#but maybe they not going to cover it this season only flashbacks

[gabbyp09]

Solo Leveling S2 Ep 1 You Aren't E-rank, Are You

[bxeckersz]

TWENTIES | wnba!Paige Bueckers x OC black fem reader

summary: Neveah and Paige have a brutal break up over paige cheating. Paige is thriving in life while neveah is not doing so well.

warnings: Angst, flashbacks, language, mentions of oral, cheating

A/N: hey guys! Givēon is so incredibly underrated likeee i swear. but anyway enjoy this! ignore any spelling errors😓.

“I didn’t know, I didn’t know I’d be wasting my time spending my twenties on you” - 0:51

“spend my time wondering why I spent my twenties on you” - 1:10

“I was so young and dumb. Six years gone down the drain” - 1:51

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Paige was my first love. Matter fact, she was my first everything. First relationship. First kiss. Took my virginity. First date. And so on.

We were together for six years. Six long, excruciating years. I was there for her through everything. First brand deal. Injuries.

And she threw that all away for some head.

I’ll never forget that day.

Paige butt dialed me. I was supposed to be going to the store after work to get things for our date night.

When my phone flashed of the “P💜👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩” I instantly answered only to be met with moans.

“Hey, baby” I said into the phone, already in my car and heading to the store. No response. “P?”

“Fuck- yeah that’s good. right there” I heard. I prayed I was crazy. Maybe she was just watching a movie. But no- that was her voice.

“Paige.” My voice cracked. No response. Only a groan that was so clearly Paige’s. And slurping. God awful, sinful slurping.

My heart dropped to my ass. I kept the phone call on and raced to our apartment.

Once I got there, all hell broke loose. I unlocked the door, sprinting to the bedroom. “Paige i’m gonna fuck you up!” I screamed, opening the door with all my might.

It was a brunette. I’d recognized her. A cheerleader. “The fuck” I murmured before lunging at the two. “veah- what the fuck!” Paige screamed, throwing a cover at the ditzy girl to cover up with.

“Are you fucking deadass! You got some other girl in our bed?” I screamed, walking up to Paige and pushing her back. “I fucking hate you” I spat out, slapping the blondes face.

“Bitch, get out!” I screamed at the girl who was standing there like a deer in headlights.

That was the last time I talked to Paige. That nights I packed all my shit. I’d been staying at a friend’s house until I got my own apartment which was a few weeks ago.

I stayed through everything. Through all the rumors of Paige cheating. Through all the late nights. Through all the arguments.

I was so fucking young and dumb.

When our breakup hut headlines, it was brutal. All of her little fan girls came at me like I was the problem. And granted, they will never know the hell Paige put me through when we broke up. I’m not gonna do that to her.

TikToks about me were posted and didn’t stop no matter how much Paige addressed the videos and told them to.

It was painful. and it still is

They accused me of cheating on her. Some even made up rumors of me sleeping around. If only they knew they had the wrong person.

Paige plays for the Dallas Wings now. And I can’t lie, she’s been thriving. Like she didn’t ruin me months ago.

But it’s all good. I needed out anyway.

While Paige was out in Dallas having one hell of a rookie season and fucking any girl who threw themselves at her, I was in Connecticut barely holding on.

Some nights I’d find myself looking at old photos of us. Reading our old texts. And I’d catch my finger hovering over the ‘call’ button.

As much as I wanted to erase her from my life, she was always gonna be there. When you’re with a person for so long, they never really leave.

Single strands of blonde hair. Clothes I never returned. I always got a whiff of her scent everywhere I turned. Things that she bought me.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully let her go. And I criticize myself for it everyday.

Sometimes I go to sleep cuddling a pillow wishing it would be Paige instead. Sometimes I wouldn’t sleep at all with the girl racing my mind.

She had condos in my head. And I wonder if I ever crossed her mind like she did mine.

I wonder if it eats her alive. I wonder if she regrets it. I wonder if we would’ve lasted. Probably not.

My friends would try to set me up with people. “You just need a good fuck” They would tell me. But I didn’t want it if it wasn’t her.

I hoped that maybe, in another universe, we’ll get a do over. And everything’ll be perfect. Just like we planned that one night when we were juniors.

“We’re gonna get married. I’ma make you my wife.” Paige murmured to me, fingers tangled in my hair as I laid on her chest.

“I’d love that. We’re gonna have 2 Kids. A boy and a girl.” I replied back, lifting my head to look at her. “And we’re obviously gonna be sports parents” she would go on to say.

“We’re gonna buy a huge apartment or condo where I’m playing in the WNBA. Not a house though, because I might get traded. But we’ll buy a house when I retire”

“And I’m gonna decorate because you’ll just make it look like a man cave and a frat party combined” I giggled.

We’d spend time like that. Fantasizing about the future. About a life with no stress. No regrets. Just us. And our two kids.

I miss her so fucking much. I’ll never stop missing her.

I’m scrolling religiously on instagram, tucked away in my bed with a bag of chips next to me.

And that’s when I see it. An instagram post from Paige.

“Happy birthday to my favorite girl, my rock, my forever, my ride or die, my partner in crime. It’s always gonna be you. Thank you for sticking with me when things got rough. You make it all possible. You’re my ‘why’! I love you so much, babe. Cheers to 24💜🥂🥳. @jasmine.lee”

The caption reads. A hard launch. Theres 8 pictures. the first one is the girl, jasmine, sitting on Paige’s lap with paige’s arms wrapped around her waist, clearly taken by arike.

The second one is a picture of Jasmine asleep on Paige’s chest.

The third one is a picture of them in the mirror, paige’s arm thrown lazily around the girls waist, her toothbrush in her mouth.

The fourth one is a picture of the girl off guard curling her hair.

The fifth one is a picture of the pair kissing after a game.

The sixth one is a picture of Jasmine cuddled into paige with a movie playing on the tv in the back ground.

The seventh one is a picture of the two holding hands while walking, another clearly taken by arike.

And the eighth and final one is a picture of them hugging, Paiges lips on Jasmine’s. Her hands wrapped tightly around her waist, Jasmine’s around her neck.

My heart aches as I look at the song. It was our song. Best I Ever Had by Drake. That was our fucking song. We would drive around Connecticut listening to it. She would tell me she always thought of me while hearing it.

I scoff as I look through the comments.

arike_ogunbowale: my favorites! Happy birthday jas!

nalyssasmith: 🥹🥹 Happy birthday jasmine!

dijonai: my cuties🥹💜. I love you guys, happy birthday sista girl @jasmine.lee

jasmine.lee: I love you baby❤️‍🔥

jasmine.lee: thank you so much. my favorite girl ever💜

I feel like throwing up as I exit the comment section and the app completely.

She moved on. And I was still here like a bump on a log, hoping for her to come back.

Fuck her.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

haven’t wrote in a minute god damn

enjoyyy!!

[phoebebuggers]

teaser preliminary thoughts

the opening scene being joyce and will talking about the vanishing of will byers was a very intentional choice - not only is will the central character this season, with a major plot point revolving around them discovering why and how will went missing and his connection to vecna (which i believe will also tie into holly's disappearance.) for a second i thought this could be a conversation about holly where joyce and will compare her being missing to what happened to will but i'm leaning toward no..it feels personal to me

the majority of the teaser was preexisting scenes, which i guess could be a little disappointing but it seemed like they wanted to ramp up the nostolgia with the st segment overall which is understandable for the show that "made" netflix. i also think we will be seeing those scenes with young will or maybe new ones from his disappearance as flashbacks anyways

edit: just realized i forgot this clip.. robin, will (*the* outfit!!) and erica in the background, not suure who's on the ledge behind joyce...someone let me know if you have a guess on what this wooden structure is, it almost looks like a stable or a barn. there's definitely some crazy shit behind that door, interesting that joyce seems to have a weapon and the other two do not. im really excited to see robin and joyce's dynamic (definitely see that playing a role in willl coming out)

i think there's a possibility that we'll see karen wheeler's character expanded on this season, possibly in tandem with the explanation for mike's behavior in the previous 2 seasons (the wheelers and conformity) as she takes on a role simillar to joyce in season 1. i'm wondering if this shot is before or after holly disappearing - also that one leak about karen getting injured (maybe in the process of protecting holly??) also, with the theme of conformity and ted wheeler generally sucking im wondering if his behavior this season will end up endangering the wheelers

definitely an emphasis on parent-child relationships this season (this is the third one we've seen). i think that we're going to see el and hopper working together in a way similar to the season 3 finale in a way that redeems that tragic ending, where hopper accepts that el isn't a kid who needs to be protected but a strong young woman who needs to be supported. i lowk have no idea what she's covering her ears about though, maybe coming down from projecting somewhere??

on the topic of hopper, rest in peace russia plotline, i have no idea how they're gonna resolve all that in hawkins lmao

seems like dustin is paired with the older teens again...which i lowk hate but it's kind of been that way since season 1 so i get it. i just don't understand the constant need to seperate him from the party. it looks like they might be in hawkins lab here, but i guess it could be anywhere

i was pretty much certain they were gonna show a shot like this in the teaser, max's coma is pretty much the biggest cliffhanger on the last season and they're going to continue to tease that. i love the coloring in this scene, i think we're gonna see lucas alone a lot this season in a more serious light than ever before (season 4 set the stage for this). i also don't see max getting a recovery until well into the second half of the season (but i do think she'll survive). i also think max is going to be up to a lot more than just laying in a hospital bed though, i really see her being able to reach el/vecna/will(?) through her mind and i think her and el will be paired a lot this season (maybe that's wishful thinking)

i think the two biggest mysteries they're hiding from audiences and shushing the cast about are whether max survives and whether byler is happening. and i think both of these things are happening...personally (notice that these two are the only couple shown together in the entire teaser).

this ss is bad but this is either two people (2 lights) or one person alone (1 flashlight and 1 lantern). i really want to know what that pink thing is, it almost looks like a head

mike is the heart of the party, blah blah blah....this shot really is so telling though like he's such a natural protector. i think we're reallly gonna see him return to his roots this season. it looks like the kids behind him are those new friends of erica's, and that's definitely joyce holding someone...they look too small to be will and i dont know why he would be hiding in the back like that anyway so i really dont know who that is. i think this definitely has to do with the vecna/mr whatsit plotline

im assuming erica is with this group as well but for some reason she isn't pictured. it seems like they're trying to introduce a kind of "new gen" of preteens this season which is a questionable choice for a finale but the duffers have always been good at getting us to care about new characters so i have faith.

finally will on his main character shit and the scream that was leaked - my working theory for this scene is that he's sensing something only he would know because of his connection to vecna and warning the other characters, possibly using himself as some kind of bait?? this is mostly a hunch tho. im not sure where he is here, it's definitely not the upside down but it looks kind of industrial?? the floor actually looks like to could be the same as the previous shot with mike but i dont think so

jonathan is getting absolutely ignored to my devastation, not a single feature unless he was the other character in that scene with joyce and the axe. i feel like he's one of the most likely characters to die but i really hope they do something interesting with him

nancy was also mia...we know she and jonathan are paired with steve and dustin at some point (car picture) but not sure what they're up to other than that nancy walk em down wheeler will be there im sure..

im down with the release schedule, we knew it was gonna be in parts and as a college student i am definitely glad it's during holidays/breaks because im going to want to watch asap. the wait might kill me though

on the topic of byler, i don't think this told us anything new but the fact that they didn't show mike with will or el at any point is good news in my opinion. will being front and center and mike taking a leadership role are signs to character development for both of them!!

[niamhthefae]

just reread season 2 up to 120 and i have so many thougts (that people have probably already had but oh well).

just warning you: this will be a long post

willtressor: i feel so sorry for Will, not the him that kissed Monty but the other him. because the Will that died finally got the answer to the question he was too afraid to ask. He died having finally had the realization about everything he'd felt his entire life and why he was the way he was, and just the "that's 3 times. I've never seen you stick your neck out for anyone else" this is the bravest, the most confident, the most WILL we've seen him. He wasn't groveling, he was challenging Monty, he took charge of the situation. For the duration of the kiss, he reversed their roles. I am so proud of him. But this other Will didn't get that. this other Will has to continue on, being scared and thinking he's so inferior to everyone else. in life he was just one of fourteen kids and in death he still doesn't see himself as any more noticeable or important. This Will never got the resolution he needed and now he's going to probably be so confused and continue to feel forgotten and useless for a while (unless Monty does something)

speaking of Monty- oh my fucking god. At first i didn’t like him, and i still won’t completely excuse some of the things he said and did, but from the flashbacks and the past few chapters it's very evident that this is a severely traumatized man. he's fucked up. and we see that he really cares about Will. he can’t admit it or show it in any way that would be recognizable to anyone else but again, i quote "that's 3 times now, I've never seen you stick your neck out for anyone else" i think what we have to remember about him is that he is a deeply fucked up individual and he has probably had to learn how to defend himself mentally, emotionally and physically. this whole thing he does, i think it's because if he makes everyone hate him on purpose then the rejection is easer and he doesn't have to deal with anybody trying to get close, which is maybe why ada and will piss him off so much: no matter how hard he tries to get rid of them they kept coming back and clinging onto him and acting like he hung the fucking moon and stars (or at least Will does). I think the events of episode 120 will make him do one of two things: become better and treat will properly while being a little haunted. or become worse,more scared and build more (metaphorical) walls and only become meaner. (and i'm starting to think it will be the latter. he'll be scared and haunted and all for a few chapters and then he'll start being crueler to cover up his sexuality panic.

prospero -

Prospero- i'm gonna put away my biases for this one (i think he's really fit). First of all, i called the whole plague thing + OCD tendancies (my best friend has really bad ocd and she suspects i have very very mild ocd ESPECIALLY around germs and mould and bacteria so i know what it looks like) anyway onto the serious talking. Seing prospero get slurred and the way he interracts with his family tells us so much. I'm pretty sure we're in the eighteen tens here and many italian and spanish immigrants were not treated the best, especially because of the mass sickness at the time, which i imagine only worsened Prospero's problems with germs and being unclean. People calling him names and treating him as inferior and some people blaming the plague on the immigrants would probably have made him spiral a little. I am so annoyed at his cousin because they've presumably known each other for a while. We know that because this guy knows exactly how to mess with Prospero, so surely he knows that this has been a thing for a long time? Feeling the way that prospero does about cleanliness doesn't happen overnight and while we don't know about anything before this, we can assume that people in the community would know about it, especially if they are family. I also feel so bad for him because people don't seem to understand. They think he's digusted by them or that he wants to distance himself from them or that he doesn't love them, when in actual fact he just has something going on with him that makes it difficult for him to get close to anyone. Weather he's aroace or just can't get close to anyone or express his love because of whatever is going on with him, we don't know. Red and Flynn could take it in very interesting directions either way, or if there's some secret third thing i'm sure it will be fantastic.

[also, in another universe, prospero could have worked with carlise cullen while he was alive. Someone write the fic.]

