#definitely noticeable and it's nice to see. That said... I still like the season 2 art style more? And I'm speaking strictly of art style.

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[katzske]

Thoughts on Earthspark Season 2 (first half)

Spoiler Free:

I must admit I’m dissatisfied.

The animation and rendering definitely looks cheaper. Sometimes it feels like frames are missing, animations not polished, scenes not fully rendered. 2d and 3d poorly blends. It’s quite noticeable unfortunately. Characters also do the TFP Megatron stare now.

That being said, time was taken to revisit old models of characters and give them a new appearance. (4 i’ve noticed) It makes sense given a lot has changed during one year time skip.

The writing often feels either like exposition dumping or naruto filler episodes. I was never at the edge of my seat even during the climax. I ended up skipping through episodes due to the lack of relevant plot information.

Something ES managed to maintain were carefully composed shots that make great still images. While that’s nice for screenshots and redraws, I also feel like it’s the only unique aspect of ES’ animation style that remained. The rest, as previously mentioned, has lost quality.

Character Details I’ve noticed and want to talk about (spoilers ahead)

half of season 2 part 1 is filler. optimus trailer episode, great america with cosmos, a pachycephalosaurus-truck fighting mushrooms, hashtag taking ten years to dispose of hard drives…. each episode did have a few minutes of either cute or important moments. but the majority is a waste of time.

I was hoping that we would learn more about the decepticons. now that they’re free, what are they up to? how are their dynamics? how did season 1 finale change their perception on things? would they try to convince the terrans THEY are the good guys? nothing like that though.

There is no satisfying character development for starscream. ES Starscream was perfect to explore a more neutral version of him, who does not do bad things out of pleasure, but due to necessity; following his desire to be free. In the show he mentions he wanted to get rid of his oppressors (in his eyes autobots and humans), but a real “bruh” moment was when he told Hashtag the only reason he opened up to her last time was to tell her “take care of yourself first”. It completely disregards the fact he came to help in the season 1 finale after reflecting on Hashtags words. It also aggravates me that the writing could have been a very easy fix. “hey i’m not being selfish by destroying this town. im doing this for the decepticons, we have lived under the control of the autobots and then of humans. this needs to stop, we deserve freedom and i will do anything it takes.”

the show managed to establish some friction between starscream and shockwave but for deception standards it was very tame. overall i think it was written okay; he purposely let the Terrans escape with the fragments, and he bailed on Starscream once he went bonkers. I hope that he gets to be a Decepticon leader in the second half; i don’t think we have seen that in any TF TV show before. i also like that his antennae and eye color give away his emotions now.

i feel like the autobots are treated even worse than the decepticons this season ngl. they merely exist; and when they do have the spotlight it’s often for comedy.

why the fuck did shockwave not wait for hashtag to just dump the hard drives and leave. if someone walked up to me yelling “give me your trashbag” as i’m trying to dispose of it i’d be weirded out too lol.

i hope the chaos terrans don’t return. aftermath imo was, plot wise, redundant. spitfire at least was interesting and had an impact.

i wish there were more interesting fights like in season 1 instead of, oh no they’re hitting the trailer with sticks, oh no we are an abomination of dinosaur and vehicle for what feels like 15mins straight. i miss seeing soundwave slay.

[lafrexniere]

It was and is You - CL16 - part 2.

Note: Here's part two, part one link-> part 1

Saturday

You had set an alarm that morning to make sure you didn’t miss your “morning coffee”. You had assistance from your three friends in choosing your outfit and helping you get ready. Allie did your hair, Liv did your makeup, and Mila chose your outfit.

“Can we please meet him,” Mila begged.

“Don’t ruin this for Y/N, you know how she is about guys,” Liv said. Your last relationship of three years ended in the middle of your last season putting you in a slump. It had been a year and now here you were with this guy who you clicked with instantly. 

“Yeah, but she needs our help, right Y/N?” Allie said slyly knowing her full intentions.

“Okay the last thing I need right now is you fan girling over him while we are just trying to get to know each other,” you said, “Maybe just maybe in like an hour after I’m down there you can possibly join me for breakfast when he has to go,” hoping to ease their eagerness, it seemed to work.

“Yes! See she does want us Liv,” Mila grinned. You rolled your eyes looking at the time seeing a message light up on your phone.

Charles: We are still good?

You: Yes heading out now 😄

“I have to go,” you said swatting their hands off of you. You took one last look at yourself in the mirror, grabbed your purse then dashed out of your room. You got on the elevator expecting it to stop on his floor and it did. You looked down then back up to see the brunette enter the elevator.

“Hello again,” he smiled.

“So you were the driver my friends are obsessed with, it was you, that explains the mystery,” you said.

“It is me,” he shrugged. The elevator door opened and you made your way to one of the tables in the lobby ordering your coffee and espresso. The two of you began talking, finally getting to learn more about Charles and about your shared interests. You both were athletes with crazy travel schedules, you both played an instrument, and you both agreed that after this weekend you would stay in touch.

“I want to make a deal with you,” he grinned.

“Oh what am I getting into,” you teased, knowing that it would end up with you being happy.

“If I place top five today we can do this again tomorrow, even though I prefer to take time to myself the day of a race, because I would like to see you again,” he said.

“And if not?” you trailed off. You were distracted hearing giggles coming from the elevator area, you looked up to see your friends watching you from a distance back. 

“Y/N?”

“Oh my god I am so sorry, I am so sorry,” you whispered over and over again as you watched your friends walk over.

“Hi Charles,” Mila said running her finger along his shoulder, “I’m Mila,” she said batting her eyes.

“And I’m Allie,” she said doing the same.

“And I’m Liv,” she said giving both of them a stern look.

“So this is the famous girl group I have heard about,” he laughed. You put your head in your hands embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” Liv mouthed to you. You rolled your eyes knowing this would happen. You watched Mila and Allie compete in trying to woo over Charles and he was nice about it he played along, but always continued to look at you and talk about what he knew about you. Your friends went to a different table waiting for you to join them once Charles left. He looked at the time and noticed it was time to leave for qualifying. His car would be outside in moments to pick him up. 

“So will I see you after again?” He asked standing up. You stood up with him,

“Yes definitely,” you blushed. He opened his arms to hug you, you wished him good luck with a hug and went back to your friends table to share only the important details of your date.

“So you agreed to the deal right, he has to finish in the top five it’s Monza!” Mila said.

“Can we please come again, but we won’t flirt,” Allie begged.

“Oh please, you can’t help yourselves,” you said. 

“Hey I held them back,” Liv said. You nodded at her thanking her for her efforts. You continued discussing and telling your friends to back off. You texted Charles under the table apologizing once again for what had happened.

You: I am so sorry again, they can be a lot sometimes 🫣

Charles: Stop worrying I’m fine, besides they could have done worse

You: I guess so, but don’t let what happened this morning distract you

Charles: If anything I feel more ready after talking to you

You smiled and your friends caught you texting.

“Y/N stop it’s girls time,” Allie whined. 

“Jealous?” you smirked. As time went on the four of you got ready for qualifying and made your way to the track. The drivers came on the track making their way around the track competing for times. At the end of the hour Charles had not only finished in the top five, but the top three. Your friends all jumped and screamed for joy rushing down to the spot where you would meet Charles after. After moments of waiting you saw him, once again your eyes met through the crowd, it helped that you were in the front this time. There were tons of voices yelling for him around you but you remained silent knowing he would make his way over to you. As he approached you, the butterflies bubbled in your stomach, you felt your face heating with each step he got closer to you. He reached out his hand to you over the barrier you were waiting behind. You took it,

“Do we still have a deal?” you asked.

“Oh we have a deal,” he said firmly pulling your hand to his shoulder, you hugged once again infront of this large crowd. You could feel the weight of all the pictures being taken of you by all the girls around you.

“Talk to you later,” you grinned pulling out of the hug. He winked and went on to signing and taking pictures with the other fans around you. You and your friends ran off shouting bye. The four of you went out for dinner once again debriefing.

“Y/N you have to see this,” Allie said flipping her phone around. You took her phone scrolling through seeing tons of pictures of you and Charles all over social media.

“Y/N your famous,” Liv smiled.

“Oh please remember us,” Mila laughed. You looked up this media on your own phone and sent it to Charles.

Charles: So they are calling you the mystery girl

You: It’s not going to take long before they figure out who I am, we exchanged medias they can find me through yours

Charles: Is that a problem?

You: No, but are we… well what are we?

Charles: You will have to wait until tomorrows deal 😏

You rolled your eyes putting away your phone for the rest of dinner. The three of you made your way back to the hotel, still discussing you being Charles’ mystery girl. You texted him a quick good night ready for your coffee date the next morning once again. You drifted off to sleep having a dream of tomorrow’s race outcome, little did you know it would be a dream come true.

[saurongorthaur9]

The funny thing is, even if a kiss happens between Hal and Gal, the antis will say that “it's not romantic”, “they're not in love”, “it doesn't mean anything”, “it's manipulation” and blah blah blah

I have noticed some recent conflict in the fandom over what exactly Sauron feels for Galadriel, and I don't want to insert myself into any of that. That being said, I do agree that what Sauron feels for Gal is complicated. I think there is love and there is obsession and probably other things that can't be boiled down nice and neatly into any one emotion.

With that preface, Tolkien actually talks about how Sauron's underlying driving motive is love. Love of order. Love of beauty. Love of perfection. He even says that in the beginning, these things were Sauron's virtue. Morgoth was a being driven by a nihilistic hatred for all things that he could not control and corrupt, but Sauron was driven by passionate love for Middle-earth and the things therein, and this was actually the core difference between them.

Of course, though we know that Sauron's love (as Mairon) started out as something good, it was quickly twisted into obsession to control what he loved. And eventually, when he was not allowed to control it, it twisted into hatred just as passionate as his love had been.

