#finally after more than a year...a new episode

[osohchoso]

Blood and Chains

Chapter Seven- Behind Those Eyes

Choso x F!reader

Previous | Chapter Index | Chapter 8 coming soon!

Content: HEAVY LORE CHAPTER, flashback episode before he met you, Choso's POV, angst, blood, violence, minor character death

This story is set in a slight alternate universe from the real JJK, if you need a reminder on the lore please look at the prologue for a refresh :)

He was never supposed to love again. Not after everything that happened, not after her.

A year after the Shibuya incident, Choso was still adjusting to human society. It was hard for the half-curse to learn all the rules that accompany his flesh form. Not only did he have to figure out how to keep his body alive: food, sleep, warmth. He also had to understand the unwritten rules of society that come naturally for those born human. 

The first year wasn't just tough on Choso, but it was on Yuji too. Yuji was put in charge of him, expected to teach him everything he needed to know. Which is hard enough for a 15-year-old, but it was even harder with their originally rocky relationship. It took Yuji a few months to finally accept Choso as his older brother. 

Who could blame him with the family dynamic they have? Choso seemingly dropped from the sky into Yuji’s life. They tried to kill each other, of course their relationship would be strained. Thankfully, that period didn’t last long. The two brothers formed a strong bond within the first year. 

But not everyone trusted Choso. 

The higher-ups wanted him executed, a way to pay for his crimes in Shibuya. Choso would have accepted his fate too, he felt he deserved it for helping Kenjaku’s plot. To his surprise, many of the other sorcerers stood up for him, holding their ground against the decision. Without Choso, they wouldn’t have released Gojo from the prison realm that day, and there would have been many more casualties than there were. They saw value in him as a new ally. 

Reluctantly, the higher-ups decided on a new punishment. Sentenced to an eternal life serving as a Jujutsu Sorcerer. Hunting down curses until the end. In Choso’s eyes, it was justified, and he would carry out the sentence willingly.

Just to make sure he followed through; they tacked on an additional term. If Choso ever abandoned his post, ever betrayed them. He would be sentenced to death, with Yuji as his personal executioner. 

Which is why for the first year, he wasn't allowed on any mission alone. Every mission, even every walk out in the normal world, he had to be accompanied by Yuji or Gojo. Just in case he ‘went rogue’ as they said. The higher-ups still didn’t trust him, and they never truly will. 

After that first year was up, he was finally granted some freedom. Getting assigned missions alone and no longer needing an escort into town if he wanted an order of takoyaki. 

To celebrate his longer leash, he did just that. Walking into town and up to his favorite food stall, one him and Yuji frequent often. 

“The usual, Choso?” the elderly woman at the stand asked, already pouring the batter into the takoyaki maker she was hunched over. 

“Yes, please.” He responded with a polite nod and small smile. 

“No, Yuji today?” she questions as she flips the balls over in the pan. 

“Nope, not today.” He beams at her. Even though he loves coming to this place with his brother, he can’t contain the excitement he feels today. She smiles and transfers the cooked octopus balls to a paper tray, handing it to him. Choso fishes around in his pocket for the money but she shakes her head.

“Not today, this one is on the house. Enjoy the rest of your day dear.” She smiles at him.

“Thank you!” He smiles back, continuing on his stroll. He decided to make his way to the nearby park, just outside the city. Marching up a vibrant green hill and sitting underneath a shady tree. He stabs one of the takoyaki, bringing it in front of his lips and blowing on the steam. Then stuffing it inside his mouth, chewing thoughtfully as he hums. He continues to devour his snack as he overlooks the park. Kids playing, couples having a picnic, a man and his dog playing catch. Today really was the perfect day. 

He stabs his last takoyaki and brings it to his mouth. Before he can savor the last ball, it falls off the pick and begins its descent down the hill, rolling at an incredible speed. He can do nothing but watch it roll away, straight toward two girls who are sitting on the grass. The ball rolls right into one of the girl’s white purse, staining it with its brown sticky sauce. He can hear them gasp, one of the girls glaring back at him.

Yuji said you have to apologize, even if it was an accident. He reminds himself of one of the rules his brother taught him. Pushing himself off the ground and making his way down the hill. As he approaches, he can hear them bickering. The one without the ruined purse seems more upset than the other. By appearances, he can tell they are in their twenties and also look strangely identical. Both with unusual long, snow-white hair. Reminding him of a certain sorcerer he knows. The only way to tell them apart is one of the girls had dazzling flecks of gold on her irises. 