Quickfire round (don't have as much rambling or analysis for these)

Duke- duke is hiding behind who he is on stage, he's the fearless fortunato and that means that he will keep being reckless and disregarding the safety of himself and others until he exhausts himself and girlbosses to close to the sun. Only then will he learn. I love him, don't get me wrong. I love this silly little french man, but he needs to stop being so cocky and showing off when they are literally about to die for a second time.

Ada- i feel so sorry for ada. For the majority of this fic i didn't like her, but all she ever really wanted in life and in death was to be loved, and damn can i relate to that. She deserved better. She was annoying and bitchy and kind of a pick me but she deserved better. She was like that because she had to be. Do you think she saw the nurse's outfit and was hit with a strande deja vu? Because it was so similar to her maid's uniform. Ada clings onto anyone she can because all she wants is to be loved, but she'll never get the love she craves. She wants to be cinderella, but she won't marry a prince, she didn't even make it out of the cellar.

Pluto: this guy is really just the human embodiment of a cat isn't he? As a manchester girly i love the lancashire representation with this guy, i've been to blackpool like 10 times for various occasions throughout my life. I think it's a tie between him and Will for my favorite character. (also i can't decide if he is just really gender or really fit)

Unrelated but does anybody know the age range? Like are they adults or teenagers? Because with some of them like pluto and morella and maybe Will and eulalie it seems like they're at least 17 but no older than 19. but with some of the others they're very clearly in their early 20s, like Montressor,duke, prospero and Ada are all deffo above the age of 20, as are our main ladies. That's just my perspective though

Anyway's theres a whole recap of my current Nevermore thoughts. So far in order of obsession my ships are Willtressor Lenore and anabell (idk ship name) And i'm gonna be honest i don’t really ship plukalie but i can't remember any other ships.

Quick theory time: what if the reason Lenore hasn't manifested yet isn't the curse or something. The deans said they would manifest when they felt what they felt when they died. What if when she died, for that split second, lenore felt loved, or content. What if the reason why it hasn't happened is because in order for her to manifest she would need to be happy and feel safe. I don't think she's really properly felt any of those things for more than a short while durning her time at nevermore. Never long enough or completely enough anyway, because for either of those things to be fulfilled she would need annabel, and there is no other way for her to feel what she felt when she died.

(btw please bear in mind i started writing this whole post at 11:35 last night and i have exams so my brain is not braining i should be REVISING not thinking about GAY PEOPLE god damn it)

[shepscapades]

... that lean makes me think of the lean Bdubs did in the syncing comic....which if course begs the question: Did Etho pick up this habit of leaning to indicate processing/suspicion from Bdubs or did Bdubs pick it up from Etho? (or is it just a good way to show that emotion in comic form XD) Also.... the hair clip... My impression is that the flashback is from pretty early on. Is the hair clip a precursor to the well known headband? In universe, why a headband? Since they both do wear headbands... Was the headband originally Bdub's? Is... I know Etho is scared during the whole Last Life thing... is he thinking that Bdubs is planning specifically on targeting one of the androids? Or is that his fear talking?

... And after all that speculating... Ouch, Poor Tango!! ( i know this is an important event for Tango, but we don't see any of his reaction or feelings about any of this yet)

Wonderful comic, as always, Shep!

WEEE These are such good questions omg :DDDD alright i couldn't shut up so i'm putting it under a read more =w=

this is basically a mini comic breakdown! just rambling about some of the dbhc plot and mecahnics >:D

The lean is such a fun detail, i didn't even realize the similarities-- but it's actually a really nice (totally intentional) callback! I think Etho absolutely picked up those mannerisms from Bdubs, the same way Doc did from Ren, and so on so forth-- the androids, especially throughout season 8 and last life, are using their partnered hermits (and the other hermits in general) to learn what it means to be and act human-- vocal mannerisms, physical mannerisms, learning emotions for the first time and what it means to feel them, everything! I kind of see Season 8 as their "young" period-- their first season, the season they learn who they are and develop some of their most iconic traits. Etho is still himself, shyness and stoicism and all, but he learns his whimsy and silliness and teasing nature from being with bdubs for so long :)

THE HAIR CLIP <333 Yeah Etho's "Replaying Memory" moment is when Doc was checking out his "wounds" / the damage he sustained (from the initial creeper blast that caused his deviation) for the first time! At the time of the memory, It had probably been a little while since the actual initial incident where Bdubs had covered him up a little bit to hide the damage, but i'm sure doc or someone else noticed before long LDFKGJDF so this is their first like... "checkup"! So Etho is pretty young here (Doc too, but he already has his robot arm at this point, so...), maybe within the first month or two of season 8. So he definitely normally wears a bandana at this point (the same band bdubs made him wear initially to cover up the forehead cracks a little), but he's clipped his bangs back here so Doc can get a better look at the damage :)

I have a LOT of feelings about Etho's mental dialogue throughout last life, and it's very complicated and i won't be able to shut up about it so that's for another post. I will say, I don't think Etho ever truly thought Bdubs would Boogey kill him (though, doubt is a very powerful thing, so it turns out). I think Etho is still puzzling Bdubs out (though he's definitely learned quite a lot about him), especially when it comes to more serious situations like this, so the unknowns are definitely the biggest sources of fear for him. He can only do so much with the data he currently has, and the idea that a weapon so sharp could permanently damage any of the androids... it's an unsettling thought, regardless of whoever the mostly likely victim ends up being. (I don't think Etho expects it to be Tango, either-- not until he sees that look in Bdubs' eyes 10 seconds before it happens. I think Doc's little speech about their models is just helpful information for the reader and a sense of foreshadowing (as well as a reminder for Etho of how Not-So-Indestructible he is/the other androids are), not so much that etho thinks it's going to be tango after recalling the memory. Same for Bdubs. I dont think bdubs decided to target Tango until he was staring the back of his neck down and realized he could take the opportunity before he lost it). Anyway i've already rambled too much /silly

And lastly, Yes. This is, besides his deviation, probably Tango's most formative moment. The second time he truly experiences rage. I don't know if I could do a comic or an illustration that truly does his rage moment justice after he wakes up post-respawn and has a meltdown trying to kill bdubs, but knowing that Skizz wasn't built until s9 and is therefore missing from Last Life (AKA, Tango has no one other than Etho and Bdubs), just... makes this betrayal so, so much more painful. This betrayal is very much about Tango's rage, but it's also about his sense of trust and safety and his understanding of the way the world works. Hermitcraft is safety and jokes and support, and sure there's a bit of death here and there, but this is unlike anything he's ever known-- it's adrenaline and fear and threats and betrayal and. Anyway what a normal meltdown to have! And Etho can do nothing to calm him down except hold him back from killing bdubs (there's something to be said there too, about Tango knowing for certain now that Bdubs obviously chooses Etho over himself (Because come on, Bdubs wouldn't have killed Etho. Let's be honest here), but knowing too that Etho is choosing bdubs by not letting Tango get the revenge he so rightfully deserves...) Anyway. I think i'll explode if i think about this more

[hauntingofhouses]

While theorising about the events to come in future seasons, I just keep going back to the question about who Mizu's parents really are.

So to try to figure it out, let's go over what we already know about Mizu's parentage and the white men. This info is from the flashback of Mizu as a baby in Episode 3, from the bounty hunters who came to kill Mizu in Episode 5, and from Fowler's reveals in Episode 8, assuming that everything he said is the truth.

Mizu must be someone important, as Fowler calls her Little Miss. It is capitalised in the Netflix official subtitles. This implies that Little Miss is something like a title, rather than just a nickname.

There is a bounty on Mizu's head with a sum few can resist. Whoever is trying to kill Mizu is rich and powerful.

Two men are sent to kill Mizu as a baby. They are Japanese. We know this because their swords are both katanas, and they're shocked when they see Mizu's blue eyes, discovering she's a "half-breed." Man #2 also calls her a "devil child" at the end of the flashback.

Man #2 is hesitant to kill her, as she's "only an infant," and ends up killing Man #1 to stop him from killing Mizu. Man #2 then gives Mizu to Mama, who is actually her maid.

Mama is paid to keep Mizu hidden. Mama does as told for years. We can infer that there was a steady stream of income going towards her, as she did as told until "the money ran out."

Skeffington and Routeley were the "worst" of the four white men, making their money from "selling Japan's unwanted daughters." Unwanted daughters like Mizu.

One of the white men "tried to burn Mizu alive as a baby."

One of the white men killed Mizu's mother ("Don't you want to know which one killed your mother?").

When bounty hunters came to the ranch to ambush Mizu, she asked them which white man they worked for. They only replied that the only white person they see is her. This could just be a way to avoid her question, or it could also imply that they do not work for a white man at all.

So from this, again assuming this is all true, let's go over some things:

The white men are NOT the ones who paid Mama to protect Mizu, as one of them had been responsible for trying to burn Mizu alive as a baby.

Mizu's mother was killed by one of the white men. She likely died protecting Mizu.

If it was the white father who tried to kill Mizu and her mother, then it's likely the mother's side who paid Mama to hide Mizu.

Mizu's mother must have been rich enough to afford servants.

Mizu's mother must have been someone powerful enough to have been in the shogun's inner circle, allowing contact between her and the white men.

Furthermore:

Mizu's mother should be someone tied to existing characters, to make the reveal of her identity more narratively significant.

So with all that said, let me dip my toes into wild theory-land for a bit and propose a new idea.

WHAT IF: Mizu's mother was a concubine or even the previous wife of the Shogun? And, considering how people have pointed out how similar Lady Itoh and Mizu look (credits to @roninzuzu in particular for her post on this), what if, maybe just maybe, Mizu's mother was also Lady Itoh's sister?

If this is true, then Mizu's connection to the shogunate would explain why and how Fowler knew so much about Mizu's past, especially regarding her maid taking care of her, etc. This is because Fowler is allied with the Shogun himself, as well as one of the shogun's closest advisors, Master Chiba. So if it were true that the previous wife/consort of the shogun gave birth to a blue-eyed baby, it would've been a big scandal that was certain to reach Master Chiba's ears, and he would have in turn informed Fowler about it.

If this is the case, both the shogun and the white man would be trying to kill Mizu and her mother. The shogun would be trying to cover up the scandal, while the white man would be furious that she wanted to keep the baby at all, as the scandal likely ruined his business dealings in Japan and forced him to retreat back to London or wherever else he came from.

But then, if that is the case, then who would have been the one paying Mizu's maid to take care of her? I think it's Lady Itoh. If she and Mizu's mother had indeed been sisters, perhaps Lady Itoh went behind the shogun's back to protect her sister and her baby niece. Because maybe Lady Itoh knew that Mizu's mother had wanted to protect her no matter what happened. In such a case, what kept Mizu alive would thus have been love. Her mother's love. In this scenario, Mizu would have been brought into the world through the sheer strength of her mother's unconditional love. This would be a very poignant message that overturns everything Mizu believes about herself.

Moreover, Mizu having connections to the shogunate would inevitably lead to her wanting to discover the truth about her mother's identity. This would thus bring Mizu back to Edo palace, and would neatly tie Mizu and Akemi's storylines together again, letting them cross paths once more and work together to face the main plot-conflict.

TL;DR it's my crazy theory that Mizu's dead mom was the sister of Lady Itoh and the previous consort of Shogun Itoh. She had an affair with one of the white men, and against her better judgement and against what everyone else wants from her, she decided to keep Mizu. By making this decision, she risked and sacrificed everything for Mizu, out of love.

[cafecito-by-thewindow]

Something I don't buy or have a hard time believing. Was the no-torture thing. When Steve and Robin were captured during StarCourt. I mean I get it they are kids/teens but you don't honestly expect me to believe that in that time they were down there Steve wasn't tortured beyond the physical abuse. In my mind, I have this whole Jack Ryan torture scene going on and for a lot longer then the time they were down there for like maybe days or a week or a few weeks (those who saw that season).

So the scars he has are more extensive but he covers them. Maybe Robin wasn't even there and Eddie doesn't find out either. So when they both come across Steve and the party again they don't know he's a POW. Maybe it starts with Eddie catching Wayne talking to Steve as a favor to Hopper bc they both know how hard it is and what Steve is going through. Maybe Robin catches him in the middle of a panic attack out in public or having an episode/flashback.

Thus it starts her and Eddie on a road to trying to find out what happened I mean they both haven't seen him since his graduation but even before that he kind of disappeared into the background so they only really know 15 or 16 year old King Steve not this Steve the one who along with the rest of the party has gone through cr*p and just trying to move on and survive.

2 : am thoughts.

I read a fic once about Eddie and Chrissy trying to find out what happened to the party and all the weird things going on in Hawkins. It's a little bit of that too. Not just about Steve but the whole party.

[coraniaid]

Hank Summers shows up in like three episodes and I'm pretty sure most of that screen time is as a nightmare and/or fake version of himself. If you could have the real Hank Summers in any episode/s of your choice which one/s would they be?

Yeah, between (most of) Nightmares and The Weight of the World and Normal Again the majority of "Hank Summers"'s time on screen is in fact some sort of fantasy or false memory. Possibly the large majority: he's really not in When She Was Bad or the Becoming flashbacks very much. Because of that, Hank never really becomes a character in his own right: he's defined more by his absence than his presence, by notably not being there when his daughter needs him most. There are maybe a dozen one shot villains of the week who feel more fully realized than Hank ever does.

Anyway, I have thought about this a little before so here's a top five (in reverse order):

5) I think it might have been fairly fun (though not for Buffy) to have Hank accompany Joyce to the Parent-Teacher night in School Hard. Maybe she called in a favor, maybe he still remembers at this point that he has a daughter whose education and future he should at least pretend to care about. I don't think anything particularly bad should happen to him, but I picture him taking the part of one of those panicky men who side with Snyder; somebody whose refusal to accept reality is contrasted with Joyce paying enough attention to realize her daughter is doing something brave and important, even if she can't quite understand exactly what.

4) I can understand why it doesn't happen -- Buffy's trying not to be found by anyone who knows her, after all -- but it always seemed a shame to me that Buffy didn't run into Hank while back in LA during Anne. Maybe she tries to go and see him after passing on her identity as Anne, hoping that he'll be pleased to see her or maybe even drive her back to her Mom's, only to see through a window of her old family home, just before she rings the doorbell, that he's with another woman who has a young daugher of her own. Maybe at that point Buffy decides that he's already replaced her in his mind with somebody he thinks is more tractable and more like the daughter he really wanted. (Maybe that makes his no-show in Helpless less of a betrayal, but maybe not.)

3) Joyce hints at one point in Season 3 that she's hoping Hank will help cover Buffy's college expenses, but I don't know if he ever does. But if he was doing that, maybe he'd feel the need to come and visit her and make sure that "his" money wasn't being wasted? Can't decide if the more appropriate episode for him is Hush (the joke being that even after the Gentlemen are defeated he and Buffy still don't have anything to say to each other) or Who Are You? (he talks to Faith-as-Buffy, briefly reminds her of the Mayor when he tells her something vague and rambling about having to learn how to face the future on her own -- he's cutting back on his alimony payments and is too much of a coward to tell Joyce directly -- and then leaves town completely unaware that he wasn't actually talking to his daughter at all).

