#dino defenders extreme

[animeyanderelover]

Anon: Could I please request yandere headcannons for: gokudera, yamamoto, spanner, dr shamal, basil, ryohei, dino, hibari, haru and squalo from khr?

Yandere Katekyo Hitman Reborn Hc's

Miura Haru

👘​There is no chance in heaven nor hell that people won't know about Haru's feelings for you because she is anything but discreet about how much she loves you. She is openly declaring how much her heart is pounding whenever she sees you and she often awakes the impression that she is retelling a love poem whenever you are around as she confesses every sappy thought she has in her mind. Haru is very obsessive because she is very firm in her decision that she will be your future wife so she is already busily memorizing everything she can about you. This may already be a tad bit disturbing as it is although it could still be trivialised as her just being very attentive when it comes to you. The attentiveness probably stops when you realise that she has even memorized where you walk as soon as you leave the house and at which times you are most likely to go out to buy some groceries.

👘​The innocent-looking cinnamon roll takes it with her observations maybe just a tad bit too far as she essentially stalks you and lies in wait for you to turn up. She would like to see her behavior as dedication to the person she loves most in the world. Can you not understand her desire to spend time with you? You wouldn't think about sending her away after she has waited for you here all this time, right? Haru is extremely single-minded in her pursuit and this makes her very delusional and dismissive if you should ever try to explain to her that she couldn't be more wrong with her assumptions. Instead you will only hurt her feelings. Whilst she would never be truly angry with you, when you see the tears bubbling up in her eyes you can't help feeling like you are the bad guy. Since Haru won't even hold her emotions back when in public, everything is made even more complicated because the last thing you want is making her cry whilst others are watching.

👘​Haru gets quite easily jealous but it is at the same time also quite easy to de-escalate her emotions if you explain to her who the person is or if you simply involve her in the discussion. Her social attitude will solve the rest and by the end of the conversation she has probably made a new friend. That is if you actually notice that she is watching because otherwise things can take a more interesting turn. Haru has a very lively imagination to the point where she feels like she is witnessing a scandal in the making whenever you converse with someone she does not know and don't introduce that person to her afterwards. For whatever reason instead of simply asking you about it, she comes up with the most complex solution of stalking you and the other person in one of her questionable outfits she chose to blend in mission failed as she follows you two around. Safe to say, you have spotted her every single time and managed to untangle the misunderstanding which quickly lifts her mood.

👘​Whilst Haru could always take the easy route of asking Tsuna for help who just happens to be the head of the mafia, she likes to take matters into her own hands. As kind and caring as she is, she can be very assertive if she wants to be and can whop someone's ass verbally if they should have wronged you. Her persistence and stubbornness are her finest weapons and she can very likely wear someone down by remaining so single-minded as she can use her stalking tendencies to find out where someone lives if she is upset enough with them. In situations where more caution would be adviced you better stop her because she doesn't seem to work with a rational mindset at times when she tries to solve even such problems for you by dressing up as a samurai or another fitting costume in her arsenal to defend you. Asking her friends for help is a last resort, especially since they are real mafioso.

👘​She has already envisioned it all. From the house you two will buy to the colour you paint the walls with the every single furniture you're going to have in your shared home. She has even started practicing to cook your favorite meals to be able to make you really happy as soon as the both of you live together. Don't even try to shatter her dreams unless you want to summon her tears. It isn't like Haru would actually ever kidnap you because she does not have the heart to do so. She would never hurt your feelings like that. At the same time she is so painfully optimistic and delusional about the matter. She is saving up money already to buy the house of her dreams and she is even telling all the people around her very excitedly about her visions. You just have a hard time ruining her her dreams because whilst she would probably accept your decision, she would never recover from her crushed dreams and hopes.

👘​Haru is very clingy and since she is always waiting for you to turn up to have the chance to spend as much time with you as she possibly can, it is quite hard to shake her off. She already has a "Haru Appreciation Day" and you get an appreciation day once a month too. It is a day where she is going to be even more affectionate and will spoil you even more than she normally does already and it is very likely that she will very soon make one to celebrate the fact that you two are a couple as well. She has a fascination with cosplaying and costumes already so she will 100% want you two to wear matching outfits or cosplay as fictional couples. She's even sewing you shirts with embroidery stating that you are her lover and she gets sad if you don't wear what she has sewn you. She doesn't understand your uncomfortableness with wearing something that has such cheesy words written on it.

Gokudera Hayato

🧨Above all else, Gokudera will be the most loyal simp you have ever seen in your entire life. He is infatuated with you to the point where he can even justify some stuff that normally should demand an apology from you as he likes to think that you are a good person through and through and that it's the fault of the people around you for triggering you. Whilst he can be a tad bit delusional with this particular way of thinking, he won't let everything you do just slide like this because even he can recognize if you were clearly in the wrong in a certain situation but even then he will probably go easy on you. Hayato, even if he likes to let you off the hook easy with his mindset, is up to a certain point still more aware of his obsession that is rapidly evolving and funnily enough he is a tad bit embarrassed about it initially. That is only a short phase though before he throws all worries out of the window and just dedicates himself to you.

🧨His dedication can go indeed quite far as he does some good research on you because even if he has quite a bit of a temper, Gokudera is also awfully smart and methodical. That naturally includes that he literally notes down the habits and preferences he is able to figure out by observing you and he will even go as far as casually stalking you, although he is smart enough to not let himself get caught. There is a possessive streak he has and he likes to express that often because of his hot-tempered nature. He has sworn loyalty and dedication to you after all even if you never asked for it and due to this oath he has made he tends to be more arrogant as well as very protective. After all none of the other people you waste your time with would know as much about you as he does not would they be willing to go as far for you as he would. If you don't see that yet, he will gladly prove himself to you.

🧨His explosive temper is going to be quite difficult to handle as he is almost always irritable and hostile to the people around you. It is because he has promised himself that he would be the one to love and protect you best that he gets even more frustrated and angry whenever someone else thinks they're the shit and can do what he can obviously do better. If his patience snaps he will beat someone up and that without much consideration or regret. Hayato is still lucid enough to realise that you probably wouldn't appreciate him beating someone up in front of you so he tries to not get physically violent if you are around, although he certainly can't hold back all of his jealousy as he instead vents out his frustration through his words. He can always beat them up later when you aren't around. Everyone who tries to charm you and protect you is his rival but he will most certainly fight for his spot for you to want him as your lover and protector.

🧨I believe the most evident sign of his sheer dedication and willingness to really uphold his oath of protecting you from all harm is shown in the almost jarring difference in his attitude when he is presented with no other choice but murdering someone. His jealous and violent behavior, as immature and harming it can be, is still a mere child's play. Even Gokudera knows about the weight of killing someone and that hasn't changed even if he is the Storm Guardian of the current mafia generation. Taking someone's life is a serious matter and for that reason he will take it just as serious as well. Instead of impulsively storming to his victim and killing them, he is far more methodical and meticulous with his plans. Depending on whom it is he sees the need to murder he either only uses his dynamite to set a trap or uses his Box Weapon. If he is going to murder someone in cold blood, he will do it properly and not play around.

🧨He will most likely show enough understanding that an abduction might be a bit more extreme but at the same time he is a part of the Vongola Family. He knows very well that the life he has chosen is not safe and that is why he tends to be very overprotective and in urgent situations even controlling as he then wants you to listen to every instruction he gives you. There is this bad reputation clinging to the mafia so Hayato greatly hesitates to even inform you about his occupation. A scenario where you get kidnapped by him is usually one where he finds himself in a desperate situation that could either include the danger of your own life or the danger of the relationship. Whilst it will be more of a spontanous decision, Gokudera still somehow manages to squeeze in a plan as he has to act swiftly, especially if your life is indeed in danger due to another gang targeting you. He knows that it'll be confusing and frightening but he is begging you for a chance to listen to him at least.

🧨Despite the bad boy image that Hayato is often cultivating, he gets surprisingly easily flustered whenever you pay any attention to him. He always becomes hyper-aware of every twitch of his lips and tries his best to not embarrass himself. Instead he's always trying to use the chance to look cool and impress you so if someone else steals your attention away whilst he is in the middle of attempting to amaze you, his jealousy quickly returns. You will be the sweetest thing to him with every small affection that you give him because he will always turn a bit red in his face. His tough appearance melts when he is around you and specifically if he is alone with you because then he can truly dedicate all of his attention and focus to you instead of getting triggered by the people around you. As soft as he can be with you though, Hayato is very serious and will enforce decisions on you if he should ever suspect your life to be at risk.

Yamamoto Takeshi

💧​Yamamoto is terribly oblivious as he will probably remain forever ignorant of his obsessive feelings. This is after all the same boy who has been treating the whole mafia affair as some sort of role play and even as he grows older and matures more, you can not hope him to ever consider his love as something that could potentially be a tad bit dangerous. At least you are lucky enough though that Yamamoto is such an easy-going and relaxed guy who isn't very possessive nor is he really controlling. What he will be though is protective and I can definitely see this as a trait that will amplify as the years go by and he gains more knowledge and especially more battle experience as the Rain Guardian of Tsuna. After all he can be as relaxed in battle and with his overall life only as long as no one he cares about greatly is brought in danger because of it. He learns that it isn't all fun and games to him the moment you are in danger.

💧​Even if you were to somehow know of his obsession with you, you will have a very hard time convincing others of it and chances are that even you will have troubles believing it. It is Takeshi's very personality that makes it so hard to accept and believe it. He is kind and warm-hearted and he has a very special ability to get on friendly terms with most people he engages with. This will mean that you will be in troubles if you would try to avoid him because not only is he going to charm most of your acquaintances and friends anyways but they will most likely pick his side and would think that you are in the wrong. If Yamamoto wouldn't be such a good and kind individual, he would be a frighteningly good manipulator so just be thankful that he is always so painfully sincere with every gesture and word of his. That doesn't mean that you will be able to avoid him if you choose to do so though as even your own friends might try to help Takeshi.

💧​Differently from Hayato, Yamamoto will showcase a great amount of patience and respect with most people you engage with. His own willingness to befriend the people you hang around with regularly only aids in this as this means that he is already familiar with most people around you anyways. Even if he were to feel jealous it is not like he is going to make a big drama about it but is going to handle the situation maturely. If he doesn't know someone yet and he gets uncomfortable with the way they behave around you, he will tell you so whilst also asking who that was. He's just informing you whenever someone has made him slightly uncomfortable with the way they are behaving around you and he will tell the other person about it just as much. It is all fine though but only as long as he can expect the same level of respect and maturity from the other person. If they instead choose to act immature, Yamamoto will make sure to keep them away from you.

💧​Usually known as a peacekeeper, Takeshi is fully capable of acting accordingly if a situation should turn dire and that is easier if you are involved than if it would be only him. He is able to maintain a level of calmness in combat but he tends to be more frantic and panicked if you should get involved which is why he takes according preparation to ensure that you won't get involved and will be used as a distraction against him. He has a code of honor though as he doesn't walk around and beats everyone up who gets on his nerves nor does he stain his sword in needless blood. He only ever draws his sword in a dire situation. Whilst he is considerate enough to give someone a warning if they should slowly get on his bad side, the fun has already stopped for him there. All signs of a warm smile on his face are already gone at that point and instead there is this serious and almost somber aura around him that makes the air heavy. Don't underestimate him, although be reassured that at least he will give his victims a swift death.

💧​Despite the existing obliviousness that he has when it comes to the ability to recognise his own wrong feelings for you, Takeshi also draws a line he tries to not tresspass under normal circumstances. Next to the act of taking a life, the act of abducting his darling is also something he normally wouldn't dare to do. His position as the Storm Guardian may be one filled with more risks and danger but he also makes sure to enable you to live a normal life. I don't really see him permanently abducting you but he will take certain meassurements for your safety if the situation calls for it. That can include relocating you to a safer and better guarded and protected place and restricting your ability to walk freely and alone around for an unknown period of time. Those conditions are never something permanent though as they only last as long as the situation is still grave.

💧​His good-natured personality might to more harm for you than it can do good for you at times because you somehow always end up being blamed for misunderstanding the situation if you truly try to avoid him or just aren't interested in him as he ends up stealing the hearts of all the people around you. Almost chivalrous in his courting, Takeshi is also unable to be stopped in his attempts to woo you. His determination is overflowing and he never gives up his hopes no matter how much you try to tell him that you aren't interested. Even if he may be considerate enough to back off and stop, you can always sense that he is waiting for the next chance. He often invites you over to the sushi bar his father owns and ends up preparing you sushi for free, even if you insist on paying.

Sasagawa Ryohei

👊​As someone who lives by the motto of living to the extreme, you can probably already imagine how Ryohei is. He gives 120% all of the time and that naturally includes his behavior around you. Ryohei dabbles into the full-blown delusional area of his obsession. You are his passion, his heart is set on fire whenever he sees you and all the potentially worrying behavior he starts exhibiting due to his feelings all fly over his head as he can easily dismiss them as acts of his passion for you. You think that it is quite creepy that he is always insisting on following you around wherever you go to the point where he even sprints to you if you try to leave earlier in order to be freed from his company? You're being silly, he just wants to make sure that he can protect you if something should happen. A particular focus of his seems to be his fixation on thinking that it is his job to protect you since he is your boyfriend.

👊​His delusional streak makes the normally already obstinate boy even more sturdy as every rejection coming from you flies over his head to the point where he even forgets that you ever had the conversation with him in the first place. Whilst he is at least not that bad to the point where he literally misunderstands everything from you as a sign of your secret feelings for him, he is still quite good in erasing everything "inconvenient" from his mind. Did I mention that he is clingy? He has to be involved in your life as much as he can and he does so even if he ends up making you a tad bit more uncomfortable by inserting himself arguably more forceful into your daily routine. If he doesn't do exactly that, he in fact can get quite twitchy as he doesn't really like not being up to date and actively involved in your life for a longer amount of time.

👊​Bring. It. On. Jealousy from Ryohei's side can very quickly activate his competitive nature where he sees every provocation from someone else as a challenge and since it really isn't his personality to back away from a fight, he will accept the challenge that probably only exists in his own mind. It isn't even out of character for him to actually ask someone if they would fight him in a boxing match. He really doesn't think such things through and he is quite fine with that as he is always ready for a fight and that eagerness is especially triggered if he finds a "rival" he has to compete against. The problem here is thst Ryohei is exceptionally quick to feel jealous, don't underestimate how passionate his feelings for you actually are. Chances are due to this that someone gets involved who isn't even interested in you and Ryohei insists on a fight because if someone isn't even couragous enough to face him, they are not worthy of you.

👊​His willingness to battle even extends to more life-threatening fights where his own life is on the line as he sees every obstacle as a chance to grow stronger. However, Ryohei is firm in his belief that his lover has nothing to do with his battles so he always makes sure never let you get involved in any dangerous activities, especially once he starts working for the Vongola Family. The thing is that he doesn't really think too much the moment someone infuriates him because then the result is usually a broken jaw as he impulsively punches them. His passion can turn quite deadly if you are at risk as it can turn into mindless wrath where he just starts violently attacking someone without stopping until he has calmed down. Whilst this reckless and impulsive behavior dies down a bit as he gets older, I would argue that the new maturity he brings to the task is perhaps even more terrifying as he lets his victim know that he is going to kill them and that they should at least show him that they have some honor by fighting back instead of begging pathetically for their life.

👊​As a student this is honestly a tad bit amusing but for the biggest portion just scary. Ryohei doesn't force you in his life because it has always been the other way around. He forces himself in your life. Whenever he is in the mood, he just pops up in front of your house and screams in front of your window that he wants to see you. The whole neighborhood knows about his feelings because he really doesn't hold back to express them to you in about every loud way possible. So during his younger years he always comes to you when he feels like you might be in danger, fully prepared to defend you. He only really gets the needed capacities to kidnap you when he joins the mafia and matures as it is only then that he realises that an abduction is a thing. At this point he has fallen out of his worst delusional phase though and only uses that option if your life is in grave danger. The whole plan will be more or less a spontanous act though as he is the one who then comes storming to your house to bring you to a safer place.

👊​Ryohei is not a good planner, especially during his time as a student. He tends to forget important stuff and details though and he becomes quite conscious of this when he starts gaining feelings for you. It would be incredibly unfitting for him to forget important details about you since he wants to be your man so he starts writting memos to not forget it. He has those same memos still years later although he doesn't need them anymore at that point. He is quite verbal and physical to express his love to you and at times he even sees it as a challenge to show you as much of his love as he can, especially if someone else is very nice to you and in this case it doesn't even matter if they are interested in you or not. He's constantly begging you to visit his boxing club or to just watch him train because he does like to show off his skills at time. Whilst the wildest parts of his personality weaken over time as he grows older, his feelings for you certainly don't.

Hibari Kyoya

🐤​Hibari is going to pose a big problem for you due to his solitary and indomitable nature as well as his naturally scary appearance. He is very possessive and shows little to no consideration to you nor to others as he wants you and he does whatever it takes to have you. Your consens isn't even really needed for that matter because as long as Hibari knows that you are his, he is going to be satisfied no matter how you may currently feel. Whilst he is actually not blind to the fact that he is very obsessed with you and that he does a lot of things that are anything but good and moral behavior, he just frankly doesn't care. Hibari is only interested in what he values and wants so he doesn't have time considering everyone's feelings, not even your own. Since he is known to use authority and even violence to everyone who doesn't follow the rules or who gets on his nerves, you can probably already imagine what that implies for you.

🐤​You have your own lovely set of rules he has made for you and he expects you to follow them as well. It is quite hypocritical that he despises being controlled or restrained but inflicts the very things he hates on you. You may be tempted to try to escape or simply ignore the rules because Hibari is actually not that present in your life but whenever you do such a wasted attempt, he finds out and will approach you quickly after with a displeased glint in his eyes. What you don't know is that whilst you may not see him every day, Hibari is watching you more often than you think. He is stalking you often from somewhere, those cold eyes trailing after you as he mentally notes every thing you do. It is due to this stalking nature that he has gathered a ton of information on you, more than you are confident with. His lonesome and possessive nature is going to isolate you naturally more, even if you aren't a social butterfly to begin with.

🐤​He values rules and expects others to stick to them. The moment he sets his eyes on you, one unspoken rule instantly becomes that no one should dare to get close to you or try to take you. Since Kyoya is quite confident in his own abilities and his strength, jealousy is perhaps not the right word to use. He is displeased and annoyed more than anything because some idiot here thinks that they can just ignore his rules. Well, it usually doesn't end well for the person anyways and unfortunately even you may become a victim to his displeasure if you should have acted in a way that has awoken the impression that you forgot that you belong to him. If this should happen often, whether it is your fault or someone else's, Kyoya will see it through to isolate you from people a lot more so that you learn your lesson. Honestly, he is being unnecessarily harsh with you but that is mainly to blame on his introverted traits.

