#but this one just sticks out because it is so ironic that they reject that title first

[falling-enthusiastically]

Shoot from the hip are the type of improv group that reject 'The Confused Racist Panda' as a title suggestion and end up with a play about a Nazi chinchilla 20 minutes later

[atlabeth]

too sweet

pairing: aaron hotchner x fem!reader

summary: a night out makes hotch realize a few too many things.

a/n: me??? writing for criminal minds again out of nowhere??? what is going on. and i do not have an answer i was just in a hotch mood bc he's fine asf and i finally have the confidence to write for him here we are lol. hope u enjoy this short lil thing

wc: 2.4k

warning(s): alcohol consumption, a sexual joke or two, written in one go so might be a mess! aaron is all in his head but this is basically all fluff

Hotch can’t focus. 

Mostly because he can’t stop glancing over at you. Normally it’s not a problem—he’d lost count of how many times he’d distracted himself from mounds of paperwork by meeting your eyes through his office window, often accompanied by a smile that made even his heart beat a little faster—and especially now, it shouldn’t be a problem. 

You and Derek have had some kind of bet going on during the past few nights out—you didn’t believe he was as charming and suave as he claimed, and Morgan was all too happy to prove you wrong.

You bet that he couldn’t get at least five numbers every night, and come last Thursday, Morgan took the win at the end of the evening with a smile on his face. As punishment, the first round of their next night out was on you. 

And that’s nice, sure. Hotch is always thankful that his team can still joke around and have fun with each other despite everything they have to deal with each day. He hopes they keep the light in their eyes as long as possible, especially the younger ones. He’s fine with being the stick in the mud, the one who never smiles, the iron willed chief that scares local uniforms.

Hotch is not so fine with the way he feels right now. 

It’s a busy night at the bar, which is understandable. Hotch is sure half the precinct is out alongside them, celebrating the BAU finally solving the case that had torn them to shreds over the past week. You, Reid, and Garcia put the threads together an hour into scouring through evidence, and the unsub was cuffed before noon. 

Certainly something to celebrate—there’s a reason the whole team agreed to go out tonight and leave tomorrow. Even Rossi decided to join when he learned you would be buying, but he’s already abandoned them in favor of catching up with some old friends. Hotch even thinks they might have another round in their future because of their solve, courtesy of the local chief. They had a long night ahead of them. 

But you haven’t gotten the drinks yet, and Hotch wonders how long it’ll take even after you do. Because some officer is trying to talk you up, and you’re smiling and laughing along and giving him every bit of your attention. 

Hotch recognized him the moment he set eyes upon him, even in plain clothes. He’s some joke of an officer from the station, and he’s been trying to get your number—or even just get your attention—throughout their whole visit. Always sidling up to you during debriefs, specifically giving you any information or evidence he finds—Hotch has overheard him asking for your number more than once. 

Hotch has been so focused on the case he’s not even sure if you’ve rejected him or not, and the mere thought is enough to annoy him. If he wasn’t equally as sure of your ability to defend yourself and afraid of overstepping with you, he would have stepped in. 

But it makes sense. The officer is young and handsome, you’re young and pretty—not to mention you have a way of lighting up any room you step into. Hotch spent the whole first month of your employment wondering why you would want to do a job like this. He’s spent the rest of it thankful that you did. 

You’re sharp as a whip, naturally, but you’ve also done wonders for the team atmosphere. It’s hard to feel down with a smile like yours beaming his way. The job weighs you down like it does everyone, but you still manage to lift everyone’s spirits on the jet ride back before they jump into the next case. It’s impressive. 

It’s also trouble. You’ve been part of the BAU for almost two years now, and Hotch has spent just as much time tearing his eyes away from you as he has working. It’s wrong, and it’s wholly inappropriate in terms of your working relationship—he’s your boss, for god’s sake. 

But sometimes, Hotch will be beating himself up over one thing or another on a case, and you’ll plant yourself in his vicinity and refuse to leave until you’ve helped him work through it. If you ever tire of the FBI, he thinks you have a second calling as an elementary school teacher. 

Sometimes the hotel they’re staying at will have truly shitty coffee, worse than they’re used to at the BAU, and you’ll already be in the lobby with a tray full of the team’s orders. Hotch never recalls telling you his order—you just figured it out, and you remembered it. 

Sometimes his gaze will drift your way, and he’ll find you already staring at him. You look away just as quickly as he does, and it makes him wonder. 

Hotch has made a living off of studying the behavior of others. More often than not, he finds himself profiling his co-workers just out of instinct. His job is to know what others are thinking. 

But god. When it comes to you, Hotch doesn’t think he’s ever felt more unsure in his life. Especially when you look at him the same way he wants to for weeks, then act nothing but proper another day; when you fall asleep against his shoulder on the jet one night and entertain some desk jockey another night. 

It makes him feel like a highschooler again, trying to figure out if Haley really liked him or if she was just playing around, and it’s more embarrassing than it should be. Especially when he’s still dealing with the lingering emotions from the divorce. 

“Hotch.” JJ’s voice is enough to break him out of his trance, and he blinks as he turns to her. At least someone paid him the mercy to dispel his thoughts, even if only for a temporary time. 

“What?” 

“Did you hear a single word I said?” she asks, a slight smile curving on her lips. 

“Of course,” he responds. “The chief’s over there talking with the commissioner. He’s the same guy who made your life difficult the last time we were in Milwaukee.” 

JJ’s eyebrows shoot up, and she nods. “I didn’t think you were listening.” 

“I think he just got lucky,” Morgan cuts in, his gaze darting over to you momentarily. “I think you were too focused on our drinks.” 

Reid frowns. “I don’t think he was focused on the drinks. He’s—” 

“Just making sure they’re still coming,” Hotch interrupts, and he straightens his tie. Today really has been a long one—usually, he’s better at covering these things up. “And I wasn’t lucky. I was listening.” 

“Trust me,” Morgan says with a laugh, “I’m watchin’ her until I’ve got a glass in my hand. She’s not getting out of this after the way she bragged this whole month.” 

“The stupidest thing to make a bet on,” Prentiss remarks, “especially with you.” 

“She said she just wanted to prove you wrong,” Reid contributes. “She thinks you’re too cocky.” 

Morgan grins. “It’s not cocky if you can back it up.” 

Hotch’s attention goes back to you, and you’ve finally gotten their drinks. You’re loading them onto a tray like you’re the bartender yourself, and his brows crease. Maybe he should have gone up with you. 

“Do you think she needs help?” he asks. How obvious is too obvious? Why does it feel like his brain only works at half power whenever it comes to you? 

“She’ll be fine,” Prentiss says. “And if she needs it, that guy talking her up can help.” 

“Jason Rodriguez,” Reid remarks. “He hung around her the whole time we were trying to pinpoint a location, and he wasn’t any help, which makes sense because he's practically desk-bound at the precinct. I’m surprised she got any work done.” 

JJ chuckles. “I’m surprised he hasn’t given up yet. He’s been following her around all week, like some lost puppy.” 

Morgan shrugs. “I dunno. She seems pretty into him.” 

“I don’t think ex-frat boys are her type,” Prentiss says wryly. Hotch doesn’t think so either, but he doesn’t say anything. Contributing to this kind of conversation is certainly too obvious.  

“I doubt we’ll be back here for a while. She might as well.” Morgan smiled. “She probably needs a win after such an embarrassing loss.” 

Thankfully, before Hotch has to keep pretending not to care about this topic, you walk over carrying a tray of cocktails—and you’re alone. The subject of their previous conversation seems lost in the crowd, and he feels a dangerous amount of relief. 

“Are you all talking about me?” you drawl. 

“You know we are, sweetheart. Thought you were never gonna get here.” Morgan sits up, smiling at you. “What’d my win get us?” 

“Long Island Iced Teas,” you muse as you set the tray down. “Enjoy it, because I’m gonna be working some overtime to make up for all these.” 

Morgan grins as he takes his drink. “You should’ve never doubted my skills.” 

“I’m surprised you didn’t need any help,” Prentiss says. “You’ve done this before, huh?” 

“Bartended my way through college.” You slide into the booth next to Hotch, just a bit too close for a bit too long, and he hopes that no one can see his chest still for a moment. It’s impressive that he still hasn’t figured out how to lessen the effect you have on him. “I’ve probably got better hands than you, Morgan.” 

“Do we need to make another bet?” he asks. “Because I’d love to clean out your wallet.” 

“Maybe wait another month before you prey on any more poor, defenseless agents,” you croon, and Morgan laughs. 

He pivots the conversation away from you when you pick up your drink and take a sip, and you look at Hotch. Whenever your gaze is on him, you make him feel like he’s the only person in the room. He’s sure you never look at anyone else that way, but Hotch wonders how much of that is his mind trying to justify his imagination. 

“I’m surprised you agreed with this,” you say, mercifully interrupting his thoughts. “I thought you’d want us to go back tonight.” 

“You all earned a night out after the work you did,” Hotch says. He thinks about taking a drink, but he decides against it, at least for now. He can barely trust his sober mind. 

“You’ve earned it too,” you say. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without you, Hotch. You keep us all together.” 

He shakes his head. “I don’t think I ever would’ve connected the dots like you and Reid can with Garcia. I hate unsubs with secret codes.” 

“I’ve always liked puzzles,” you muse. “There’s nothin’ like it when it all finally clicks.” 

Hotch hums, and for a moment, he’s silent. Your gaze remains fully on him, and that might be why he has trouble thinking. It’s too easy to get lost in your eyes. 

“What did that guy say?” Hotch finally manages to ask, because he honestly can’t help it. Morgan’s points actually worried him a bit, and he wonders what that says about him. Ex-frat boy certainly isn’t your type, but someone forgettable for a one night stand isn’t the most absurd thing in the world. 

Your brows knit together as you drink some more. “What guy?”

“The officer you were talking with,” he says. “He seemed to like you.” 

He’d been flirting with you since the moment you stepped into the precinct, actually, desperate for your attention, but Hotch didn’t really want to say that. He’s sure you noticed either way, if the rest of the team did. 

“Oh. Him.” You shrug. “He’s nice, I guess. Definitely a looker. But he’s got nothing beneath that hair.” 

“Morgan’s surprised you didn’t bring him back,” Hotch says. He wonders if he’s pushing too much, and again, he feels like a highschooler testing the waters. Do you know what you do to him? What you reduce him to? 

You shrug as you take a sip. “If he knows what’s good for him, he knows he doesn’t have a chance. My attention’s on someone else.” 

Prentiss calls your name and you get drawn back into the middle of the team’s conversation, and thankfully, Hotch has a chance to digest your words—and the stunner of a smile you flash at him before you get pulled into their talk. 

His decision to not drink seems even wiser, now. Hotch has to loosen his tie, and he ignores Reid watching him. It’s futile trying to hide anything from Spencer Reid—the kid already knows everything. 

Again, it's dangerous how much satisfaction he gets from it—from knowing you never really paid that officer a second thought. You didn’t smile at him the way you smile at Hotch. You don’t smile at anyone the way you smile at Hotch. He thought he was imagining it at first, or that he was just a bit too stuck up, but it was the honest truth. You paid him special attention, and he couldn’t blame the warmth in his chest from the thought on any alcohol. 

He tunes back into the conversation just to hear Morgan demand you pay for his next drink. 

“You’re lucky I’m feeling generous,” you say. 

He puts a hand to his chest. “Generous? You’re just paying what you owe me.” 

You laugh and shake your head. “Pick your poison, pretty boy.” 

“How do you feel about tequila?” 

You make a noise of disgust and shake your head. “As long as I don’t have to drink it.” 

“You’re just paying, sweetheart.” Morgan’s eyes dart to Hotch, and he nods as he grins. “One for me and our fearless leader.” 

Hotch shakes his head. “Someone has to get us back to the hotel.” 

“That’s what cabs are for!” Prentiss exclaims. “Don’t be such a stick in the mud, Hotchner. You deserve to let a little loose.” 

