#but so much of this storyline was slowburned and now it all feels rushed like

[dynamitekansai]

[mazzystar24]

What I don't get is why people think it's problematic to still wish for Buddie. Like isn't it worse to be happy just because he's with a dude now. Like so you didn't ship Buddie for their amazing chemistry and history, you just shipped them because they were two hot dudes.

(This is not directed at people who are enjoying Tevan for the ride, this is about people who jumped completely)

((obviously bi Buck is important, but I don't think seeing it as a step towards Buddie is bad. We've been waiting for something like this for so many years))

Sorry but this is all that’s in my head^^

But yes yay now I get to have my rant-

The fact that so many people genuinely just wanted buck to end up with a dude is just

Look there is wanting representation which I GET I am all for

Then there is not caring about anything to do with that representation as long as you see two hot guys kiss

Representation without substance, meaning and actually changing what we usually see on screen is just so surface level

and listen we are ALL guilty of that thing where we hear about a show with a queer couple and we instantly get excited and rush over there but some of these people don’t give a shit about the storylines as a whole, the characters as a whole, character development, etc all those things that make representation MATTER

Like we aren’t just happy that bi buck is canon because oh look here’s a bi man character

No we are happy because we got to see his development we got to see his insecurities, history, his personality and his bond with these other characters through the years. Now look I’m not saying oh look at this fictional character think about his feelings, I’m saying that characters and their complexities drive a story they are what make me invested whether it’s a book a movie or show, and to not care about any of that just for the sake of tokenism is insane to me

I also feel it bares mentioning that this is one of the RARE times that this representation in media isn’t a case of tokenism like they’ve taken a character and built him and built the show and built the dynamics outside of his sexuality and made it canon in season SEVEN like Tim and Oliver and the entire team did something we don’t see much or ANY of in media like the way they made it is like we have this journey with the character like it’s a double blind test ( sorry I’m revising for a psych exam rn and my brain can only use that analogy) and until the reveal seven years in we don’t know for sure even if there have been inklings and people are more focused on the fact that oh look some hot dude kisses another in this show

Like genuinely ship what you want to ship and enjoy the time but don’t disregard meaningful potential representation which would have 1. A character navigating sexuality in a situation as complex as Eddie’s 2. A gay couple which wasn’t planned and they actually listened to fans for 3. A well done queer slow burn with the same gravity and meaningfulness that straight slowburns get

Thank you for the opportunity to rant anon🫡

Sorry for the long ass reply😭😭

Edit: also wanna add that yes I’m in analysing media mode because I also have sociology revision on representation in media🤭🤭

[lover-of-mine]

i’m always interested in your analyses of the blue-green thing! colour is such a cool way of expressing themes or parallels and when you look at it laid out with all the couples, it’s so clear and non coincidental lol

“up until 6b they were really careful with this particular implication of romantic undertones with buddie and that's out the window now” is this in reference to how they carefully set up buddie’s themes and storylines over 5 seasons and then fucked it up in just a few 6b episodes? 😅

because honestly that’s part of the reason why i don’t have much hope for canon in season 7, i feel like they’ve suddenly backtracked on their relationship for some reason and are gonna go all no homo and/or just ruin them completely

post about the blue and green thing

Okay, I'm gonna go conspiracy theorist here, and I may be giving the showrunners too much credit, but here's the thing, we know the threat of cancellation made them change things around during 6b, there's a very clear tone shift, they changed episode names, called actor back for reshoots, so they changed the way the season was supposed to go so it would work as a nice packaged little happy ending if they got cancelled. Personally, I believe that there is some higher plan with Buck and Eddie going on here, I think they are a slowburn that is still burning, and personally, that needs to burn a little bit more until they can have a relationship that would work (getting Buck back in therapy and letting them talk would be ideal) and if you wanna jump ship go for it, I don't blame you, this shit is frustrating. But the thing is, they are very careful about how characters are constructed, and Buck and Eddie exist as mirrors of each other, and they also mirror canon romantic couple, bathena being the most blatant one. And they make a point to make sure that if you look at it closely, you can pick up on some romantic undertone, most major buddie scenes have that feeling that leaves you wondering. And it's not like the show doesn't know how to write friendships, because they do, so... choices. But going back to season 6, it might just be me, but I don't want them to get together for the sake of them getting together, there's a lot of build-up surrounding them for me to be satisfied with "and they kissed roll credits" (i love you *falls to gay superhell*, oh he had complicated feelings over the jeep) so I don't think they fucked it up, I think they didn't have the time to playout what they wanted to do with buddie in the space they had in season 6 and voted against rushing it since there was a chance the show was going to get picked up by someone else. Because it is still very easy to write off both Natalia and Marisol and keep whatever plan they might have and if they didn't get picked up just shoving them together would be unsatisfying. (In the end, it was unsatisfying anyway because the way they wrote the season makes a real effort into painting Buck, Eddie, and Chris as a family unity, so most things that don't end with them acknowledging this are unsatisfying, but it's an easy fix because the show didn't end, so)

Because, in the end, they are purposely writing Buck and Eddie as mirrors of each other, and it goes down to the first death on the job for both of them being someone falling to their death. You have the first love that ran away from them and came back without giving them real closure, you have the rocky relationship with their parents, you have the relationship they were pushed into by other people (Eddie and Ana and Buck and Ali if that's not clear), you have the way that Shannon is introduced and the next episode Buck gets a girlfriend, Shannon dies? Next episode, byebye Ali, Eddie starts dating Ana? Next episode, let's bring Taylor back into the mix, Buck is dating Natalia? What a wonderful time to have Eddie decide he's ready to put himself out there. You have the late confirmation they are the same age. You have the way they both escaped home, the way they found themselves in firefighting. You have the pretty blunt parallels between the shooting and the lightning and the well and the lightning, you have Eddie's will and the way Eddie decided to hide it (because they could have Eddie talk to Buck before changing and I've seen this playout between friends in other shows, but the choice to hide it gives a different feeling), you have multiple confirmations that Buck sees Christopher as his own, you have Eddie being hurt being Buck's berzerker button. One or two things are an accident, this many? They're on purpose, and I chose to believe there is some bigger, longer plan in action here. Sometimes I feel like there's a large percentage of the fandom who doesn't understand the stakes behind a network slowburn. Even shows like castle or the mentalist, where you KNOW they are gonna end up together, took like? 6 seasons? of build-up for something to happen? And like, I want them together, but with everything we have around them, I want them together in the right way, and yes, I think the show is delaying them because the stakes keep getting higher so it's harder to make it work, but I do have faith they can make something good work, just look at everything about them from 6x10 to 6x13.

Also, that particular statement was just about the blue and green thing because I actually looked at every scene where they are together, and they are never in those colors except for those two scenes, and the choice of shades of blue and green is very on purpose to be on accident, you know what I mean? And Buck and Taylor have multiple blue and green scenes, to pick the shades from the shooting is insane really.

Everything is on purpose, but a tv show is not like a book or a movie where everything is gonna be contained, you need to let the story evolve and adapt to the circumstances in which is being aired, and personally, I think 6x16-6x18 are just a detour, some construction on sunset lol, I think they had a choice to keep the season the way it was supposed to go and risk leaving the show feeling unfinished or shift things around and just leave Buck and Eddie feeling unfinished and they went with the second option, because it had less consequences.

Season 7 could absolutely go just kidding, no homo, but the thing is, you have two characters whose storylines are deeply tangled together, you can just sit them down, have them talk, say "you're my brother, dude" and goodbye, they're platonic best buddies. But I also don't think they would draw such a hard line because us crazy buddie shippers keep watching the show in the hopes of seeing them in the same frame together, and I feel like a significant part of people could give up the show altogether if they make such a blunt statement. And the showrunners know that, keeping us in the will they won't they thing helps their numbers and we are a significant enough portion of the viewers to make a difference. The hope of buddie brings audience to the show so I wouldn't expect a no homo thing. Or any hard line between them really.

But what do I know? I'm just a girl with a blog and a hyperfixation lol

[aceandnancy]

I’m so mad at the writers for putting Ace AND Nancy with new slowburn love interests! Especially after the crap of the last two seasons. This is a mess and I fear by the time the show ends I won’t feel satisfied with Nace. They literally aren’t together yet and they’re going to be rushed now when the writers had 4 seasons to actually put them together. They just strung us along for hype and views to the detriment of Nace’s development and pacing. It truly feels like they waited too long 😕

Unfortunately, it was always going to be rushed. This may be a controversial opinion, but I don’t think the writers really value Nace as much as the fans do. They probably resent them for consuming so much attention and that’s why they like baiting us to watch knowing there's no follow through. Plus, they were never going to let them be in a relationship anyway because they need Nancy to be unhappy in order to drive the drama. They also use her love life in general as a plot device (every season her current man is tied to the current mystery plot). If she was happily dating Ace, they wouldn’t be able to use her misery and her love life as a main story engine anymore. 

Initially, when I first heard that TPTB were in discussions to end the show for months, I was thinking (against my better judgement), maybe there’s a chance they’ll end this ridiculous curse nonsense early and put Nancy and Ace together by 4x08 or 4x09 since it was the final season. However, then stuff started leaking that there’s probably more unnecessary randoms being thrown in the middle of their love story again and changed my mind. I would not be surprised if they’re doing this to dilute Nace, so fans will lose interest. I mean these are the same people who gave us the nonsensical mess known as 3x10 and who tried to gaslight the fans into thinking dull Park was on equal footing with soulmate Ace. I will never trust them again (and I sure as hell don’t trust any attempts at damage control. They were probably pretty peeved their “amazing” storyline was leaked months before it aired). 

Personally, I always thought nothing would happen until 4x12 anyway (because it was always going to dragged out)…but now I think it’s probably all in the series finale thanks to a last minute re-write…and I’m guessing it will only be one lousy kiss. I think they originally devised this curse not as a Nace storyline, but as a way to keep them apart, so they WOULDN’T have to do them until the last possible minute. It was essentially kicking the can down the road by cleverly disguising their disinterest as a “slowburn”. 

