor and rested his hands on top of it, like he was trying to press it into the ground. He turned his head to look at the wall of mirrors next to you and you could see him swallow. His eyes flickered back to meet yours and you could see the pure vulnerability in them. “Since you’ve been so upfront and honest with all of us, I figure I should return the favor. I… In Korea, male omegas- or, just, omegas in general, I guess, are sort of taught to hide their heats? Or, not hide them exactly, but it’s not something you really talk about? Not even with other omegas. We’re pretty much taught that heats are signs of weakness or that they’re gross to talk about, so you sort of pretend that they don’t exist, even when we would get a week off of school or work.”

He paused to look down at his hands and you waited while he took a second.

“When Felix first came over, obviously there were a lot of cultural differences between Australia and Korea. He would casually mention how he was nervous about spending his heats here. Channie-hyung and Minho-hyung helped him the most, not just because they’re the oldest, but because Chan could sympathize with the change in culture and Minho… had a lot of omegan friends back in Gimpo when he was growing up. Even when Felix got used to spending his heats here, he still never really stopped talking about them. Of course he didn’t say anything when we went out in public or anything like that, but he never tried to hide it around us.” Hyunjin’s mouth curled up at the corners. “There was this one time when we were in the dressing room and he was complaining about his pre-heat cramps loud enough for all of the staff to hear. Changbinnie-hyung’s face was so red,” he snickered.

Suddenly, his face sobered up. “I really wish I had been there for him more. As the other omega in our pack, it should have been me, but at that moment, I just felt… all I felt was shame. Shame for him, for letting other people know that he had heats, shame for me, for being the other omega and being afraid that people would think that I would talk about my heat in the same way, shame for the poor staff members who had to listen to that,” Hyunjin took a deep breath. “But then, one of the coordi-noonas came up and recommended a good painkiller brand, and one of our managers told Felix that they could buy some ice cream on the way home, and I… I was so amazed. Talking about anything related to heats was supposed to be this horrible, embarrassing thing, but instead, Felix just got sympathy and support.”

Hyunjin looked back up at you and stared deep into your eyes. “I know that I don’t like to talk about my heats, even after seeing that and being with Felix all this time, but I know that you’re here to help me and my pack, so I’m going to do my best to not be ashamed anymore.”

You took Hyunjin’s hands in yours. “Thank you so much for telling me. I really-”

You were suddenly interrupted by his stomach doing its best impression of a whale song. His eyes widened before he hid his face in his hands. “Talk about embarrassing and shameful. I guess we forgot to eat lunch.”

You cackled and stroked his shoulder in what you hoped was a soothing way. “Well,” you giggled, “should we get some now? I’m pretty hungry, too, now that you mention it.”

Hyunjin’s hands slid from his face as he looked back up at you. “Hmm. I’m kind of craving something sweet.” He turned until he was lying on the floor with his face turned towards the ceiling.

As you scooted over to lay down beside him, he sat up and stared at you with his eyes lit up. “I have a genius idea! Have you tried any good Korean snacks since you moved here, noona?”

You thought back to everything that happened since you got off the plane. “Uh… not really? There were some chips or something in the hotel room but I didn’t want to spend the company money on ridiculous stuff like that.”

Hyunjin waved his hand dismissively. “Even if you did eat them, it wouldn’t really count. Expensive places always overcharge for mediocre things.” He set his hand back on the floor and turned back to you. “Do you know what this means?”

“That I need to order more of my own snacks from home before I run out?”

“No!” Hyunjin rolled his eyes, but you could see a hint of mirth in them. “Well, yes, noona, you should definitely do that. And order some for us to try. But we should raid the vending machine and have a taste testing! I even stole Binnie-hyung’s credit card this morning, so we can use that!”

You giggled at his enthusiasm for both having a taste testing and using his member’s money to pay for it. “I’m up for it if you are, but if Changbin finds out, I’m pinning everything on you. He’ll probably go easy on you, anyway.”

Hyunjin shrugged, his expression somewhere between fond and smug. “Yeah, he’ll definitely go easy on me. Especially when I tell him our pretty noona coerced me into it. He’ll understand. How am I supposed to say no to that? Anyway, we could also get some snacks to drop off at the dance studio after we’re done with our taste test, I’m sure that Changbin-hyung and Innie would be glad for a snack break.”

“I- okay.” You stuttered, trying not to fixate on the phrase “our pretty noona”. “Let’s do a taste testing. Lead the way to the vending machines.”

After reapplying your scent blocker, you both made your way down two flights of stairs and down a long hallway before you came to the vending machine. Hyunjin explained that there was one closer to the room you were in, but that this one had better snacks.

You stopped in front of the vending machine, a little surprised at how high tech it looked. You were more used to ones with sticky buttons that refused to take your dollars more often than not and that you would occasionally have to shake to free your snack. This one had a whole mini snack elevator.

“Let’s see, Innie likes these cheesy crackers, Changbin-hyung will cry if he finds out we used his credit card and didn’t get him anything, so let’s get him the barbecue chips, and this is Lino-hyung’s favorite pudding…”

You couldn’t help the smile on your face as you watched Hyunjin mutter to himself about his bandmates’ snack preferences. “You’re so considerate of your packmates,” you told him.

He blinked at you in surprise, like he had forgotten you were standing there with him. “Ah, well, it’s really more of a survival tactic. I have had one too many pudding lectures from hyung, so if I show up with the wrong one, who knows what he’ll do to me?”

Back in the studio, you spread your bounty around the two of you, like you were preparing for hibernation. The three snacks for the boys in the other dance studio were carefully set off to the side, so that neither of you would mistakenly eat them.

“So,” you started, “I know the nest thing sort of threw you off, but is there anything else you think I should know before your heat? It can be anything, things you like to avoid, your favorite things to nest with, things you like to eat,” you asked, shaking the bag of chips you were currently eating from. They were a bit different than what you were used to, but still pretty good.

Hyunjin hummed around a ring-shaped gummy. “Well, I like to do laundry before my heats and then get my members to scent my stuff. I just feel a bit icky when I’m not sure when the last time I washed something was. Felix likes to bake during his preheat, which is sort of perfect because I eat more than usual during my preheat, so I can just eat whatever he made and put in the fridge. But I don’t like eating during my actual heat. As for the stuff in my nest… I have this scarf that Seungminnie bought for me once when we visited Paris. And Lino-hyung gave me a scrunchie that he drew a bunch of Jureumis on that I like to wear on my wrist. Also, Jisungie got me a dumpling plushie that also has a hot water bag inside. I have some other things from the members, too, but those are the first things that come to mind. Most of the other stuff is pillows and blankets. Felix likes fluffier blankets in his nest, but I like the smoother, silkier ones. And I love having my members in my nests with me. Also, I have at least three fans going on at the same time because I hate how hot I get. I do react a bit… dramatically when my members accidentally move something in my nest, which sort of confuses me a bit because that really only happens during my heats.”

You quickly brought out your notebook and pen and scribbled down all the information Hyunjin had given you. As you wrote semi-legibly, you did your best to talk to him at the same time.

“Well, that’s definitely a heat-brain thing. Do you only feel anger or annoyance at your pack when they move your nest around or is it something else, too?”

Hyunjin stopped chewing and set down the bag of candy. “I guess… it does hurt a bit. At first. And then I growl or nip them or something like that.” He shrugged dismissively.

“And that hurt, could it be that your anger is sort of a way to get around it or cover it up?”

He looked up to meet your gaze and squeezed the plastic package so it crinkled. “That… it could definitely be that, I suppose. I think… my brain is sort of telling me that my packmates are changing my nest because they don’t like the way I arranged it.”

You nodded and set down your notebook. “Well, I know that no matter what I say, during your heat, your omega is still likely going to react like that because you don’t have the same level of brain processing power as you do when you aren’t in heat, but maybe, hopefully, you’ll feel less guilty about it afterwards. Hyunjin, you know that your members love your nests. They don’t want to move it or change it, and from what they’ve told me, they always try to move carefully so that they don’t offend you. They also understand that you’re protective of your nests and that you react, as you put it, dramatically. They know that that can be a risk to stepping into your nest, but I am sure that it’s worth it to them. Even if they get nipped or growled at, they made the choice to enter your nest and they obviously think that it was worth it if they come back again and again.”

Hyunjin watched you with wide eyes before his face broke out into a soft smile. “Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. Plus, Lino-hyung bites the others enough that they should be able to deal with me if I bite them once or twice during my heat, even if I bite them a bit harder than he does.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes and leaned backwards until he was lying down. “I can’t believe I’m in a relationship with those losers.”

You smiled at him, glad that he could go from serious topics to more light-hearted ones. You grabbed another candy bag and a question formed in your brain.

“What exactly does the company know about your relationship?” You asked, tearing open the packet, this one with cartoon purple lizards advertising how “de-liz-cious” the gummies were.

Hyunjin hummed, popping a chocolate-covered cracker into his mouth. Once he chewed and swallowed it, he passed the bag to you.

“The company knows that we help each other through our heats and ruts, that’s why they had you sign a bunch of NDAs,” he told you, “but they don’t exactly know about the actual relationship between us. They know Hannie and Lino-hyung go out together, but they don’t know they’re actually going out together. They know Binnie-hyung flirts with me, but they don’t know that I flirt back when the cameras are off. They know that Chan-hyung and Felix sleep together a lot but they don’t know that they sleep together a lot.” He paused. “And I mean a lot. Honestly, most of the time, sleeping seems to be the last thing on their minds. Horny losers.” He shook his head fondly before refocusing. “The company tells us to play things up for the camera a bit for fan service, but what they don’t know is that we’re actually toning it down.” He finished with a smirk.

You grinned. “Wow. So they don’t know you’re in a relationship at all?”

“Nope. Just our families and some of our friends know. And now you, noona.” Hyunjin rolled over and stretched his arms out. “I guess we are pretty affectionate towards each other around our staff, but I think the whole 8-members thing actually throws them off. Poly packs aren’t as common as they used to be, so it probably hasn’t even occurred to them. They likely assume that some of us are together, just in couples, but they’ve never asked us outright, I think they’re fine with acting ignorant as long as we don’t let them or the public know anything.”

You had collected all of the empty snack bags and were about to throw them away while Hyunjin stretched his arms above his head. “So, is there anything else you want to tell me? I feel like we covered a lot, but just let me know if there’s something else.”

Hyunjin had moved on to stretching his back but paused to smile at you and shake his head. “No, I think we talked about everything we needed to, noona.”

“Okay.” You collected your notebook and bag before shoving the extra snacks in there as well. “Do you think now is a good time to interrupt the dance practice?”

Hyunjin stood up gracefully and sighed. “It’s always a good time to interrupt dance practice. I think Changbin-hyung and Innie will be eternally grateful to you.”

“Not you?” You questioned. “You picked out the snacks and it was your idea.”

He waved his hand dismissively as you made your way out of the dance studio and into the elevator. “They’ll be grateful for about five minutes until they conveniently forget it. Or they’ll ask me why I didn’t come and save them earlier.”

The elevator ride was silent, but much more comfortable than when the two of you had been in the same elevator earlier. You stepped out into the hallway, following Hyunjin until he came to a door on the right.

He peeked in through the window and smiled before gently opening the door.

The song and dance they were doing weren’t as intense as some of their other tracks and routines, it was a B-side they recorded earlier that day, and were still dancing to the guide version, but you could see that they were putting in the exact same amount of effort, no matter what the tempo or sound quality was. Their moves were soft, almost floaty, but they were still very deliberate and precise.

You saw Minho’s eyes glance at you and Hyunjin in the mirror from where he was at the front of the formation, but he gave no other acknowledgment of your presence.

I.N and Changbin also noticed you, but they were less smooth about it. Changbin faltered in his movements and Innie fell behind rhythm.

“Yah, finish up the song, brats. Then we can take a break.”

At Lee Know’s words, the other two seemed to come alive, dancing with more energy than before. The song wasn’t much longer, and their positioning for the ending pose almost made you laugh out loud. Of course, the dance was meant to be for eight members, and there were quite a few missing, so there was Minho and Innie posed together on one side of the studio and Changbin all alone on the other side. Evidently Hyunjin shared the same thoughts as you, but didn’t keep quiet about laughing, even as you two clapped politely.

“Oh, my Binnie-hyung, are you lonely over there?” Hyunjin teased.

Changbin unfroze from his pose to flop down on the wood floor, all splayed out and breathing heavily, but focused on Hyunjin. In a high-pitched voice, he called out, “Yah, Hyunjin, I’m always lonely when I’m away from you!” He wriggled on the floor in a way that you guessed was supposed to be cute, but his obvious lack of energy made it seem more like a fish flopping around on land.