2) It feels kind of pointed that Hank isn't so much as mentioned during Dawn's diary entries in Real Me. Maybe another excuse for a Hank cameo? I'm not sure how you'd play that one. On the one hand, Dawn's feelings are meant to mirror Buffy's own feelings about her friends and family to some extent. On the other, Dawn has the sort of ideal relationship with her mother that Buffy clearly wishes she had, so would Dawn not also have a better relationship with her father? Maybe have a scene that implies Hank has come to visit on his way to or from LA, and brought Dawn (but not Buffy) a present? Maybe it's something meant for somebody years younger than her, something she finds completely underwhelming; or something Buffy remembers him giving her years earlier.

1) Last one. Hank shows up in Sunnydale a few weeks after missing Joyce's funeral. Things aren't going so wonderfully for him at this point. His quarterly projections just kept on unravelling, no matter how many of his daughter's birthday celebrations he missed, and he's hoping the still-grieving children of his dead ex-wife can be persuaded to lend him some money. More specifically, he shows up during The Gift, clambering up on to Glory's tower right when Buffy is delivering her big speech about how hard it is to be alive and how only Summers' blood can close the portal. Dawn pushes him off the edge, saving the world, and everybody cheers.

(OK, I lied before when I said I didn't want anything bad to happen to him.)

[archive-of-ink]

Want You Back | Dean Winchester x Fem!Reader

Inspired by Want You Back by Maisie Peters

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem!Reader

Summary: Over a year ago, Y/n started hunting with the boys. Her and Dean's friendship became more than anything she ever had before. Then he hurt her like never before. The worst part was she didn't really care.

Takes place somewhere in season 6 after Sam got his soul back. Flashbacks are during season five.

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: Cursing (minimal), canon-level violence, few innuendos, and mentions of things. Reader is kinda sad and desperate. Angst. no happy ending :(

A/N: Hi!! After a year of trying to write a complete fic to post, I finally did it. Please excuse any grammar or spelling errors, I relied on Grammarly lol Also I had no idea how to write the action scenes but tried my best. I really don't know if this is worth much but I had so much fun writing sooo I hope you enjoy it!! (gif not mine)

March 2010

  Y/n’s phone buzzed, drawing her attention from the hunter drunkenly blabbering in her ear. They’d just wrapped up a quick hunt, a werewolf somewhere in northern Montana. She didn’t even really know the guy but Bobby had given him her number to ask for help. She agreed, not really having anything more to do. He was fine for a hunter, other than he never shut up and was getting too handsy for her liking, and him being on his fifth drink wasn’t helping. 

She opened the message, not recognizing the number. Bobby had to stop handing it out to whoever.  

           “Hey, Sweetheart. Whatcha up to?”  

The phone fell into her lap. There was only one person she ever let get away with calling her that, or anything really, and he didn’t come around often. 

           “Depends, who is this?”  

    The response was almost immediate. 

          “Don’t do me like that, Y/n”

 She could almost see his stupid grin on the screen and had to look away to control the heat rising in her face. Within five seconds and two texts, Dean Winchester had turned her into a giggling schoolgirl with a crush. 

          “I’m at a bar, what do you want?” 

         “Ah, a girl after my own heart. Which one? I wanna see you.” 

In any other universe, she would have assumed he had ulterior motives. She had the first few times she’d received that text but ended up spending the night hiding her disappointment. He only wanted to see her. He’d meet with her wherever she was. A bar, a motel, a diner.   

They’d spend hours talking about everything. She’d tell him stories of her recent hunts and the hunters she was stuck helping. He’d tell her of whatever they’d been facing. On rare occasions, when it was super late and they were sprawled on her bed, in a half-drunken stupor, he’d tell her about Sam or their dad. He’d mention their childhood and what he was put through. One night, he even mentioned a girl named Cassie, he skirted around details but Y/n understood. 

   They’d fall asleep like that, on top of the covers of a dirty motel bed. The next morning, he’d take her to breakfast, hug her goodbye, and then he was gone. 

     Her phone buzzed in her hand again. 

       “I miss you.” 

Her blood ran cold as she stared at the screen. He’d definitely never said that before. They just never went there and maybe this wasn’t him going there but it was different. Without another thought, she sent him the address. 

Present, April 2011

  “What Dean did wasn’t ok, you know that right?” Sam said through the phone. “He never should’ve left like that. We just really could use your and Bobby’s help on this case.” 

  Y/n sighed in response. What could she even say? That she knew, that she understood. That it still didn’t matter because even through all of the anger and hurt, she’d take him back tomorrow. 

  Not that he’d ever actually been hers. It was only half a spring, barely two months. 

It didn’t matter either way. There was a job to be done and she had to do it. She could put her feelings aside for a few days. 

 “He always left like that, not like I’m surprised.”  

   “Look, I’ve gotta go but please, Y/n, call us if you need anything. We’ll be there soon.“ 

 “Bye, Sam.” 

  The call ended, leaving Y/n leaning against the railing of Bobby’s porch. The early spring wind whipped around her and she hugged her flannel closer, looking out onto the empty road. 

   It had been over a year since she’d seen either of them. She knew of everything that happened to them. Sam going to hell and coming back without a soul. Dean, living a normal life for over a year with a woman and her kid. 

 Y/n didn’t know her, only hearing about the situation from Sam and Bobby in passing. She knew her name was Lisa and that Dean cared for her. Maybe more. She knew that Dean had promised Sam to live a normal life after he jumped into the cage. And she was happy that he got a year of peace. She was. 

   She could picture him helping in the kitchen, wearing an apron with flour smeared across his face. He’d probably set up family movie nights and weekend outings and birthday dinners. He’d been happy and okay. Against all odds, he had gotten out. 

    That didn’t stop the wave of hurt that washed over at the thought of him, all domestic and soft.  

 The click of the door opening pulled her out of her thoughts. Bobby stood there, a knowing look on his face.  

     “C’mon kid, let’s see if we can figure out something before those boys get here.” 

A few hours later, Y/n stared at the book in her lap. She’d been rereading the same paragraph for thirty minutes. Every time she’d get drawn into the book, the house would creak or the wind would blow and she’d be snapped out of it. 

   She kept waiting for the door to open, for footsteps to trail down the foyer and into the living room. She couldn’t even begin to prepare for what the next few days were going to be like. Her only plan was to act as normal as possible, which was already proving to be difficult. 

  A pit formed in her stomach, there was a lump in her throat and her head was clouded. The whole room was hazy and it felt like she was watching herself exist.

    She didn’t even realize she was crying until something wet hit her hands and slid onto her jeans. She quickly wiped her eyes and tried to focus on the book again. The lines blurred together as more tears filled her eyes.  

    God, she was sitting here crying over some guy. She was a grown woman, she had to get over this. It was pathetic at this point. 

   “You know, what Dean did was wrong. Leaving like that, not telling you what happening.” Bobby said, walking into the room, a stack of books in his hands. “I love the kid but he’s a real dick sometimes.”

       He meant well but she swore if one more person said that Dean had done bad, she was going to go crazy. 

    She knew that. More than anyone, she knew. She was the one who spent months hunting with him, helping him and Sam figure out how to save the damn world. They’d spent nights wrapped up in each other, more than ever before. Farther than before.  

  She was the one who woke up to an empty bed with no trace of him anywhere. He never responded to a call or a text. Never even let her know he was alive. 

  He’d left like an assassin. 

   Part of her couldn’t even blame him. It probably had been for the best because if he’d told her what the plan had been, she’d have begged. 

     In the end, he’d got to be a coward and she salvaged some amount of self-respect. 

 “I know, Bobby.” She said, giving him a small smile, “I know.” 

The door creaked causing Y/n to jump, earning her a concerned look from Bobby. 

  She smiled at him again, trying to reassure him. She could tell he’d been worried about her lately. He was justified in it. She’d been on edge and closed off for the last year and a half. 

   She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She’d known these boys for the better part of her life, it wasn’t a big deal. 

     Sam rounded the corner first, entering with a slight grin. His eyes immediately found hers and without warning he pulled her off the couch and into his arms. 

   Y/n let out a surprised laugh as her feet dangled off the ground and the life was squeezed out of her.  

   “I missed you too, Sam.” She said, unable to hold back more laughter, “Put me down now.” 

   Her feet hit the floor and Sam stepped back. She looked him over, still smiling. 

     “I’m so glad you’re back.” 

   “Yeah, me too.” 

A set of footsteps grew louder causing Y/n to look up, only for her to meet two green eyes. 

  The breath was knocked out of her and she was all too aware of the pit in her stomach again. 

Ignoring the pairs of eyes on her, She spun on her heel to face Bobby.   

    “Let’s get started?” 

March 2010 

“I call shotgun!” Y/n yelled as they walked out of the diner and took off towards the Impala.

   She was probably being unfair. She’d barely shared the passenger side in the few weeks she’d been with the boys. Sam was getting huffy about it, she could tell but she enjoyed the view more from the front.  Sitting in the back she’d miss the way Dean’s hands looked gripping the steering wheel, the way his lips moved as he mouthed the lyrics to whatever was on the radio, or the way his eyes would flicker to hers for just a split second. 

 Dean had also finally let her DJ and she didn’t plan on giving that rare privilege away anytime soon.

   “C'mon, dude. It's my turn.” Sam whined, “My legs are starting to cramp.” 

Sam beat her to the car which wasn’t surprising since he was literally the size of one. She was close to giving in when an arm landed on her shoulder. Dean nudged Sam out of the way, ignoring his protests, and opened the door. 

     “Sorry, Sammy.”  Dean’s eyes never left hers as she slid into the seat, “Need my Darlin’ by my side.” 

Present, April 2011

   Cracked wooden planks creaked under Y/n’s feet as she followed the boys and Bobby into the abandoned house. It was pitch black. She blinked her eyes, trying to adapt to the lack of lighting.  

According to Sam, a nest of vamps had been holed up there for weeks. They’d started leaving a trail of bodies, teens who’d come through as a dare or curiosity. She didn’t know the exact numbers racked up in that time but it was enough for Sam and Dean to ask for help. 

   Dean motioned for them to split up, two taking the downstairs and two going up. She went to follow behind Sam who had taken off into the next room but Bobby beat her to it. She would’ve fought back but it wasn’t exactly like she could cause a scene right then. 

   She followed Dean up the stairs, cringing every time the stairs groaned underneath their feet. 

Dean slowed as he hit the final step before a long, dark hallway. Y/n was a step behind him. His body nearly covered her. She shifted to the side to peer around him. 

  Both raised their machetes, trying to keep their breathing quiet as they waited for any sign of movement.

    A crash came from down the hall. Dean started towards the sound, Y/n following close behind. The complete darkness put them on edge. Being minus one sense in a house of at least ten fanged bastards, not fun. 

      The floorboard creaked behind her causing her to flip around, just in time to dodge the first vampire of the night. 

       She swung her machete, hitting its arm. Distracted, she brought down the weapon. Its head hit the floor. 

        Dean yelled out from behind her. She flung herself around to hear him fighting off, what she guessed was three on his own. Her presence seemed to catch the attention of one of them because it charged at her. 

   She dodged, the vamp lunged again grabbing her by the arm. She twisted out of its grasp. Using the angle to her advantage, she swiped her leg around, knocking it off balance. Its head rolled away as its body hit the ground. 

     She wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned to try to find Dean. She still couldn’t see him but she could hear him panting a few feet away.

She was yanked forward. Hands gripped her forearms tight enough to leave bruises and slammed into the wall. Her head buzzed on impact and she forced herself to stay upright. Its fangs grazed her neck and then its head dropped to the floor. 

   Dean stood in front of her, so close she could feel him breathing, rather than hearing it. Without thinking, she reached out to him and landed on his arm. She went to pull away but his other hand grasped her wrist, holding her in place. 

“Thanks.” She breathed, “You good?” 

“Yeah, You?” 

She wished she could see him, make sure he was being truthful. He didn’t exactly have the best track record with honesty. But in the dark, she had no choice but to trust him. 

    “I’m fine.” There were definitely bruises forming in her arms and her head was still spinning but she’d had worse.  

   Dean’s hand dropped her wrist. She ignored the deflated feeling in her chest and dropped her arm back to her side. 

  Without warning, he ran his hands over her arms and up her shoulders. She tried to pull away but he didn’t stop. 

    “What are you doing?” She whisper-yelled. 

“I literally heard you hit the wall, Y/n,” He said, running his hands over her head, checking for any bumps. 

“I am fine.”  She tried to swat him away but he grabbed her wrists mid-air and pulled them to his chest.  

    The air was humid around them. She heard him panting. Leather and sweat invaded her senses. Any focus she had before vanished. 

He was here, touching her, after so long. 

  Silence enveloped them. The only noise was their panting. 

 This was wrong. Sam and Bobby were probably fighting for their life downstairs and here they were, doing whatever this was.

  She was about to pull away when a loud yell came from downstairs. 

   The moment was broken. They took off down the hallway and stairs. Staying close to not get lost in the dark. 

  They hit the last few steps as a vampire, charged at them. 

 Dean swung his machete and it fell to the floor.  

 They moved further into the first floor of the home, finding Sam and Bobby fighting off at least four vamps each.  

   They split up, him going to Bobby and her going to Sam.  

     None of the vampires were aware of her yet. She grabbed the syringe of deadman’s blood out of her pocket and plunged the needle into the closet to her. 

  Now they knew she was there.

 Two turned towards her giving Sam time to take down his remaining one. 

   Both charged at her, hissing. She ran in between them.She flipped around, slicing the blade in an arc. The one on her left doubled over at the impact. 

    She swung. 

The right one lunged at her. She pivoted and cut the blade up. 

Its head hit the floor. 

She looked around the room, a slight beam of moonlight flooded the house now. She made out Sam helping Bobby up from the floor, right as Dean took down the last vampire. 

   The room was silent other than everyone trying to catch their breath.  

Dean’s eyes found hers. She forced herself to look away. Sam interrupted the non-moment. 

“Time for drinks?” 

Y/n and the boys decided to go out. They were leaving soon but everyone needed time to wash off and get ready. 

   She dragged the black liner across her eyelid, double-checking to see if it smeared the shimmery brown eyeshadow she’d already put on. The cracks in the old mirror made it kind of hard to perfect the make-up but it would have to do.  She already changed from her bloodied hunting clothes into a clean pair of jeans with a simple tank top. She didn’t own much and traveled with less. 

“Broke mirrors are bad luck, ya know?”  

  Dean leaned against the doorframe, flannel pulled taut around his crossed arms. 