🐤​Due to his little regard for the well-being of others, Kyoya will be especially ruthless if he decides to attack because he is always going to hurt someone. Whilst he doesn't let people die needlessly for his own interest, he will be everything but gentle on them as he just believes that people who don't value rules have to be punished. He knows that establishing his own dominance and letting others know what happens if they break rules or annoy him is the most efficient way to make them listen and obey so he does exactly that. Since you are his possession after all, he won't allow anyone to touch you nor will he allow anyone to hurt you. As cold and scary as he may be, this makes him awfully protective over you as he will go after everyone who does as much as threaten you. He is not joking around in the least bit and that means that Hibari will have a considerable kill count as the years pass by, especially once he gets involved with the mafia.

🐤​He hates crowds, he hates people, he just hates being around others in general. He prefers to be alone and he prefers you to be alone as well. It is easier to keep an eye on you then and see what you do and he also doesn't have to get irritated by the people around you. Yet I don't see Hibari going instantly for the forceful abduction because he likes to believe that you will know what you are and aren't supposed to do without him needing to actively surveil you. Don't get cocky though because if you misbehave one too many times, he will lock you away in his house and not let you leave until he believes you have learned your lesson. A permanent abduction doesn't sound appealling to him because he doesn't want to become some sort of caretaker for you as that would just tie him down. He wants you to be independent enough to get through your normal life by yourself yet obedient enough to him to know what you aren't supposed to do.

🐤​Sometimes days go on where you do not see Hibari personally but you never know if he is currently watching you from elsewhere in that moment or not. Truth is that Kyoya actually needs his solitude as well and will leave you by yourself then. If you break any of his rules, he will find out somehow after all but sometimes he just needs some time for himself. Whilst he has been acting on his possessive feelings for the most part, sometimes he gets really strict with you precisely because he has a soft spot for you. In a way one could see this as a way of you having control over him too but to not let you even get the idea that you may use his feelings against him, he is very keen on establishing his own dominance over you. It is this mindset that gives him a tough time being soft around you although he eventually mellows out slowly as years pass by until he even entrusts you with the care of his Hibirds.

Basilicum

🟤​Basil may be a part of the CEDEF but don't even expect for a minute that this means that he is aware enough to know about his own feelings. He is quite a good example of being a delusional Yandere though because despite working for a Secret Intelligence Organisation, he is quite prone to misunderstand things. Yes, he will completely misunderstand it whenever he catches you looking at him or whenever you are just simply polite and helpful around him. Apparently politness from your side is seen as signs of attraction for him from his side. This can get quite out of hand as he slowly starts reciprocate your gestures in the way he thought they were meant. He also starts helping you in your daily life and he even buys you small gifts every once in a while which he gives you whilst a blush is on his face.

🟤​He is quite shy though because whilst he is talented in many things and is the apprentice of Iemitsu, he has never been trained how to court someone and how to confess to the person he loves. This does cause him to feel awfully hesitant and insecure at times because he is constantly worrying that he does something wrong and tends to dramatise gestures and behavior from your side to the point where he believes that he has done something terrible to offend you. Whilst Basil is quite gullible and for that fairly easy to manipulate the tables can turn quite a lot when he gets desperate and looks like he is genuinely about to cry. He's on his knees and begging you then to forgive him because he doesn't know how he could continue living happily if he wouldn't have you in his life. If you think that this outburst is only going to last for a little while, you couldn't be more wrong. Are you really heartless enough to let him drown in such eternal misery?

🟤​If you worry that his insecurities might make way to jealousy, don't. He's got you covered already. He has gotten over those feelings by pretty much keeping tabs on all the people around you and spying on them as well as stalking you and noting down who all the people are you have in your life. This might be quite disturbing for you if you were to ever find out but knowing such things is very reassuring for Basil who feels less threatened by having potentially someone else who would be interested in you. If he ever does feel jealous, there is always this black hole that is mainly there because he feels like he doesn't understand them enough so he intensifies his research until he digs very deep into their life just to fill that empty hole in his heart. If he knows them after all, he can prepare himself accordingly and that helps him to feel at ease.

🟤​As a member of the CEDEF, despite his innocent looks Basil actually holds a lot more power and possesses much more skill than the average person could ever hope to have. As such he would be in theory quite dangerous but luckily he is on the kinder and polite spectrum. He may know at one point everything about you as well as all your family members, friends and acquaintances but that is just how he works as he feels uneasy if he doesn't know everything. His obsession really won't let him rest when it comes to this. This automatically means though that he can use his position as a member of the organisation to dig up some secrets that shouldn't be known if he should ever classify someone as a threat to you. There is no real use for violence for Basil unless it is a last resort because he can just blackmail someone with the information he has obtained about them.

🟤​He would be lying if he would claim that he has never imagined living with you before. In fact he starts fantasising about it quite a lot the more time you spend together with him and the more he finds out about you. He has his hopes even up that those dreams won't be dreams anymore as soon as the both of you are old enough because he tends to see things with rose-tinted glasses. There is no real threat for Basil to kidnap you though, at least for the most part. He may start shedding tears the moment he asks you if you want to move in with him and you reject him, he may beg you to change your mind but he won't do much else. You do think you see him at night standing in front of your house at times though. Basil can be quite efficient though with the load of stuff he knows about you as well as your family and friends which can be used as a very lethal way to blackmail you into doing as he says. Let's just hope that it doesn't get that far.

🟤​His extremely obsessive tendencies imply that he also knows all about your secrets and fears that only very few people may know but at least he seems to possess enough common sense to understand that he shouldn't let you know about the knowledge he possesses about you. At times he may slip up though by accidentally mentioning something to you that he shouldn't know about you but he is smart enough to always cover his mistakes up. Basil definitely uses the huge amount of information he holds in his hands to charm you as well as all the people who are important to him in hopes that they will like him. It is quite important to him that all the people you love will like him so he would be quite distraught if one of them wouldn't think much of him or even go as far as thinking that he isn't suited to be your partner.

Dino

🐎​Dino is just smooth. He is tall, he is handsome and he is quite skilled with his words as well, sure to flatter all the women around him, Dino has set his eyes on you though so he only cares about how his charm will affect you. Dino is actually quite lucid about the entire situation and he won't lie, he has spent some nights thinking about how he should feel bad about it. After all he is a very caring individual to everyone who works for him and who means something to him. Despite the hint of guilt that he manages to experience at times though, for the most part there is just a dwelling possessive feeling that demands him to claim you as his. He is careful with the way he approaches you though as he keeps his identity as well as the true extend of his feelings a secret. Even as a mafia boss, he chooses the honest route of courting you for the most part and he is actually quite confident in his ability to pull it off.

🐎​Nevertheless though, a sprinkle of manipulation here and there will still be used to just stir you in the right direction. His mature and calm exterior combined with his good looks and his smooth words can make a quite lethal combination after all and he even learns to use his occasional clumsiness to make himself appear even more endearing in your eyes. He only uses subtle manipulation for the most part though as he still wants you to choose him out of your won free will. Quite protective of those who mean something to him, this naturally starts applying to you as well to the point where his skills even increase when around you. Whilst his clumsiness then doesn't work anymore, he learns to act like he is sometimes still quite ditzy either to make you smile or de-escalate a possibly tense situation between you two. Whilst he ensures that he never reveals his more intimidating side to you though, he will be much more willing to reveal it to others.

🐎​How blessed you are to have someone like him who is not only skilled and handsome but also so mature and collected. Confidence really can do wonders and Dino showcases that perfectly. He knows that he is physically appealing and since he has gotten so insanely dedicated to you which has led to the disappearance of his clumsiness when he is around you, he is very skilled in most things he does. There aren't many people who can do the same so he can be quite relaxed as he lets you spend your time with other people. Even if there should be someone who tries their luck with you, he just watches with an amused look on his face. He doesn't even have to say anything as most lose their courage the moment he steps next to you and just looks at them with that entertained look on his face. He can switch a flip though by becoming more serious when someone is actually more than just talk. He respects that but that doesn't mean that they can just think about trying to court you.

🐎​He is not going to take it lightly the moment someone threatens his darling. Dino is very protective because he is a mafia boss who has been in this business for quite some time now. He knows how dangerous it can get in his world and that you wouldn't last long if you were to get ever involved. He is vicious to guarantee that no one can ever get that close to you simply to protect your unawareness of what he really does. Perhaps it also the fear of what you might do if you were to ever figure out that he is the head of his own mafia family. It is going to be difficult to touch even your hair in any harmful way though because not only is his organisation very big but his subordinates are also extremely loyal to him. Then there is of course also Dino who is a force that has to be acknowledged because Reborn has trained him truly well as he murders anyone who poses a serious threat without any hesitation. You must never know about all of this though.

🐎​He is definitely going to ask you to move in with him after a while of being a couple. If you reject him, that is fine. He understands that it may be still a bit too sudden and then he just waits for a while until he repeats his question to you. If it would be someone else than Dino, you could get in trouble but to your huge luck Dino is as composed as he is. There is a limit to this all though and that will be when he decides to propose to you within only two years of being a pair. That is your last chance to accept him on your own free will because after that Dino will get involved otherwise to give you the needed push to accept his offer. Even if he attempts to not be too horrible in the course he chooses to take, what he does cannot be excused as he gives you some financial troubles or sees it through that some essential things like your car or your keys get stolen.

🐎​Your life is going to be quite an easy one as long as things between Dino and you go smoothly. You will be pampered and spoiled by him a lot as a sort of excuse for his absence whenever he has to fulfill his role as the mafia boss. Lavish clothes, delicious food and expensive trips around the world all become part of your life and technically everything could go smoothly. Unfortunately Dino has never really told you what he really does for a living so the essential break might happen if you find it out in a most unfortunate moment and react horribly to the reveal. Because at this point in your life, you won't go anywhere anymore. He hasn't married you for you to leave him just because you found out who he really is. He feels sorry and believe him, he understands. He didn't desire to be the boss of the Cavallone Famiglia until Reborn trained him either.

Squalo

◻️​Whether Squalo really has any understanding for his obsession or not is not really of importance, although I like to imagine that as a second-in-command he is smart enough to recognise it. Even if he knows about it though, it does not matter in the least bit to him as he just takes it as it is with no signs of guilt or mercy which spells trouble for you, my dear. Squalo has an awfully huge ego and is very possessive to top it all as he takes pride in his strength and his skill. There is no such thing as courting you or trying to win your heart over as this is way too time-consuming and too much work for this man and since he is as powerful as he is, the easiest way is just forcing you into everything by abusing his influence and his power. You are just his one day suddenly and from that day on he makes sure through often radical ways that you learn to understand this by adjusting your social activities and your closeness to others.

◻️​Squalo has no troubles simply blackmailing you into doing as he tells you to do and isn't even shying away from threatening those around you to make everything even more efficient. His overly possessive antics definitely lead you into an isolating condition where you are partially stuck because you are too scared of him and are partially stuck because you are too scared of what he may do to other people if you would break his rules. You are constantly put under stress as you are never feeling safe even if he isn't pysically within your proximity. Your unease is not unjustified because even if Squalo has a short temper it is important to consider that despite everything he is still part of the Varia and an extremely talented assassin. It is part of his skill to watch people silently from afar to wait for the right moment so you never know when he might watch you either.

◻️​Squalo is threatening and noisy if he should ever feel jealous because he for sure will let you and the other person know about how he is feeling. You should know better than to engage with someone else, you should know better than to question his possession over you like this but sometimes you just seem to be amazingly stupid. Think about it and consider that this man is very violent and extremely deadly too. He could probably murder someone within only a few seconds, if he is feeling merciful that is. Needless to say, such events never end well for you as he is not only threatening your company but will also violently drag you away from the scene. You cannot say anything unless you dare to add fuel to his flaring temper as he frags you away, his grip on you tight and painful but it's not like he cares. You better pray that he won't search for that bastard later on to quench his anger.

◻️​Squalo is arguably one of the most vicious and violent people you could have in this cast. He is already a trained assassin, he loves fights and he has been described by Dino as a shark that has smelled blood. The only thing you can do is pray when he leaves to hunt someone down. He kills everyone who has gotten on his nerves or triggered him in regards to you. Whether the poor victim he hunts down is someone who would have been an actual threat to your life or is just someone who you seem to be too attached to is of no matter. He experiences a euphoric bloodlust whilst hunting his prey down as he displays a sadistic vein, enjoying the sight of them trembling in fear and begging for their life. Even more twisted is the fact that he tends to take his time when he is feeling especially sadistic, cutting his victims slowly down until they have either succumbed to their injuries or he got bored of them.

◻️​Technically he already exhibits a great influence over your life even whilst you are still living by yourself but as he wants complete submission from your side, you just have to wait for a bit until he finally makes the decision to relocate you somewhere else. He does it as he has always done everything in your life which is using force to have you comply with his demands. The new place you can call your home from that day on is isolated which reduces your social contact significantly and will also be installed with cameras and a security system so that you don't get any stupid ideas if he should be gone on missions. You still receive everything you need to survive and keep the house clean as he doesn't want to be your babysitter and whenever he returns to the place where you are stuck, he sort of expects from you to have taken care of the house in his absence.

◻️​He displays an extremely shitty and arrogant attitude around you where he isn't even scared to draw his sword against you if you should get on his nerves too much. Other members of the Varia definitely know you as he sometimes drags you along to show you off like a trophy, looking and sounding unusually proud as he shows you off and actually getting mad for your sake if someone else from the other assassins should insult you. That is only as long as you behave yourself because Squalo will punish you if you were to embarrass him in front of other members of Varia. He is actually willing to give you compliments if you happen to be exceptionally talented in something he deems as useful as he likes having something he can brag about to the Varia about you. He also expects getting a lot of compliments from you because of the pride he takes in himself. Don't try to insult him though because he will be quick to make you regret it.

Spanner

🔧​Spanner is willing to betray his own side when it helps him to find out more about something he is interested in. Now crank that up a few notches and give him an obsession centered around his darling and you have yourself a prime example of an obsessed man. Spanner is very willing to break private rights and throw away commonly accepted morals if it helps him to find out more about you and whilst he is careful about not to betray the Millefiore, he is willing to lie to them to keep them away from your life as much as possible. Despite those actions he takes, he is actually quite good in deceiving you to see him as someone else. He just presents himself with a laid-back and chill exterior which manages to make you feel at ease around him. What you don't seem to notice for a long time is how he observes you as you let your guard down around him, gauging your every reaction with a keen interest.

🔧​He is an engineer and he is quite talented as well so obviously he is going to abuse the skills he has to spy on you even better. Whether he wires your house when you invite him over or even installs a tracker on your phone to always be able to know your exact location, he is not holding back. He in fact occasionally even causes some devices in your house to malfunction without your knowledge when he is in your house just to have you spend more time with him because he is always the one who offers to repair them for you when you complain to him that they aren't working properly anymore. If he considers his feelings and the actions he has chosen to take so far more carefully, he guesses that his interest in you might be quite unhealthy but somehow he is far too nonchalant to really care. He doesn't have any bad intentions after all and is actually even protecting you so it can't be that bad.

🔧​With the way he is installing the listening devices and at one point even tiny cameras in your house and tracks you down via your phone, it is safe to assume that he has a very good idea with whom you choose to spend your time with when either he or you don't have a chance to see each other. He thinks it is better that way because by being able to hack your phone or other technical devices, he always knows what is going on between you and others and it saves him from being worked up over nothing. There is very little chance for him to misunderstand the situation as he can constantly spy on you. He handles jealousy fairly composed in comparison to some other members but he is definitely going to have to know more about anyone who triggers such an emotion inside of him. He just likes to be prepared in case he has to interfere before they get any closer to you by being able to blackmail them a bit.

🔧​I'm pretty sure he is just going to invent something instead of killing someone with his own hands. It's not like he is just going after everyone's threat because he actually enjoys his peace and wouldn't want too much trouble in his life. Sometimes Spanner knows that he has to do something before something happens, especially if your own life is in any danger. Then he has of course also the option of asking Shoichi for help if your life should be in potential danger and he does use the influence of his friend at times. Other times he feels like he should be the one to make sure that your life is protected though because he is the one obsessed with you and then he just builds something to assist him in his task to protect you. He is uncomfortable with killing someone personally but this seems to be a different matter if he kills someone with one of his inventions and just watches from the sideline or from behind a monitor.

🔧​With the data he collects on you as time passes by, he has technically quite a bit he could use against you if he were to ever feel like forcing you. For some reason Spanner instead likes to savor the time he has with you right now as it is. The time where you don't know that he has cameras and listening devices in your home, has a tracker installed in your phone and has hacked into your laptop and phone already multiple times. He isn't as optimistic as to believe that it will all stay a secret forever though. After all life can always take an unexpected turn and so he starts thinking ahead how he should react and what he should do the moment you would find out about the people he works for as well as his own creepy behavior he has secretly done without your knowledge. He's sure he would have to restrict you within your life somehow, partially also to protect you from the Millefiore.

🔧​You are going to be given quite a few of his lollipops and depending on what your favorite flavor is, he will adjust his candies accordingly whenever he gifts you some. He will even shape them differently if you would ask him to do so. If we ignore the fact that he always sabotages your electronical advices to his own advantage, Spanner is actually quite helpful as well as useful in your life. He is an expert when it comes to everything electronical and next to fixing your stuff for free whenever he has time, he even builds you some devices to help you in your household. He's normally quite relaxed and just likes to lean back and listen to you instead as he is not a big talker and thinks that whatever you could tell him would be much more interesting over what he could talk about. Well, not like he can really talk about some of the activities he does in his daily life to you anyways unless he wants to scare you away by revealing that he has been spying on you.

Doctor Shamal

🩺​´Shamal is a simp who is down bad for his darling and their gender doesn't even play a role in this case because will act even worse than he has already done with every other woman he has been trying to flirt with. It is highly likely that his darling thinks of it as nothing serious because Shamal is such a womanizer and has been flirting with a lot of people. You'd think that the doctor would assume so too, especially if his darling is biologically female. However, somehow Shamal has known that he feels differently for you after only meeting you one time. You are different and the fact that he feels something very special when he as much as thinks about you causes him to be quite clingy and obsessive as a reaction. He wants to be with you as much as he can and he will openly creep you out with it as he has no shame to follow you around in public and even wait for you in places he eventually comes to realise you tend to visit often. That or he's just standing in front of your door all of the time.

🩺​In Doctor Shamal's mind though, he doesn't see any of this as scary or creepy. Instead he goes down the delusional path as he is absolutely enraptured with you. He has fallen in love with someone for the first time and he just knows that his feelings for you will always be there and that he will from now on always be genuine when around you. So he makes absolutely no attempt to try to hold his feelings for you back as he showers you in presents and even tries to steal kisses from you even if you do not consent to it. He is downright reckless at times in his attempts to declare his love to you. If you lock the door and refuse to acknowledge how he is knocking on your door, it has happened that he has even climbed up the roof of another house or to your window to see you and to make you see him. As you can see, he really has no chill.