If the writers think I want to watch Nace dating other people for the third season in a row, then they are sadly mistaken. I would understand the concept of short-lived rebounds before Ace found out about the curse (even though they are NOT NEEDED), but these randoms seem to be a bigger deal (at least Nancy’s does...).  I have zero interest in watching that transpire when the time for romantic third parties is over. It’s incredibly tedious, uncreative, and insulting to the fans who stuck around this long and through an incredibly long hiatus. (Right now, my viewership is up in the air and if I do watch, it will be time-shifted with ALOT of fast-forwarding. It’ll be like the randoms don’t exist to me even at the expense of the main characters). 

When I started watching this show, I envisioned Nace would get together by Season 2 or 3 and would just be an awesome power couple solving mysteries together. I never pictured them with all of this ~drama. Now, the sad thing is…we’re never going to get the meaningful payoff other couples do when a slow burn finally plays out. We’re not going to see those domestic, loving, and quiet moments of them just being together in the context of the larger show. And it just breaks my heart because I feel like I wasted my time and energy on nothing. 

Long story short, they waited too long, and now the fans (and Nace's legacy) will ultimately pay the price. 

[randomfandomginger]

Puppeteer

I’ve been working on this fic for long enough I should really talk about it over here lol

Anywho, who ordered a Logince and Moxiety slowburn with extra plot and superpowers? 

Summary: There are a couple of life experiences that you can't get through without bonding with others. Being kidnapped just happens to be one of them. Discovering that you share certain enhanced abilities with your fellow kidnappees- that's another. (Logan would argue that it's hardly kidnapping, he's just helping to forcibly move them to a second location. No, never mind, that's definitely kidnapping.) Why have they all been brought to the same place? To fight crime apparently, and to steal back a little something that might just change their lives as they know them.

Words: 80k, complete! 

Click below for the character’s introductory chapters!

Chapter One- Patton 

Patton had been an optimist his entire life, somehow. To be fair, it had nothing to do with his personal experiences and everything to do with his love for life as a concept. Patton felt that he was lucky just to exist, lucky to have found such loving and accepting parents, lucky to feel so secure and happy as himself, lucky that he could do and see everything he wanted to do and see. Patton felt lucky, nothing else to it.

“Honey I’m home!” he called out jokingly into the open air, using his foot to help open the door to his apartment. In his hands, groceries were piled high, his spoils from his trip to the grocery store.

The store had been out of spinach, so they would have to forego the salads that he and Virgil forced themselves to eat every few meals, just for a semblance of healthiness in their lives.

“Pat? Is that you?” Virgil’s head poked out from around the corner. Patton was so lucky about so many things, and just knowing Virgil was one of them. The two of them had been inseparable since middle school, but the fact that they had both ended up at the same college had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with their shared love for the English language and a certain bond that could only possibly form between two boys who entrusted one another with such unique, such important secrets as they did.

“Who else would it be?” Patton said with a grin, setting the groceries down on the small table that they had set up in the middle of the tiny room. “Is anyone else around here referring to you as ‘honey’?”

“Last time I checked it was just you,” Virgil replied, beginning to help Patton stuff as many of the groceries as he could into their minifridge. “But then again, better safe than sorry.”

“Touche,” Patton replied. “Cutesy nicknames, that’s how they lower your guard…”

Virgil just laughed, a deep rumbling sound that Patton had been hearing for years, yet he never failed to feel a rush of happiness upon hearing it. “Alright, you find some cheesy feel-good movie to put on, I prepare our first round of food?”

“After last week’s disaster? Yes please,” Patton replied, smiling.

Being around Virgil was as comforting for him as it was for Virgil. Virgil’s brain seemed to slow down a bit when Patton was around, and a sense of contentment seemed to surround him. He was familiar, and safe, and Patton had known him so long that he could sometimes predict how he felt about any situation before he actually felt the shift in Virgil’s emotions.

Virgil gave him a grin. “I didn’t know it was physically possible to burn ramen, what with it being immersed in water and all, but you managed.”

“Well, I am a man of many talents,” Patton replied, a bit of an inside joke between them, already squatting down in front of their little box TV and looking through the collection of DVDs below. They’d been collecting since they were both children, but they’d agreed that only the essentials should come alone to them with college. That’s why, after a mere four hours of soft bickering, they’d settled on their twenty favorites to bring along.

“Hmm,” Patton mumbled to himself as he ran through his options. He could hear Virgil bustling around in the kitchen, humming the lyrics to some old song as he worked. “Something cheesy and feel-goodsy…” Patton said, then giggled at the word ‘feel-goodsy’.

He settled on Avengers, for both a comforting and fun storyline and Captain America’s ass, though he’d never admit the second one.

He and Virgil had been watching Avengers for years now, but what could he say? The movie held up. They’d always end up watching it somehow after bad breakups, difficult tests, kids being jerks, anything. It was a comfort movie, and one of the few that Virgil could stomach seeing more than three or four times. Movies like that were to be treasured.

Virgil waltzed back over to their shoddy little hand me down couch and sat down next to Patton, pulling him out of his thoughts, their plates clutched in Virgil’s calloused hands. “Our main course tonight will be none other than those gourmet reheated pizza slices that were apparently still left in the back of our fridge,” he announced with a flourish, handing Patton his plate.

Patton played along, gasping. “The very same gourmet reheated pizza slices that may or may not have been ordered a week ago?” he asked, doing his best but ultimately failing to hide the start of a grin tugging the corners of his lips up.

Virgil nodded gravely. “Those very same slices.” They stared at one another for a moment before they both burst out laughing. “Alright, what movie did you choose?” Virgil asked him mirthfully, and Patton simply nodded at the TV, where Avengers was all cued up and ready to go. “Nice!”

“Well, it is a cinematic marvel!” Patton joked, grinning at Virgil’s soft groan. “How could I not pick it?” He took a large bite of the pizza, chewing at the slightly stringy cheese.

“Terrible pun, Pat,” Virgil said, shaking his head as he shuffled a little bit closer to his shorter friend as he took a bite of his own slice. “ Terrible pun.”

Patton loved these nights on their ratty old sofa, eating cheap food and watching movies that they’d both already seen too many times to count. He knew they both had homework they needed to get done, and the next morning their stomachs would probably hate them, but these nights were to be cherished.

After all, Friday nights were one of the only nights he used to be able to have friends over.

Patton was fifteen, dressed in hand me down pajamas, and sitting in his living room, practically vibrating off the walls.

“Goodness,” his mother chuckled, walking into the room and finding her son staring at the front door anxiously, knee bouncing up and down feverishly. “He’s only five minutes late, Pattycake, I’m sure he’ll be here in a moment. Maybe traffic was just rough.” She was amused, which seemed to be her default setting. Amused and fond.

“I know, I know,” Patton said, bouncing his leg a little bit faster as the corners of his lips twitched. “Sorry Mom, I’m just anxious.”

Patton could feel his mom’s ripple of pride as he said that. He looked up to see his mother trying her best to hide a grin. That always happened these days, even though he’d gotten used to calling her mom almost a year ago. “And I can tell that from all the way over here!” his mother commented. “What makes this Virgil guy so special, hmm Pattycake?”

“He’s a friend,” Patton said, distracted, looking up and meeting his mom’s growing smirk with a groan. “No, Mom, not like that. He’s just a friend, I swear.” He wasn’t just a friend, he was Patton’s closest friend, but he didn’t really think saying that would help his case. It didn’t matter, he didn’t need his mother to know it for it to be true.

“Alright, whatever you say,” his mom said with another smirk. “You two are sleeping in the living room though, you hear me? Not your room.”

The doorbell dinged then, luckily saving Patton from any kind of further embarrassing gossiping. Vaulting to his feet, Patton rushed over to the door, opening it quickly and doing his best to act like his entire face hadn’t been flushed a brilliant red only moments earlier.

Virgil, complete with an overnight bag, stood on his front porch. As Patton took his friend’s image in, Virgil’s anxiety spiked through him like lightning. Virgil was clutching his bag close to his chest, eyes a little bit wide and unsure, knuckles white. Patton frowned. He didn’t really mean to read Virgil, but it wasn’t like he could help it.

“Hey,” Patton said softly to his friend as he took him in, Virgil’s anxiety still coursing underneath his skin like boiling water. He didn’t really need his empathy to figure out that Virgil was tense, but oh well. “You doing okay there, Virge?”

Virgil swallowed, nodding, shoving down whatever he was feeling. Patton resisted a small wince at that. Repression was never good in the long run. “Yeah,” he finally replied, cracking a small grin as he took in Patton in his baby blue pajamas. His mood shifted to a more positive one. “Yeah, better now.”

Patton beamed at that. “Great! Welcome to my home!” he said with a small flourish. “Come on in!”

As Virgil walked through the front door, Patton’s mom came around the corner, still grinning. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Virgil!” she exclaimed happily. “Patton’s told me so much about you.”

“Mom…” Patton grumbled, flushing a little bit, but Virgil just laughed a little bit.

“It’s nice to meet you too, ma’am, thank you for letting me stay the night.”

Oh gosh, he’s so polite.

“Please, call me Mrs. Hart,” Patton’s mother said with a small smile.

When his mother left, Virgil began to look around his living room. Patton followed his gaze, a frantic bundle of excited and nervous thoughts. Virgil’s gaze rested for an unnaturally long time on the mantle, and Patton frowned a little bit. Virgil’s house was full of baby pictures. You get through the front door, there are baby pictures on the walls. You go to use the bathroom, bam, more baby pictures hanging above the toilet. Their living room practically looked like a ‘greatest hits’ from Virgil and his older sibling’s lives. Patton had even found baby pictures all over the mug of hot chocolate his mother had handed him. They were everywhere. Virgil was the youngest of four, and Patton didn’t think there had been a moment of silence in that tiny house. He positively loved it.

Patton’s house didn’t have baby pictures. They didn’t even have him when he was a baby. Patton didn’t remember his childhood, as he was a baby at the time, but he did remember the foster care system.

Baby pictures don’t make a family, Patton reminded himself firmly. Sure, it would be nice for him to remember anything from his youth, but he was happy now, under the care of two loving parents that he cared for very deeply. No sense in dwelling on what you couldn’t remember. Besides, he had Virgil here right now, and his top priority was making his friend feel comfortable in this new space.