“Um…I’m really sorry.” He interrupts them, pointing to the stain. “It just…fell off” He fidgets a bit as they turn their gaze to him, scanning his facial features as he avoids eye contact by looking at his feet. One of the girls berates him for being so careless, hurling insults that he tries to ignore. Standing there like a wounded puppy, his pigtails drooping slightly. 

As she continues her rant, Choso wishes he could crawl away in shame. Tail tucked between his legs and run. Yuji never told him that strangers could be so mean. He dares to raise his face as her sharp words continue to cut deep, locking eyes with the other girl, gold dancing in her eyes. She smiles in return. A soft and kind smile, one opposite to her rude accomplice. And she was beautiful, more beautiful than anything he's ever seen. 

His heart thumps in a way he's never felt, vibrant blush spreading across his face.

“Sis, that's enough. It was an accident and you're just making him uncomfortable.” The nice one tells the mean one. 

“Y-yeah. An accident.” Choso echos quiet as a mouse. 

“Still, that was an expensive gift and-” 

“Lysithea! Stop!” She interrupts her sister before she goes back to reprimanding Choso. The mean one, Lysithea, closes her mouth. Lips in a tight line as she glares at her. “Ignore her…she's the evil twin.” She teases, turning back to Choso.

“I’m really sorry. I can replace it!” Choso blurts out, guilt eating him alive for ruining such a nice possession. She looks like she's about to object, then her lips curve into a cute smirk. Standing up in front of him. 

“Let me see your phone.” She asks, hand out waiting for him to oblige. Choso reaches a hand in his pocket and freezes. He left the stupid thing at home. In all honesty, he hated that confusing rectangle. Yuji gets so frustrated with him when he tries to show him how to use it, so he doesn’t even bother trying.

“I…Uh...” He stammers, not sure what to say. Cheeks still bright red as his eyes roam her pretty face. She lets out a slight laugh while shaking her head, bending down to retrieve something from her stained purse. 

“Let me see your arm.” Even though he's confused, he obeys. Sticking his forearm out in front of her. She grabs his wrist, the touch sending an electric shock through him. She pushes up his sleeve with one hand, her other uncaps a sharpie. Scrawling a string of numbers along with her name, ‘Lilith’, across his pale skin. She releases his hand, looking back up at him.

“Text me later, pretty boy?” Her words send an unfamiliar heat straight through him. He swallows hard.

“Yeah…I will,” he whispered hoarsely.

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

It started with the purse.

Yuji helped Choso send the text, feeling a bit of pride. His older brother got a girl’s number all on his own, even if it was due to a silly mistake. The little brother also wanted to act as wingman, setting him up for his first time out with a girl. Even though Choso keeps telling him it isn't a date, Yuji continues to think otherwise. Sitting down and making the brother watch romance movie after movie, until he felt he was prepared. 

Choso never saw this as a romantic outing, it was just fixing his wrong doings. 

When he met up with Lilith at the mall, his heart skipped a beat. Wearing a casual and flowy maxi dress, not a hair on her head out of place. Suddenly, he wishes he had dressed a little nicer, instead of the tee-shirt and jeans he threw on in a rush. 

The pair went and found another purse, almost identical to the one she had before. With a large price tag. Choso didn’t mind though, this is what he promised to do. He can always make more money. 

Afterwards, he turned to her. Muttering an awkward goodbye before turning to leave. As he tried to walk away, she reached a hand for his, enveloping it in warmth.

“Wait…stay,” she urged him with a smile. A look of surprise washed over him, he expected her to leave once she got the replacement. Maybe there was more to this after all? 

So he stayed, the two spent the remainder of the day together. Shopping, eating, the whole time chatting and giggling. Staying out until the black curtain covered the sky and the moon illuminated the path. Choso walked her home, seeing her sister glare through the window, and thanked her for the fun day. 

He had never felt this way before, the way he felt with her. It was all a new experience. A feeling he wanted to keep chasing, and hoped she felt the same way. Luckily, she did.

Over the next few months, their relationship blossomed. Spending every waking moment together when they weren't working. Neither of them spoke much about their jobs, it didn’t seem important to ask and he didn’t want her involved in the dangerous daily life he deals with. All that mattered was each other. Going on dates to coffee shops, restaurants and movie theaters. Each more exciting than the last. 

They never put a label on their relationship, but Choso knew he was madly in love with her. Already imagining a future, her as his wife. He knew it was too soon, but he knew what he wanted. Her. 