“It takes most people an hour to process a drink,” Reid contributes, “so you’ll be fine before we leave if you want to drive.” 

“Come on, Hotch,” you say, and you nudge his shoulder. “You might as well—I’m paying.” 

“...Fine,” he says, and the whole team cheers. Even Reid smiles. 

“Y’know, you can smile tonight, Hotch,” you say with one of your own before you down the rest of your drink and stand up.

And one actually tugs at his lips. It feels a lot hotter in this bar with your eyes sparkling and you beaming right at him, and he fights the need to shed his jacket. Your grin somehow grows. 

“That’s what I came out to see,” you remark as you pick your wallet back up from the table. “I expect another when I get back, Hotch. There’s a lot to celebrate tonight.” 

Yeah, he thinks as he watches you go. There just might be. 

[luffyvace]

Vinsmoke Sanji x reader who fights his royal treatment~

@starrymiko suggested/requested these!! This a fun idea I’ve never seen before, because most people ik wouldn’t reject royal treatment from a hot guy—turns out I have a lot to learn (😂💗)

I really don’t how to explain this as a short title so here’s the post where they explain it better than me: Vinsmoke Sanji with reader who rejects his royal treatement

also going to link the posts they got inspired by/read to give them this idea:

Dating ~ Sanji Vinsmoke ~ headcanons & Dating ~ Sanji Vinsmoke ~ headcanons pt2

Sanji loves hard when he loves

And he certainly loves you!

He’s also a very expressive man!

whether he despises you or wants to marry you, he expresses how he feels!

usually verbally too

But he also has practically all love languages, and he tones them to your favorites

but one trait that definitely sticks is his need to take care for who he loves!

so when you reject it?! “But my ethereal and whimsically attractive darling?! What do you mean??”

you explain that you don’t want his coddling and that you can do things on your own, as you prefer your independence

even though that’s not the full story, technically

Pushing him away is pretty darn hard as we see in the anime with Nami and Robin. He’s been trying and failing for 2 years..So if your his s/o this simps’ definitely not just gonna be like “ok 👍” and simply walk away 🤷‍♀️

Alr I apologize for that dad joke.

he’s gonna try every love language in the book to try and get you to open up, you two are dating after all, so maybe your just shy? Awww so cute! His dearest is embarrassed~ Physical Touch is probably the first thing he’d try and the first thing you’d say no to. Mainly since he’s a simp and touching is too direct for you. You guys are a really ironic couple since you’re almost scared of love and he’s all about it.

He tried to initiate contact of all types and got rejected each and every time. Let me carry you for a romantic walk as I hold your bags! 💥💥 “I said got it! 💨 🎒😑” Well at least let me carry the bag to your room! It’s really heavy! “No! I can do it on my own!” But darling- “NO!”

tbh you can hit him as much as you want but he won’t hit you back. So whenever you argue or fight about these kinds of things you usually end up winning the argument

for acts of service literally everything is a no- I washed your laundry for you! “What! Don’t touch my clothes! I’ve got it!!” I got that thing you’ve been searching for! “I wanted to find it myself! Now it’s not as rewarding! I could do it on my own! Stop doing things for me!” Darling, let me help~ 😞 “no way!”

tbh the only thing you let him do is cook for you because he is the cook, and even so, if you want to fix a snack you prefer to do it by yourself. It makes his love for cooking grow even more and he looks forward to daily meals because he can finally take care of you! 🩷

receiving gifts is probably another thing you’d reject seeing as though you’d figure you can get it yourself. But words of affirmation and quality time? May or may not be so bad for you! I’ll let you decide :) if you allow him to display his love in these ways he’d be overjoyed and just assume this is your preferred way of display of affection, and that the other 3 aren’t your forte 💗💗

when he finds out he’s truly scaring you away simply by treating you right and respecting you, he figures somethin’s up.

he’s gonna get to the bottom of it too, whether you like it or not because you, need. it. He knows what it feels like to bottle up your past and smile at the future, despite the fact that the past is still hurting you inside, and it’s like a ticking time bomb before you implode.

He knows he doesn’t want that for you. (Especially after whole cake)

So he’ll gently pry as much as he can with out upsetting you too much. It’s also helpful if you visit your home land, because then he can learn what it was like for you growing up.

if he finds out a person did this to you? They’re cooked.

LOL- literally tho, he’s going Infrit Jambe and lighting’ ‘‘em up! 🔥

if they’re a women he’ll explain the situation to Robin and Nami who’ll certainly want to help you, and they’ll beat up that trifling tramp! 💥

(even if you don’t visit your homeland this still applies ⬇️)

after that Sanji would want to ease you into being used to respect especially and his care too

now if your just naturally independent he’ll try and let it go as best as he can, but he does want you to command respect, because if you let others disrespect you, that proves you have no respect for yourself.

and it’s essential to be able to at least stand up for yourself on the grand line.

but don’t worry! If you won’t do it, he will for you! 😏 No? Well then stand up for yourself dear! 😊

🔥🧑‍🍳

🍜🍳🥘🥞

🔥🔥🔥🔥 Let. Me. COOK.

[xysidhequeen]

Aaaaaaa i went looking the the red knight au like a month ago and couldn’t find it but now I have and life is great!!! Its so fucking good and one of the first things i read when i got into dpxdc and I am having a great time. I really hope you continue it because its so fucking good i love it you write so well

This is an older ask. I have no idea how old, they don't give me dates. However I hope you still love the Red Knight AU.

I picked an ask just because I wanted to share Jason being horny on main. This is pre-editting and I'm a bit delirious from sleep deprivation so don't mind if it's rough. I just thought Jason was being really cute.

~~~~~~☆☆☆☆~~~~~~

The part of his mind that wasn't occupied with feeling all warm and gooey and shit over that was taking the man himself in. As he tended to do whenever the others weren't around. And sometimes when the others were around. And when Danny smiled. Or laughed. Or was incredibly focused on a project and he got that adorable furrow between his brows and he'd stick his tongue out just slightly. And sometimes he looked too when Danny was in his vicinity for longer than a few seconds.

Fine. All the time. Any time Danny so much as walked by him, his eyes were glued to the man unless something forcibly drew his attention away.

Danny was fucking beautiful, alright? Sue him or whatever goddammit. Actually, no, fucking sue Danny. No one had a right to look that damn ethereal and angelic and otherworldly. It had to be a legitimate crime. Somewhere.

He was all long limbs and lithe muscles. Pale skin and constellations of freckles and winter sky blue eyes. Hair like a starless night sky, loose strands painting lines like ink across his lightly scarred skin. He glowed even in human form, it was subtle but so Ancients' damn alluring too. As if he held a light just under his skin that bathed him in its radiance. 

~~~~~☆☆☆☆~~~~~

Jason is gone. So gone. He knows it. Everyone but Danny knows it. He's just really good at procrastinating doing things. Ironically, him running off on this mental tangent is him procrastinating something else. I love him.

Jason just. Pushes off anything that's deeply emotional when it comes to other people specifically. He's scared of getting hurt. It's that fear of rejection and abandonment rearing its ugly head.

Anyways. Part 16 is at 2.9k words now, so that's going swimmingly.

[rose-morose]

stop what you are doing right now and go watch Jentry Chau vs the Underworld immediately

I instantly fell in love with this show from the moment I saw the trailer, and when it finally got its full release, it did not disappoint

(season 1 spoilers under the cut and also probably the longest post I've ever made by far)

if you have any interest in Asian/Chinese mythology and culture, fantastic animation, soundtracks full of absolute bangers, Texas for some reason, stories that touch on the subject of being Asian American, or high schoolers fighting the supernatural/demonic, or if you just like things that are good, this is the show for you

I watched through the intro in every episode, despite the presence of the skip intro button, and I even often went back to rewatch it after it finished, it is so fucking exhilarating and exciting, I have never felt more hyped in my life

I personally love Chinese mythology, but I truly do not believe that proclivity is even remotely necessary to enjoy this show, it's just all around amazing

the writing is phenomenal

Gugu: "It's a jianshi thing, they can't help but count rice."

Ed: "Hey, I can quit anytime I want!"

this fucking killed me

referencing a jianshi's need to count grains of rice is one thing, that's pretty much expected, but the implication that doing math (counting) is an addiction is so ironically model minority racist Asian stereotype coded that it is genuinely hilarious and I love it so much I'm dying

no idea if that was intentional or if I'm just seeing things, but it made me laugh all the same, and maybe I've got rose tinted glasses on because of my love of Chinese mythology and being able to relate to the Asian American experience, but regardless I cannot praise this show enough

the cast is pretty stacked as well, with solid vocal performances by Ali Wong, Lucy Liu, SungWon Cho, Bowen Yang, Jimmy O Yang, and many more talented actors

the complexity of the relationships goes so much further below surface level than your typical supernatural teen action dramedy, for example Jentry and Kit

it's not just Jentry is initially afraid of Kit because he's actually a hideous monster but learns to love him in the end for who he truly is, Jentry, while admittedly initially shocked by his true appearance, makes it clear why she's really upset with him

it's not just because he was a demon or even just because he lied about being a demon, it's not just because he has killed people in the past, it's not even just because he is several centuries older than her, she's upset because he manipulated her, used seduction to lure her in, planted the pearl that used her (partially) dead parents to draw her into a trap, and sought to kill her, and the reason he did all of this was for his personal desire to get his very own human soul

Jentry didn't believe Kit's feelings for her were genuine, and who could blame her? regardless of the fact that his feeling were, or at least eventually became real, he did seduce her and manipulate her for his own selfish ends

and Jentry even recognizes his eventual genuine desire to be with her as entirely self serving and sought out solely for his own happiness, but in the end Jentry's rejection pushes Kit towards self reflection and growth and he realizes his own selfishness, and then he proves that he is capable of putting others first, by sacrificing his life for hers without anything to gain, a sacrifice made all the more meaningful by his permanent (tentatively) status as dead, especially in a show where ghosts and undead are common place

I have so much more to say about the relationships, and not just romantic ones, I could go on forever, but I'll just stick with the example of Jentry and Kit for now

the animation is beautiful and the color pallet is gorgeous, the music is great and could not be better suited to the show, a lot of passion was clearly put into the making of this show

though my favorite part may be the show's willingness to explore the darker horror-oriented side of Chinese folklore

the painted skin demon story, the actual torture of Diyu, the unheard nü gui, the gruesome deaths, Cheng's daughter's desperate want to return to the afterlife, the content can be a bit harrowing to say the least

while still maintaining a largely PG image, the show manages to put a good bit of horror into the story, but by far the most harrowing parts of the world of Jentry Chau vs the Underworld are the real world themes that it portrays

Jentry is surrounded by people that claim to love her and want to protect her, but many characters, whether on purpose or by accident, end up using Jentry for her powers to their own gain

she was cursed with a destructive power that she cannot control, a power that she does not understand, and she has no idea how or why, but everyone seems to want these powers except for her

in a break from the genre standard, whereas the chosen one teenager might have to hide their abilities and responsibilities to keep others safe, pretty much everyone knows about Jentry's predicament right off the bat, and better yet most of them have already formulated their own misconceptions and prejudices

if you thought it was hard fitting in while trying to hide your darkest secrets, imagine how hard it is to be accepted when everyone not only already knows your secrets, but has been given ample reason to fear you because of them

it suddenly makes more sense than ever why so many chosen one teens hide their peculiarities, it is truly a frightening prospect to exist in a world where everyone around you is both different from you, and keenly aware that you are different from them, there's no fitting in after that

it presents a metaphorical dramatization of a real world experience, something I myself have experienced, growing up in America when nobody else looks like you

I grew up in an almost completely white town, and there was no way of hiding the fact that I wasn't also white, though I was really lucky to live somewhere where racism was much less common place, or at the very least less overt than it is in many parts of the country, a lack of racism didn't mean I wasn't different

Jentry goes to a school that seems fairly diverse, though still mostly white, with many other kids who also aren't white, but race isn't what makes her stand out, it's something else that she was (allegedly) born with, something she (seemingly) has no control over, and something for which she is faced with prejudice much like race, though she later discovers that she can actually change and control these things, that's not how it starts

okay this is getting way too long so I'm gonna rap it up here, but I am hardly finished speaking on the topic, if you claim to have made this far into my rambling I will simply call you a liar, but if there are two things to take away from this mess, it's this:

a - I am desperately hoping for a second season

b - GO WATCH THE FUCKING SHOW

[eddiediazismyhusband]

God I wish I could be positive like other anons that said that for them 7x04 is the biggest confirmation buddie is happening. Please ignore this if you don’t feel like consoling me about my pessimist rant. I was optimistic but 7x04 made me a pessimist.