I love that we're actually getting a microcosm of that with Sauron and Galadriel, and I think how Sauron feels about Galadriel is very Tolkienian, given the above passages from "Morgoth's Ring" that I referenced. I think at the beginning, Sauron-as-Halbrand's love for Galadriel was actually pretty genuine and as pure as it could be for a being like him. He connected with her (genuinely, I believe), he admired her, he found her beautiful, and he saw a kindred spirit within her. And I think those were all pretty wholesome feelings.

However, we've already seen those feelings begin to warp into obsession to possess and control. We saw it even by the end of Season 1, when we saw how manipulative and angry he got when Gal rejected his marriage/partnership proposal. We're definitely seeing it in Season 2 with his creepy, possessive behavior towards Mirdania in the last episode.

I think over the course of the series, we'll see Sauron's love become a darker and darker thing, more and more obsessive, more possessive than a genuine connection: mirroring how his love for Middle-earth fell into something dark and twisted. By the very end of the series, I could even see Sauron coming to hate Galadriel - much as he comes to hate Middle-earth - because he can't possess or control her, but I think it will still be an obsessive hatred that is, in part, a love gone terribly wrong.

All this is to say, I think the best characters are complex characters. Is Sauron in love? Yes, I think he is. Is he also manipulating Gal? Yes, I think he is. Is his love something dark and controlling and possessive? Yes, I think it is. These are all things that can co-exist. The one thing that I do vehemently disagree with is that "it doesn't mean anything" or that Sauron and Galadriel's connection doesn't mean anything to Sauron. I think it means everything to Sauron. And if there is a kiss, I think it will be an extension of that. At least, I would hope so.

[hetalian-veteran]

Art Styles I Personally Think the Hetalia Characters Looked Their Best In (and Why) Part 2

Link to Part 1, Link to Part 3

Please note that I am referring to the show and not the webcomic. This is primarily because I didn't always have access to the webcomic and thus the show is what I've always been most familiar with. I will also refrain from talking about characters that have only appeared in one season.

Also, please keep in mind that these are just my opinions. And if you have any different ideas of what designs looked better, that's totally okay. At the end of the day, I'm just here to have fun.

America: Seasons 1-4

It was kind of hard to choose which design was best for America, seeing as they are all very similar to one another while also having different qualities that I liked. But I ultimately settled on the one from the first four seasons. I adore the WWII bomber jacket, as well as how the character in general was animated back then. Not to mention that the older art style just fits him so well. A lot of Americans have an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude about things, so I find it fitting that, at least in my opinion, this also works for aph America. He looks great everywhere else, but I won't deny I have a nostalgia for the original. This was an exceptionally close tie with his design for season 5. Not to mention I once drew aph America fanart for an art project in middle school and got an A on it.

England: Season 5

Okay, I'm gonna be real here. This all came down to the eyebrows. Well, not entirely, but it definitely played a large part. I never had a problem with England's design in seasons 1-4, but those eyebrows though. They were so distracting. I understand wanting to give characters a prominent feature that makes you go, "Yep this is (insert character here)." But I think England's eyebrows were too overdone in the previous seasons. However, I also believe they were far too thin and lightened up in seasons 6-7. Season 5 had a good balance. Not too thick but not too thin. Also, I feel like his facial structure and design made him look kinda weird in season 7.

China: Season 5

So... I'm gonna be honest here. All of the other designs for China make him look like a young girl to me. Yes, he still looks sorta feminine in season 5, but not like he appears in seasons 1-4 and 6-7. In season 5 he actually looks more like an adult man to me. Not to mention his hair. Because holy crap that is some of the most beautiful hair I have ever seen put to animation

Russia: Season 6

This was a close tie between all his designs, but it ultimately came down the hair. Yes, I know, I talk about the characters hair a lot. But that really was the deciding factor for Russia. All his designs look great in that the long coat and vertical lines throughout give me the impression of a Russian nesting doll. Now, whether that was intentional on Hima's part or not, I cannot say. But it's a cool detail that I always notice whenever I see him. When it comes to his season 6 design, I like not only how innocent he looks (which is an important part of the design Hima intended from the beginning), but that his hair has some more fun detail too it. It looks so soft and fluffy, not like the previous designs that made it look like he had water dumped on his head.

France: Season 5

What can I say about this design that hasn't been said already? The only other character who had a bigger glow-up than France was Spain (who you can see my opinions on in a previous post). Literally everything here is an upgrade from his design through seasons 1-4. His hair looks so silky and soft, not like that yellow plastic we had earlier. Also, the hair ribbon tying it back looks so elegant and refined, fitting perfectly with the character. I also love the small detail of the ribbon being the same color of his eyes. It's a nice touch. His outfits this season are great as well. They are very simple, but still elegant, with soft, curved lines and balancing both warm and cool colors. Especially in his outfit during the Joan of Arc episode.

Canada: Season 5

I think I'm starting to have a favorite season in terms of character designs here. Canada just looks his cutest here, primarily because of his outfits. He has one of the most adorable and cozy wardrobes this season, and I want to raid this man's entire closet. I love the flannels and cozy jackets and hoodies that he has. As someone who grew up most of her life in northwest Montana (which, if you ask the rest of the US, is basically just lower Canada), I think I have to be a little biased here. Canada's design gives me the feeling of home in a way, and this is definitely a wardrobe that I embrace for a time growing up.

Austria: Seasons 1-4

The hair curl in his cowlick hits harder here, just getting that out of the way. There's more of a curl to it, which is more reflective of Himaruya's art style. And even though his wardrobe in the latter seasons is great, this one all around looks better to me. I like the royal blue lined with the deep red. And the cravat is just a fabulous detail that I love. Now that I think about it, everything about this design just feels very Himaruya. Like, this is one of his best character designs. There's also the placement of the mole on the bottom right-hand side of his face. In other designs, it's not as prominent. But here it's easier to see. I feel like it makes the design all the more unique.

Hungary: Seasons 1-4

THIS. This design for aph Hungary is top tier, and nobody can convince me otherwise. Something that has always intrigued me about Hungary is that she was raised primarily around men. So much so to the point where she saw herself as one growing up. But when she got older and realized she was actually a woman, she ended up adopting more feminine clothing and characteristics. Aph Hungary is a female character who balances both feminine and masculine traits. And her design from seasons 1-4 emulate this balance perfectly. Her long hair is a pale brown color, and her eyes a dark green. Unlike later seasons where she's given long, shiny, elegant hair and sparkling eyes. She's often found wearing either military uniforms or pretty dresses. We even see the evolution of her fashion from child to adult, where she goes from wearing her hair shorter to wearing it longer and with a flower. Her design encapsulates the idea that, yes, she is a woman. Yes, she is feminine. But at the same time, this is someone who has seen war and battle. (I might have to do a separate post about Hungary, because her design and character are honestly fascinating).

[poppyplate]

minor season 5 spoilers for lmk!!!

(some sketches + my thoughts on the new season :0)

this season was so good!! i'm gonna put my long rant about my thoughts below, just cause i have a lot of things i wanna talk about :3

animation: ik the animation change was jarring for some people and i did almost cry about flying bark leaving the show when the news first dropped, but i honestly think wildbrain did a great job and the animation is still super cute and fun. it's definitely different and you can tell, but they still do all the silly animation things that flying bark did and this season honestly had some of my favourite humor (visual and otherwise).

i'll definitely miss the old animation, fully hand drawn 2D animation is becoming harder to come by in cartoons now so it's sad to see this show lose one of the most exciting aspects of it, but i'm looking forward to seeing how wildbrain does in the following season(s?). i'm honestly just glad we're getting more monkie kid content.

plot: i did enjoy the plot they set up. this season did feel different pacing wise? if that makes sense. not that it's necessarily bad i just noticed it felt a bit different. i'm really excited to see more about this whole chaos thing.

ik li jing wasn't necessarily a villain, but he was an antagonist for a bit so i'm adding my two cents about him and nezha. i didn't love what they did with their story arc, but ik there's only so much that can be done in a 10 episode season where each episode is only 10 minutes long. i think their arc would've just benefited from more time :(

villain(s): i think the nine headed demon is such an interesting character (even though he did confuse me a bit) so i hope we get to see more of him. probably my favourite big bad so far personality-wise.

main characters: i'm glad sun wukong had more screentime this season!! he always either isn't around or gets trapped, so it's nice that he was present again.

i definitely felt this season focused a lot more on the monkie trio, which was bound to happen, but i like them so i was fine with it. idk how much of a redemption arc macaque is trying to have, but i kind of hope it's not a standard redemption arc. not that i didn't enjoy macaque's character this or any other season, i do like him most of the time. i just personally hope they keep him as more of a neutral figure even if he does stick around with the group.

i don't have much to say on mk that hasn't already been said. i love the guy and i hope he gets to be happy again soon T^T

side characters? ig: i thought mei and red son's episode was cute. i love dragonfruit interactions a lot, but i do hope red son gets some more screentime next season cause i miss him </3

i am happy sandy got some more screentime though, his episode with mk was cute. also tang was so real this season, he's just like me fr (i hate manual labor).

other notes and whatnot: this season felt shorter somehow, even though it wasn't and i'm not sure if we'll be getting a special like we always do or if they're just going to move on to the next season. either way, i'm excited to see where it goes from here.

although i wasn't in love with the ending of this season, it just felt a tad rushed and i definitely think we would've benefited from a few special episodes again.

i'd give this season a solid 8/10. i would love to go through all the episodes and share my thoughts on them, but i'm just gonna share my ranking of the episodes.

(i feel pretty even with 1-2 and 3-5)

1. collar the king

2. temple of the goddess

3. the cage

4. sacrifice

5. strings that bind

6. into the pagoda

7. claim to flame

8. harbinger

9. the storm within

10. festival fugitives

[idolish7imagines]

Hello! I hope it's okay to request how TRIGGER would show their jealousy for a S/O who's friendly and caring to everyone? Thank you in advance!