“Your house is so much cleaner,” was the first thing that Virgil said, after a long moment of silence. He wasn’t exactly wrong, the entire living room looked as though it had been surgically bleached. His parents liked a clean home.

Patton burst into laughter at that. “I promise my room looks more lived in,” he replied. “Plenty of dirty clothing on the floor.”

Sometimes, Patton hated feeling other people’s emotions. Sometimes it was a rush of hatred and disgust and all kinds of horrifying darkness that made Patton feel dirty just for feeling it secondhand. Sometimes it was sadness so crippling that Patton’s own knees felt weak, that he could feel himself tearing up. Sometimes, it was fear so paralyzing that he felt his joints lock up and his own breathing get shaky.

Tonight, it was joy and excitement and a tinge of adrenaline that usually accompanied exploration. Tonight, Patton had never been less bothered by his empathic skill.

As they watched the movie, Patton could feel his mind beginning to wander. This was in no way the fault of Avengers, he’d simply seen it more times than he could count. Besides, now his brain was full of thoughts regarding his special skills.

The empathy was bad enough, forcing him to pry into people’s heads when he didn’t want to know, but his second skill was even worse, even more intrusive. Patton knew secrets, or more accurately, one secret per person. Sometimes he knew their worst fear, sometimes he knew their greatest hope. On very rare occasions the two were the same.

For instance, when he first met him, Virgil’s greatest fear was someone discovering that he was different. It had changed since that day, but Patton had known and always would know with nothing more than a simple cursory glance exactly what it was. There were no words floating in circles around Virgil’s head, there was no psychic link moment where everything became clear to him, he just looked at him, and he knew. He didn’t have any better way to explain it.

Patton hated it. His mom’s greatest fear was cancer, and his dad’s greatest hope was to give his wife and son the best lives that they could possibly have. Most people’s were generic like that, but more often than he’d like to admit Patton would stumble across something that he’d rather not know.

He’d outed his first foster father at age eight, asking his mom what a homosexual was, and why his new daddy was so worried about her finding out. He’d informed his second foster father bitterly at age twelve that his wife was having an affair, one that she feared he’d discover. It wasn’t until he was thirteen and finally settled in with his mom and dad that he was able to relax.

Patton was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that when the doorbell rang, he jumped about a foot in the air, jostling the table.

“Oh crap!” he cried out in distress, watching as Virgil’s glass teetered, before beginning to fall to the floor, almost as if in slow motion.

Quick as a blink, Virgil’s hand shot out, easily snatching the glass before it hit the floor. He’d barely even looked up from his phone.

“Nice catch,” Patton said with a grin. “Show off.”

Virgil stuck his tongue out at him. “What can I say? I’m a man of many talents.”

Two, to be exact. They both had two. It had taken Virgil a long time to use his around Patton, but his enhanced reflexes came in handy around the house, as Patton tended to bump into anything and everything that could be broken. Virgil had probably saved about ninety percent of their dishes by this point. Super fast reflexes don’t sound very much like a superpower until you bump the dining room table over and not a single dish ends up broken.  

“I’ll go see who it is,” Patton said cheerfully, patting Virgil’s silky purple locks as he passed him by, smoothing out his shirt in an attempt to make himself marginally more presentable before pulling open their heavy oak door.

“Hello!” Patton said cheerfully, his smile dipping momentarily as he took in the scene before him.

A young boy, maybe about his and Virgil’s age, stood in front of them. He had dark hair, so dark it was almost black, and navy blue spectacles on his face. He was dressed in all black, almost formal. He was expressionless, but a wave of guilt hit Patton like a brick. He began to feel uneasy.

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Patton tried again, eyes flicking behind the boy to see the two men standing there, staring straight ahead. They almost looked like soldiers.

“I suppose,” the boy spoke, and Patton turned his attention back to him. He appeared to be sizing Patton up, an action which was not appreciated. “Are you Patton Hart or Virgil Sinclair?”

“That would be me,” Patton said carefully, “What can I do to help you good folks?”

The boy in front of him opened his mouth again, when he heard from down the hall, “Pat? Everything good out there?” Virgil was nervous, he could tell from his voice.

“Ah good, that answers my next question,” Logan said with a nod, now rummaging around in his back pocket for something. “Well, Patton, I would tell you that I am incredibly sorry about this, but the fact of the matter is, I don’t find myself bothered by this. After all, it is necessary.”

Patton was taking a step back, already trying to close the door, but the man closest to him grabbed it before he could. “Virgil!” Patton shrieked as they pushed past him into the house, and then he felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck.

Looking back at the young boy, Patton swayed for a moment, suddenly feeling heavy. Blinking drearily, he squinted in an attempt to focus. What was he supposed to be doing? Gosh, he sure felt worn out. Wouldn’t it be nice if he could just take a little nap? As Patton’s eyes sagged closed, he could hear Virgil doing something, most likely fighting the other men, but he couldn’t keep his focus on much of anything for too long.

Family, he thought as he drifted off, staring up into the other boy’s bright blue eyes, his biggest hope is for a family.

And then his eyelids slipped shut, and he could feel his head thunk against their floorboards.

Patton didn’t dream while he slept. It was just dark. He couldn’t see anything, he couldn’t hear anything, but he knew he was asleep. That in itself was peculiar. Patton was a lucid dreamer, and usually his entire night was filled with fantastical adventures and unusual shenanigans.

He awoke in a strange bed, in the middle of a strange room. His eyes snapped open, another unusual occurrence for him, seeing as Patton usually took ages to muster up the courage to open his eyes after a full night’s rest.

The room was dimly lit, and he sat up, rubbing his neck slightly as he took in his surroundings. To his left was a table, a couple of books stacked underneath. In the right corner sat a potted plant with a light blue vase. In the chair next to the potted plant sat the same boy from the night before, staring intently at him.

Patton jolted as he noticed him.

“Oh, good,” the boy said with what looked like an attempt at a friendly smile. “You’re awake. We may begin. My name is Logan.”

Patton sat there, his mind racing. Should I say something? Will that make it worse? Where am I? Who is Logan? How long was I asleep? What am I doing here? Why did he take me?

Where’s Virgil?

Chapter 2- Janus

Janus couldn’t believe his luck. Honestly.

Walking throughout the crowded city street on swift feet, he eyed up the stores to his left and right respectively. The crowd rushed around him like a babbling brook, and just as loud. Vendors were out on the congested streets, doing their best to entice the public under their brightly colored coverings. Children were laughing, birds were chirping, and the organized chaos around him made conditions perfect for what he wanted to do.

Janus ducked out of the street, standing off near the opening to a sweets store, observing the festival from a bit more of a difference. The shadows obscured his already covered face further, and Janus tugged impatiently at the strings on his hoodie, squinting his honey and hazel eyes squinting at the people wandering through the festival. “Come on, come on,” he muttered under his breath.

A little ways away from him, a tan man with long black hair laughed loudly, running his fingers through his thick hair before interlacing them with his girlfriend’s once more. Perfect.

Janus concentrated. Usually, when he shifted, he preferred to close his eyes, but the most important part of this whole thing was that he stayed constantly on his toes, so he begrudgingly kept them open.

Janus could feel his entire body begin to tingle as the shift took over. That was probably his least favorite part of all of it. He could feel his chin bulging slightly, as well as his nose growing. His build became stockier, and his eyes, so captivating before, turned to a dulled brown. Likewise, his hair darkened as well, the already dyed blonde coloring fading from the roots outward. In a matter of moments, he was a completely different person.

Janus put down his hoodie, stepping a bit further out of the shadow of the archway and smiling a smile that wasn’t quite his. “Alright, let’s get this started,” he said, his voice deeper than it had been only moments earlier. Good, that was all in order then too. The mimicry was always easier than the conscious effort shifting took him, so long as he heard their voice first.

As he walked, opposite the direction from the man he’d just impersonated, he kicked at the sidewalk casually, forcing his toes to the end of his boot. Did I lose a couple of inches? He wondered, amused. He was pretty short already.

Whatever. He ducked into a nearby store, one that sold crappy old antiques for overinflated prices, resisting the urge to crack his knuckles as he did so. That would have been horribly stereotypical. Giving the shopkeeper another one of someone else’s signature smiles, Janus set to work, eyes flicking from shelf to shelf, noting the unsurprising lack of customers that made his job much simpler than he needed it to be.

As Janus left the same store only minutes later, an extra pep in his step and his pockets full of useless knick knacks, he blended back into the crowd easily, letting the flow carry him through the streets.

Nabbing a spare pastry from a visiting vendor and dropping some change on the counter, he continued through the crowded streets, allowing his face to slowly bleed back into the one that he’d been assigned at birth. This time, changing back was almost like shrugging off a heavy coat, one that fit him just a little too strangely to feel completely comfortable in.

That was the oddest part about it, in his opinion. Everyone was a slightly different experience. Some people fit like skin tight leather, others gave him a strange, almost bloated feeling while he was trying their likeness on. Still others left a tangy taste in his mouth, and on very, very rare occasions, people just felt right. A person’s outward appearance wasn’t the determining factor, to the best of his knowledge, as Janus had tried and failed to find one characteristic or pattern that would differentiate exactly how it felt to become that person.

It was a beautiful, bright summer day, and the heat of the sun beat down on Janus’ back while he wandered, taking another bite of his chocolate pastry. The sweet was positively exquisite, and he smiled. The summer festival was his favorite time of year, not only for the ease with which he was suddenly able to pickpocket, but also for the out of state company and the vendors from all over that lined the streets constantly, jousting one another for position, each tarp cover more flamboyant and eye catching than the last.

There were a couple of little kids playing in the street nearby, shrieking and giggling. Their mothers were pleasantly conversing a small ways away, most likely also keeping an eye on their respective children. Janus watched them from the corner of his eye, running his slender fingers through his hair. They were caught up in their own little world, unaware of the strife and conflict that surrounded them at all times.

He frowned. Ah well, they would learn soon enough. He certainly had.

As he moved on, his phone buzzed. Digging it out of his back pocket and checking it absentmindedly, he noted the time.

Grandma: When will you be home, garter snake?