Neither of them had explained their relationship to their siblings yet. She didn’t seem all that interested in telling her twin. Her sister who seemed to form a hateship with Choso the day they met. The closer she got to Choso, the less time she spent with Lysithea. On the other hand, Choso knew he would tell Yuji eventually but was waiting for the right time. His younger brother is getting sent on lots of missions lately now that he is a second year, finding less and less time to spend with Choso.

Lilith was a list of firsts with Choso. His first kiss, first date, first love. Unlocking each moment was more exciting than the last. He even lost his virginity to her, an experience that left her equally as breathless as him. The two had an insatiable hunger for the other. Every night together always seemed to end with their legs tangled around each other. 

Choso laid on his bed, naked and still coming down from the high of his last orgasm. Sounds of cascading water can be heard from the shower down the hall. His heavy eyelids flutter closed as he awaits her return. Listening to Lilith’s soft hums as he drifts off to a light sleep.

He didn't realize how long he closed his eyes for until he heard the front door close followed by his brother’s booming voice.

“Hey Choso, I’m home I- oh.” He stops mid-sentence. Yuji wasn't supposed to be home tonight. He hears the gentle voice of Lilith chatting with Yuji, the reality of everything shocks him awake. Leaping out of bed and scrambling to pull some clothes on until he's stumbling down the hall. Spotting his love wearing the clothes she arrived in, hair slightly damp from her shower as she speaks to his brother casually.

“Y-Yuji!” He stutters, interrupting their conversation. “What are you doing home?”

“Choso! Can’t believe you were keeping her a secret from me!” He exclaims, obviously excited that his older brother found someone special. The younger brother smacked shy Choso on his back a few times. 

“Sorry Yuji, I was going to tell you. I swear.” Choso defends sheepishly. 

“Well, it was nice to meet you, I was just about to head home.” Lilith interrupts, pushing forward to grab her shoes. Eyeing Yuji a few times like she was searching for something. 

“No! Stay!” Yuji begs. “I got out of work early today and picked up some food. I think I have enough for all of us.” He holds up a plastic bag to show it off. “Let's watch a movie, I want to know all about the girl Choso has been ditching me for.” He continues to tease.

So she stayed, joining the brothers on the couch as they ate and watched some movie Yuji swears by. The whole night felt fun, his two favorite people under one roof. Yuji would ask questions about her and in turn, she asked about him. Some of it felt a little odd and uncomfortable to Choso. Lilith was vague with her personal details when his brother asked, yet she asked him countless unnecessary questions. All that Yuji happily answered. 

That was the last night Lilith felt truly normal.

The month following, Yuji always seemed to be the center of every conversation with her. Asking more oddly personal details and questioning his whereabouts, his daily schedule, his fears. It made Choso feel a little uneasy, so he kept the answers vague and would try to steer it elsewhere when possible. Whenever he didn't give the details she wanted, Choso would come home to her waiting at his front door. Asking to speak with Yuji.

It felt obsessive, and he wanted to confront her. But he hesitated. Maybe she just really wanted to be friends with his brother, maybe she knew just how important Yuji was to him so she was trying her best to get along and learn everything there is to know about him. It was kinda sweet when he thought about it that way. So he kept his mouth shut. 

The days where she spent every moment possible with Choso were long gone. Now making excuses of why she couldn’t come over or canceling dates last minute. Now ditching Choso for her sister when it used to be the opposite way. 

The last time she had sex with him also felt weird, forced and rushed. None of the passion it used to be, he was struggling to understand what changed. Once the heat of the moment was over, she crawled off of him, quickly putting her clothes back on. 

“You're leaving already?” He blurts out, unable to hide his disappointment at her hasty departure. Was it so wrong to want to spend more time with her? 

“Yeah, sorry love…gotta go” She shrugs him off, pulling her shirt over her exposed flesh. Do you even love me? He wants to ask, biting his tongue to keep the spiteful comment to himself. She looks over at him, seeing the conflict creasing his forehead. “Hey? How about date night this weekend? My treat.” She offers, her voice a bit softer than before. 

“Yeah, I would like that.” He sighs. Maybe then he could bring up his worries, express his feelings and talk things through. That's what you do in a healthy relationship after all.  He doesn’t want to keep feeling so distant with her. 

“Okay. Dinner at that place we like? Friday?” she smiles, the genuine smile he missed so much. 

“Yeah, sounds good” He exhales, a small smile of his own the mask his uncertainty. 