TRIGGER would show their jealousy for a S/O who's friendly and caring to everyone

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I hope you enjoy it!

.::.

Gaku Yaotome

Gaku takes great pride in you being his s/o, practically everyone's darling around the company of both his coworkers, staff and friends

everyone except his sometimes, apparently.

He's 100% for you to be independent and having strong relationships with others, being dependable and all that. But he can tend to get...possessive for lack of a better term.

He knows he's special to you, thats something in which his confidence would never wain, but he does need his alone, quality time with you. It helps him recharge especially after a long day.

As much as he loves that you're always present and there for both his and your own friends, he's still not above blurting out his needs that you should take a break from tending to everyone else and do something chill with him, like watching a movie or going for a drive.

His schedule was already hectic in certain seasons, so quality time is important to him as it is

It doesn't happen too quick at least, he'll give at least a 2 week grace period before his arms wrap around you from behind and he practically begs you to not leave and go do something besides being at his side.

With that said, its pretty easy to recognize when he's jealous.

Even if he's on good terms with the person, there's a painfully particular frown he gives when you're talking to them and he's been left out while standing by.

One thats easy for people that aren't you to spot as well, which has led to much more teasing than he'd be willing to admit.

Though the good part is that after his bouts of jealousy he feels the need to make up for lost time by taking you to an expensive dinner to remind the both of you how exclusive your relationship is

Kujo Tenn

Tenn is conflicted

He once had an impulsive thought to take you out more, but all his ideas would greatly interfere with his schedule, at least the ones that he feels would be enough to consider quality time

Sometmes he feels like you belong to everyone and not just him; which isn't necassarily bad, in fact he can relate, always trying to please his fans over his own needs and wants

The fact you're so kind is part of why he fell for you. Even when he had his moments where other people would consider him cold, you were always nice and understanding towards him

But that doesn't mean he won't pout like an annoyed cat when he sees you mingling at small parties and even with his other group members while leaving him in the background practically.

At times he's even petty enough to excuse himself from the room while pretending he has something better to do (though he usually comes back at realizing he's being a tad childish)

Once you notice he's jealous he'll ignore you a bit as 'punishment' but all you have to do is pet his head or let him rest it on your lap and its like he's reset and all is forgiven

He won't go as far as wanting to have you cut contact with the person at least not verbally but you can tell when he'd prefer to have your attention more

Alternatively you can buy him sweets and he'll be a little more content

but he definitely wants to go on some kind of date with you. Maybe two for good measure. Of just you and him, whether its something a bit more outside like going to the amusment park or just spending the day in each other's presence without taking any other calls (unless its for work)

Tsunashi Ryunosuke

Ryunosuke is not a jealous man. He trusts his s/o 100% (which would be a catastrophe if his judgement of character wasn't astute before dating someone)

Though it'd be a lie to say he didn't still go through his bouts of loneliness when its been a while since he's seen his fellow group members or even you due to his schedule. He wants to be happier when you tell him about the other things you've done, but ends up having a bittersweet taste in his mouth after hearing it.

It moreso makes him feel bad that he can't control his emotions getting the better of him, rather than directing it towards you.

And so, after realization, Ryuu figures the best way to cure it is to try and catch you the next time the both of you have enough free time to make your relationship feel special again. Easier said than done though.

Unlike Gaku, he wouldn't ask for much in terms of spending time with you alone. Just a night spent at either of your homes, making dinner or even ordering in and watching something and talking.

Weirdly enough, his other friends notice faster than you his feelings about the matter. He still looks at you fondly when you aren't looking back, but its different.

After a few attempts at denying when being asked about it, he'd finally admit that he'd been missing you

Even if the person he's jealous of is in vicinity when they hear that its pretty hard to be upset with him when he puts on such a genuinely somber face

Ryuu tries not to make a big deal out of it, assuring that he's fine with whatever you choose to do with your time

(which, obviously you'd spend more time with him)

[mikesgaylittlethoughts]

'when blue and yellow meet in the west' pt.2

I reached the image limit in the first post so season four will need it's own post.

First part is here!

⭑ Season 4:

Ah, yes, the lying, hiding and miscommunication season. This should be great.

El's outfit at the start has a lot of red, but still with some blue. Mike isn't around now, and she's being mostly true to herself at school, but that's the issue. People are mean as hell and don't like her for who she is.

She wants so badly to be seen as normal, to live the life of an ordinary girl, but even now she's seen as weird and unusual. At least one sweet detail i noticed is that the flannel she's wearing might have been Joyce's.

I also find it sweet how red has been incorporated into Will's outfits, too. It happened a few seasons back, and it's a nice detail considering how undeniably close he and El are.

Mike's in his Hellfire shirt. With El away, he doesn't feel the need to perform so much anymore, and feels more free to actively enjoy his interests and be himself again.

The day Mike came to California, El was, once again, wearing mainly blue.

And then there's.... Michael's outfit....

Mmhm. Yellow over purplish blue. This is the outfit for the awkward ass airport hug, and the entirety of Rink-o-Mania, until they get home.

After his s3 realizations, he went straight back to repression. Acting totally weird around Will and forcefully happy around El again.

While Mike wears yellow, Will wears blue.

Oh, also, the flowers Mike picked for El had "too much yellow", and "vomit green socks".

Mike's fight with El here is a super important scene to mention. He's wearing mostly blue with just a few yellow accents, but he's still lying to El, isn't he?

Oh, he's lying, alright. It's just not working.

El isn't running with it like usual. She's crying, confronting him about not being able to tell her he loves him and Mike's trying to convince her but even then, he can't say it. Eleven can see right through him. And the yellow... Well, I think we know why Mike can't say he loves her.

The monologue scene is the same case. About 0% of what he said in it was true, but El knows that. That's exactly why it didn't work.

This is when the pink starts showing up again, but there are still layers of blue to remove before it's free.

Mike and Will switch back to their respective colors again, and make up from their previous fights. Will wears blue and yellow, and Mike wears that blue shirt with that godforsaken sideways pocket.

These are the outfits they're forced to stay in for the rest of the season cause everything goes to shit afterwards.

Throughout the season, El sheds her blue layers, until finally, she's all pink.

She realized she doesn't need him and they're definitely going to break up next season. She's finally free and will finally get to be herself without molding her image to fit into what others think she should be like.

Now it's Mike's turn to free himself.

────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────

Okay, that was a lot! Once again, thank you @62percentmaplesyrup for all the help !!! I'll leave her posts linked down here if you guys wanna look for yourselves, it's a super interesting detail.

Here and here!

If any of you actually read through all of this, i really appreciate it. I worked on this for days on end lmao.

anyway byler endgame stay gay losersss

[footiehoemcfc]

We'll be Alright pt. 2

Okay so I was able to finish this part yesterday, I definitely think it will have four parts MAYBE 5 (only if I have time to make it longer) but i'm excited for you to read it! I was going to wait until I came back to post it but when I get back I have lots of stuff to do so bare with me for part 3 I promise it won't take much longer than a week. Thankyou for all the love on the first part :) Angst fic, tw none, 2.1k words PART 3 is on my masterlist!

The whole car drive back home was horrible. You started letting your thoughts get to you. Were you too dramatic? Was it too much to let all that out while he is struggling as well? Should you just suck it up and let the season end before talking about this? Maybe. However, the conversation escalated very quickly and before you know it you just let your heart out. When you got home, you thought of calling your best friend, but you didn’t. The last thing you wanted to do was recall everything that happened. You took everything out of your overnight bag, got showered, did your normal skin care routine and feel asleep with your headphones on listening to sad music. 

The night before you didn’t even bother to check your messages to see if Mason had asked if you got in okay. You were hoping he would text you today at least. You opened your messages and nothing, nothing from him at least. Sophia had texted you asking what your plans were for the weekend suggesting having a drink today at the new rooftop bar. You had nothing else to do at night and staying at home dwelling on what happened did not seem like a good plan. You agreed and put your phone down, ready to continue with more work stuff. You had to admit, it hurt that he hadn’t texted you. It sting you, normally if you guys would bicker or argue he would always text you something reassuring, but then again you said you were done. Did you mean it as a breakup? Not really, but how would he know.

Mason on the other hand did not get any sleep at all. He replayed your argument over and over again. He knew he fucked up, but he knew you were also right. All these big decisions, he hadn’t thought through them carefully yet. It kind of bugged him you knew him like the back of your hand. He knows you know how he feels just by simply looking at him. Since he was injured and it was game day, he decided to just stay home and watch the game there. He had meetings with other agents in the morning and his mom was coming over later in the day. Watching the game he thought about texting you, but he didn’t know if you needed space or if you were even together still. He didn’t text, opting for giving you space for the weekend. 

Mason heard the front door open and saw his mom come in. Still on the couch watching the game, he got up and greeted her “Hi mom” with a smile, a sad one. “Hi darling” Debbie said smiling and hugged him. He noticed she stared at him for a little bit and knew she could tell something was wrong. You and his mom had that in common, you could read him so easily. “Why didn’t you go to the bridge today?” “I had a meeting 30 minutes before kick off and would not make it in time, also thought it would be nice to stay in”. They both sat down on the couch and continued watching the game for a little bit until Debbie spoke again “I thought y/n would be here today, where is she, how is she?” she asked smiling. You and Debbie had a great relationship and Mason loved it. You would always have coffee dates and in big family gatherings you would always stick with her because it felt more safe. Mason stopped looking towards the tv to respond, “Yea she’s alright, she’s home busy doing work stuff” “My gosh that poor girl works all the time, last time I saw her she said it was taking a toll on her” “Yea I know”. Mason didn’t know what to say. After last night, the only thing he could think of when he thought of you was the fight. “Mhm” “What is it” “Mason Mount, I gave birth to you, do you think I don’t know you?” Shit. He knew she could sense something was off. I mean if he was going to get advice on his relationship, he never thought his mom would be the first option but here they were. “It’s nothing, we just had a bit of an argument last night” he placed the remote down on the table, got up to make some tea. He knew his mom would not just be satisfied with that, he knew she would be here all afternoon interrogating him so the tea was necessary. Mason and his mom talked about it, for a while. “Listen darling, I’m your mom and I won’t tell you what to do in your relationship. You two work together, and lately you haven’t and that is not a crime. You two are allowed to fight, to make mistakes, to get annoyed, however, in a relationship you owe it to each other to try and fix it and make it work. Give her space, trust me she is probably thinking about you too. And as with the contract, honey whatever you decide to do will be the best option, but make sure it’s what you want.” Mason felt a lot better talking to his mom. She really understood him and having spent time with you too, she knew you would appreciate exactly what she had said. 

