#and this got quite shippy

[phoenixmetaphor]

resident evil cowboy au??? resident evil cowboy au!

or maybe more like ‘western au’ but whatever. someone mentioned the words ‘cowboy au’ within my circle and that was all it took, i was gone on another extreme au adventure. have brainrot, will travel.

bonus initial concept sketch below — leon is older in it than in the comic and has graduated to dual pistols. chris remains grizzled.

[serendipitouscontaminant]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Abbott Elementary (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Gregory Eddie & Jacob Hill Characters: Jacob Hill, Gregory Eddie, Background & Cameo Characters Additional Tags: Post-Season 03e05 Breakup, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Sleep Deprivation, Friendship, Break Up Aftermath, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Gen or Pre-Slash Summary: Jacob crashes on Gregory’s couch.

Night one is emotionally fraught.

[mt10lt20]

AC6 - Bad End. If Strangereal had faes and monsters. Ilya (Strigon ver.) >> Talisman

[ecoustsaintmein]

Poolverine thoughts

So I've just returned from watching Deadpool and Wolverine for like...the 8th? 9th time now? And I have thoughts about how the filmmakers chose to portray the evolution of their relationship -- some of them may already have been pointed out by others on this site, but this is my attempt to summarise them!

Also mostly I'm putting myself in Logan's shoes and writing this from his perspective?

Spoilers below cut:

We know that Wade has always made comments about Logan, even from the first film eg 'whose balls do I have to fondle to get this movie made?'. He might sound like he hates the guy, but obviously there's respect there, and he showed it in a Wade way. We know that by the third film, Wade wants to matter. He wants to be an Avenger, and almost regretted that even the X-Men didn't even want him. He prooobably almost nearly gagged when he spoke in earnest about how Logan has always been viewed as the X-Man in his world, but the respect is there. (And perhaps that's why he doesn't 'hit on' Logan as much as compared to Cable, Colossus et al? And all the 'shippy' comments were made by other characters in the film eg: bartender 'are you gonna fuck or fight?' or Cassandra's 'you two are cute'?)

The song choices when Logan and Wade interact, from AC/DC's Hell's Bells when they fight for the first time (fair, because Logan doesn't know Wade that well yet), to Avril Lavigne's I'm With You ('Take me by the hand, take me somewhere new/I don't know who you are but I, I'm with you') when they're driving in the Odyssey, which again, quite apt? And 'also the line 'take me home' in the Avril Lavigne song, which probably reflects Logan not really knowing who Wade is but just -- going along with the ride, as if asking Wade, just take me home, find me a place for me to belong. The theme of home recurs again and again, which leads one to wonder why it's not so surprising that Logan did end up following Wade home in the end???' Plus, 'You're the one that I want' when they're having that heavy makeout sesh intimate fight scene in the Honda? Let's not even talk about the 'Like a Prayer' scene, which again. 'When you call my name, and it feels like home.' Again. Home.

Which then leads to Logan, who confessed to Cassandra that he 'turned away' when 'they called for him', and he didn't make that mistake again when Wade called out his name at the end. While Aretha Franklin's 'You're All I Need to Get By' plays in the background. Yep.

Let's not forget the fact that Logan, after the fight in the Odyssey (despite all the boohooing and ongoing alcoholic misery afterwards), picked up the photograph of Wade's 'world', and returned it to Wade. Man doesn't want to show or say it during the second and third act but he CARES. A LOT!

Logan repeating Wade's words, verbatim, twice! ('You didn't lie, you made an educated wish'), and 'I'm an X-Men. I'm the X-Men')

Logan telling Wade that he wished Wade would die alone, then ending up making sure that Wade wouldn't have to die alone.

Logan keeping the suit on him at all times, only to have it get destroyed at the climax of the film - which, sad, because yes it's the only thing that reminds him of the X-Men of his world, but it could also be an analogy of -- he needs to move on. And he did! He wanted to be free, and he told this as much to Cassandra, and he did become free, in the end!

On the subject of Cassandra, she promised Logan that she could 'silence everything'. The joke's on her, because Logan found himself trading peace (as silence), for peace (as a chaotic, loud motormouth). He found his home, and it's with Wade.

On the subject of peace and home -- Logan is pretty much an immortal being, and a lot of his issues may have stemmed from the trauma of losing people he cares about, or people who got close to him, even for like 5 seconds (evidenced by ALL THE X-MEN MOVIES). He carried that with him throughout this movie, with all the references of saving the world, saving Wade's world, getting home, etc etc -- the point being, he did it for Wade, in the end (never mind Wade's educated wish that the TVA would restore Logan's past). And despite doing it for Wade, Logan was rewarded by having Wade AND Laura in his life now; both pretty much people who can't die, as part of his family. At least he will always have them -- and isn't that freeing and peaceful enough???

Last but not least -- as a circular thing, I'm going back to my first point. Wade spent the whole movie wanted to matter. In the end, he finds out that he does matter -- not just to his 'old world', but also to Logan. And be it just mutual respect, which then blooms into friendship, fondness, maybe more -- the point is: Wade does matter. To Logan. A character he spent the previous two films talking about despite not featuring at all in those movies. How do I know this you ask? Yes, Logan wanted to sacrifice himself for Wade. But more importantly, he followed Wade home. And at the end, after multiple groans, and frowns, and curses, he SMILED! AND LAUGHED! At Wade's stupid jokes!

I'm probably reading too much into their relationship and how they were written, and maybe it wasn't even Ryan's intention, but goddamn Hugh and Ryan made their chemistry/friendship bleed onto the screen, no matter how they were initially written in the script.

[autisticmushroom]

10 Most Popular Gravity Falls Ships On AO3- An Analysis

This is literally. just a list with whether the ships are canon or not; whether they're objectively ethical, and my thoughts on them.

There are 24,854 tagged Gravity Falls fics out there; and the numbers below are based on those. This post is a long post... and contains mentions of incest and (what I consider) morally questionable relationships. This is because some of the top 10 ships consist of some of this. You've been warned. Oh, and there's The Book Of Bill spoilers here. Without further ado; lets begin.

1. Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines (BillDip) - 4539 tagged fics, 18.3% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: Sworn enemies. Dipper hates Bill from the moment that he sees Bill and only makes a deal with him out of desperation. Bill has also possessed Dipper; giving Dipper trauma. Ethics: Bill is revealed to be more than a million years old in the Book of Bill and Dipper is 13. That's... quite an age gap. My thoughts: Yea; I HATE this ship. I don't understand the popularity.