🩺​Struck with the attention-seeker-syndrome that he has, he will never be happy if you ignore him for someone else and you do it quite a lot. That's alright though, he likes how you try to play the tough game with him but he is still quite unhappy if you ignore his presence even if he is standing right next to you. You may hope that you will discourage him by doing so but instead you only fuel his passion as he sees it as a sign that he has to fight for you and prove to you that he is the right man to be your lover so in a way all people you rather spend your time with become his rivals. He is especially competitive against those who are neither family nor close friends of yours as he views them as love rivals. This all seems ridiculous and pathetic until he pulls out his mosquitoes to inflict someone with a harmless, but still severe disease because if they don't appear, you won't be able to ignore him.

🩺​All of his silliness aside you better keep in mind that this is a notrious assassin who was even offered a position in the Varia for his skills. The best and simultanously scariest part is that Shamal doesn't even have to do much to kill someone. He merely has to send one of his mosquitoes after his victim and then has to simply wait until they die from the deadly disease the insect has infected them with. He isn't a crazed doctor though so he at least doesn't let anyone around you drop dead within a day. His main motivation behind it is mainly that he doesn't want to push you into the depths of despair so we can argue about whether he is acting noble or not. He has no such problems if it concerns people who endanger your life or just don't treat you right as he can switch to a more cunning and serious side then. Everyone who doesn't respect you or even dares to hurt you will receive no mercy from him and he will get rid of such people quickly before they can pose a even bigger threat in your life.

🩺​Shamal is totally convinced that you two will live together later on. He has envisioned it all. You two will move in together, he will propose to you and then both of you will get married and be the sappiest and most lovely couple that people will have ever seen. You may not share those fantasies and dreams of his but it is not like you will ruin them for him anyways. There is going to be no competition to consider besides him anyways because all of them are battling with some tough diseases and as soon as they seem to recover, they are struck with the next illness. You see, you won't have any other choice besides him. That's alright though because he is the only one who can truly love and worship you as you deserve to be treated.

🩺​There is a potential where he could simply use his mosquitoes against you and weaken you to force you to rely on him but that is a more unlikely scenario. As indecent as he can be towards you at times, he genuinely doesn't intend any harm to come your way. Whilst he will openly admit that he enjoys it whenever you do come down with something and need his medical assistance to get better, he would never infect you with something. He can use the illnesses of others around you though to boost his image as he will offer you his assistance for free only to then take advantage of the debt you oew him after, even if he doesn't demand any money from you. You just feel too guilty to deny him some of his requests where he wants you two to spend some time together. He's going to praise you nearly all the time though for everything as your mere existence is wonderful.

[postgamecontent]

Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the Week Ending October 12th, 2024

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the Nintendo Switch Weekly Round-Up for the week ending October 12th, 2024. It's an odd week when you're in October and the biggest new release is a new RPG Maker. Business will pick up from next week, but for now we've got a curious mix of interesting indies and licensed fare to sift through. Let's check out this week in the world of Switch!

Select New Releases

RPG Maker With ($49.99)

I… somewhat question the need for another RPG Maker on the Switch, but it's here anyway. Turns out Shaun doesn't get to decide what is or isn't on the platform! Despite the name, you're still more or less on your own with this one. There's also plenty of DLC in case you want to expand the assets at your disposal. Make your RPG! Share your RPG! Play RPGs from others! That's the RPG Maker experience.

Faith: The Unholy Trinity ($14.99)

New Blood seems mostly known for its first-person shooters, but it has the occasional thing that ventures off that formula. Faith: The Unholy Trinity is a stylish horror game inspired by the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. You play as a priest and have to survive a variety of trials with only your cross as a means of defense. I wouldn't say this is the best-regarded game from the publisher, but if you're looking for something season-appropriate, this is surprisingly effective.

Thronefall ($12.99)

A deliberately simplified strategy game, Thronefall aims to offer a satisfying yet minimalistic take on base defense. You spend the day time building up your base, and the night defending it. This kind of set-up has popped up before, but it's particularly well-executed here. I'm not a big fan of this kind of game, but this one is alright.

Sky Oceans: Wings for Hire ($24.99)

This is a pretty obvious love letter to SEGA's Skies of Arcadia, and I think what I will say here is that it is important to remember how this kind of thing usually plays out. Don't expect a replacement for Skies, or a spiritual successor, or whatever else your heart may want to put on this. It's a vibrant indie RPG with plenty of open skies to explore and an interesting turn-based dogfighting combat system. I'll have to put some time into it to see if there's anything more to it than that.

Europa ($14.99)

You play as a jetpack-toting android exploring the moon Europa, looking for clues to unravel the story of the last living human. One of those chill exploration games, more or less. There's a demo available you can try out, but be warned that it is several months old at this point and feels extremely rough. We'll have to see how the final game turns out, but I found the demo pretty limp overall. Proceed with caution.

Transformers: Galactic Trials ($39.99)

Outright Games occasionally makes something decent, and I kind of like the idea of a Transformers racing game. Adding in robot-based combat bits to break things up sounds like a nice way to serve the license better, too. The developer on this one is 3DClouds though, and that gives me some pause. Previous efforts from 3DClouds include Race with Ryan, Blaze and the Monster Machines Axle City Racers, Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart, PAW Patrol: Grand Prix, PAW Patrol World, and Fast & Furious: Spy Racers Rise of SH1FT3R. That's a long and consistent history of iffy racers, and based on that I can't really recommend this one.

UFO Robot Grendizer - The Feast of the Wolves ($39.99)

The third entry in Go Nagai's Mazinger series is an odd pull for a game in the current year, but I suppose it still pops up here and there with new manga and anime series. This game feels very much rooted in the 1970s material, however. If you love Grendizer, then I think you'll find this game's clear passion for the material charming enough to carry it. If you don't, then I wouldn't bother with this. It's way too rough around the edges and thinner than it should be for the price it's going for here. It's also not running especially well on the Switch.

Nick Jr. Party Adventure ($39.99)

As ever with Outright Games, we must look to the developer. Here, it's Melbot Studios. Its only previous title with Outright was My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure, which was not terribly good. This might seem like it's going to be a party game featuring various Nickelodeon characters, but it's actually just another one of those adventure-ish affairs like the My Little Pony game from this studio. It also only supports two players. So, you know, a small party at best. Six different worlds to explore, and Dora, Blue, and the PAW Patrol gang are here. I could see the younger fans perhaps enjoying this, but that's about it.

Miss Rosen's Wowtastic! Marching Band ($11.99)

Here's another game for fans of the absolutely bizarre About An Elf. It uses a similar visual style, and sees you solving a variety of puzzles in a dozen different locations. Lots of luggage packing. You're probably not here for all of that, though. If you're here for anything, it's likely the off-beat and unique story. I don't think you'll be disappointed, if that's the case. It's just as charming and weird (in a good way) as About An Elf.

The Sekimeiya: Spun Glass ($14.99)

An emergency leaves eight people trapped in a tower for twelve hours, and they're unfortunately locked in there with a rather unusual artifact. This visual novel aims to please fans of mystery thrillers, and judging by reviews of the game on other platforms, it does a decent job of achieving that goal. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Many find it to be excessively wordy and lacking in good characters. It seems to go over best with people who love the theorizing journey as much or more than the mystery's resolution. Maybe that's you?

Necro Story ($14.99)

You're a necromancer! How about that? You have the ability to catch the souls of your foes and put them to work for you. This is a creature-collecting RPG, and the main gimmick is the whole necromancer thing. You also have an assortment of magic to wield, so you don't have to rely completely on your undead army. It's a light RPG, but it has a lot of soul. Ha! No but really, it's decent.

Bloodless ($14.99)

An action-adventure game about a ronin who has vowed to never take another life. To that end, you'll use non-lethal attacks to defeat the foes in your path. It's a counter-heavy affair, so if you don't like that kind of response-based combat then you might not get on with Bloodless. It's very stylish and atmospheric, which helps make up for some rough edges in other respects.

Arcade Archives Power Spikes ($7.99)

We've had the other two games in this series for ages in Arcade Archives, and now we have the entry that originally released between them. This is generally the most well-liked entry, but be warned that you only get the Japanese version of the game in this package. Well, I suppose it's nice to get a game that isn't a platformer, beat 'em up, or shooter now and then. If you can't tell from the screenshot, it's a volleyball game. Enjoy!

EGGCONSOLE Templo Del Sol: Asteka II PC-8801 ($6.49)

The latest EGGCONSOLE release is a Falcom adventure game, and as usual the in-game text is almost entirely Japanese. And since this is an adventure game, that's going to be a problem if you can't read it. A particularly challenging one at that, so don't even think about it if you can't understand the language. This game was heavily modified and released on the NES as Tombs & Treasures, which is an interesting bit of trivia. Not much more to say here without excessively repeating myself.

Extra Coin ($6.49)

A girl seeking her missing parents steps into a virtual world that promises a getaway for those seeking an escape from the harshness of reality. Explore the virtual reality of The Arcade day by day, getting involved with whatever nonsense you feel like doing. It's not going to be easy for Mika to find her parents. She'll have to follow whatever clues she stumbles across and face her fears. It's certainly got some heart put into it, and it's rather affordable.

Son of a Gun ($9.99)

This looks to be a fairly standard take on the top-down twin-stick shooter, but that might not be a bad thing depending on your mood. There are seven different gun categories, and that adds up to plenty of different weapons to wield. Six different playable characters, lots of bosses to battle, and around twenty enemies to blast. Very meat and potatoes, but it will scratch the itch if it needs scratching.

Dagon: Complete Edition ($9.99)

This is a collection of narrative adventures based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It includes the original Dagon, plus three DLCs that each tell their own little story. Lovecraft fans will probably get into it, as it seems like it was put together by enthusiasts of the author. I'm not too big into Lovecraft's stuff, so I can't really judge it the way I'd prefer.

My Big Sister: Remastered ($7.99)

While I am not the biggest fan of selling a remaster on the same console you sold the original on, the low price combined with the changes here make it seem somewhat reasonable. You get some new story stuff, the art has been fully redrawn, and there's a new soundtrack in place. The original is still up on the eShop, so if you're buying one make sure you grab this version.

Massi ($4.99)

If you're hungry for more side-scrolling action and don't want to burn much money, here's Massi. It has a fair bit going on for what it is, and seems to have been inspired by Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. It's been out for a couple of years on computers and mobile, so you can probably find more detailed impressions out there if you look.

El Panadero -The Baker- ($7.99)

A quirky action-platformer with a distinctive style. You can play alone or pull in another player for some local multiplayer fun. It's a relatively short game, and you can hit the end in around forty minutes. So, you know, keep that in mind.

Rogue Sentry ($7.99)

Another twin-stick shooter, this one using that monochrome-ish style that some games favor. 1-bit, as they say. Don't assume the 'rogue' in the title means this is a roguelike or roguelite game, though. Straight-up action with some traversal, that's about it. A little short, but challenging and enjoyable.

Camp Sunshine ($6.99)

Uh oh, a dangerous killer bear mascot is on the loose again. I've seen stories like this before, and it doesn't end well. It describes itself as an RPG, but it's really just an adventure game in the guise of a 16-bit RPG visual style. You know, like Corpse Party or To The Moon. It's quite well-liked over on Steam, and we'll have to take their word for it because you folks know me and horror games.

Kill The Crows ($4.49)

A top-down arena shooter with an old western theme. Not exactly the fanciest of TV dinners, but it seems to understand that its theme is its selling point and leans into it nicely. Affordable fun, and sometimes that's good enough.

That's all for this week, friends. We'll be back next Saturday with another Round-Up as we head into the back half of October. Lots of great stuff on the horizon right now, even as we're likely in the final months of the Switch as Nintendo's main squeeze. As ever, I will plug both my Patreon (where you can find lots of cool exclusive articles) and my Ko-Fi (tips help me run this blog). There, plugged. I hope you have a super Saturday, and as always, thanks for reading!

[lazycowboy666]

welcome to lazy re-interprets pre-canon khr pt1/?

- reborn and shamal knew each other pre-canon, in my mind pre-curse!reborn. shamal worked at hayato and bianchi’s family’s house as their live-in doctor. so reborn visits the house on and off to conduct business with shamal or just annoy him and inevitably runs into the two weird kids.

- hayato and bia think he’s the coolest dude ever. tall, black suit, carrying around a fucking lizard, an air of mystery plus a weird anime shadow over his eyes from his fedora. tells them stories about his “adventures” every once in a while, lets them play with his pet lizard(s). he impresses the “everybody cool is also a hitman” on the two kids at an early age, despite the two of them being boss candidates and hitmen being seen as several steps below their status. hayato already had this mindset from latching onto shamal but this was bia’s a-ha moment.

- so while hayato seeks out shamal after he leaves the house bc he’s already imprinted on him as “dad” figure, bia wants nothing to do with that intoxicated, sexist idiot and seeks out this “reborn” dude from her childhood after her own successful runaway from their shit, negligent family. and insanely enough, she does.

- this is where i re-interpret the timeline a little, because it’s already fuzzy in-canon, that she runs into him still pre-curse, pre-dino and declares that he’s going to be her “tutor” on how to become a hitman, bc yes, you are now HER “dad” figure, reborn, and there’s nothing you can do to stop this. (she sits on his stoop à la russel from up—except more menacing—until he finally lets her in.)

- cue léon and mathilda lando apartment scenario with a lizard enclosure rather than a potted plant and less creepy one-sided flirting (though bia is very touch-starved and the occasional, proud head pats reborn gives her are extremely novel to her; she does hold his hand too when she’s scared, similar to how she’d do with her bio dad growing up). basically give me reborn teaching bia how to shoot (fuck canon, this kid can shoot fine), how to conduct surveillance, how to master disguises, how to approach targets unnoticed, etc. the two of them bond especially over their love of insects and bia’s actually the one who shows reborn the weird canon bug-speak thing from daily arc bc y’know, why not. magic mafia.

- flash forward a year or two of this, and suddenly, reborn’s gone, off answering a job offer to end all job offers (you know where this is going). he comes back after a few weeks of radio silence as a fucking toddler and bia, being bia, is just glad he’s still alive. figuring out clothes for him is interesting and now reborn’s teaching her how to sew kid’s clothes to help him out.

- they keep working hits but obviously it’s weird as shit that the guy you’re hiring is now a deformed child, so the jobs start dwindling. bia goes off, gets a bf who treats her like shit and eventually kills him for it (he deserves it), and now people don’t want to hire her bc they think she’ll turn on them. it’s not looking good. until news comes in that the cavallone family’s boss is dying and his one heir is a fucking mess and the power balance is about to shift dramatically and potentially lead to all-out war because the family is nearly in financial ruin and owes a lot of money to a lot of different families and yada yada.

- cue bia being like “hey you know who was raised to be a boss? me. and who raised me to defend myself and kick ass? you.” and knowing “uncle cavallone” aka the 9th cav boss personally from when she was a kid, she drags reborn to their estate to propose her idea and it’s just the usual canon deadly comedic shitshow from there on. there’s a VERY good reason why dino’s fucking afraid of bianchi and it’s not the reason you’d think.

i’ll post more later, because this series is a spore in my brain that’s been lodged there for over a decade now, my personal interests being gokudera and bianchi’s background in particular. i welcome all comments and reblogs!

[simplegenius042]

Jurassic World Before The Storm - Meet the OCs

With seven days to go until Jurassic World Before The Storm is released here and on Wattpad and AO3, it's about high time you meet the OCs who drive the story forward.

There two perspectives to the fic; the humans' POV and the raptors' POV. Thankfully I have two human OCs and one hybrid dinosaur OC along with the canon characters to bring a fresh perspective. Technically there are three human POVs, however I will only list two protagonists down here.

First, human OCs below.

Name/s: Lisa and Joaquin Cobalt [all pronounced: Lee-suh + Jack-ah-win + Coh-bolt]

Species: Humans

Gender: Lisa is female while Joaquin is transitioning to male.

Age/s: Lisa is 21 while Joaquin is turning 10.

Skills: Lisa has knowledge on animal anatomy and diseases, most recently those of dinosaur origin. Perceptive to detail and observant. Extremely skilled with her hands, knows how to handle most tools, and knows how to pick locks. Does not know proper ways to defend herself beyond "punch for the face and hope for the best". Joaquin has extensive knowledge on dinosaurs (mostly of they are his current hyper fixation), but his meek and cautious nature stop him from being as open about it.

Description/s: Lisa Cobalt has long auburn hair, kempt and luxurious. Tidy even. Freckles scatter her chubby cheeks and small nose. She had a tall and plump form. With porcelain skin, it is not uncommon to see her without make-up. She has hazel eyes and usually wears professionally feminine attire. Joaquin meanwhile has brown eyes and hair, the latter of which is usually cut short and a mess. Casual and respectful clothing (under his foster sister's insistence), but long-sleeved and much suited for winter rather than the tropical weather of Isla Nublar (not that he does not have attire accustomed for the season). Has a scrawny figure, and dreads growth.

Affiliations: Lisa is a Jurassic World paleo-veterinarian, while Joaquin is loyal and dependent on his sister.

Backstory: Lisa was abandoned at the nearest orphanage at quite a young age and was never able to be adopted due to several problems regarding her temper, mood swings and track record of being a "troublesome child". She was turning 11 years old upon meeting Joaquin at a new orphanage, also abandoned but only an infant at the time. She aided the (rather neglectful) caretakers in taking care of him, and the caretakers thought it best to keep them together once Joaquin was 3 and Lisa was 14. They both developed a sibling bond of sorts. This bond isn't perfect though, as internal and external factors have interfered with their relationship, but Lisa and Joaquin are trying to mend this. When Lisa came of age, a court proceeding came in place, where she won guardianship over Joaquin. Lisa has been in-and-out of homes and jobs, trying to support herself and Joaquin, homeschooling him to the best of her ability. Thankfully, an opportunity from Jurassic World had presented itself, and Lisa found both a suitable living space and a job that put her skills to good use.

Extra: Lisa loves her brother, and Joaquin admires his sister. Neither know how to express it in a normal way though. Both have a deep respect for fauna.

And dino protagonist is below here.

Name: Indo (pronounced: In-doh)

Species: Indo-Rex (dinosaur hybrid, mainly Indominus and Scorpius Rex).

Gender: Male

Age: 5 (early mid-twenties in human years)

Abilities: Camouflage, heat vision (can detect heat), echolocation (with help of his spines/quills rattling together on his back and tapping his claws on the ground), physical strength, durable against bullets (for a little while at least, will be harmed by excessive use of bullets and especially explosives), good climber and stealthy, good sense of smell, and teeth and talons are dangerous. Unlike his Scorpius Rex relatives, his spines cannot act as a projectile and aren't poisonous. However, he is resistant to most poisons (on Earth) but is notably more fatigued as his body slowly flushes it out of his system.