Smirking at the pet name (though he’d never admit it), he shot back a ‘soon’ to his grandmother before repocketing his phone. He’d technically gone out today to see the festival and he wanted to stay just a little bit longer. After all, it really did only happen once a year.

It was at that moment that Janus heard the crying. Honestly, it was a miracle that he could even pick it out in the first place, what with how quiet it was. Luckily, several years of living on edge and learning to make money where there was none had prepared Janus for hearing noises others didn’t deem quite so important.

“Mom? Mommy!”

Janus glanced around hurriedly, heart race picking up as the small voice became clearer. The kid was getting closer to him.

It only took him a moment more to spot her, wearing a slightly scruffy white dress and blue boots, her straw colored hair pulled back in two braids. There were tear tracks on her cheeks, and she stood off to the side of the crowd, calling out to the foot traffic desperately, like she wanted to weave and search her way through the crowd but was unable to. She clutched the side of one of the nearby vendor’s tarps in her right hand and a tiny stuffed bear in her left. Crap.

Quickly, he ducked out of the flow, approaching the girl with his best ‘I’m not intimidating’ smile. The girl, for what it’s worth, evaluated him through calculating eyes. This would be very good, if not for the small sniffles she let out every couple of seconds, and the tears budding in the corners of her little chocolate colored eyes. Why is no one helping her? he thought, an irrational surge of anger coursing through him.

“Hey there kiddo,” Janus said, the words sounding a bit strange in his mouth, but pressing on nonetheless. “You doing okay there? You look a little lost.”

The girl nodded hopefully, though he couldn’t tell which question she was nodding in response to. She kept the distance Janus had established by stopping a few feet away from her, clutching the tent behind her a little tighter. “I’m looking for my mommy,” she explained, before sizing him up again and stating decisively, “You’re not my mommy.”

Janus had to push down a bubble of laughter at that, watching a small grin cross the girl’s face. “Well, you’re definitely correct there,” he admitted, shrugging in a ‘what are you gonna do’ kind of way. “But I can help you find her if you want,” he offered.

“Mommy told me if I ever get lost to go to the nearest place I recognize and wait there for her, but she hasn’t come to get me yet and I’m scared,” she told him. Janus didn’t miss the way her voice broke on the last syllable, or the tears now threatening to spill over the corners of her eyes and down her rosy cheeks.

Oh shit oh crap, don’t let the child cry, he thought, and before he knew what he was doing, Janus had dug through his pocket and pulled out one of his knick knacks, a little silver chain with an aqua stone hanging from it. It was one of the simpler things he’d nabbed, most likely not even very old at all. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the store had taken it and distressed it themselves in an attempt to pass the necklace off as an antique.

The little girl’s eyes widened as he offered the necklace to her, taking a step forward and reaching out with both of her little freckled hands to examine it.

“Here you go,” Janus said dumbly, because he wasn’t really sure what exactly to tell the small girl, but he wanted her to know the necklace was hers to keep, and she seemed pretty entranced by it already, but it couldn’t hurt to clarify.

“It’s so pretty,” the little girl said, touching the dangling stone carefully. A child who’d been taught how to handle breakable things, even better, Janus thought, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Okay kiddo, if I’m going to help you, I’m going to need to know your name, okay?” he told her, and she nodded up at him.

“That sounds reasonable,” she said softly, sounding out every syllable in the word reasonable. “My name is Jessica, but my friends all call me Jessie.”

Janus continued to smile at her, hoping it was still coming off as reassuring. “That’s a very pretty name, Jessica,” he said, watching her attempt to fasten the necklace around her neck. “My name is Janus, and my friends call me Janus. Would you like some help with your necklace?”

She giggled a little bit and nodded again, eager. “Thank you Mr Janus!”

He couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he knelt down to help her, Jessica turning around and raising her hair out of the way, even though it was in braids. Diligently, he refastened the little silver clasp around her neck, suddenly thankful for his long nails.

“Alright Jessica, now let’s get you back to your mother!” he announced in his best chipper tone, and the little girl flashed him a grin brighter than the sun.

I should probably find an officer, or maybe someone in charge of security, he thought, and even though his blood went a little cold at the thought of willingly walking up to anyone dealing with law enforcement, he shot another glance over at the little girl, and he steeled his nerves, doing his best to push down the anxious fluttering in his stomach.

“Okay Mr Janus,”Jessica responded, prim and proper and polite as she used her palm to wipe the last of her tears off of her face. Then, a little shyer; “Can I hold your hand?”

He looked down at her, and the words “Of course,” were spilling out of his mouth before he could even stop them.

Just as shyly, he felt a tiny hand slip into his, and Jessica gave him another of her little smiles. “Okay, all ready now,” she announced, and Janus grinned at her.

And the two of them were off, Janus weaving through the crowd easily, used to navigating large groups of people. Every so often, he would glance behind him to reassure himself that Jessica was still there, despite the weight of her tiny hand in his own.

As they neared the police tent, stationed near the barricades closing off the road at the ‘start’ of the festival, Janus could feel his stomach trying to crawl out of his throat. There were a few officers standing around under the cover of their tent, and one very desperate looking woman speaking with them hurriedly. As Janus approached, he could hear the conversation a little bit clearer.

“Please, sir, I need to find my daughter,” the woman pleaded. “I don’t even know what happened, one moment she was holding my hand and the next she was gone, please!” She sounded close to hysterics, clutching the deep red purse around her arm tightly.

“Ma’am-” the police officer said in a slightly exasperated tone, but it was at that very moment that Jessica cried out “Mommy!” and let go of Janus’ hand, running past him on her short little legs and straight into the arms of the anxious woman.

“Jessica!” the woman responded, picking up her daughter and squeezing her. “Oh my gosh, Jessica, what happened to you? Why did you let go of my hand? Are you safe? Are you okay?” The woman’s questions got louder and more concerned the longer she looked her daughter over, patting her down for injuries and then hugging her again, just as tightly as the first time.

“Mommy, it’s okay,” the little girl said, in that same placid tone that all children somehow managed to channel through them when they really truly believed that nothing was wrong. “Mr Janus helped me.”

“Who is Mr Janus, honey?” Jessica’s mother asked, biting her lip nervously and giving her daughter another once over.

“He’s right over there!” Jessica pointed back to where he was awkwardly standing a few feet away, feeling a little bit like he was infringing on a personal moment. “He gave me a pretty necklace and helped me find you.” Janus gave her an awkward wave, unsure of what exactly to do.

As Jessica’s mother looked him over, Janus squirmed under the scrutiny. Jessica clearly took after her mother, sharing her straight blonde hair and button nose, though her mother’s eyes were blue, and Jessica’s were brown.

“Hi,” he tried, unsure of the proper protocol for dealing with returning a lost child.

Jessica’s mother’s grip tightened on her child for a moment, and then she smiled genuinely at him, and oh, that was Jessica’s smile too, and tears were welling up in her mother’s eyes as she said her next words. “Thank you so much for bringing my little girl back to me.”

Janus felt a rush of emotions, most of them positive, some of them bittersweet, still others a little bit confused and unsure. “Yeah, it was no biggie,” he managed to make out, giving her a smile and a head tilt. “I just did the respectable thing.”

Jessica’s mother gave him another smile, and said in the most genuine, sincere voice she could manage, “Well, if the world were full of people like you, we’d be all the better for it.”

Janus had to resist the urge to laugh outright at that, though the corners of his lips did twitch up. Hopefully, he could pass that off as a bashful smile. Oh lady, you have no idea. “It was my pleasure,” he responded smoothly, smiling down at Jessica and waving. “It was nice to meet you Jessica.”

“Bye Mr Janus! Thank you for helping me find my mother!” Jessica said with another one of her big grins, and surged forward to wrap him in one more big hug before she let him go.

“Bye Jessica,” he echoed, even as he turned away, smiling a little bit, knick knacks weighing heavily in his pockets.

The walk home was a slow one, one that he knew well. He’d been walking these bleak streets for years now, practically since he was old enough to stand on his own two feet. They were as familiar to him as anything could be, the result of time and effort spent exploring their back alleys and lanes.

Now that the festival was behind him, the cheery feeling had faded, the colors desaturated. Even the air seemed different, slightly stuffier. He knew that was ridiculous, he knew the air quality couldn’t deteriorate that quickly, but it seemed to choke him, worming its way down his throat and making itself at home in his lungs. It always had.

A dog barked from a nearby house as he passed by, and Janus crossed the street. There was no one out on these roads, but that wasn’t uncommon. He wouldn’t have been very surprised if a tumbleweed bounced past him one of these days on his walk home. It was just horribly stereotypical enough to be funny.

His grandmother’s house was a little brick house on the end of the block. She’d lived there as long as he’d known her, which was pretty much his entire life. Then again, he’d lived with her for most of that life. He didn’t really remember his parents, but that was okay in his book. Anyone who deserted their three year old child wasn’t anyone he ever wanted to meet, much less be related to.

Besides, his grandmother had been a more than capable caretaker. No one had showed up at more random childhood talent shows and concerts than she did, and she baked cookies wherever Janus did anything even minorly noteworthy, to show him just how proud she was of him. They’d replanted practically the entire garden behind the house together when he was little, and it was yearly tradition by now for the two of them to go out on the first acceptably temperate day during the spring and do their first round of weeding together.

Janus was walking up to the front step, already fumbling for his key when he stopped. The door was already open, slightly ajar. His eyes narrowed.

He could hear deep voices coming from inside, faint, but definitely there. Not his grandmother.

Without a second thought, he shifted, struggling a bit to pull his coat from this morning back on. Crap. Were the man’s eyes blue or brown? Was the small scar on his right hand or his left? Did his chin have a cleft in it or not? He didn’t remember, and that could be dangerous.

His coat was full of holes, little ones, but holes nonetheless. It was like he’d left it in the back of his closet, only pulling it back out to wear again once the moths had had their way with it. Was his nose really that big too? That certainly didn’t feel right. Clearing his throat and letting his voice deepen and shift into the man’s honeyed rumble, he slipped his jacket off and left it on the rocking chair to the left of the door. The voice was always easier.