I just keep thinking “if 7x04 was supposed to be about buddie why was not about buddie?

Let me explain: it was the perfect setup for starting buddie. You know how it’s a bait and switch. They could have just not switched. They could have had Eddie go to buck instead of Tmmy and have Eddie say “you’re irreplaceable” which would have been much more meaningful and then “you know I can have more than a friend, right?” And buck could have said “maybe i don’t wanna be your friend” and boom you have bisexual buck and can get rid of that old ugly man.

It was the perfect setup, you need to change literally ONE SCENE. I literally can’t find a reason why they didn’t do it. My BFF said “they couldn’t make them come out at the same time” but they wouldn’t have. Eddie could have rejected him and then spend s7 coming to terms with his feelings instead of the shit that happened. I don’t believe in the “it’s cuz it’s a slow burn” theory because 6 years is slow enough. I wanna be a truther so bad but ever since 7x04 I’ve been slowly losing hope.

I flip flop between being optimistic and pessimistic… to me i can see the vision of whst they were *trying* to do with 7x4 but with no chemistry and one of the actors being so inept at their job it just fell completely flat… it felt unearned in a way bc we have seen buck and eddie interracting for 6 years, and the entire episode was centered around buck pining for eddie’s attention (im sorry, there is not way any of what buck did in that episode was out of any interest in Timmy Turner) just to throw the curveball at the end. The point of a bait and switch is thay the switch has to be believable, and earned— but it wasn’t because you spent the entire episode talking about eddie. Why not have buck’s jealousy be solely “oh i hate Tylenol, he’s so ughh and i hate him and i can’t stand him” bc if it had been that i would be more inclined to believe that buck had some sort of unconscious interest in him.

but that’s not what they did, they made him go gaga over eddie the entire episode.

another thing they could have done to make the switch effective is actually given Tuberculosis a role within the episode other thsn to show up and kiss buck… like showcase him and buck interacting more… build sublte tension there that makes it believable that buck is attracted to him… don’t just shove him in a corner and leave him collecting dust (don’t get me wrong i am NOT campaigning for them giving that man more screentime in fact i want that man off my screen as soon as possible which should have been the end of 7x3)

so from a narrative standpoint… to have eddie so intrinsically linked to Buck’s emotional arc in 7x4, i can absolutely see the vision of trying to do the whole misplaced feelings thing… even if they didn’t stick the landing at all bc lfj’s face is so stiff from all the botox that he can’t emote to save his life.

to me where things start to fall apart is after 7x4…. they had the perfect opportunity for buck to have his arc in 7x5, “mess things up with Tiramisu” (even though i fully side with buck in everything that happened on that date, like bffr) and then end the episode with them deciding to no longer pursue a relationship because they want different things (buck wants a relationship but is still new to this, Tire-Iron is old af and just wants a boytoy) and have them part ways… but they decided to double down on the relationship, having Buck invite a man he has known for 5 minutes to his sister’s wedding and then proceeded to make the wedding about buck??? that’s where the writers truly lost me. especially after they spent the first part of that ep establishing that Tricycle is nothing but dismissive and condescending to Buck just to make the whole wedding scene about them??? there was no need for that cringe-ass kiss (even if it had been a buddie plot point that kiss would have made me cringe bc the way it was written was so fuckin corny and also we waited too damn long for the madney wedding for it to be about someone else).

then ofc there’s the medal ceremony where we once again see Tuberculosis being dismissive of buck, and then 7x10 where he steamrolls over buck trying to have a meaningful conversation for him to just make a fucking sex joke…..

like i keep flip flopping back and forth bc i KNOW that T-rex has no substance as a character and no personality whatsoever beyond kissing buck, but i don’t understand why they’ve kept him around this long? There were plenty of opportunities to end things between them… 7x10 had a golden opportunity to solidify buck prioritizing bobby/eddie over his relationship and having Trampoline get upset and move on?? 7x9 could have had Bobby tell buck that he didn’t think Tablecloth was a good partner for him, comparing her to Abby and Taylor.

He was nowhere to be SEEN in 7x7

There could have been a moment in 7x6 where Eddie and Buck had a heart to heart (not even to make buddie go canon in that ep, but for eddie to point out that Truckstop doesn’t seem all that interested in him— hell or even hav HEN do it??)

After the entirety of 7b my trust in Tim has dwindled down so severely that I genuinely am trying not to form any expectations from s8… like i am fully prepared to just be disappointed again.

That being said I do think there is still so much potential for them to fix the mess quickly if they actually put in the time and effort… my issue is that idk if I trust them to fix the mess or just make it worse.

Plus if the same thing happens with s8 as s7 where they get renewed early on, that runs the risk of Tim changing the story yet again and dragging out plot points that don’t need to be dragged out.

Like it has fully been 6 seasons. Booth and Brennan were together by then, there is no reason buddie needs another full season…. especially after they’ve given themselves yet another wide open road to give us eddie coming to terms with his feelings; whether they go down that route or try to rehash shannon again is yet to be seen…

i saw someone else on here say something (and i cannot for the life of me remember who said it so full credit to that person for this quote) but it was along the lines of (and this is SEVERELY paraphrased) “tim made the choice to kill of shannon. if you wanted her to still be around then you shouldn’t have killed her. you made the choice, so stick with it.” and i feel like that applies to a LOT of the character regression/retconning we saw in s7

so i’m still in that boat of until they actually make the show good again, I’m gonna sit and wait because it’s not worth getting my hopes up and stressed about something that may not even happen bc the writers love toying either our emotions more than they love telling the story the way they themse have set it up to be told.

(also this applies to the show as a whole, not just buddie, there were so many plotlines in s7 that just careened into the realm of melodramatic soap opera to me in a way that was so ooc for the show… what happened to the little procedural dramedy? why is the cartel here committing arson? why are there pirates attacking a cruise ship in an arc that lasts all of 5 minutes? i miss the s2/3/4 era so badly (yes, say what you will about s4 but i enjoyed that season) and i really thought we were going to be getting that back in s7 (and pirate plot aside, eps 1-3 showed promise, and tbh aside from the kiss at the end 7x6 is one of my favorite episodes of the show in general, but as far as the season as a whole it just fell so flat for me)

[lazyalani]

| Nagi Seishiro × [GN!Reader]

| We are ready

| angst, nagi gives mixed signals, reader is tired, mentioned mikage reo, nagi is insensitive, he is confused, no comfort, bittersweet ending, not proofread

| Summary: Nagi triggers the fallout of your last drop of patience.

Blue Lock Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Sticks and stones, they may

You feel him watch as you put your clothes on your duffel bag. You feel like crying. Everything around you seems to be about him, doesn't it? Because that's the way you arranged things here, you wanted to always be reminded of him because you loved him, ofcourse.

Or was it because it filled his absence a little?

You used to love every little thing that reminded you about him so you made everything in this apartment about him.

Oh how you hate it now.

Everywhere you looked to avoid his frustrated stare and careless words during the arguement didn't help. They reminded you of him and how he, instead of tending to his responsibilities as your partner, is throwing out careless words as if he didn't give a fuck.

"You're such a hassle, [Name]." He said.

break these bones, but then,

Oh how ironic that before, you were crying for Reo, both Nagi and yours' friend, as Nagi tells you how he told off Reo with his harsh words, but now, you were crying for yourself. Would Reo also cry for both of you?

What grief he must've also experienced, because you feel like your heart is being ripped in half. It's the effect Nagi Seishiro has, people can love him, but he can destroy them with just a few words.

So you quietly back down and started packing your things. You were too tired, too exhausted to even scream and fight him anymore. From work? Yes. From your relationship? Yes. From loving him? Yes.

Pouring out your love and efforts, all for a man who can't even greet you goodmorning and you can only see at night whenever you stay up for work. You spend your break during work hours to text and call him only to end up either rejected calls or hours later reply.

I'll be ready,

Saying those three special words to a man who can't even make it feel like he means it.

And it makes you wonder, when did he stop caring?

Are you ready?

You stare at the gray duffel bag you're stuffing your clothes into with frustration. Another reminder of him. You tell yourself to remind you to buy a new color.

You can still feel him watching your every move. You look at him from your peripheral vision. Why? Why are you looking at him? You wonder. Something grows in your chest as you notice his hesitating face. Is it hope? Hope for what? What are you even hoping for? To fix the relationship he chose to shatter? To have him hold you and tell you to stay? What would you even say to that? How would you even react? Because you'd be lying if you said one word from him and you'll stay.

Because you're exhausted.

It's the start of us, waking up,

So what are you even hoping for?

"Stay." He says, and you turned to look at him. He stares at you, watching for your reaction, observing your face and movements, standing infront of your shared bed.

You didn't know how to react, so you closed your eyes and let all your pain crash down and decide your answer.

come on, are you ready?

"I can't." You loved him, you still do.

But love isn't enough anymore.

I'll be ready

He looks down with frustration. "I don't want you to go away." And from him, it's a silent plea. But you can't break.

You don't want to break.

"But you don't give me reason to stay either." So you want to leave.

He clenches his fists. "Please, just... don't go."

A tear comes out the same time your temper cuts. "Do you know what it feels like to be tired from work and go back to an empty apartment without even an ounce of comfort?"

He stays silent, letting you lash out on him.

"Do you know what it feels like to be humiliated as you wait in a place for someone who forgot because of the same resson over and over again? Do you know what it feels like to look forward and get excited for something that gets canceled even when it's already just supposed to happen inside your home? Do you know what it feels like to crave attention from someone who probably doesn't even care? Do you know what it feels like to pour out all your efforts for someone who can't even do the same? Do you know what it feels like to feel like your partner doesn't love you? Do know what it feels like to just stare at yourself in the mirror and wonder, 'Where did I go wrong?'? Do you know what it feels like to be insecure about how you're probably not as important and loved as his job?"

Your tears keep falling and you let yourself let out everything you've wanted to say for so long.

You see Nagi's shoulder start to shake but you don't care.

"Probably not, because I have done nothing but to love you. And for the past months, you have done nothing but to hurt me."

I don't want control, I want to let go

Where did all go wrong?

When did it all go wrong?

You're confused why you only start to question that now. You finish packing your bags and walked towards the bedroom door, stopping when he called out.

Nagi smiles warmly, sincerely, even amidst the pain and confusion he was feeling for you and him. "[Name], I really do love you. More than anything, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being too careless, for thinking you'd always be here. For thinking you'd never get tired. For being to comfortable. You can hate me, [Name], I blame myself too. I blame myself for letting this relationship crumble because I was a coward."

Are you ready? I'll be ready

You look at him from the side of your eye as he talks. And your chest starts to lighten.

"I don't know how to deal with relationships, I unconciously tried protecting myself from getting hurt and distanced myself. It's not an excuse but, I just thought you deserve to know. You deserved to know that you were enough, you were important, you were appreciated, you were loved. And you'll always be loved. Even if it's not by me. Thank you, [Name], for loving me, even if it hurt you." His eyes glistened with tears, and he lets them fall when he hears the front door close.

'Cause now it's time to let them know

Tears start to roll down your cheeks again as you walk down the hallways of the building, but this time, they're comforting. They're relieving.