Description: Indo is a hybrid combination between the Indominus Rex and the Scorpios Rex. Around 8 feet tall (when standing on two legs) at the moment (will grow to 13 later in life) but when on all fours is 7 feet tall. Length is around 8 or 9 meters long (I ain't the best at length so this might be inaccurate). Indo is a dark grey while his underbelly is a lighter grey. He has spines/quills that run down from the top of his head down to his tail. Five-fingered talons. Has old small scratches across his body. Can live up to around 70 years old (IDK what age that would be in human years).

Affiliation: The Cargo Sanctuary. Eventually the Raptor Squad.

Backstory: Indo was secretly created on Isla Nublar in 2010 by Henry Wu and a select few, funded by both InGen and the CEO of a military and robotics industry, who he only knows as "Carmine". Indo had siblings, but they either never hatched or were killed during experiments. Indo survived the abuse and experiments, however, did not produce the results Carmine apparently wanted, and ordered for Indo's termination. Indo escaped the private lab, and found freedom, where he was taken in by two defective genetic experiments, a Dilophosaurous named Phone and an orange Scottish LaPerm cat with a cybernetic implant (connected to his spine) named Diego, where they made haven in an old shot down and crashed Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, or the Cargo for short. Few years passed, and Indo, while out hunting, caught InGen's attention, where he has a fateful (and lucky) encounter with Owen Grady and the Raptor Squad.

Extra: Indo can crunch and eat bones. Hoskins is his least favourite human. Owen's somewhere in the middle while Barry is his favourite.

[kentuckycaverats]

Okay okay 17, 37 and 44 for Del and for Walsh!

DEL

17. favorite toy as a child?

she had a little pink otter plushie from the tsugas, which is presumably still in her room at their house. her bio parents very actively prohibited her from engaging with anything magical or fantastical (no fun allowed for the changeling kid) and also refused to acknowledge her as a girl, so the pink plushie was very dear to her.

37. are they more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

honor? in this delphine? less likely than you think. protecting her reputation and those of the rest of the coterie (and tara) for sure.

44. how easy or difficult is it for them to say “I love you?” can they say it without meaning it?

to her parents - extremely easy

to the coterie - we'll call this medium. if mitra or delores says it to the group she can do "yeah you too". definitely not there with sami

to literally anyone else but especially tara - extreme insane hard mode maximum difficulty good luck

if she were playing a long game and needed to feign it she could say it without meaning it, but aside from that no chance.

PTOL/WALSH

17. favorite toy as a child?

not a toy per se, but those little science kits where it's like a brick of dirt and some crappy plastic tools that you use to "excavate" little gemstones and fake dino bones, etc.

37. are they more concerned with defending their honor or protecting their status?

defending their honor; it bothers them a whole lot if someone thinks ill of them. they don't have much in the way of status (that's largely his gran's doing) and it's not terribly important to them.

44. how easy or difficult is it for them to say “I love you?” can they say it without meaning it?

very easy! he's very free with his "i love you"s, especially with friends and family. romantic partners are a different story lol, ptol's a dweeb with no game and that one's scary.

[berylcups]

My insane list of answered OC questions: Pt 2

Notes: Sorry for the radio silence. I’ve been out sick with the flu and now I have a double ear infection and sinus infection because fuck me. 🙃 I know nobody asks for these but I need to post something content related so this is it!

What might an acquaintance think is a good gift for your character?

⚔️ - A big jar of lingonberry jam, A bottle of frizz control shampoo/conditioner, a parasol

🫖 - strawberry chocolate, a decorative or unusual tea set, a fluffy travel pillow

🦑- an energy drink, cat vest carrier, a pair of leather combat boots

🍭- lollipop, a Dino arm grabber(mean but useful), a sewing kit

What does your character most enjoy shopping for?

⚔️- sports wear, gardening supplies, and stationery for calligraphy

🫖 - Ceramic & porcelain artwork, crystals, fine art supplies

🦑- Shoe shopping specifically German boots, celestial Knick Knacks for the home, fragranced personal items (lotions, body oils, eau de parfum/cologne, body washes)

🍭- clothes, fabric for clothing projects, and the sweets/bakery section of the supermarket

Is there an item your character is embarrassed they own or want?

⚔️- A popular magazine with an article about attracting the man of your dreams highlighted. Hánná will take this secret to her grave but she’s finally hit that special age where she’s wanting to find a man and settle down. She might have found the one but refuses to admit it. Her pride won’t allow her to be vulnerable but that doesn’t make her immune to daydreaming.

🫖 - A sketch book full of drawings of Katherine’s favorite anime characters and her OCs kissing. Katherine is a video game weeb and has crushes on all the villains she faced in the JRPGs she owns. She refuses to show her drawings to anyone because she says she sucks at drawing the men.

🦑 - a vibrator… Despite being demisexual, everyone around calamari is too stupid to comprehend the fact that being asexual doesn’t mean “no sex EVER”. If anyone were to find it, it would not only be embarrassing but painful to explain to the idiot that was snooping around in their room.

🍭 - A series of Photo Booth photos of her and her father, Rubber Soul being silly in front of the camera. The pictures have the both of them acting super cringey, but it’s on purpose so that’s not why Dolce hides them. It brings up memories of her and her dad before he left and how much she misses him. Not to mention that she absolutely has a grudge against him for potentially abandoning her if he didn’t die.

What celestial body would interest your character the most?

⚔️ - Hánná is completely enthralled by Jupiter. It’s the largest planet, and decorated with stripes. The red storm is deeply enchanting and she wonders how violent and power the storm can be to last so long and to continue long after humanity.

🫖 Pluto would intrigue Katherine the most. Don’t even try and tell her it’s not a real planet. She has a soft spot for the underdogs and the misunderstood. Black cats and dwarf planets make this woman very happy and she’s going to defend them with her life.

🦑 Uranus interests Calamari the most. It’s the most unique and rotates on its side. It’s unapologetically the most enigmatic of the planets. It has the most extreme seasons and like Calamari, they have the most extreme mood swings.

🍭 Dolce would be interested in Saturn the most. It is the most iconic of all the planets and has beautiful rings accessorizing it.

What animal would your character say best represents them?

⚔️- Hánná feels a strong connection to the Eurasian Eagle Owl. Hánnás hair somewhat resembles the massive owl! Her side fringe tufts out no matter how hard she tries to brush and style it. 🤭 they are also very strong. The eagle owl has the power of crushing 700 lbs per square inch in their talons. 😰 Hánná is doesn’t have a grip THAT strong but she sure can bridal carry any one of the boys! But refuses to do so…unless medically necessary and if their lives are on the line. We have Polnareff begging for “uppies!”(piggyback rides) eveytime he feels winded or his feet get sore. He really needs to lay off the cigarettes 🙄

🫖- Katherine sees herself in the Black Bear. They’re not the most violent of the ursidae but like the brown bear, if Katherine feels threatened enough, she’ll get aggressive. She’s mostly like a big teddy bear. 🧸 She loves to hibernate with the big bears. Eating a bunch and then take a big night-night? Hell yeah! Even better if she’s cuddling with a friend or lover. She just isn’t a huge fan of salmon…too fishy. Give her some fish n’ chips instead. 🐟

🦑- Calamari identifies with the Cheetah. They look intimidating but what calamari doesn’t want you to know is that they are more afraid of you than you are of them. 😓 Calamari can bolt off like a cheetah if they want out of a situation or if they’re chasing a prey down through their stands black holes… Cheetahs can’t toss you around like a ragdoll though…but they can eat gazelles. That’s pretty threatening.

🍭- Dolce feels best represented by the monarch caterpillar. These little guys are strikingly beautiful and toxic to the touch. They also have a MASSIVE appetite! Dolce can’t eat 200x her body weight like the monarch caterpillar can but they both have big dreams and are working their way towards a beautiful future. 🦋

What is a habit your character has that others might find cute?

⚔️ - Her insistence on being independent. “No no. I’m holding the door open for YOU. You don’t have to always open the door for me, you know. I’m not your damsel in distress!” “No thank you! I appreciate it but I can carry all these groceries myself!” “I can handle this stand user myself! This will be easy as crumb cake! Just you boys watch and learn!”

🫖 - practicing her poor Arabic with middle eastern and North African citizens. The poor girl tries to read(Katherine please…it’s a cursive writing style . 😓 you’re not gonna find any words going from left to right!) everything backwards and her accent is insanely thick. “A-Salam Alaykum! Wait a minute…I’m not Muslim…am I allowed to say that? Ahlan? ahlan wa sahlan! Kéf halak?” “What do you mean I’m good at reading? I can’t read that Avdol. Oh yeah! Right to left… mustashfaa—that means…hospital? Yes! I did it!”

🦑 - Attracting cats over and baby talking them “oh black cat with 3 babies. I’m gonna call them over. Kitties~ Ks ks ks ks ks…. Come here. Ks ks ks… Ja~ that’s right~you love those ear scritches yes?” “Illuso. We are taking them home whether you like it or not. Why? The mama cat outranks you and I’m naming her Phyllis. She has a smokers meow, that’s why I’m naming her Phyllis. You can name 2 of the kittens. Take it or leave it bitch. You can always go to the mirror if you hate the kitties soooo much.”

🍭 - Always sucking on a lollipop- “why do I always have a lollipop in my mouth? Well.. why not? They’re tasty and they’re quick portable fuel for Lollirot. Think of being permanently pregnant and you're trying to please your baby~. Ew, do NOT compare my stand to a TAPEWORM! It’s nothing of the sort. You’re a tapeworm, Mellie. Pfft—take that. Yes it was VERY MATURE of me to spit my lollipop stick at you. Hope it gets stuck in your hair~.”

What is a topic your character would be excited to talk about?

⚔️- Fencing and Swords/weaponry- Hánná gets so excited about anything to do with sharp objects that she can barely contain herself. She saw an Arabian Scimitar on display at a bazaar and begged and begged for Joseph to buy it for her. Sadly he did not. 😭 After the Anubis incident, no one wanted her to have such a threatening blade on her person. She and Polnareff will get into friendly but somewhat heated debates on who’s the better fencer. Usually it ends up with them having an impromptu battle using random sticks, pool noodles, pens, rulers…whatever they can get their grubby hands on before someone stops them. 😓

🫖 - Celtic astrology and video games - Katherine loves astrology likes to compare and contrast the astrology she grew up with (Celtic & Pagan) with Avdol's Egyptian astrology. Kakyoin is also another friend she enjoys geeking out with about her favorite video games. He’s also a good source of knowledge to seek out when she has questions about the cultural significance of stories, certain characters, symbols, and areas in their favorite games.

🦑 - forensics and art - Calamari is a go to guru on evidence erasure and body disposal that they’re on speed dial on many phones inside and outside the hitman team. Those tips and tricks aren’t for free though. Hitman teammates only have to pay up with a single energy drink or a coffee. Outsiders have to pay a couple thousand euros….that’s IF Calamari trusts you enough. And with the approval with Risotto and expecting a cut of Callies payout. 😒 Calamari prefers to not talk about work 24/7. They like talking about art. Making it and critiquing it. They do a lot of sketching and watercolors and oil painting. They do cityscapes and recreate macabre crime scenes. They contrast and compare their work with Illusos. They enjoy verbally abusing each other about their artwork. He doesn’t know how difficult that watercolors are so his opinions are invalid to them. It’s a very peculiar way how the 2 show affection to each other. 🤨

🍭 - Fashion designs and shopping - Dolce always goes on a roll about fashion designs. Materials and brands… she loves to talk shit about some of the ridiculous avant garde designs on the runway and gauge Ghiaccios reactions as he is more practical minded rather than artistic.

“Oh MY God—did you see that last model??? She looked like a walking refrigerator. What kind of dress was THAT? You couldn’t pay me to wear that! How embarrassing!”

She also likes to talk about shopping. “I GUARANTEE YOU that there are a million more wallet friendly brands that look super classy-unless you’re going to rob a hit don’t even BOTHER with buying a Rolex! Uh that’s easy— there’s Seiko, Oris, Omega,Tudor, IWC, Tag Heuer, and—hey don’t fucking cut me off! I’m the one helping you not spend an arm and a leg you hammy old fart!”

[toappreciatelife]

Thoughts on The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati

A fort against meaninglessness. I think I’m with Nietzsche on this: if there is something that most people find intolerable is meaningless suffering (and meaninglessness in general). Humans can deal with suffering as long as there is some purpose attached to it; as long as they can answer something other than in vain when confronted to the question: Why this pain? What for…? In vain is intolerable, but once they manage to invest that suffering with meaning, they will be able to keep on going in spite of it. Once they feel they can explain it to themselves or that there is a better future to hope for, they will be able to go through the most extreme conditions if necessary, and for the time it takes, even their whole life.

But at first sight life in Fort Bastiani doesn’t look hard at all. It’s true that Drogo and his colleagues are cut off from the rest of the world and deprived of some of life’s pleasures—the warmth of love, friends and family, city life, rivers and trees—but the food is good, the scenery is breathtaking, military tasks are relatively easy, and there is always people around to talk to. Nevertheless, there is something sinister about the place. Here is an immense and complicated architecture deliberately built to defend a territory against enemies, but for decades there haven’t been any enemies in sight, only the emptiness of the desert and the silence of the mountains. Nothing much ever happens up there; days follow one after another almost without variation, sentries endlessly pacing to and fro along the ramparts, scanning a vacant landscape. What, then, would be the purpose of a place like this? And what would be the purpose of the renunciation that life in the fort demands of those soldiers? In vain is the answer no one can tolerate.   

And so maybe it’s no coincidence that in such a forgotten environment, face to face with the abyss, the men living in the fort should embark on the task of sustaining a sense of purpose at all costs, some shred of meaning to hold on to. In the absence of any real enemies, they will project them upon the desert, almost draw their black contours on the distant horizon as if on a blank canvas: the Tartars are coming!  Yes, they might be coming soon! Those bored men will use the desert as an empty surface upon which to project a grandiose meaning, inventing their own particular type of oasis and promised land: a future epic battle where each will have the possibility to become a hero. And so now they will have something to wait for, now it won’t seem all in vain. And they will stick to their strict regulations, hierarchies and detailed routines, even when it’s not necessary, as if their life and sanity depended on it, because in a way it does (probably no better way to give consistency to a life than the daily repetition of actions). Face to face with the desert, the fort will finally become a fortress against an enemy, but one much more insidious and invisible than they think: meaninglessness.

And aren’t all social institutions, deep down, fortresses created and daily reproduced to protect us from such a lack of meaning? In the novel, Fort Bastiani stands as a real place, but it might also function as a symbol of the precariousness of human constructions. All of them built on top of nothing, suspended above the desert, trying to keep the absurd at bay through the reproduction of their seemingly reasonable—but actually contingent and arbitrary—rules, hopes, values and meanings. All of them fortresses overlooking the desert. What a powerful symbol!

Social construction of meaning.  I think the novel explores very subtly how meaning and value are socially constructed. We don’t follow here an individual who relates to the world in isolation. Drogo’s relation to the fort and the desert is always mediated and affected by the presence of others.  His hopes and his fascination with those yellow walls, with the distant horizon, are not his alone; at least in part, they are dependent upon the social world that he has around him, upon what he suspects other officers in the fort secretly think and hope for. Most of our illusions are sustained collectively, and if we were to hold them on our own, they’d probably die out very quickly.

Little by little his hopes grew fainter. It is difficult to believe in a thing when one is alone and there is no one to speak to.

 When no one seems to place any value in the fort anymore, so it loses value for Drogo. When no one else believes in the probability of war, his hopes wane too and the meaningfulness of the fort seems to crumble. Why? Why stay there? At that point, Drogo gets the closest to an experience of the absurd, the falling of the stage set. But he recovers quickly and hope builds up again in his heart when he meets Simeoni, who has a telescope which allows him to see little lights and black moving spots in the distance, and who is convinced the northerners are building a road and preparing a future attack. It is through Simeoni’s conviction that Drogo will keep his own sense of purpose alive again, almost as if by contagion. It might take only two to preserve a hope from vanishing, a hope flickering in the distance like the little lights they see with the telescope, growing stronger or weaker depending on what others believe. And I think the novel shows that if it weren’t for the social milieu of the fort, it is unlikely that Drogo would have been able to sustain a sense of purpose alone and stubbornly stayed there all his life.

And of course one of the main tools to create meaning is language. Lots of stories and rumors circulate in the fort regarding the desert, all the men too eager to fill with something its bare and desolate expanse, even with words. But also loose names have strong symbolic power, turning a meaningless and inhuman territory into something meaningful and human. And so the men call the desert “the desert of the Tartars”, which evokes something mysterious and enchanting, something ancient and exotic, for even in the time of the story the Tartars seem to be something legendary and of the past, not being very clear who they were or if they existed at all. The name is ambiguous enough to open up space for dreaming about the possibility of a war with a different people, an exciting encounter with a cultural other who will bring about change, at the same time reinforcing their own identity through the evocation of a glorious empire about to be invaded by barbarians. But the name also has its dark undertones, as it suggests the Tartarus of ancient Greek mythology, that underground place of torment where the Titans were imprisoned. And Drogo sometimes does feel that the fort is a place of punishment and a prison, though he can never understand why.

"So," Drogo went on after a silence, "so all that excitement, these stories about the Tartars? So no one really hoped they were true?"

"They not only hoped!" said Ortiz. "They really believed."

Drogo shook his head.

"I don't understand, I assure you I don't."

"What can I say?" said the major. "It's a bit complicated. It's a kind of exile up here but you have to find some sort of outlet, you have to hope for something. Someone began thinking about it, then they began to talk about Tartars—who knows who was the first?"

"Perhaps the place has something to do with it," said Drogo, "seeing that desert."

"Yes, the place, too, of course. That desert, the mists in the distance, the mountains, you can't deny it. Yes, the place has something to do with it too."

In love with a place. Alain Roger claims that high mountains and deserts were the last territories to become a landscape in art, the last to become aesthetically graspable. Before the 18th century, mountains and deserts were seen as too inhospitable, too inhuman, too excessive and full of dangers, and they were not a subject for landscape painting, which preferred to paint peaceful fields, rivers, amicable hills, and domesticated lands. Mountains and deserts didn’t fit in any of the categories Europeans had for relating aesthetically to the world. A desert isn’t necessarily beautiful, nor picturesque, nor a marvel. It is with the rise of the category of the sublime—a pleasurable and delightful horror— that the high mountains and the desert will be appreciated as a landscape to be explored in art.