2. Mabel Pines/Pacifica Northwest (Mabcifica) - 1277 tagged fics, 5.1% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: Enemies to friends dynamic. Ethics: They're about same age, I don't have a problem with this. My Thoughts: It's cute! I can see why people ship this. I have a few hc's for it, but I definitely prefer Dipcifica

3. Dipper Pines/Pacifica Northwest (Dipcifica) - 1154 tagged fics, 4.6% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: Enemies to friends dynamic. Hinted at in the show, the Gravity Falls coloring book, and Journal 3 that Dipper has a crush on her... and that the two end up in a romantic relationship. Ethics: They're about same age, I don't have a problem with this. My Thoughts: It's cute! I definitely ship it. I see it as a slow-burn thing; and both help make the other better. Mabel would definitely help match-make them.

4. Ford Pines/Stan Pines (Stancest)- 949 tagged fics, 3.8% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: They're BROTHERS. Ethics: um... this is incest. My Thoughts: I.... why is this so popular this is ridiculous to me.

5. Bill Cipher/Ford Pines (BillFord)- 759 tagged fics, 3.1% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: Bill was Ford's "muse" and helped him build the portal. He later physically and mentally abused Ford. Ford spends years of his life chasing through the multiverse to defeat him; and later succeeds with the group in doing so in Weirdmageddon. However, The Book of Bill definitely has subtext for their early relationship that can be read as platonic or romantic. Ethics: They're both consenting adults- though one is a million years old dream demon. Very much abusive towards the end. My Thoughts: I wrote a whole essay on this!! Go check it out HERE. I ship them, but don't want to see shippy stuff *of* them unless its mostly angst. "Why do you ship this and not BillDip? It's still Bill.": Ford and Bill are adults, Dipper is a kid. There's subtext for this and not BillDip. Also Dipper started off hating Bill and the hatred only grew stronger; while Ford thought Bill was pretty cool at first.

6. Dipper Pines/Mabel Pines (Pinecest)- 727 tagged fics, 2.9% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: They're SIBLINGS. Ethics: uh... um... this is incest. My Thoughts: WHY ARE *BOTH* THE INCEST SHIPS MORE POPULAR THAN FIDDAUTHOR. is this because of that motherfucking taco bell story which we do not speak of?? WHY are incest ships EVEN ON the top 10 for a KIDS show. /rh

7. Fiddleford McGucket/Ford Pines (Fiddauthor)- 677 tagged fics, 2.7% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: Went to college together, shared a dorm. Fiddleford (FF) later abandoned his wife and kids to go help with Ford's project... and then got mad at Ford after he briefly fell into the portal. He later makes up with Ford. Roommates -> Lab partners -> Not talking -> Friends. Some of the canon material could be interpreted as romantic or platonic. Ethics: When FF and Ford were in college, they would be the same age. However, when he's working with Ford on the portal, FF would be married and thus cheating on his wife. My Thoughts: I LOVE this ship. My favorite Gravity Falls ship. Some ppl see it as one-sided but I don't. Might have to write sth longer abt why I ship it later. I believe they dated in college and as lab partners and FF is gay and was in a lavender marriage to hide his sexuality.

8. Wendy Corduroy/Dipper Pines (Wendip)- 660 tagged fics, 2.7% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: Dipper crushes on Wendy for a while. She politely turns him down, stating that she's too old and doesn't like him romantically. Ethics: Dipper's 12 and Wendy's 15. Generally seen as an uncomfortable age gap. My Thoughts: I don't ship this. Alex Hirsch did SUCH a lovely job of creating this unrequited crush and having Dipper slowly get over it when he's turned down. And he also does such a good job at portraying why the age difference is awkward when Dipper goes back in time and Young Wendy thinks he's cute. I'm fine with it if they're aged up... BUT I still don't ship it.

9. Ford/Reader- 482 tagged fics, 1.9% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: N/A Ethics: N/A My Thoughts: Didn't expect this to be on the top 10. I don't have an opinion on romantic reader-insert fics from shows tho.

10. Dipper Pines/Wirt [from Over the Garden Wall] (Pinescone) -374 tagged fics, 1.5% of all tagged Gravity Falls fics. Canon: This is from a different show- so not canon. Ethics: He's 14 and Dipper's 13; so around the same age. My Thoughts: I have not seen Over The Garden Wall (OTGW)- but the wiki makes him sound kinda similar to Dipper. Don't know enough about OTGW to say any more. -- Disclaimer: (Mandatory to avoid ppl getting mad at me) - These stats may be the tiniest bit off rn. They were taken August 16th at ~3:30AM, UTC. People constantly are uploading new stuff to ao3, so the numbers change. - I'm not saying anything abt the people who ship any of these- just the ships themselves. I want to avoid that kettle of fish so don't bring me into it. My mindset on that is "let ppl ship whatever they want because free speech. BUT. tag that shit plainly and thoroughly so ppl don't have to see it if they don't want to and I don't get jump scared by it." - This is probably going to be one of my most controversial posts lmao. Cool! If you disagree with this post, then- tell me *why*, civilly, in the comments! I'm open to other's opinions and changing my mind! Also if you have any good Gravity Falls fanfics send them my way.

[starlight-bread-blog]

"Katara Just Needed To Heal Zuko's Scar"

I understand why this argument is being made. After all, she offered to heal Zuko, and so she does. So why are the shippers trying to paint it as some romantic moment? It's a reasonable question. But I'm gonna try to answer it.

Zuko and Katara weren't in love in this scene for two reasons: Firstly, it's their first conversation, making any romantic development feel rushed and unnatural. Secondly, as fictional characters, they don't possess hidden feelings, unless the writers have confirmed otherwise.

So what argument is being made? The argument is that this moment is an example of ship baiting and could have served as romantic build up if the writers decided to go down that route, and I'll explain why.

1# Just because an action was necessary, doesn't mean it can't be seen as romantic

I know how this sounds, but hear me out. Let us take a look at another show, where you'd least expect to see a romantic connection, and the action was completely necessary. I want to discuss Rick and Morty's Beth x Beth.

Beth is the last person who'd have tension with Beth, clearly it's disgusting. And she really did have to install that chip. But the thought did cross your mind, they did get together, and this scene was romantic build up, despite not being romantic in-universe.

Now that we've looked at the most extreme example ever, it's time to look at a classic: Aladdin. One of the most iconic moments in the movie is when Aladdin simply offers his hand to Jasmine so she'd get on the flying carpet, asking "Do you trust me"?

Aladdin isn't asking if Jasmine trusts him because they're deeply bonded, he asks that because she's scared to get on the flying carpet. And he isn't reaching for her hand because he wants to hold her hand, he reaches because she'd needhelp getting on it. And yet, it's universally recognized as an incredibly romantic moment.

Very often writers use the mundane necessities like casual touch to set up romantic tension. This narrative approach allows for the gradual planting of the idea in the audience's mind, even in situations where intimacy may not be overtly present, adding nuance and depth to romantic storylines. And in fiction, it's everywhere.