"you were important, you were loved."

Ah, it was all you hoped for.

we are ready

[guess-that-ship]

S12 Round 2*

purposeful adoption, accidental family

Mentor has been looking for someone who can keep up with his plans for years, and then he finds Student. Student to start was weak, however was full of potential and determination that made Mentor decide to well, mentor him. Mentor adopts him into his family so he can spend family money on all the expensive training, however he doesn't see Student that way. Mentor casually thinks in his POV that if Student died he wouldn't really care, risks Student's life multiple times for deadly training and at one point lets another guy CHOP STUDENT'S ARM OFF.

However as time passed their relationship changes. Student becomes one of the few people willing to go along with Mentor's insane ideas, with the rest of the world being kind of horrified at what they consider regular training. Mentor, who always played the jokester who doesn't care about anything, starts being genuine with Student and grows to trust him deeply. By the end, after they were separated for a while Mentor reunited with Student hugging and crying because of how much he missed him. While it started out as a legal thing, they grow into actual family

Double Crossing my Dungeoning Party (GONE WRONG)

Green never says how he feels. If he did, he would constantly be tearing into everyone he ever interacted with. He can't afford to he getting into arguments, especially not with his party, when he has goals to achieve. When he has to see to their destruction. So he keeps his mouth shut and projects a mild and agreeable exterior.

Gray is uncomfortable in his own skin. Every time he is faced with pressure, he feels like he is faced with two options: fall back into his old habits, harmful to himself and others around him, or completely shut down. He doesn't feel comfortable in conversation with anyone, including members of his own party. He's a complete and total pushover, terrified of conflict and rejection.

Gray makes Green angry at first. Out of everyone in the party, all the idealistic idiots, controlling egomaniacs, offputting freaks, and impulsive contrarians, it's Gray's spinelessness that makes it hard to stay in the party. It infuriates him to no end how someone can let their life be controlled by fear. But he has to stick it out, in order to achieve his goals. Green will help him put with his problems. Just to make him more tolerable, so he doesn't go crazy.

Green and Gray spend a lot of time together. Green soon sees Gray for who he truly is-- intelligent, resourceful, and kind. Green slips up for the first time, and sees through Gray's faults, which isn't something he does for anyone. They start to like each other, in more ways than one. The more he helps him, the more comfortable Gray gets. And the more comfortable Gray gets, the more bright golden parts of him shine through his rusted iron exterior. And the more Green starts to slip again. The more Green sees of Gray's true self, the more Green wants Gray to see of his. Not just his personality, but his past. His present and his future.

But he can't slip. For multiple reasons. For one thing, Gray likes the agreeable, encouraging Green. He wouldn't like the critical, abrasive Green. He slipped up once in falling for Gray, and he won't slip up again in showing Gray who he really is. Wait, shit. That's not the most important reason. It's not about whether or not Gray will like him- it's about his goals. Why he's traveling with this party in the first place. He can't blow his cover. Gray has to die with all the rest.

*Ship does not have to be romantic.

[anneapocalypse]

Right to Their Faces: Sera's Romance Quest

The Sera Series: Exploring Sera's character and background.

This one was originally going to be part of another post I have in the works, "Sera and the Inquisitor," but I realized that I had a lot to say about Sera's romance quest and it really deserved its own post.

Disclaimer: It is absolutely fine if you don't like Sera or don't like Sera's romance, don't connect with her, don't find her relatable, whatever! I'm not here to tell anyone what they can or can't like. I just want to talk about my read and my feelings on this romance quest. If you don't like Sera and are not open to positively discussing Sera, that's just fine; feel free to scroll right on by, no need to inform me in the notes.

Sera's romance quest, "A Woman Who Wants for Nothing," triggers once the Inquisitor has confirmed her romantic interest in Sera and Sera's approval is high enough. The Inquisitor is prompted to find a gift for Sera because—okay look, we really need to spend a minute on how this quest begins, because it's truly delightful.

When the Inquisitor comes to Sera's alcove, Sera runs up behind her, excited, and exclaims all in a rush, "Listen! I got you a hat, but it's ugly, so I drew Coryhe-whatzit's face on it, and stuffed it with apples. Everyone's hitting it with sticks! I really hope you like it!" and then runs away giggling.

I mean, it's pretty clear here that this is all in fun to Sera. She wanted to give her Inky something, but the hat she found was ugly, so she decided to turn it into a joke and hoped Inky would be entertained by it. It's the Inquisitor, charmingly, who decides to take this super seriously, looking after Sera and saying thoughtfully to herself, "We're giving gifts now?"

The Inquisitor then goes to all her other companions looking for help finding a gift for Sera. Practically no one has any good ideas, or any ideas at all really. I want to pause on that aspect for a moment. Why doesn't anyone (including the Inquisitor, who is actively seeing her) know what Sera would like?

I mean first of all, the clue's kind of in the name of the quest. No one can think of a gift for Sera because Sera doesn't particularly want anything. She is not very concerned with owning things. She doesn't covet fancy clothes or shoes or hats or jewelry. The Undercroft keeps the Inquisition supplied with arms and armor, so she doesn't have need of those things as gifts. She likes books, but she has Skyhold's entire library at her disposal. She likes food, a lot, and she likes cakes, and if pressed I'd say that of all the material gifts she could receive, a cake made just for her would probably go over the best, but I don't think it would be better than what we ultimately get in this quest.

Sera does like collecting various objects, and we find her catalog of these in her journal, "Sera's Cabinet of Wonder Whose It Was," but these are all mundane items: a Circle banner, a goblet, a halla statue, a deck of cards, masks stolen from the Winter Palace. Little curiosities, things she finds meaningful or strange or funny. This is a collection curated purely on Sera's whims, and it could be difficult for even someone close to her to guess what kind of object might catch her fancy in that way.

And here we have the ironic meaning of the quest title. Usually, the expression that a person "wants for nothing" means that they already have everything they could possibly want, but for Sera it takes on a different meaning. Sera "wants for nothing" because she not only lacks a life of wealth and comfort but has actively rejected it and all the baggage that came with it. Someone will probably point out here that Sera is interested in making a profit with her Red Jenny shenanigans, and she is, she says so! but what she is not concerned with is accumulating and hoarding wealth or possessions. That is a life she has very consciously rejected.

I also don't think we should ignore the role of class in the way the other Inner Circle members treat Sera, even the "nicest" ones. There's not really any getting around the fact that other characters—including characters we like—look down on Sera because she's low class. Sera is not the only elf in the Inquisition, and there are definitely characters who treat Solas poorly in various ways, but they do not treat Solas the same way they treat Sera. Sera gets the most abject disrespect both for being an elf and for being low-class, and—this part's important—for looking and sounding low-class, and being proud of it.

Cullen may have been born a commoner but he sought a respectable profession, became a templar and ascended through the ranks (however he may feel about that now) and is now the Inquisition's commander. Leliana may have been the daughter of a servant, but she became a bard and has spent her life hobnobbing with nobles and Very Important People, eventually becoming the Left Hand of the Divine. Blackwall may have been born a commoner but he is (so far as everyone knows) a decorated Warden-Constable. Vivienne may have been born to merchant parents and sent to the Circle at a young age, but she's made the most of her position and become First Enchanter of Montsimmard, then Enchanter to the Imperial Court. You see where I'm going with this. Even our common-born companions have for the most part sought to climb the social hierarchy in one way or another. They've "bettered" themselves. They have titles, if not noble ones. They're Somebody. They're Important. And many of the others are just straight up nobility. Even Varric, who carries himself like a common man, is from a well-connected Merchant Guild family as well as being a famous author; he's basically a noble who enjoys slumming it.

Not only is Sera a nobody, she patently rejects the idea of being Somebody. She operates as a Red Jenny under a mythical name who may or may not ever have been a real person. When placed in a situation where she needs to be formally introduced as Somebody, the ball at the Winter Palace, she openly mocks the entire concept and the supposed solemnity of the occasion by submitting a vulgar joke name.

I bring all of this up because this is why I think the other companions are so unhelpful. They can't imagine what Sera could possibly want because they already know she doesn't want what they want, and even the ones who do like her I think struggle to actually relate to her. They see her motives as, at best, confusing. (As does the Inquisitor in a lot of early dialogue, but that's another post for another day!) But in fact, Sera's desires are very simple. (I think Cole is the one with the best shot at actually figuring out what Sera would want, but he gets hung up on the concept of what a gift is before he can get there.)

Vivienne and Solas in particular are not just confused by Sera but actively offended and dismayed by her existence. I think it's pretty easy to see why she gets under Solas's skin so badly (though I could write reams about how interesting their relationship is and how much it reveals about Solas, but not today). Sera represents to him just how far the elves have fallen because of him, and I think he's both deeply frustrated by her and deep down feels responsible for everything that's "wrong" with her. Vivienne and Sera are also fascinating foils to one another, as both came from humble origins and both were afforded some unique opportunities given those origins—but they've taken polar opposite approaches to the problem of social hierarchy and power. And like so many Dragon Age characters who act as foils to each other, the existence of the other needles at them so badly because they challenge the foundation of their beliefs about the world and their sense of self. So it's no surprise that these two are the companions that give active disapproval when the Inquisitor reveals her relationship with Sera.

(It also makes for some absolutely wonderful humorous irony later if the Inquisitor decides to take Vivienne's clearly-sarcastic suggestion seriously, after which you get a bonus cutscene of Sera and Inky in bed together laughing over whatever it is Inky has shaved into her ladybits. Vivienne turns out to be the only one who had a good idea, and she didn't even mean it!)

The actual quantities of disapproval are frankly negligible, and easily made up elsewhere if you, the player, care deeply what Solas and Vivienne think of your character. If I'm being honest, I think they could have gone even harder with the disapproval, especially in a game like Inquisition which doesn't pull its punches with approval the way the previous games do and doesn't allow you to avoid ever taking a negative hit. But the exact number isn't the important thing here. The important thing is that without some tangible and in-your-face social cost to openly loving Sera, this quest would have no teeth.

I trust I don't have to explain that the opinions of characters (for whom said disapproval is entirely in-character) are not necessarily the opinions of the writers. It's also not indicative of the game telling you that you made a "wrong" decision. Nor is it the first time companions have disapproved of the player character's love interest—far from it. Both Origins and DA2 have some truly spicy party banter in that regard, and Inquisition keeps with tradition. Love it or hate it, companions hating each other is a time-honored Dragon Age tradition.

And in this case, the disapproval is the point. The Inquisitor is meant to receive the disapproval and decide that Sera is worth it to her. The point is that the Inquisitor cares so much for Sera that she openly declares her affections without regard for the disapproval of others, and that this kind of love and acceptance is entirely foreign to Sera's experience and the greatest gift she could ever have received. Sera says it outright: "Wait, wait, wait. You went to everyone and said I was your lover? Right to their faces? They must have… Oh, Vivienne must have puckered pinky-tight! Best gift ever."

And if you've read my other Sera Series posts, or simply spent a lot of time talking to Sera, it's no mystery why this means so much to her.

This is what this quest is all about. And to me, it's one of the most moving expressions of love in the whole game and maybe in all of the Dragon Age games. I love it so much. I get emotional re-watching it in YouTube clips. I cannot imagine being happier if the Inquisitor had just, I don't know, baked Sera a cake, or brought her a bouquet of flowers from the meadows filled with bees. This quest gets at the core of who Sera is, her sharpest hurts and deepest desires. It is deeply meaningful and it is perfect for her.

My sole complaint about this quest is that I never got to see the hat full of apples with Corypheus's face drawn on it and everyone hitting it with sticks.

[raveneira]

hola amiga.

que piensas del arem de Boruto.? Confirmamos ya que mitzuki está enamorado de el sol. Hacia donde navegará el barco en la final?