It was 9 pm and you were just finishing getting ready to go out with Sophia. You had worked all day so had little to no time to think about Mason. You knew it would come up tonight. Sophia was one of your best friends and whenever both of you had issues with Mason or Kai you were there for each other. You ordered your uber and just as you were about to leave, Mason texted you. You opened your messages to read, “Hi my love, I wanted to give you space today and I knew you had a lot of work so that’s why I didn’t text sooner. I know it’s weird between us right now but whenever you’re ready to talk I’m here”. A wave of relief hit you, you wanted him to text you, so you knew it was not over completely. You didn’t want to answer yet though. The uber arrived and got in it to go to the bar. When you arrived, Sophia was already there. She greeted you with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. You loved nights like this, were you and her could talk about online drama, funny TikTok’s you saw and just catch up on everything especially since you had not seen her for a while. It was nearly 11 pm, you had no idea where time went by. “When should we do it then?” Sophia asked. Both of you thought it would be a good idea to spend the weekend at the Soho farmhouse, mainly her but you weren’t sure since you didn’t know when you and Mason were going to be good again. “I don’t know, maybe next weekend” “Yea we’ll have to check with them to see how their scheduling is. And we should also tell Chilly and his new girl, I met today at the bridge she is very sweet you will like her.” “Great yea, the more the merrier” you said smiling. “Okay it’s been two hours, I’ve been holding in asking you because I thought you would already tell me but what’s wrong?” You sighed knowing you had to remember everything form yesterday and tell her. You told her everything from the fight, to work to family issues and to how you were feeling. “Babe, why didn’t you tell me you were feeling like this?” “I don’t know I feel like I don’t even have time to think about myself”. The mix of alcohol and remembering last night made you tear up a bit. Sophia hugged you, “I know its tough now and yea he fucked up but I am 100% sure he already knows. I feel bad for him too because he is going through a lot too. But you guys are a couple, partners, boyfriend and girlfriend. You two just need to talk. You already told him how you felt, he needs to tell you how he feels because I’m sure he has been holding it in too. You two will get through it I promise.” You looked at her with a sad smiled and hugged her tight. 

You arrived home at 12 pm. Before falling asleep you decided to text Mason back, you knew he would be freaking out since you hadn’t responded. “Hey, I kind of figured. I feel like we both need time to think, but I love you and we’ll talk when were ready” he responded very quickly with a heart and an “I love you too” which put a smile on your face. You knew he was eager to see you and talk to you, so were you but you were right you both need time. You need to think about how to manage work better, your family and how to fix things with him and make him open up to you. He needs to think about how to open up to you, think about his future and think about the upcoming games and prepare.

4 days had passed since that night. You were busy with work still, but you were finding different ways to handle it and asked your boss for more help on the projects you were assigned. Mason had been doing some light training. The conversation he had with his mom put him at ease and made him think about the whole situation better. Your conversation with Sophia also helped a lot and it gave a new perspective on this whole thing. During these 4 days without seeing each other both of you had time to think, and you were still texting each other simple “Hellos” or just casual conversations. But it was not the same as before and it hurt both of you. Both of you just wanted to go back together to how it was. It hadn’t even been a week but it felt like torture. 

After coming home from work, you saw Sophia’s close friend story. It was a picture of her two dogs in Mason’s backyard. Weird, she would’ve told you she was seeing Mason. You didn’t think too much about it and hopped on the shower. Once you were done you checked your phone and had multiple messages. Sophia had created a group chat called “SOHO”. Fuck. Well that explained why she was at Mason’s house, they were probably planning the weekend with Kai and Chilly. If they really wanted to do it soon, it meant you and Mason would probably still be in a weird place. Sophia sent a message saying, “Okay I just added Ben and Alix, I made the reservation for this weekend Friday through Saturday so we should leave all together early in the morning to spend the whole day there and leave like 5 pm Saturday?” Everyone responded with thank yous and yes. This Friday? So, you had what, two days to try and talk to Mason? It was not going to be possible. You were trying to finish everything during the week from work so you had the weekend free and had to visit your family so seeing him would be impossible. Would it be awkward to see him until Friday and act as if nothing happened? Maybe. But you had no choice really. As you were finishing reading all the messages form the road trip, Mason sent you one “Will you be able to go?” you started typing “Yes I can go, although I won’t be able to see you until Friday”. You plopped your phone on your bed and finished getting ready for bed. When you came back to lay down on your bed, Mason had already responded “That’s okay love, I’ll see you Friday. I love you, we’ll be alright.” That melted your heart so much. It made you more confident in how you two were dealing with this little break if you can call it that. You replied with an I love you too and went to bed. 

The rest of the week you continued grinding out at work, trying to finish everything so you had nothing to worry about while you were away. On thursday you were able to visit your family, which was something you were dreading. It turned out to be surprisingly nice, and you felt better about the whole situation. You were very optimistic about the trip, you thought it would be a good idea to have some time just with Mason during one of the two days. You started looking at it in a better light now that you had kind of solved two big problems in your life, now you had to solve the most important.

[ninjatrashpanda]

Season 8 Episode 4 Write-Up

Hello and welcome to Week 4! We’re past the opening disaster now and are finally getting started with the regular storylines and calls with episode 4! And what an episode it was! I won’t waste anyone’s time and get started! If you’d like to see my thoughts on episodes 1 through 3 you can find my masterlist here.

1. Gerrard

So right off the bat… Why is Buck golfing with Gerrard in the first place? Like, yeah, he’s the guy’s new favorite (His “Little Buddy” lmao), but how does that translate to having to spend his free time with him? Either way, the opening scene brings up the budget cuts and then tells Buck to pick someone to get fired. My immediate thought was “Pfft, he’s gonna volunteer himself before he picks someone else!” In fact, I fully expect this particular plot thread to come back later like Ortiz did last Season, and for Buck to still volunteer himself. I don’t expect Buck to actually go through a ‘Fired’ storyline, simply because it’s too close to Fire Marshall Buck, and because we just had a similar storyline with Bobby, but I do believe Buck is gonna volunteer to go should this come back to haunt us.

Which brings us to the ending of the Gerrard, Ortiz and Bobby storylines. And I want it known that Gerrard did not get redeemed. He did what he did exclusively and explicitly out of his own self interest. Gerrard wanted to retire from active firefighting duty anyway and only came back because Ortiz played into his ego. He thought she put him in charge because she agreed with his stances and thought he was a good captain. But in the end, she used him, and he refused to let that happen and made a deal with Bobby.

He wasn’t redeemed. He’s still the same POS he’s always been. Bobby just roped and manipulated him into an “Enemy of my Enemy is my Ally” scheme.

2. Bobby

So Tim (I think, correct me if I’m wrong) said in an interview post episode 3 that he wants Bobby to be lighter/more humorous this season, and the opening trilogy already did a good job with that, honestly. It continues here, because yeah, Peter definitely plays Bobby…well, lighter. It’s subtle, but noticeable, and Bobby (and Athena) getting the more comedic/lighthearted C plot was a good move. They don’t usually get those. They usually only get to be silly when everyone is silly. 

Their first scene is mostly setup for the rest of their plot this episode, which is in itself setup for their larger plot this season (or half-season). I love Bobby’s snippy comments and Athena being That Person that doesn’t know what she wants, just that it’s not *vaguely waves hand around* this. Also, stealth foreshadowing Bobby’s return with “This one’s closer to the firehouse.” “But further away from set.” “That’s another good thing!” (Paraphrased, you get it.)

The second scene, where Athena suggests building a new house on their land is pretty nice too, though I don’t have much to say about it. Athena going “Let’s rebuild the exact same house the exact same way it was!” is a little insane, tbh, but me and my sister actually joked around saying “LMAO what if Season 8 starts and the Grant-Nash house is just there again with a throwaway line about how lucky they were that Michael still had the blueprints. The fact that we actually got like, half of that in canon was hilarious to both of us.

The scene of everyone coming to Bobby for advice that mirrored the one in Season 2 was amazing! From Hen insisting that Bobby is her captain, no matter if he’s currently a technical advisor on a TV show set or not, over Buck not wanting to be Gerrard’s “Little Buddy” (No, I will never let go of that line, it’s too good.) over Eddie missing Chris (Bobby insinuating that Chris won’t talk to Eddie because of the ‘stache! Eddie genuinely being offended! Please give Peter and Ryan more comedy, they’re really good at it!) to Chim being the one to smell that something’s fishy about Gerrard taking over as the 118’s captain in the first place. He’s ultimately wrong about why Gerrard didn’t retire when that was his plan, but without him pointing things out to Bobby, Bobby’s ruse later on wouldn’t have worked. So yes, I’m applauding Mr. April!

Going into the Hotshots scene, something I completely missed on my first three watches of this episode is that Bobby asked Gerrard to come to set. I spent three full watches wondering why tf Gerrard showed up so Bobby could manipulate him, when Bobby asked him to meet him there. I feel kinda dumb.