She ignored the pit that had reappeared in her stomach and continued applying her lipstick. She flipped through ideas for a response. She could yell at him to get out or cry about how much he hurt her. Instead, she opted to act like nothing was wrong. 

   “I’m pretty sure you’re the one who broke it.”  She said, shoveling her makeup back into the bag, still never meeting his eye. She stood and gathered the rest of her stuff into a neat pile on her bed. Her back was completely towards him. 

    She heard him walk into the room and the door clicked shut. 

“Y/n, look at me.”  

She turned around and looked up at him. Her eyebrows raised like he was boring her. In reality, she was struggling to breathe. Her hands shook and a lump was stuck in her throat.  

 Her eyes glanced over his face. His jaw was set but eyes were soft.  She knew where this was going. 

  Dean took a deep breath before starting.  

“Look, what I did-” 

“Do not finish that sentence, Dean Winchester.” She spat. 

“I just-”

“No. You don’t get to say anything. You don’t get to say that what you did was wrong or how sorry you are. You don’t think I don’t know that what you did was wrong? Everyone keeps telling me that. Bobby, Sam and now you. They kept telling me how horrible of you that was like it wasn’t me. Like I wasn’t the one who spent months with you, like I didn't help you figure out how to stop the fucking apocalypse. Like I didn’t stitch you up after every hunt or spend every car ride next to you. Like I wasn’t the one who would hold you after you woke up screaming or it wasn’t me who spent every single night in your fucking sheets.” 

 Every ounce of refrain she’d worked to keep was gone. Hot tears were streaming down her face as her eyes bored into his. He didn’t try to interrupt her but his jaw twitched and body tensed. 

  “Like it wasn’t me who woke up two months later to an empty bed. You were gone, Dean. You left without a word. No text, no note. Nothing. You fucking left me. And then I found out you were with some other girl for a year? So yeah, I know that what you did was bad.” 

Somewhere in her speech, she’d moved close enough for their chest to touch. Her finger was stabbing into his chest.  He didn’t move, was barely breathing but she wasn’t finished. 

   “Maybe it was cheap to you, or maybe it was some fling to pass the time but it was real to me. It was all I had. You were all I had.” Her voice broke at the last word and she dropped her hand. Her head fell as she cried. Over a year of built-up heartbreak exploding in one moment was too much. 

     His hand found hers and placed it back on his chest. She looked back up at him, his other hand reaching out to cup her cheek. She closed her eyes as his thumb wiped away the remaining tears. 

    “Do you want to know what the worst part is?” She whispered, eyes still shut. “I’d be yours again if you wanted. If you asked. How pathetic is that?” 

      “Y/n.” 

She opened her eyes to look at him despite her embarrassment.  

  “You are anything but cheap or pathetic.” His voice was thick and his eyes were glassy. She’d seen him in so many different states but she’d never seen so much emotion written across his face. 

   “Ask me then. Ask me to come with you.” 

His expression darkened and he dropped his hand from her face. He took a step back and looked away. 

   “It’s not that easy.” He said, shaking his head. “It's never that easy.” 

She let out a bitter laugh. 

 She wasn’t even surprised. She should’ve been disappointed or furious but she was just over it. She was tired and desperate. And if she couldn’t have him, he needed to go. 

  She wiped a hand down her face and glanced back into the mirror assessing the damage her outburst caused. She started wiping off the messed-up liner before starting to reapply. Dean stood behind her, brows furrowed in confusion. 

    “Get out.” She said without hesitation, her voice as steady as possible.  

He opened his mouth as if to speak but shut it. He walked towards the door but stopped with his hand on the doorknob. 

   “For what it's worth, I am sorry.” 

The buzz of conversation filled the packed-out bar. Sam found them a small booth in the corner and was now talking about a new piece of lore he’d found about some Egyptian god. Most of the time, she loved hearing what he had to say but right now all she could focus on was Dean's hand trailing up and down the woman’s hip. He never even sat down with them, finding himself a spot at the bar, next to a pretty blonde. She’d watched for half an hour now as he grinned at the girl, whispered in her ear, and bought her a drink. 

  She wanted to puke or cry or both. She decided to get drunk instead. 

She went to take a sip of her beer only to realize it was empty. Motioning to Sam she was going to get another, she slid out of the booth and made her way to the opposite side of the bar from Dean. 

   She planned to order a shot of some vodka and another beer but she couldn’t catch the attention of either bartender.

  A body bumped up against hers causing her to stumble. A hand wrapped around her waist to catch her. She almost jerked away but she looked up to find a familiarly unfamiliar pair of dark green eyes and dark blonde hair.  

   The man was by far the prettiest she’d seen all night. 

 “I am so sorry, It's packed in here. Isn’t it?  Nowhere to stand.” He had a slight southern drawl and a boyish charm about him. 

 “It is. Can’t seem to even order a drink.”  She smiled at him.

 “You see, now that had to be fate or something because I was just wantin’ to buy you one.” He grinned and waited, almost seeing if she’d allow it. His hand was still on her but she found she didn’t really mind. 

 The room was fuzzy and she could only make out the man in front of her. Even then, he was a little hazy and she had no idea what he was saying, only that his mouth looked pretty as he said it.    

  Y/n didn’t know how long it’d been since the handsome stranger volunteered to feed into her night of drunkenness or even how many she’d had so far. She vaguely remembered him buying her the first shot and then the second and maybe a third. They made small talk, she gave some bullshit story about what she did for work and where she was from. Somewhere in between she had a fourth, fifth, and sixth one. 

 And somewhere between the seventh and now, she’d lost track of Dean. She didn’t even know if he was still there. She did know that the new guy made her feel ok, at least for now. His hands never left her and the drinks never seemed to end.

  She could barely remember the events of the day. Maybe by tomorrow, she wouldn’t remember any of it, or at least a girl could hope.

But right now, she didn’t feel like crying or throwing up as long as she didn’t think of it. 

   She decided in her drunken haze that maybe this was what she needed. So when the stranger asked her if she wanted to leave, she agreed. And when he leaned down to kiss her, she let him.

[bcdrawsandwrites]

[ID: An Inanimate Insanity fanfic cover, showing MePhone3GS lying with his back against a heavily cracked wall in a storage closet. His eyes are wide, their centers white, portraying a terrified expression, and his mouth is absent. Meanwhile, Steve Cobs's shadow towers over him, white ovals representing his glasses present within the shadow. The fic's title, FOOTNOTE, appears at the top-center of the screen, in the same font the Inanimate Insanity season 2 title uses. /end ID]

Fandom: Inanimate Insanity Rating: T Genre: Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Missing Scene Characters: MePhone3GS & Steve Cobs (MePhone1 and MePhone3G show up in flashbacks) Warnings: Physical and psychological abuse, PTSD, flashbacks, panic attacks, torture (Cobs doesn't see it as such, but that's basically what it is). Technically parental abuse given Cobs is effectively 3GS's parent. Fic Description: After returning from the mission, 3GS delivers the sample to Steve Cobs, all the while hoping that Cobs will allow him to go on a rescue mission to save One and 3G. But things go far, far worse than 3GS could have ever fathomed. Beta Readers: @jaywings and @mechmolar DISCLAIMER: This fic is from 3GS's perspective, and he has some warped views of everything with the Shimmers. What he did was wrong, but he does not realize that yet. I do not agree with 3GS's views on the situation with the Shimmers. Got it? Cool.

---~~~---

The engines of the ship rumbled in a rhythmic melody beneath him, while the computers above added an occasional chirping chorus.

3GS's back was flat against the floor as he stared up at the ceiling; there was no need to man the console, as their home coordinates had been programmed into the ship from the start, so the return trip could be done via autopilot.

Which was helpful, as he found his own systems to not quite be in working order. When he wasn't focused on the sounds around him, or the feeling of the ship beneath him, he felt as though he were floating away, despite the fact that the ship's artificial gravity negated the zero-g of space. It must have been a calibration issue. He could ask Mr. Cobs to look into it later, once this was all over.

In the ceiling above him, he could see the landscape of the outer shell, still dusted in its own fragments. Smoke poured from One's body, while 3G's shattered screen stared blankly up at him.

Pain sparked through his own screen, and he cried out—his own voice sounding strangely garbled in his speakers—bringing his hands to it, only to recall that his left hand was occupied. With the other, he tenderly felt over the cracks in his glass, wondering how difficult the repairs would be.

Glancing over to his left, he saw the pink shell gleam in the artificial light.

The sample.

Despite everything—their failed negotiations, the necessary violence, having to leave his companions behind—the mission had succeeded.

Not in the way he'd imagined it would, but it had. He would have to content himself with that for now. He just had to return to base, smooth things over with Mr. Cobs, and then prepare for a rescue mission. He wouldn't keep One and 3G waiting.

"Now entering Earth's atmosphere."

Wincing, he drew the sample closer to himself, holding it with both hands as he braced himself against the floor. The whole vessel shook tremendously as it breached the atmosphere, and for a moment he was gripped by the terror that he would drop the sample, and shatter it, and he would lose everything. Why hadn't he put it in their storage—they had storage to put the samples into, why hadn't he put it in there? It was too late to get up now, but if the ship jolted just the wrong way, he might lose his grip, and...

But the ship was already stabilizing, and he drew in a few shaky breaths to calm himself. Not that he needed them—he didn't even have lungs—but it felt like it worked. "It's okay," he said, and startled at his own voice. It still sounded bad, but... maybe he could ask Mr. Cobs to fix that, too. "It's okay. You can do this."

Shakily he sat up, clutching the sample close to himself as the ship neared its destination. His aching joints tensed at the prospect of confronting Cobs, but surely he would understand. They had embarked on a dangerous, never-before-done mission, encountered a new alien species, and obtained the sample that Cobs needed—they had accomplished so much, made history, surely.

It would be fine.

The roar of the engines slowly lessened into a whine as the ship's descent slowed. 3GS rose to his feet, limping for the console and the screens above it, which displayed golden clouds rolling just below a landing pad, a winding path, and the massive building it led to.

Home.

He braced himself against the console, shutting his eyes as he felt its descent continue to slow, the artificial gravity gradually replacing itself with true gravity. His grip tightened around the sample—but not too much—as the ground lurched beneath him. Drawing in another breath, he opened his eyes, and jabbed a button on the console.

The door opened, and natural sunlight overpowered the artificial light of the ship as the rays spilled through the doorway.

With a hesitant smile, 3GS limped toward the door-turned-ramp, deliberately taking longer strides to stretch out his joints until the limp receded. He winced as he stepped into the sunlight, pausing to let his optical systems recalibrate before moving on. The light warmed the cold steel of his body as he stepped out onto the landing pad, and his smile grew more genuine... only to falter.

Where was Mr. Cobs?

Surely he would have received the alert that the ship was nearing the MeCloud. He had to know that they'd landed. Right?

But 3GS shook himself—no, Cobs was a busy man. He was probably waiting for him in his office as he worked on some project or other—perhaps whatever he intended to use the sample for.

With that in mind, he marched forward, crossing the familiar path to the building and ascending the elevator. Gratefulness flooded through his circuits as he leaned against the elevator wall, clutching the sample close to his frame. "If only One and 3G were here..." he murmured, but shook himself again. No, he'd be on a rescue mission soon enough, and then they would be able to enjoy this victory with him. They'd all come back, go through some repairs, and be ready to help Mr. Cobs with his next new innovation. Soon—things would all be fine soon.

But as he stepped out of the elevator and into the show floor, a sense of unease surged through his circuits. His gaze flicked to one of the security cameras in the room—Mr. Cobs could be watching him. But what did that matter? He would only see 3GS returning with the sample he'd asked for. He had nothing to fear, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was... wrong.

He quickened his march to double-time.

The familiar rooms passed by in a blur, only to slow again as 3GS neared the great golden doors emblazoned with the Meeple logo. Drawing in another breath, he approached the doors, reaching out with his free hand to knock on them. Upon receiving no response, he faltered, only to steel himself as he pushed the doors open, stepping inside. "Mr. Cobs?"

The sight that greeted him was a familiar one: a long office with an incredibly high ceiling that the windows stretched up from the floor to reach. A rich red carpet atop the tiled floor marked a path from the doorway to the polished desk at the end of the room. There, at the other side of the desk, a peak of yellow kernels stuck out just above the high back of a gray leather chair.

And just behind that were several monitors displaying the landing pad, the foyer, the show room, and the hallways.

3GS gave a jolt; he had been watched. But, again, he steeled himself; what did he have to hide?

"Ah, 3GS," Cobs said lightly, spinning the chair around to face him. To 3GS's relief, he was smiling warmly, arms leaning on his desk. "Great to have you back! Sorry, I was—" He paused, then laughed, shaking his head. "Well, we'll get to that later. But, come in! Looks like you didn't come back empty handed, so let's see it!"

Smiling, 3GS gave a salute before marching forward, holding out the sample in both hands. He set it gingerly upon the desk, and Cobs snatched it up immediately, turning it in his hands, staring over it, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses. There was almost a sort of hunger behind that gaze, but that was absurd—surely Cobs wouldn't have sent him out on this mission to obtain a mere meal.

"This... this is it," Cobs murmured, rubbing his hand over the shell. A laugh bubbled up from his chest as he rose from his chair and held the sample up into the air. "This is it! This is what I've been looking for for years!" He smirked down at 3GS, who smiled back. "Take a good look, 3GS. You're looking at the future! Wait, no, past the future. This is—this is beyond anything we've ever—" He cut himself off, chuckled, and slipped back into his chair. "But I'm getting ahead of myself."

As he watched Cobs, relief flooded through 3GS's circuits. Of course he'd had nothing to fear. There was an excess of anxiety in his emotion emulator—another thing he could ask about. "I'm glad to aid you on this mission, sir," 3GS said with another salute. "It was rough-going, but—"

"Yes, I noticed your... screen." Cobs wasn't looking at him, still staring down at the sample and drifting a finger across it, as though drawing into it. "And your voice! Oof, those speakers took some damage, huh."

A flash of a memory overtook him: one of the Shimmers rising up before him, glowing spear in hand, before it drove the spear into—

Snap, snap.

"Stay with me, 3GS," Cobs said. He was leaning across the desk, an unimpressed look crossing his face, his hand inches from 3GS's as he prepared to snap again.

3GS blinked. "S-sorry sir. I seem to be getting some glitches in my—"

"Right, right." Cobs waved a dismissive hand as he sat back down. His arm remained wrapped around the sample, hand rubbing over it. "You've sustained some damage and... well." He let out a huff of air, not quite a laugh, and turned the chair around again. "You'll have to forgive me—I was just, heh, waiting to see when the other two would arrive." He paused. "I'm a little surprised the captain left his men behind."

3GS's circuits surged again, buzzing in his microphone. "M-Mr. Cobs, I—"

Cobs held up a hand. "Let me guess. You had such a great haul that One and 3G are taking a while to carry it out. And you knew I wouldn't want to be left waiting, so you brought me one of the samples as a little taste." He turned in the chair again, not fully facing the desk, glancing at 3GS out of the corner of his eye. "Right?"