We're definitely seeing BoruMitsu pretty much confirmed to be at the very least semi canon, its ironic that the anime put all that needless time and effort into the Mitsuki disappearance arc only for it to mean nothing in the manga because Mitsuki is actually going through that exact arc in the manga right now, meaning that anime arc was a complete waste of time and totally irrelevant now, and now it'll have to be retconned in the anime because Mitsuki is supposed to of had this development already, so my guess is their either gonna retcon it and pretend it never happened or their gonna change this situation entirely to fit the anime timeline they set where Mitsuki is actually already sure what his feelings are and what the sun is for him, the only thing left for him to realize anime wise would be his romantic feelings, but in the manga he still doesnt even understand his own identity or what the sun even is to him and is only just now starting to finally address and confront it and do some soul searching.

So where do I see things headed? well first is started here in 69 where Mitsuki first mentions ones true feelings being hard to tell, many thought he was speaking about Sarada, but he was really talking about himself and questioning what his own true feelings are, this is why he asked Sarada about hers to try and figure his out through her, but when she denied it that left him still confused about himself, which is why he stayed silent when Sarada mentioned his eyes lighting up whenever it comes to Boruto, because he himself was unsure of his true feelings.

In 88 Mitsuki is now starting to come to that realization he was lacking before, he hasnt gotten the answer yet, but he is finally willing to question what he's been ignoring all this time, after meeting Boruto again 3 years later, Mitsuki is realizing who his sun is and what the sun truly means to him. He pretty much confirmed hes inlove with Boruto in his conversation with Ada, but HE hasnt figured that out yet, we the audience have, but Mitsuki hasnt yet.

So 69 laid the groundwork for Mitsuki not knowing his own true feelings, 88 laid the groundwork for Mitsuki starting to understand what his true feelings are, now all thats left is for Mitsuki to finally put all the pieces together and realize he loves Boruto.

Now I cant speak too much on Boruto's behalf just yet but what I can say is Boruto reciprocating Mitsuki's affections as much as he does says alot, you see the stark contrast between how Kawaki treats him and Boruto.

Boruto could've easily rejected Mitsuki's whole sun and moon obsession with him, he didnt have to accept Mitsuki at all, yet he not only embraced Mitsuki, but those titles too. He tells Mitsuki that he is his sun, he could've just said he's his friend or hes really the Hokage's son, but no, he specifically tells Mitsuki that he's his sun, that he knows he realized long ago that Kawaki isnt his sun, that Kawaki cant illuminate him no matter how close he sticks to him.

Not only that, but he tells him that he believes he can shine just fine on his own, but if he insists on needing a sun then to come find him anytime. That is pretty clear and strong reciprocation, not saying its proof Boruto likes Mitsuki romantically, but it does imply that hes not particularly opposed to it either.

He respects Mitsuki, cares for Mitsuki, wants to protect Mitsuki, doesnt mind Mitsuki hanging around or sticking close to him, doesnt mind being the sun to his moon, is willing to be Mitsuki's light even though he thinks he shines just fine on his own, he's willing to be that for him anyway if thats what HE wants

Yea, I aint sayin its definitive, but there is some really strong implications there that cannot be ignored.

Kodachi did say in an old interview before he stepped down as writer than he doesnt mind including LGBTQ characters and that for him he doesnt feel like it has to be something heavily focused on but just be a natural progression where its not in your face but you still get the picture, which I believe might end up bein the case for BoruMitsu, even if they arent canon in the end, at the very least their feelings will be.

[space-cowbo7]

the arcane; part one

pairing: kenny mccormick/mysterion x reader

cw: slight mention of eating disorder

————————————————————————

an expired bird lays on the sidewalk next to me. when i see it's cold, dead feathers stuck to the icy ground i'm reminded of a deceased birds meaning.

bad luck.

which is perfect, because it's my first day back at school, and what better to start it off than with a dead bird?

i wait at the end of a short line for the bus. people around me discuss class schedules and how excited they are to be seniors. my eyes are affixed to my feet, but my ears are picking up every word said in my radius.

a lot of "how was your summer?" and "what's your lunch block?"

a broad shoulder aggressively bumps into me from behind, pushing past me in line.

"hey! fat ass, you can't just skip ahead in line-" wendy testeburger, who was only nice for the show of it, called out to the guy who cut me in line.

i back up a bit to let him in, not really giving a shit.

"see, they don't mind." the boy, who's name is eric cartman, grins at an angry wendy, before she huffs and turns back toward her friends.

eric has always been a dick to me. especially since the only person i actually talk to at school is his ex, heidi turner. she was like me, quiet and sticks to the background.

she didn't used to be, though.

heidi was a cheerleader, loved by everyone, and then she got ruined by eric's manipulative personality. and since i have a soul, i took her in after all the other girls rejected her.

so now, she's my best friend. well, my only friend. which is okay with me. i enjoy my life, my quiet life.

"hey-" a blunt voice speaks from behind me.

i look up to see the bus parked and a large gap in the line where i wasn't paying attention. i quickly scramble onto the bus, finding the first empty seat. my hood is thrown over my hair, and i tightly pull the strings to hide my face.

that's so fucking embarrassing.

i'll be thinking about that all day now.

once the bus doors close, i realize i got away with sitting alone. a sigh escapes my lips as the bus starts to move.

just when it starts to move, though, it stops. confused heads poke up from behind the bus seats, as an out of breath kenny mccormick makes his way on. he's wearing his usual thick orange hoodie.

i look at the empty spot next to me, and my heart starts to speed up. there's no other seats on the bus, so he'll have to sit here.

i glance up over the seat, slumped against the cold window. kenny's eyes meet mine for a split second and i quickly look away.

"guess i'm sitting here." he plops down next to me, and i pull on my drawstrings tighter. kenny, though, has his legs stretched out in the middle of the walkway, talking to his friends about why he was late.

my breathing steadies itself as the bus starts to move again. kenny sits far enough away that it didn't feel like i was sitting with him at all. which i appreciate.

after a minute of overthinking, i decide to start doing what i do best. listening to other people.

"i don't know what's wrong with it, it just stopped going."

"isn't it kind of ironic how kenny's the poorest out of all of us but he's the only one with a vehicle?"

"shutup, cartman." kenny laughed. "my dad just fixed it up for me."

"yeah, besides, i've got a car." kyle broflovski butt in, his voice laced with its usual annoyance.

"it's your dads car, jew." cartman bit back.

"relax, guys. and kyle, it's okay to admit i'm cooler than you." kenny says with a shit eating grin.

"body count doesn't equal popularity, ken." kyle shakes his head.

"no, but if it did i would be the coolest." kenny laughs.

i smile a little, a small chuckle coming from my throat. as soon as the sound escapes my mouth, i cover it. its too late, however, and kenny's head turns to me.

"something funny?" he has the same stupid smile on his face.

"sorry- i didn't mean-" i can't talk. i'm way too uncomfortable with the position i put myself in.

"shut up, they don't think you're funny." eric crosses his arms at him. i just turn my face back to the window, my eyes closing tightly.

i'm so tired of being treated like an object.

the bus slows down and people start to stand up in their seats, despite the bus driver's yelling. i slip my headphones on and get up with the rest of the crowd.

behind me a kid is pushing onto my back. i have to keep my breathing calm so i don't freak out. my shoulders are tense as i waddle down the isle, out the bus door.

"y/n!" heidi calls in her soft voice.

i give her a small smile and pause my music. "hey, heidi."

"you ready for a new year?" she asks as i walk with her to our shared first class, a two-hour block of photography.

"i thought i was. but i've already embarrassed myself so much today." i think back to the bus ride. "i was sitting close to your dumb ex boyfriend."

"it'll be okay, at least we get to see miss windsor again!" she pokes my side, earning herself a tiny smile from me.

miss windsor is like a second mom to me. as my photography instructor for the last four years, we got close. i'm not one to brag, but im her favorite. she always shows my photos as examples, and she lets me and heidi stay in her room during our lunch block.

i nod as i think about seeing ms. windsor.

"you're right, heidi."

we get to the art room doors, and i breathe in the strong paint scent. this room always made me feel comfortable. at home. like a second bedroom.

heidi and i take a table in the back of the studio, the same table we'd sit at every other year. not that many of the students paid much attention to us, even the art students.

"why, it's my two favorite students!" miss windsor comes up to the table, greeting me and heidi.

"hi, miss windsor." i smile before pulling out my sketchbook.

"you think of a theme for your last opening project?" she plainly glances over at my sketchbook, which is just filled with picture concepts.

every year, windsor does an opening project where you basically do a mini portfolio on one subject or theme. with each picture you have to write a story or explain what's happening, kind of like journaling.

windsor always gave me good grades on the opening project, last year i did my project on the social construction of food and people's bodies. it was my favorite project i've ever done, although it did hit a little close to home.

"i'm not sure." i sigh. usually i have my project outline done by the first day, but i was really racking my brain on what to write about.

"that's okay." windsor gave a quick smile. "you always think of something."

several other students come through the doors, taking tables around ours. the late bell rings and i do my yearly study around at the class.

its a small class, ten people to be exact. just the way i like it. more people means more attention on me.

"okay guys, welcome back for another great year!" windsor starts, pulling up a slideshow to present the project idea.

i listen and doodle more in my sketchbook. heidi leans into me, looking down at my pencil.

"who's that?" she points to a small figure i had drawn a couple days prior.

"oh. it's that mysterio guy."

"mysterion?" heidi laughs.

"yeah. i saw him a couple days ago when i was at the police station."

"what were you doing at the police station?"

"waiting for my dad." i mutter. my dad’s a night traffic cop, working for the south park police department.

that night i was waiting for him to finish up on some paperwork, sitting in the lobby of the station. i was sketching when a tall figure walked past in a dark purple hood.

i couldn't help but draw him as he spoke to the police chief about something. i couldn't be bothered to listen to that conversation.

"wow i can't believe you saw him." heidi continues.

"why?" i stop my sketching and turn toward her. miss windsor continues to talk in the background.

"well.. you know. he's a mysterious hero." she swoons.

"i don't really see the appeal." i turn back to my book, looking at the picture of the mystery man in the corner.

i lay my head in my hands and decide to listen to windsor for the rest of her lecture. same as every other year.

"any questions guys?" she shuts off the projector and looks out to all ten of us. the room is quiet and for a second i think i can hear jimmy valmer's breathing.

"okay." she smiles awkwardly. "so today will be a brainstorming day.. try to talk to some people you don't know, they could give you ideas."

when she says that, her eyes are on me. as much as i love windsor, i want to claw her eyes out after that statement. little dramatic, but that's just how it goes.

i wait for the rest of the class to begin talking before i turn to heidi.

"what are you doing yours on?" i assume she already knows, since we usually brainstorm together.

"we've got a family of bunnies living in our yard at home. i think i'm gonna make them my subject." heidi always did her projects on animals. she has a love for animals unlike anyone else i've seen, i really admire her for it.

"that's perfect for you." i send her a smile.

"miss windsor?" my smile falls when the principal stands in the doorway, holding the collar of a frustrated kenny mccormick.

i watch as windsor's head perks up and she scurries her way to the door. i can't quite hear what they're talking about, but i can tell it's serious.

"alright, kenneth sit wherever you'd like." windsor speaks softly to the teen. since it was such a small class, i didn't feel worried at all that he'd try and sit with me and heidi.

however, as soon as the thought entered my mind, he was walking closer towards us. the same aching feeling from earlier hits me hard as he draws closer.

my eyes shoot straight down to my sketchbook, hoping that if i don't make accidental eye contact he won't notice me.

"mind if i sit here, ladies?" his voice is rough and slow, and more mature than most of the other guys at school.

"sure, kenny." heidi smiles at him and gestures to the seat across from me.

"thanks, heidi. and uh.. is that alright with you?" i feel him look at me.

i don't move my head, but instead glance up through my eyelashes.

"yeah, that's fine." i manage to get out.

he smiles genially, pulling out the chair and slumping down in it. my eyes are back on my paper within seconds, and my desire for conversation leaves my mind.