Hyunjin giggled and walked over to Changbin, squatting and grabbing the alpha’s outstretched hand as he murmured something you couldn’t hear.

Innie had flopped down as well, almost mirroring Changbin as he took deep breaths. Minho had walked over to turn the music off, and then sat on the couch with a water bottle.

Seeing that he was mostly okay, you turned back to I.N. “Hey, little alpha. Do you want me to bring you your water bottle?”

Jeongin let out a loud groan that echoed around the studio. “Oh my gosh, noona, you are seriously my new favorite person. Yes, please. It’s the green one.”

You walked over to the wooden counter and retrieved the green water bottle. You spotted a blue and pink water bottle next to it and, deducing that it was Changbin’s, you handed it to Hyunjin to give it to Changbin before you headed back over to I.N.

You squatted next to him just as a loud groan pierced the air. “Y/N! You are welcome to stay with our group for the rest of our lives! I’m going to produce a song about you and sing it at every single concert and award show!”

You smirked at Changbin’s words as Innie thanked you for his water. “Just for brining you your water bottle? At least wait until you see what Hyunjin and I brought in my bag for you.”

Changbin sat up like he was possessed. “What do you have?”

You walked over to your bag and unzipped it, pulling out the barbecue chips Hyunjin had picked out. You tossed them over to Changbin, whose eyes widened as he caught them and read the label. “Yah, Y/N, how did you know I liked these?”

You shrugged as you made your way over to Minho, pudding in hand. “A certain omega packmate of yours might have told me. It was actually his idea, so make sure to thank him.”

Hyunjin had fully sat down next to Changbin, but now, Changbin tackled him onto his back and wriggled the two of them around like happy earthworms.

Minho smiled and thanked you as you handed him the pudding before peeling it open and lying down on the couch. You weren’t entirely sure how safe it was to eat the pudding like that, but he seemed confident in his abilities, like he had done this before, so you left him to it and walked over to Jeongin with the cheese crackers in hand.

Innie had been staring at the other two members, his expression one of disgust, but you could see the fondness sparkling in his eyes. “Gross,” he stated, as Changbin started kissing all over Hyunjin’s face.

“Hopefully, you’ll find this a little less gross,” you told him as you handed him the crackers.

His eyes lit up as he took the packet from you. “Thanks, noona.”

You zipped up your bag and threw it to the other side of the room. “You should be thanking Hyunjin, he picked them out for you.”

Jeongin frowned as he ripped open the snack package. “I don’t need to thank him. If anything, this is what I deserve as compensation for dealing with him.” His eyes wrinkled with his smile as he stuffed a cracker in his mouth. “Oh, thank you, noona! I’ve been extra hungry all day for some reason.”

You smiled and were about to respond when you were interrupted by Hyunjin flopping down next to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his head on your shoulder. “Yes, thank you, noona. I’m really glad that you’re our caretaker. We haven’t known you for long, but I can tell that we’re going to love you.”

…

Sorry for any mistakes, I edited this and posted it in my college’s parking lot😭

Taglist:

(Bold means I can’t tag you, sorry for the inconvenience!)

@eastleighsblog

@detectivedoodle

@niaalove

@scarletrosesposts

@royal-shinigami

@peachbokkie

@yuhjoeyuh

@im-sinking-in-mud

@lex-black

@amara-mars

@usercaiskz

@plutoneu

@queenmea604

@emithecharmer

@wrrmnrr

@anxious-fruity-basket

@thatgirlangelb

@haikyuuisposts

@midnightvictorysworld

@sirenthalia

@kaheizz

@jinniespuppy

@im-a-slut-for-this-man2

@freakinthesheets-excelexcel

@julciaqwerty

@linoboop

@hamburgers101

@stay-berry

@hannieshoney

@foliea

@trouble-in-space

@seungminsdreamwife

@jannesti

@katrodriguez99

@only4sunoo

@channiesstars

@vegas-pete69

@jeonginniie

@hydrawaterdragon

@naladdaeng

@popimagines

@impoeticbeauty

@satsuri3su

@yukichan67

@comicnerd557

@obeythemasters

@dreamingsmile

@boi-bi-ahaha

@j-onepostzz

@hehe-24-hehe

@bl00dysunsh1ne

@merryxoc

@seokjin-epiphanyy

@hxnnielk

@hyuneyeon

@queen-in-the-shadows

@hufflepuffanddurinsdaughter

@lostgirlinthewoodss

@zacsani-blog

@3rachasninja

@luminouskalopsia

@sunghoonieee

@urmomsgayforme5

@bonza-bear

@stayconnecteed

@enchantedgrunge

@jen176pink

@finestflora

[mikhailwrites]

MWIII Campaign thoughts&opinion

⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD (OBVIOUSLY)⚠️

Alright, here we go. Modern Warfare III. Disclaimer: I've been part-timing as videogame journalist (not in EN, obviously) for the past 10 years so this might read a bit like a review which this is not.

It's been a year since we watched the 141 sit in the bar in Chicago and look at the photo of one Vladimir Makarov. And the day of reckoning is finally here, at least for those of us with eaely access to the campaign.

The game opens, surprisingly, from the Konni perspective. As one of Konni soldiers, you infiltrate the prison to free your boss. First look at Makarov is menacing and leaves an impression.

Speaking of Makarov, however, I can't but feel like the writers had dropped the ball. It's obvious they were trying to go for the unhinged psychopath vibe but honestly, so many Makarov's lines borders on ridiculous, oftentimes crossing the line entirely. At times, I felt like I'm watching an old 007 villain and I don't mean it in the good way.

Most glaring example was in the Flashpoint mission. As Price and Soap capture Makarov after bombing the stadium in Verdansk, the terrorist then taunts and mocks them, revealing to know their names and threatening them with a revenge. The dialogue is, frankly, on a bad side and Makarov in that scene sounded to me more like a spoiled, rich teenager than much feared leader of a private army with ambition to start another World War.

It also contrasted wildly with the continuation of the scene where we see Soap almost lose it, tackling Makarov and pressing a gun to his head while Price tries to dissuade him from killing the criminal on the spot. That bit was well executed and I really liked it.

What I also liked was the Passenger mission and the very unique perspective we got as players, feeling the helplessness of the victim as it's forced to play role of a terrorist, solely based on their ethnicity. The "You're not a terrorist, but you look like one," line felt very powerful, especially in the context of current affairs.

The whole campaign felt very rushed and, in my opinion, the total commitment to the "race against the clock" hurt the narration a lot. There is not a moment of respite and every piece of the puzzle is delivered in a manner so hurried, I sometimes had trouble following it.

Especially in the Danger Close mission as we, similarly to MWII, operate Shadow Company gunship to provide air support, and out of nowhere, we get a shout that there's a helo nearby and Makarov's in it.

We then proceed to shoot the helicopter down and Makarov is seemingly KIA. Well, he's obviously not but the whole scene is delivered in such a luckluster manner that I was wondering if I perhaps missed some cutscene or debrief (I didn't) and was asking myself if the developers are even serious.

The overall pacing is off, especially compared to MWII and this leads to the lack of impact and emotional response.

Which brings us to the more sensitive part of this post. Being a Ghost/Soap shipper, I was happy to see the two interact and to pick up the rapport established in the previous game. Like many others, I, too, would appreciate more time with them, but I would appreciate more missions and longer campaign rather than cut other characters' screen time.

When they are on the screen, banter is usually quick to follow. Soap and Ghost interact easily with each other, hinting at a natural progress of their relationship. The Milena interrogation is especially great in this regard.

And then there's that ending. Honestly, I knew someone would die. I think it was pretty much given. Still, I had my bets on Ghost, thinking that Soap was way too fresh and had his whole career ahead of him to be sacrificed. Well, I was wrong.

In the confines of the story, it makes sense it's him. There is major foreshadowing happening in the Verdansk mission and when Soap ends up going with Price at the end, well, it was clear. Soap almost killed Makarov years prior, Price stopped him, and now Makarov comes and kills Soap right in front of Price. The choices and consequences. It makes sense.

But.

But it serves no purpose. It's literally the last mission, so what could've served as the major catalyst for the big finale - rest of 141 coming for Makarov for some good old revenge - just ends up rather sour. Especially since Johnny, during his last struggle, as he saves Price's life, doesn't even manage to kill Makarov, only injuring him, albeit badly.

It gets worse when you realise that during both games, Soap didn't get any justice at all. In MWII, he seemingly kills Graves, taking a revenge for the betrayal and the Alone mission. Only for Graves to casually reappear later, stating he wasn't in the tank that the game clearly stated he was in.

And now he loses his life without taking Makarov with him. It's... beyond sad for the character to get treated this badly by the narration.

The team's response to his death is a bit mild as well. It starts well, with Ghost scrambling to him as soon as he spots him, feeling for vitals even though it has to be clear to him that he's gone, that felt gutwrenching. But after that? It's... lacking some stronger emotional response. They say their farewells to Johnny, a single sentence each (and, my god, did they truly think the "he was the best of us" clichè would work on any level whatsoever?), scattering his ashes, and that, too, as great as the animation was, just... felt a bit hollow and artificial.

There are ways to kill a beloved character to make it feel truly heartbreaking and meaningful. The scriptwriters here should've taken notes from Destiny 2's Forsaken DLC for example. They could've used Soap's death in a myriad of ways, including making player to choose between, say, saving Soap and letting Makarov escape. Or between saving Soap and defusing the bomb. Or just about dozen other narrative choices that would make Soap's death more meaningful and would have much bigger impact on the player.

As it is, I cannot help but say my own farewell words: Johnny died, but what for?

[tategaminu]

SOOO the title for 05X6 dropped and I'm going feral

Be prepared to hear my long ass theory about this episode and why it will be the rayllum fully gets back together episode (I'm annoying)

Of course we already know season 6 will mirror S3 or at least that's what it looks like. "Moonless Night" is episode 5‚ the same one when Callum and Rayla first got together‚ just as 4 had the title of the place they reach. (The Midnight Desert‚ The Starcrapper)

I have to add‚ just as season 3 had Nyx‚ there's this sky girl called Astrid who may act as the Nyx parallel‚ who knows.

I don't use Discord but my info provider (hello there) told me Devon said episode five would be emotionally heavy and a favourite. A person said ep2 of season 5 were their favourite because the cute rayllum moments and Devon said "until 5 of 6" 🧐

Aparently, it was confirmed by writers this episode would DESTROY people KILL EVEN, well maybe not that but you get me. We know how emotional these two blorbos are for each other right? and we for them. In Discord, a person said ep2 of season 5 were their favourite because the cute rayllum moments and Devon said "until 5 of 6" 🧐

Now let's go to the juicy part. The title. This title is absolutely loaded. like wth. We all know whose favourite girl is related to the moon right? of course we are worried. But I think she's gonna be ok, in the end at least, let me explain.

Of course I'm asuming this scene from the teaser may be from episode 5. We see Callum falling in a moonless night but I'm guessing the title isn't that literal. I think Callum is falling emotionally and literally just as he has before for Rayla. He fell in love with her‚ he fell off a cliff for her and then fell emotionally when she left. The sky he is in is dark‚ no moon‚ representing his own mental state without Rayla. Rayla left him at night just as Callum is falling in the night (omg)

Callum had a moonless night every day for two years because his guiding moon wasn't in his life. I think they may talk about it or it will affect Callum in this episode some way.

Note that the teaser opens with this scene, next we have Aaravos saying "we are all of us, stardust, held together by love for an instant"

(wow subtle foreshadowing you guys)

and the teaser ends with Callum losing his love wings. The wings he got for her. Basically opening with a rayllum scene and closing with a "rayllum" scene ya know

In Chasing Shadows Rayla specifically mentions the stars in his eyes‚ when he does the big speech:

Now‚ what do I think will happen?

EP3: They visit the Silvergroove? just like in ep 3x3. Maybe visit Ethari? "heeey your husband is alive ok bye". My own guess is that they will get the boat from the leaked scene there since there are moon animals in that thing and reach the frozen ship with that.