Anyway, I like manipulative Bobby and want to see more. Cause let’s get real, nothing he said was wrong exactly, but he absolutely had to sell it to Gerrard in a way that still appealed to him. Also, why is the silly weewoo show suddenly Game of Thrones levels of intrigue and mind games???

Also also, between the awkward ass hug with Buck last season, the weird thing he had about Buck having been tight end on his high school’s football team, and him now fanboying over Brad…Yeah, the Gay Gerrard theory has certainly some merit lmao.

The ending scene, where Bobby openly tells Athena that he doesn’t want to rebuild the old house because it was never really his was really nice, honestly. I know a lot of people wanted this to build as a bit of conflict between them, but I disagree. I feel like it would’ve been out of character for Bobby to keep this to himself and go along with rebuilding the old house, especially since “keeping things from each other like that is bad” is a lesson both of them learned in Season 4.

3. Ortiz/Henren

So, outside the fact that body cams on firefighters and paramedics sound unethical and straight up illegal, the funniest thing is that had Hen worn a body cam during Kyle’s call, Ortiz would see that he refused care and subsequently have to admit that Hen didn’t do anything wrong, at least from a perspective of protocol. She’d have no leg at all to stand on. I think that’s kinda funny.

The courtroom scene was…a lot. I did question (not online lol) at the end of Season Seven if what Maddie and Chimney were doing was actually legal, and now we know it wasn’t! The fact that Hen and Karen didn’t tell their lawyer about still having contact with Mara shows that they knew that, too. And for Hen to then fall into a frankly insane sounding speech about how an evil politician has it out for her and is orchestrating everything… Yeah, there was no hope here. We learn later that the judge was actually in Ortiz’s pocket, so it wouldn’t have mattered either way, but even if she hadn’t been… Sorry, but the outcome would’ve been the same.

Hen walking in and begging Ortiz to stop, trying to basically guilt trip her with that video of Mara, was also…maybe not the best thing to do, legally speaking. I also feel like the show just…went too far on villainizing Ortiz here. Like yeah, most of us expected her and Gerrard to be in on everything together, but her saying that since she had to go on without Kyle, Mara, a little girl who is maybe ten years old, should learn to go on without Hen and Karen is so far removed from regular corruption and awfulness that it made me question what Ortiz’s point was. 

Because I was under the impression that Ortiz was, not unlike the Buckley parents, an exploration of what grief does to someone when it isn’t properly addressed. Instead of mourning her son, she instead focused that grief on hating who she believes to be responsible, and said hatred kept growing and growing because there wasn’t anyone or anything to help Ortiz keep it in check. I halfway expected that video of Mara to stir something in her, to realize that she is hurting a little orphan girl and maybe start seeing a clearer picture.

But nope! None of that was actually the case! Instead, Olivia Ortiz is actually just the Wicked Witch of the LA City Council who is one-dimensionally evil for evil’s sake with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Not gonna lie, that’s kind of a waste of both a potentially complex antagonist, and of Veronica Falcón.

Mara coming home made me cry though, so it’s still all good.

4. Cheerleading Call/Eddie

So, for reasons you’re probably aware of, I’d like to immediately throw out that Weston was never confirmed any kind of sexuality, so any and all “Gay Eddie Truthers” who somehow try to use him as “proof” need to check their believe in toxic masculinity at the goddamn door. Seriously.

Anyway, wtf do you mean Eddie saw someone’s torso being turned 180 degrees in Afghanistan????

But to come back to the matter at hand, Medical Professional Eddie was a great showing! I’m questioning the legality of what he did here, because as far as we know, Eddie is not a certified paramedic (and like many of us, I wondered if this would lead to him getting the boot), but nonetheless, I think they should lean into it more often.

I don’t think I have to say anything about Weston calling Eddie “Dad.” It’s heartbreaking for both of them, honestly, but I also think it’s one of the most important things to happen to Eddie in regards to his character arc.

And then Eddie joins the stalker league. No, seriously, I get why he did, it’s for a good cause, and it worked out in the end, but this very easily could have ended very badly.

To actually focus on Eddie’s talk with Mike (that’s what his name tag says, I’m assuming that’s his name lol), it’s the first step of Eddie’s character arc: acknowledging that it’s his fault Chris isn’t home. He is the one that drove him away. He allowed Kim to come back into their house, he played along with her crazy ass Shannon channeling improv session, he is the one who, frankly, didn’t do much of anything to reconcile or apologize to Chris. He threw Buck at the issue and expected him to fix everything. Ryan himself has said that Eddie has a habit of using Buck as a scapegoat, to try to shortcut difficult situations and conversations with Chris. Not all the time, but often enough. And doing it this time was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

As much as this conversation is about fatherhood, though, it’s also about toxic masculinity. Ryan goes over it in his recent interview, how deeply ingrained in Latino culture toxic masculinity is, how it affected him growing up, and how it drove him to attempt suicide. That article/interview is really, really good, and I wish I had bookmarked it so I could link it, but alas. The gist of it is that, as Ryan says, it took him time and effort to unlearn things that had been drilled into his head since he was a kid. He had to learn that being vulnerable, that feeling his emotions is a good thing, and that it didn’t make him gay. And it’s clear to me that unpacking all of this is also going to be part of Eddie’s storyline/character arc this season. I could take a potshot at a certain part of the fandom that took Ryan’s interview and turned it into something it isn’t right now, but I won’t. I will only refer to the beginning of this section where I told people to check their belief in toxic masculinity at the door.

6. The Tiger Call

Why did this dude ever believe that the pitbull line was gonna fly? I mean, he raised a tiger in a studio apartment, so he’s clearly kinda stupid just in general, but like…you couldn’t have come up with a better excuse???

Also, Bing. The tiger, which is based on Ming, the tiger, is called Bing. Okay, show.

“He wasn’t 400 pounds when I got him. He was an adorable cub.” Sir, this does not explain how you got this tiger, wtf even. Also, why is animal control so useless in this show? They never handle the animal calls, what is up with that?

Chim cocking the tranquilizer gun like a badass, you will always be famous. “I wish I was hitting him with a paint ball.” “Here, kitty, kitty.” Have I mentioned yet that I love Chimney Han? That he’s my special little man (not related to Kenny Choi’s height, I swear!), that I would never in a million years trade him away for anything?

Also, yeah, the CG tiger kinda sucked, but like…bad special effects aren’t anything new to this show. The “babies” they have on calls literally look like dolls they bought at Walmart, why would the CG tiger be good? It’s part of the show's charm imo.

7. Final Thoughts

This was a weird episode, man. The last like, five minutes, after Eddie’s and Mike’s talk, were super rushed, and yeah, it does feel like every plot thread Season 7 was neatly wrapped up with a bow, along with the budget cuts this very episode introduced. Thing is, I don’t believe it is? We know Brad shows up again later, so it stands to reason Gerrard might too. Ortiz was publicly embarrassed and ran out of office. I’d be surprised if she didn’t make another appearance to try and take revenge again later. And like I said, I fully expect the budget cuts to come back to haunt the 118.

Also, for an episode that was advertised as a Henren episode, there was not enough Henren. Or Karen in general, for that matter. Tracie had what, two lines? The fuck?

As it stands, I like this episode quite a bit. If it wasn’t for the rushed, weird ending, it’d be an easy 9 out of 10 for me! With that ending, it’s still a 7.5. Eddie’s plotline was the episode’s highlight for me, simply because oh my god, they finally give Eddie an actual arc! My favorite scene though is the “Asking Bobby for advice scene.” Great comedy, great character moments in it, parallel to Season 2, just an all around great scene!

*

And that’s it. If you read to the end, thank you for reading! If you want to discuss things with me, write a comment, reblog, shoot me an ask, whatever you want! Or don’t, that’s fine too. I’m gonna be back with more random thoughts next week.

Bye bye!

[kakiwrites]

the eventful internship

Genre: fluff??

A shuntarou chishiya x reader

Warning: manga/season 2 spoilers!! This story is tied to chishiya's backstory so please look away

Synopsis: shuntarou chishiya is the most interesting person on your first day of internship. Why was he always smirking? Why did he always hang back and stay far from the others? Why does your heart beat out of your chest when you see him?

a/n: GUESS WHO'S BACK!! I have chishiya fever bcs of that stupid trailer with our lovely boyyyyy!! So here, have this little intern romance fic! Sorry if the pacing/flow is wonky, i’m a bit rusty-

They say the first day is always the hardest.

You've always wanted to be a doctor. It's been your lifelong dream. After how many years of med school, you were finally able to get an internship at a hospital in Tokyo. To say you were nervous would be an understatement. It was your first day. Anything can happen. Your hands were shaking and sweaty as you entered the hospital, excited and anxious to see the place you'll be staying at and meeting your fellow interns.

Surprisingly, things were going smoothly. You introduced yourself to your fellow interns flawlessly. Your resident was nice and showed you the ropes, and your rounds were silent. The patients were understanding and nice. There wasn't really anything noteworthy that day. 

Well, there was someone.

You took notice of a long, blonde-haired man who stood in the back of the room most of the time. Chishiya, the other interns called him. He kept his distance from the group, always wearing some sort of smirk on his face. It was interesting, to say the least. Why was he always smiling like that? Did he think he was better than everyone else? Is he actually better than everyone else?

You wanted to learn more.

So you decided to ask the other interns about him. "oh, chishiya?" one of them asked, subtly gesturing to the blonde male for confirmation. You nodded your head at them. "He stays a step behind everyone, but you'll be surprised he's already answering the resident's questions and giving diagnoses without a hitch. He always has this smirk on his face and," the intern shivered. You assumed the cocky look on chishiya's face flashed in their mind. "I don't know. He's just so intimidating. You should stay away from him,"

You knew you should've listened. They've been with him for longer than you have. but you couldn't shake the growing feeling of wanting to get to know him. You wanted to talk to him, see what he's like with your own eyes. 