"so what's this project we're doin?" kenny leans his head in, his arms stretch across the table. he's not going to leave us alone.

"how did you get into this class anyway? this is photo four." heidi questions, but her tone is still sweet. even when heidi is condescending she's a sweetheart.

"got in a dumb argument with my first hour teacher." kenny shakes his head before pulling out a notebook.

"what's that you're doin?" he gestures to my sketches.

"um-" i start with wide eyes. "just some concept sketches of pictures i might take." i cover some of the page with my oversized hoodie sleeve.

"yeah! they're really talented-" heidi points to the mysterion sketch. my hands instinctively fly over the drawing.

"woah, you like mysterion?" kenny raised his eyebrows at me.

"no!" i scoff, albeit kind of rudely. "i just saw him at the police station and.. i just draw what i see."

"that's so cool." he starts drawing rectangles in his notebook, trying to copy my method.

i can't tell if i should be annoyed or flattered that he's imitating my style. well, trying to. i watch his slim fingers grasp the pencil, slowly dragging across the page.

"like.. that?" he slides his page toward me, and we make quick eye contact before i scan over his concepts.

one of them has a bush of flowers in the corner, and a sunset in the background. even though there isn't color, i can imagine the picture as if it were taken with a camera.

another one is of a fish. a small fish in the middle of the page, nothing else surrounding it. although it's small, the fish seems to have a frown. i can't help but see the melancholy feeling it's portraying.

the last one is the biggest. it's of a girl with a long frown, but she's holding a comedically large lollipop.

"this one's cool.. who's the girl?" i say after working up the courage.

"it looks like you." heidi cranes her neck to look at the page.

kenny can be heard snickering across the table. i lift my head up to see a mischievous grin on the boy.

"it is you."

"why am i frowning?"

"i just draw what i see." he pushes his hood back, revealing his blonde shag mullet.

offended, i push his paper back across the table and go back to working on my own project. my lips protrude as i sketch out another piece. the whole time my mind is screaming about how shitty this year is going to be.

that goddamn dead bird.

————————————————

[maxwelljacobfriedman]

Can you explain the conditional love post, including who max is?

Well, it wasn't really a fully fleshed out idea, and I'm not totally clear on how far back to start if you're asking (I'm assuming genuinely) who Max is. I'll try not to be too long-winded, but if you/anyone want(s) more clarification feel free to ask.

Max is the wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman, my usernamesake. He has a tattoo in Hebrew on his ribs that translates to unconditional love:

Which in kayfabe is ironic, because the character has no room for love in his life, and pushes everyone away, uses people until they're no longer useful and then betrays them, hates himself, wants to make people hate him before they have a chance to reject him, etc.

But once upon a time, MJF was just little Max, who LOVED wrestling, and his hero, CM Punk. There are definitely better summaries and meta analyses of them than I can get into right now, but let's just say that Punk and Max are insane about each other, and even while Punk was out injured/suspended/status unknown for 9 months, Max continued to be insane about Punk, and occasionally Punk was also insane about Max even though he wasn't on tv or giving interviews or officially part of any AEW storylines.

CM Punk comes back to tv this past Saturday, and one of the things he says during his return promo, where he seemed to be signalling he'll be more of a heel this time around, was, to the Chicago crowd, "I love you because you love me." This really struck me as a discordant line for a returning hero thanking his fans for sticking by him, because it implies a condition to the love, right? I wouldn't love you if you didn't love me - I won't love you if you don't satisfactorily demonstrate your love - I will turn on you if I don't feel properly loved by you.

How does this go back to Max's tattoo? That was the "something something" in the original post ie I don't have that fully articulated, which is why the post was sitting in my drafts, and when I posted it just sort of thought it'd be funny for like, @pepsi-maxwell and @unconditionallovebot and @purplehairsecretlair and a few others, (sorry if I didn't tag you, I don't want to be annoying).

But having thought about it some more, I guess I would say the "something something" is about how similar they are, and how much they obfuscate to the audience, how they're so terrible because they believe everyone eventually leaves, and the only person you can count on is yourself, but, at the same time, wear the thing they really want on their bodies: unconditional love, and, while the more prominent tattoo is the drug free one, above that, spelled across Punk's fingers is ROMANCE (I think blood is romantic, he once wrote on livejournal), and in one another they've found someone - maybe it's not love (or maybe it is), they've found someone who, no matter how cruel they are, no matter how much they insult each other or make each other bleed, or find the most painful emotional chord to pluck, they're unconditionally obsessed with each other.

Romance.

[gloomverse-theories]

How Cirrus’ childish behaviour is symptomatic of the problems in stratoversian society

Stratoverse is a foreign country with a culture still clouded in mystery, but we were given snippets into its inner working thanks to Indigo, Virga, Nim and Cirrus. So far, all of the stratoversian with screentime displayed various levels of immaturity, more or less subtly. Before I can dive into those, let’s define something.

What is Maturity?

“Maturity” is a buzzword that gets thrown around, but people would be hard pressed to give it a clear definition. How do you define maturity? It’s the state of being mature, says one dictionary, proving its uselessness. Maturity is being an adult, but Cirrus insisting that “he is an adult so you can’t make him do anything” is ironically a big sign of immaturity.

Being mature is a list of behaviours, such as:

Managing your own emotions

Recognizing other people’s emotions

Taking responsibility for your actions

Establishing your boundaries and respecting other’s

Being able to apologise

Being able to handle failure, rejection, or being wrong

Being open-minded

Maturity is not only a virtue, but also a skill. It’s one that is expected out of adults and even older teens, but no one is perfect, no one is mature at all times. Being mature is hard work, being responsible is difficult, admitting you were wrong can seem impossible, but it’s still something everyone needs to strive to in order to live in society. It becomes a problem if the moments of immaturity outweigh the moments of maturity. It becomes an even bigger problem when you give someone like that power.

The thing about power is that you can ignore your responsibilities if you have enough (sorry Uncle Ben), and Stratoversian society is built on power.

Let’s take a look at Cirrus, as he is the prime example of an immature Stratoversian

Cirrus’ immaturity

Our first impression of Cirrus is that of a stuck-up jerk who belittles people for something as trivial as wearing shoes. Our second impression of Cirrus is that of a man-child giving himself a headache after throwing the aforementioned tantrum. It is not a brilliant introduction, he is made to be unlikeable, so unlikeable that even the one character he interacts with is glad to see him gone.

From the get-go, he demonstrates that

1. He is not able to manage his emotions and even hurts himself with how he expresses them

2. He does not recognize he was wrong for getting angry or apologises, instead he “ignores” her “disgrace” for a moment

3. He does not respect the president’s order to stay out of Gloomverse, showing that he does not care for the consequences of his actions and does not take responsibility for them

4. He is very close minded of anything outside of Stratoversian norms

And that’s just from his first appearance! Without even mentioning his catastrophic rapport to Nim!

In his second appearance, Purple aptly remarks that Cirrus “act like a five year old”, and he is right.

Cirrus insists on coming with Nim to Wallis’ show, claiming interest in the culture. He promised to behave, but forced Nim in a position where she had to accept his demand or risk having him show up without being supervised. Fast-forward to the time of the show, and all of his previous claims fall through. He is still belittling the culture and Nim needs to remind him of the very real consequences for Her in order to get him to settle down. The show starts, Seaweed shows up, and Cirrus gets a teenager crush, and proves once again what little handle he has on his emotions. Cakegirl arrives, and Cirrus does his good action of the day by saving Harold from a fall to the death.

When the world conference rolls around, Cirrus spent three weeks in jail, and it did not teach him anything. He finally crosses the line with Nim and gets an overdue call out on his behaviour. She establishes some very clear boundaries here. She’s tired of babysitting him! Unfortunately, this does not stick, because Cirrus follows her back to the ruins. He literally has no valid reason for doing this. What’s more, we have yet to hear a single apology from this guy.

Then, the Beach Episode comes. Cirrus does not miss the opportunity to show off his wonderful temper. But we get a little more this time, we get a crack. For the first time, he manages to keep a straight face as he recites a law of Stratoverse. This happens once again in A Day on the Town when cirrus talks about his fathers’ ranch. You can tell it’s a sore topic because he remains emotionless.  After all his exuberant display of outrage, this is the one topic where he doesn’t allow himself to feel anything.

And we will unpack that later!

Indigo as a parallel

Indigo doesn’t get revealed as Stratoversian right away. He’s a working DJ, he’s the president’s personal hitman, he’s a delusional playboy… He is a lot of things, depending on what he needs! Overall, Indigo is selfish. He does not care what others are going through, or the consequences of his actions on them as long as he comes out unscathed.

Contrarily to Cirrus, Indigo has his emotions in check. He does not care about what other people do if it doesn’t affect him, while Cirrus gets introduced by yelling at Nim for touching the ground. Indigo is smiling most times and even if he is an “open book”, his emotions are not the burden of others. That is, unless you press a sensitive point, like his sense of self. On the other hand, Cirrus’ temper is something everyone else has to deal with and tip toe around. The only time when he can keep it together is when it’s something he’s sensitive about.

Where Cirrus shuts down, Indigo flares up, and so they make for interesting parallels.

Indigo’s immaturity is different from Cirrus, because they had different lives, but the root of the problem is once again Stratoverse. Thanks to Indigo, we got context for Stratoversian childhood and expectations. And it’s pretty terrible.

Let’s talk about it!

Cirrus’ childhood

Stratoverse has some kind of incentive to make every citizen gain weather magic. The reason why is still a mystery and worthy of plenty of theories, but it is not today’s focus.

Indigo explains pretty well how this happens. Children are separated from their families, given to caretakers and taught about the weather cycle. Nim mentions that she got “floated” a lot as a kid, so it’s not a full no-contact situation - at least not for everyone - but it’s still rather isolating. Indigo tells us that he “wanted to live in the sky with [his] parents”, and so did most other kids.

Cirrus is an exception though, because his fathers live on the mainland in a ranch. They do not have magic and they can’t live in the cloud city. There’s no one waiting for Cirrus in the clouds. When other children finally regroup with their family upon getting magic, Cirrus would be leaving his behind forever. As he loves to remind people, it’s shameful to touch the ground. He still holds them dear in his heart, as shown when he punched the president for badmouthing magicless people, or when he almost cracked after Rylie’s question. Nevertheless, it still got ingrained in him that he should be ashamed of his origins, from how meek he was when talking about his dads’ ranch. Stratoversian propaganda is very effective if it can convince a country kid that a leaf is actually disgusting and touching the ground a disgrace.

Cirrus is powerful, he probably got magic early on. Let’s say 12 years old. From that age on, he grew up with no parents, no guardians, no caretakers. It’s during teenage years that people learn to be mature, to manage their emotions, to handle conflict and to respect others. They can either learn it in school, from teachers or peers, or from their family. Cirrus had neither. He can’t go to his family and he doesn’t have any friends if his attachment to Nim is anything to go by.

Speaking of, let’s focus on Nim and Cirrus for a little bit now.

Cirrus’ attachment to Nim

Cirrus and Nim are both grown adult, and they’re both royalties. They’re not siblings however, and don’t know much about each other. For all due purposes, they are colleagues. Cirrus seems to have some years of anteriority over Nim, but other than that they’re equals. They have no need to interact, and Nim would even prefer if they didn’t. Despite that, Cirrus clings to her with force. We know from Virga that the trip back and forth to Gloomverse takes a full day. Cirrus come visit her multiple times, and his first visit (that we know of) lasted less than an hour. He clearly doesn’t approve of what Nim is doing, but that doesn’t stop him from checking up on her.

Why?

Because he is a fucking desperate for a human connection, except he has no clue how to go about it, so he clings to the only proper relationship he has in his life: his royal colleague!