Ep4: they reach destination and meet the sky elves, Astrid included, with no hiccups. ba dum tss

Ep5: Basically 05x3 but different and sexier

Whatever Callum is about to do I highly doubt Rayla will agree with it because you know how they are (me getting hurt is ok but not you). He convinces her like he did in TTM‚

But this time Rayla is the one to say it

I think that even if Callum promises he will be ok‚ he will have a "I want you to know" moment again and that may lead to talking about her leaving. This may derive into a kinda argument. Callum and Rayla can't continue their talk because they get interrumped (once again) but the memories of a broken heart and feelings affects him badly. He's just emotionally distraught and loses his love wings because whatever. I doubt Rayla isn't seeing any of this, you know how she is. She didn't spend 7 hours watching him sleep to actually not watch this like c'mon

This time Rayla may be the one saving Callum from falling (literally and metaphorically). Now yeah Rayla can't fly but maybeeee

A: she calls out for his name, "waking" him up

B: she just jumps (im going for this one) like Callum did for her. She jumps, not knowing if it's going to work, wakes him up after catching him‚ Callum is able to get his wings back and fly them both into safety, Callum gets his love wings again for her but this time she's being the savior (in the most part). Maybe even completing whatever mission they ask as well. TOGETHER.

After this we may get a Rayla is a hero speech or this time Callum is a hero speech, I don't know‚ I think it would be more fitting if it's from Callum and the hero Callum speech is from Rayla to her parents. Whateve, they finally have their three sesaon dragged conversation and they both kiss like in S3 but maybe reversed this time (Rayla kissing first and apologizing and Callum kissing her next) and they fully come back together :'). I dont think we will get an I love you until ep 9 but we won't really need it here right? we already know!

The episode ends with them kissing under the moon. Moonless Night ending with with a moon night (metaforically and literally)

Now‚ this is just my own guess and it sounds very very self-indulgent (heh) but a girl can dream

[prodbyton]

the way you LITERALLY READ MY MIND WITH THE PERV!SEUNGHAN YOU WROTE???? like, i had "perv!Seunghan = 24/7 hornball; "i need you right now"" jotted down in my notes 🧍🏾‍♀️ kinda crazy how you looked into my brain, but i love it!!

recently, i've been giving perv!Anton maybe a little bit too much thought. i already decided that it had to do with taking pictures bc DUHHHH 🤪 Anton loves taking pictures of you. all. the. time. you don't mind bc you love posing for him (foreshadowing :D). any time you're together he takes at least 40 pictures of you and usually sends them immediately so you can keep your insta current.

you dressed up for a little morning date in a cute and maybe a little short skirt, but you two ended up spending the whole day together. it was so late you decided to stay over. he was distracted by whatever he was doing on his laptop, and you had to beg for the pictures he took (like full-on send it to me Rachel!! 😫). he tossed his phone to you without missing a beat.

you open the photo gallery and just before you tap the first picture of yourself, you see an album with a puppy. it was so cute you thought "oh, maybe Anton has a whole album of cute animals!" you tap it and immediately your jaw hits the floor. the first photo was a shot right up the skirt you were currently wearing. you quickly composed yourself and continued to scroll. there were so many pictures of your ass and cleavage, it made your head spin. and the occasional shot of your bare pussy from the hot nights you slept in only one of Anton's shirts didn't go unnoticed. you eventually sent the clothed pictures of yourself to your phone and acted like nothing happened. that's when the constant posing started.

you started wearing skirts and dresses more and dropping things more often. every time you get up after bending over, Anton's ears get so red. one day you decided to give Anton the special treat of a short skirt paired with no panties. when you did your usual extended bend-over, Anton very quickly excused himself. he damn near sprinted to the bathroom. you followed him because why not.

you stood outside the bathroom and could faintly hear him whisper to himself something along the lines of "i shouldn't keep doing this. she'll be so mad at me". the whispers soon turned into moans whimpers and the wet sound of Anton fucking his hand. you stood there the whole time just listening. this was probably the hottest moment of your relationship that didn't last long enough. the door swung open and he was so red in the face when he saw you. his eyes were wide and watery as he searched for something to say.

-🎀 (i am once again asking the universe for a man who is obsessed with me and is Anton)

im glad we’re on the same page abt perv hani, but i lowkey wanna hear your thoughts now 🙈 but thats just cuz seunghan makes me crazy

PERV ANTONNNN im doing backflips. been waiting for this one fr 🫦 but ugh he’s definitely the type to sneak pics. he has you and everyone fooled with the dog as the thumbnail trick so no one would suspect a thing. but you’re just a girl and if you see a photo album with a cute animal on it ofc you’d click on it :/ but then you see what your boyfriends been doing behind your back and you don’t know what to feel.

any normal person would be disgusted, it was perverted and just nasty to put your take photos of your girlfriends panties under her dress/skirt, using his height to his advantage so he can get better cleavage photos, keeping his phone by his side to get various shots of your ass, all behind your back. but you can’t help but be a little turned on. your boyfriend was so obsessed and attracted to you that he felt like he had to sneak to get a few panty shots.

i think if you gave him photos of your body he would appreciate them soo much, but something about sneaking them and getting them during candid moments just made the photos sexier for him. he even has his live photo setting on so he can play the 2 second clip of you bending over while he’s jerking off.

you had already found out about his little secret, but when you decide you wanted to catch him in the act you knew you had to think of a plan. when he sees you outside the bathroom door you play it off as you were just checking on him since you needed to go after him, and he tries to calm his racing heart from the idea of being caught.

it’s not until later when you ask for his phone, an innocent request and it’s not like he would ever hide his phone from you. you said you just wanted to play games on his phone while he watched whatever was on tv. he wasn’t even thinking about moving his little folder into his hidden before handing you his device, but he didn’t think you’d be going into his photo library if you were playing games.

after a bit, you open his camera and start taking selfies and this shouldn’t be an issue, anton loves when you do this, he loves having photos of you in his phone, but he was so nervous of you opening his camera roll. he got tense, suddenly wanting his phone back and you raised a brow at him but ignored him. you played it off by saying you wanted to look back on the photos you took so you could send them to yourself. now he’s praying that you dont notice that one specific folder when you open the photos app.

but you do. and anton feels like he’s going to throw up.

“you have a folder of animals? thats so cute how come you never send me these?”

“it just slipped my mind i guess…” he chuckles nervously and runs a hand through his hair, and then everything hits the fan the second your finger clicks on the icon.

all the photos he had of you in compromised positions, up your skirt, down your shirt, and just full on naked photos of your weak body after you two had sex was on display. you pretended to be shocked, like you hadn’t already discovered the folder some days ago, but anton was a mess trying to explain himself. strings of apologies leaving his lips and he’s basically on his knees begging for your forgiveness. you just cup his face in your hand, rubbing soothing circles on his cheek with your thumb.

he looked super hot like this, so pathetic under your touch begging for you to forgive him and to not think he’s some sick pervert. but you reassure him that it’s okay, and he can continue taking all the pictures he wants of you.

[aromantic-goldfishdeactivated202]

How to do Mardi Gras, from someone who has just finished doing Mardi Gras:

Wake up at 9 am. The parades start at 11 but by god you WILL be getting there early

Arrive in the city at 10:45. Drive around looking for parking

Drive around looking for parking

Drive around looking for parking

It is 11:30. You have finally found parking

Discover as you’re walking to the parade that you’re not walking to the parade. You are heading to your dad’s frat brother’s house, because he lives near the parade

Take a moment to erase the memory that your dad was a frat bro from your mind

The house is absolutely full of overly excited middle aged white people. There is one (1) person who is not over the age of 50 and she is very excited to see you.

You know none of these people but they are all talking about how the last time they saw you you were two feet tall. Nod politely and laugh, then run for it

Head to the parade. Your brother declares he has friends further along the route he wants to meet with. Your parents go with him to find the friends so he does not get murdered. This is called foreshadowing

You are now left with a pack of tipsy middle aged white people who are 40+ years older than you and one (1) girl your age. They all start looking for more of their old frat brothers so they can get a spot along the parade

You end up at some tent and everyone is excited to find their old frat brother. You introduce yourself as [dad’s name]’s daughter and pray he recognizes your dads name

He says this is not actually his tent, it’s his son’s girlfriend’s brother’s tent. You and your pack of middle aged white people have just crashed some random guy’s party, but nobody really seems to care

Decide you don’t want to deal with this and head off with the one (1) girl your age to get food. Get completely lost traveling half a block before you find food

Buy food. Wait for 20 minutes to get food. Watch the parade happening out the window and wish you were actually by the parade

Get a series of panicked texts from your father because he thinks he has lost you in New Orleans during a parade and you are dead. This is called foreshadowing.

The parade is over. Nobody is sure which parade is over, because there are three back to back. But this one is over.

Leave the restaurant and discover the pack of now solidly drunk middle aged white people have been kicked out of the son’s girlfriend’s brother’s tent. Rendezvous with the parents and start wandering around until they find another old frat brother whose tent they can crash

They find a tent literally two tents down. There are so many old frat bros at this parade. The pack of middle aged white people, which has grown by at least two couples, crash this tent. You’re just along for the ride motherfucker

A new parade has started. You still have no idea which parade this is

You and the one (1) girl your age push your way to the front of the crowd. Congratulations, you’re now fighting in the trenches for beads

Germs are not a concern here. If it’s not in somebody’s hand or bag it’s free game. This includes grabbing shit off the streets before anyone else can get it. There is no mercy in war. Snatch a bag of beads out of the air before a child can get it and display your spoils of war proudly

A man throws you a hat. You bobble the catch and it falls into the street. It falls to the ground and gets run over by a float. You retrieve and put on the hat anyways. Hat count: 1

Catch a string of the giant honking beads people would quite literally get in fights for. Display your spoils of war proudly

There are rows of stepstools and ladders lining the parade route. The one behind you has been unoccupied for at least an hour. Your ladder now.

With your height advantage you are now more powerful than ever. You have so many beads. You catch another hat (purple). Hat count: 2

Your parents also make it to the front of the crowd. Your mother immediately starts to befriend the couple next to you. Over the course of the parade, you learn their entire life story. He’s in the military. She’s a travel nurse. They are from Pennsylvania. This is their first Mardi Gras. Yelling that it is their first Mardi Gras at people on the floats has nabbed them many many beads

How to get items you want from the float krewes: find someone with an item you want. Point directly at them and make eye contact. Scream, as loudly as you can, the name of the item they are holding that you want. If you’ve done all of these steps correctly (eye contact is most important here) then there is a 75% chance you will get the item, which is much better than normal

Find a man holding a pink hat. Make eye contact. Point. Scream, loudly, HAT. He throws the hat at you but the 13 year old boy next to you catches it. You make a deal with him to get the hat. Hat count: 3. Alliances forged: 1

The parade has stopped moving for a minute or so. The couple next to you is bargaining with one of the riders for a string of the giant beads people will get in fights over. The rider is not convinced this man is military. Photo evidence is not enough proof. The float rides away before they can convince him. Everybody is devastated

This entire time, riders have been throwing rolls of streamers/toilet paper off the floats. You catch a roll of streamers. You copy what everyone else has been doing and throw them across the street. The streamer/toilet paper unfurls beautifully, waving in the air in a perfect arch. You accidentally nail a woman in the boob. You turn away and pretend you didn’t do that.

The one (1) girl your age has caught a pair of shirts. She gives you one. It is Mardi Gras and you have no fucks to give. You change shirts right there on the side of the street. It’s three crawfish in Mardi Gras colors.

Your dad catches a hat (Mardi Gras colors) and gives it to you. Hat count: 4

A pack of old men dressed as Cupid come by. They are handing out roses to people. You get a rose. You realize this is a real rose. You have nowhere to put it where it will not be crushed. It goes in your bra.

Every so often, a group of people near you will know someone riding on a float and will scream their name. A pack of people start chanting for Scott. You also start chanting for Scott. Scott throws you a gray hat. Hat count: 5

Everyone around you is in awe at the amount and variety of beads and hats you are wearing. You are a king atop his stolen stepladder throne. You and your 13 year old comrade exchange tips on how to get better loot from the riders

People are hurling footballs across the street at each other. And streamers/toilet paper. And frisbees. It is chaos

The third dance troupe of scantily dressed old people come by. They are dancing to Dancing Queen. Their choreography is impeccable. You, and everyone else in the crowd, cheer them on enthusiastically

Someone hurls a pack of ramen off the float at you. Food count: one pack of ramen, one pack of off brand Cheetos, one dum dum, one marshmallow chocolate candy thing. You will feast tonight, which is good because all you’ve eaten today is half a bagel and some fries

You still need one more hat to complete your collection. You do the “point and scream” and get a yellow hat. You trade for a green hat with a woman who is friends with the couple from Pennsylvania. These three people are your mother’s new best friends. Hat count: 6

You have collected all six hat colors. Your power is immeasurable. This is how Thanos felt upon collecting all six infinity stones.

You have collected two more (fake) flowers. They also go in the bra. They are stabbing you in the chest because of the weight of your beads. This is fine.