With that, she walks out of the bedroom. Choso pulls his own clothes back on, thinking she has exited the apartment already. A loud clatter tells him otherwise, he hurries out to the main area of the home. Seeing her bent over, a chair knocked to the ground and Yuji’s red hoodie on the floor. 

“Sorry” she says as she pinches the hood and picks the chair back up, placing the fallen clothing on the back of it. “Ran into it after I put my shoes on," she laughs. 

“Clumsy girl” Choso shakes his head with a smile, hugging her one last time before she leaves completely. 

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

Choso sits at the table of the Thai restaurant they love. He made sure to dress nicer than usual, his loose long locks being the cherry on top to complete the outfit. He sips his glass of water, staring ahead at the empty chain in front of him. She was late. 

“Sorry!” she apologizes profusely when she finally shows up, 30 minutes after the date should have started. She didn’t offer any type of excuse as she settled into the chair, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress. Her eyes avoid his as she reaches for a glass of water, taking a small sip.

“It’s fine,” Choso sighs. It wasn’t fine, but he wouldn’t let that show. Not when he practically had to pull her teeth to get some quality time with her. He didn’t want to push her away even more. 

“So, what do you want to order?” She asks, propping the menu up in front of her face. 

“The usual,” he mutters. He doesn't even need the menu, they order the same thing every time. She should know this. He rests his elbow on the table, placing his chin in his hand as he looks around the room. Other couples holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes. A sight that made his heart ache. He places his other hand on the table, sliding it across and hoping she will take the hint. She doesn't, still scanning the menu in front of her like she isn't about to order the peanut noodles with tofu.

Choso sighs and retracts his hand, feeling defeated once again. How could the girl he loved change so much? 

A vibrate in his pocket gets his attention, pulling his phone out. An incoming call from Yuji, odd. His brother knew Choso was going on a date tonight, he wouldn’t normally call if it wasn't important. He hesitates, knowing it’s rude to pick up while out with someone else. Sliding the phone back inside his pocket. Surly Yuji will text or call again if it’s urgent. 

Almost as quickly as he put it away, Yuji calls again. Now Choso is worried, scrambling to grasp the phone in a hurry to answer it. He’s about to press the answer-call button when his date’s voice cuts through to him.

“Don’t answer that.” She says sternly, setting the menu down and glaring at the still vibrating phone in his hand.

“Why? It might be something important, or maybe he got hurt.” Choso barks back, his fears escaping him in shrill whines.

“Am I not Important?” Her words stung hard, of course she is but so was Yuji. “You are supposed to be spending time with me. Your attention on me .” Her tone a harshness he isn’t used to, causing him to flinch. The phone silences again, missing the call a second time in a row. 

“Put the phone away” She tells him like a command, expecting Choso to obey like an obedient dog. 

“No,” he challenges. “Yuji is my brother, I need to make sure he's ok first.” Lilith swipes a hand forward across the table, trying to snatch the phone from his hand, but Choso is quicker. Leaning back and holding it above his head. By now, several patrons in the restaurant are watching their lover's quarrel. She retracts her hand as Choso shoots daggers across the table. What is wrong with her?

His phone vibrates twice more, alerting him of two incoming text messages. He quickly unlocks the device to read them. His heart pounding wildly with fear.

Yuji: [pinned location]

Yuji: BACKUP!!!!

His suspicions were correct. Yuji is in danger! His little brother needs help. The texts are vague, leaving Choso to wonder what he had got himself into. He jolts up from his chair, the sudden movement knocking it back to fall on the floor with a loud crash. Everyone in the restaurant stops eating to watch the scene he's causing. 

“I have to go,” is all he mutters, still angry about the way she has acted this evening. Her eyes on the floor, not even bothering to look at him as he departs. As he walks past, her hand catches his wrist, holding him with an almost crushing force. 

“Let go,” He growls out in warning. While he is mad, he still doesn't want to cause her harm. But if he has to pry her fingers off one by one, he will.

“Stay!” she growls back, once again in that hateful tone she has never used with him. This isn’t the woman he knows, isn’t the woman he loves. She is a stranger to him. Can’t even bother to look him in the eyes. He yanks his hand free, his raw strength easily outweighing hers. 

“Goodbye” he mutters, vein popping on his forehead as he strides for the door. Walking away from whatever their relationship is for good. Bursting through the front door and running to the location Yuji sent him. 