That leads you to your current predicament, you and Chishiya standing in the back in silence while you watch the resident perform a couple of tests on a patient.

You wanted to start a conversation with him, maybe a hello and introduce yourself but his dead eyes were fixated on the procedure in front of you as if he didn't notice your presence lingering beside him.

You glanced at him from time to time. Maybe he was just a passionate guy, absorbed in the lecture. Maybe he was just ignoring you, not wanting to deal with the curious, naïve fresh meat or maybe-

"you should keep your eyes on the procedure instead of staring at me, newbie," chishiya said, his brown eyes still fixed on the resident's movements. His tone was just what you expected,  light and mocking. With his hands stuffed in his white coat and his smirk never leaving his face, his whole demeanor gave off a sort of superior vibe. He felt like he was above everyone else. With that confidence, he just might be.

You didn't know if you were more intimidated or interested.

You opened your mouth to apologize only to be interrupted by the louder voice in the front. "so, can anyone tell me the next step of this exam?" the resident asked, their eyes scanning all the other interns who diverted their gazes to avoid being called. Those eyes finally landed on you. Your throat felt dry as you watched the resident open their mouth to call on you. You definitely weren't paying attention. What was the procedure anyway? Can you just make up your answer? Maybe you can answer it with common sense. You quickly try to remember what the procedure was and its previous steps but came up empty. You braced yourself for your first embarrassment of the day.

Before your name could even leave the resident's lips, the tall blonde beside you spoke up, the air growing light as he recited the next few steps in great detail. It was like he was reading it straight from the textbook. He was just repeating everything from the top of his head.

Wow, he really was above everyone else.

You only realized you were staring when Chishiya turned to look at you, his smirk growing wider and his stance growing taller, it was like his ego was growing every second you kept your eyes on him. "am I really that interesting?"

You were taken aback at the question. "wha-"

"You've been staring for quite a while. Can't take your eyes off me?"

You feel your cheeks heat up. He just saved you from humiliation, and you had the audacity to stare at him like he was some kind of painting. You tried to explain yourself, but the words kept getting stuck in your throat. Chishiya laughed at your struggle.

Before you could say something, your group began to head off to a different area for your rounds. Chishiya followed behind them, leaving you in the dust as you tried to regain your thoughts.

What the fuck just happened?

You quickly scrambled to catch up to the group. You glanced at Chishiya once more. He must’ve felt so cool with his antics earlier. You wanted to tell him off. You wanted to to tell him that showing off his knowledge was unnecessary, that you could've handled it, and that his cocky, high attitude is why the other interns are so afraid of him. But you couldn't bring yourself to do that. So you went with the next best thing.  "sorry… for causing you trouble," you apologized, keeping your gaze on the floor. Chishiya didn't bat an eye at your apology, seemingly ignoring you.

"I'm (y/n) by the way," you said, wanting to change the subject. Chishiya only chuckled at your attempt.

"if it'll get you off my tail, I'm chishiya," the blonde said, not even glancing at you. "now, let me tell you something, newbie," he stopped in his tracks. You looked up from the floor, confused. What did he just call you? You stopped to look back at him.

"the name's (y/n)-"

"right, I don't care," he brushed it off, swatting the air carelessly. "why don't you waddle back to the other interns and stuck-ups, listen to the resident, and finally leave me alone, yeah?"

Chishiya took a second to savor your stunned expression before heading off to catch up to the other interns.

The next few weeks went by like a blur as you were swamped with new patients, more paperwork, and more interactions with Chishiya.

Despite his words on your first day, he didn't seem to mind your presence when you chose to keep standing beside him in the back of the group.

After that close call with the resident, you vowed never to embarrass yourself like that again. You kept close attention to what they were discussing and made sure to hit the books every once in a while. You were able to answer a handful of the resident's questions before Chishiya could even show off.

"looks like I have my work cut out for me," Chishiya muttered with that same sing-song tone once again after you beat him to the punch. You turned to glance at him. He was sporting his usual smirk. Only this time, you can see a notable scrunch on his brow, his eye twitching in annoyance.

You would do anything to see that frustrated expression again. 

And so the rivalry began.

To other interns, you and Chishiya had been as close as ever. You would be seen sitting at the same table together, studying, talking to one another in hushed tones, and standing next to one another as you took turns answering the resident. In their eyes, you were the new dynamic duo. If one of you were there, the other wouldn't be too far away.

Everybody wanted to have what you have.

If only they knew what was really happening.

What looked to be innocent study sessions were actually heated quiz bees where you placed a set amount of time on reading as much as you could from the textbook and then rapid-fire questions at one another until the timer ended. Whenever one of you gets the answer wrong, which is rare, the other would gloat hard.

"pfft," chishiya chuckled mockingly at you, watching you struggle to answer his question. "it's such an elementary question, newbie. Here i was thinking we were equals,"  The timer on your phone was close to 0 but your brain doesn't want to recall the answer.

"i'm trying, okay?" you said, frustrated. Your alarm hit 0, the beep irritatingly loud in your ears. You looked up from the table to see chishiya smirking at you, amused by your failure.

"dear (y/n) can't even remember that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?"

"IT WAS ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE OKAY?"

The hushed whispers were actually just the two of you taunting and annoying one another. At first, it was hard not to let chishiya's teasing remarks get on your nerves, but with time, you could start living with it.

"aww, you couldn't even get a word in earlier~" you said, nudging him as you walked to your next patient.

Chishiya could only snarl at you as he silently continued walking, not wanting to give into your teasing.

He retaliated by speeding and leaving you in the hallway, where you proceeded to get lost for the next thirty minutes. 

Finally, What looked to be simple acts of chivalry were actually the two of you fighting tooth and nail to answer the resident first.

"you bitch, I know this. move," you said confidently, shoving chishiya out of the way to be seen over other interns’ shoulders. That method seemed to work as the resident called on you and you recited your answer.

 You were shocked to see the resident shake their head. "ah, but you're missing something, (y/n)," the resident pointed out, looking around for any other hands wanting to answer.

You could feel chishiya's amused stare burning holes in the side of your head as he slowly raised his hand and got called.

With his grating, teasing voice, he answered the question. The resident greeted his answer with a smile and a confirming nod.

You weren't sure why the other interns want to have what you have.

Maybe they wanted someone to annoy them every second of the day. Maybe they want the privilege of getting an academic rival.

Or maybe they want to experience the unintentional touches, the longing gazes, and feel their heartbeat quicken when he gets close.

You dismissed that last thought. That was what you felt. Chishiya would never let himself feel that way, right?

Right?

You didn't want to take any chances. You needed to ride your feelings out before they get worse before chishiya catches on and gets affected.

Before he uses your feelings to his advantage and breaks your heart.

So you did what you thought was best.

You started to distance yourself.

Instead of standing next to chishiya during your rounds, you chose to stand in front of the group. Instead of bugging him like you usually do, you kept silent and avoided his questioning gaze. And Instead of barging into his little bubble during your breaks, You chose to sit at a different table this time, leaving him alone with his textbooks and notes.

It didn't take long for chishiya to catch on.

He didn't know why but he felt empty without your teasing smiles and your soft voice. He felt empty without your nudging and your competitive spirit.

He felt empty without you.

Your plan of avoiding him was short-lived, however when Chishiya pulled you out of the group and into one of the quieter hallways.

Chishiya could only let out a soft, irritated breath. "mind telling me why you stopped bugging me?" he asked. 

"Maybe because I want to stop bugging you?" you answered with common sense. That wasn't the answer Chishiya was looking for.

"that's the thing," Chishiya said, annoyed at your answer. "you always make it a point to bug me one way or another. You stand next to me in the back every day even though I specifically told you not to. You sit at my table and insist we study together when I can study just fine on my own. You always start bickering in my ear, and it just annoys me to no end-"

"If you're annoyed, why are you looking for answers? I'm already leaving you alone; isn't that enough?"

"I want to know why. Why did you suddenly stop? Why now?"

You crossed your arms over your chest. Should you tell him the true reason why you were distancing yourself from him? how your heartbeat begins to quicken every time he gets near? How your breath hitches every time he smirks at you?

Should you tell chishiya that you fell for him?

You finally looked at the blonde man in front of youu, looking into his expectant brown eyes. You willed yourself to open your mouth, to spill your thoughts, your symptoms, your feelings. You willed yourself to tell the truth.

 only to be interrupted by the loud crackle of fireworks and the bright hospital lights suddenly turning off.

CLIFFHANGER WOOP WOOP- sorry if the ending seems a bit rushed. I've been working on this piece for a while and I am honestly running out of writing juice- sorry if this isn't on par with my normal writing- I'm still a bit rusty! Hope you guys enjoyed!!

General taglist (don’t be shy to comment your tumblr @ below): @tokyoghoose @macaronnv @reogou @midnightangelfox @wumboho @seiijixcia @tessabrown101

[gobs-o-dice]

Dice Set #203: Glacial Moonstone Silver (Green)

Okay, so, you might have been wondering (to the extent that anyone is paying that much attention to things here), back during Sets 197, 198, and 199, why there was no "Winter Solstice" set. And you might be wondering about the name.

Well, back when Die Hard Dice first released that line of dice, it was specifically as a counterpart to their existing Moonstone dice, such as Purple Moonstone (my Set #90) or Moonstone Dreamwalker (Set #133)

But in this case, the main one to look at is Set #130 - Glacial Moonstone, as I called it:

(I probably would have used "Blue" in that name somewhere, now, but at the time, it was the only one I planned on getting)

There's your wintery counterpart to complete the set of seasons.

But then, Christmas holiday deals come around, and I get today's set out of their holiday bundle, along with tomorrow's set. So, nice, more winter dice.