The parade is over. Your mother gives you her yellow hat. Hat count: 7

You want to stay for the following parade in a few hours. Your family vetoes this. You go home sadly

You go home and take a shower because 50% of what you touched today came straight from the ground and that, in the aftermath of the parade, is gross

You go to bed

You wake up the next morning and check your phone. Your dad has sent a text to the family group chat. It is a link to a news article saying that five people were shot and one died at the parade you wanted to stay for that your family made you leave

Dad says “Wow! So glad we didn’t stay.”

Mom says “That’s not far from where [brother] was! So crazy.”

You text “Wow! Crazy” and go back to sleep. You still wish you had attended that parade.

Happy Mardi Gras.

[tenebraevesper]

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 3)

Welcome back to Part 3 of my character analysis, now focusing not only on Shadow, but also on Sonic! This part will be only covering the second half of Episode 09: Avoid the Void, as there is a lot to talk about. I had also realized that I probably could've just breezed through the episode, but instead, I had the urge to put these two hedgehogs under a microscope because they are so fascinating to talk about.

Let's dive in!

After realizing just how bad the consequences of his actions were and how Ghost Hill came to be, Sonic wonders how he should fix things. Shadow just sighs and tells Sonic to follow him, leading him back to the cave where the Paradox Prism was.

The first thing to note here is Sonic's body language as they arrive at the cave. At first, he seems to be ready to confront whatever is awaiting him, only for his expression to fall and he seems to be a bit lost in his thoughts, clearly reluctant to enter the cave. He understands what he had done and he is not ready to confront his past actions... at least, not until Shadow calls his name.

''Sonic!''

Shadow doesn't sound angry in this scene. It is more as if he's just trying to draw Sonic's attention to get him to move. I'm certain that Sonic would've stood in front of the cave for ages before even going inside, probably trying to come up with some excuse not to have to do this.

We see Sonic being quite unsure of this, holding his arm in comfort as he approaches the cave slowly, with Shadow patiently waiting for him. He clearly doesn't want to be here, especially since he doesn't know what to expect.

As Sonic walks into the cave, we also see Shadow briefly glancing at Sonic's shoes, which are reacting to the remaining Shard of the Paradox Prism, which is just more foreshadowing for what is about to happen.

Shadow then turns his gaze back to Sonic, who stares in grief at the lone Paradox Prism Shard within the cave, joining him a moment later. I think there is something quite telling about this scene. Shadow actually gives Sonic a moment to process everything, leaving him to contemplate in silence. There are no comments, no fighting, nothing... just silence. I do have a bit more to say about this moment, but I will leave those thoughts for a scene in Episode 17: Grim Tidings.

''I would do anything to be back...'' ''Home.'' *pauses* ''There is a chance.''

After Sonic has a flashback to the moment he shattered the Paradox Prism, he wishes for nothing more but to be back... home, as Shadow finishes for him. I do love that Shadow is the one who says ''Home'' here, showing not only that he understands Sonic's grief, but again, he acknowledges Green Hill as his own home as well. He then slightly lowers his gaze, having a contemplative look, before telling Sonic that there is a chance.

One thing I love about Shadow here is how he actually gives Sonic hope that there is a way to fix things. He doesn't just confront him with the harsh reality, but is also very patient with him, giving him time to process things, before explaining that there is indeed a way to fix things.

The two then dash to the Ghost Paradox Prism, with Shadow explaining how every Shattespace contains a Shard, creating a distorted version of their reality, meaning that the Shard in Ghost Hill is the real one.

''Exactly.'' *Sonic slowly reaches for the Shard* ''Don't!'' ''I wasn't going to touch it! I was just pointing at it to tell you not to touch it!''

Honestly, this little exchange had me chuckling. Once again, Shadow knows Sonic too well, just closing his eyes and moving on, not even caring about Sonic's lame excuse.

Instead, he reveals his plan to Sonic, pointing out how the Ghost Paradox Prism shows them how the other Shards need to be placed and that bringing them together would fix their reality, with Sonic interrupting him, agreeing that this plan would work.

Note Shadow's expression here as Sonic starts speaking. He is frowning and gritting his teeth. I may have had said that Shadow was probably on the fence on whether to let Sonic help him, but I think that in this moment, especially when Sonic starts talking about Nine, he has made the decision to find the Shards on his own.

''No!'' ''No?'' ''No!'' ''Why 'No'? I just said he's like super smart.'' ''He can't be trusted.'' ''What are you talking about? Of course he can! He's just like Tails! He's just a little... angsty, that's all.'' ''No, he's not Tails. He's Nine, and they're not your real friends!'' ''Dude, he's real! This is his reality! And you know what else is real? Nine's tech on my kicks and punching sticks. So back up off Nine!'' *growls*

Honestly, there is a lot to say about this dialogue. First of all, while Sonic defending Nine is very admirable, Shadow isn't wrong in saying that Nine is not Tails, nor that he is real. From a logical standpoint, Nine really is not Tails, but his own person. He is Nine, and he was created as a Shatterspace Variation of Tails' personality, the part of him that seeks emotional validation. Shadow understands that, but Sonic does have a point that Nine is indeed real, although Nine would be real in the sense that his existence is tied to the New Yoke Shatterverse.

Also, note how Shadow doesn't continue the argument, just growling in frustration when he sees that Sonic has his mind set on Nine being just like his Tails. The conversation then continues.

*sighs* ''Okay, look, what matters now is that I get the Shards. I'll bring them back here, and then we-'' ''That's not the plan.'' ''Dude, not the plan? I'm totally confused. I thought a moment ago you said-'' ''Sonic, you literally broke our world. Why would I trust you to do anything?'' ''Okay, I can see how you might think that-'' *gets knocked back by Shadow, hitting a wall* ''Ugh.'' ''Your turn is over. I'm taking the tech and I'm going after the Shards myself.'' ''No way Shadow! I know what you're capable of and that's not gonna happen! Nine and all the rest of them are real! So the only way you're taking my tech is over my dead-'' *gets attacked by Shadow into a wall, groans in pain* ''You could've at let me finish what I was going to say!''

Now, there is a lot to unpack here, especially when it comes to Shadow. He now believes that Sonic cannot be trusted with gathering the Shards, making it his personal mission to do it himself. I don't think his lack of trust in Sonic's abilities is just because of Sonic shattering the Paradox Prism, but also because of Sonic's trust in Nine, a person Shadow is clearly paranoid about.

Sonic protests, and his words ''I know what you're capable of'' hold a lot of weight when you know Shadow's backstory. Sonic is not just saying that he knows that Shadow would beat up anyone who stands in his way, but pointing reminding both himself and the audience that, if Shadow is motivated enough, he's capable of destroying the world.

He then gets interrupted by Shadow, who doesn't even talk back. This is another aspect of Shadow's character, as once he is done with all the explanations, he is all business and once he is focused on a mission, he has no time for small talk. If Sonic wants to stop him, he will have to fight.

What follows next is one of the best fights of Sonic Prime, and you can't change my mind about that. I will highlight some moments of the fight, because you can actually see that there is some strategy behind it.

''That's one! Three to go.'' *puts tech on his hand* ''Want it back? Come and get it!''

When Shadow gets punched by Sonic, he actually manages to bite the tech off his hand, which is actually genius. Not only that, but he actually is the one to start goading Sonic into fighting him. During their last fight, Shadow was mostly silent, trying to stop Sonic, but now? Now he's going all out.

As a matter of fact, you can actually see him smile several times during the fight as he baits Sonic into attacking him and dodges his moves. It is very brief, but it shows another side of Shadow - he enjoys fighting Sonic, and from what we have seen earlier in the show, Sonic also enjoys fighting Shadow.

There is a reason why Sonic has called him his biggest rival, several reasons in fact. Shadow is the only one who can keep up with Sonic, both in speed and fighting skills, and both enjoy fighting each other (whether the fate of the world is at stake or not). In short, he and Sonic aren't that different, and I will explain that in a moment, but let's just enjoy these two beating each other up.

If you know Shadow, you will know that this pose is a reference.

Drowning selfie!

Anyways, to recap what happened until now, Sonic chases Shadow to the beach, where Shadow manages to get two more pieces of his tech, before throwing him into the water (Sonic's weakness, as he cannot swim) and then grabbing the fourth piece of the tech. As Shadow swims away, Sonic manages to grab the tech on Shadow's shoes, something Shadow doesn't notice.

He is about to walk away, when Sonic shows off the tech he snagged away, much to Shadow's shock. *chuckles* Dude, you're really underestimating your rival!

Honestly, I just love how expressive Shadow gets during the fight. He is always seen with a scowl, but now we see a wider range of expressions and emotions from him, and it is glorious.

The fight continues, and we even get a scene of Shadow using Sonic as a surfing board (Sonic Riders reference?), and it is just fun following these two in their high-speed chase. Shadow eventually manages to get back the tech pieces from Sonic, putting the last one on with quite a lot of flair (I wish I could post the screenshots of that, but again, Tumblr has a limit of how many images you can put in one post).

*breathes heavily* ''One left... Come at me, bro!'' ''Nah, I'm good.'' *shows off stolen tech* ''Huh?! No!'' ''So long, Sonic! See you back home.''

I absolutely love this scene! Shadow doesn't just leave, but stays for a moment to rub it into Sonic's face that he won. It is so hilarious, but also so in character! Shadow can have fun when he wants to, although this usually involves Sonic in some form *hears the Sonadow fans screaming in glee* *stares at the rest of the audience* What, I am right, aren't I? Did you see him act like this around anyone else (in Sonic Prime, I'm not talking about the games)?

This is then followed by a chase between Sonic and Shadow, with Sonic having a hard time to control the Paradox Prism energy without the tech, and Shadow...

Look at that grin! Shadow is a smug bastard and he knows it! We also love him for that!

With Shadow escaping Ghost Hill, Sonic is left behind... until he has a moment where he remembers what Shadow told him previously about his Prism Energy and being able to create portals - proof that Sonic actually did listen to Shadow! Elated, Sonic uses it to escape into The Void, where he tackles Shadow and their fight continues, with both of them having to avoid the crystals falling around.

''Come at me, bro.''

It is repeated in monotone, but I do love that Shadow actually mocks Sonic with his own words. He is more than willing to continue this fight. However, it is cut short when they get to the New Yoke gateway and spot the Chaos Council flying into Boscage Maze with their fleet of ships. Shadow follows them, but unlike Sonic, he still cannot get through the gateways.

Man, that looks painful, and what follows is even worse, because Shadow is sent flying into the black hole below, much to Sonic's horror.

Sonic is horrified, not just because Shadow is about to die, but he also probably has a flashback to what happened in Sonic Adventure 2, when Shadow was left flying towards Earth and Sonic was unable to save him. However, this time, Sonic won't repeat the same mistake.

This time, he manages to save him (and the Sonadow fans go wild!).

''You're not dead. You're welcome! On the bright side, I'll get to hold this over you foreeeever. Oh, and I'll take my tech back.''

Now, it's Sonic's turn to be a smug bastard. Do you now understand why these two aren't too different from each other?

Shadow replies how he doesn't understand, as he thought that the tech would allow him to go through gateways... and then he realizes that it's not the tech - it's Sonic.

''The only way to fix the reality you shattered is if we... work... together.'' ''Together!'' *groans* ''Wow! Coming from you that's, well, not like you at all. Man, you must really hate having to admit that you need me.'' ''You need me!'' ''Sure, I'm big enough to admit that. But, not as much as you need me.''

Honestly, their banter is just as hilarious as it's cute. Shadow genuinely looks like he's in emotional pain when he says that he has to work together with Sonic, and Sonic is not just surprised, but also is very happy to hear that from Shadow. Shadow then points out that Sonic needs him, with Sonic getting the last word in in their banter as he leaps to get to Boscage Maze.

Sonic's grin and Shadow's little nod here say more than a thousand words. To me, it seemed that Sonic was actually seeking a bit of validation from Shadow, something to make it clear that Shadow trusts him now and that they will work closely together from now on, with Shadow nodding in agreement. It is such a small, yet powerful moment, showing us that Shadow has finally come around to rely on Sonic's help. Sure, he had to be knocked out to realize that, but what would Shadow be without his stubborness.

Sonic is now set, having Shadow as a powerful ally and watching over him.

This was an amazing showcasing of Sonic and Shadow's relationship, and my conclusion by the end of it is this:

Sonic and Shadow complement each other.

*hears cries of joy* Calm down Sonadow shippers, I'm done yet with this statement.

If you know the process of creation of Shadow's character, you have probably heard that Shadow was supposed to be a darker reflection of Sonic (his previous name was Terios, which means ''reflection of''). These two are two sides of the same coin, with Sonic representing the more carefree and freedom-seeking side, while Shadow is the more grim and focused side. Both want to protect the world, but often clash due to their differing methods.