And it’s curious how in many parts of the novel, Drogo has an aesthetic appreciation of that which is seeing, no matter how desolate or rough it may seem. It’s not only the allure of the natural landscape, but also of the fort’s architecture and the activities that take place in the fort in relation to the landscape—the melancholic beauty of the trumpets sounding among those mountains… He is fascinated by the place, hypnotized, like under a spell, so much so that one wonders if he is not simply in love with it. Can someone be in love with a place? Not with a living person, but with a place? We are entitled to think so, when we recall that during Drogo’s meeting in the city with Maria, his fiancée, his mind wandered every now and then to the life in the fort. If that encounter failed despite Maria’s good intentions and her willingness to resume a relation with him, it could be because the pull of the fort, with its mysterious desert and its immense surrounding mountains, was too strong in Drogo’s heart. He simply couldn’t relate to the hospitality and innocence of a city garden anymore. By now his body and heart had been shaped by the desert, worked by the barren rhythms of the fort. After four years, he had gotten used to its walls and labyrinthine corridors, he had learned how to extract little pleasures from that very same place which the first nights was totally strange for him. Humans are weird animals with the capacity to adapt to many different environments. There is no environment which would be specific of the species. So although Drogo had been raised in the city, now the fort in the desert had become his home and his true element. It wasn’t simply the thirst for glory which kept him up there for thirty years; it was also the way the place had become a part of him. And how could he part from what had become a part of himself…?

Some landscapes seem to disorient us and pose more questions to human existence than others. Camus said of the desert that it was the landscape par excellence to have an experience of the absurd: the sudden recognition of the meaninglessness of life. And one could claim something similar regarding high mountains, with their huge dimension and their indifference to our little human existence (or the infinite pampas, where flatness is taken to such an extreme). So if the fort is a post in the frontier, this frontier is not only the border between two kingdoms, a frontier in relation to a human other, but also the frontier of humanity in relation to nature in what it has of inhuman and irreducible. All of which could help understand the fascination that Drogo began to feel ever since he approached that landscape for the first time, leaving behind the human-all-too-human city. Fascination cannot grow in a soil where everything is clear and explained, where everything is definite, manageable and known.  It needs a certain amount of elusiveness and allusiveness, of questions unanswered and shadows. And in the desert there is plenty of that, with mist sometimes covering the entire horizon and other times partially clearing away, revealing some mysterious lights and tiny black dots, enough to fire the soldiers’ imagination.

But although fascination can set in motion and have a positive effect, it can sometimes have a paralyzing flipside…

Waiting as transcendence. Drogo’s journey to the fort and the desert is structured like a succession of attempts to go beyond. Every time he reaches a point, he then feels the need to know what’s beyond it. When he gets to the fort for the first time, he wants to see what lies behind its walls. When he gets to see the valley beyond the walls, he wants to see what’s beyond the valley. When he finally gets to see the desert in all its empty expanse, he wonders what’s beyond the horizon and who lives behind the mist that blocks his vision.  And so his imagination is always moving spatially further away, towards an unknown beyond. And the same thing happens temporally. The spatial journey has a temporal correspondence: Drogo is never situated in the present moment, but constantly waiting for the big event that will take place in the future, beyond the moment he is living. Hope and waiting seem to involve the same transcendent orientation, the same movement that carries him out of the here and now of his own experience towards a future beyond, through the belief that the real life, the happy life, the meaningful life is yet to come, but not right here at the point where he is.

But if his eyes are constantly fixed on the distant horizon, he cannot pay attention to what’s immediately around him; he is barely living his life. What is the future? A nothingness. A mist. Events imagined but not real. The future has the consistency of indecipherable mist. Drogo’s life is spent trying to penetrate that mist through a telescope, and in the meantime time passes. The cistern keeps dripping. The seasons keep succeeding one after the other. It may give the impression that time has stopped up there, because the fort behaves almost like a rock and is so well integrated to that mountainous landscape, fusing its own time to the slow temporality of the rocks surrounding it, but time is certainly passing. Inexorably. And the proof of that are the changes in the mortal bodies of the men living there, who get older every year. The changes may be gradual, almost imperceptible at times, but one day they become noticeable and Drogo realizes that his hair is grey, his face full of wrinkles, and he can’t no longer run up the stairs two steps at a time. One day thirty years have got behind him, and all he did was waiting.

‘Stop, stop,’ one feels like crying, but then one sees it is useless. Everything goes by – men, the seasons, the clouds, and there is no use clinging to the stones, no use fighting it out on some rock in midstream; the tired fingers open, the arms fall back inertly and you are still dragged into the river, the river which seems to flow so slowly yet never stops.

Being worthy of the event. But then, at last, the event they have all been waiting for—including us readers— finally arrives. The enemy is approaching, it’s declared war. But poor Drogo is by now too sick to fight and they send him away in an elegant, quite unsoldierly carriage. All his life spent in the fort waiting for a future epic war and when the war comes, he just has to miss it! That is some bad luck and another proof that one cannot trust fate at all. But if he nevertheless dies happy and with a smile on his face—all alone in the dark room of a strange inn—it could be not only because he imagines himself to be in the middle of a battle as death approaches, a battle which demands of him the same courage and dignity as any other battle, the same heroism, but also because he has, for once, stopped waiting and is finally living a moment in his life, although the last one.

Face to face with the grey, measureless sea of death, when there is no more time left, all excuses vanish and there is no point in waiting anymore. No better future to hope for, no more attempts to escape beyond. This is it. The present of his life. Pure immanence. If Drogo dies peacefully and smiling, I think it is also because at that point he is able to fully embrace that moment, whatever it is, certainly not what he was expecting, but his own singular life after all and his own singular way of dying. And isn’t that what life ultimately asks of us, that we become worthy of the turns it takes, worthy of the wounds it inflicts upon us, worthy of what it gives…?

It might seem that Drogo has wasted his life by living in the fort, as opposed to a life that would have been worthwhile in the city, like that of his old friends, dedicated to their families and careers. But I don’t think his life was wasted because of that. Family and career are full of the same traps as any life path, and they could easily become a wasted life if they are spent merely waiting for something other and racing towards the future. With its spatiotemporal indetermination and fable-like character, the novel wants to be a cautionary tale applicable to all ways of living, not solely a critical commentary about military life (which it also is, and rightly so).  If Drogo’s life was wasted, it was because of how he lived it—or didn’t live it. Moments in a life become epic not because of their content, but because of how they are lived, with what intensity. Life could become epic in many of its insignificant instants—watching a streak of light move in a corner of the room, listening to the notes of a faraway piano, dying alone in a dark room—if you are ready to sink into it…

After a life of waiting and postponing, Drogo was finally ready. And he sank into it.

Giovanni makes an effort and straightens his shoulders a little; he puts right the collar of his uniform with one hand and takes one more look out of the window, the briefest of glances, his last share of the stars. Then in the dark he smiles, although there is no one to see him.

All the images in this posts are stills from the film The Desert of the Tartars, by Valerio Zurlini (based on Buzzati’s novel and shot in the ruins of an ancient citadel, the Bam Citadel, located in what is now Iran.)

Many of the thoughts in this post came to existence thanks to the discussions in our Literature and Philosophy reading group, which you can join here:

https://discord.gg/K64taCUD

And you can read the book here:

https://archive.org/details/TheTartarSteppeDinoBuzzati

[reigningqueenofwords]

Pancakes

Pairing: Bruce x Reader

Read on AO3

Part 21 of Without Me

Lifting Charlotte over his head, he laughed as the two year old laughed, her pigtails moving with her. “Daddy!” She squealed. 

“Better be careful, Mr. Wayne.” You teased him as you passed with food. “Might throw out your back.” You chuckled.

“I am still young!” He defended, but put her down. “And, I’d like to think I’m pretty in shape.”

You winked and brought out the cupcakes. “Ready to celebrate our little girl's birthday?” You beamed. 

“Sure am.” He held Charlotte’s hand as he led her out back to the party in full swing. She instantly squealed and ran off. Straight to play with William. “Oh, we’re in trouble in about 14 years.” He muttered to you.

You giggled as she tackled William. “I’m sure she’ll handle her own.” You told him, amused. “Or Beckett will.” You laughed as he joined in on the pile.

He wrapped an arm around your waist. “We have such cute kids.” He said proudly. “Still hard to believe their three and two already.”

“Both extremely mobile.” You giggled. "He starts preschool next year. It'll take a year to prepare me." 

“Gonna cry the first day?” He teased. “Because I might.” He had taken the day off, not wanting to miss this for the world.

“I will for sure.” You grinned. “Maybe we can take Charlie to the zoo while he’s at school? She’s going to miss him like crazy.”

He nodded. “Very good idea.” He agreed. “Maybe I’ll see if Nick wants to tag along with William.” He smiled. 

“I’m so glad they’re making it.” You said proudly. “They’re so cute together!” You looked to where Maryanne was with your mom, chatting. 

“I hope he proposes soon.” He admitted. “They’ve been together a couple years now.” He rubbed your back. “They seem headed that way.”

“I would love that!” You beamed. “He better.” You said playfully. “She lights up for him, even now.”  

“True love.” He grinned. “Like us, right?” He looked at you. 

You smiled up at him. “Like us.” You agreed happily. “Now, let’s go mingle.” You pecked his lips. 

Bruce was lying on the living room floor, Beckett over his stomach lightly snoring, when you came out from tucking Charlotte in. “How cute.” You whispered and lifted Beckett gently. “Let’s get you to bed, baby.” You rubbed his back.

He mumbled and cuddled to you sleepily. He rolled over once you put him in bed, making him look more like Bruce. You beamed at that and brushed his hair back before putting his dino in his arms. “Sleep well.” You kissed his forehead before going to wake up your husband.

Bruce scrunched his nose when you kissed all over his face. Your giggling woke him up slightly. “Mm, babe?"

“Your one and only.” You nipped his jaw. “Come on. It’s been a long day. Let’s get to bed.”

He groaned and hugged you to him. “Let’s do it right here. Like hip parents.” He rolled so he was half over you. “Like we’re back in college.”

You beamed at him. “You’re not too tired?” You ran your hand up his chest to his neck, to his hair, giving it a tug.

“Never too tired to do my wife.” He grinned. Leaning down, he kissed you lovingly, his hand gripping your hip.

You giggled against him, loving how spontaneous he was. You eagerly kissed him back. 

"I’m up. I’m up.” You chuckled as Beckett climbed onto your bed.

 He loved snuggling between you both and  giggled. “Pancakes?” He asked. 

Bruce blinked, half asleep still. “Only if you help me, buddy.” He tickled him, making him squeal with laughter. 

You smiled as you watched them. “And maybe we can set up yours and sisters trampoline today?” You had gotten them a baby one to play with. “And then maybe go see Grandma and Grandpa for a little bit? Bring Happy and Lucky to see them?” You asked, making him nod excitedly.

“Yeah, yeah!” He kicked happily. He tugged Bruce’s arm, wanting to go make the pancakes and get his day started.

“Alright.” Bruce laughed and followed him once his little feet hit the carpet. “How about you go get our girl and put on some Saturday morning cartoons?”

You nodded. “Sounds amazing.” You got up and stretched. These were your favorite days. A laid back morning with your little family, then sometimes you’d spend the day playing with the kids, visiting Bruce’s parents, or going out to do things. When he was home, life was perfect. Moving towards Charlotte’s room, you pulled your hair into a ponytail.

She was nearly awake, rubbing her eyes. “Mama?” She yawned, lifting her arms up for you.

“It’s me.” You smiled and lifted her, rubbing her back. “Oh, dear.” You frowned as you instantly felt her warm. “Let’s go take your temperature.”

She seemed okay with that and just cuddled to you. Her head rested on your shoulder as you moved towards the bathroom. You ran the thermometer over her forehead once you got it undone. Seeing she had a temperature, you instantly worried. You hunted down the baby Tylenol to give her some. 

Bruce looked over when you came in, his smile falling. “What’s wrong?” 

“Charlie’s sick.” You told him. “I gave her baby Tylenol, but I’m not sure.” You kissed her cheek. “I don’t think she’ll be playing today, Beckett, or going to see Grandma and Grandpa.”

Beckett pouted. “Alwight.” He said sadly. 

“It’s probably best if you stay with Grandma and Grandpa so you won’t get sick.” Bruce told him. “Just until Charlie feels better.”

He was happy he was having a sleepover with his grandparents, but his sister was his best friend. He just wanted her to feel better. “I sorry, Charlie.” 

She pouted and nodded, letting out a sniffle. She sucked her thumb, something she rarely did. Bruce lifted Beckett. “Let’s get you ready and I’ll drive over to their house. Call the doctor?” He asked you. “Just to be safe.” 

“It’s Saturday, it’ll have to be a walk in clinic.” You bit your lip. “I’ll get her dressed, we’ll all go, and we’ll hit a drive through. We drop him off, then get her to a clinic.”

“Okay, deal.” He walked off to dress your son quickly. You followed, but turned into her room. 

She was softly whining but let you dress her with ease, letting you know she was feeling weak as she’s usually kicking and giggling. “We’re gonna get you to the doctor, princess, make sure it’s nothing to worry too much about.”

“Otay.” She said sadly. As soon as you had her against your chest, her little arms were around your neck. 

Bruce had a duffle ready for Beckett and soon you were all out the door. You sat in the back between the kids, holding each of their hands. Bruce drove worriedly, hoping Charlotte was okay. It would be her first cold if so. He had their favorite CD playing in the car, helping keep them at ease.

Charlotte watched the road go by and let out some sniffles. Beckett hugged your hand to him, worried. “Wuv you, Charlie.” He told her. 

“Wuv you.” She said back, coughing. You brushed her hair back from her forehead gently. Beckett was sad to be left without his sister but waved once he was in Marta’s hold. Charlotte whined when he left, making grabby hands for him as you left.

“You’ll be back with him soon, baby. Grandpa will video call tonight.” You promised. “And then he’ll be home when you feel better.”

She sniffled and looked sad as Bruce drove away. You remembered the first time Beckett was sick and sighed softly. You had a crying, cranky baby for a few days and it tired you and Bruce. You’d been nearly 8 months pregnant with Charlotte at the time. “Maybe it’s a good thing we decided to wait for baby number three.” 

Bruce nodded. “Yeah, gives us a little more breathing room.” He agreed. “Got a couple years before that, right?”

“Yes, according to plan.” You smiled at him through the rear view. “Let’s just hope we don’t get another surprise.” You teased him. 

“As much as I wouldn’t mind…” He smiled. “I can wait.” He assured you.

“Me, too.” You winked. “So can my waist.” You laughed.

“You’re beautiful.” He said instantly. “Every inch of you, although you can’t really tell you’ve had two kids. Let alone back to back.” 

You blushed. “Sweet talker.” You looked at Charlotte, who clearly wanted out of her seat. “Soon, baby.” You promised. Hopefully this was nothing, and you’d be told she would be back to herself in a day or two. Just some rest and baby medicine. You sang softly to her.

Bruce quickly pulled into the best walk in-clinic. He slid out and went to get her out of her seat while you crawled out the other door. He held her close as you followed and went full protective dad mode once he spoke to the receptionist. You rolled your eyes at how she eyed him, and you knew it was only partially his looks. It was mainly the name. “We’ll get her back quickly.” She promised. "Please, have a seat."

He nodded and put a hand on your back as you moved to sit down. Charlie rested against his shoulder, her eyes closed. She was miserable you could tell and your leg shook as you waited. It felt like ages before you were called back. Luckily the nurse was nice and even made Charlotte smile for a second. He made funny faces at her and treated her like any parent would want. You made a note to email the supervisor and let her know he was a good worker.

“I’m pretty sure it’s just a cold, but the doc’s the one that makes the bucks to tell you that.” He smiled at you. “Oh!” He pulled out a butterfly sticker. “For being so good.” He gave it to Charlotte. She smiled at that. 

Bruce cleared his throat when the nurse kept smiling at you. “When’s the doctor coming in?” He asked. "We wanna get her feeling better."

“Few minutes.” He nodded. “See you guys.” He waved happily and exited. 

As the door shut, Bruce lifted Charlotte off the table to continue consoling her. “He was nice.” You said in relief. 

"He was checking you out." Bruce told you. 

“As long as he was giving care to Charlotte, that’s all that matters.” You told him. "And the receptionist was checking you out, handsome." You smiled at him. 

He blinked. "She was?"

“Very much.” You giggled. “I would know. I check you out all the time.”

He smirked at that. “Well, I only like it when you do it.” He winked. "And I check you out a lot, too."

You rolled your eyes playfully and watched Charlotte while waiting for the doctor. Finally, she came in, looking over Charlotte's chart. “Just a viral cold.” She smiled softly. “It should take only a couple days to pass.” She assured you. "Just keep up with the baby Tylenol, and keep her comfortable. If her fever reaches over 100, please bring her back in." 

You nodded quickly. “Thank you so much.” You were relieved to hear it. "Beckett will be happy to hear that." you told Bruce.

Bruce nodded quickly. “He will. Just a few days and back to normal.” He rubbed Charlotte's back. 

The doctor smiled and waved before leaving. The two of you followed, but Charlotte wanted you again, so you gently took her. She made a noise and nuzzled to you. “Mama.” She coughed.

“You’ll be better soon.” You promised her. "And when you are, we'll go to the park."

“And broder?” She sniffed. 

You nodded. "And brother."

Once you three got home, you cuddled Charlotte until she fell asleep and then began helping Bruce clean up. She was napping on the couch, so you could keep an eye on her. Bruce warmed up some food for the both of you and you two ate quietly. When it was time for her to get some medicine, Bruce woke her up while you got it. 

“No, daddy.” She whined. 

"It'll help you feel better, princess." He kissed her forehead. “I promise.” 

She whined more but didn’t put up a fight. You came out, medicine in hand, already measured. Bruce rubbed her back as you fed it to her and he quickly gave her some of her favorite gummies. "Wanna watch cartoons?"

“Mhmm.” She nodded. “Pease.” She clung to Bruce.

“Deal. Anything for our princess.” He smiled at her. You went to put the medicine away before heading back to cuddle with them. 

She squished between you both and watched the tv intently. Halfway through one of her shows, she drifted off against you.

Bruce kissed your cheek. “I’m glad I could be here for the worst of it.”  He said softly, not wanting to wake her.

“Me, too. You really help her.” You smiled. “And me.” You said lovingly. “We love you so much.”

“I love my family more.” He grinned. “I’ll do bath time tonight.”

You giggled softly. “Okay.” Like you would argue with that. 

Before you knew it, Beckett was starting preschool, and you were not ready. You had already got his backpack and school supplies and you broke down every time you looked at it. Bruce tried to calm you, but he was feeling just as emotional. “Our baby’s all grown up.” You sniffled. “I know it’s only a few hours a day, but still!” You wiped under your eyes.

Bruce nodded, kissing your forehead. “He’ll be with kiddos his own age.” He told you. “And it’s getting him ready for school next year.”