2# The set up wasn't just necessity, it was an intimate moment

In this section I won't try to prove the gesture was romantic, I simply think it's crucial to understand the scene before analyzing it. Katara offering to heal Zuko's scar wasn't a necessity, the touch was the necessity after she already made the offer. This leaves us with a scene that begins with Katara thinking of Zuko as "the face of the enemy", and ends with Katara attempting to heal Zuko's scar.

The moment became intimate the second Katara brought up her mother, and Zuko, who doesn't normally share his emotions, make and effort to connect. Thus, they began to view the other differently, as someone similar to them.

Still, this is their first conversation. And Katara is under no obligation to be even somewhat nice to him. But she decides to use her spirit water on him, and if she had, Aang would have died. That's how important the spirit water is. Saying she "just needed to heal is scar" is quite reductant in my opinion. Choosing to heal him in and of itself is a radical and intimate decision.

Still, non of what I said so far is indicative of romantic build up. Nor is giving other examples from fiction of necessities being romantic indicative of this one being too. So, it's time to finally talk about the touch.

3# The action wasn't actually necessary, to the point where it makes very little sense

Let's remember how Katara did heal using the spirit water:

She bends the water straight on Aang's back and starts bending it. I repeat: She bends the water straight on the injury.

So writers, please do tell me, if Katara wanted to heal Zuko's scar, where is the water?

No water and no healing, becsuse it wouldn't look as intimate/shippy with water. Instead, what we got is two shots highlighting the pysical touch between them with soft violin sounds in the background.

In literature, what isn't in text isn't important and should be disregarded. Here, on paper Katara is healing Zuko's scar, but in practice there is no water and all of the focus is on the touching. Therefore, it's signaling the viewers that even though she just needs to cure him, it isn't important. With Katara's thumb on Zuko's lips, with a close up shot on the contact, the only thing that matters is, apparently, their pysical touch.

Additonally, they were interrupted before Katara could do actually anything anyway. In a universe where this scene wasn't ship teasing, Katara would take out the water, almost lay them on Zuko's scar, and then Aang and Iroh would break them out of the cave. Logically, Katara's hand shouldn't have gone anywhere near Zuko, and if it did, it should have looked incredibly unappealing.

But it didn't. In this already very intimate moment, the show puts all the focus on the pysicality of the healing, rather than the healing, and breaking its own logic to do so. Thus, they made it look a lot less like a simple necessity, but rather an act of pure intimacy, as often done in fiction when portraying romantic tension. And that's why this scene was ship baiting.

[t00thpasteface]

I never considered hawkahey before but I love it! Father is so calm and sweet except when worked up, whereas Hawkeye is always so acerbic and snarky except with the ones that he loves. The very definition of dog and cat boyfriends. :3 Thank you for opening my eyes!!

YAY!!!! welcome to the club!!!

the big thing i like about hawkahy, besides the ten metric tons of narrative symbolism they can carry together, is the way i think they resist a lot of your typical shippy/romcom templates. i've spent a LOT of time in fandom spaces over the years and i've gotten mostly pretty tired of the same formulas, especially when half the time it requires chopping off canon aspects of either/both characters just to make them fit. at least, i try to be conscious of a few different red/blue, this/that dichotomies when i write/draw them, and play around with the sorts of expectations one might have for them both as individuals and as a pair.

i actually have A Lot Of Thoughts about this so i'm gonna put my yapping under a readmore:

i think the show itself does a lot to twist expectations, by virtue of having begun as a satirical comedy (which is still what i think it does best), a genre which relies very heavily on ironic inversions of common character/social archetypes that the audience would be coming in with preestablished tastes/expectations for. hawkeye seems like a self-centered hedonist, but he's also highly introspective and articulate, so he's often quite capable of waxing poetic about why and how he does what he does, instead of just acting on raw instinct with no higher thought. meanwhile, mulcahy's entire thesis as a character is just lampshading or inverting every expected feature of a priest character; if he's the "father", then the other personnel are latchkey kids. the last thing i want to do is flatten any of that!

here's some specific tropes i try to keep in mind and intentionally upset, whether explicitly or implicitly, in my hawkahy art/fic:

hawkeye as the aggressive boundary-violator, mulcahy as the helpless victim having his lines crossed— hawkeye can be pretty pushy and insistent, but he's not one to commit actual assault, especially not to someone who wouldn't hurt a fly. even in an early-seasons scenario, i don't think he would move much faster than what mulcahy's comfortable with, at least not with anything more serious than jokes and come-ons; i think he prefers to awaken things in people and encourage them to loosen up, rather than pull them along by himself.

also, mulcahy is not a pushover; he just knows when to pick his battles and prefers to bite his tongue. he's certainly blown up on hawkeye before. it would also be fairly easy for mulcahy to throw hawkeye over his shoulder or snap the guy in half like a twig if he wanted to. when mulcahy does get pressured into doing something he doesn't want to do, it's the focus of an entire episode, i.e. the exception that proves the rule. if hawkeye's going to tempt him into something, it'll be because he really wanted to deep down and thus made that conscious choice, not because he got drunk at a party and hawkeye decided to try and cop a feel.

hawkeye as someone who needs a tumultous relationship and thus won't be satisfied by stability— i talked more about this in a previous post, but i think hawkeye does want to settle down eventually. like i said, he comes off as a hopeless romantic. we know he watched a lot of movies; he almost certainly grew up on those "screwball comedies" that were so big in the 30s and featured neurotic nutjobs pratfalling their way into a genuine happily-ever-after. i don't think he'd want to settle down with just anybody, nor do i think he really places a lot of value in fulfilling those milestones of "get married by X age, buy a house with Y rooms, and pump out Z kids" just for the sake of fulfilling them and keeping up with the joneses, but i think he'd love to marry for love. again, he was certainly planning on it before the war, and he admitted that he's still carrying a lot of hurt from having that domestic future taken away from him so abruptly.

mulcahy as the innocent ingenue— this one is complex, and of course i'll preface this by saying i'm predisposed to not being all that intrigued or entertained by genuinely innocent characters. i find them to be something of a nonstarter, narratively speaking. beyond that, they tend to be unrealistic in certain settings and demographics. yes, there will always be people living in a bubble for every possible background and age group, but i find it implausible that a man could be 30 or 40 years old and enlisted in the military and still somehow be as naive as a sea sponge in a pineapple.