However, while they don't work often together, when they do, they work really well together.

You have seen in this very episode that Sonic, even though he had a plan, he was very unfocused and has a hard time listening to people. So, when does he get focused? It is when Shadow knocks some sense into him, confronting him with the harsh reality of their situation, but also giving him some hope that they can fix their reality. Even in previous episodes, we saw that Sonic's friends, be it the Green Hill crew or the Shatterverse Variants, had a hard time to get him to listen, but with Shadow, it's different. He knows how to treat Sonic and what to tell him and it's beautiful to see.

Both Sonic and Shadow were right in their conversation. They need each other, because alone, they won't be able to save the Shatterverse and Ghost Hill. However, they are just in the middle stage of their developing relationship and it'll be an uphill battle for them to finally work together properly.

It is also one of the many reasons people love the Sonadow ship so much. No matter their differences, they are very much alike and it just takes them to open up a little to acknowledge that.

Also, the moment I saw this episode, I made a Sonadow AMV, with the song being Vandalize by One OK Rock, aka the song from Sonic Frontiers (click on the link provided to watch it). Seriously, you can't tell me that that isn't a Sonadow song. Enjoy!

Anyways, I'll see you in Part 4, which will (hopefully) cover the other seven episodes of Part 2 of the Sonic Prime (I refuse to call 8 episodes a Season no matter what Netflix says).

#Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 2)

#Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 4)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[aashi-heartfilia]

BnHA 392: Ochako gets stabbed. No she's not dying.

Yeah so what if she got stabbed? With stabby pants Toga around this was bound to happen.

Doesn't mean that she is gonna die!

And even if it looks serious, I don't think it will have a serious consequence or anything. She might as well get a cool scar like All Might at most.

And I don't even wanna talk about that grab scene on the next page. I think it's a mistake that will be corrected during the volume publish, remember how inking on Ochako and Toga wasn't on point either in the last chapter.

With Hori's declining health, I think it's a very likely case.

Anyways, we'll have to wait now for two weeks to see if our babygirl is all right or not.

Contrary to popular belief, I think she's fine. Great infact, because now she'll fight more seriously.

Remember how in her battle vs Bakugo during SF, when even her friends underestimated her and thought she needed help?

But she proved to everyone that she's more than capable of handling herself when the time calls for it?

And this is a battle she cannot afford to lose, we have lives on the line. Not just her fellow heroes but Toga herself is also in danger and Uravity is a hero who wants to see everyone smile.

I think this is bound to come sooner or later. Like what kind of hero Uravity will be?

Like Ingenium is a hero who guides lost children to their home, Uravity will find a way to save Toga and the entire battlefield that is dealing with Sad Man's Death Parade.

Now, it's more important than ever because we've seen that Pixie Bob is down for the count. She was the main person containing the clones but now that she is down and Toga has created multiple doppelgangers of our beloved heroes, everyone is at a risk of getting stabbed.

Since the last two chapters were about Toga, I think the next chapter will be about Ochako.

Personally I would love an Ochako Uraraka: Origins chapter and then a Rising Chapter following it!

This will be one of the biggest moments of the series where a character gets an Origin and a rising chapter simultaneously.

A chapter that shows us Ochako's life before she joined UA.

Just like Toga, we only had a glimpse of Ochako's past. Bonus material suggests that she used to sleep to save money and bear the heat in summers because her parents could not afford an AC. But that's not all.

Horikoshi has been hinting at this dynamic for a long time. So I feel like there has been something about Ochako that has been hidden from us, as readers.

It was always hidden in plain sight, just like how those postcards were a foreshadowing for Ochako getting stabbed in the stomach.

The author said that there is a scene between TOGACHAKO that he is itching to draw.

Personally I don't know what scene it is. It could be Toga stabbing Ochako in the recent chapter, or it could be something entirely different. We won't know for sure until this arc concludes.

As for this arc, I think this fated battle will last for at least 3-4 more chapters.

Everything is in complete chaos and it will take time to wrap this up. Even if a miracle were to happen, I don't see a direct solution to TOGA's Sad Man Parade unlike Dabi where Shouto just reaching on time was everything.

Not only Ochako will need to convince Toga to stop her Parade but also deal with the existing ones that are running rampant around the battlefield.

Also, can I just say how much I loved Ochako just casually flying over the entire parade?

Also her jet boosters are finally coming in handy!

Also I just loved how much control she has over gravity now. She literally pulled both Toga and Tsu out like it was nothing! Plus the Twice clones surrounding her!!

Toga using the blood from the battlefield totally caught me off-guard. She really is playing 5D chess now.

Guess, it goes to show you how smart she actually was up until now.

Ochako and Toga are two faces of a coin. Of course, they're both smart.

Plus I think Toga is still not using her full power, as the Curious vestige suggested. She's still hiding her true self.

And maybe that's the answer to everything. Ochako will try to appeal to whatever goodness is left of her.

Ochako knows that Quirks are nature and just like Toga, she's been hiding her true feelings all along. And I think the feeling that she's been hiding is envy.

She was jealous of how 'normal' everyone else is and how they get to express their love and she doesn't. It is not a form that society will accept.

But in the world of MHA, how do you even decide what is normal and what isn't?

Her parents literally denied her humanity.

I also loved what Tsuyu said here about Heroes following the rules. If killing was the only way, Ochako and the heroes were more than capable of doing that.

But it's not about killing or arresting her anymore but rather about confronting a little girl who has been rejected her entire life, even by her own parents.

It's about a young girl with a big dream who wants to see everyone smile and yes that includes Toga too.

It was never a story about killing people because violence leads to even more violence, it's about understanding and sympathy, care and compassion and this is how true heroes are born.

Cheers! Sunshine!

~Thanks for reading

[heyclickadee]

The first of several Tech Lives posts. I was going to do in show quotes, possible foreshadowing, and moments that are just kinda suspicious in one post, but just the quotes got too long. So, with the caveat that I’m arguing that I don’t think a Tech return was cut and that it’s just going to happen later than we expected, here’s a list of lines either said by or connected to Tech that could point to him coming back at some point:

"Better late than dead." Phee, as her introductory line, right before she starts hitting on Tech, "Spoils of War."

"Hey, I'm a survivor. Remember?" Romar, to Tech, followed by like a six second camera hold on Tech before he goes back to get into the ship. "Ruins of War"

The entire exchange about culture and memory; Tech's actual character arc was about experiencing life outside the war and the narrow definitions the war gave him. That was not an arc that was completed, no one steps up to fill that space or continue that arc, and maybe it’s not an arc that could have been picked up in season three without focusing on Tech and writing Omega into the background of her own show. Maybe it needed its own space.

This exchange (which I bring up because it happens right after Tech fixes Romar's databank and restores that cultural memory, and we do get the implication in season three that Tech could be running around with amnesia. So.):

Romar: You--you actually did it! Tech: Of course I did.

THIS exchange:

Omega: You did it! Tech: You sound surprised. Wrecker: I thought you were a goner.

Like. Come on. He drifts into a cloud of dust so that the outcome of the race is hidden from view at first, Wrecker and Omega thought he was going to die because he made the decision (in defiance of their requests not to) to do something that would have killed almost anybody else in order to save them, he succeeds and he comes out alive.

"I guess I owe you one, Goggles." Cid, in "Faster." This isn't something they just forgot about, either. Tech indirectly brings it up as a reason she should help them at the end of "The Crossing," and it actually does get Cid to relent a little and say that she'll see what she can do before cutting off the call. But, since she doesn't come through on that, she still owes Tech that favor.

This exchange:

Phee: Don't go running off with any pirates or smugglers while you're gone. Tech: No. This mission should not require either.

Because of course this isn't literally what Phee means, she even clarifies in the next sentence that this isn't literally what she means, but can we at least all agree that this is a weird ass way to say, "Don't run off with any hotties while you're out, I'm still interested and I'm right here?" There's no reason for her to say it this way…unless Tech is going to end up running into some pirates and smugglers. Which hasn't happened yet.

"See you around, Brown Eyes." Phee, the current last thing she says to Tech, in "The Summit."

This exchange:

Crosshair: Where's the jedi? Hunter: Stunned him when he jumped. He didn't make it.

you know, the one where Hunter and Crosshair are talking about Caleb, the jedi who very much did not fall to his death (which plants the idea that falling deaths are suspect right in the first fifteen minutes of the series, btw), is worded almost identically to THIS exchange:

Omega: Where's Tech? Hunter: Omega…Tech didn't make it.

And it's the only two places in the entire show that "Where's X?" is followed up with, "X didn't make it,” btw.

THIS LINE:

"We have to go back! What if he's hurt? He--he needs us! Tell him, Wrecker. We can't just leave him! No! Tech's not gone! He can't be!" Omega, to Hunter and Wrecker about Tech, in "Plan 99."

Two things. One, Omega is actually…usually right about this kind of thing. We never do get explicit confirmation that she has any force sensitivity, but we do get a somewhat implicit one that she does at least have a little bit of natural ability. And even if she doesn’t, when she has a feeling about something that feeling usually turns out to be justified. No reason this should be any different. Two, I got through the rest of this episode about a dozen times and the entirety of season three without ever knowing for sure if Omega even thinks that Tech is dead. The closest she ever gets is saying that she "lost" him, and then goes on to use that exact word in the exact same sentence to describe Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo being captured, and actually said that they'd lost Echo way back in "The Crossing" when Echo was very much not dead and she knew it.

And then when we get to season three, she never actually talks about That Time Her Brother Threw Himself Off A Gondola To Save Her On The Worst Day Of Her Life, and she only brings Tech up once, and only when prompted by Crosshair. I have NO IDEA if she's accepted that Tech is gone or if she even believes he's never coming back, we're given no real indication either way. You know what she WAS real explicit about, though? Demanding that they go back because Tech isn't gone and needs their help.

Honorable Mentions:

"This story changes every time she tells it." Tech, about Phee, in Entombed. This isn't an obvious comeback line, and it's a bit of a stretch, but the thing is. The thing. Is. That Tech being alive, especially depending on how he comes back if he is, when, who knew what, who was hoping what, etc. has the potential to completely recontextualize the entire third season, if not the entire show. A lot of things would be different without actually having to change anything at all.

"I thought it was obvious." Also not foreshadowing, but makes for one hell of a zinger if it turns out he's alive and the clues were there all along.

"Yes, I am playing against myself. It is the only time this game is a challenge," would be one hell of a line if it turns out Tech was forced to be someone else for a while and ends up really struggling with that once he's recovered. Not like. There's any hinting. That this is a thing that could have happened.

“The last time we crossed paths, you had just lost a member of your squad. And it appears history may repeat itself. CT-9904 resisted my conditioning in the past, but I've made alterations to my methods. If you all survive, you will make fine operatives. And if not, well, there's no shortage of clones to test on next.” Dr. Hemlock, “The Cavalry Has Arrived.” I blazed right over this line originally, but @eriexplosion brought up that it’s just *real weird* for Hemlock to be bringing up Tech and that history is going to repeat itself in the context of being right about to start CX-ing the others and being so confident it’s going to work. So here’s what I’m thinking might be happening here: either he CX’d Tech and Tech’s standing right over there in the room with them, or he did something else to Tech and Tech was the change he made to his CXing method. This is actually one of several reasons I don’t think the CX-Tech plot was dropped or cut, and that we aren’t actually done with this—we get little bits of hinting it’s him even in the final episode.

“This isn’t over.” Wolffe to CX-2, “Extraction” Like a few others in this “honorable mentions” section, this relies on Tech being CX-2 either physically or mentally. But I uh. Do think it points to Wolffe potentially having a run in with CX-2 again.

Controversial, but I’m putting it on this list anyway:

“Clone Force 99 died with Tech! We’re not that squad anymore!” Crosshair to Wrecker and Hunter, “The Cavalry Has Arrived”

I know.

But here’s why.

First, one of the long running narrative questions of The Bad Batch was whether or not Clone Force 99 could ever be whole—whether they could ever fix what the Empire broke in “Aftermath.” Because we never get a full reunion by the end of the series, the answer we get isn’t a “yes,” but it wasn’t really a “no” either. Because the entire Tech situation is so unconfirmed, and because the show did nothing to allow either the audience or the other characters to let him go, the possibility of a full batch reunion and reconciliation remains on the table. There’s still a remote chance that they can fix what the Empire broke after all. Maybe they won’t all live in the same place when all is said and done, but maybe, maybe they can still be a whole and complete family. Because the story never fully closed that off as an option.