You pouted. “But what if they’re mean to him?” You asked. “Or he doesn’t like the teacher?” You rambled. “Or he loses his lunch?” 

“He will be okay.” He rubbed your arms. “You’ve talked to his teacher a few times already.” He reminded you. “Everything will be okay.”

You whined and hugged him. “Okay.” You sighed, leaning your head on his chest. “I don’t like the growing up part.” You told him. “And then Charlie will be doing this next year, and he’ll be gone for a full school day in kindergarten.” You started crying all over again. This was the most emotional you’d been in a long time, but it was understandable. 

Bruce held you close. “It’ll be okay, baby.” He tried. “We’ll spend the morning with Charlotte, then get our little guy, go to the park, and then out for dinner.”

“Okay.” You agreed. “I have to fix my makeup.” You let out a soft chuckle at that. 

“Okay.” He squeezed your hips. “I’ll get Charlie.” He pecked your lips before going to get your daughter. Beckett had been waiting by the door for a good twenty minutes already.

“Mommy okay?” He asked his father. 

Bruce nodded. “Yeah, she’s just nervous.”

“Why?” He asked.

“It’s your first day of pre-school. She really hasn’t been away from you, except when you’re with Grandma and Grandpa. This is someone new watching you.” He explained, ruffling his hair. “Oh, oops.” You had styled it and he tried to fix it quickly. 

You came in with Charlie holding your hand. “Are we ready?” You asked. 

Beckett came over and hugged your legs. “I be okay mommy!” He said happily. "Fun!” He added, smiling up at you.

You beamed at him and stroked his cheek. “Thank you, I needed that.” You tapped his nose. "Let's get you to school, cutie."

He cheered and kept an excited attitude the whole way. It wasn't until you'd walked him to his class and left him with his teacher that Charlie realized what was happening. “Beckett?!” She pouted. "Mommy?! Daddy?!" She sniffed.

Bruce looked at her. “Brother is just going to school for the morning.” He told her softly. "We're gonna go to the zoo."

She whined and looked around in panic as he drove off. “No!” She kicked. "I want Beckett!" Her little feet hit the seat quickly. “Go back!!” She screamed, crying.

You looked at Bruce sadly and turned back to look at her. “He’ll be out by lunch time, baby.” You told her. “And then we’ll all spend time together.” You were not looking forward to the next day when Bruce was at work and you were doing drop off alone.

“I want Beckett!” She repeated, cheeks getting red. “I want brother!” 

“Brother can’t leave school, Charlotte.” Bruce told her. “It’s only three hours.” He sighed, hoping that as the days went on, it got easier.

She continued to cry and eventually tired herself out. By the time you were closer to the zoo, she was asleep. You sighed heavily. “I’m scared for tomorrow by myself.” You admitted. “I have a feeling this won’t be over easily.”

“I agree. Want me to get Mom to come help?” He offered. "She will." 

“I need to get used to it.” You nodded. "Hopefully he likes it, and she sees that."

Bruce nodded and parked, letting the silence fill the car for a moment. “I really hope he likes it.” He reached over for your hand.

“Me, too.” You held it tightly. "You want to get her, or her stroller?"

“I’ll get her.” He kissed your cheek. Sliding out of the driver's seat, he went to her door and opened it. He hoped she woke up enough to see some animals. 

You set up her stroller and smiled as he put her in. She stretched lightly as she always did when moved in her sleep. You crouched to put sunscreen on and sighed. “Hate when either of my babies are sad.” You told him. "I know it's part of life, but it hurts."

“I know.” He hugged you when you stood. 

When you pulled back into the school parking lot, Charlie was trying to get out of her seat, to her brother. You quickly got out to unbuckle her. “Hold my hand until we see him okay?” You said with a smile.

She nodded and was practically bouncing as she searched for any sign of Beckett. Finally, Bruce lifted her so she could see better. She pointed when she saw him. “Beckett!” She squealed, making a few parents smile over at her.

When Beckett heard his sister he ran over with a grin. “Charlie!” He bounced.

Bruce put her down and they hugged each other tightly. “I miss you!” Charlotte told him. “So much!”

Beckett smiled. “I miss you, too, so much!” He held her hand before beaming up at you and Bruce. “I like school!” He said happily. “We paint!”

You leaned down to kiss his head. “We are so happy to hear that.” You smiled. “Now we’re gonna spend some time at the park.” You told him.

“Yay!” He cheered. He held Charlie’s hand as you made your way outside, you holding his other, and Bruce holding Charlie’s other. Many families smiled at you and the happy kids. Each of you put a kid into the car, and they chatted happily with each other.

You sighed in relief when you closed the back door and smiled at Bruce. “First day down.” You chuckled. “Next year it’ll be twice as hard.”

He smiled. “I already have it marked on my calendar.” He chuckled. “And I plan to take that day off, too.”

“I'll need that help.” You giggled and got in to drive your babies to the park. “Alright, let’s go play!”

They both cheered and Bruce smiled at you lovingly. Once they were out of the car, and onto the ground, they both took off. Bruce pulled you into him from behind as he watched them. “They love each other so much.”

“I’m so glad.” You sighed. “They’ll be the best of friends.” You leaned your head on his shoulder.

“I hope our future third will love them just the same.” He smiled. “And that they accept them into their friendship.”

“I hope so, too. The age gap helps us, but not sure about them when they get a sibling.” You said softly. "I worry."

“We’ll make it work.” He smiled. “We’ll do lots of family stuff.”

“I hope so.” You kissed his hand. 

“Does this mean we’re going to try soon?” He asked. “I’m leaving the when up to you, and I’m just along for the ride.” He kissed your cheek. 

“Daddy! Push!” Both kids had climbed on the merry go round and Beckett was yelling for him.

“We’ll talk about it soon.” You smiled and patted his back for him to go. “Maybe after bedtime.” You winked, making him light up before he jogged to where the kids were.

You took out your phone to take a picture. You sent it to all four grandparents. “ First day, a success! ” You captioned them. 

Martha was the first to reply, as usual. My grand babies! She sent nearly ten heart eyes. Thomas was less tech savvy and sent a thumbs up. You giggled, shaking your head. Your mother always sent a smiley with printing this for the fridge. She said with hearts. Your father was still iffy at times but sent his love nonetheless. You hoped he grew out of remaining issues by the time the kids were old enough to sense it. 

Bruce smiled as you washed the dishes from that evening. “Kids are in bed.” He said. “Wanna talk about baby making?”

You giggled. “Subtle.” You teased. “When do you want to start trying? Up to you on when you want to take off.” You glanced at him. 

“I would have been trying at nap time if I knew that.” He laughed. 

You smiled. “I just wanted to make sure that we were sure.” You giggled. “So, I’ll stop taking my birth control, and we can stop using condoms.” You chuckled as he fist pumped the air.

“Can’t fucking wait.” He did a dorky dance. “And my week off is the week after next. Maybe we can have my parents take the kids for a couple days, and we can have a mini vacation.”

You beamed. “I’d really love that.” You nodded. “Maybe get a hotel room in the city?” You asked. 

“Only the best for you.” He winked. “I’ll treat you to that place you like, I’ll make sure to get reservations.”

You clapped. “I can’t wait!” You leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’d like to get your parents something, too. For watching them whenever we need. Alfred, too.”

“Sounds nice.” He smiled. “I love your heart.” He said happily. “Can you finish rinsing while I go get all that set up?”

You nodded and kissed his jaw. “Movie after?” You asked.

“If you can stay up.” He teased. “They wear us out, so I don’t blame you for passing out.” He chuckled as he went to start making reservations online. “I’ll call mom tomorrow!” 

“Love you!” You smiled as he jogged off. Chuckling, you worked on finishing up the dishes.

Bruce held your hand as he walked you into your favorite restaurant a couple weeks later. You were wearing his favorite dress, and a pair of simple heels. “Mr. Wayne. Your table is ready.” The hostess nodded and led you both to the back. “May I start you off with some wine?”

“Sure.” Bruce smiled. “Your best of course.” He pulled out the chair for you, letting you sit.

“Of course, sir.” She nodded and rushed off. 

You smiled, leaning your chin on the palm of your hand. “What’s on your mind, Mr. Wayne?”

“Can’t stop thinking about how beautiful you look.” He grinned. "You're always beautiful, but I can tell you feel extra good because you got to be more than a mom today." 

You grinned. “It is nice to add a bit more to my routine.” You said honestly. "I can't remember the last time I used makeup." 

“It looks great.” He smiled. "Thank you." He said to the waitress as she brought the wine. 

You watched her pour it and quickly ordered your favorite dish. It was a pleasant surprise that she wasn't checking him out. You always loved how professional the place was. "I want to leave her a big tip." You told him easily.

He chuckled. “Anything you want babe.” He agreed, sipping his wine. "Can I ask why when we just got here?"

"She wasn't checking you out. She's a professional." You beamed. 

He laughed. “You’re adorable.” He shook his head. "I love it." He beamed. “All the sass.” 

You sipped your wine. "Careful, Charlie might be the same way, and if we have another girl…"

He chuckled. “True, very true.” He smiled. "I won't be mad." He said honestly. 

“You say that now.” You grinned. “Give it say, 12 years?” You teased. “Beckett will be 16, Charlie will be 15, and if we get pregnant soon, that baby will be about 12.” 

He let out a content sigh. “I can wait, but I do look forward to our lives.” He reached over to take your hand. “Wanted to get you something.” He took out a box from his jacket pocket. 

You blushed. “Bruce. You didn’t have to.”

“You deserve it.” He slid it across the table, obviously a jewelry box. 

[nokturneop55n1]

Week 4

Devlog

GDEVELOP:

Learned basic stuff on creating an Asteroid game.

Fun Stuff:

I found a fun game on GDevelop Community, it called "Looped" created by Leo-Red, it kinda moulded how I construct my asteroid prototype.

Figure 1. Screenshot of Looped by Leo-Red

The player controls the blue ball inside the red ring, which limits the space where the player can survive. Then there are green balls, which do nothing but approach the red ring. Each time a non-player ball collides with the ring, it reduces the perimeter of the circle. The player's objective is to shoot and eliminate these green balls to ensure survival.

Furthermore, the creator added orange balls, which shoot the player and take out one life whenever the bullet hits, and red balls, which are essentially stronger versions of orange balls, their bullets explode after a while, potentially driving the player to move more frequently to survive. The game also sets possibilities of dropping skills when an enemy ball dies, skills including but not limited to expanding red ring size, temporarily shooting more bullets in different directions etc.

Lastly, there's a record displayed in the top left corner showing the player's achievements. It's like those dino games for you to play when the internet's down or something. But it has higher playability to grind.

Elevator Pitch:

Game name - Vaccum

After playing the Looped, instead of surviving in a limited space, why don't I protect the ring and move around?

So, this is what I've sketched.

Figure 2. Game Full View Design

Each quadrant (I should change the quadrant sequence...my maths teacher might be disappointed by how quickly I've abandoned the mathematic stuff two months after the year 12 exam) represents a unique and fixed window, it switches to another quadrant when the player moves to a certain x or y-axis.

THE GOAL IS TO DEFEND FOUR QUADRANTS AT THE SAME TIME. 

Sounds too hard? Yeah, how about adding some skills?

UI:

Figure 3. Quadrant 2 design

Looks better aye? The skills aren't determined yet but they're basically gonna be skills to help you slow/eliminate/temporarily ease (shockwave/turret/freeze) the enemies in the quadrant the skill is being released. A skill mana bar is probably needed as well to maintain the balance aside from cooldown.

Another idea I originally had was to have three other small windows on the screen to monitor the status of other quadrants. But I forgot to put it in the sketch, plus, the UI might be too bloated if I add too much stuff that affects the view of the main interface.

The base probably needs shields (recovers slowly if no damage is taken) as well. But I still haven't decided it.

Player Control:

There are a couple of solutions for the player control:

The game uses WASD to move + mouse left click to shoot

The ship automatically moves towards the mouse + mouse left click to shoot

But they don't adapt my idea that well. This is where desktop MOBA games come into place.

Being a league player myself, I did find using the mouse right click and left click to confirm skill release command extremely awful to play when I first started playing the game. But once I adapted to the manipulations, I started noticing its flexibility in quickly redirecting the player's movements within a couple of clicks as MOBA requires quick reaction ability to respond to a PVP environment, and this effectively gives players the ability to redirect their characters in a chaotic team fight.

When needing to move to another quadrant, the game needs the player to move to the edge of the current quadrant and face adjust their directions before dashing to travel to another quadrant. Yeah, a space leap.

Figure 4. Screenshot of T1 vs JDG - Game 3 Semi Finals LoL Worlds 2023

Note. From T1 vs JDG - Game 3 | Semi Finals LoL Worlds 2023 | by EpicSkillshot - LoL VOD Library, 2023 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4iU17Bkvt0)

Enemies:

Aside from different asteroids, I've added the same enemy types adapted from Looped in the design. But I haven't draw them yet.

Bibliography

Leo-Red. (2024, 4 28) Looped. Retrieved from https://gd.games/games/3553de9f-4fd1-4920-b071-987b6c9420f1

EpicSkillshot. (2023, 12 12). T1 vs JDG - Game 3 | Semi Finals LoL Worlds 2023 | T1 vs JD Gaming - G3 full. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4iU17Bkvt0

[fenerismoon]

I’ve done several reimagining of lizardfolk with various aspects being swapped out as the situation and world requires. Here’s some of my ideas.

- Dino-lizardfolk. Where they are lizards in the same way a veliocoraptor is. Not a reptile, but not a bird. In that one they actually grew feathers like humans grow hair. They’re also endothermic, and since the setting they were being made for a was a prehistoric “dino world” they fished for ammonites and trilobites. Grew, ginkos, cycads, and ferns as crops. Never actually used the setting for any game or story so the cultures were never more than vaguely defined as hunter-gathers and proto-farmers.

- Serpent-fly symbiosis: I was heavily exposed to Heroes of Might and Magic III as a kid and it left an imprint on me. The fortress town was a favorite and I couldn’t help but delv deeper world-building wise into how that society might function. What came out of that was the idea of a group of lizardfolk forming a symbiosis with the serpent flies. In that a lizardfolk settlement is half stone buildings, half mud and wax hive. The lizardfolk are literally part of the serpentfly hive, helping to tend to the eggs and larva, build the hive itself, and treat diseases and parasites the serpent flies are poor at detecting and treating. In return they both mutually defend each other, and the lizardfolk live off the serpentflies’ honey, use the excess wax they produce, and occasionally eating serpentfly eggs or larva. These lizardfolk were very scent-orientated, which allowed them to understand and exploit the scent signals the serpent flies used.

- Fireless: Where lizardfolk were a completely different evolution of sapient creatures. One of the differences was that they never developed fire as a cultural tool and it ripples culturally and biologically through their history. One aspect is that they do not cook their food, and regard anything cooked as being “burnt” but instead evolved a complex culture of fermenting, seasoning, and pickling their food. (Was more an exploration of the role of fire in human societies to be honest, but it was still an interesting idea to explore further)

- Fire-worshiper: An idea that emerged from Against the Storm, where the lizardfolk there are actually fire aligned due to their need for excess heat to ward off the draining cold of the eternal rain. Possible iterations, a group of lizardfolk living in an extremely cold area, reliant on a nearby volcano to survive. As a result they are expert volcano mages, a skill necessary to keep their home from erupting and potentially killing them all, yet still active enough to keep their hot-springs and other volcanic phenomena they need to survive still active. (Potentially they cook off volcanic steam vents)

Scent-based senses: Due to differences in how they physically precieve the world, lizardfolk tend to place more emphasis on scent vs sight. Personal scent is used to verify identity and scent impregnated wax is used to sign and seal contracts. Lizardfolk artists will often make their pigments as much for their scent as their colour. As the scent of the finished work is an integral part of it and meant to compliment the visual part of the work, or potentially add conflicting or nuanced undertones to it.

Potential inter-species confusion: Due to differences in how their hear, lizardfolk may have very different tastes in music than humans. This is due to both sides hearing (and not hearing) different tones and pitches, resulting in a different experience for both. This also extends to speech, with humans and lizardfolk having potential trouble understanding each other verbally, due to them being unable to vocalize and/or hear elements of the other’s language.

Hey friends, I was thinking of taking a crack at doing an oft requested "monsters reimagined" for lizardfolk in the next little while, but I found myself stalled out on creating an alternative pitch for their lore.

The problem is that there's so little to work with in the " Ignorant primordial savage" role that they've been pigeonholed into that I'm having genuine trouble finding inspiration.

As such, I figured I'd encourage you all to write your own favourite take on the lizardfolk in the replies/comments, and we'll see if we can't brainstorm our way to an awnser.

Here's some of my own thoughts to get you started:

Lizardfolk as they are presented primarily exist to fufill the role of stock primitive antagonists, a one step more fantastical version of the jungle dwelling cannibals often encountered like pulp heroes like Indiana Jones/Doc Savage/Conan the Barbarian.

In many ways they are the epitome of the "fill in the blank baddie", with everything from their culture to their religion to their motivations being wholly based on the fact that they're lizardy lizards who like to do lizard things and could never be anything but. This is flat and boring, and needs to change if we have any hope of doing something with them.

The whole "uninterested in knowledge", " think with their stomachs", "don't have emotions, just instinct" is one of d&d's most glaring examples of biological determinism. It assigns lizardfolk the concept of "spear chucking savages" and then works backwards to justify why they remain savage while detouring through 19th century race science talking points.

When dealing with any kind of anthropomorphic reptile we're inevitably going to get into the "lizard people" conspiracy theory milieu, with all the baked in antisemitism. On top of that, we're also open to ancient aliens style conspiracy theories given how often Lizardfolk are typecast as "ruin dwelling primitives descended from civilizations long before recorded history".