mulcahy is definitely not all that worldly, and starts off with a somewhat myopic view of his role in the grand scheme of things, particularly as it pertains to the motivations and effects of missionary work. he did join the military of his own volition, but i also think the mulcahy we see at the end of the war (and even at several points in the middle of it) is not the same mulcahy that volunteered to be here in the first place. what's more, we see from lines like "i know all about motels" or his hesitance to say hello to his family on camera that he probably picked up a lot of the hard lessons and ugly experiences that are typical growing up working-class in a big city. i think it's a disservice, both to the character and to the broader themes of the show, to assume that mulcahy's optimism and cheeriness must come from a place of inexperience. yes, he has plenty of room to grow, but he wasn't born yesterday, and i think his optimism is far more the result of a conscious choice to do good than an innocence to the evil in the world.

as for sexual stuff in particular, he mostly reacts to hawkeye's promiscuity with knowing winks and smiles, and even jokes with him about it, which i think is pretty clearly enabling him. sure, he bolts out of those VD talks, but with henry's public speaking skills, can you really blame him for eagerly excusing himself? plus, he has a strong incentive to act more innocent than he really is, because if he plays dumb, it means he won't be preemptively excluded from the conversation by people who think he's easily offended by bawdier talk. he may not be up to date on all the slang, nor is he always observant of certain subtle cues, but he's not a pearl-clutcher; that role is fulfilled by frank, margaret, and charles, so it would be redundant to make mulcahy also gasp and scold people like hawkeye for having premarital sex. mulcahy largely serves to validate hawkeye as being in the right in these disputes. which brings me to:

hawkeye as the amoral maniac, mulcahy as the moral compass— this one especially flies in the face of the spirit of the show, i think. hawkeye is doing his absolute fucking best! he would do anything to save a life, and it doesn't matter whose. he's willing to run into active artillery fire to rescue enemy soldiers, to stay behind and monitor a patient while the camp moves out, and to potentially get himself killed just to stand by his principle of never carrying a gun. he sleeps around as a coping mechanism, but more than that, i think he also does it out of a genuine desire to share some happiness with others in an otherwise miserable and dehumanizing place.

even mulcahy doesn't care that hawkeye does all that other stuff on the side. he wouldn't do a lot of it himself, but that's not an issue to him. again, his entire schtick as a character is being "unpriestly" to comedic/dramatic effect, like winning at poker, getting drunk before a sermon, etc.; he's far more accommodating than he is preachy. he has a profound respect for hawkeye that can be seen even in season one, because hawkeye always looks out for the frightened and vulnerable, and that's what matters to him above all else. mulcahy loathes lip service and values action over feel-good talk, which means he cares more about hawkeye doing the right thing than the superficially squeaky-clean thing.

pairing hawkeye with mulcahy invites some incredibly rich commentary on what "morality" even means, but i think getting hung up on the fact that hawkeye drinks, gambles, and has a LOT of premarital sex is completely missing the point and only reinforcing the puritan ideals that mash itself is trying so hard to upset and dissect.

the cute, sweet, blushy, short one is the sub and/or bottom— nah son. hawkeye is always talking about getting pregnant. mulcahy works out and likes to roughhouse. you do the math here.

ALL THIS TO SAY... i really encourage people to look beyond the stereotypes of horndog and cinnamon roll, or frat boy and nerd, or whatever other thought-terminating cliche one may be tempted to apply to these guys. hawkeye is a sleaze, but he's also sensitive and articulate. mulcahy is a sweetheart, but he's stubborn and resilient. they both go so much deeper than the superficial tropes, and what makes them work so well as a couple IS their ability to bring out those interesting, lesser-known facets in each other, both as characters interacting with each other and as symbols placed in juxtaposition to serve the themes of the show.

[porcupine-girl]

I had the weirdest possible Check Please dream.

Ngozi was going to do another volume, and we were all excited because Shippy and Taylor were finally going to get together.

Who tf are Shippy and Taylor you might ask?

Shippy, I immediately realized upon waking up, is Tater, but in this dream world somehow he got a different nickname and I don’t even know how. Idk if my brain was just like “he’s part of this popular ship and I’m lazy” or “Tater and Taylor would sound too cutesy and I really want this girl to be named Taylor for some reason” or what.

Taylor was not Vanessa with a different name. She had spiky lavender hair that looked a bit like this animal crossing hairdo:

But longer, like if it were lying flat it’d be about chin length, and of course in Ngozi’s drawing style.

I didn’t find out much more bc I woke up due to my husband getting up to get ready for work, but somehow when I got back to sleep, for once my brain deigned to continue my dream from before. It is apparently very invested in Shippy/Taylor (although after I woke up and realized Shippy was Tater my brain went back and forth between the two names).

So in the continuation, I learned that Taylor was already dating another member of the Falconers (I’m not sure I ever got his name), but he was very controlling and emotionally abusive and everyone on the team was hoping she’d leave him and kind of shunning the boyfriend socially due to his behavior.

Tater ran into her in like… a mall food court sort of location? And somehow their conversation led to him confessing his feelings but saying that it was fine if she didn’t want to be with him, just begging her to leave the controlling guy and saying he’d help her however he could just as her friend. She was clearly not quite ready to leave yet, but then her boyfriend called and when she said oh I’m at the mall and I ran into Tater so we were just hanging out he got really pissed that she was hanging out with another guy (in a totally public location, and being honest about it) without him and demanded she come home right away. And when she hung up you could see that having that conversation right after the conversation with Tater was kind of making her realize that she really did need to get out of it.

Tater saw that too and jumped on it, like “If you don’t want me to help I’ll call Jack and Bitty (which my brain then corrected to Zimmboni and Little B, it was like my brain was like helloooo this is Tater unlike you Ngozi would write him correctly) right now and they will come help you get your stuff, you can stay in their guest room, they would love to help.” And she was kind of mortified by this, like oh god does the entire team know??? And he was like, well. Yeah. Kinda. Everyone’s rooting for you to leave him, that’s why nobody talks to him or hangs out with him outside practice, we all know how awful he is. And she was like oh god, great, everyone knows how stupid I am for staying with a guy like him, but Tater was like no no no everyone knows how hard it is to leave that kind of thing but we all know you’re strong enough to do it as soon as you decide you’re ready.

And that was about as far as I got in the Shippy/Taylor saga before I woke up for good. I can only assume Jack and Bitty did come get her and let her stay with them, and eventually once she was over the nasty breakup she got together with Tater.

What’s really funny was that when I went to start writing this post I couldn’t remember her name, only that it started with a T and was like 6-ish letters long. I started the post calling her Tricia and was like no that’s not right, so I googled girl names that start with T and was just hoping that if I read enough lists of names something would click and maybe I’d recognize it if I saw it. Then I opened the first list and the very first name was Taylor and I was like OH RIGHT MY BRAIN NAMED HER AFTER TAYLOR FUCKING SWIFT HOW DID I FORGET THAT??