Wincing, 3GS rubbed his right arm. "A-about that, sir..."

Cobs shifted the chair just slightly; the lights from above and the sunlight behind hit his glasses at such an angle to obscure his eyes, masking his expression. He said nothing.

"I... I wanted to tell you. One and 3G were... hurt, and rendered unable to make it back to the ship on time." He straightened himself, looking Cobs firmly in the glasses. "But I am ready to embark on a rescue mission to—"

"Where's the rest of it."

It was not a question, but a demand.

3GS faltered. "The rest of...?"

"The samples."

His mechanisms went cold.

An unhappy laugh huffed out of Cob's chest as he turned to face 3GS fully. He was still smiling, but there was no longer any joy in it, and his eyes were visible again, staring down at 3GS with enough intensity to render him frozen. "You can't honestly have come all this way, and expect that I'd be satisfied with just the one sample, right."

3GS drew in a breath, trying to collect himself. "I assure you, Mr. Cobs, we fought with all our strength. We—"

"Five years."

"Wh-what?"

"Five years, 3GS," Cobs said, tucking the sample beneath his arm as he slipped out of the chair. "One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five days." He rounded the desk, nearing 3GS. "Over forty thousand hours I spent developing the technology, searching the universe, and training you and your miserable, outdated soldiers to arrive at this very moment."

He was inches from 3GS, whose emotion emulator felt like it was overloading, sparking a glitch to his stabilizers and causing him to tremble. He took a step back.

Cobs leaned forward, his voice dipping dangerously low. "And you mean to tell me that you got me one measly little sample."

A shaky, artificial breath rattled 3GS's frame. "Mr. Cobs, I assure you, we can—"

"ONE SAMPLE!" Cobs roared, stepping forward with enough speed to knock 3GS off-balance, sending him crashing to the floor. But Cobs only continued to tower over him, glaring. "Do you know what iteration is, 3GS?" He didn't wait for an answer. "It means that in order to make progress—real, glorious progress—you have to do something again and again, tweaking, improving, rebuilding. I did that with One, and then 3G, and now you. Each of you better than the last, and yet—yet—" He grabbed the sample in both hands, shoving it into 3GS's face, pressing it against his cracked screen.

3GS let out an involuntary cry. "C-Cobs—!"

"And yet you can't even get it through your pathetic processor that in order to move forward..." Cobs yanked the egg away, giving 3GS a clear view of his enraged expression. "I NEED MORE THAN ONE SAMPLE!"

Limbs curling inward in a feeble attempt to protect his screen, 3GS tried to speak, but his speakers were stuck on a loop of emulating gasps. His main processor was reeling, his emotion emulator going absolute haywire. He couldn't stabilize himself—couldn't stop shaking. He hadn't even felt this scared when the Shimmers had turned on him, when they had attacked.

Slowly the rage in Cob's face melted away to something slightly more neutral. He leaned back with a dramatic sigh, adjusting his glasses. "But, of course, setbacks do happen," he went on lightly, turning away. He placed the sample on his desk, brushing off some dirt from its surface from where it had been in contact with 3GS's screen. "I understand."

3GS's voice found him again, and he pushed himself up on his arms. "Y-you do?"

"Yes, of course. Progress can be a bumpy road, after all." Cobs's hands adjusted the sample, making sure it was stable before he turned to face 3GS once more. His smile had returned, calm and subdued. "And, hey, you can still help with that!" He stooped down, holding out a hand.

Letting out a sigh of relief, 3GS took his creator's hand, smiling as he was pulled up to his feet. "Oh, th-thank you, sir," he breathed. "I'm so glad we can work this out."

"Of course we can." Cobs patted his side tenderly with his free hand, his other still gripping 3GS's own mechanical hand. He gave it a gentle tug as he led him across the carpeted floor. "Come with me."

3GS followed Cobs without complaint, allowing himself to be led by the hand. "I t-truly am sorry for this failure," he stammered. "As the mission leader, I take full responsibility for what happened."

"Yes, yes, that's all fine and good," Cobs said, waving him off as he continued out of the office and down the hallway. "But that's in the past, right? We're not looking at the past right now." He turned, smiling at him and raising an eyebrow. "We're looking into the future!"

"Yes, of course, sir." 3GS let out a shaky laugh, his emotion emulator still recovering from the panic he'd felt earlier. Cobs's outburst had been... alarming, but if what he'd said was true, then of course he had every reason to be upset. 3GS shut his eyes for a moment, contenting himself with the fact that his creator's mood had improved, and they were on their way to fixing things.

Finally he opened his eyes, face arranging itself into a look of determination. "In order to successfully execute the rescue mission, I believe I would need my screen repaired," 3GS went on. "With it as damaged as it is, my internal components are compromised. My speakers were already damaged, as you noted, but that's not as great of an issue."

"Mmm-hmm," Cobs hummed, not looking back.

"I... I know you called my soldiers outdated, but once they've been retrieved and repaired, you could..." He thought for a moment, then brightened. "You could make progress—improve them! We could be given better defenses, and obtain even more samples than we did the last time!"

"Hmm, right, you know, I did develop a screen protector while you were gone," Cobs mused. He pulled 3GS into a room he hadn't seen in a long time—one with blue walls, brown trim, and a purple ceiling—and looked back, chuckling. "Of course, that won't do you much good at the moment."

3GS laughed as well. "Well, no. But that would be quite useful once you repair—" The door slid shut behind them, and he gave a start.

But Cobs continued to lead 3GS further into the room, near a table with a monitor and an adjustable light overhead. "Enough talking. Let's... spare that broken vocal processor for now." He smiled at him, gesturing at the table.

"Yes, sir!" With a cheerful salute, 3GS hopped up onto the table, and kept quiet as requested. When Cobs eased him onto his back, 3GS smiled calmly up at him, relieved to be getting on with these repairs.

"Now don't you worry," Cobs said, his voice gentle as he adjusted 3GS's body on the table. He gave him a tender pat. "I'm sure I can find a use for some of your parts."

3GS chuckled, only to freeze as his processor grasped the sentence, running it over and over again in his head to analyze it.

No. That couldn't possibly be right.

His voice glitched, hitching up an octave: "You... uh, you mean you're rebuilding me?"

"No, 3GS." Cobs turned away to face another screen in the center of the room. He tapped it a few times, but his body blocked whatever he was looking at from 3GS's line of sight. "Like I said, we don't look to the past. We look to the future, and beyond that." Chuckling, he turned to look at 3GS out of the corner of his eye. "And I'm afraid that future doesn't involve you."

His emotion emulator let out a burst of panic that nearly caused his processor to crash. Every mechanism in his body gave an involuntary jerk. "N-no—!" he stammered. But before he could move another joint, Cobs jabbed something on the touchscreen, and restraints suddenly shot out from the table, tightening around his wrists and ankles. 3GS gasped, struggling to move, but he was pinned.

"Now, now, calm down." Cobs strolled back up to him, smiling. "It's not a complete waste! I can still do something with that one sample you brought back. There's a bright future ahead, and even though you won't be there to witness it, you still get to contribute to it! Isn't that wonderful?"

The broken loop of gasps was overtaking his vocal processor again, and he struggled to speak through it: "P-please, sir, don't... don't do this! W-w-we can still help you! I-I can rescue the others. I've b-begun formulating a plan!"

"Pshaw, the others." Cobs rolled his eyes. "So old, outdated, obsolete… so yesterday." He shrugged, fixing 3GS with an amused grin. "What do you see in them, anyway? They don't even have emotion emulators! That was something I pioneered with you!"

"Th-they were my soldiers! My c-comrades!" 3GS shut his eyes, his face twisting. "M-my... family."

"Oh, 3GS." Cobs chuckled. "Your main processor must be damaged, too. You're a thing, not a person. Things don't have families."

3GS's digital eyes shot open, and he stared at the ceiling above, abruptly realizing it was covered in glowing, plastic stars. For a moment he saw the starry field above the outer shell, heard the enraged cries of the Shimmers, the footfalls of One and 3G.

"Frankly," Cobs went on, his voice deadpan, "it's ridiculous that I'm even conversing with you as though you were an actual person. But, hey! I don't get out of the office much these days outside of press conferences, and I need a little company sometimes, you know?"

"Th-then we can... get One and 3G back!" 3GS cried, opening his eyes and giving Cobs a wildly hopeful look. "They may be..." He winced, something within him aching. "...obsolete, but th-they can at l-least k-keep you... company, right?"

Cobs stared at him, humming. "And what... happened to them, exactly?"

3GS's face twisted. "Th-they... they..."

An explosion rang out behind him, but he did not realize its cause until he saw the smoke pouring from One's frame. And then 3G—she was holding his hand when she—when—

"I don't have all day, 3GS."

His processor whirled, struggling to bring himself back to the present. "Th-they were... th-th-they..."

"This is taking too long." With a heavy sigh, Cobs stooped down to reach under the table, dipping partially below 3GS's field of view.

Just as he was wondering what Cobs was doing, he yelped as something jabbed into his port. It didn't hurt him so much as startle him, but his emotion emulator calmed slightly as he felt a charge flowing through his body. Right, just a charger. He hadn't had a proper charge in ages, so that was good. Taking a few breaths, he tried to calm himself down—

Until something started digging through his memory.

3GS could feel it needling and weaving through his files, his notes, his recordings, his thoughts, like an angry, hungry little parasite on the hunt for the juiciest bits.

"Now let's see..."

Glancing to his side, he spotted Cobs, whose hands were now on a console next to the table as he looked at something above 3GS, who followed his gaze. Right, there was a screen above the table, though from here, he could only see it upside-down. He flipped his own view... and gasped at what it revealed: Cobs was the one digging through his memories.

"There's certainly some interesting things to glean here," Cobs mused, lingering on a memory of one of the Shimmers.

"I-I would have... g-given you the information in my report," 3GS stammered. "I can still—"

"No need! We have everything right here, don't we?" Grinning down at 3GS, Cobs typed in a command.

And the parasite began digging through everything—videos, text, audio, random thoughts that had nothing to do with the mission—copying it and dragging it back to its nest—the server in the room—to feast on later.

A rattling noise filled the room as 3GS trembled against the table. Nothing had been removed, exactly, but something about the way Cobs copied everything from him for his own use was a violation of privacy he could barely fathom.

"Theeere we go!" Cobs leaned away from the console, hands on his hips as he regarded his work. "Now the data won't go to waste one you've been dismantled."

Dismantled. The word made his wiring twist itself into knots, but there was something yet worse than that: the thought of One and 3G still lying on that planet, at the mercy of the Shimmers.

“P-please, Mr. Cobs,” 3GS said, shutting his eyes. "At least l-let me rescue th-them f-first..."

"I don't recall building you to be sentimental," Cobs remarked, frowning down at him. But then he smiled, shrugging. "But, tell you what. I'm feeling generous, so let's start thinking over this... retrieval mission."

3GS's eyes opened wide. "Y-you mean it?!"

"Of course!" Cobs placed his hands together. "Those two do potentially have sensitive data on them. Wouldn't want to risk that falling into the wrong hands."

It wasn't for the same reasons he wanted to carry out the mission, but he couldn't bring himself to care. "Oh, th-thank you, Mr. Cobs...!"

"Let's determine what condition you left them in," Cobs said, and 3GS flinched as his creator dug through his memories once more. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, and he brought up a low-quality video file. "Hmm, eye camera is... less than optimal. Note to self to add a proper front-facing camera," he murmured.

View still flipped, 3GS looked up at the screen, only to shut his eyes with a shudder.

"No, 3GS. I want you to see this."

Hesitantly he looked up again, immediately recognizing a still frame of his view from the ship, shortly before he'd left. There was One, lying face-down, a spear driven through him, smoke still pouring from his casing.

But it wasn't just a still frame—in his mind, he could still see it, clear as day, clearer than the pixelated footage on the screen, the smoke wavering out of him, 3G desperately charging for the ship, the army of Shimmers not far behind. Even when he shut his eyes, the scene still played out before him, and he trembled. "I-I know, Mr. Cobs. I saw—"

"No. You don't know." He tapped a few commands into the console again. "Look, 3GS. Look."

Again 3GS opened his eyes, looking up. At first he smiled at seeing 3G's joyful face filling the screen, her hand in his, only to gasp when a spear stabbed through said smiling face, shattering the glass of her screen and rendering it black. He could hear a quiet cry of despair, and it took him a second to realize it wasn't coming from the video.

And then the footage reversed. The spear was drawn out of her body, the shards of glass returning to their original positions in her screen, the cracks disappearing, her smile lighting up her face... and then the spear came through again. And again. And again. And again, and—

"S-S-S-ssss-S-T-T-T-OP-P-P!" he cried, his voice glitching spectacularly as his body spasmed against the restraints.

Mercifully, Cobs paused the footage on a frame of 3G's face, before she was stabbed. His voice was edged with impatience. "I feel you're not seeing the problem here, 3GS."

"I-I-I-I kn-know," he stammered, fighting to get his vocal processor under control. "Th-they w-w-were stabbed. W-we need t-to—"

Cobs let out an exasperated sigh. "No, you're definitely not seeing the issue." But then he paused, and smacked a hand against his forehead, laughing. "Oh, doy! Of course you aren't! I never equipped you with enough knowledge to self-repair—you know, the whole not-falling-into-the-wrong-hands thing. Not to mention there's no need to... well." He cleared his throat, glancing down at 3GS. "Never mind all of that."

3GS could only stare, barely comprehending what Cobs was talking about. The memory of glass shards bouncing against himself still made his screen sting.

"But, long story short, there's no need for a recovery mission." Cobs shrugged. "I reviewed the footage, and—"

"NO!" 3GS cried, flipping his view orientation and trying to sit upright, only for his wrists to clang against the restraints. "Th-they're s-still there! W-w-we can't j-just—"

"Hush, hush!" Cobs patted the side of his casing, and 3GS tried fruitlessly to flinch away. "I know it's confusing, but don't worry! I'll show you what I mean." He then stepped away from the table, heading for another section of the room, out of 3GS's sight.

"Sh... show me what?" 3GS strained to look around, but his view was terribly limited from his position on the table. The video of 3G was still paused above him, and he found himself wishing she and One were both here. He wasn't sure what they would be able to do, but it would at least be a comfort knowing they were safe.

"You'll see! Don't want to spoil the surprise..." Cobs teased. The sound of metal clunking and clanking and scraping followed, before—"Ah, here we go!" And finally he stepped back into view, holding something behind his back. "So just—ugh." He paused, glaring at the screen, then tapped a few buttons, ending the video feed. "Forgot about that. Silly me." He then reached over, yanking out the charging cable, and 3GS flinched. "There. Now just sit tight, okay?"

I don't have a choice, 3GS wanted to say, but he kept his proverbial mouth shut. At least Cobs didn't have a potential view into his thoughts anymore.