[f1]

F3: OSullivan beats fellow Williams junior Browning for Barcelona Sprint Race win

Zak O’Sullivan reigned supreme in the battle of the British Williams juniors. Starting from reverse grid pole, the PREMA Racing driver held off Browning’s attempts and two Safety Car restarts to secure his second victory of the 2023 Formula 3 season. Despite showing rapid pace in the early stages, Browning couldn’t get through on his compatriot, but still secured his first Championship podium after keeping third-placed Leonardo Fornaroli at bay in the final three laps. F3: Marti secures his maiden pole in style in Barcelona flyer The action-packed race began with Ido Cohen finding the barriers at Turn 9 to bring out the Safety Car on the opening lap. Opting to go extremely early on the restart with three corners to go, O’Sullivan bolted clear of Browning on Lap 5. After a mistake at the final corner saw Gregoire Saucy drop from fourth to seventh, Mercedes junior Paul Aron and Sebastian Montoya squabbled over the position, making contact and forcing the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver to pit with a puncture. Dino Beganovic also sustained a separate puncture, forcing him into the gravel at Turn 10. Further back, Alpine junior Gabriele Mini was on a charge from P18 on the grid. In a drawn-out battle with Campos Racing’s Christian Mansell, the pair made contact, sending Mansell spinning off into the gravel at Turn 2. The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver received at 10-second time penalty for the incident. Replicating his previous restart, O’Sullivan held on to victory with three laps to go, whilst Browning defended from Fornaroli behind. Championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto kept up his consistency with P4, ahead of Aron, Colapinto and home hero Mari Boya. Mini’s penalty moved Josep Maria Marti up to eighth, as Saucy and Taylor Barnard completed the top 10. Marti will be eager to put on a show for his home crowd when he lines up on pole for Sunday’s Feature Race at 9:55 local time. via Formula 1 News https://www.formula1.com

[lowtaxsa]

State Og Extra! Biweekly Report: 4-6-2023

In this issue: The ultimate Couch Potato luxury, Dinosaurs that can triple-360 reverse gainer, a perfect night's sleep in just 30 seconds or less.

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Testimonial: "Ever since I got these parachutes for my action figures, my life has been a non-stop adventure! I've even started parachuting my action figures into my neighbor's yard at night, just to keep things interesting. They've called the cops on me multiple times, but the thrill is worth it!" - Frankie, age 32.

OG

"Couch Potato 2.0: The Ultimate Lazy Life Upgrade": State Og is excited to introduce the Couch Potato 2.0, a luxurious sofa equipped with state-of-the-art technology to cater to your every whim. Features include a built-in mini-fridge, voice-activated TV remote, and a robotic arm to fetch snacks. Embrace your inner sloth with this incredible innovation!

Product Pitch: Introducing the revolutionary "Potato Cannon Companion" attachment! With this add-on, your Couch Potato 2.0 can launch potatoes at your enemies or unsuspecting passersby. Defend your territory and maintain your laziness with this exhilarating upgrade!

OG

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OG

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Testimonial: "Ever since I started practicing Jurassic Parkour, my life has been filled with excitement and terror! There's nothing quite like being chased by a T-Rex while doing a backflip off a rooftop. I've broken most of my bones, but I wouldn't trade this experience for anything." - Dave, age 29.

OG

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Capitalist Unscrupulousness: For the low, low price of $100,000, you can have your very own exhibit at the Fungus Fair! Show off your rare and exotic mushroom collection, or simply set up a booth selling fungal-themed merchandise. Cash in on the fungal frenzy today!

OG

"Space-Ready Sandwiches: A Galactic Culinary Adventure": State Og's culinary team is proud to present the latest in astronaut dining: the Space-Ready Sandwich! This dehydrated, vacuum-sealed delight is perfect for satisfying your hunger on interstellar journeys. Enjoy the taste of a turkey club or a PB&J as you float among the stars.

Testimonial: "As an amateur astronaut, I've always struggled with finding suitable food for my space adventures. But State Og's Space-Ready Sandwiches have changed everything! Now, I can enjoy my favorite sandwiches while floating weightlessly through the cosmos. I just wish I could convince my friends to join me in zero gravity." - Olivia, age 37.

OG

"DIY Earthquake Kit: Shake Up Your Home Life": State Og's DIY Earthquake Kit puts the power of plate tectonics in your hands! Transform your home into a seismic adventure with our easy-to-use earthquake simulator. Impress your friends and terrify your enemies with the ultimate party trick.

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OG

"State Og's Singing Fish Academy: A School for the Musically Gifted Ichthyoids": Have you ever dreamed of teaching your pet goldfish to sing? State Og is here to help, with our groundbreaking Singing Fish Academy! Our team of marine biologists and vocal coaches will help your fish find their voice, harmonizing in underwater choruses and performing stunning solo recitals.

Testimonial: "My goldfish, Bubbles, has always been musically inclined. Thanks to State Og's Singing Fish Academy, he's now a world-renowned fish opera singer! I couldn't be prouder. Sometimes I can't sleep because he's practicing his scales all night, but it's a small price to pay for his success." - Karen, age 48.

OG

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Simply strap on the Turbo-Nap Accelerator helmet, press the button, and let the machine work its magic! In a matter of seconds, you'll experience the restorative power of eight hours of sleep condensed into a half-minute of pure slumber bliss. You'll awaken feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to tackle whatever life throws your way.

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OG

And that, dear readers, wraps up this Extra! edition of the State Og Biweekly Report. Stay tuned for more groundbreaking innovations, outrageous product pitches, and hilarious testimonies from the most daring and unconventional organization around!

Disclaimer: The products and services described in this State Og Biweekly Report Extra! edition are provided for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as an endorsement or recommendation for use. State Og, Ron Popeil, and any associated parties are not responsible for any injuries, damages, or negative consequences that may arise from the use or misuse of these products or services. The testimonials included in this report are fictitious and should not be taken as evidence of the safety or effectiveness of any product or service mentioned.

By reading this report and engaging with its content, you acknowledge and accept the potential risks associated with using any of the products or services mentioned herein, and you agree to assume all responsibility for any outcomes that may occur. State Og, Ron Popeil, and any associated parties will not be held liable for any physical, emotional, psychological, or financial damages resulting from the use, misuse, or contemplation of any product, service, or idea mentioned in this report.

Some of the products and services mentioned may not be suitable for all users or may not be available in all jurisdictions. It is your responsibility to determine the legality and appropriateness of any product, service, or idea mentioned in this report before attempting to use or implement it. State Og, Ron Popeil, and any associated parties disclaim any warranty, express or implied, regarding the safety, efficacy, or suitability of any product or service mentioned in this report.

The ideas, concepts, and inventions described in this State Og Biweekly Report Extra! edition may cause distress, unease, or discomfort in some readers. If you are sensitive to such content, or if you have a history of sleep disturbances, anxiety, or any other mental or emotional disorders, we strongly advise that you proceed with caution and consult a qualified professional before engaging with the ideas, products, or services described herein.

In conclusion, this State Og Biweekly Report Extra! edition is intended for entertainment purposes only, and the products, services, and ideas described should not be taken as a serious endorsement or recommendation. Proceed at your own risk, and remember to exercise caution and common sense when considering any new or unconventional product or service.

[lemonbeemon]

Ooooo, I've got a list!!!

1. The Child Star

- 110% Gabi, she's got a role in some walking dead/last of us movie as well and her established fandom defends her like there's no tomorrow on social media when the episode with Sasha comes out.

- Falco gets pretty popular from his role, but ducks out of the industry to start a small business like Rupert Grint from HP. His on screen crush was real for a while and he gets teased in every interview for the rest of his life.

2. The Already Famous

- Erwin Smith is the Chris Evans of this universe. He's gotten tons of roles in blockbusters and the announcement for his casting definitely brought a lot of attention to what was initially a kind of underground show. This is also a pretty different genre from his usual roles, so he has a ton of fun exploring his character and even adds new flavor to his script. He is Eruri's #1 supporter in the entire cast and retweets Levi/Eruri fanart even after he's killed off.

- Levi. Oh Levi. See, he got his career started in the Romance genre. Casting directors loved to make him the first guy/wrong choice type in their Hallmark-esque films, which made him somewhat underrated until he received this role. The directors & producers cast him for his naturally mean look, and everyone is more than a little surprised to see how popular his character got. Erwin and him have a ton, and I mean a TON, of deleted scenes and bloopers where they're goofing off, making outdated movie references in serious scenes, and fake making out when they're in the background of other shots.

3. Who Does Other Genres?

- We've already established that Levi did romance and rom-coms, but let's expand on the rest of the cast.

- Mikasa. Mikasa did your stereotypical action movies before her casting. Think big monster/shark/dino flicks. She started out playing the token daughter-figure, then she became the go to casting choice for a strong female lead in the same types of films. Her only other genre experience before the show was a once-off sapphic film where she and Hitch of all people were the main couple (think Happiest Season) and that role allowed her to get into touch with her current characters softer side. Her recommendation also got Hitch onto the show, who brought a cult following from her Indie films.

- Hitch. She's not got a ton of notable films on her resume, but she's a very popular choice for Indie films and almost always gets invited to speak at film festivals. Her and Annie are married in real life somewhere between seasons 3 and 4 and she shows her wife off big time of the red carpet every chance she gets.

- Boris. Bet you didn't think you'd see him on this list. He and Levi have actually done more than one romance film together as rival characters. His Twitter stans are unhinged and get very upset when his character is revealed to not have much screentime. Once he's past the peak of his fame he becomes a director himself and continues to work closely with Hitch.

4. The Super-Fan

- Eren. There's no way it's not Eren. The original manga/comic was his childhood favorite and he is always wearing merch to interviews and fan meet-ups. He's super involved with the fan base and gets very emotional when the show nears its end. Every other member of the cast is an icon to him and it takes him a long time to get the star-struck look out of his eyes when he interacts with them. His social media accounts are full of him being a nerdy fan and all the photos are selfies and awkward-handshakes with his co-workers. Grisha becomes both an on and off-screen father figure to him and they always hug/high-five after completing a scene together.

- Armin. While he's not a huge fan, he did his homework before the auditions began. He is the Peta Mellark of AOT. No one else could do the character the way he did and he's the most manga-accurate. His wealth often goes to make-a-wish-like foundations and other charity events. He also keeps his private life extremely close to his chest, and doesn't post often on what few social media accounts he has. When he does, its almost always with Eren/Mikasa/Jean/Erwin.

5. The Newbies

- Connie. He's done one big show before, something with race cars or zombies, but he's still brand new to the silver screen. After AOT, he gets steady employment but he's best known for buddy-cop style films next to his most iconic role.

- Sasha. She's pretty, witty, and charming. No one's mad when she's cast in a new role, and everyone jumps at the chance to interview her on red carpet walks. Her on-screen friendships hold up in real life, and she does lifestyle-centric content on the side as she marries and has a family a few years after the end of AOT. The fans go rabid when they realize she married her on-screen love interest, Niccolo, who stepped out of the public eye not long after the show's end. Like his character counterpart, he is an excellent cook and helps film Sasha's content.

5. The Other Headcanons

- Hange was actually an educational children's show figure before getting cast. Imagine if Bill Nye showed up in Game of Thrones, then multiply the fan reaction by 10. People are screaming when Hange is first shown in their début episode, as the entire cast and crew kept the public figure's casting a secret until the episode's airing. They continue to do their usual work on top of their work on the show, and are a big advocate for how the show should handle mental illness and the rumors of lgbtq+ ships becoming canon.

- Bertholdt. The original Gabi for the fans. He's actually a model outside of his acting career and is almost always mentioned when the cast plays fuck/marry/kill in interviews. Eren was ridiculously nervous around both Bertholdt and Reiner when the show first started filming, but now two of his favorite shots to film involved his particularly tall co-star.

- Reiner. Like Hange, his casting was a total whiplash for the audience. As Reiner was formerly an NFL player. His jump into acting is very similar to Chris Pratt/Chris Hemsworth and, yes, he does end up voicing Mario in this universe. Gabi is like an actual sister to him, and he often talks about how well she gets along with his irl younger siblings in interviews. They go on to do another film together, something with vikings or more fantasy where they're once again playing blood-related characters. The thirst traps for this man are insane, but he's always humble when the interviewer or his co-stars bring them up. Eren has an extreme bromance with Reiner, to the point that their co-stars and the film crew don't even question their half-a-joke flirting on set.

- Jean is another Hemsworth type, and he's starred in too many horse-girl movies to count since AOT helped him break into the industry. Like Eren, he was a fan of the source material as a kid and skipped class to do the audition. Something he admits in an interview got him grounded for four months before his parents saw his first paycheck. Originally, he auditioned for the main character but recieved his current role instead.

I can't think of any more rn, but I'll add on to this if I do!

What's everyone's thoughts on what previous roles the AOT cast would've had in the actor AU? Who was a child star? Who's been in a ton of movies and was already quite famous? Who's breaking out of their usual genre? Was someone previously a horror actor? Romance? Action? An absolute nerd for the manga who just HAD to have a part? Who's brand new to the scene?

I need headcannons

[seventeenplug]

Dance with me (Dino X Reader)

Pairing: Lee Chan (Dino) X non gendered reader

Genre: Fluff

Warning: none just plain fluff and cringe

Summary: Your boyfriend is practicing for the 'Be The Sun' tour and therefore, extremely busy practicing for both the whole group's choreos but also his subunit's performances. You decided to pay him a visit and watch his practice.

Word Count:

Sitting on the floor as your boyfriend continued on practicing the harder choreographs you watched in silence, sometimes pulling out your phone to talk to friends or maybe to just film him at times, so he could later post for the fans to see.

The plan was however ruined when Chan stopped his movements and stood directly in front of you, hands on his hips as he slightly panted, eyes locked on your confused ones.

"What?" You questioned him unsure of his sudden demeanor.

"Practice with me" He simply said.

Hearing those words come out of his mouth, a smile stretched on his face, would have been a good love story... that is if you had known how to dance. Which you didn't. You could barely walk without tripping on your own damn shoes, and now he expected you to dance? And not just dance, but to dance to Seventeen?!

"I can't dance" You staggered in your words, completely confused as to why he would even consider, for his own health and wellbeing ask you to dance with him.

"Oh, come on! It's not that bad" He insisted, playfully rolling his eyes.

"Chan... I have like, no rhythm. It's almost like I have two feet!" You continued, trying your best to make him give up on the idea.

He, however simply sighed, squatting down in front of you and extending his hand for you to take and you, although hesitant, took it.

And here you were now, after at least 30 minutes of him trying to teach you choreo after choreo, leaning on the practice room's mirror, panting as sweat rolled down your face and neck.

Even after his continuous attempts to teach you, step by step, and although you still made mistakes, you could see yourself improving in the slightest. Nevertheless, you were still bad at it, but at least he had fun teaching you, and you had a laugh at of his frustration.

So, now you went back to your first task. Silently, well... now trying to catch your breath and watching him as he still kept going, now more energetically dancing to moonwalker.

"Kwon Soonyoung, Moon Jun Hui, Xu Minghao, Lee Chan, Moonwalker!" You excitedly cheered, laughing in between each name you called to, cheerfully recording Dino as he danced with a smile plastered on his face as he looked down with a hint of a blush on his cheeks and ears.

"Come on! It's your favorite part, we just practiced it!" He calls to you, a simple nod is what you offer placing yourself to his side once again as the song reaches its bridge, you try to minimize your moves but keep the bridge until you reach the final moments.

"Ready?" he asks loudly, you cheer as a response, trying your very best to keep up with him.

That is, until you hit your elbow against his stomach, and he bends over groaning.

Both hands covering your mouth as you try your best to contain your laugh as you bend to his height, he frowns at you seeing your eyes curve to your happiness.

"Ow?!" He accentuated his pain.

"I'm so, so sorry!" You laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder which he shrugs off.

"Stop laughing then" he grumbled sitting on the floor.

"I can't" You laugh louder sitting down as well.

"I warned you, I told you I couldn't dance" you try to defend yourself, but he glared.

Once you were both up he pulls you closer, a gasp leaving your slightly parted lips as you use your hand and place it on his chest to prevent you from smashing onto his chest, he smiles down at you, his other hand sliding down your arm, your eyes following it as it reaches your hand and intertwines your fingers with his as the sound of Light a Flame starts to play from the speakers.

"You said your feet were the problem. You hit me with your elbow" He scowled with a pout.

"Everything's bad when I dance" you smile again.

"It wasn't that bad, stop exaggerating. You did the dance well. Come on" he says, grabbing onto your hand and pulling you up with him.

He guided you around the practice room, hand tight on yours as he pulled you closer by the waist, bodies so close that you could feel each other's breaths. He leans his forehead into yours as the song slowly comes to an end, and in seconds your back was dipped as his hand that grabbed your hand grabs onto your leg, raising it to his hip.

You look up at him, his eyes already locked into yours and your hands grab the sides of his face kissing him.

His head turns just the slightest to the side, allowing him to deepen the kiss whilst you two continued in the position.

"Don't worry, they likely won't stay here for long. I'll be out soon, wait for me at the company's café" he smiled at you, grabbing your hand and giving it a slight squeeze, you nodded, quickly pecking his cheek before you made your exit, waving at the members who laughed and waved back.

But, as always, nothing lasts long in the practice room of seventeen and the sound of applause roars through the room as his members cheer, you two separating, blushes on both of your faces as he clears his throat from besides you.

"If we knew we'd have a show to come back to, we would've brought popcorn" Hoshi smirks at the flustered youngest, the others laughing and you smile timidly at the others.

~Published the 24th October 2022

[chaoslynx]

hi it’s egg anon 👋

what do you think the favourite colours of the bfish characters would be? shorter seems to be a purple lover but i’m not sure what the others favourites would be? i do however think that eiji would say him favourite is the exact green of ash’s eyes to make him blush

hi egg anon 👋 I'm terrible at headcanons so bear with me

Ash -- yeah I'm projecting but gray. Something about finding the in-between of two extremes. Something about seeing the world in grayscale. Something about burning too bright and fading out. You know the drill. I've already gone into it here.

Eiji -- He thought nothing could compare to the blue of the waters near his hometown (a sort of real blue that a lot of people think water only looks like in movies) until he saw the green of Ash's eyes. His favorite color changed in an instant. As soon as he learned the truth behind the jade earring Ash sold so easily, though, Eiji silently vowed to never tell Ash what his favorite color was. It comes up in passing one day, though; just a 'oh, the same color as my eyes' when Eiji picks his display color in a video game. Eiji flushes down to his chest and up to his ears, and Ash smirks. 'Oh,' he says again, playfully this time, 'the same color as my eyes.' Eiji pleads with Ash not to be upset, but says he understands if Ash is. Ash, on the other hand, thinks it's the cutest thing in the world, and makes a point of teasing Eiji about it regularly.

Shorter -- He actually changed his hair color pretty regularly for a long time! His natural hair is black, so he has to bleach it to get it the vibrant shades he wants. He was in the habit of redyeing it every time it became too faded. This all changed the first time Ash helped him dye his hair. Ash was shitty at it compared to Nadia (he'd never done anything with hair dye before; Dino would kill him if he ever touched the stuff), so it got absolutely everywhere. The sink, the shower curtain, Ash's hands: everything was stained with purple for weeks. Ash played off the dark purple staining his skin as bruises when asked, and no one looked into it too hard. He wanted to keep helping Shorter, and he wanted to keep that excuse, so he told Shorter that he liked his hair purple the best, secretly hoping that he'd stick with the color and Ash would keep helping. (He'd never tell Shorter why he needed it to be purple; he'd never tell Shorter that he needed it to be purple.) With time, Shorter couldn't see his hair as any other color. When the roots started to grow out, he feels too much like life before Ash. Like life without Ash. He asks Ash to touch up his roots at least once a month. Purple is his favorite color.