[viridian-house]

Do you have any favorite naruto fics you’d recommend? Any pairing, complete or not, on-hiatus, gen, oneshots, anything is fine lol

I was legitimately just pruning my bookmarks the other day!! thank you so much for asking.

I don't read too much fanfic these days, and I'm picky when I do--only about grammar/punctuation and immersion though. I ship a LOT of stuff (I guess The Youth would call me a proshipper) and although I never read darkfic, I don't shy away from weirder kinks and unhealthy relationship stuff.

categorizing by pairing, if applicable. some of them are smutty, and please note that the first 3 come from FFN which doesn't have a tagging system, but there is some SA CW I'll give in advance.

KAKASAKU | my first OTP! formative fics that totally reshaped my understanding of what fanfiction could be, and how well-written chemistry can make it or break it

HOUSE OF CROWS is the quintessential kakasaku fanfic. it was written during shippuden and so is canon divergent because of that, but also tells a comprehensive story of its own right that is intriguing and well planned. excellent characterization and world building. leaves me gutted in the best way on my yearly reread.

DUTY BEFORE HONOR is another silvershine classic. I don't reread is as often as House of Crows but they are just about equal in quality. again, the chemistry between them is off the charts, and the world feels so alive.

WILL OF FIRE for me is up there with House of Crows in being essential kakasaku reading. cynchick is a multisaku champion and a wonderful storyteller. the stakes in this one are stressful, the romance tense and believable, and we once again get lovely world building and great chemistry.

ITAKISA | a pairing near and dear to me, because men who do everything wrong are so deeply relatable. they both know they don't deserve anything good ever again but they found each other!!!! ARE YOU GUYS SEEING THIS--

A SHARK HIDDEN INN THE LEAVES doesn't have my favorite version of Kisame, but he's plenty close enough. it's a lengthy oneshot that got me into certain *ahem* kinks. it is a very fun and wild fic that is entirely self-aware of how absurd it's being, and manages to have nothing but sincerity at the same time (and I highly recommend the author's other stories as well)

AN ORCHESTRA PLAYING ON, INSANE is a modern AU (extremely rare in my bookmarks) that absolutely tore my heart out. god is it SO much to ask for these losers to be happy?! yes, it is, and I love every moment of it

MADAMITO | a rarepair I am SUCH a sucker for that has some of the most talented authors writing for it. lots of them have ot3 elements between them and hashirama, often angsty, but stuff like that is part of the appeal for me, lol

A HANDFUL OF SKY is an unfinished fic that I genuinely think about like once a week. if it ever updates then I will be over the moon. technically hashimadamito but it hadn't quite gotten there yet

LIKE ALTARS is just such a beautiful piece of writing, mostly on madara. it is everything, that is all

BLOOD AND RIVER WATER is more mito-centric but has one of my favorite madaras of all time

YOURS ARE RATTLED BONES is another short, mito-centric but gut-wrenching piece featuring the opposite type of madara from the last one

OTHER | character-centric stuff that isn't necessarily shippy but also doesn't have a very "gen" vibe either?

A SERPENT IN THE RICE is a little series about orochimaru that makes me feel so so so many things. highly recommended

HERETIC is such a love letter to kushina, and kurama too. cannot stress enough how much I adore this one

there's a few others that I probably won't link on tumblr, mostly unhealthy and/or "problematic" smut hhfhdj but maybe I'll make a public rec list on ao3 for these different categories and stuff like that.

but yeah that's pretty much it!!! I know it's not a huge list with a lot of variety but it's what I've enjoyed over the last 15+ years in the naruto fandom.

[healix17]

How much do you enjoy angsty sad shippy stuff? Cause, like, how about a fic where its after Breakdowns death and knockout has their sparkling (wildbreak). However raising a newborn cybertronian is difficult alone so knockout turns towards the only close assocates he knows Breakdown had; the stunticons. Cue Knockout getting their help (or "help" depending how competent they are) supporting themselves and raising wildbreak in exchange for his medical expertise and surgical skills.

And so the most dysfunctional found family on cybertron was born.

I love angst !!! AHHHH!!!

But here's the chaotic fanfiction:

Breakdown's Reinforcement

The medbay was eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the usual bustle of the Nemesis. Knockout stood over the crib of his sparkling, Wildbreak, the tiny mech's optics dimly glowing as he slept. The silence was broken only by the occasional hum of the ship's engines and Wildbreak's soft ventilations.

Knockout's optics were weary, dimmed by the weight of exhaustion and grief. It had been a struggle, every day since Breakdown's death. The loss was a gaping wound that refused to heal, and now, he was left to navigate the complexities of raising a sparkling on his own. Knockout was a medic, not a caregiver. The constant demands of a newborn cybertronian were overwhelming, and he found himself teetering on the brink of collapse.

In a moment of desperation, Knockout had reached out to the only ones he knew had been close to Breakdown—the Stunticons. Breakdown had always spoken fondly of them, a ragtag group of misfits bound together by their shared insanity and loyalty.

"Wildbreak, my little mech," Knockout murmured, brushing a hand gently across the sparkling's helm. "Let's hope your uncles can help us."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Knockout questioned himself for the umpteenth time as he paced the medbay, awaiting the arrival of the Stunticons. He had promised them medical expertise and his surgical skills in exchange for their support. A mutually beneficial arrangement, he hoped.

The door slid open with a hiss, and in swaggered Motormaster, followed closely by the rest of the Stunticons—Drag Strip, Dead End, Breakdown's replacement Wildrider, and the always chaotic, but surprisingly competent, Breakdown's former partner in crime, Swindle.

"Hey, Knockout!" Drag Strip called out, a mischievous grin plastered across his face. "Heard you needed some help with a sparkling?"

Knockout nodded, feeling a mixture of relief and trepidation. "Yes, I... Wildbreak has been quite a handful. I could use some assistance."

"Don't worry, doc. We've got this," Swindle assured him, his optics sparkling with mischief. "How hard can it be?"

As it turned out, raising a sparkling was indeed as difficult as Knockout had feared, even with the Stunticons' help. Their idea of "assistance" often bordered on chaotic. Drag Strip attempted to entertain Wildbreak with high-speed chases around the medbay, resulting in a few near-collisions with fragile medical equipment. Dead End, ever the pessimist, would occasionally mutter dire predictions about Wildbreak's future, much to Knockout's chagrin.

But despite their antics, the Stunticons' presence brought a strange sense of comfort. They were loud, brash, and often reckless, but they had formed a makeshift family around Knockout and Wildbreak. There were moments of levity that Knockout desperately needed. Like the time Wildrider, attempting to imitate Breakdown's booming laugh, ended up startling himself and Wildbreak, sending both into fits of laughter.