"But Gobs/Naz/Jeff," you might ask [Re-Ask. Remember, I said you asked about it in the framing device above too :p] - "Why do you have 'Green' in parentheses in the name you have for this set?"

Well... Let me tell you:

Sometime Later, I got a second set of Glacial Moonstone Silver as a bonus set when I ordered from Die Hard. I was content to just call that one "Second Glacial Moonstone Silver" (Set #257, to be precise about order, if not timing) and accept that inevitably, the two sets would become intertwined during a hoardscape shoot, and I would never know which was which, originally.

(Set 1 above, Set 2 below)

But...

During cleanup of some hoardscape/other photo session of some sort, I noticed something. It's a little tricky to capture with still images, though.

(Set 1 above, Set 2 below, again)

Can you see it?

Now - Both sets of dice are made from the same white acrylic that has a green tint to it under direct light, or might pick up some warmer orange hints from the light itself. That's not the green I refer to in the name. The second set got the addition "(Pink)" to its name

On DHD's site, they currently describe the Glacial Moonstone with Silver set as having a "light green and blue shimmer", which holds pretty true for the first one:

But for whatever reason, my second set has a definitely more pink shimmer to it:

It's much, much more obvious when the sets are in-motion - To the point that I'm pretty reasonably certain of which dice belong to which set.

I even had gone back and confirmed it by looking at their sets of photos, because they definitely were taken before the two sets ever could have intermingled. Like I say, it's much more obvious in motion, but you definitely can see the pink in the second set and the green-blue in the first one, though it's less obvious.

My guess? The batch of dice this set is from was either an experiment that they didn't pursue further, or perhaps a screw-up in the factory - Pink glitter being used instead of the regular blue-green glitter.

And since DHD is in the habit of including bonus sets with all their orders (well, was anyway - I don't know if they still do, haven't ordered from them in a long while), they used the pink-glitter Glacial Moonstones as the freebie for my order and presumably others from around that time.

So, yeah, that's storytime for tonight, I suppose.

[torahoes]

(IDOLiSH7) Touma Inumaru - An Idol's Daily Life Rabbit Chat: Part 4 - The day I could become the strongest

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Tsumugi Takanashi: Good work today, Inumaru-san. I watched the show where you took the dogs for a walk!

Tsumugi Takanashi: The way Panda-kun warmed up to both of you was incredibly cute! Especially that moment at the end of the show when he didn’t want to say goodbye and jumped into your arms. It was so heartwarming...!

Touma Inumaru: Good work, Takanashi-san! Thanks for watching the show!

Touma Inumaru: I just watched it with my members too! The ending was really adorable, right? It made me want to go see Panda-kun again lolol

Tsumugi Takanashi: So you watched it with everyone. Gathering to watch a show together sounds lovely!

Touma Inumaru: We’re currently staying at a cottage for a shoot, and Haru was like, "Hey, isn't that show airing today?"

Touma Inumaru: Everyone found Panda's name hilarious!

Tsumugi Takanashi: It's surprising at first, isn't it? Lol

Touma Inumaru: Tora was puzzled and was trying to figure out the humor in naming another animal 'Panda' lolol

Touma Inumaru: But he praised it, saying it’s a name you can’t forget once you hear it.

Tsumugi Takanashi:

Tsumugi Takanashi: Are you all still together right now?

Touma Inumaru: No, we're off doing our own things, like taking a bath and relaxing. We’re in a place about an hour by car from Tokyo. It’s a really nice place, full of nature.

Touma Inumaru: I was just chilling with a cup of herbal tea until a moment ago lol

Tsumugi Takanashi:

1) How is it being out in nature?

Touma Inumaru: It’s awesome! The air is fresh, and the river water is crystal clear. We all cooled off by dipping our feet in the river, but Haru slipped and fell in. When I tried to help him, I ended up soaking wet too lol

2) What kind of shoot did you do?

Touma Inumaru: We did a shoot focused on enjoying nature, so we did things like playing in the river and chopping wood! The campfire was kind of emotional. I feel like we talked about things we usually wouldn’t lol

3) Have you had dinner?

Touma Inumaru: We cooked the fish we caught ourselves, and it was insanely good! Even though it was simply grilled and seasoned with salt, Tora said it wasn’t much different from high-end fish and was really moved! I think the memories we made today probably made it taste even more special.

Touma Inumaru: I just stepped outside, and the stars are incredible! It’s really like the sky is full of stars! Thanks to the clear weather, it looks even more beautiful.

Tsumugi Takanashi: Wow! I’m so jealous! That’s one of the best parts of doing a shoot in nature.

Touma Inumaru: Right? I’ll invite everyone to come and see it later. Not to mention, it’s a full moon today!

Touma Inumaru: Maybe you can see it if the sky's clear over there too?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I’ll go check by the window!

Touma Inumaru: How's it looking?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I can see it! The full moon is truly beautiful.

Tsumugi Takanashi:

Touma Inumaru: I'm glad lol I was a bit worried about what to do if you couldn’t see it after I mentioned it lol

Tsumugi Takanashi: I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t told me, so thank you! Seeing the full moon makes you feel happy, doesn't it?

Touma Inumaru: I know right! I don’t know why, but it makes me feel this inexplicable sense of gain.

Touma Inumaru: Maybe because it has a cool image associated with it?

Tsumugi Takanashi: Cool?

Touma Inumaru: There was an anime I watched as a kid that had a dark hero-like werewolf who protected humans.

Touma Inumaru: He could only use his special powers or become stronger on the night of a full moon.

Tsumugi Takanashi: You're right, that's definitely a common image. Werewolves often transform during the full moon in most stories too.

Touma Inumaru: Right? So, on full moon nights, I’d often feel stronger and pretend to howl, but my mom would scold me lolol

Tsumugi Takanashi: You really got into character! Lol

Tsumugi Takanashi:

Touma Inumaru: For me, it was the day I could become the strongest.

Touma Inumaru:

Touma Inumaru: Takanashi-san, did you have anything like that?

Tsumugi Takanashi: I loved the story about rabbits making mochi on the moon, so I was always looking for them!

Touma Inumaru: Rabbits, huh? That’s cute.

Touma Inumaru: Totally different from me howling lol

Tsumugi Takanashi: I suppose everyone has different images associated with the moon!

Touma Inumaru: Yeah! I’ll ask my members about it later too.

Touma Inumaru: They might be getting out of the bath soon, so I’ll go invite them!

Tsumugi Takanashi: Yes! Please take your time and enjoy yourselves!

End of Part 4.

[stripedtabbycat]

since I’m rewatching gravity falls rn I thought I’d make a post about my thoughts so far. (I wanted to start on August 31 which is dipper and mabel’s birthday but I ended up starting on September 1 instead. watching 1 episode a night and challenging myself to do the credits code each time)

under a cut because this will probably get long:

first of all this show is so funny. not all the jokes hold up but I really enjoy its sense of humor in general

i remember liking the second season better than the first and not just because it’s more overarching plot-driven, I just think the plot is a little more focused and the characters and their relationships are more solidified

I love seeing the development of Stan bonding with the kids over time. I noticed in “carpet diem” (the season 1 body swap episode) he’s commending dipper (who is really Mabel trying to turn him against dipper) for finally standing up to him and the next episode is the best we see them get along all season. it’s nice but still done in a funny/weird way that fits the show’s tone

dipper and mabel are siblings of all time. I love how clearly the show establishes how well they get along and work together and how often they’re goofin around and having fun at the beginning of episodes and how realistic their teasing and bantering and bickering feels…if you hate on mabel you’re wrong btw

i appreciate that the show doesn’t need to bluntly state the lesson we’re supposed to learn at the end of each episode but still has clear themes for each one. i also like when they kind of have a subverted/parodied version of a typical cartoon moral like in the truth teeth segment of “bottomless pit” when the expected lesson of “sometimes a small lie is okay” turns into “sometimes you have to let your uncle lie to the cops so he doesn’t get arrested for regularly committing tax fraud”

that said sometimes i’m a little :/ at the conclusions of certain episodes. I try not to harp on this bc I think part of what drives the more intense discourse about kids’ cartoons is the idea that they have to be teaching good messages to their target audiences, or at least not teach them harmful ones. I don’t think all kids’ shows should be Wholesome and Morally Edifying but sometimes you’re like. oh this is imparting a particular viewpoint I don’t love

anyway I’m just thinking about how “fight fighters” seems like it’s going to be about how physically fighting over petty relationship jealousy is dumb and immature but instead it kinda comes off like dipper has to learn “you have to fight your own battles” which…idk. I could be misinterpreting

then again I just watched “the love god” which tries to raise the interesting dilemma of “is it right/okay to meddle in others’ relationships [using magic or not] if they genuinely end up happier?” but given all the baggage around using love potions in fiction you can tell they had to walk that back a little in journal 3. I don’t think the element of “it actually wears off after a few hours” would have undermined the question too much but whatevs.

(i will say that stan in dreamscaperers saying he's hard on dipper to toughen him up kind of gets questioned later when we see the stans' backstory and it's clear their dad was not actually that great of a guy. room for interpretation there too i guess)

another reason I like season 2 better is because the show is finally done with the dipper/wendy crush plot that really dragged down parts of s1 imo. mostly because it felt like dipper had to learn that a relationship between them wasn’t happening a number of times before the show definitively said it and it lead to some of those dubious episode conclusions.