Sing -- Pink. It's a bit of a leftover from his hyperfeminine overcompensation before he came out as a trans man, and he's a little ashamed to admit it. He worries that his guys would doubt his leadership and masculinity if they knew, so he settles for little splashes of pink here and there. The bottom of his shoes is one example. Everyone, of course, knows, and would never think any different of him for it. He's the same boss they've known forever, the scrawny kid they grew up with who took charge when no one else was able to step up to defend Chinatown, and his favorite color is badass as fuck. Anyone who says otherwise can answer to the entirety of the Chinatown gang.

[starsscarmyceiling]

Welll, HEY guys here we are. I explain this in the new chapter of QWICH, but ellllo we got a bonus scene for y'all! I'm dropping nuggets for you guys because I love you and well come on...any opportunity to write about our idiots. So go read the new chapter and come on back here to read what dino nugget I got for ya! 🥰

Admitting to himself that he was extremely inebriated at his point was a little difficult to deny. Cal couldn’t even recall what he had done in the last few minutes, let alone what his current venture was.

“Huh?” Cal asked dumbly.

“I said I think you’ve successfully drank your problems away tonight,” Prauf claimed, and Cal looked up at him.

“Oh, right! Right, that’s what I was doing,” he said as he leaned on the bar, lifting his beer with his other hand, “yeah I like don’t even care anymore that that barista was so rude to me.”

“Yeah I can tell,” Prauf confirmed with a chuckle, “you haven’t mentioned her in like…ten minutes.”

Cal watched Prauf start to organize all of the open tabs of the evening as it was probably near the end of the night, and he widened his eyes, “Oh no! Am I talking about her too much?”

Prauf shook his head as he placed his hand on the bar and leaned in closer to Cal, “Not any more than any other person in this place who’s hung up on someone.”

He scoffed, “I mean I—I don’t know…about that Prauf.”

The bartender chortled again, clearly entertained by Cal’s antics as he went back to his work, “Alright, whatever you gotta tell yourself Cal.”

“I do tell okay!” He exclaimed, pausing for a moment before he spoke again to take another gulp of his beer, “She’s just—ugh, you know? And also like, so annoyed with me, and…I don’t know why and she’s so pretty.”

A few more seconds passed and he sat up all the way, horrified at his admittance, “I mean, she’s like—you know, um…”

Prauf gave him an expectant expression and raised one of his thick eyebrows.

Cal sighed, “Okay, okay, fine…but you can’t tell anyone.”

“You should know by now that bartenders basically have their own HIPPA standards Cal,” Prauf explained.

“Right, okay,” Cal said, looking around him and then leaned in, “she’s like…really pretty,” he elucidated, and held his hand parallel in the air, “here’s like other pretty people, you know?” He kept his hand there and then he raised it as high as he could, “And here’s her. I mean, like her like as in Merrin. Her name isn’t actually her…it’s Merrin.”

Prauf let out a humored scoff, “Jeez Cal,” he stated with an actual laugh and a shake of his head, “just calm down with all of the salacious details.”

“Well,” he defended, “I am not supposed to think that you know? I am a police officer that was first on the scene when her store got trashed, and and—she hates me.”

“Hm,” Prauf hummed, “you sure about that?”

“Yes, of course I am!” He exclaimed, “You should have seen how much she glared at me, and I…I don’t even know if she remembers me or anything.”

Prauf waited a moment before responding, “Do you want her to remember you?”

He sighed, looking into his glass, “I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“Oh Cal, I think it does,” Prauf said to him.

Cal’s eyes flitted up to the bartender’s sincere stare and he slightly nodded at him. Exhaling all the way, he then grunted and rubbed his hands over his face, “You know…I forgot about her for so long because like…I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle remembering her or her pretty face or her sad eyes or when I—”

His fingers were still over his face, and he just thought about how many scars were laid underneath them.

“When you what?”

Lowering his hands to surround his glass with them now, Cal again sagged with the overwhelming emotions he was feeling, “This is something that I don’t like to talk about Prauf, but…” he paused as his eyes landed on his beer, “I don’t know why my life has sucked so much. Like…a lot…and I don’t know what I did or why, but I’ve had so much shit upon shit pile up on me but for like just a second back then…” Cal looked back up to Prauf and he actually seemed rather engaged in what Cal was saying, “it didn’t…suck…so much because she,” he sighed, “she just got it.”

Prauf crossed his arms, looking like he was weighing what he was about to say in his head, “And this was when you were with her?”

Cal’s head sank and he closed his eyes, feeling so utterly feckless and unresolved. Because how could he even begin to properly relay—especially while exceedingly drunk—it was the one time in his life since all of his tragedy that he ever really felt understood?

“It sounds pretty pathetic doesn’t it.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Prauf said gently, “look Cal, you’re a young guy. And I’ve seen you come in here, time after time, always smiling and having drunk stupid fun with just about every cop in this city. Hell, even some of the firefighters that come in here. Even your own ex girlfriend doesn’t have anything bad to say about you,” he explained as Cal lifted his head to him and the bartender crossed his arms, “but I have never seen you like this.”

Cal breathed out, holding both his hands to his chest, “It’s—” he tried, knowing he was never great at explaining himself, “it’s the part of me that shouldn’t be there. It’s—it’s all the ugly parts that I don’t like showing people because it’s sad and pitiful and ri—ridiculous.”

“Cal—how could you say something like—”

“Hey there you are my favoritest ginger in the world!” Zeb’s voice came barreling over as he wrapped his arms around Cal’s shoulders and slammed his head against his chest.

Cal breathed in and out, ready to feel other emotions than these gross nasty ones, “Really? I’m your favorite?”

“Mhmmm,” Zeb hummed as he released Cal, “like above Carrot Top and everything.”

“Wow,” Cal grinned, “what an honor.”

Zeb sat down next to Cal and looked at Prauf, “Is he talking about the barista again?”

Prauf shrugged, “Only on a near constant basis.”

“Hey!” Cal defended with a finger raised in the air, “I’ve had a rough day, alright? It started out shitty, and then she was rude to me, and then now,” he motioned with both his hands around his head, “all this drudged up shit is just swirling around in here and I’m having a hard time even remembering some of it and I—I just didn’t ask for this okay. She just—”

Instead of even trying to finish that sentence he grunted and buried his face in his arms.

“Aww, Calvi, don’t get upset,” Zeb tried to comfort, hand on one of his arms, “please, hey—who’s my favorite ginger?”

Cal sighed with his face still hidden away as he answered in a muffled voice, “I am.”

“Who’s my favorite ginger?”

He finally lifted his head, “I am.”

Zeb punched at his shoulder, “That’s right you are. Like, even above Prince Harry.”

A small smile graced him, and Zeb wrapped an arm around him again, “And my favorite ginger is also smart and resilient and cool—”

“Well I wouldn’t go that far,” Cal interrupted.

“He is cool, in like the most adorkable way possible, and old ladies love him, and he is like the nicest, most sincere person I know, and he’s hot and he’s got a great smile,” Zeb concluded.

Cal turned to him and bore both sets of teeth in an exaggerated grin.

“See, pssh, what a knockout that barista would be lucky to even find herself on the other side of that toothy chaotic mess.”

A sigh now escaped him as Zeb let go of him, “Oh come on now, we have to go back to that? I don’t like—like like her…like that.”

Zeb asked Prauf for one last refill before he responded to Cal, “I cannot wait to give the speech at your wedding where I talk about how much you were in deeeni—alllll.”

“No, no! I am not! It’s kind of hard to marry someone who hates you Zeb.”

“Oh ho ho,” he jittered, accepting his drink from Prauf, “so it’s only because of that?”

“Because of what?”

Zeb gave him such a smug grin after he drank from his glass, “Admit ittt, you want to be Mr. Hot Barista one day.”

“Okay,” Cal held out his hands, “first of all, she has an actual name, Merrin Ses—Sestric—Ses—it’s too hard to say while I’m drunk—”

“So you want to be Mr. Merrin Sestric Too Hard to Say Hot Barista Man.”

Cal just gulped at his drink and looked away from him, “I hate you so fucking much.”

“Ohh, you don’t mean that! Come on now we’re just joking around Cali!” Zeb exclaimed.

He looked over at his friend and narrowed his eyes, “I don’t believe you.”

“Alright come back to the table so you can keep complaining about your hot barista lady friend,” Zeb insisted.

“I do not—ugh!” Cal exclaimed.

“Look who I found whining to Prauf,” Zeb revealed as they sat back down.

Regardless of all the teasing aside, Cal gave one last look to Prauf, who seemed to be giving him a dubious expression, but the two walked back over to the booth they were occupying.

“Still complaining about your hot barista lady friend?” Ezra asked him.

“No!” Cal shouted, “Not at least…for a few minutes. Everyone else keeps bringing her up now I’m not even talking about her anymore.”

“Okay kay kay kay Cali, be honest with me,” Ezra interrupted Cal’s tangent.

Cal gulped at his beer, “What?”

“So you really wouldn’t sleep with her?”

Bristling from the rookie, Cal knew he was projecting some kind of offended expression, “What does that matter?”

Ezra smirked and pointed at him like he’d caught him in some elaborate scheme, “That wasn’t a no!”

“See what did I tell you? You want to be Mr. Hot Scary Barista Guy!” Zeb added in as well.

“Ugh!” Cal exasperated as he sat back in his seat, resting his head on the back of the booth, “I am just going to stop talking because everyone just keeps telling me how much I want to bang the hot barista.”

“So that was a yes you do want to bang her?” Zeb asked.

“Oh my god leave me alone!”

“I think we’ve put him through enough ribbing now dear,” Kallus spoke up.

Cal lifted his head, “Thank you Kallus.”

“Yes, he already knows how much he wants her we don’t have to keep pointing it out,” he concluded.

Grunting again, Cal threw his head back to where it was and swore he wouldn’t look up again until the world made sense again.

Which, it never did.

Cal wasn’t even sure how long they’d been in this booth, but everyone eventually and finally shut up about his hot barista—Merrin, everyone shut up about Merrin. Somehow, they’d gotten to the point where Ezra had his arm around him and they were singing “Allstar” by Smashmouth.

They paused when they didn’t know what happened in the second verse.

“There’s something about this,” Cal said as he held up his left hand onto his forehead, “it’s like with a shape of an ‘L’ on her forehead…and then…I forget after that.”

“Yeah,” Ezra agreed as he smiled, drinking his beer, “wait, why were we singing this?”

“Because it’s like that green guy’s favorite song,” Zeb added.

Cal’s eyebrows furrowed, “Green guy? You mean Shrek?”

Zeb pointed at him, “The green guy! Wasn’t he singing it or something?”

“No it was just at the beginning of the movie,” Alex pointed out, “that’s why we started singing it.”

“Oh right,” Zeb said along as he laughed.

“I still can’t believe Donkey banged that dragon,” Ezra said, “that is something I’ve always wondered about. Like…how did that even work? Like, sex wise?”

Cal patted Ezra’s hand over his shoulder, “I don’t think we’re supposed to know…nor should we, really.”

Zeb held up his glass, “To life’s greatest mysteries!”

There were general sounds of cheer as they all clinked their glasses together, and Cal really thought this should be his last drink of the night.

At some point, Cal got up to go to the bathroom, and he knew it was bad because he had to lean his hand on the wall above the urinal to keep himself upright.

“Wooo, I am drunk!” He shouted to himself, “When the fuck did that happen?”

He washed his hands and then leaned on the counter with them as he peered into the mirror, narrowing his eyes.

“You have so many stupid scars and freckles all over your stupid face,” he declared to his reflection, “no wonder Merrin hates looking at it…she—she’s probably always hated looking at it,” he said aloud, not sure if that was more of a new sort of sinking observation more than anything else, “…not that that’s…important, anymore.”

He was beating up on himself for a few more moments until he welcomingly started smiling a bit.

At least he was someone’s favorite ginger.

With that thought, he stood up and exited the restroom. At the end of the hall, Zeb was there walking in his direction.

“Helloooooo, my favoritest gingerrrr?”

“Mm, that’s me,” he said as Zeb put his hands on Cal’s shoulders.

“You betcha! Like, more than The Little Mermaid,” he elucidated, “listen, I think it’s time to go home now.”

“Yeah,” Cal agreed, “yeah, probably.”

“Come on!” Zeb encouraged as he grabbed at Cal’s arm and started quite literally dragging him to the exit.

“Wait! I gotta pay my tab with Prauf! That would be like such a dick move to just leave before I do that,” Cal acknowledged.

“Oh yeah!” Zeb expressed, “Okay Cali, Alex and I will be outside.”

He nodded at the large man before he walked over to the bar.

When he was closing his tab, Prauf looked at him with concern on his face, “Hey, you gonna be alright?”

“Me? Oh yeah, like fuck yeah I’m gonna be so good,” Cal said as he wrote in the largest tip for Prauf having to deal with his drunk ass.

“Alright, well make sure you get home safe okay?” Prauf insisted and Cal nodded.

“Yeah yeah, oh yeah it’ll be like so safe!” Cal assured.

When Cal stepped outside, he stumbled on his step and he had to concentrate on standing still.

“You know, IIIII don’t think I should drive home because like,” Cal started, placing his hands on his chest, “if I were to pull over myself I’d all be like—woah sorry officer, you caught me I’m drunk! Not even gonna try to hide it.”

Zeb put an arm around him again, “Well duh, we know that Cal! That’s why you’re gonna share an Uber with us!”

“Aww, that is so nice!” Cal exclaimed, feeling genuine affection and gratitude for his friend at that moment, “Wait, where’s Ezra?”

Just when he asked such a thing, Ezra came bounding out of The Yard with one of his arms raised in the air, shouting triumphantly, “Hello everyone outside people!”

“Ezra!” Cal bellowed back, “Oh my god I was just wondering where you were!”

Ezra smirked as he appeared to be rather gratified with himself, “Well you don’t need to wonder any further because I am right here!”

“Woo hoo!” Cal exclaimed, also raising his arms in the air, “You know,” he paused for a thoughtful moment, “you guys are like fucking assholes and I hate you, but…I also love you guys.”

“Aww, hey, I love you too!” Zeb exclaimed, pulling Cal and Ezra into a hug.

There was a chuckle next to them.

“There is like a great number of declarations of love going around right now,” Alex said as he came up to this three way hug.

“Honey!” Zeb pulled away and moved to place his hands on Kallus’ shoulders, “I love you too did you know?”

And the blonde man smiled, touching his face, “Yes you giant drunken imbecile. I love you as well.”

Then they just kept smirking at one another as Cal was having a difficult time keeping himself still without swaying slightly back and forth again, so he ended up leaning his arm on Ezra’s shoulder.

Yeah, his friends sucked, but at least he knew these people had his back. Especially—

“Oh!” Cal sounded as he tried standing up on his own again, “You know who I also love and think is really cool?”

“Your hot barista ladaaay?” Ezra posed and Cal rolled his eyes.

“No, no besides her—I mean—I don’t love her—god!” Cal stated before he shook his head, “No, like…Kanan, you know?”

“Aw, yeah Kanan is like the best,” Ezra agreed.

Cal stood there, smiling a bit to himself and not really knowing why.

“You know what? We should tell him that!” Ezra exclaimed as Cal’s eyes widened.

“Oh that is such a good idea,” Cal agreed as he started fishing for his phone out of his pocket.

Cal unlocked his phone, just staring at the screen for a few moments, temporarily forgetting his purpose, “Oh!” He let out when he remembered, pressing to Kanan’s number in his contacts.

“I bet he won’t answer, but we can leave him a voicemail,” Cal said as he was already raising his phone to his face.

It rang through, of course, and then there was Kanan’s voice telling him to leave a message.

“Hey hey hey hello good morning, since I know I bet you’re gonna listen to this in the morning,” Cal began after the beep, “this is not Prince Harry…who isn’t even Zeb’s favorite ginger, by the way.”

“It’s you!” Zeb said in the background next to him.

“See? Did you hear that? It’s me, I’m his favorite isn’t that nice?” Cal inquired as if Kanan could answer him, “I just wanted to call you to tell you that—you know, we shouldn’t be bogged down by toxic masculinity or any of those stupid standards because that’s just baby shit,” he elucidated, “so I just wanted to tell you that I love you, and you’re my best friend and…I love you. Oh,” he smiled as he paused for a second, “I said that already, but it’s true! I am so glad I made you be friends with me in the police academy and again, I don’t even care that barista was like so mean to me today—”

“He totally cares he’s lying!” Zeb shouted.

“Nuh uh Zeb! Ugh, can you believe this guy?” Cal protested with a huff.

“Hey, I wanna say something to Kany!” Zeb expressed, so Cal handed him the phone.

“Hello Kany, you’re my favorite Kanyyyy, and don’t worry, we totally took care of your boy tonight and let him drink his hot barista problems away!”

“Hey!” Cal took offense.

“See, I am sure by tomorrow he’ll forget allll about this!” Zeb explained, “Anyway, love you Kany, bye!”

Zeb turned back to Cal and handed the phone back to Cal as Alex chuckled at them again.

“Well now it’s my turn!” Ezra expressed, so Cal handed him the phone too, “Hello, this is your rookie, it’s me, Officer Ezra Bridger, and even though you guys are all old fogies I still like hanging out with you!”

Both Cal and Zeb made scoffing noises at him. The rookie waved them off.

“Anyway, I hope this message finds your ears tomorrow, and I love you talk to you later!” Ezra finished before giving the phone back to Cal.

Cal put it to his ear one more time, “Well yeah, I just wanted you to know all that,” he said before he took the phone away, but then quickly put it back, “Oh! And Hera too tell her I love her too! Okay, well bye!”

He hung up this time and for some reason felt extremely satisfied over his actions, hoping Kanan would enjoy the message they left.

“Hey, did any of us actually get an Uber or have we all just been standing here?” Alex asked eventually.

Whoops.

“Oh my gooood, we forgot! Look at how smart you are,” Zeb said, pointing a finger at Alex’s forehead, “see guys this is why I am dating this man his thoughts are so hot.”

Cal smirked, “Hot thoughts.”

“Nice,” Ezra added.

They all just stood there again.

“The Uber!” Alex shouted.

Zeb smiled now, “Here,” he stated as he shoved his phone into Alex’s chest, “you get it hot thoughts man I bet you’ll like be so good at it.”

Alex smiled as he shook his head, looking down at Zeb’s screen.

“This is why everyone says the nine nine is ridiculous.”

...

A/N:

So yeahh, there ya go!!! I know I am insane. And yes, expect to sporadically some more nuggets like this as the fic progresses. But they all love each other and we love to see it! Okay fr I gave you a long enough a/n on the chapter, but I just want to thank you again if you came here to read! Again, hope you had a wonderful new year and I'll see you in the next chapter!