He can’t turn to Virga because she’s already proven herself to be unsafe by punching him and making fun of his ideas, and he can’t be around the king because everyone expects him to dethrone (and kill) him, so Nim is the only one he has left. She’s also polite and nice enough to tolerate him, and he takes it as the greenlight to be even more clingy. He’s unconsciously forcing her to mom him, and she has to be responsible for the two of them.

Nim is stuck trying to appease him and maintain a cordial relationship because her own situation is unprecedented and precarious, and there’s a high chance he could jeopardize her passports and permits if she actually spoke her mind! At the world conference, she finally speak up because she literally has nothing to lose. She spent three weeks in jail because of her association with Cirrus, and her passports and permits to study have been thrown out the window. So when he belittles her and her interests, she snaps, because she can.

Their relationship is not a balanced one, but it’s progressively becoming better. Now that nothing is at stakes, she can be honest and actually tell him off, which she does!

Royal Responsibilities

You may have already read a few pieces about it (like this rant), but the prince and princess titles doesn’t seem to come with a lot of responsibilities. It seems that only the king and queen can make any meaningful decisions, and the prince and princess’ role is to support those decisions.

Cirrus is interested in making life better for the magicless. He has family at stake even. Yet he is shown running away from any responsibilities he might have in Stratoverse to follow Nim, and aggravating the tense relationship between Gloomverse and Stratoverse by punching the president. It’s not really his fault though, because that’s the way Stratoverse’s society is built: the most powerful have the most power, and the ones with power can do what they want because they’re powerful. You don’t agree with a political decision? Duke it out with the politician. Someone made a mistake? Punch them to teach them a lesson. That’s what he learned, that’s what he does.

And what he does is selfish and immature, because that’s what the system thrives on. People are encouraged to remain immature, to act on instinct, to punch the people they don’t like, to be selfish and not think of others. The system relies on Stratoversian being too busy fighting to survive, too selfish and immature to give a damn what others are going through. It keeps people from organizing and rebelling. It keeps the system going.

Summary

This went in a different direction than what I thought it would. Here’s a summary:

Stratoversians, especially Cirrus, have been regularly characterised by their immaturity – especially when it comes to handling their emotions. They resort to show of force, they establish dominance with their magic, their bodies, their voice. Even Indigo resort to it when pushed to the brink. The way children are raised in Stratoverse often leads to immature adults because of a lack of appropriate education and doing the equivalent of giving a teenager a gun. Stratoverse culture is one of power, where rationality is dismissed in favour of strength. This keep people from trying to change the system: the people in power benefits from it, and if someone were to try and change things, a punch in the face will put a stop to it.

Cirrus is a product of that society: immature, impulsive, careless, and full of prejudice. So were Nim and Indigo, and they’re all on a journey to unlearn those things, albeit at different speeds.

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

july 7, 2021 4:00 p.m. grant's house

[shannon] do you want to talk to them?

[grant] i don’t know. i mean, i would never talk to my mom, but...

[grant] people can change.

[shannon] grant...

[grant] i'm not good at being cold. some very sad and pitiful part of myself is hopeful that people aren’t as terrible as they seem to be.

[shannon] grant, they’re never going to love you. they’re never going to respect you. they’re never going to appreciate you for who you are.

[shannon] they didn’t bother when you needed authority figures to put dinner on the table or give you a lift to school in the mornings or pay any attention to you and your hobbies. so why would they do it now? why now when you need nothing from them?

[shannon] i'm no shrink or psychic or anything, but i feel it in my bones that they want to file you away so they can close out this tab in life and feel better about what they did to you. they don’t want to fix the problem. and if they did, i think they would have done it a long, long time ago, probably when you cut them out.

[shannon] and i'm so sorry. i'm genuinely really so sorry. your entire life, they’ve dangled, i don’t know, affection in front of you like a carrot on a stick and make it seem like you can catch it, but i don’t think you can.

[shannon] i know you want them to have a lightbulb moment and suddenly love you like they were supposed to, but...

[shannon] they’re going to fool you into trusting them because you’re a far better person than they could ever hope to be and then they’ll pull the rug out from underneath you.

[shannon] everyone always does.

[shannon] your own ex-fiancee, a decent girl, took advantage of you. what would stop the people who are a million times worse from doing it again? and unlike with her, you can predict it with them.

[grant] you’re right.

[grant] god, i literally feel insane. i'm not so stupid that i'm not skeptical of them reaching out, but i wish...

[shannon] ah now, you’re not insane. really, you’re very sane. the only way to survive in the world when you’ve seen the worst of it is to hope there’s good out there. it’s an admirable outlook. most people would be a lot more bitter than you in your position.

[grant] but i'm too nice.

[shannon] no, i'd not say that. it’s not about niceness but about boundaries. don’t be less nice, just...you know, put up a few more walls. and it’s not like it’s your fault that you are bad at that. it’s probably an attachment thing, right? your family is supposed to love you and when they don’t, i mean, you’re either going to turn out as someone who rejects or chases affection.

[grant] or both, if you’re me.

[shannon] yes. or both.

[shannon] i think you lean towards chasing but ironically, you are great at pushing people away when the mood strikes you to do it.

[grant] you don’t say.

[shannon] sure, i've never seen you ignore people so successfully that everyone thinks you’re dead.

[grant] i have gotten better about not doing that, in my defense.

[shannon] you have! still, the evidence of that behavior is around. you only talk to two people from your childhood that aren’t the family because you cut everyone else off.

[grant] i know. and i feel bad about it. i was just very embarrassed about talking to people at the height of my mental health crisis back in college. i didn’t want anyone to know.

[shannon] uhhh, they all already know, josie. everyone gossips.

[shannon] sorry! that sounded really mean, i didn’t mean it in a mean way, like.

[grant] you’re not wrong, though. i am perfectly aware that everyone whispers about me back home.

[shannon] you know who doesn’t gossip? the family in ireland and the towns they live in! no one cares about your personal business. you’ll be a free man while you’re there on holiday.

[shannon] well, actually, they are mad gossips and they do care about your personal business, but the atlantic ocean and general familial tact has protected them from knowing what you don’t want them to know, so it’ll be about other stuff! tolerable topics!

[foxydivaxx]

Zosan: Look What You Made Me Do Chapter 5

Sanji will speak to us directly here and boy are you all in for a treat because we finally get to hear from the man in regards to his ahem….perverted dirty mind. Just picture Sanji smirking as he tells you all the naughty things he does. He kinda sounds like Lestat here xD. TW: mentions of sex and abuse

Henceforth, I shall take over the story here since this is my show now. Chopper suggested I write a diary as it helps with my thoughts. At first I thought it would not work given how crazy I tend to be. Turns out it did work as I can now properly digest and dissect my thoughts properly before doing something reckless.

I have always been different. Too kind to many. Too intense for some. Too meek for others. Perhaps that explains my bad luck with women and people in general. Always been a controversial person due to my status as a perverted cook. Many forget I kick ass. But considering my attitude towards women, I do not blame their dismissive attitude.

Truth be told, I kind of took Zeff’s stance towards women too seriously. Listen, I owe that old man my life because he saved me from starvation hence why I take food wastage seriously. So when that man says something, I would stick to it even if it would not serve me any good.

Every single relationship I had prior to Marimo either ended in tragedy or in disaster. I have lost Lord knows how many lovers now. The last thing I want is to lose Zoro. I have always been in love with him ever since the day I met him but did not bother to hook up with him as I thought I was not his type. Yet here we are a happy couple years later.

For years, I have struggled with relationships and my sexual identity. All this is thanks to that useless bastard that called himself my father. I have since disowned him but clearly, he refuses to take the hint hence why he killed Zeff and destroyed the Baratie and everyone in it. He expected me to crawl back to him. Stupid old fool.

As if that wasn’t enough, he had the audacity to send that delusional idiot Akuma after me, pretending to be a pirate with demon powers. Oh how I laughed in my head at that one.

You see the thing about Akuma is that he is a genetically enhanced human like I am. That is why his powers appear demonic. But he has clearly never met a bigger more monstrous demon that could kill him until he met me that is. Yes I can be a demon when you push me that far.

Now why did I mention these two men? Okay, I told the crew about it especially Marimo.

You see, my gentleman image is kind of a mask, an illusion to hide my true sexuality. The ladies must have seen through it and chose not to follow through. I am glad they rejected me because I would not have had the sexual awakening I would have had years later.

Chopper and Zoro both stated that my excessive nosebleeds was as a result of sexual inactivity. They are absolutely right because after Akuma and his guys started fucking the shit out of me day in day out and now Zoro, I feel a lot better.

Oh yeah, I love sex. I will not deny that fact. What made me love sex that much was ironically the way I lost my virginity. There was this customer at the Baratie named Marissa.

Beautiful blonde lady about her early 20’s wearing a beautiful purple qiqao alongside a black coat. She had a welcoming smile and an inviting presence that made every man at the Baratie weak in the knees. Yet for some reason, I attracted her eye. I was just 17 then.

I was trying to be a good boy here, obeying Zeff’s command in regards to not simping after any woman I saw after my young hormones almost lost control when I was just 8.

The woman beckoned to me. I remember freezing in my tracks. Zeff grunted at me, signalling that I go attend to her. I took some small tentative walks towards the woman and gave her a polite smile. How I controlled myself that day is beyond me.

Either way, later that night once I had finished with work, I headed to my living quarters. As soon as I opened the door, my jaw dropped. There was Marissa seated seductively on my bed.

“How did you…get in here?” I say as I immediately close the door behind me. Last thing I wanted was for the old shitbag to find me in a compromising position.

She smiles sweetly and raises up from the bed, gently making her way towards me, like a cat who had just found her prey. “One of your fellow staff members helped to sneak me in here.”

I thought as much. I was in awe of this beautiful lady in front of me. Usually, I do the chasing. So this was a first, the first time a woman would willingly give herself to me.

“I may have to punish some miscreants for that later.But right now…” I then wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer. “How about you and I have our little moment mon cherie?” I say in the most seductive voice I could muster.

She immediately melts under my touch and without hesitation, locks lips with me. I was a virgin at the time and yet, here I was acting like a pro.

She drove me insane with her gentle touch, the way that hot mouth of hers took my cock and sucked me off. I am surprised I did not lost it there because when someone sucks me off on a good day, I can be quite loud.

Her soft moans were music to my ears as I fucked her that day. I went overboard and fucked her hard. She herself was also a virgin making it even more exciting. That day was amazing. Shame it was a one-off affair. But a good one at that. But that moment began my deep erotic awakening.

It was not just some of the ladies that lusted after me. There a few guys too. One of them followed me to the bathroom one day and gave me a mind blowing blowjob. He also fucked me in the bathroom.

A few of the younger guys at the Baratie have also fucked me as well and it felt so good. Zeff found out and kicked my ass. I did not care and just kept on feeding my sexual appetite. He eventually just let me be. Now, there is a downside to my sexual side which conincides with my nosebleeds.

If I don’t have sex for a long time, I would lose my mind. Yeah you heard that right. I, Black- Leg Sanji am a sex freak. At least I admit it this time.

Whenever we end up on an island, I will do my usual flirting. Now here is the thing; I always knew that Nami and Robin never had feelings for me and that I was never their type. Yet I continued simping for them because well….it was fun. Plus they were beautiful. Still I thought I had a shot with either of them and went for it like the fearless fool I was.

There was also this part of me that constantly wanted love and attention and when I did not get it, I got pissed. Comes with growing up in an abusive, toxic environment. Yet, I also felt I did not deserve any love or affection. So for someone like Marimo to love me the way he does is truly a blessing.

However if a lady showed interest in me, which is rare, that takes me by surprise, especially when I am not being a prude. Unfortunately I allowed my moral code get the better of me and so many people took advantage of my weakness.

For all the gentlemanly shit I do, the truth is I am that boy no one should take home to their mamma. Don’t get me wrong, I can be nice and gentlemanly but the truth that I have slowly begun to accept is that I am a bad boy at heart.