"Good, good. Now let's see..."

3GS elected not to watch him, until something sharp jabbed into part of his casing. Eyes wide, he looked down to see Cobs at the end of the table, turning a large screwdriver into his case, just to the left of his left leg. A gasp wracked his vocal processor. "P-please, Mr. Cobs, don't."

"Pipe down," Cobs grunted, brow creasing. With a gentle tug, he removed a large screw and set it aside on the table. He then moved onto the other side, repeating the process.

There came the gasping loop again, leaving his processor reeling, overheating. He fought to speak around it: "A-are y-y-you... repairing me?"

"I said pipe down!" Cobs snapped, yanking the second screw out and tossing it onto the table. It bounced off the surface, striking 3GS on one of his cracks, and he cried out. "Oops!" Eyes narrowed, Cobs plucked the screw off of him, holding it up. "Yeah. You don't want that happening again."

3GS's screen stung, but it was nothing compared to the terror that radiated from his emotion emulator, destabilizing him, causing him to shake, his body and the screws rattling noisily against the table. His processor was overheating. Some part of him was going to melt. His speakers were still stuck on that loop of gasping. He could only stare at the starry ceiling above, his glitching processor occasionally swapping it for the actual starry sky of the outer shell.

He didn't realize Cobs had moved away from the table again until he heard a sound over his own rattling and gasping:

Clank, clank, clank…

His gaze shifted, and he realized something was descending from a hatch on the ceiling—two poles with... something on the end of each. It wasn't until they got closer that he realized what they were: suction cups. For a moment he stared, uncomprehending, before it struck him what was happening.

"N-no," he said, and was alarmed to find his overworked emotion emulator had tripped his volume, lowering it. Frantically he tried to adjust his own volume upward as he struggled against the restraints. "P-please don't—"

"What did I tell you, 3GS?"

The poles were inches away.

"Honestly, you used to be such a good listener."

The poles drew nearer, and 3GS threw all of his strength into tugging against his restraints, to no avail. "No, no, no—!"

His voice broke off into a sharp gasp as the suction cups pressed down into him, just below his speaker and just above his home button. They forced downward against him, and he cried out as his screen strained against the pressure. "P-p-please!" he cried out, voice glitching upward in pitch as the suction cups finally took hold of his screen. The whole machine stopped, and he shut his eyes, waiting, hoping that Cobs was going to change his mind, call the whole thing off, realize how unnecessary this all was.

Clank, clank, clank…

3GS's eyes flew open as he felt a terrible tugging sensation across not just his screen, but his entire front panel. He opened his mouth, trying to cry out in protest, but the gasping loop had come back again, playing at a faster speed, and his speakers would play nothing else. Meanwhile, his emotion simulator was working overtime, filling his every circuit with nothing but sheer terror as the poles continued to pull at him. He was coming apart, he was going to fall apart, he was—

Crack.

A garbled scream erupted from his speakers.

Shockingly, it did not hurt—not much more than it already did with the suction cups tugging on his damaged screen—but the fact that he could feel half of himself being pulled upward while the rest of him remained on the table, the wired connections between the two halves straining, was every sort of wrong. His insides were exposed. He was defenseless. He was going to die.

He had seen battle. He had seen a war—started a war—on foreign soil, light years away from his home planet. He had seen his comrades collapse in battle, enduring terrible injuries themselves. And yet this—half of him lying on a table, the other half suspended three feet into the air, in what had once been the comfort of home, at the hands of his own creator—was the thing that was causing his emotion emulator to nearly short circuit in horror.

How had it come to this?

Was this his retribution for leaving One and 3G behind, at the mercy of the Shimmers? Was he really that much of a failure in the eyes of his own creator, whom he had done nothing but loyally follow for his entire life?

"There, now. Stop being so dramatic."

He opened his eyes—uselessly, as all he could see was the mechanisms that extended and retracted the poles. Somehow his speakers were still connected, and they were neither gasping nor shrieking anymore. "A-are you g-going to kill me, s-s-sir?"

Below him—or the half of him—Cobs paused. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

3GS's speakers emitted a brief, high-pitched noise.

"C'mon, knock it off," Cobs said, a smile in his voice. "I told you I'd show you what I meant, right?"

Confusion filled him; he barely remembered why any of this was happening at this point.

"Listen, I know how much you care about—for some reason—those inferior models, but there's really no point in issuing a retrieval mission. Remember that footage I showed you?"

With how often his processor had been bringing back the memory, he didn't have to.

"You saw where they got stabbed. And if not, well, here's a little reminder for you."

There was a pause, and then something touched the inside of him, on the half that had been left on the table, and he yelped. It was somewhere in his center, right beneath where he himself had been struck. The parts beneath were not damaged, thankfully, but with his whole body split open, it would be so, so easy for something to go wrong, for some part of him to be struck in just the wrong way...

"Right here. Now, that's your logic board. Very important—not something you'd want damaged, especially given what’s on it. But what do you think is beneath that, hm?"

3GS said nothing, staring blankly at the mechanisms that had split his body in half. He was starting to feel like he wasn't there anymore—like he was still on the door of the ship, holding 3G's hand.

Something plucked his optical wires, and the entirety of his vision flickered in an explosion of color.

"Are you paying attention, 3GS?" Cobs asked, annoyance edging into his voice. "I'm doing this for you, you know."

3GS shut his eyes, though the colors still flickered in the corners of his vision. "Y-yes..."

"Good." The hand moved, jabbing into his logic board again, a bit more firmly this time. "Now, I'd give you a practical demonstration of what's beneath the logic board, but, heh, I value my safety." He moved his hand away. "Because beneath that logic board is your battery."

Cobs waited a beat.

"You know what happens when batteries are punctured, right?"

"Th-th-they..." 3GS searched his databanks—this was something he knew. "Th-they can... leak... a-and sometimes e-explode."

Something struck him, and his eyes opened, wide and unseeing. The smoke pouring from One's body—

"Yes, 3GS, they can explode. And what happens when something explodes?"

Cobs didn't even need to mention it. Already 3GS could imagine the heat filling One's entire frame, and the damage it would do to his parts—

"Again, I don't want to give a practical demonstration here. Tell me what happens, 3GS."

"I-i-it... c-creates heat..." His voice was pitched upward, wavering. "It w-would... m-m-melt his i-internal... c-components..."

"That's right!" Cobs exclaimed, with the cadence of praising a toddler. "Good job! See? I knew you could figure this out."

Something worse than the pain in his screen was filling him, worse than being split in half, worse than failing his creator, worse than leaving his friends behind. But no, no, no, they—

3G reached out, clasping his hand tightly as he pulled her into the ship.

"3G," he breathed. "Sh-she... she didn't explode! We could still recover—"

Cobs's gentle laughter killed his words. "Oh, 3GS. You already told me what happens when a battery is pierced, even if it doesn't explode."

Again 3GS shut his eyes. "I-i-it... it leaks."

"Good! And can you tell me what substance it leaks?"

His speakers were straining, pitching his voice upward. "B... b-battery acid..."

"Which has what effect?"

"It... c-corrodes... and... m-melts..."

"Good! There, 3GS, I knew you were smart."

3G's hand slipped away from his just before the spear pierced her, shattering her screen, and sending her falling, falling to the surface of the outer shell.

"Now, I have one more thing to show you."

The starry ceiling was melting. There was space behind it, and a spaceship landing on an egg-shaped planet.

"So, you felt where the battery would have been pierced—right here." Cobs pressed a finger into the center of his logic board once more. 3GS did not flinch. "But then, waaay up here..." He drew his finger further up across the board before tapping another internal component. "Feel this? That's your SIM card! Now, most of your data is stored on your logic board, but some of it's on your SIM card, too! And if, say, your battery were to... explode, or if it were to leak, and you fell over, well... say goodbye to the data on that, too!"

Three Meeple robots stepped out of the ship, and paused to take in the sights. The stars shone above them, and an enormous ring stretched across the sky. The phone in the middle looked to his two companions, who turned to regard him.

"So, hey, there's some good news!"

He smiled at them.

"The others' memories and their internal components were completely destroyed, so there's no risk of them falling into the wrong hands!"

Though the others lacked mouths, he knew they were smiling back.

"Get it, 3GS? They're gone!"

The vision shattered around him, leaving him back in the lab, half of his body shackled to a table, the other half suspended in the air, and whatever passed for his heart shattered on the soil of the outer shell.

"Isn't that great?"

All of his wires and circuitry and mechanisms twisted in on themselves, and his emotion emulator emitted a spark before a pained sob wrenched itself out of his speakers.

3GS could feel Cobs's gaze on him, hear the venom dripping from his creator's tongue as he spoke: "I don't believe I programmed you to do that."

Pain that had nothing to do with any injuries he'd sustained filled his entire being as the sobs wracked him. He could feel his screen flickering and distorting, and he couldn't fathom how he looked, nor could he care.

"Well, maybe this will cheer you up: One and 3G may be gone, but you're still here." And he leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "Which means I can repurpose your parts."

The words shocked him back to his senses. Some primal, self-preservational programming kicked in, and he threw himself at his restraints with renewed force. "No, no—"

"We've put this off for long enough, 3GS." Something metal clunked and scraped against the table. "I'm a busy man, and your little interruption—not to mention your failed mission—has put me way behind schedule."

3GS stopped moving, and stared blankly up at the ceiling. "P-please, Cobs, don't."

"Enough of this." Something cold and metal—the screwdriver—jabbed into part of his internals.

He increased his volume. "Please, Cobs, don't."

Cobs jabbed the screwdriver in harder. "Be quiet."

His panicking emotion emulator was messing with his vocal processor again, causing his words to loop, faster and faster: "Please, Cobs, don't. Please, Cobs, don't."

With a growl, Cobs swiped the screwdriver across the back of his logic board, sending a jolt of pain through him. "Shut up!"

"Please Cobs don't—please Cobs don't—don't—"

"Would you just be—"

His emotion emulator emitted another spark that traversed through his entire body, causing him to spasm and warping his voice: "DON'T—D-D-D-O-O-N'T-T-T—"

Below him, Cobs let out a pained cry, leaping back and dropping the screwdriver. "You insolent—!" He cut himself off, drawing in a breath. "You know what? Fine. Fine."

3GS could hear Cobs storming away from the table and jab at the touchscreen. Before he realized what was happening, the poles suspending half his body in the air suddenly shot downward, slamming him back into himself. He let out a cry, his whole body giving a jolt.

"Worthless, outdated—" Cobs snarled, tapping another command into the console.

The suction cups finally released him as the poles retracted into the ceiling, much more quickly than they'd lowered.

Finally Cobs entered his field of vision, a smile stretching across his face—the angriest smile 3GS had ever seen. "You know? I don't even need your parts!" He picked up one of the screws, shoving it back into 3GS's casing and stabbing the screwdriver in. "Why would I ever need your parts?"

The second screw missed its target, scraping the bottom of his screen, but 3GS could barely find it in himself to react anymore. He felt so off-balance, he could hardly think.

"We're not looking back at the past. We're not even looking at the future! We're looking past the future, farther than you'll ever go!" He let out a laugh as he screwed in the final screw, then turned around, typing into the touchscreen console again. "We're making history, 3GS."

The restraints binding 3GS to the table abruptly retracted, and Cobs faced him once more, glasses gleaming. "And you?"

He reached down, grabbing 3GS's wrist and yanking him off the table, glaring into his eyes. "You're just a footnote, to be ignored and forgotten."

With that, Cobs stormed out of the room, dragging 3GS behind him. 3GS winced in the sudden brighter light, holding a hand up to block it. He tried to get his feet beneath him, but he still felt so off-balance, and Cobs was moving too fast. When he finally stopped to key something into a small panel next to a door, 3GS struggled to stand. "W-wait, Mr. Cobs—"

Cobs's entire body gave a jolt. "DON'T"—he punched the final button on the panel, slamming the door open—"ADDRESS ME AGAIN"—he hauled 3GS into the room—"YOU WORTHLESS"—he lifted him up by his arm—"PIECE OF SCRAPMETAL!"—and swung him, hard, against the wall.

Pain exploded in 3GS's frame as his vision flickered wildly, colors and shapes flashing before him, his microphone suddenly scrambling his audio intake.

And for a brief moment he saw One and 3G before him, staring patiently, awaiting orders, ready to follow him to the ends of the earth, and their own demise.

His vision shifted back just in time to see Cobs heading back for the door.

Frantically he tried to stand, but his legs gave a painful spasm, sending him crashing backward against the wall again.

Cobs turned, looking at 3GS as one would look at a piece of moldy food, before slamming the door shut.

And the darkness engulfed him.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

arcane s2 and breaking narrative time

A thing I really like about Arcane S2 that I haven't seen discussed much is the way time itself breaks down over the course of the season. The linear structure of the narrative splinters and fractures as the story jumps through flashbacks and flash-forwards and increasingly intercuts scenes that take place over different amounts of time. I know there were people who found the timeline of S2 confusing, but I love it, and I do think it was an intentional choice to break the linear structure of the story up this way. It's very fitting for a season that introduces time travel, multiverses and temporal paradoxes and runs on an underlying thread of chaos and unpredictability.

It should be said that from the beginning, Arcane has done a lot of messing with time in subtle ways. The end of 1.03 is a good early example. It seems like only minutes pass between the flash of arcane light that alerts the Enforcers to what Jayce and Viktor are up to, and the moment they break down the door to Heimerdinger's lab. Meanwhile Vi, Claggor and Miles cross a good portion of Zaun to sneak into the cannery looking for Vander. It doesn't matter that the time scales don't really match up or even whether the events in the two storylines are really happening at the exact same time. It's the dramatic effect of the intercutting that draws us in. And there are many small example of expanding and collapsing time, from montages that cover months to the blast from Powder's hex crystal bomb being repeated over and over so we can absorb just how much destruction it causes. Of course none of these techniques are unique to the show but it is a strong stylistic choice they made right from the beginning.

But from around 2.05 onward shit gets truly wild. We smash cut out of the climactic moment of a huge action sequence for an understated, melancholy flashback to young Vander, Silco and Felicia. Many episodes in the show are framed by flashbacks to highlight the theme or dramatic question of the episode, but the transition is particularly sharp here.

We see Jayce come back from the hell dimension at the end of 2.05, but chronologically I think this actually happens in the middle of 2.06. 2.06 takes place over at least two days and a night, but possibly many days as Viktor tries to heal Vander. (Did he somewhere in this multi-day process realize how much his power was waning and send Salo to steal the hexgems for a power boost?) Jayce seems to go straight to the commune once he gets back to his timeline--he doesn't even stop to shower or change clothes. So I think this:

and this:

could conceivably be the same day. But at the beginning of 2.06 we have actually jumped back in time by at least a day, maybe several days, to pick up the storyline when Vi, Jinx and Vander first arrive at the commune.