One night, as Knockout rocked a fussy Wildbreak to sleep, he felt a presence behind him. Turning, he saw Motormaster, the leader of the Stunticons, standing there awkwardly.

"Need a hand?" Motormaster rumbled, his deep voice surprisingly gentle.

Knockout hesitated for a moment before nodding. He carefully handed Wildbreak over to Motormaster, who cradled the tiny mech with surprising tenderness.

"Breakdown would've wanted us to be here for you," Motormaster said gruffly, his optics softening. "You're not alone, Knockout."

A lump formed in Knockout's throat, and he blinked back tears. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

The days turned into weeks, and while the grief of losing Breakdown never fully dissipated, Knockout found solace in the chaotic camaraderie of the Stunticons. They were a far cry from the traditional family, but they had their own way of showing support and care. Wildbreak thrived under their unconventional guidance, his optics bright and full of curiosity.

In the end, it wasn't just Knockout who benefited from their presence. The Stunticons found purpose in helping raise Wildbreak, their antics providing much-needed laughter and distraction. And through it all, the memory of Breakdown lived on, a silent presence that bound them together.

As Knockout watched Wildbreak take his first unsteady steps, supported on either side by Drag Strip and Dead End, he allowed himself a small, bittersweet smile. They were far from perfect, but they were a family. And in the midst of their shared grief and laughter, they found a way to move forward, one step at a time.

[a-student-out-of-time]

5 Years Later

So...I admit I didn't really have anything big planned for today ^^;

But today- September 12th, 2024- is the 5th Anniversary of when A Student Out Of Time began. I started this blog based on a simple whim, after I'd completed playing 999 with a friend and read H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Out Of Time. I asked myself "Hey, what if Hajime went back in time and tried to prevent the Tragedy?"

Now, this wasn't the first story blog I'd ever written. I had a couple early ones that I'm a little too embarrassed to share or discuss, but my biggest one was The Starship Hope, which also began on a whim all the way back in 2018. I was on a walk through the second neighborhood I lived in back in California, and I asked myself "What if the V3 Cast were actually in space?"

While I still have some fondness for that one, I don't believe I really found my footing as a writer until we got deep into this one. I had a tendency to just write whatever sounded cool or I got a little too shippy about some things. Then I really sat down and started planning out arcs, and we built things up from there...

...And now here we are, five years later, and I'm still doing this. Not only that, it's become so much bigger than I ever thought it would. Early on, I had one anon tell me that they weren't convinced that this blog would never last, because story blogs like this never do. I still think about that person now, and I really have to thank them because that was when I decided I'd commit to it.

Thanks to that, I've met so many new friends, been introduced to great things, inspired others to pursue their own stories and creative ambitions, and we even have a whole set of pages on TV Tropes. Almost 1,200 have decided to follow me, and that's not even counting how many have read this story and simply not made their presence known. In short, it really has helped change my life.

It hasn't been easy, and there have been times where I've thought about quitting or deleting the whole thing. There have been some dark moments, some bad arcs, some ideas that didn't pan out as I'd hoped. But even so, I always took them as learning experiences and chose not to quit.

More importantly, I've helped inspire people to check out one of my favorite series of all time, I've given them a work they can enjoy, and all this has in turn helped me refine my own writing skills and figure out the sort of writer I hope to become one day. Seeing people enjoy what I do or just curious to hear what my thoughts are, it really does inspire me to keep going.

It's also so wild to see how much Danganronpa has evolved as a series in time since I started all this. I got involved in the DR Tumblr fandom back in early 2016, before Danganronpa 3 was even out yet. I remember how much we were clamoring for it and V3, how controversial their story decisions were, and how many people didn't want it to end. They wanted to tell their own stories and do their own spins on the concept, and that's how we got so many different fangans in so many mediums- other games, videos, instagram, fanfics, and some here on Tumblr.

Danganronpa Another, SDRA2, DR: Rebirth, Despair Time, Blowback, TheAfter, Rocky Restarts, DR Mauve, DR Lapse, Brave DR: Coward's Paradise, Eternal Endings, Shattered Hope, Heartless Deceit, Eden's Garden, Antebellum, and so many others.

I got into both Zero Escape and AI: The Somnium Files, both great series in their own right. And now we have another SC game on the way, The Hundred Line- Last Defense Academy, which looks pretty interesting too.

In short, it's been a long 5 years.

Do I plan to keep going? Uh, yeah. We're nearing the conclusion of Season 2, and I have many ideas for Season 3. I intend to keep doing this as long as I'm able and as long as people want me to, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

More than anything, I'm just happy people enjoy the work I do. The support I've received over this last half a decade have been nothing short of inspiring, and I'm glad that people are always happy to see me update no matter how long it's been.

My life has had many ups and downs in the time I've been doing this, but being able to look at all this and say that I helped create a community and inspired people to pursue their own ambitions? It makes it all worth it ^^

What happens when it does all eventually conclude? I wouldn't worry about it. I do have an ending idea in mind, but we're nowhere near that yet. Season 2 has had some of our best arcs so far, and I think Season 3 could even turn out to be even better, but I won't get too ahead of myself.

I'm glad I'm still doing this, and I'm glad for every single person who decided that this silly little Danganronpa fanfiction blog was worth their time to get invested in. When I get things together a bit more and I start publishing my own original stories, I hope you'll follow me on my journey there as well.

Thank you guys for everything!

Here's to another 5 years ^^

[mindibindi]

Sometimes Things Just Work Out

Re-watching season 24 of SVU and some shippy themes emerged post-"Blood Out" that I haven't seen commented on, at least on here. So as we all know, Blood Out (24.12) gives us this telling moment:

The VERY NEXT EPISODE, "Intersection" (24.13) opens with a pretty extended proposal scene for what is just the teaser. The couple is played by two very appealing actors who get to establish their history and exchange cute banter, and there are some definite Bensler undertones:

New York is also Elliot and Olivia's city, bringing them together the first time around to fight crime and reuniting them more recently. Their entire relationship has taken place within the city limits. Without it, Elliot might still be back in Italy (or Queens) with Kathy and Olivia would be a single mom with a solid career and 5-star therapy routine. You might think the comparison is a stretch....UNTIL Josh with the cute topknot turns to his wisecracking gf and says she taught him the most important lesson of his life, which is:

Josh proposes, Emma joyfully accepts. But in the car ride home, there is a touch of sadness to their happy moment as Emma invokes her recently deceased sister. In EO terms, this loss could be said to reflect the shadow of Serena Benson, who never got to watch her daughter marry, settle down and have a family with the love of her life. Emma also worries about losing her engagement ring, which she of course does, when disaster quite literally hits them.