I am so wild and insane and my sex addiction gets the better of me at times. Certainly not something anyone’s mamma wants to deal with.

It’s weird that I refused to acknowledge my sexuality for a long time. I needed release so I would sleep around on the different islands we went to save for a few exceptions.

I couldn’t help myself. Whenever people willingly relieve my sexual frustrations, I oblige them. All that bickering Marimo and I engaged in was him trying to force me to accept myself for once. Ace did part of the job when we started our relationship.

He deserved better than to end up the way he did. I am glad Luffy was accepting of our relationship.

That brings me to Akuma. Now how it happened was this: the fool approached me when I went to the bathhouse alone. Yes Germa has a bathhouse and in said bathhouse, there is an onsen.

I was alone because I needed to separate myself from everyone. I was going through so much shit then and this after I overheard the shit Pudding said about me.

I was still deeply hurt by what she said because I have heard others say similar shit about me and I got reminded of my family and the hell they put me through.

Just when I was deep in thought, I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around me. I was taken aback by this because as far as I knew, I was the only one in the onsen.

Just then a deep baritone whispers in my ear in the most sinful of ways, “Give into your desires.” He then parts my legs and begins to finger me.

Looking back at that moment, I feel disgusted. So Judge knew that I was bi and decided to weaponise that against me eh? No worries.

What these fools did not realize was that my Haki skills had heightened. So I can read emotions and hearts. So I knew Akuma was planning to use me anyway. Yet I played along because I realized something; he and his stupid crew could be useful.

And so I upped the ante. I became a whore for them whilst gathering enough information to carry out my revenge plot. How did I know Akuma destroyed the Baratie on Germa’s orders? I saw the letter Judge sent to him on his desk. Talk about careless.

Using my Haki skills, I began to manipulate and seduce everyone on that ship. That whole schtick about them being a demon empire? That was all my doing. Yes, I can alter people’s memories and play games with their minds. All I had to do was to seduce them into doing my bidding which is what I have been doing for a while.

I guess the Germa enhancement programme has special benefits especially when my crew mates are being threatened. I love my fellow Strawhats and I will do anything, absolutely anything to protect them. And if it meant selling my body for information, which I have done loads of times, taking my clothes off and getting fucked by Marines and several others, masturbating to distract people, and getting my hands dirty and executing any threats, then so be it.

That is the difference between Marimo and I. He is the warrior whilst I am the spy, the Homme fatale and assassin. I am done being nice. Nice guys always finish last. I am willing to be a monster for the others. No worries, my heart is still there otherwise Marimo would not fall for me.

Speaking of Zoro, he is straight forward yes but he is a great listener. I did not expect him to be that wise. Being a former pirate bounty hunter I guess taught him a lot about people. He can be silly but he is my silly Marimo.

Today, we arrived at an island to stock up on provisions and also take a much needed break. I chose to wore thigh high shorts that showed off my body, especially my most famous asset which happens to be my ass.

Compared to my old self, I walked onto the island with renewed confidence with sex appeal radiating from me. I did not chase after any woman this time around. Instead, all eyes were on me, especially my ass. Jaws dropped as no one had ever seen an ass quite like mine.

I smirk deviously because I secretly relish the attention. Zoro being Zoro wraps his arms around protectively and shoots warning glares at anyone that dares to look my way. That is my ferocious Tiger. Ever the territorial creature. I find that so adorable.

“The motel is right over there. I say we just chill there.” says Nami, pointing at a tall ash grey building a couple blocks from where we were . The gang agreed as we head inside.

Once the accommodations were sorted, we all head into our various rooms. As expected, Zoro and I got a room to ourselves.

“Is it me or does it feel like a vacation?” Zoro asks. I nodded. “Yeah it kind of does. Though knowing the Marines, they are on high alert.”

Zoro snorts. “Yeah. Well, no one touches my baby.” he says with a little growl as he begins to kiss my neck. I giggle and pull him closer. “Come on Daddy. Let’s have some fun.”

He smirked and soon our clothes fly in different different directions as we head towards the bed and begin to another one of our insane sex sessions. We do not even notice Usopp walking in and then out once he sees us naked and Zoro’s cock deep in my ass.

I spread my legs wide so that Zoro can go deeper into me. “Ah yes!! Ah Gimme more Daddy!!” I mewl out. Zoro did not disappoint as he continues to pound into me.

“God you are so beautiful like this.” He murmurs as he pulls me into a kiss. We switch positions and now I am on top, riding him like crazy.

“F-Fuck..” Zoro grunts. I just giggle and continued to bounce on his cock. I then begin to stroke my cock and within minutes, I cum all over my hand and Zoro’s chest. Zoro cums soon afterwards.

“You are making it difficult to concentrate at times.” says Zoro as we get ourselves cleaned and then get dressed. I just laugh. “Oh my apologies Dr Roronoa.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the restaurant of the motel where the others were waiting.

As the story progresses, Zoro and Sanji are gonna fight over who is the actual main protagonist and narrator. Lord help us with this chaotic couple.

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

Thoughts on Season 3

Yeah, I know, I'm late to the party. I watched this season weekly (except for episode 8, which I watched the same week as episode 1-I wasn't about to wait 8 weeks to see the CG episode) because screw binge culture I feel that’s just how Animaniacs should be watched (although daily works too). This won't be a review of each episode, just a list of random thoughts I had about the season:

—I already thought Titmouse's animation for the show was phenomenal, but it somehow managed to look even better in “Season 3 and WB”! And it’s always great to see more Nora. If Animaniacs does make another comeback I hope they don’t only stick with characters from the original series (plus some inevitable new ones) because nOsTaLGiA. It would suck if we never saw Nora or Julia or anyone from the reboot again.

—It’s nice to see certain catchphrases be brought back, like Wakko’s “Faboo!” and Dot’s “Boys.” Although it’s almost like a monkey’s paw situation, because Yakko doesn’t say “Goodnight Everybody!” at all this season. Not even once. Has that happened thoughout an entire season of Animaniacs...ever? This isn’t a complaint (it doesn’t really matter), but it’s surprising.

--OK, Cindy's officially my third favourite recurring character the reboot introduced. I'm glad her and Starbox got more segments this season, I like them a little more now!

—I like how “Soda-pressed” and “The Island of Dr Warneau” give insight as to what would happen if the Warners were the perfectly behaved, compliant, innocent children the studio always wanted them to be-they'd be miserable, like GiGi and the clones. The Warners may be chaotic and mess about a lot but at least they have a backbone.

--After "Planet Warner" I wonder how many toons in-universe are rejected pitches...it's gotta be ALOT. I liked the reference to "Opportunity Knox" in Talladega Mice (even the usually narcissistic Brain had to admit that plan was poorly thought out), especially since it's usually the Warners who reference their adventures in the original show, whilst Pinky and the Brain almost never reference their past adventures in the original show or their spin off in the reboot. Also, "D.I.Why?" is gonna be stuck in my head for ages, particularly Wakko's verse.

--I REALLY wish "Fantasy" and "Teeniacs" were longer instead of being cold opens. A Warners/Pinky and the Brain crossover and the Warners in high school? I would've watched an entire half hour each of both of those! As they are, they're both still good though.

—There are six Warner siblings now. Sorry I don’t make the rules.

(Seriously though, the clones were so cute! And I commend the segment for having a great moral about cutting out toxic family members.)

--Fun fact, "Global Warnering" was supposed to be in season 2! It's nice to see the Warners go up against another toon/talking animal again, it felt like pretty much all of the "special friends" in the reboot before season 3 were humans. They were mostly humans in the original show too, but some were talking animals. Also my goodness was "Here Comes The Sea!" catchy. Pretty brutal that the Warners basically kill the guy at the end...but let's be honest he deserved it.

--It's nice to know that canonically Brain did feel guilty over what he did to Julia. Ironic that in trying to deal with his feelings of guilt be ends up repeating the same mistake as before-trying to have complete control of Julia, just In a less overt way. I've seen people say that this was an awful thing to do and his way of dealing with it doesn't make sense because it doesn't actually fix anything but...I'm pretty sure that was the point you guys. Brain's an emotionally unintelligent narcissistic control freak, and always has been. In the spin off he once referred to himself crying as his eyes leaking. What Brain does get is math and science-so he did the only thing he knew. He's not in touch with his emotions and is content with sticking with what he knows doing the same things over and over again, which of course leads to him making the same mistakes. Meanwhile, Julia is in touch with her emotions and is willing to change. Julia's his foil, this whole storyline is basically deconstructing Brain as a character. The only thing I don't get is why is he in love with her? I'm glad the feelings clearly aren't reciprocated, but last time he met a mouse that seemingly became as smart as him (Billie) that was a turn off for him. Or maybe he IS at least a little threatened by Julia's intelligence and that's why he programmed her to be a housewife?

--Basically, I do have some issues with the Julia storyline (as funny as she is they could've done something more interesting and nuanced than turning her into a Saturday Morning Cartoon villain, I could do without Brain actually having feelings for her, and I think her trying to take Pinky away from Brain because she genuinely thinks he'd be better off without him would have been more interesting than her basically ignoring Pinky most of the time) but showcasing Brain's flaws isn't one of them. I'm glad the real Julia showed up in episode 7, would've sucked if what's unfortunately probably gonna be her last appearance in anything ever technically didn't even have her appear. I'll admit I don't really see the point of having two Julias now but I'm guessing they would've done something cool with that plotline. Maybe one day they will! Hopefully the idea for season 4 was that Brain would finally attempt to make things right for real.

--I liked episode 8 overall, but yeah that first scene sucked. I'm not gonna debate this with anyone in the comments-I don't like it. Not just the comments about Wakko, the "boomer" joke and the "lol girls don't play video games!" joke in 2023 were pretty lame. But I'm not gonna rant about it, plenty of people have already. That being said, the Warners looked great in CG, and the rest of the episode was actually funny. They even referenced the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and Game Boy Animaniacs game and got a studio (Flystudio) who actually worked on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to do the 3D animation!

--Also, did not expect Starbox and Cindy of all things to get some sense of closure, with it seeming like Starbox will eventually warm up to living with Cindy. Yeah there's that cliff-hanger...but the clone will probably end up like the last one lol.

--One of the scientists who conducted the "Learned Helplessness" experiment on Brain appears near the beginning of episode 9. I swear he even has more white hairs now, neat detail. Also, I guess Yakko being lactose-intolerant is now officially a constant thing in canon and not just a random gag, that's cool. "How The Brain Thieved Christmas" was fine, but Brain is basically learning the same thing he learned in the original PatB Christmas special. That dub-step remix of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" was unexpected but awesome, and "We Could Try to Do It, Santa" was great too!

--If "Some of Humanity's Wins" ends up being the last full Animaniacs song we ever get (with the Warners' og voices at least), then that's not a bad song to go out on, I like the optimistic message! And I'm so glad to hear Sherri Stoner as Slappy again, she literally sounds the same as she did decades ago, that's amazing. Slappy being retired makes way too much sense.

--So...about that ending. Apparently the meteor was more of a metaphor wasn't meant to be taken too literally. Even if you ignore what Gabe Swarr said on Twitter about how the Warners survived (plus Everyday Safety likely being an in-universe filmed sketch anyway), Yakko has outright said he's impervious to physical harm in "Yakko Amakko" and Wakko said they're immortal in "WARnerGAMES". So I'm just gonna assume the Warners are fine. And although it does technically count as a downer ending, the comedic timing of the meteor's impact was too good for me to hate it. And hey, unlike the original series there was no implication they'd be locked up in the water tower this time so...yay...?

--Here's my ranking of the episodes (from best to worst):

3, 7, 6, 10, 9, 5, 1, 8, 4, 2

I'll keep this last paragraph brief, this post is getting pretty long. The best moments in season 3 are some of the best of the reboot, period. I'm gonna miss this show, I wouldn't even be into Animaniacs without it, and it deserves to have more episodes.

I like to think maybe some day it will!