(whenever people claim that mabel was selfish and dipper always had to sacrifice things for her sake I just think…most of the time what he was “sacrificing” was a chance to impress wendy or spend more time with her, and I feel like this is more a problem with that aspect of the show than anything else)

(ALSO when people say there are too many "mabel's crush of the week" subplots - i never really got that impression? when she's going over her failed summer romances i realized there were only like, 4 episodes up to then where there was a plot about her liking a guy and it didn't feel overdone to me. however that's also why i was disappointed with her part of "northwest manor mystery" because i thought we were done with that. i guess they figured she and pacifica had already had their bonding episode in "the golf war" but i still wish she got to be involved with the main plot in that episode, even if i mostly liked it. kind of felt like the writers couldn't think of anything else for her to do)

anyway back to positive thoughts! I really appreciate the show’s creativity with the supernatural elements especially when they need a way to do a standard fantasy cartoon trope. need to shrink the characters down to miniature size? crystals that change the size of things that get caught in the light they refract! need to do a body swap? how about a carpet that swaps your electrons when you static shock someone? time travel? the time machine is in the form of a tape measure. they can get pretty outside of the box and it’s always cool

i also like the balance of humor and (kid-friendly) horror it engages in. there are a number of moments throughout the show that seem like a sudden intrusion of sheer horror but because of their suddenness and (relative) over-the-top nature they’re also really funny. I’m thinking of dipper opening the convenience store freezer and seeing a horrifying brain monster, the summerween trickster eating a kid, bill cipher summoning “a head that’s always screaming” and its skin peeling off (or like. anything he does in that episode), a lot of moments from the shorts like the island head in “the tooth” or the ending of “lefty”…

this show is i think a lot of people's first experience with a cartoon that has overarching continuity and encourages the viewers to analyze it for clues to the greater plot and i love how it does that. also love how it still works as a show even if you're not actively looking for clues to the mystery. they knew full well how much the fandom was engaging with it and both the show and supplementary material are just chock-full of details that really reward repeat viewings in a way that very few other children's shows do.

i did a pretty good job keeping track of the end credits codes in season 1 but by season 2 i had to just look up on the wiki what the vigènere key words were because i don't have the time to scour the whole episode for those sorry. especially when they get more and more hidden throughout the season. i'm still proud of myself for figuring out how to decode those messages using the grid of all the letters though

i think i first caught up with this show right when "not what he seems" was airing and now that's next up on the schedule. it's a very different experience watching the episodes all in a row and not having to wait at least two weeks between each one lol. on the plus side it gave the fans plenty of time to pick over every episode and theorize like hell

final thoughts: i love that a disney channel kids' cartoon devoted an entire extra-long episode to the surprisingly realistic and sad backstory of the main kid characters' great-uncles, one of whom had mostly been a comedic side character for the first season, and it's fantastic. once i'm done with this i cannot wait to get my hands on the book of bill

[justicerikai]

graduation

In Japan, when one decides to move onto greener pastures or simply quit the current job they have been doing for quite a while, that is referred to as graduation.

And thus, I too, will be graduating from translating Charisma House.

Earlier this month (May 2023) I decided to go on a break due some medical and personal issues I had to deal with. No thinking about translating at all, just doing what I want and what I like. It's been roughly two weeks now and for someone who is doing things all the time, it was more than enough to decide where I want to keep going with translating.

Of course, this isn't a spontaneous decision. It's something that weighed in the back of my mind for a bit- can I handle all of this? I love translating, but can I handle all of it? No, I cannot. I need to know my limits.

But most importantly, know what's fun.

Charisma House was very novel for me. I had to learn to understand the humor, grasp what's being implied, the nuances of the jokes that can be easily misunderstood if not read properly. It was a challenge that definitely pushed me beyond anything else ever could. And yet, that honeymoon phase of grasping something so novel, so different, has come to an end.

I still love Charisma House, and always will. I actively keep up and peruse the interwebs for fun theories and content. Yet with the direction of Season 2, I have noticed... translating it no longer sparks joy as it once did. It is still good content, but not the one that made me lose my marbles, or perhaps I have simply gotten used to it?

Or perhaps, I simply just... lost the spark and drive I once had for it. And that is fine. Such is the beauty of what's fleeting, 物の哀れ if you will.

Translating Charisma House was, and will always, be a fun experience for me. I'm happy I took the risk, a mere amateur like I, to still translate it. I learned a lot, I laughed a lot, I shared a lot. I never thought I would translate drama tracks, or even still try with song lyrics (which I did give up on but alas). Besides this, I have also dabbled in subbing anime, I have even attempted manga translating. But at the end of the day I realized that what truly sparks joy, what actually is fun for me, for me is visual novel type content.

Not only that, I also want to translate because... I want to. Not because it is an obligation to give the people content. A few weeks ago, my favourite mobile game released an event with my two fave characters and I had so much fun working on it. I felt so excited with each phrase I translated, I couldn't wait to show this to people.

Even when I am thinking of an other mobile game that's coming out soon, all I can think of is "God, I cannot wait to share this with the masses! I have to! It's my duty as a human being!"

That feeling is, alas, what I have been lacking with Charisma House for a while. And that is when I should know better, and draw the line.

As I said, it is no longer fun.

Is it that serious? That I'm dropping a series that I have translated? No, probably not. Happens all the time, I'm sure there are others waiting in line to continue what I was doing, or maybe not. Who knows.

But to me, it is, and that's why I wanted to convey it in a long hefty post.

As closure, I will share some words of one of my favourite manga. Something I live by, and will for as long as possible.

"The world is filled to the brim with nice things... and all of them are carrying someone's intentions and feelings.

When those feelings get across and manage to make someone happy... I gain little pieces of confidence,

that I'll gather together and carry with me as I move on."

And I believe something like that, is only achievable when you do something that is fun, to you.

Thank you for reading, this post, and my translations. Thank you for being able to find enjoyment in Charisma House through my translations. This blog is not going anywhere and will stay up, of course. You will probably still see me around on my other ventures, just not here.

And never forget,

Rikai-kun is cute and he will always be.

Sayonara

[herefortarlos]

Hello Desi, I’m hitting your inbox with three questions for Nice Ask Week!🌞

1. Which new term(s) of endearment do you hope we get in season s5 and in which situation(s) should they occur?

2. For the steamy scene that we know we’re getting, which kind of steamy scene would it be if you could choose and what does it relate to in the episode? Like are we talking angsty ‘I almost lost you or you’re feeling sad’ steamy, boring (in a good 🥰 way) married s*x, the end of a dry spell for some reason, them trying something new, maybe related to a silly call or something, them being riled up, etc etc you choose!

3. Idk if you received the perfume yet, But! Do you think that this is the same scent that TK has worn from the start of their relationship or did he change it? Either or, when and how did Carlos notice it and what was his reaction to it? (Internally or externally)

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend very much!! - Mar ☺️🪷🐟

Hello, Mar 💖!! First of all, thank you for the ask and pleaseeeee forgive me for only getting to this now 😅 I can be the worst when it comes to asks because I need to make sure I am in the right head space to give them my full attention and answer them well! I do love receiving things like this though! I just put too much pressure on myself to give thoughtful answers!

Now then, let's talk about Tarlos terms of endearment!! I am sooo freaking excited and looking forward to hearing more sweet words between those husbands! The one I am most hopeful to hear is "sweetheart"!! I definitely imagine Carlos calling TK that more but would lose my mind if it came out of either of their mouths! I REALLY want to hear it in bed, either with them just waking up or in the middle of sexy times 🫠 But I think it's definitely reserved for when it's just the two of them alone at home! And we still better hear plenty of "baby"s, from TK and maybe Carlos too if we're really lucky!

Mwhahaha, for the steamy scene, I am 100% taking it literally and hoping we get a tarlos shower scene!! Since Ronen said TK gets hurt in 5x04 and then the steamy scene is in 5x05, I really want it to be "I'm so glad you're okay and that could have been so much worse than it was, grateful you're alive" sex! We get a callback to Carlos having to help TK bathe/shower, and at first it starts out slow, with Carlos deliberately and carefully stripping TK out of his clothes. Then he sees his husband's naked body and slight injury, whatever it may be, and he looks so sad, and TK notices this and grabs his face and reassures him that he is fine and here and alive, and they kiss and it goes from 0 to 100% passionate real quick! With TK showing Carlos he is more than okay and Carlos reminding TK that he is his and they are each other's and they are not allowed to go where the other can't follow! Carlos presses TK against the sink counter and both of them try to get Carlos out of his clothes too without having to leave each other's mouth for too long. Then the make their way over and stumble into the shower together, close the door and show the other just how much they love them 🥰. This kind of got away from me but I love where my mind went and we shall see what Lone Star actually has in mind for this steamy scene SOON!!

I DID receive my perfume and I was very happy with the purchase!! The scent is a little much for my partner, who has allergies and doesn't do well with most scents anyways, but I've been wearing a little on my wrist and neck whenever we go out of the house and I love the smell of it 🥰 I especially notice the jasmine and vanilla, with hints of the orange!

Now for TK, I think he found and started wearing this particular perfume a bit after he and Carlos officially started dating! We see in 1x10 that Carlos has loved putting his face in TK's neck very early on, and I bet he's always loved the way TK smells! He smells like a man with his natural musk mixed with whatever cologne/perfume he is wearing. But I can see TK wanting to make a change after accepting Austin and this new start with Carlos, and him finding a new, fresh cologne to signify that! I think he would have asked Carlos' opinion of the scent before actually using it and Carlos thought it was nice, but then TK actually put it on and the perfume mixed with his sweat and natural musk throughout the day absolutely drove Carlos wild! I bet Carlos could not keep his hands off of TK and constantly had his face in his boyfriend's neck the first day he wore that perfume, and TK finally caught on after a while and was all smug and like "Oh, do you like the way I smell, babe 😏?" And Carlos is like, "you have no idea." And then took him into the bedroom soon after and had his way with him. And I think an even bigger turn on for Carlos was when his own scent started to cling on and blend with TK's 🫠 It was physical proof and that primal feeling of, "This MAN is mine and I have claimed him with my scent and we smell like each other." Ahhh, you're making me lose my mind thinking about all of this 😂

THANK YOU for this nice ask, Mar and at least it's the weekend when I'm now answering this 🤣 I hope you have a fantastic weekend too❤️