2.06 is full of things we have no context for the first time through because we haven't seen them yet. It opens with a flash-forward to images from the end of the episode that we have no way to interpret:

The whole time he's staggering through the commune, Jayce is having flashbacks/hallucinations overlaying the decaying puppets from the ruined timeline over Viktor's present-day followers:

Except we have no way to know what they are the first time through this episode because we haven't seen those puppets yet.

The biggest time distortion of course is that everything in 2.07 actually happens somewhere between 2.03 and 2.06 in the main timeline. But even saying that doesn't really capture the temporal weirdness because everyone who gets sucked into the anomaly spends different amounts of time in their alternate timelines. Heimerdinger spends three years in the happy AU timeline; Ekko seems to be there for a matter of days, but also arrives back in the main timeline later than Jayce. Jayce spends at minimum weeks and maybe months in the pit, based on how long it would take a break like that to heal enough to walk on even with support. Meanwhile I think it's reasonable to guess that something like 6-8 months, but possibly as much as a year, pass in the main timeline. Jayce gets a bit scruffy and in the same amount of narrative time Viktor grows his hair out almost to his shoulders, and maybe he doesn't work quite like a normal human anymore but we don't have a lot of other markers to measure time by. Meanwhile, Mel spends idek how long in mage purgatory, and then making her way back to Piltover.

By the time we get to 2.08, events are happening completely out of order. We start with Mel what might be weeks before the point in the timeline where Jayce shoots Viktor, then we jump forward to the aftermath of the battle in the commune, then we jump back but only by a few hours to pick up Vi, Jinx, Cait and Jayce fleeing the battle, then forward to Vi waking up injured in Cait's bed. We have the council chamber fight and we hear Viktor say, "Doctor, you may begin the process" but we don't see what that means until the end of the episode. The amount of time Vi spends locked in the cell before Cait finds her (which can't be very long, since Cait seemed to know where to look for her) does not at all seem to match up to the time span of the scenes it's surrounded by of the city preparing for war. Mel confronts Ambessa at night and sees the aftermath of Viktor evolving his followers first, then we flash back to (probably) that afternoon and the moment of transformation, all so we can end with the dramatic punch of The Line.

The point of writing all this out is to show how disordered the timeline gets as things spin out of control before the big finale. 2.08 in particular is also a spectacular example of very confidently ignoring linear storytelling in favor of arranging the emotional arc of the episode to pack the biggest punch.

2.09 is actually fairly linear in comparison, because it's mostly action, despite having actual in-world reversals of time in it. And of course there is Jayce and Viktor's culminating scene, which for all we know might only be a fraction of a second long in real time.

S2 is structured in a way that you have to watch it at least twice--you simply don't have all the information about why certain things are happening before you get to the final reveal. I'm someone who loves nonlinear storytelling, so I found this to be a delight, and I love teasing out the pieces of how the timeline fits together, even if it takes several watch-throughs to catch certain details. But regardless of whether you found it enjoyable or frustrating, I think it very much fits with the overall motifs, tone and style of S2.

[championofravens]

I do unironically think season 3 of Reacher may be taught in tv and film writing classes in coming years. A total masterclass of story progression, pacing, and tone. I can't get into it simply very well but I can try to explain really quick my favorite aspect of it-

A typical tv show or movie nowadays will give you the plot and points of conflict. Usually, these points of conflict are new things being brought into the story as unforseen aspects or information the main character was not privvy to or had no way to be privvy to.

For example, if a story's plot is about someone sneaking into a building, once they get inside the building the story may bring in new points of conflict- a janitor is working there, or there's an office party. The story may do this as the creator realizes they don't have enough conflict to make breaking into a building interesting or engaging on it's own. The plot's conflict then shifts: now it's about not getting caught as opposed to breaking in. We see this a lot in movies: you see the trailer conflict is about X but you watch the movie and X is really just a vehicle for Y and Z to happen.

This new conflict might be good, by the way. It's not inherently bad for stories to do this. But this new point of conflict brings about new tensions, new vibes, and lots of tv shows don't know how to marry the original conflict and the new one. Maybe the quiet tension of the careful break in is destroyed by the bombastic explosive finale for example. Or maybe you were just really interested in seeing how this dude gets inside that building and now you have to care about something brand new for 7 episodes.

But Reacher season 3 does something much simpler with it's story conflicts and to much greater effect. If the plot of the season is Reacher getting into a building, that is also the only source of conflict. Everything draws from that. The story is deeply interested in itself, its characters, and the core conflict. This is helped immensley by the directing style as the first three episodes, excluding one flashback, follow our characters hour by hour, or minute by minute. And that plays perfectly with how they've decided to focus the main conflict.

Let's compare it like two writers writing the mentioned break in story. The first writer gets going and thinks "Well there's some good tension in a few places but once our protagonist gets the car, gets the key, and turns off the alarm it's over. Too easy." and they reach for other elements to bring in.

Reacher's writers say "What if the car stalls? What if it's tolled parking with a security guard? What if the key copy breaks in the door lock? What if you steal the right key for the second door? What if the alarm code changed last night? What if the building needs to close an hour early? What if the man you bought the car from recognizes it on the news after you break in?"

And sudden things happen- characters suddenly show up when they weren't supposed to, new info is dropped into laps with no pretense, we still get moments of shock. But unlike the first hypothetical example I gave, these all work in tandem with the existing conflict. They are also things usually within our character's ability to deduce or prepare for. One time, Reacher is sneaking late at night and suddenly someone appears to nearly blow his cover. But instead of being a moment devised just for the purpose of adding tension to a sneak scene, you learn that new character has appeared directly as consequence to actions Reacher took earlier. In the moment of the scene that difference may not amount to much but it makes the overall story so slick and streamlined. It becomes more realistic, the way it balances consequences and bad luck. And it gives you so much more freedom to give your characters little moments of good luck when you make bad luck a player too.

I guess what I mean to say most of all is that I really love a contained, grounded story these days. Fully realized. Not a cool premise that changes midway. Not the loose idea of a story you already know. An actual honest to god story with thought in it.

[loustat-0]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SEASON TWO PREDICTION & POSSIBLE SPOILERS =========>>>>>>

2x1 is going to be about the revenants & Claudia & Louis being bitter towards each other in Europe . Louis seeing Lestat's hallucination .

2x2 arrival to Paris meeting the vampire Armand & the coven of theater the vampires .

2x3 Flashbacks to Armand & Lestat relationship & Nickolas . Parts of Lestat backstory & Armand's back story told by Armand in Dubai to Daniel .

2x4 Armand & Louis's relationship starting to form Lestat present in their relationship Louis & Armand hook up . Claudia as an actress & Louis & Claudia's fight about Louis choosing someone else over her . Claudia meeting Madeline after her show in the theater . Some bitterness shaping between Louis & Armand at the end of the episode in the Dubai timeline . Claudia starting to resent the vampires in the theater . " FUCK theses vampires " she will start resenting Armand too .

2x5 Flashbacks to the 70s . The first interview between Young Daniel & Louis . With Armand also present there . Louis's & Daniel's conversation starts heating up When Daniel tells Louis that he doesn't even know the meaning of his story & hinting to his story having missing pieces & he's not reliable so Louis gets in a fight with him . Some parts of Armand & young Daniel relationship which most people who got the screener said it was so interesting & intense & they were specifically asked not to spoil this part anywhere . Which makes me even more hopeful about the possibility of Devil's minion happening . But not fully . At least we'll get some hints of how Armand & Daniel's relationship started . ( Hopefully ) . Some Alice hints

2x6 Claudia demanding Louis to make her a companion because she feels Louis is gonna leave him & that she's in danger from Armand & the others . And then it leads to Making of the Vampire Madeline or so called the " woman vampire" by Louis & Claudia both . And Louis & Armand & Claudia & Madeline going to celebrate the new fledgling & new beginning . And Then Louis will finally be informed by Armand that it was him who used his powers on Louis to make him want to make Madeline & Louis . And Louis will try to leave Armand out of Anger & when he does & when he goes back to Claudia & Madeline the vampires of the theater arrest them & take them to the trial . This episode will end with Louis seeing the REAL LESTAT for the first time . And that would be the cliff hanger . + A new character will be introduced either from the Mayfair universe or one of the oldest vampires under cover . Or maybe just a new character .

2x7 it will be Santiago asking questions as the judge but being nasty about it . Some truth will definitely come out . Claudia's hatred towards Louis will become more vivid . She will blame Louis as much blaming Lestat . Only 1x7 will be revisited to reveal it was actually Claudia who killed Lestat . And the reason she chose Louis over Lestat as a companion . All her manipulation & her using Louis . Lestat's crimes are also gonna be called in as well . Like making a vampire so young . Like abusing Claudia & Louis & probably Louis & Claudia saying their maker ( Lestat ) never taught them any rules . But Claudia won't beg for mercy & that's her doom . She will probably say Lestat deserved it & she would do it again . ( Foreshadowing to what her ghost told Louis in Merrick ) Claudia will be called guilty & so will Louis & Madeline . Claudia & Madeline will be executed. And Louis will seek revenge & burn the theater down by the end of Ep 7 .

A : 2x8 you might say that while Louis knows everything about Claudia's death then why is he with Armand still ? I think the answer to this question is because Louis himself still doesn't know what Armand actually did to Claudia or what he could have done with Lestat back in Paris after her death . There are probably many things Louis is definitely going to see more clearly after episode 7 . The diaries will gather together Louis will know the real truth about Armand possibly Cutting Claudia's head & attaching it to another body & that how much she really resented Louis . 1x5 will most likely be revisited in the last episode as well because it wasn't mentioned in any reviews about Ep 1_6 . we'll get to see if Armand tampered with that memory or it was all really just from a different POV ? ( My anticipation is , it was hugely Armand's tampering with that memory ) . This will make Louis act out badly . BUT my dilemma is whether this will end to his suicide or him Going back to New Orleans to find Lestat again .

B : If the NOLA scenes & loustat hug scene are from 2000 then the suicide is more possible . BUT IF the NOLA reunion is in 2023 then I didn't think Louis would have a reason to commit suicide other than Claudia's resentment or Lestat's rejection to have him again . Also I noticed something that I think some other fans noticed as well . in the reunion scene there seems to be blood in Lestat's head it's like sticky blood on his hair when Louis hugs him Louis also has a cut on his finger which hasn't healed fast so that might have happend when Louis tries to hurt Lestat believing he's hallucinating him again but when Lestat bleeds & probably starts falling down being in a weak state & doesn't disappear after a long time Louis will realize that Lestat is actually real . But something important happens after this . Which will reveal the real Lestat as a big ending & possible opening for S3

. C : we'll also probably get hints of Armand & Daniel's relationship too in the last episode that hints at what actually happened between them . And what will happen to their relationship in 2023 & hopefully in S3 .

[mrs-monaghan]

Hi! Sorry if the question sounds weird…but I feel like this is a safe place to ask this.

How do you think Jikook handled their intimacy during The Soop, Bon Voyage etc? Also considering the ramen joke, the analysis going around about Jungkook putting on that jacket in BV and so on. Thank you!

I don't understand the question

But I think I get u. Maybe. I'm not sure. Okay we are gonna start from the beginning and I'm just gonna hope this is what u asked 🤭🤭

Bon Voyage season 1:

Well, we know JK ditches Suga to go sleep with Jimin in the living room. Which awwww 🥺🥺🥺

Tweet

BUT, I dont think the SEVENing took place in there. I'm thinking the laundry room. It would explain why they liked doing laundry so much 🤭🤭🤭

I imagine the boat would have been harder, too many people in one room. But if they wanted I'm sure they found a way 😁

Bon Voyage season 2:

This one is easy. They play for rooms, JK looses and he ain't happy to be sleeping on the couch. So Jimin sees his baby is sad n he naturally offers to switch

But JK chooses to sleep on the floor, turning down the offer. Surprising since he knows Yoonmin are sharing a bed. But maybe he'd rather not sleep with Suga 🤭 I'm kidding... I'm kidding 😂😂😂 This was probably JK's hyung kink at play where he likes to look after Jimin. So he'd rather be uncomfortable than have Jimin be uncomfortable.

Anyway, this is further down into episode 7 but u can see Yoonmin are in bed right before Jimin sneaks out the room.

You know he's not just leaving but sneaking out coz he's checking to see if Suga is asleep.

Justice for Suga. Jikook always be ditching him for eo 😂😂😂 anygays, seeing Jimin sneak out in ep 7 tells me he probably did it for the duration of their stay in that house. Coz in the next house, JK lost on purpose and they ended up sharing this room that we never saw the inside of

All we got was a sus photo of JK with smeared lipstick.

Anyone having flashbacks of Osaka Vlive?? 😂🤭 He he he heee...

Then we have the origin of Jikook doing laundry. Of course this is suspicious off the bat. But even more reason is because their stories weren't matching. According to JK, they stayed up till late doing laundry. So from him, they were doing laundry for most of the night.

But according to Jimin laundry was done in the morning???

Well, which is it Jikook????

Anon, these motherfuckers were SEVENing plenty in Hawaii. 👀

Bon Voyage season 3:

I don't really need to delve into this one, do I? Even the most out of touch person knows Jikook were sharing a room. I mean, Jimin was not only supposed to share a room with Suga and Jin, but he was supposed to share a bed with Jin. Now, why tf would he do that when his boyfriend had a room all to himself??

Anyway, analysis by Mizgator here. Timestamp 7:00

I also believe Jimin continued to sleep in that room even after V showed up. Jikook were on their honeymoon after all 🤭🤭🤭

Real talk though, this is what friends do for eo. Members have excused Jikook when they needed the privacy. That's just what people do. I know its bros before hoes, but who is the ho to V if both are his bros?? 😂

Moving on to Bon Voyage season 4:

I already covered how in the first house the SEVENing took place in the RV. So let's move on to camping. Now this is a bit hard to gauge when/where intimacy would have taken place. It was only 2 nights that they camped anyway, so maybe nothing happened during this time? BUT, like I will say many times during this post; it dont matter. If they wanted to SEVEN, it happened irregardless of location.

(There was however some camping sleeping drama that took place. I talk about that here. It has nothing to do with the topic at hand, I just like to bring it up coz I like drama 🤪)

Now onto the second and final house. First of all, we are going to quickly gloss over JK following Vhopemin into this room with all his luggage.

He has no business being there seeing as his roommate was RM. 🤦🏽‍♀️ Oh how satellite Jeon i do love you. 🤭🤭

So anygays, at some point you hear Jimin calling Jhope's name urgently

And then they start whispering and giggling like little kids.

Now that could just be Jihope well, Jihoping but this was when people were going to their rooms. I wouldn't put it past Jimin to enlist his bestfriend's help on Jikook getting a room to themselves at some point.

Like I've mentioned b4, cameras aren't always filming, and friends do each other these kinds of favors all the time. In any case this was a big ass house if Jikook wanted to get their groove on, they got it done.

I think we are good on the BVs so let's move onto In the Soops.