“Mrs Devon?” he called out as he pushed the door the rest of the way open. The voices inside quieted immediately, and Janus put on his best mildly concerned but mostly confused look. His teeth were just a little too white to be real. Something told him that he wasn’t nailing this.

“Janus? Sweetie is that you?” his grandmother called out. She sounded nervous, never a good sign.

“No, it’s, ah, Mark.” Janus winced. He hadn’t had time to come up with a name, a story, anything. “From nextdoor?” he tried.

“Ah, Mark, come on in!” his grandmother called out, and Janus had to resist smirking. She was a better actor than he’d ever be.

As he walked through his hallway and into the kitchen, he found his grandmother sitting at the kitchen table with her hands crossed in front of her. Her lips were pursed and her expression was mildly frazzled. All around her, making themselves at home in her kitchen, were several different middle aged men. Sitting on the counter and sipping from a juice box was a boy that looked about his usual age, kicking his feet a little bit.

Staring at the scene in front on him, Janus all but tilted his head to the side questioningly. “It appears that I am not acquainted with your guests, Mrs Devon. Are they new in town?”

Before his grandmother could reply, the boy with the juice box spoke. His tone was icy. “Simply passing through.”

“Yes, I do believe they’re looking for my grandson,” his grandmother said, meeting his eyes. Janus could feel his blood run cold. Surely this isn’t for petty theft, he thought.

“What did he do this time?” he tried to joke, but it fell flat.

“Not a gosh darn thing,” his grandmother replied. “Mark dear, you will let me know if you see him, won’t you? He’s been out all day and I’m ever so worried about him.”

“O-of course.” His throat felt dry.

“We were informed that he would return at around this time,” the boy said, eyes narrowing behind his thick glasses lenses. He brushed some of his black hair out of his face as he evaluated Janus.

That seemed to be happening a lot today.

“Well, I certainly haven’t seen him,” Janus responded, you know, like someone who certainly had seen him.

“Of course you haven’t,” the boy repeated again, in that same cool tone that made Janus feel like his skin was crawling. “Because if you had seen him, then you would certainly tell us. After all, you have nothing to hide, and as a fine, upstanding citizen you certainly want to make sure that the law is being upheld.”

“That goes without saying,” Janus replied. Seriously, don’t say it. Stop talking to me. Please.

The boy sighed heavily. “This is a real shame, Mr Devon, I’d hoped you would cooperate with us…”

“I’m sorry?” Janus replied, feeling dread begin to pool in the bottom of his stomach.

“Yes,” the boy said with a nod. “Yes, I suppose you are.”

There was a small prick in Janus’ neck, and he gasped, stumbling away from the man behind him, eyesight already going a bit fuzzy. Somewhere to his left, his grandmother let out an indignant cry. Shit. “What- what did you do to me?” he gasped out, blinking heavily even as the man retreated back next to the boy with the brilliant blue eyes. “Shit,” he gasped out, and then his vision went black.

Chapter 3- Roman

It was just like his brother to have done something incredibly stupid the last week of their senior year and then claim he was “too tired” to get anything else done for the rest of summer. Roman let out a small huff as he walked back from their kitchen, balancing two plastic cups in one hand, and a bowl of chips in the other.

Remus had set off fireworks indoors. Not a couple of fireworks either, he’d gone out with some friends a couple of nights before and bought as much as six months of a minimum wage paying job would buy in fireworks, which was more than you’d expect. Roman had been saving his own money for college, despite his scholarship, but Remus just went out on impulse and purchased more fireworks than could fit in the back of his truck quicker than you could say “bad idea”.

Talk about going out with a bang.

Besides, Remus wanted to be a ceramist, he’d already gotten everything set up and ready to go on that front. Best to start the whole ‘starving artist’ thing as early as possible, right? At least, that was his go to joke whenever it was brought up.

“Anything good on TV?” Roman asked him, setting the cups and chips down on the table.

Remus was flicking through the channels absentmindedly. “Nah,” he muttered.

“Move your legs,” Roman told him, nudging one of the offending limbs. Remus insisted on wearing booty shorts throughout the entirety of ‘shorts season,’ no matter how cold out it actually was. Between the AC and the time of day, Roman didn’t know how his brother’s legs hadn’t frozen solid already. Remus had always run warm though.

“Mmh, no,” Remus replied, reaching out and popping a chip into his mouth.

“Don’t make me sit on you,” Roman warned him. “I’ll do it too.”

“Whatever.”

“You asked for it.”

Roman sat down on Remus’ kneecaps, but instead of the usual cursing and writhing that would result from such an action shared by siblings, Roman could only feel Remus’ knees give a little bit, and then they went completely flat and rubbery.

“Oh, gross!” Roman leapt off of him at once, brushing down his butt like he’d sat in lava. “You know that I simply despise it when you do that!”

Remus let out a little snicker. “Do what?” he asked him, smirking.

“You get all… rubbery. I don’t know how to explain it! Just… ew.” Roman made a face.

“I know, right?” Remus grinned at him. “I’m like a gutted fish, ready to be cooked! Where do my bones go? Who knows…”

“Don’t make it any weirder than you already have,” Roman said, exasperated, like they hadn’t had this conversation over and over again in the past. “Come on dude, please, just move your legs.”

“Oh! Well why didn’t you just say so, brother dearest?” Remus said, batting his eyelashes comically at Roman and sliding his legs gracefully to the floor, where they fell with a slight jiggling motion, kind of like jello. Roman resisted the urge to make another face, he knew it just egged his brother on.

Sitting down, Roman popped a chip into his own mouth, chewing slowly and savoring the flavor. Twelve years of schooling, done and dealt with. He couldn’t believe it. They’d done so much and spent so much time in that old brick building that it felt almost wrong to leave it. He had no more constants in his life, no more getting up early every week day for school, no more Friday math tests, no more lunch block to be spent with the theatre kids. He had lost all his constants.

Well, all but one.

Remus was his one true constant. They were going to the same college, despite all of the differences between them. Roman’s football scholarship was offered by a place with an excellent theatre program, and Remus had chosen the same school based on their stellar arts program alone. Remus was the antithesis to his thesis, the yin to his yang. Even Remus’ powers seemed to be in direct contradiction to his. Roman had expected them to be exactly the same, since they were twins, but his brother and he couldn’t be more different when it came to their strange, almost otherworldly skill sets. They’d had two apiece their entire lives, the powers of unknown origins that they only used when it was them and their parents around.

Roman had always had thick skin and an even thicker skull, in every sense of the words. He couldn’t remember a time when any knife, nail, or needle had ever pierced his skin. He led a surprisingly bruise and scrape free childhood, but it wasn’t until he’d accidentally caught his finger in a stapler and pressed down and the stapler had bent that he realized he couldn’t break his epidermis. He’d come to his mother and father crying, they’d thought he was finally hurt, but when he showed them the bent stapler and his pristine almond skin, they’d simply exchanged a look that he couldn’t quite figure out.

Remus’ skin was weird too, but not in the same way as Roman’s. Where Roman’s skin was rigid and unmoving, Remus’ was practically too easy to bruise. He’d spent most of his childhood covered in bandages and gauze pads, but he’d never broken a bone. This probably stemmed from the fact that Remus was like a rubber band. He could have been a contortionist, though Roman hadn’t ever seen a contortionist that could squeeze themselves completely flat and slide under his door to wake him up at three am on their birthday. Remus had limits, sure, and he seemed to keep the same body mass no matter what, but it was like his bones were gone sometimes, weird to look at and even weirder to feel.

It was Remus’ second skill that really made him the one with the more interesting skill set, in Roman’s opinion at least. It was the one thing that actually made him a match for Roman’s super strength, and made sibling squabbles a little bit more “fair.” He didn’t use it often, and Roman hadn’t ever really been able to put a finger on what he should call it.

They were seven or eight at the time, sitting on the floor of their living room, propped up in front of the TV. Colorful cartoons flashed on the tiny screen, but neither brother was actually paying much attention at all to them. Their focus lay on the toys on the rug in front of them, trucks and cars and dolls and little tiny building blocks.

“Boys, do you want lemonade?” their mother called from the kitchen, before returning to her usual humming.

“Yes please!” Roman called back to her politely, before returning to his very serious battle with Remus. So far it looked like he was winning, but he never knew when Remus would try and cheat to get the upper hand, so he had to stay vigilant. His father had taught him that word last week, and Roman had been thrilled to know that it had so many practical applications.

“Alright, Monsieur Poopybutt will now lead his forces in an attack!” Remus cried out, holding up his own doll, a barbie with a sharpie mustache scribbled across its small upper lip. He placed the doll very delicately in his biggest monster truck, colored the green and brown of camouflage.

As Remus mimed driving the car closer to Roman’s lego castle, he let out a hearty laugh. “You fool! You’ve fallen for my plan, hook, line, and stinker!”

Remus chuckled. “It’s hook line and sinker, doofus!”

“Whatever! Point is, I have you now!” Roman grabbed another of the dolls, one he’d been saving for the special moment that Remus tried to attack him head on, like he always did. “This is Princess Elizabeth!” he announced, brandishing the doll close to Remus’ face so that he could see her closer. “She wears a sparkly dress!”

“I know Princess Elizabeth,” Remus replied, unimpressed. “You use her every time we play. She knows how to use swords and whatever. She’s not that cool.”

Roman gasped theatrically. “How dare you besmirch the good name of Princess Elizabeth?” he cried, dramatically throwing one arm over his forehead, the other still clutching his doll tightly.

“Meh.”

“Well, dear brother, there’s something you do not know!” Roman cried out, grinning the gap tooth smile of a delighted child. “Princess Elizabeth has learned a new skill since our last battle!”

“Oh?” Remus asked him curiously, tilting his head and flashing his own identical gap tooth smile. “What is it?”

“Princess Elizabeth has learned how to use magic,” Roman whispered, eyes sparkling as he leaned in for dramatic effect. It had taken him days to fully flesh out her backstory, limitations, and powers. Originally, he’d wanted to make her like himself, but in the end he’d fallen back on the classic elemental control.

Remus let out a raspberry. “Well that’s good for me, since Monsieur Poopybutt is immune to magic,” he said with a shrug, knocking Roman’s doll out of the way and continuing his siege on Roman’s now unprotected castle.