I won't go into the crime, which is horrific, but Emma and Josh's reactions are also reflective of Olivia and Elliot. Olivia meets with Emma a couple of times, noting that they seem to love each other very much and assuring Emma that she and Josh will get through this trauma. At their second meet, they discuss the fact that Josh has ghosted Emma and SVU, which...I dunno about anyone else, but that sounds pretty fucking Elliot Stabler to me. Speaking about the loss of Emma's sister, Olivia fills in the blanks with this:

...which is interesting. It implies that Olivia has used that enormous, unhealed wound of Elliot's departure to dwarf and diminish subsequent traumas and, in particular, her assault at the hands of William Lewis. Much like she used her mother's neglect and ultimate abandonment to shield her from feeling the impact of the many professional and personal wounds she experienced during her tenure as Elliot's partner. By using these deep personal wounds, inflicted by the two people most important to her, most loved and formative, she can shield herself from incoming hurts that are less personal, less predictable and less familiar. If so, if holding onto those familiar, formative wounds acts for Olivia as some kind of strange protection, that simultaneously honours those she loves most, then that would explain her resistance to letting go of the hurt Elliot caused when he walked away. Hence, her not being ready for a relationship after two plus decades.

While Emma refuses to give in to the trauma of her attack, Josh, much like Elliot falls into self-pity and self-blame, distancing himself from his fiance:

This whole ep gives "Paternity" vibes, since the couple are hit in much the same way that Olivia and Kathy were, triggering Elliot's chronic catholic guilt. And as the case continues, there's a whole web of marital affairs, because we're working on a theme here. Another EO parallel emerges with Bruno's marriage breakup. After visiting his ex, it's revealed that he drunk-dialled her, only not really cos he wasn't drunk. You know, kind of like Elliot showing up drugged to Olivia's apartment to spill his long withheld, deeply smitten guts. Bruno knows the fault is his and holds out hope for a reconciliation, to which, Liv gives a qualified maybe:

So...Olivia believes in love when it's new and fresh, even believes love can survive massive trauma. Buuuuut she isn't quite so sure of how to change directions on a love that has been heading in one direction for a long time.

The case concludes with a tense confrontation between a cheating wife and her rapist husband: bitter accusations and droll comments ensue. But the happy couple from the beginning survive their trauma and vow to protect one another from then on. The lost engagement ring is returned to Emma (analogous perhaps to the compass necklace that will no doubt return to Olivia at some meaningful point in time). It is at this point that Liv tells them:

Well. That's quite the pivot.

Oh, but wait, Benson ain't done being hopeful about mending fractured relationships yet. Because then she turns to Bruno, who admits that (like Elliot) he wasn't unfaithful (to Olivia). He was just unreachable, unavailable, avoidant. It wasn't a lack of feeling. It was just a lack of action, a lack of courage. Olivia's reply echoes the hope Bruno expressed earlier:

All of this is highly suggestive of Liv either consciously or unconsciously working through what happened at the end of "Blood Out" with Elliot, her questioning her words to him and mulling over his reply. It reflects EO's recent history of fracture and hesitant attempts at mending, despite their counter-productive coping strategies. That last line certainly suggests that she wants to be won back by the love of her life, even if she isn't too sure how to let go of the hurt she's used as a shield for ten plus years. Her changing comments throughout the episode suggest she does believe in love, she believes it can survive the worst traumas imaginable. She has absolute conviction in the possibility, the right even, of victims, survivors and even detectives she barely knows to pursue love and healing, reconciliation and fulfillment. The question is whether she believes in that possibility as strongly for herself and Elliot Stabler.

[chaoticedward]

Okay, sniper but autistic? I love to imagine if it gets too loud when everyone in the same room spy just goes over and like "here take this" insert earbud defenders

LMAO colors the glove in the first panel and then doesnt bother coloring it in the rest. funny! also i fucking LOVE this headcanon have a comic

autistic sniper just makes so much sensse to me and honestly i have 1000000000 sniper headcanons bc i am a bit obsessed w him atm. hes sorta the whole reason i have not been posting mini comics actually! idk if ur interested person who asked but i have a tf2 retail au (actually i ahev 2 of them) and i think my sniper design in it is rly cool. ive basiclaly been doing art of it nonstop so heres one of my favorite pieces to compliment it lol

this is actually just one of my best pieces of artwork in general so im really sort of mad its au content that nobody will care about dfjksjafksjfks. basically what happened is he sort of got his jaw shot off (i did a previous piece of art abt it) and then got revived by medic and pauling (theyre besties in this) so hes got the jaw of a random dead person sewn to his face + one of his eyes was ruined from the incident so he now has a robo one (thanks engie) to help him out.

maybe he is not the autistic one (he is) and i am (i am) because like wow. i have not only a 140k word long fic about him being a retail worker, but a second collaborative fic (fancy way of saying lit roleplay) about him being a retail worker.

when it comes to mick being autistic i really do think he prefers being alone outdoors quietly sniping people because he cant take the stimulation of close quarters combat on the battle field. i actually do think is quite shaken up when people intrude on his sniping (he gets hyperfocused on it) but luckily uses that frustration to kill the intruder. not great if its like... a friendly scout walking in on him.

i know the comic reads sort of shippy in 2 differrent directions but honestly take it as a friendly friends comic where theyre just being good coworkers lol

anyway sorry i really needed to share abt my retail au so im tacking it onto this post bc im obsessed w it and think about it every second of every day and havent been doing any art bc i love it so much i just want to work on it gdfkjgkdslfgjsdg pls lmk if youd like ot hear more (or less. this applies ot everyone who sees this post) sirry for the ramble erghhegahhag

[boinin]

Just home from seeing the EpiNagi dub ⚽🤍 It cracked me up a lot, occasionally unintentionally, but it's a fun film. Some of my personal highlights and thoughts on the film below (spoilers):

Main unintentional humour were the instances of dodgy animation. Nameoka's hands look so jank as he's dissing Reo pre-Hakuho match—I was chuckling. Tbh the bad animation was amusing more than distracting to me, since I knew going in that the movie would have S1-equivalent animation.

Nagi calling Isagi a short normie 💀

Zantetsu's VA and his dialogue were really funny. Unfortunately some of his line delivery was quite muffled, so it could be hard to make out. But his dilemma over eating Nagi's steak and the "shooting out the womb" (??) bit were hilarious.

Bachira saying a really quiet zoom after out dribbling Zantetsu. Also, he had his own friggin insert song for scoring against Team V 🔥 as he deserves 💛

That one OST song that plays over Nagi's death aura scene is so damn cool; I know what album I'm looking up tomorrow.

They bishi-fied Kunigami even more for the movie. Also, any time he cheered IT WAS SO DAMN LOUD. Dude can shout.