And the thing is, the show could have had the family fully heal without Tech. They could have resolved the family stuff without him by dealing with him as dead and allowing everyone to treat their wounds and move on. But because we get this line in the last episode, because no one ever pushes back on it in a meaningful way, because Crosshair never takes it back, that’s not what the story does at all. So the answer we end up with here is, “Maybe, maybe not—but not without Tech, apparently. They’re still broken without Tech.”

Second, Crosshair has always been a little cynical, but this season went out of its way to establish him as Pessimism Georg, an outlier who shouldn’t be counted. The last time he said someone was probably dead, way back in “A Different Approach,” we knew it almost definitely wasn’t true and Omega immediately shut him down. He wasn’t there on Eriadu, he doesn’t know any more about Tech falling (he might know other things but we don’t know that) than the others and probably less, and I think there’s a possible future spoiler reason why they had Crosshair say this when Omega wasn’t around to hear it instead of any time that she would have been.

Third, like. Okay. Crosshair might believe Tech is dead. Crosshair might know something about what happened to Tech that no one else does, and might need to believe Tech is dead because of it. He might have suspicions about where Tech is. He might know nothing. Whatever Crosshair actually thinks or believes, though, one thing I do think we have to keep in mind here is that words very rarely leave Crosshair’s mouth without being sieved through fifteen layers of Crosshair being Crosshair, and so Crosshair frequently exaggerates, omits, talks from a certain point of view, lies, and so on.

He’s a genuinely perceptive guy who can read people and situations like no one’s business BUT his brain cells turn off and that big wounded heart of his takes over whenever he has to make a decision, so his internal logic makes sense but goes through such a tortured filter on the way he comes to some wild conclusions. (For example: The batch escaped without him and from his perspective, they didn’t do enough to give him a chance. Reasonable given what he knows about the situation. Justified. His solution to that is to capture them and invite them to the apocalypse to hear the galaxy’s worst business pitch.) He’s just. His observations are often good and, in contrast to his foil, Omega, who’s usually right about this kind of stuff, Crosshair has a tendency to come to the wrong conclusion.

And on top of that, let’s remember that this is a guy who will say the most cutting, ruthless, out-of-pocket thing in order to get a reaction or even to get people to leave him alone. And he’s good at it. It’s a skill. I’m not sure he even has a sense of what going too far looks like (I don’t think he left Tech out of his fight with Hunter because he thought it was a step too far, I think he left Tech out of that fight because he blames himself for Tech too much to blame Hunter for it). This is a man who told a child he would leave her to die if he had the chance. A child he would both kill and die for. So of course if wasn’t true, Omega immediately calls him out on it, but he still said it because he thought it would get her to leave him and save herself. It’s worth noting that the entire reason Crosshair launches into the entire “Clone Force 99 died with Tech” speech is because he’s trying to get Wrecker and Hunter to protect themselves and let him go into Tantiss alone.

Lastly, even if Tech was definitely dead, this line is custom made to get Tech spinning in his grave so fast that he’d spontaneously resurrect for the sole purpose of decking Crosshair across the jaw because what does Crosshair think he fell for then? You…can’t really have the final note on a man who (supposedly) died to save his family be that his family is irrevocably broken because he “died.” Which is another thing—they’re not just a squad. They’re a family, and Tech thought of them as a family. Like. Just. This entire line is just so perfectly crafted as something that feels like it needs to be pushed back against and refuted I’m just. I’m *biting biting biting*

All this to say that Crosshair should not be regarded as a source of objective fact.

Aaaand that’s. All the ones I can remember.

[braucherei]

Just finished seeing Napoleon (2023) for the first time! I liked it more than I thought I would. The comedy bits were funny and the core relationship of Napoleon and Josephine was engaging even if all the other characters were pretty flat.

I don’t know much about Napoleon post-emperor but the history at least before that was unsurprisingly pretty all over the place.

SPOILERS (this is a bullet pointed list of moments mostly from the first quarter of the movie set during the French Revolution/Directoire) (EDIT: I just saw the movie for a second time so I added amendments/clarifications in red)

the movie opens with a text scroll summarizing in very vague terms what led to the French Revolution

The first real scene is Marie-Antoinette being guillotined while Ça ira is sung. Her execution is then immediately followed by Robespierre giving his “Terror and Virtue” speech very menacingly

Didn’t care for the guy casted as Robespierre didn’t really look like him and was too old. He just comes off as a generic “power hungry” politician in a powdered wig

When Napoleon first charges at the siege of Toulon a cannon hits his horse right in the chest and Barras has to awkwardly help Napoleon off the ground

The next day Napoleon is awarded for taking Toulon and for some reason the gored horse is still there. Napoleon reached his hand inside the horse and grabs the cannon ball

A scene or two after Toulon they show Thermidor where the whole convention turns on aspiring dictator Robespierre

Barras is in the balcony of the Convention and specifically yells that Robespierre wants to be “judge, jury and executioner”

This Robespierre runs away as a crowd of deputies chase him up the stairs. Someone in a chair that might have been an 18th century wheel chair falls over but the scene happens so fast I wasn’t sure

I believe it was just a regular chair tossed over during Thermidor but I’m still not entirely sure since there is some kind of either design or mechanism on the side of the chair

Robespierre pulls a gun on the mob of deputies chasing him but the gun jams so he pulls out a second gun and shoots himself

Barras says “you missed” and then fingers his jaw wound to I guess parallel Napoleon and the horse

A little later Napoleon is at the Victim’s ball and Josephine is seen there next to Barras.

Thérésa Cabarrus is also in the cast list but she is never named in the movie so I assume she will be in the Director’s cut

Josephine and a woman hug while leaving prison so that’s probably Cabarrus but her name is never said

There’s also a scene that starts with Barras and Napoleon goofing around together and throwing nuts at a wall which is sweet I guess

Weirdly Barras is the only male character Napoleon seems to be genuinely friendly with

I was wrong it was his brother Lucien not Barras that Napoleon was goofing around and throwing nuts with which makes more sense. I must have gotten their mullets confused

Napoleon returns from Egypt in this movie because he hears Josephine is cheating on him

the newspapers he gets from the English aren’t stories on how the Directoire is unpopular/corrupt but instead cartoons of him being cucked

(This is foreshadowing for the worst part of the movie)

The only real Fouché scene is when Napoleon is sitting with the Directors telling them how he’s going to coup them and it’s going around the table getting their reactions as Napoleon calls their names

Then Napoleon says Fouché and it cuts to a guy standing in the corner of the room

Talleyrand is a more important part of the movie and is given some of historical Fouché’s moments (I liked his actor a lot actually and he’s the best character besides the core two)

Barras also stops being a character after he agrees to resign as director but he continues to show up in the background throughout the movie

This is SPOILERS AGAIN for the end of the movie but I have to mention this because it was an insane decision

———————————————————————

While Napoleon is in Elba the Tsar of Russia rolls up to Josephine’s manor in a carriage and is “entertained” by her

Napoleon sees a cartoon of him being cucked again in the newspaper and that is why the Hundred Days happens

[charlotteharlatan]

A list (non-exhaustive) of why the 1941 flashback scenes are haunting both me and The Narrative, Part 2:

(link to Part 1)

6. There are additional scenes that point to 1941. The Ritz scene from S1ep6 where they toast “to the world” also echoes the S2ep4 1941 scene, because these are the only two instances where we see Crowley and Aziraphale “cheers” to something with their drinks and then take a sip at the same time - they are also the only two instances where they both consume the same substance at the same time.

(To contrast, look at the Rome flashback from S1ep3, in which they also “cheers” but only Crowley takes a sip of his drink afterwards. In fact, if you watch the entire Rome flashback, there’s never a time when their sips synch up.

I could go off on a whole other tangent about the peculiar significance of “ingesting substances” within Good Omens and how it serves as a direct metaphor for acquiring knowledge/losing innocence, vis a vis Eve and the apple, and Aziraphale with the ox rib, but that would be adding at least a few more paragraphs.)

There’s another element that famously features in the S1ep6 Ritz scene, a piano cover of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.” If we operate on the assumption that we’re meant to link these two events as well, then an inference that the song also played a role that night in 1941 now seems less like a leap, and more like a logical step.

7. We also can’t leave out the context clues within the S2 1941 scene itself. I’ve already mentioned the gramophone and the wine, but there’s another element in the scene’s background that seems to be hinting at something:

The lamps. Despite the candles on the table, there are lit lamps in the background. Again, the background is out of focus, but the lamps seem to be human figures, and they appear as though they might be dancing couples. Why have these lights turned on if you have candles lit? Our attention is meant to be drawn to these light fixtures in this moment; it’s possibly more foreshadowing.

(Of course, you could also turn it the opposite way and say the audience is meant to ask: why light candles when the lamps work just fine, for which there is very little explanation other than Aziraphale was actively trying to create romantic ambiance. Which would only add to the suspicion that something more may have happened between them in 1941 that the first two seasons left out.)

8. Chronologically speaking, the next time we see Crowley and Aziraphale together after 1941 is in 1967, when Aziraphale pops in on Crowley in the Bentley. One of the most striking things about the 1967 scene is that the emotional tone has shifted rather dramatically from what it was like at the end of the S2 1941 scene.

There’s awkward tension between them; every line of dialogue carries heavy hidden meaning. The repressed longing is palpable. Crowley is subdued and cautious, and Aziraphale is avoiding Crowley’s eyes and speaking in a stilted voice.

It could just be the subject matter that’s making things awkward - the holy water had been a matter of major contention between them - but there seems to be much more to this tension. We pay a lot of attention to “you go too fast for me, Crowley,” and we should (especially given that when Aziraphale is actually able to look directly at Crowley in this scene, he keeps glancing at his mouth), but there are other bits of dialogue that are important there too.

Crowley offers to drive Aziraphale “anywhere he wants to go” and Aziraphale turns him down. But from information we received in S2, we now know that the bookshop was literally across the street. We are being implicitly told that Crowley is offering a whole lot more than just a drive home, but we are also being primed to recall the last time Crowley actually did give Aziraphale a ride home, the last time they were in the bookshop together. Every context clue is contributing to the sense that we are missing something. The 1941 scene still feels incomplete, like there’s one last installment of it, which sets the stage to revisit it in S3.

9. Returning to the 1967 scene, after Aziraphale hands over the thermos of holy water, Crowley asks whether he should say thank you. Aziraphale responds with a grimace disguised as a polite smile and a rather curt “better not.”

This contrasts to 1941, when Aziraphale attempts multiple times to express gratitude to Crowley for saving him and his books, and for coming through for him at the magic show, including that rather suggestive moment in the Bentley where he insists “there must be something I can do for you…in return.” Why is the idea of expressing gratitude so loaded and weighty, when only twenty years ago (not that long, for them) Aziraphale insisted upon it? Gratitude has always been complicated for the two of them, but now that complexity feels compounded.

It gives extra interest to the moment Aziraphale thanks Crowley for removing the paint stain from his coat in S1ep2. And of course, we know what happens just a bit later in that same episode.

The Wall Slam, which echoes The Kiss, in that Crowley is the one to close the distance between them in both cases, taking Aziraphale by the collar.

It’s interesting to note that there have also been other times when Crowley gets into Aziraphale’s personal space. In the first two minisodes in S2, there are two separate instances of Crowley getting into Aziraphale’s face after the angel accuses him of goodness.

It happens in Job’s courtyard in S2ep2…

…and in the graveyard in S2ep3 after they (well, Crowley mostly) save Elspeth.

This is another of their patterns - Aziraphale acknowledging the good in Crowley, casting doubt on his evilness in a way that gets a rise out of the demon. At first it was unintentional, but Aziraphale tries to bait Crowley in this way multiple times throughout the series, possibly as a way to get physical closeness with him that he doesn’t get otherwise. The time in Job’s courtyard wasn’t intentional, but the time in the graveyard definitely was. Just look at Aziraphale’s pleased, indulgent expression when Crowley is telling him off.

Sometimes this tactic is successful, sometimes it’s not. One could argue that the Wall Slam was an instance in which he was very successful, even more so than he bargained for.

And: he attempts the same thing multiple times in 1941. He does it immediately after the church gets bombed, in the Bentley afterwards, and during their candlelit date. Crowley doesn’t really rise to the bait though. He gets a bit snappish, he dismisses and denies, but he doesn’t get into Aziraphale’s face - and my read of this scene is that you can see Aziraphale’s frustration that it isn’t working.

Aziraphale can be very stubborn when he’s decided to do something, and if he keeps pushing this particular button of Crowley’s to get the response he’s seeking, well. It wouldn’t be the first time. I could definitely see him trying this tactic one more time if we do get a continuation of 1941 in S3, and it potentially working.