“Wait, you can’t just do that!” Roman cried out, scrambling to grab Princess Elizabeth. “You made that up just now, you can’t change the rules!”

“So what if I did?” Remus asked him, grinning. He was already in the process of destroying Roman’s castle, ramming the truck containing his own doll into the side of the structure again and again. “Monsieur Poopybutt can do whatever he wants! He’s immune to magic because I say so, and he’s killed Princess Elizabeth, so I’m free to attack your castle! Besides, you can’t learn how to use magic that quickly, that’s unreasonable. Learning magic takes time!”

“Princess Elizabeth is not dead!” Roman protested, holding her aloft. “See, she’s right here! She’s fine! You didn’t do anything to her!” He paused. “And you can too learn magic that quickly! Princess Elizabeth is a fast learner!”

Remus just looked over at him, before grabbing the doll out of his hand and chucking her across the room.

“Hey!”

“You started it! There, she’s dead, I killed her! Don’t make me pop off her head too!” Remus retaliated. “She’s gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”

Roman let out a shriek, throwing himself at his brother and knocking him away from the castle, sending him staggering to right himself.

“What was that for?”

“You can’t just kill Princess Elizabeth! She’s my doll, not yours!”

They were both on their feet now, glaring at one another, the toys discarded. “I can and I will!” Remus replied haughtily.

“I hate you!” he yelled at his brother.

“And what are you gonna do about it, huh? Punch me?” Remus’ voice was deeper now, a low growl in the back of his throat that no ten year old should be able to use.

Roman shoved him. He knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, he knew that Mom had told him never to physically lay his hands on anyone unless it really couldn’t be helped, because they weren’t as strong as he was, but he couldn’t help it. Remus had been a pain in the butt all day, and this was just the last straw. Besides, he’d killed Princess Elizabeth and that was simply unacceptable. She was too important to just be killed off like that. So he pushed his brother with all the strength he could muster, stumbling into him and knocking him over.

Immediately, it was like his arm had gone dead. Pins and needles traveled throughout his entire body, and Roman felt drained for a second. Stumbling further, he fell on top of his brother. Immediately, Remus went pliant beneath him, probably ready to ooze away from him like he usually did. “Ow, get off me!” Remus cried out.

Roman felt like his body had been filled with lead, the pins and needles feeling retreating and leaving him utterly drained. He was oblivious to Remus’ whining as he tried to figure out exactly what he just felt. That had never happened before, not even when he hit things as hard as he possibly could.

“I said, get off of me!” Remus cried one last time, and then he shoved up at Roman.

Roman stumbled back and off of his brother, feeling a little bit like he’d bounced off of a wall. Crying out on his own, he felt his back connect with the floor as the air was knocked out of him.

A moment passed, and then Roman became acutely aware of his brother staring at him with wide eyes, their quarrel forgotten. His brother had shoved him away with a strength that only Roman could have possessed.

It had happened in the span of a couple moments, only seconds. Maybe he’d imagined it. Roman rubbed his elbow on reflex, even if it didn’t really hurt. He had never felt more powerless.

The best way he could think to explain it was energy redirection. However hard you hit Remus, he could hit back just as hard. He assumed. It’s not like they took a lot of time testing it out. As long as Remus could weather the hit, he would be fine. That was a lot cooler than his super strength, the only thing he got out of that was an advantage in football.

I wonder if Remus would be able to redirect energy from a moving car? he wondered to himself before banishing the thought from his mind. Remus would absolutely be up for being hit by a moving car for an experiment, and if he even heard about the idea he wouldn’t be able to get the idea out of his head. If he didn’t end up asking Roman to do it, he’d find someone else to hit him with a car. Roman wasn’t sure which of those options he felt more comfortable with. Probably neither.

Right now, they were both just having a lazy night in, gorging themselves on food while their parents were still paying to keep it stocked in the house and heckling at reruns on TV. It was peaceful and familiar, and Roman was glad for that. With so much changing so soon, he was a little nervous for what the future held.

Their mom brought their dinner out to the couch about halfway through wherever stupid TV show they’d put on for background noise, and after a profuse thanks from the twins, who hadn’t expected any other food to be provided, she retreated back to her study to work.

They dug into their calzones while they watched, the ceramic plates cold in their laps even with the steaming food atop them. College was stressful to think about, college was going to be expensive, and college was nowhere on their radar tonight, luckily.

The Princes had a rather nice house, upper class if you will. It was no mansion, but they had several floors and more than enough bedrooms for everyone. They were quite comfortable, and one of the features of their big house was their lovely doorbell, which had been rewired sometime when Roman and Remus were children to ring with a pleasant chime whenever anyone pressed the button. That being said, the sudden loud knocking at the door was a jolt to both of the twin’s systems, unexpected and louder than was strictly necessary.

Roman felt his grip on his fork tighten a little bit too much in his surprise and he looked down sheepishly. “I bent another one,” he told Remus.

His brother just rolled his eyes. “You’re a dork. Try to bend it back into shape while I go greet our guests.” He slid off of the couch and, with a shimmy, waltzed over to their intricate front door, opening it with a flourish.

Roman listened from the couch. His brother had an interesting way of greeting guests that tended to persuade them to leave quickly if they were unwanted, and his methods were fun to listen to. He just didn’t have a clue who would be knocking at- he checked the time- ten thirty at night.

He could hear Remus wolf whistle from the doorway, low and long. Roman frowned. He’d have to talk to Remus about doing that in the future, that was quite inappropriate. Then again, if he told him that, it might just make him do it more.

“Damn, where’d you fall from, angel?” Remus said, presumably addressing whoever had the misfortune to be on their doorstep.

The response was quiet, and Roman had to strain to hear it from the spot on the couch. “I have not fallen, in fact, I’m here on business. I’m looking for Roman and Remus Prince.”

“I sure hope you are, pretty boy.” Roman could almost feel Remus’ smirk, could almost envision his brother biting his lip in that way he did that made you feel weird making eye contact with him ever again. “Hey Ro,” he called over his shoulder. “Look who’s here to see us!”

Roman poked his head over top of the couch just as the boy at the door sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “This is definitely them. Just…” he waved his hand vaguely at the men behind him. “You know the drill.”

It took Roman about three seconds too long to understand exactly what he meant by that. One second Remus was standing there, grinning at him with his hands on his hips, the next his brother had been stabbed in the arm by the man closest to him, crumpling to the floor mere moments later. The man leaned down and picked him up like a sack of potatoes, beginning to walk out the door.

Panic rippled through Roman’s system as Remus left his field of view, and he threw himself at the blue eyed boy, unsure of quite what he was supposed to do but knowing that when he got there he’d figure out exactly what he was doing. He had to get Remus back.

Unsurprisingly, the boy dodged, stepping neatly out of Roman’s way and back a little further onto their porch. Thrown for a bit of a loop, Roman stumbled, twirling around to try and find the man that had grabbed Remus, single minded and focused on that and that alone, and-

-he felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck.

“You son of a bitch,” he whispered, feeling a haze settle over him, stumbling a bit further as his vision began to go dark.

Edit: Here’s the Ao3 link! 

[realchemistry]

Some 9-1-1 thoughts

I really think the finale should’ve been two episodes long. The whole thing seemed rushed, and the train derailment was barely a thing. It’s impossible to balance having that accident and rescue, while giving the characters not involved with the emergency time for their stories to play out.

Abby’s return was a bit of a mess. First of all, it would’ve been more ~dramatique to have her be inside the train, it would’ve given Buck (and the 118) more time to interact with her. I understand that the whole idea of her return turned around the idea of her calling 9-1-1 and assessing the situation like a pro, which would’ve been hard if she’d been stuck, but I think it would’ve made for better TV. I guess Connie didn’t have too much time to shoot, and a rescue would’ve required more.

Buddie-wise, TPTB clearly intended for Buck and Abby’s reunion to contain lots of Eddie. Eddie was the first to talk to her, we got more time of his face reacting to Buck reacting to Abby (LOL) than of Abby herself. Then, Eddie somehow heard Buck’s promise to Abby, and was clearly feeling feelings about it when he brought her up in front of Bobby. We also got to see him reacting to Buck watching Abby and Sam leaving in the ambulance. Eddie’s the closest to Buck, and they always work as a team, so it had to be him playing that part, but the way that part was played, that was TPTB’s choice through and through and it was very Buddie and they can’t deny.

Earlier, we got to see Eddie clearly freaking out about Chris leaving to camp, Buck doing the same, and the whole team looking at each other amusedly. Bobby’s reaction to Eddie telling him the fiancée was Abby was also precious. All the Buddie bits at May’s party were awesome, the fact that the best one might have been Oliver and Ryan only goes to show...

Buck and Abby’s conversation felt somehow incomplete to me. Leaving was the right choice to her, she had no regrets about it, and she explained why she didn’t want to return as well, and that was fine. It just felt like they had more to say to each other, and we can imagine they continued talking after that, but I wish we’d gotten more of Connie (and her hair).

I’m glad, however, that Michael received good news, and maybe got that cute doctor’s phone number and a date to look forward to (more dates, as Anon lovingly pointed out), Athena started to deal with her trauma, Josh got his own form of closure (though I wasn’t a fan of that storyline), and Hen is going to med school (she can’t be leaving the show, tho, so IDK how that’s gonna work). May probably wanted to talk to Maddie about being a 9-1-1 operator, which I’m here for cause it could bring lots of great storylines for next season.

MADNEY ARE PREGNANT! I was so happy for them, they did nothing wrong ever and deserve all the best. That kid is gonna have so much love!! I can’t wait for fun storylines with those two (three)!!

What’s next for Buddie?

I’m gonna be real here: they gave Buck closure (which I don’t think he really needed TBH) to finally get on with some romantic storylines for him, and I’m pretty sure that, at this point, Eddie is not a candidate. Eddie himself will likely continue his story with Ana or with someone else. 

I think Buddie can be a great slowburn couple and I’m up for it (in fact, I’d prefer it), but I also think TPTB aren’t planning for Buddie right now. To be fair, they probably haven’t planned much of anything because they’ve only been working for a few weeks, but if they had the intention to get on with Buddie next season, they could’ve had both of them sending Chris off, just to plant the seed.