Speaking of, why did they make Kuon look so pretty after fouling Nagi. Like?? Noticeably prettier than the other cast, even Chigiri. Only Nagi and Reo got that level of detail otherwise lmao

The movie hammered home how integral Raichi was to beating Team V. His "OR I'LL KILL YOU" moment went way harder than it had any right to.

Anri being a dork — I'm paraphrasing, but she says "It's like going Super Seiy—uh, right?" Then she pouts when Ego shoots her down. 🥹 ily queen you deserve better

The scene of Nagi seeing Isagi's light before the game ends, and Reo's reflection on the the breakup were both really nicely animated. They skimped a loooot in other places, but they knew where to invest time and money.

The post credit scenes 🤍💜 They're movie-original, and do volumes for Reo's characterisation. I can't wait until Episode Nagi's manga reaches that point.

The dub as a whole is decent, though Reo's dialogue is a shade more dudebro-y than it needed to be IMO. It's not as shippy as I'd expected, but that could be down to how they localised the dialogue. The animation is unambiguous though; Nagi's just like 🥺 whenever he looks at Reo.

Zantetsu's dialogue needed more breathing room to land than it received. I still really enjoyed his VA's performance. Other standout performances for me were Ego, and Barou's VAs. Chigiri's VA nailed the few lines they gave him, the standout being "I'll give you a headpat later." 👑

Anyway, I'm considering going to the subbed edition on Saturday, since that's the version I initially wanted to see... I just couldn't make the subbed cinema times this week. 🤷‍♀️ If I do go, I'll make a comparison post.

[el-loy]

daily cluster except now with a shippy touch lol

this actually is my other equally favourite and equally rare ship with the Sanguinarch (the first one being - ig my followers know - Sanguinarch/Ramalien). I've been brainrotting over them badly for quite a while, but only recently got around to drawing. And I feel like drawing… a lot, that's why i'm gonna put a ship tag on it, so you can block it if anything. I'll also properly tag some other rarepairs that are in my blog a bit later

[myers-meadow]

Michael Myers x reader: Sunday roast

Title: Sunday roast

Summary: Michael had expectations of the world, what it would be like when he was free again - but the reality was a little less bright. One evening his hunger drives him closer to a warm house, drives him to you.

Warnings: can be read for any version of Michael. Deals with his thoughts and situation after his escape. Sfw. Not that shippy but perhaps that will come later :)) Happy early Halloween!!

Wordcount: 934

Link to my masterlist

Divider by @/firefly-graphics

A month. That’s how long had passed since he escaped the sanatorium. He thought being out would change him, but it hadn’t. His mind was as busy and annoying as ever – and his dreams were worse. His old childhood home was still home, but it had little of the comforts it used to have. Food didn’t magically appear in the cabinets, no one concerned themselves with him in there, the only thing it held was a filthy mattress and mice in the walls. He liked the mice, though, they weren’t the problem.

.

And so the days filled themselves. Stealing food, seeking shelter, trying anything to get to a stable mental space. It lasted him a week, during which it rained those bone chilling October rains. He went out, hood over his head, mask on, knife in the pocket of his stained coveralls. Few houses still had the lights on at this hour. The rain was a light drizzle, but the biting wind made it cold. There was a smell in the air, beside that of wet pavement, something warm and familiar. Food. It came from a house with the lights on in the kitchen. Michael came closer to the house, closer than he normally dared at this stage of his hunt, close enough to hear the clatter of the spatula as you dropped it on the counter. The oven beeped, a waft of heat made you recoil, before hands in oven mitts carried the tray to the table. Roast potatoes… How long had it been since he had those? His mouth watered. A twitch in his hand made him realise his hunger out won his bloodlust, at least tonight. And those potatoes are best when they’re still hot.

.

You didn’t notice him when he slipped in the house, nor the kitchen. He rapped his knuckles against the wood, and you turned around startled. You jumped as you saw him, his white rubber mask, spatula still in hand, onions sizzling away in the pan. Before you could act or speak, he pointed to the tray of roast potatoes on the table in between the two of you.

Eyebrows knitting together in either confusion or fear. “Food? You are hungry?”

Instead of an answer, Michael shoved a chair back and sat down. He watched as the thoughts crossed your face, from alarm to confusion to a final resolute decision.

“That’s quite a familiar mask,” you said, as you reached for a plate from the cabinet and put it in front of the stranger. The spatula too, Michael took it from your hand impatiently and helped himself to a generous serving.

“It must’ve been tough, finally getting out and then this cursed rain never stops,” you say, mindless, as you turn your back to him to grab a second spatula from the drawer and stir the onions. Then halted your movements, and got a fork and let it clatter down on the table, for Michael to grab and use.

Even the smell of burnt onions were a delight. He rolled up the bottom of his mask to allow himself to eat, peeking to ensure you weren’t looking. When you turned around at the second scrape of the fork on the plate, you quickly averted your eyes. Breathed deep, hands gripping the counter, before you resolutely gripped the pan handle and carried it to the table. Without asking, you scooped a good amount of mushrooms, onions and carrots in gravy on Michael’s plate.

Not knowing what else to do, you sat down, dejected, across from him and ate small bites. As he watched you like a hawk, it truly seemed you weren’t reaching for to phone on the wall by the kitchen window, or to do anything shady with the knife that’s still on the cutting board. He devoured the first serving, determined to get as much food in, before things would inevitably go south. A second serving; smaller but still sizable. He was a large, famished man. His hunger was satiated by then, but the homely taste of potatoes in butter and onion gravy made it difficult to stop himself from enjoying a little more.

When he shoved the plate away from him and stood up, it was as if the world returned into razor sharp focus. You hadn’t eaten nearly as much as him, too nervous, but were wide eyed with innocence beyond those nerves. Following his movements, you too stood, but immediately pulled open the fridge.

“Dessert?”

He breathed out, this was truly like a feast. His birthdays, he’d remember his momma with the same tone, asking if he wanted pudding, or candy when they’d watch a movie on tv that went on until later than his bedtime. He nodded, flexing his hand, trying to ground himself. What was this feeling? Good food. That was all. Good food nourished him, satisfied him. And now there’s dessert.

There was just one case of pudding, and you stuck two spoons into the large cup. It was a family portion, no doubt. You ate with him then, although he was quicker, and was the one to finish it all.

“Sweet tooth?” you asked, eyebrow raised, after the spoon clattered against his plate. He leant back, smoothing over his coveralls. You stood and gathered all the dishes to wash, a process during which he slipped out as unnoticed as he came. A mercy unlike any before. Sighing and taking survey of the amount of dishes to be done, you called out from over your shoulder, jokingly: “The cook is relieved of dish duty?” only to be met with silence.