There may be a part three to this, as I have a few more related items to discuss. (Shocker, I know.)

[doamarierose-honoka]

While it's still up to debate among fans whether disrupting Canon Events in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse destroys universes, several such events were featured prominently in Sony Pictures' animated sequel.

When Miguel O'Hara gave Miles Morales his lecture on Canon Events, he defined them as "chapters that are a part of every Spider's story, every time. Some good. Some bad. Some very bad."

However, despite what Miguel said, that doesn't mean that every Spider-Person has the same Canon Events or experiences them the same way.

Every Canon Event in Spider-Verse 2

1.) Spider Bite

In both the comics and Spider-Verse films, the origin for most Peter Variants involved being bitten by a radioactive spider as a teenager, bestowing them spider-like powers.

Not all of them would get the same abilities from this bite, with Peni Parker being a prime example, but it's no surprise for it to be a Canon Event for nearly all of them with a handful of exceptions.

One exception is Miguel O'Hara, who audiences saw injecting himself with a mysterious green liquid, foreshadowing to non-comic fans that the source of his powers wasn't a spider bite. Miguel even acknowledged his unique status among Spider-People in his inner monologue: "...I'm not like the others."

2.) First Loss

The most defining moment of Peter Parker's life as Spider-Man was, without question, the death of Uncle Ben. Peter B. Parker best expressed this event's significance to Miles when his orientation turned into an intervention:

"If not for Uncle Ben, most of us wouldn't be here, Miles, and all the good we did—it wouldn't have been done."

But as Peter said, "most of [them]" wouldn't be there. So for other Spiders, instead of Uncle Ben, it was another uncle, a father, or even a best friend.

Across the Spider-Verse puts this Canon Event under one umbrella, making it more a Spider's first loss that leads them to learn their first crucial life lesson, good or bad, on their road to being a hero.

It's the defining Canon Event that instills in them the mantra of Spider-Man: "With great power comes great responsibility."

3.) Upside-Down Kiss

One of the few "good" Canon Events on this list (that didn't originate from the comics) is the upside-down kiss from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.

This would be its own Canon Event for multiple Spiders because, at least in the case of Raimi's Peter Parker, it was when they finally got to kiss the person they were only brave enough to love from afar before getting their powers.

One shot from Across the Spider-Verse paralleled this iconic moment when Gwen was preparing to leave Miles' universe. These two may eventually share their own upside-down kiss in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, fulfilling this Canon Event.

4.) The Death of a Captain

The only Canon Event on the list to have a designation (ASM-90 (The Amazing Spider-Man #90), Miguel described it as "a police captain close to Spider-Man dies saving a kid from falling rumble during a battle with an arch-nemesis."

Like a Spider's first loss, this Canon Event isn't restricted to Captain Gregory Stacy from the comics but encompasses multiple Captains "close to Spider-Man." It was also revealed that this event already happened to Peter B. Parker, Jessica Drew, and Hobie Brown and that the same will soon happen to Gwen and Miles.

However, Gwen realizes that with her father quitting the police force, he's seemingly avoided his untimely death. This proves to her that Canon Events aren't unavoidable nor preventing them will ending the universe.

It further strengthens her resolve to save Miles and his father from The Spot, with the help of Peter B. Parker and the rest of her newly formed Spider-Band.

5.) The Death of Gwen Stacy

The second most defining moment of Peter Parker's life as Spider-Man was the death of Gwen Stacy and his failure to save her. But what was another tragedy for Peter Parker was no doubt an existential nightmare for this film's Gwen Stacy, who likely learned the fate of her endless Variants after joining the Spider-Society.

It's also, unfortunately, the reason why she's so hesitant to pursue a relationship with Miles since "in every other universe, Gwen Stacy falls for Spider-Man, and in every other universe, it doesn't end well."

This is something that already nearly happened to Pavitr Prabhakar's girlfriend Gayatri Singh, another Variant of Gwen Stacy.

6.) The Birth of Venom

The only event on the list to focus on one of Spider-Man's supervillains is the birth of Venom, who would hound the web-slinger for years before becoming an anti-hero (or dying).

Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker from Spider-Man 3 and a Variant of Jessica Drew are shown struggling with the alien (or Earth-made) Symbiote, while others depict Eddie Brock or Anne Weying transforming into Venom and She-Venom.

The last Spider shown is interesting, as it's seemingly this film's Gwen Stacy turning into her Venomized counterpart, Gwenom; she debuted in Spider-Gwen #24 and used the Symbiote to go on a path of vengeance when her father was put in a coma.

7.) "If This Be My Destiny...!"

One of the most character-defining moments of Peter Parker's superhero career was when he saved himself from a literal ton of debris in The Amazing Spider-Man #33, the concluding issue of the "If This Be My Destiny...!" story arc.

The reason this was monumental for the character is that it was the first time he displayed what would become his most defining trait: his boundless perseverance.

Trapped, injured, and about to drown, Peter had all but given up until he remembered why and who he was fighting for and used that to gain the strength to lift the machinery off himself.

It was such an iconic moment for the character that The Spectacular Spider-Man and even the MCU's Spider-Man: Homecoming adapted this act of triumph in the face of doubt.

Considering that this happens fairly early in Spider-Man's career in the comics, it's interesting that this film's Jessica Drew seemed to experience it as an adult, pointing to Canon Events not having to happen at the same time in a Spider's superhero career.

8.) "Spider-Man No More!"

The story arc "Spider-Man No More!" is the first instance of Peter Parker quitting as the wall-crawler. Not only did it result in one of the most iconic pages in all of comics, but it also reinforced why Peter had to keep wearing the mask.

In the original story, Parker quit because he got no respect from the public for his heroic actions, which The Daily Bugle would often twist. However, after quitting, he realized that without him being Spider-Man, people that he could save would get hurt or even die.

The motivation for any Spider quitting varies, whether it's the same lack of respect, the loss of their powers, or the injury/death of a loved one. It's tempting to wonder what would make Hobie Brown, a Spider who openly declared his disdain for glory, temporarily quit.

9.) Spider-Man's Wedding

Peter Parker's editorially mandated deal with the literal devil to annul his marriage in the comics is infamous at this point. Regardless, his union with Mary Jane Watson was the status quo for over 20 years, making it no surprise that a Spider's marriage is a Canon Event.

Before the events of Into the Spider-Verse, Peter B. Parker was happily married to his MJ before they had a mutual and legal divorce over Peter's reluctance to have children. However, in Across the Spider-Verse, not only did he and MJ remarry, but they had a kid, May "Mayday" Parker.

10.) "Kraven's Last Hunt"

Another surprise Canon Event that Gwen has already experienced is a near-death confrontation with Kraven the Hunter from the iconic Spider-Man storyline, "Kraven's Last Hunt."

Gwen is shown digging herself out of her own grave, the same way Peter Parker did in Web of Spider-Man #32. She's also wearing her old costume from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (note the forearms), indicating that it already happened.

It's also something that Gwen's comic book counterpart never experienced, further showing the franchise's willingness to diverge from her depiction and reality in the comics.

11.) The Collider

It's highly suggested through Miguel's verbal (and literal) beatdown of Miles that Spider-Man destroying a world-ending collider was a Canon Event, saying that "[Miles' Peter Parker] would have stopped the collider before it ever went off" but that "instead, he died, saving [Miles]:"

"You're a mistake! If you hadn't been bit, your Peter Parker would have lived. Instead, he died, saving you! He would have stopped the collider before it ever went off! Spot wouldn't exist, and none of this would have happened!"

On top of that, one plot point is Spot scouring the Multiverse for a universe "with a full-sized collider," which he found in Pavitr's dimension. Miguel's artificial intelligence assistant, Lyla, even mentioned how "every dimension [Spot] stops at has an Alchemax."

It's possible that Pavitr would have eventually had to stop his own Alchemax from using the machine for some other nefarious purpose, but The Spot's preemptive use of it likely averted this potential Canon Event from happening.

How Spider-Verse 3 May Deny Destiny

There's no doubt that Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse will address Miguel's claims about Canon Events and whether breaking them has catastrophic consequences. It's already been shown through Gwen's father that averting a Canon Event is both possible and even harmless.

Of course, it doesn't mean that Miguel intentionally lied about Canon Events, as there is evidence of correlating life-changing moments between (nearly) every Spider-Person. But whether he understands them fully himself is another question.

It'll be interesting to see how Canon Events will be further explored in the reported final entry of this trilogy and how Miguel will react to his ideology being proven wrong.

[vaguely-concerned]

-another layer of 'ow ah ouch' to everything pyrrha says about lyctorhood in nona the ninth is that she and g1deon may very well have been the first necro-cav duo to have done it fully mutually consensually, eyes open. it's heavily implied mercy and augustine had their hands forced by cristabel and alfred and wouldn't have done it otherwise ("I have built a myriad on the idea that I could have talked him out of it, given five minutes"), and they're the first and second saints... g1deon's the third. he and pyrrha presumably saw what it did to mercy and augustine, and they still decided to go through with it.

I WILL REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU KISSED ME—YOU APOLOGISED—YOU SAID, I AM SORRY, DESTROY ME AS I AM, BUT I WANT TO KISS YOU BEFORE I AM KILLED, AND I SAID TO YOU WHY, AND YOU SAID, BECAUSE I HAVE ONLY ONCE MET SOMEONE SO UTTERLY WILLING TO BURN FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVED IN, AND I LOVED HIM ON SIGHT, AND THE FIRST TIME I DIED I ASKED OF HIM WHAT I NOW ASK OF YOU

imagine the extra weight over the years in knowing you chose this. at least augustine can cling to that desperate fantasy world where he did stop alfred in time, but pyrrha and g1deon thought they knew exactly what they were doing. they thought it was love. john let them think that was love.

-...do you think mercymorn and augustine begged john for the same thing harrow did, after? Please, undo what I've done, Lord. I will never ask anything of you ever again. (Also one of my all time favorite Harrow moments where she gets to ask the question they aren't allowed to for ten thousand years: How dare you ask me to live with it?) did he comfort them? tell them he's so incredibly sorry, but he needs them?

at least pyrrha’s understanding of how the process works does corroborate his claim that he can’t extract a cavalier’s soul from their necromancer's after the lyctorhood is complete without destroying both souls, which I guess makes for the one thing he isn’t totally lying about lol. though while referencing their own situation paul tells ianthe there's still hope for her and naberius, a duo where the soul absorption did seem to complete, which suggests another layer here john might not know about (out of lack of interest?) or doesn't want anyone else to find out about.

actually let's reexamine some things from the Gideon the Ninth epilogue now in light of Nona I'm on a roll here:

-[God] said, "I know you became a Lyctor under duress."

"Some may call it duress," said Harrow.

"You aren't the first," said the Emperor.

screaming. howling. clawing at him like a wild animal. the two people who have loved you the most, and you stood by and watched as this happened to them, as you engineered it to happen to them, you've seen up close what it did to them, and now you're repeating the process with new children a myriad later without a blush. you suck so bad john I have no words fhksajfhsa.

-"I have three teachers for you. And a whole universe for you to hold on to, for just a little while longer."

a) oh yeah just wait for those three teachers they're a real barrel of laughs they probably won't even try to repeatedly murder you or anything lmao and b) what's that supposed to mean john. 'for just a little while longer'. why does it only have to be a little while longer. as far as I can tell you're no closer to the fullness of your revenge than ever. does it have anything to do with 'good morning, annabel' and 'it gets dirty, you clean it again'?

So, the universe was ending. Good. At least if she failed here, she would no longer have to be beholden to anybody.

could this also be some kind of foreshadowing? from the dialogue on page here harrow's conclusion that the universe is, for sure, ending is not necessarily a natural conclusion (john only speaks of the empire slowly dying) so like... does pre-lobotomy harrow know something we don't? or is it just that she's the saddest person anyone's ever seen pre-nona seeing gideon? (most heartbreaking shade of drift compatability discovered :') )

-He said presently, "Most of my Lyctors have been destroyed by a war I thought best to fight slowly, through attrition. I have lost my Hands -- not just to death. The loneliness of deep space takes its toll on anyone, and the necrosaints have all put up with it for longer than anybody should ever be asked to bear anything. That's why I wanted only those who had discovered the cost, and were willing to pay it in the full knowledge of what it would entail."

so... in the same way g1deon and pyrrha decided to pay that price willingly, then. I am 100% calling bullshit on him here, though, because if any of that had been his real intentions he would have taken at least a modicum of time and energy to write ANYTHING to that effect in the invitations haha. but I think he does recognize in some way that mercy and augustine are burning out under the ten thousand years he's asked of them, like cytherea just did, and maybe mistakenly thinks g1deon is handling it better, because his and pyrrha's decision seemed more informed/less coerced? loveday always knew it was her life or cytherea's, after all, that wasn't ever a real choice either. huh.