It doesn’t mean it’s never gonna be the plan, or that they aren’t gonna decide to go for it in 4B, but TV doesn’t work the way some of the fandom think it does. What I mean by this is that the online fandom is not really as important in ratings or influence as some would like to think. Numbers are what makes a show go on, and 9-1-1 gets amazing numbers as is. Going for a Buddie storyline or not wouldn’t really make much difference, and people are fooling themselves if they think that telling TPTB that they will stop watching if they don’t go for it is an actual threat to them. By the same token, replying to official accounts with Buddie love is great, but some people (Oliver included) should really learn about online etiquette.

Does this mean I’m giving up on Buddie? Not a chance in hell. I love Buddie and I love this show in general, and I will continue to ship them and watch it for as long as my love remains true. I love slowburn couples, I love watching the transition from friendship to romance, and all the elements for Buddie to happen this way are in place. I’m not naïve and I know it might never come to be, but I will support the ship, root for them and hope for the best, as I always do.

[endlesslyrecklessly]

February 2020

Malec: 

By Chance- jadegreendragon

doctor!Alec/dancer!Magnus AU with kids, what’s not to like? It’s not too rushed nor is it too much of a slowburn. A few angsty moments but mainly fluff, its very cute! Currently WIP but seems likes there’s only a couple of chapters left to go.

Malex:

   Pink, Purple & Royal Blue - SuchASeeweedBrain

Okay so this is a Red,White and Royal Blue Malex AU. Now, I haven’t read the book so I can’t say if the plot follows closely or not, but with that in mind I don’t think I’ve missed out on anything because of it. A good mix of angst, smut and fluff, its definitely in my top 3 - I’ve been waiting patiently for it to be updated every few days! WIP, but there’s only a few more chapters left until fully posted.

     I’m looking forward to joining you, finally. - PinkSparkleUnicorn

I was really intrigued by this, I don’t usually read mpreg but it didn’t feel like  one of the typical summaries I’d read for that kind of fic so I gave it a go. It’s Malex focused, yet I loved the relationships between them and whole RNM gang as well.

     Hang Inappropriate - Sismyn

AU, Alex as Michaels bodyguard. I may have accidentally jumped straight in at part 3 of the series? but, again, I didn’t lose out because of it. I love the way the story plays out, it all feels like natural progressions of a relationship/storyline like this and there wasn’t too much of a slowburn- Also there’s so much sass, I love it. WIP with one chapter left.

     Skylark - prouvaireafterdark

Ugh, this got me in the feels! its a oneshot and yet I can’t really explain why it got to me so much. You really feel the angst and misinterpretation on Michael’s side, and then Alex just wants to make sure there’s no miscommunication between them... I Loved it, one of my top 3 of February for sure!

Destiel:

     A Fine Romance - DragonSgotenks

teacher!dean and nurse!dad!cas, this was a slowburner! But very much worth it. I really liked the way Cas’ past relationship has been handled so far and why he’s so hesitant because if it. Dean just wants to be in Cas’ life, too cute. WIP, a few chapters left.

     Be My Forever - Casloveshisfreckles

Cas has a pet pig called Pug! This grabbed my attention from the get-go. There’s fluff and there’s angst (mainly family related) but its just two guys meeting through odd circumstances and slowly falling in love whilst dealing with annoying brothers. The Cas-Claire relationship is really sweet too!

_____________________________________________________________

* A little disclaimer, I couldn’t find a tumblr link for all the authors so if you are one of them or know the person that is please let me know so I can edit and add them! *

[sugar--pie]

Originally when I found out about the DW thing regarding this new season, and sooner came to discover the tweets from Barlee. I became really upset. I’m still upset.

Keith and Lance and their dynamic, has been one of the best things I loved about Voltron. But I know for a fact it was initially meant t happen. There’s way too much proof, even in season 7. Even if others didn’t see it.

So finding out that it might’ve just been tossed away because DreamWorks didn’t want it... or didn’t give permission... really hit hard.

But as I lay here, with my pillow being soaked with tears... I thought about Barlees tweets again.

Being fair, they couldn’t say all that much, so it’s very much obscure towards what it could mean. But I ... might be able to give some hope towards this. Even if I could be wrong.

First off, Barlee acknowledges that the situation isn’t good and that we have a right to be upset. And from OUR POINT OF VIEW it doesn’t look good. But there is more to the story.

Now I feel like some people are maybe taking her words of “they’re allowed to feel upset by the end result...” a little out of context.

I will dive more into this in a second, but I just want to quickly point out Barlee is being very clear in that the people who also work on Voltron, do care about proper rep and did want what was best for us.

This is where the idea of being Queerbaited came from. Overall Marketing and Netflix had minds of their own, and that’s where the “official videos being tagged Klance” and the obscure tweets by Netflix originally came into play, when they weren’t meant to. This is where the posters Netflix(?) made of Shiro with Adam behind him, and the Keith poster with Lance being behind him, came into action. They only watched the show like the rest of us, so assumed that was the direction as well. They probably had minimal insight into what’s going on, so If any queerbait was involved it was ultametly just the marketing team. Not the show runners themselves who didn’t have any say in what gets shown, tagged or previewed.

Now getting back into this, and why “they’re allowed to be upset with the final result” stands out to me.

A lot of people are saying that “patching up” the “incomplete story” is referring to making Allura and Lance endgame. Lance was promised one, so that’s what their doing. But in all honesty that doesn’t line up for me.

DreamWorks is believed to have not been allowing the team to go through with their original rep and storyline in the first place. It’s rumoured that Shadam and Klance were fought for, but were never allowed... until a certain point, that as Barlee says here, she didn’t even know about until right before the sdcc premier.

This here implies, that they were given permission for rep at some point in time, and not everyone who worked on Voltron were given this insight.

Now this could easily just be making Shiro the only rep, but when you consider them “patching up” after finally being allowed to put in rep, implies they are still fixing up a lot to include the rep, but what else would they need to patch up, if Shiro and Adam had nothing happen, nor did Shiro point out there’s more to him then we saw. That’s why so much changed easily just by allowing the rep to happen. That’s probably why Shiro was thrown in so quickly to being gay rep, and why there wasn’t any Adam and Shiro except a new recording.

I would like to remind you all, that there was another few recordings done for Shiro and Adam, and I believe an actual scene that was suppose to happen. (Don’t take my word for it). So they may have had scenes and audio ready, it maybe never got a chance to use them as they had to change things.

This is where the whole improvisation comes in. They had to improvise to make Shiro as gay. It’s not what we wanted nor was hyped up to be. They just fit it in cause they were only allowed to recently.

Coming back to this tweet. Barlee says that because of the improvisation, much of the rest of the creators didnt get to do everything THE WAY they planned. This is where I think Klance might still be happening.

“They did what they could to patch it up.”

Barlee never once in any of the tweets implies that they are pulling through with Allura being Lance’s endgame just cause it was promised he’d get one.

The Voltron showrunners were given permission for the rep. It may not be how it was originally planned, so that’s what they’re patching up.

That’s why this season doesnt make sense in terms of all the Keith and Lance interactions that demonstrated them being exactly what they were meant to be, a good team, and most importantly, together. There was more scenes of Keith and Lance, (and even one or two scenes heavily implying Lance where he is feeling something towards Keith), compared to the one or two Allura and Lance scenes implying a romance between them.

“They didn’t get to do everything the way THEY PLANNED.” Implying they’re still doing everything they originally wanted... but not in the way that they saw was more fitting. Combine this with the fact they were given permission for rep... I don’t think Shiro is the only rep allowed. Also combine that with the Keith and Lance heavily implied development this season ... both original planned reps were probably given...

Bro. I’ve stopped crying.

“I think they tried to patch it up as best they could once they were allowed to.”

This. Tweet. Right here. No where does it sound like Barlee is implying Lance isn’t getting an endgame with Keith. This is starting to look more like :

“Originally, what was planned was Keith and Lance from season 1-3. However it wasn’t allowed after that and they had to improvise. Eventually rep was allowed, and now they had to not only improvize but patch up anything to try and make sense of it again.”

I’d also like to include that Seaosn 8 isn’t finished yet, most likely BECAUSE they have to “patch things up.”

It isn’t going to feel satisfying because everything is so rushed, since they only got the okay to do it now. It’s not being made the way it was originally planned. So yes, Keith and Lance are still most likely going to happen. But it won’t be the way they originally wanted for the show or for us. That’s why everything is so quick and bumpy, and why Acxa (a side character who all of a sudden is brought in) and Allura (someone who just had their heart horrifically broken) are probably being implied as Romantic towards the two, Keith and Lance respectively.

I wouldn’t be surprised in Seaosn 8 if they pulled the lame use of Jealousy or pining to bring Keith and Lance together. It initially was meant to be slowburn — These two coming together throughout the story. But they had to, again, IMPROVISE.

Allura and Acxa are mostly likely a part of this “patching up” situation. And the ending won’t be satisfying because not only will these two probably be thrown somewhat under the bus... (hopefully respectfully), they will also make Allura realize feelings for Lance and him coming to realize, no, you’re not the one for me. They’ll also probably use Acxa as a segue to make Lance maybe jealous? Or realize his feelings as he assumes something is happening between her and Keith.

I of course do not like this sort of scenario at all. But that’s the only logical way I can see Acxa being brought into this and being implied to have a crush on Keith, and Allura suddenly has feelings for Lance. If they just wanted to have Lance end up with someone cause it was promised, they would’ve left Acxa out. Keith wasn’t promised an endgame. Throwing her in wouldn’t make sense, unless it was for this purpose.

“It won’t be satisfying to a lot of ppl, and I certainly do not fault them for that.if they had gotten to do what was originally planned, people would feel better about the season.”

So many people were disappointed that not only Lance and Allura being implied to be getting together even after Allura’s heartbreak (besides some of the actual shippers which, y’know, ship them), but also Acxa and Keith out of nowhere, on top of Adam dying without seeing Shiro. This isnt what was suppose to happen. But again, they’re patching up what they can.

—-

“...they’re allowed to feel upset by the end result...”