In The Soop season 1:

Here i talk about how JK used to spend the night in what was supposed to be Vmin's room. So that's that. Also if I was them I would have considered using that boat to SEVEN for sure. I hope they did. I mean, they wouldn't have to do nothing. Just let the waves do all the work

Mosquito net incident i dont think they did anything beyond making out, really. JK lost his hoodie, yeah. But Jimin looked the exact same way coming out like he did going in.

So clearly he didn't shed his clothes.

In The Soop season 2:

First there was Jimin's room. And then JK's and Bam's house... I can see it. Especially when JK asked Jimin if he wanted ramen and Jimin ran towards JK's house. I think he got his ramen 😏😏 Something tells me Jimin didn't actually leave, here.

He pretended to, but i don't think he did. I think he stayed and they either turned off the cams or covered them. But I've always had a feeling he didn't actually leave.

But while that's speculation, this however, I think this is a given---> I talk about the drone incident and them going to the forest/bushes 🤭 here. Why would they need to get rid of the camera unless they went to shout in each other's briefcases? 🤷🏽‍♀️ or even to SEVEN? One can get real creative on that ATV. Just saying... 😌😌😌

I knew it was game over because of the way Jimin looked at the camera here.

Look at his faceeeee

He was NOT a fan of that camera in that moment. It's giving flashbacks to this summer package

And then the way they both look at the camera again before taking off

He he heee.... if you ever watch these reality shows again just pay attention to how many times they glance at cameras. Its so funny. It's not really a surprise they waved away that drone for some privacy.

Thanks for the ask, anon. I believe that about covers it, yes?

[withwritersblock]

Shadow in the Sun

~Shadow in the Sun by Joe P~

Author's Note: this song is such a BANGER. also, it's always the girl who gets feelings in a friends with benefits situation. Not this time *wink* As always italics are flashbacks Summary: Cole gets feelings in a fwb situation Warnings: Implied smut, cursing, toxic reader Word Count: 2,200 Cole Caufield x fm!reader

It was a bad idea. It’s always the one who offers the idea of friends with benefits who gets hurt. He never realized that maybe the reason he wanted this arrangement with her was more than mere attraction. Mere sexual tension. 

The arrangement had the same stereotypical rules. Dont catch feelings. End it if feelings get involved. Well, months ago Cole caught feelings. Did he stop it? Of course not. He always knew that maybe he’s always had feelings for her but he convinced himself he didn’t.

He stared towards her as he slowly brought his cocktail to his lips.

He was sweating as he panted hard as he rolled onto his back opening his arms allowing her to rest her head onto his chest. She brushed her hair away from her face as she took a deep breath. Instead of taking his invitation she laid on her own pillow staring towards the ceiling fan spinning fast. Praying it would help cool her off. 

He shut his eyes hard as he squinted the sweat away from his eyes. It was fun; the whole no strings attached laws. It was fun to see each other in the bar with each other's friends knowing that they’d leave together and have one hell of a night together. They were drunk and already two rounds deep.

She rolled her body onto her side to stare at his side profile. He turned his head to meet her gaze as he took another deep breath. “You just keep getting better and better,” she mumbled as she pressed her lips to his cheek as she began climbing off of the bed. In search of her clothes, he furrowed his eyebrows as he trailed her movements.

“Thank you?” he let out in a questioning tone. His voice was rasped from the night's activity. He leaned back on his elbows as the blanket fell from the center of his chest to only cover below his v-line. “It’s late, you don’t have to go back to your apartment,” he expressed. 

She smiled widely as she squeezed the tight top over her body, “No sleepovers, Caufield, you know that,” she said as she pulled her jeans up onto her body. She let out a huff of air, “Good luck tomorrow,” she said before she walked out of his bedroom.

His lips pulled between his teeth as he shook his head as he collapsed on his back staring towards the ceiling fan. “Fucking hell,” he let out.

It was the off season, just a few weeks shy of the pre-season activities starting. The new members of the team were in town and it was time to start integrating them into their team. They were all in the bar with their friends, partners, and even families.

She was the sister of one of the players on the team. Since Cole was close with everyone it was easier for the pair to get along. 

She was fiery and confident. She was the sun and everyone around her glowed. He’s never been attracted to someone who was so confident and willing to speak her mind. But something about her and the way she looked towards him had him locked in from day one. It was difficult to not be attracted to her. She was everything. There was always this look in her eye that would have him on his knees.

Every time they were in public together, their tension would fill the room as they both would yearn for each other’s touch. It was as if she would give him one look and was ready to call an Uber to take them both back to his apartment. Except tonight was different.

She stood at the edge of the bed as he was kissing her urgently. Her hands traced the curve of his muscles, the feeling of his biceps under hands sent electricity through her veins. His lips moved to her jaw as he trailed wet kisses from her jawline, down the skin of her neck.

He slowly kissed her collar bones as he lowered his lips passed her chest to the center of her stomach, his hands holding her in place as her fingers ran throug his hair, tugging at the reddish strands. His tongue circled as his fingers began tugging at the lacey mesh of her underwear. “Sit,” he demanded.

He cleared his throat as he finished the glass as he placed it onto the bar top. He dropped his gaze towards the bartender who was already handing him another drink. He smiled towards the bartender, sliding a twenty from his pocket towards him. He took a long sip as his eyes searched for hers instead she was met with Nick and Caitlin walked towards him. 

“Cole Caufield not being the center of attention? I’m shocked,” Nick teased as the bartender handed the pair new drinks. Nick handed him a twenty as well. Cole rolled his eyes as his cheeks flushed pink.

“Shut up Nicholas,” Cole let out as he dragged his tongue over his bottom lip to see Y/N smiling as she was walking towards the three of them. There was like a yellow hue over her as she was walking in slow motion. She was the sun.

“I’m liking Alex, he’s gonna fit great,” Nick muttered as he leaned his body against the bar top. Cole simply nodded as he met her gaze. She smiled a cocky smile as she met his eyes.

“Yeah,” Cole let out as he cleared his throat, “He’s funny,” he continued as he forced his gaze towards Nick. 

She stopped short, greeting the other bartender. It was another part of their rules, ever since their arrangement started five months ago, they were not allowed to be near each other in group hang outs. They didn’t want to reveal anything to any of their mutual friends. He needed it to be kept a secret, he couldn’t have anyone in his ear telling him it was a bad idea.

“Did something happen with you and Y/N?” Caitlin asked. Cole’s eyes widened as he shook his head. He brought the glass to his lips. “I thought you guys used to be friends,” she questioned. He nodded.

“We are,” was all he could spit out. Nick stared towards him suspiciously as he shifted his gaze towards Caitlin. She raised her eyebrows as she fought off a smirk toying to her lips.

“Just sex, right?” she asked as he pulled away from her lips and began kissing her neck, sucking on the skin. He hummed, her breath caught in her throat at the sensation. “No strings,” she let out breathily. He lifted his gaze to meet her eye. 

“If you don’t want to do this-”

She took a hold of his neck and pulled her towards him, devouring his lips. 

“I need this,” she muttered as she pulled away. He smirked as he began trailing kisses against her skin. 

The conversation rang through his mind as Nick and Caitlin were staring back towards him. Nick could easily tell that Cole was hiding something, so could Caitlin because Cole was horrible at hiding his face. His face wore every emotion he was feeling.

Nick’s eyes widened as he took a small step towards him, “Oh my god, did you..?” he trailed off as Cole’s eyes widened as he dramatically shook his head. “You’re a horrible liar,” 

~~~

It had been a few days since Nick found out about Cole and Y/N. Cole was still quiet on the details but Nick begged him to shut it down. It was hard to want to stop the arrangement because he wanted to make the arrangement into something more. But the way she was flirting with some of the random locals in the bar last night added to his suspicions that she doesn’t feel the same way.

Apparently, she was very good at keeping emotions out of sex. Cole on the other hand wanted a life with her and not one that was behind locked doors. 

She was on her way over and Cole wanted to tell her how he was feeling. It could go in two ways. She feels the same way and they start an amazing romantic relationship or she doesn’t feel the same way and they end their arrangement to spare anymore of Cole’s feelings.

He lifted his gaze as there was a sound of four knocks on his door. “Come in!” he shouted as he licked his lips nervously. She excitedly entered the apartment with two bags from an online lingerie store. Cole blinked rapidly as she bit her lowerlip excitedly as she walked towards him. 

“I’ve got some new lingerie, dark green and the other one is dark blue. Which one do you want to see first?” she asked as she held up the bags. His lips parted slightly as he pushed his tongue against the inside of his mouth as he scanned her perfected features. He pointed to the bag with the dark green one as he wandered back towards his bedroom.

Maybe next time, he’ll say something because right now he needs to see her in her new lingerie. He slowly sat down on his bed, leaning back against his hands as he patiently waited for her to walk into his bedroom. 

After a few more minutes, she knocked on the bedroom door before she pushed it open and confidently strutted into the bedroom. She spun in a slow circle showing off every revealing part of her body in the dark color. 

“Fuck,” is all he could let out as she slowly walked towards him, smirking.

“Do you like it?” she let out, shyly. The first time in their whole arrangement she felt or even looked shy. He nodded as his gaze scanned her body again. His hand rested on the lace underwear that revealed more than it covered. His hands slowly ran from her lower back to the curve of her ass. 

She leaned towards him and kissed him slowly as her hands ran into his hair. Tugging the ends of it slightly as he continued to run his hands along her frame. 

He pulled away from her as he shook his head, “I can’t do this, Y/N,” he let out as he slowly pulled his hands away from her body. She remained on his lap as she stared towards him, confusion written all over her features. 

“What?” she asked, her heart beating out of her chest. 

“I can’t do this anymore,” he let out as she finally stood up from his lap. He stood up from the bed, walking over to the robe hanging on the hook outside of his bathroom door. He handed it towards her, letting her cover her frame. She reluctantly took a hold of it and covered her body with it.

“Since when?” she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“We said no strings, Y/N,” 

“That’s what we’re doing? I don’t understand,” she said as she shook her head, she met his gaze and saw the sad smile on his lips as he tilted his head to the side. 

“Oh,” she mumbled. She stood awkwardly, unsure of how to reply because she was still with the whole no strings side of things.

He clenched his jaw as he dropped his head. She didn’t feel the same way. He should’ve known. Taking a deep breath, “I think you should go,” he muttered before he went towards his bed, alone. 

“Cole,” she pleaded.

“No it’s okay. Don’t feel bad,” he met her gaze briefly before he looked back down towards his lap as he began fiddling with the end of his blanket. “I’ll get over it,” he muttered, his voice cracked as he spoke.

She took a deep breath before she began walking out of the bedroom. She dropped the robe off of her body before she walked out of the room. He bit his bottom lip as he nodded his head a few times. He pulled his phone from the side table to distract his mind.

After a few more minutes his bedroom door had been pushed open and Y/N was standing in the doorway. Her former clothes covered her frame.  “How long?” she asked, her eyes teary. 

“What?” he asked, his breath caught in his throat.

“How long have you had feelings, Cole?” she asked again, frustratingly. He stayed quiet, avoiding her gaze. “Because I feel like it’s been a while and I was trying not to see it because you would’ve told me. You should’ve told me,” she said as she stepped back into the bedroom. 

“Why does it matter? You know now,” he replied, his voice breaking again. 

“I don’t like hurting people, Cole. We said we would tell each other when feelings got involved. I didn’t want to hurt you,” she let out as a tear fell on her cheek. 

“Seriously, Y/N. I’m a big boy, I’ll get over it,” he let out as he stood up from the bed. She clenched her jaw as she licked her lips before she walked out of his bedroom for the last time that night.

[raayllum]

Teasers Timeline

With the teasers we've gotten this week, I want to try and assemble them into some kind of timeline. Spoilers and speculation ahead!

First off, there's the ones we know are taking place during 6x01 Startouched thanks to con spoilers, such as shots of the prison with Callum, his nightmare featuring Aaravos, Rayllum on the castle battlements, group discussion, them departing for the Starscraper, and Ezran comforting Zym about Zubeia.

Claudia and Terry is also probably from 6x01 (maybe Claudia commiserating with a flashback if it's from later on in the season) due to the beach location and her having to take wet/bloody clothes off. We can even see that one pantleg is shorter than the other.

Now onto the rest, with episode titles as a slight guideline.

This shot with Corvus, Zym, and Soren is likely from 6x02 Love, War, and Mushrooms, given they went looking for Zubeia and Soren meets up with Corvus at the Sunfire camp.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the "Ezran at the castle" and Janaya is around here. If Viren is alive, he could be showing up in Katolis (or Claudia is there to find the fake prison) and Janaya is preparing for war now that Sol Regem has the sun seed. Likewise, this is one of two places I could see the screencap of the Viren and Kpp'Ar flashback being; Viren may be heading back to try to free Kpp'Ar (and may do so with the staf?? If Rayllum didn't take his coin) and thereby reflecting on their past.

Then we get Rayla and Callum on the burning ship in 6x03 Frozen Ship. There's less fire when they're first there together and Callum needs to get his staff back, and significantly more fire when Rayla is there on her own despite being near the same hole in the roof and Callum not being in frame anymore.

Then they head to the Starscraper (and potentially face the big scary dragon along the way, though that could be a trial for 6x05 as well).

Rayla's line about "The fate of the entire world is at stake," her expression, as well as Stella's (almost angry?) expression makes me think she's trying to reason with Callum > telling the celestial elves what's going on, but it really could be either.

Big dragon could also be the trial or thing they're flying off too as well, after the infamous Chin Touch (and possible smooch) given that the clouds from what may be their room seems to match what we see in the background.

If the dragon adventure with Luna Tenebris' unsuitable heir is on the way to the Starscraper, I'd guess it'll have something to do with the moonstone collar its wearing (perhaps an enchantment that cloaks the starscraper from outside viewers?). If it's after, then I have no clue WHY beyond the celestial elves going "you gotta".

At the same time, Karim and Janai are preparing for war. The search for Zubeia must've been either successful or they had to give up and switch gears, as Ezran has 1) left Katolis to be here and 2) reunited with Corvus and with Zym, only to be captured and need rescuing from his favourite dragon pal (Zym's covering them, but it also seems Ez and Corvus showed up on horses so.. parlay gone wrong?)

The amount of Sol Regem regalia on their outfits and Karim's tent makes me think he's already used the sun seed to heal / ally with Sol Regem, or that he's very very close to doing so.

I do think he ultimately goes through with it, though, given that the next time we see Sol Regem, his eyes aren't healed but his wings are 100% patched up and Pharos is seemingly riding him into battle, with Janai and Amaya leading their ground assault.

Amaya still has her crown, and Aanya might show up to help -- the cliffs match the ones she's landing on -- at Ezran's behest, but it's probably not enough.

If she loses but lives, that could be why we see her almost in mourning at the sun seed tree

And I think that's it for now! More speculation and teasers to follow soon I'm sure