-god, harrow literally states all her (frankly very modest and doable) goals and needs to him -- to return to the ninth at least once, to find her cavalier's body, and to figure out what happened to the other survivors of canaan house -- and once she is incapable of remembering them........ he does fucking NOTHING to remind her or help her follow up on any of them fhsdkajfhasdkj I am losing it! at least there is the delicious irony that he could have saved himself a massive headache if he had helped her with any of these, so his own fecklessness and narcissism is its own punishment in this case I suppose lmao

-another observation: harrow is not as deferential or worshipful towards God in this epilogue as she will be in HtN or beyond. she's angry with him! she's kind of sharp and a bit rude, even! she seems more to feel begrudgingly beholden to him because fair enough he is god I guess than to emotionally buy into it as sacred service. I wonder how she'll think of him after nona the ninth, now that she knows him so much better and has more of herself too -- ironically my sense from their last scene in nona the ninth is that her worship of him seems to have all but disappeared, but she loves him more, despite uh the everything of him, in all his awfulness. not in that she doesn't recognize him for what he is or that she wants his approval anymore, she's grown so far past him already, but I do think there's still love there. 'I still love you' is the real power he has, I guess

[onwhatcaptain]

hi i didn’t know what Star Trek was until i came across your fic it’s so. Real. poor McCoy bruh nobody’s gonna know what he went through …I guess it’s not entirely gone, but still. He didn’t get the three socks metaphor.

YOU TRICKED ME. canon divergent LIEEE LIEEEE

The way you omit time travel as a tag is craaazyy (I love time travel) AND AND THE SUNMARY BEING

“About men who love each other” LIKE NOT TWO MEN but all THREE

I do have one question though. If McCoy said “tell him you missed him” and set up the holo night, then in the first timeline had McCoy already gone back at that point and failed?

Hi! So I saw your comment on AO3 (please forgive me if it takes a moment to reply, I have an enormous backlog of comments to get around to after I took a break when the fic ended!) and I knew I absolutely had to ask you these burning questions: how did you find my fic if you didn't know what Star Trek was? What inspired you to read it?

I am beyond thrilled that you enjoyed the story and so touched that you read it all the way through without having seen Star Trek, but I absolutely have to ask what the story behind this is if you're willing to share with me!

It's definitely still canon divergent in a sort of way! At least in my figurative and literal book if you know the episode that inspired this novel, it would definitely be considered divergent:) I wanted to keep things as spoiler-free as possible to retain the surprise and emotional weight of the story, so I made the decision early on to not tag where the plot or ending was going, which definitely threw a lot of people off! Sorry for the trickery!

I ADORE that you pointed out the summary. I was actually shocked when I was reading this ask, because it was absolutely intentional and a huge part of the foreshadowing, but you're the only reader to my knowledge that has consciously noticed that choice, and you haven't even seen Star Trek!! Amazing!! I have such a big smile on my face right now!

More below because I realize this is getting long already!

As for poor McCoy, it is truly tragic nobody will know what he went through. In Star Trek, a lot of fans (rightfully) emphasize the love between Kirk and Spock, which I feel is only kept alive because of McCoy's quiet love for them both in the background as he takes care of them. In a way, it's a tribute to love that goes unnoticed, unseen.

With regards to your question, it's a great question! And I don't have a perfect answer for it, because it's entirely paradoxical. The first half of the story can only happen if the second half happens, because Kirk and Spock would not act on their feelings without the existence of the holo night and McCoy's intervention. But in the original timeline, they still die even though McCoy's actions in the latter half of the novel seem to exist. It's totally circular. It's expounded on somewhat in Forever and a Day, where McCoy tries to make sense of the same question and concludes that even if he does succeed, they will still die.

McCoy tries not to think about the horrifying implications. The knowledge that no matter what he did, he could not undo their deaths. To live, they would always need to die.

This doesn't necessarily mean that McCoy has gone back before, but it raise some serious questions about metaphysics and leaves a lot unanswered, because the two events now cause each other, and they also contradict each other. I actually took a stab at explaining the metaphysics in way greater detail in the fic originally, but my beta reader (correctly) told me this would confuse readers. So because it's confusing, I later just wave my sci-fi authorial wand to try and convince you to go along with it! :)

"And I like how the paradox makes no sense.” “I reckon it’s not meant to. They never do."

I do have to say, I recommend giving Star Trek a watch if you were interested! I think it's an amazing show. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read a whole novel about a show you had no idea about!!

[smalltownrobin]

I'm having a moment where I feel like I'm looking way too much into things but also that I am an absolute genius. You can decide which one I am.

So I'm remembering this funko shot listing pic they gave us back in november.

I still couldn't tell you what I definitely think is happening in this shot (apart from a very interesting theory of a collective Vecna trance a la that hotel episode of doctor who where they all have to deal with their darkest fears in this maze of hotel rooms, much like a "crawl" in d&d would suggest, but this isn't about that idea), but I do think knowing what we know at this point about what's being filmed for s5 (and more importantly WHO has filmed together), I think it's quite telling.

Walk with me for a second.

Based on things definitely confirmed about filming and potential leaks that could or couldn't be true, these groups are what I'm fairly certain about. There's been a couple rumours of El and Lucas working together this season trying to save Max, and they're next to each other. We've seen Joyce and possibly Will filming together, and they're next to each other. We also know from multiple photos and blatant spoilers that Robin and Will have been filming together quite a bit (swallowing my own opinion about that, let's just say I'm not totally thrilled), and they're next to each other. Whether Robin and Joyce have filmed anything together, idk. Then finally we know from both that pre-vis shot and the last photodump that Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and probably Dustin have filmed together in Steve's car, and oh look they're all together.

Right, Vickie. You will have to hear me out on this one. It may in part be my own desire to have Vickie actually involved in the bloody plot this time, but as far as we know about what they've filmed so far, Max is still in a coma. Vickie does not have a funko, and the Max funko in the shot seems to be furthest away from everyone, but closest to Robin, AND is faced down. Maybe they could have used Barb as another ginger girl to use as her placeholder and I'm being delusional, maybe that really is Max out of her coma fully functional by the second episode (cos oh yeah this shot is supposed to be within the first two episodes) and she's just faced down for the heck of it, but for the purposes of my current thoughts, we're going to assume it's supposed to be Vickie.

So based on all that, this is what I think could end up being some groupings for s5, at least for a little while.

They don't have to be permanent (god I HOPE they're not permanent cos why are you separating stobin again), but we could get these neat little three groups of four for at least a couple episodes maybe.

Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and Dustin, pretty certain have something to do on that farm in Steve's car, although half that pre-vis said jancy were in the upside down so maybe the car splits in half, idk. If so, rest in peace Steve's BMW.

Robin, Vickie, Will and Joyce, not a clue what they're doing, but if they are one big group they seem to be switching between downtown hawkins and the farm set again. Real world or upside down, idk.

Then El, Mike, Lucas and Hopper, not a ruddy clue couldn't tell you a thing in all honesty. We know both mileven and Hopper have filmed at the radio station, but so has everyone, so they might have absolutely nothing to do with whatever mini plot this may end up being, if it is one.

Whether this shot DIRECTLY links to how these groups end up grouped up, idk but it seems likely. Whatever is even happening here could lead into it, or it could just be simple foreshadowing of some sort. Maybe my groupings are wrong, maybe I'm talking out of my arse, irdk.

Sorry I feel like that was long, I am one of this planet's ramblers I cannot keep on topic and I say things in WAY too many words, so well done if you read it all, you're mad.

[lemon-natalia]

Gideon the Ninth Reaction - Chapter 36

well this was a remarkably long chapter wow

Go Camilla, coming in clutch! And Gideon has her longsword back at least to give her a bit of an advantage

Silas and Colum struggled against Ianthe as a newly formed Lyctor still in conflict with Naberius’s soul, Harrow, Gideon, and Camilla vs. a ten-thousand year old Lyctor, even with all three of them, is not remotely a fair fight

'But now this benighted vision stood before its natural predator’ ok i’ll admit i wasn’t sold on Harrow for much of the first half of this book, but i would now like to state that she is pretty fucking awesome

‘But her smile was long and sweet and beautiful’ awwwww, these two, i think this is the first time Gideon's called Harrow beautiful? also even fighting an eldritch being Gideon cannot help but notice hot women

‘We do bones, motherfucker’ fuck yeah, well put!ohhh Harrow and Gideon fight so well together and just incredibly in tandem … which of course horribly foreshadows Gideon’s decision at the end of the chapter 🫠

WHAT’S THIS, it's HARROW with a STEEL CHAIR!! If the chair was a bunch of skeletons and perpetual bone

and of course Harrow can’t resist boasting even in the middle of a giant fight. Good For Her. also this girl faints so much

oh and Ianthe’s back for Meat Battle Round 2: Electric Boogaloo! Ianthe vs Cytherea feels like a kaiju fight except with more bones and meat and blood

'You’re very brave - a bit like another Gideon I used to know’ wow what with all the dramatic fights and revelations happening the last couple chapters i totally forgot about the other Gideon, confirmation i guess that they were involved somehow back when all the Lyctors were first created?

poor Camilla, imagine you spend what you think are the last moments before your horrific death third wheeling

these two just cannot stop sacrificing themselves for each other can they 😢😢

'And she fell forward, right on the iron spikes’ my brain is totally bluescreening right now istg if Gideon dies permanently i will lose it

[rainof5]

ward opinions (as of 12.3)

I might start liveblogging (if I do, it'll be tagged as #ward lb, so block that if you want), so I figured I might as well put out my opinions thus far.

Firstly, I went in with very low expectations, given the popular opinion of Ward. And so far, I've been very positively surprised. I really like Victoria as a narrator, and I find it a lot easier to relate to her than I did with Taylor. A lot of her thoughts and actions regarding Amy remind me of myself, and her experiences with and as the wretch sound a lot like how I've experienced dysphoria.

I like Breakthrough as a whole a lot. I find the Capricorn dynamic to be very interesting, and I fucking love Rain. Each of the characters have intriguing storylines that keeps me interesting in their development.

For storyline, I think the Hollow Point fight dragged on a bit, but I've never been super invested in fight scenes. I tend to get distracted and can't keep track of who did what, when, where, etc. I'm not able to visualize well and I can't really "picture" the fight happening as I read it, so I either have to put in a lot of effort to think logically about how things are happening or, more often, it just kind of blends together. I actually ended up taking ~6 months off from reading in the middle of 5.3 or 5.4 I think it was. That's just personal preference, though.

I'm personally much more invested in the character development and interpersonal dynamics, especially with Breakthrough.

I definitely thought the Goddess arc would be bigger and more disastrous, but I don't mind how it went. I knew that Chris eventually left the team and went with Amy, but I didn't expect it to happen like that, nor did I anticipate the Lab Rat reveal.

Currently, I'm loving the Cradle/mall cluster arc. I imagine if you don't like Rain/the mall cluster, their story would seem way too drawn out and obnoxious, but I really like it, with Rain definitely being my favorite character (at least thus far).

So far, my favorite moments have been Rain getting his haircut (I was reading it in class and had to try really hard not to cry during lecture lol. I still get teary-eyed thinking about it). I also really liked the Capricorn interludes. I relate to Byron a lot, and I don't think I've gotten so angry, especially while reading, at something in a while.

Character relationships I'm interested in seeing how they develop include Victoria and Tattletale, Victoria and Ashley, Rain and Tristan, March and Foil, Kenzie and Chicken Little, Vista and Bitch, and Victoria and Byron.

As with Worm, I'm constantly being surprised by moments of foreshadowing or just referencing small details. One example I can think of off the top of my head is the Lab Rat reveal. When it was revealed, I immediately went back to Worm to reread parts of it with this new context in mind, as well as to refresh my memory on who Lab Rat was. In Worm, he's described as "the last person one might expect to be a tinker. He had a mouth full of teeth that were screaming for braces, all crammed towards the very front of his mouth, overlapping and sticking out of lower gums" (27.3). That immediately hits two notes from what we know about Chris: 1) he has braces because him "changing" affects him physically. 2) he hid the fact that he was a tinker, claiming to be a changer instead.

I love these little details, and I'll notice some subtle foreshadowing as I read because of the things I've been spoiled on.

Of course, there are criticisms to be had (do we really need to know this character's chest size, Wildbow?), but overall, I'm really enjoying the story and characters.