I’m bringing this back down, to tie all of this together. From everything I’ve gathered. Klance... is still pretty much happening. Or at least, 95% happening as this is sheer speculation on my part.

But to sum up, the showrunners wanted an actual LGBT based plot line, following Keith and Lance. That was initially the slowburn. And it still somewhat counts as slowburn, since they’ve kept the previous development and brought in more interactions and development for them, including the subtleties within Season 4, and end of Season 6 - more than I originally expected to see compared to Allura and Lance. It will feel rushed, but they had to improvise and patchup what they could because they only got permission to go through with it recently, and everything they wanted originally isn’t being done they way they planned.

Allura and Acxa may get thrown under the bus next season, but hopefully it’s not a disservice to their characters. And in terms of Adam and Shiro, people have a right to be upset about it. Ultametly, fans were queerbaited, but not by showrunners, they were baited by the marketing team who exploited not only the LGBT, but also the largest portion of the fandom, the Klance ship.

BUT THAT WAS NOT THE SHOWRUNNERS FAULT. They cared about Rep and they’ve always been advocates. They couldn’t give what they wanted from the beginning because they didn’t have a choice. And now they have permission, and have to do what they can to work back to what they originally planned in a short amount of time, and try to make sense do things again, even though it’ll be rushed and won’t be as satisfying as it should’ve been.

And they know we have a right to be upset with an unsatifying result. Even if it ends with Klance.

So. Did I manage to somehow restore faith for myself? Oh yes. But knowing the posts I make, this will get like 2 notes. But please! BOOST THIS. I think people need to think of this a little better.

And once again be patient. Patience yields focus.

Edit: So I have discovered that these did not refer to Klance. I admit I even took these out of context, HOWEVAH! I still made a post, and gUYS I HAD AN EPIPHANY TODAY AND I REALLY THINK YOU ALL NEED TO READ IT! Please!!! Because, even if it does not happen on canon, which seems like it might not, even though please consider reading!

Keith and Lance have had major roles in each other arcs, even if they weren’t romantic ones! But they have definitely grown into best friends at least, and that’s still a beautiful, beautiful thing! And they’ll be by eachothers sides even after the series ends.

Because that’s what Klance is. Keith and Lance, back to back.

[izzycheeese]

Someone just posted on Twitter that z/ven officially becomes canon next week bc they kiss. They’ve forced this ship so much it makes me loose hope on murven help

Honestly anon, I do think z/ven will become canon. And hell, maybe that theory is true because, like you said, they’ve been forcing this ship on us for most of the season. 

And it irritates me. I’ll admit, some of their scenes are cute, and I’m glad that he makes Raven happy; but I feel as if Raven’s storyline has been mainly revolving around him this season. I remember seeing a post about that, about how “Raven doesn’t deserve to be treated as only a love interest.” AND I HIGHLY AGREE. Raven is much more than that.

I’m not saying that Raven isn’t worthy of love. In fact, I really hope she finds love, whether it be with Z/ke, Murphy, or Echo (I lowkey ship them oops) - she deserves to love, and be loved. What I’m saying is that Raven deserves more than that. She didn’t deserve to be treated as only a love interest. She deserved to have her own storyline this season. 

Anyway, I said that I do believe that z/ven will become canon (to our dismay). However, I don’t think they’ll be endgame. I slightly believe Z/ke will die this season. Reasons:

I’ve heard rumors that Jordan is going to be filming something at the time Season 6 is supposed to shoot. Maybe he’ll make time for both, maybe he won’t - who knows.

The writers love to torture Raven. It’s a known fact.

Z/ven feels so rushed, I don’t think the writers would have rushed a relationship if both characters were going to survive this season. 

Other than the fact that I think Z/ke will die, we’ve got reasons to believe Murven will be endgame:

They’ve been such a beautiful slowburn, I doubt the writers are going to put their relationship to rest. 

Both characters have been vital parts of this season’s plot, I doubt either of them will die. 

It’s been said - by Em/ri herself - that m/mori isn’t a good pair anymore.

They robbed us of a cheek kiss for a reason. 

We’ve. Got. Pining. John. Murphy.

Don’t lose hope anon, even if the storyline isn’t going our way right now. Like all slowburns do, they take time. And I’m willing to wait. 

Thank you anon for the ask! It absolutely made my day.

[evamagi]

I was so ready for 545, so pumped..

I had this whole drinking game planned. I was gonna take a shot every time a ship became canon, I was gonna take 2 shots if we got a wedding (I had my fingers crossed for Gajevy) and 1 shot for each canon child showing up. I was so sure I would get shit faced by the ending.. Needles to say I’m fuckin SOBER and really disappointed.

Shitfaced still, but in a whole different way. 

I’m sad, really I am. 1. that the manga ended and 2. that we didn’t get a satisfying conclusion to none of the ships.

And it’s not even that, I’m pissed because we had our hopes raised. I feel seriously betrayed. I feel like I’ve been thoroughly fucked hard and then left before the climax. Like there was that cover some time ago with all the ships on and I was so sure after that that we were gonna get a really cheesy sweet as fuck ending but noo. 

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been this dissappointed in the ending if the romance aspect hadn’t been so hinted on in this arc and there wasn’t such an influx in ship-related art from Mashima, right until the end. I mean we had that cover, and the Gruvia art on twitter and the Nalu art, like seriously, way to play with our fuckin heads Mashima. 

There were the Gruvia moments, with Gray saying he needs to apologise, then him protecting Juvia.. where the fuck is my panel with Gray’s apology Mashima? All I get is a “maybe”? Really? That’s the answer? I know Gray is a tsundere but this would have only been acceptable if he hadn’t been shown so “sticky” to Juvia in the last chapters. Yet he was clinging to her, protecting her, smiling to her, I really, truly believe FUCKIN MAYBE is not what Gruvia deserved. Since when is Gray fuckin shy? Fuck that, I do not accept that lame explanation. He should have said “you’re mine” and leave it at that, no fuckin’ maybe added. I really fuckin wanted to see Gray man the fuck up, but I guess “no fuck that” was better huh?

And Jerza.. such a letdown. 

Like we get a fuckin second Zervis conclusion but barely 2 panels on Jerza seriously? Are you fuckin kidding me? Did we really need another Zervis conclusion? Why does Mashima have such a fuckin hardon for this ship? We got basically an entire arc on them, their child, their love/hate relationship.. and the conclusion they got was OK. I mean the both of them happy in the afterlife was a fine ending for them. I get that Mavis founded Fairy Tail but she’s a secondary character and gets 2 conclusions while freakin Erza, a MAIN, doen’t even get proper closure to her storyline with Jellal. FUCKIN BULLSHIT.

Also, if they are reincarnated how the fuck are they the same age they were when they died?! This is not how reincarnation works like WHAT THE FUCK THEY SHOULD BE BABIES FFS, HUMANS DON’T GROW LIKE THAT IN A YEAR. Logically they died a year ago, so how the fuck did they grow up so fast? It’s basic biology shit, their reunion at Lucy’s party should not be possible. This is just rushed and I don’t understand why he insisted on squeezing another Zervis conclusion, seriously, it’s weird, it’s not done right (THEY SHOULD BE BABIES ) and it’s not fair to the other characters honestly. 

Like fuck Jerza am I right? A ship that’s had build up for years, why give them a moment right? Clearly Zervis needed another ending. 

I am so pissed. So fuckin pissed. I’m very sad about this, I think Jerza was the ship that suffered the most being apart, and also the ship that’s had the more proeminent and deep feelings shown throughout the manga, and thus I think they were the most deserving to have a clear and happy ending together.

And even Gajevy like we can’t even get an actual phrase out of Levy’s mouth that she’s pregnant, noo we get  “whisper, whisper” and Lucy saying she thinks she heard the word “baby” like WHAT THE FUCK. Gajevy should have gotten a proper kiss at least, I’m starting to think Mashima can’t draw a romance scene, otherwise I really can’t explain it to myself why none of the ships got .. more.

I’m not that surprised by the Nalu ending, out of all the ships I was expecting stupid shenaningans with this one. What Natsu wanted to say was for them to go on a job.. Sigh.. 

I was hoping they would become canon but alas it was not meant to be. They clearly mean a lot to eachother so their relationship is probably more of a slowburn that needs more time. A real slooow burn that probably needs like 3 more years to get there. But in the end this is just me thinking... I’m never gonna get official confirmation am I?

 Anyway they are not the reason why I am so dissapointed with the chapter. The other ships with more build up deserved better. It’s such a fuckin terrible tease, we got so many hints and in the end we got nothing clearly romantic. Un-fuckin-fair. No clear Jerza, no clear Gruvia, no clear nothing. FUCK. 

Except Zervis of course, we really needed them to be visibly together, AGAIN, totally. /s And don’t twist my words. I am bitter yes, but it’s not that I hate the ship, I just don’t think it needed another conclusion, occupying space in the end chapter that could have been given to other ships.

Troll until the very end, Mashima truly was. I know the manga is more about friendship and bonds, like don’t get me wrong, I am aware of what I am reading, but like I said I wouldn’t be this disappointed by the ending if the ships hadn’t had such buildup and hints added to them.

Good thing I got vodka and not champagne, vodka goes so much better with disappointment than champagne does. I’m just gonna drown my sorrows and hope for some better fillers on the ships in the 2018 anime, although that’s just wishful thinking, we probably won’t get ship conclusions in the anime if Mashime doesn’t greenlight it, and seeing as he didn’t do them any justice in the manga I doubt he’s gonna let the anime do it. (I’m a sucker so I’m still gonna keep my fingers crossed until the very end-end). 

I think Mashima probably wanted to let anyone continue shipping what they want without confirming or denying any particular ship, although I can’t help but be salty as fuck about it. And imo building something without giving it a clear conclusion is a fuckin lame cop-out. Like fuckin dot your i’s and cross your t’s man, regardless of what faction of the fandom is gonna be pissed or happy. 

Guess it’s all up to fanfiction now. I hope I’ll find some good ones to read on a more satisfing ending or just write one myself.

[dynamitekansai]

THE USOS REUNITE WWE SMACKDOWN (OCTOBER 25, 2024)