He made it to Yuji’s location in record time. The adrenaline and fear pushed him to move faster than ever before. He finds him in a dimly lit park, fighting a lithe figure cloaked in black. A hood up concealing their face. Yuji doesn’t appear to be in good shape, the younger sorcerer taking quite a beating as his opponent relentlessly lands attack after attack. Frozen in horror, he watches the enemy raise a sword, ready to deal the finishing blow. 

No! He can’t even bring himself to speak out. His body starts moving on his own, adjusting his stance and pressing his palms together. Posed to shoot a piercing blood attack before the blade can so much as touch his brother. He shoots the beam of blood, a powerful force that rips through the lower half of the attacker's body. A fatal wound no doubt. Their hand releases the sword, letting it crash to the ground with a metallic clang. Choso rushes forward to his brother’s side. 

The body of the attacker falls backward, hood flying off to reveal the snow-white hair and a familiar face. Lysithea? No. Even with the barely helpful flickering streetlights, Choso can see the shimmering gold in her irises. Lilith.

She was never the one at the restaurant with him tonight, the twins had swapped so she could go off on her own mission. One that involved killing his younger brother while he was distracted. A wave of emotions crashes over Choso. Anger, sadness, confusion. He can’t keep his tears at bay as he kneels down next to her, scanning her face. 

“Why? Why?” He repeats over and over, guilt swallowing him whole. He was happy to save his brother of course, but the shock of who he had to save him from started to dull his senses. He moves a gentle hand to cradle the back of her head, forcing her to look at him. Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he swallows hard, awaiting any type of answer. 

“I’m sorry…Choso.” She croaks between labored breaths, a hand pressed to her side that continues to leak fresh blood. She was way past the point of saving. “We deceived you. I used you.” 

The storm of anger grows in his stomach. Was anything real during these past few months? Every romantic adventure, every honeyed word, every time loving touch. Did it mean nothing to her? Just a way to gain his trust, to bring his guard down.

And he believed her. Everything felt so real with her, how could she fake it so well?

He’s unable to speak, still struggling to process the new information as it enters his brain. Acutely aware of his brother, injured, lifting himself off the ground and limping past. Speaking to someone who just arrived at the scene, another sorcerer for backup no doubt. Choso doesn't move, doesn’t even turn to see who arrived. Solely focused on watching the slow rise and fall of Lilith’s chest. 

“I’m sorry Choso,” She repeats sweetly with that happy smile she usually wears. She raised a bloody hand and pressed it to his cheek. He flinches at the contact. “I really did love you,” she whispered hoarsely, taking her last breath. Her cold hand falling limp away from his face, leaving a red imprint on his skin. 

The mental dam breaks, hurling Choso over the edge. Spiraling just as bad as he did in Shibuya when he tried killing Yuji. His stomach churning, he can't breathe. Someone was beside him trying to talk him down, but it wouldn't reach his deaf ears. The rest of the night a blur, feeling completely numb. 

The only memory he has during the ordeal was hearing her sister, Lysithea. She was detained by another sorcerer shortly after Choso fled the restaurant. He can’t remember how she looked at him, with her sister’s blood still stained on his face and hands. But the venom in her voice is something he would never forget.

“You're a monster.”

He convinced himself he deserved this. He doesn’t deserve happiness or love. He fell for the first woman who was kind to him, and this is where it took him. Down a path of pain and misery. He put his own brother in danger just for her, because he was so hopelessly in love with her. Maybe if this wasn’t his first relationship, if he wasn’t so naive, he would have seen the signs. But he didn’t. Playing a leading role that almost got Yuji taken from him, and playing the part of executioner to his first love.

Never again. To protect himself, to protect his only family left. He will never allow himself to love again. 

The following weeks meshed together for him. Days blending, not being able to tell apart if the sun was blazing or if the stars were shining. He drifted around the apartment like a ghost, all greasy hair and dark circles. Just a husk of his former self. It was starting to worry Yuji.

Lysithea was taken into custody, set to be questioned by the higher ups on their motive before she was also sentenced to death. Yuji filled Choso in on the details. Apparently, it took a great deal of torture for her to reveal anything, and she still didn’t give away everything they wanted. Some secrets left unanswered, clutching them to her grave. 

The twins were curse users who were working for Kenjaku. Their orders were simple: bring back Yuji Itadori, dead or alive. They used Choso, he was their ticket to get close to the younger brother. Stringing Choso along in their plot unknowingly. They had even placed a tracker in Yuji’s hoodie so they could bump into him with his guard down. Lilith was stronger, with a cursed technique more suited for combat. That is why she sent her identical twin to swap her place on the date, attempting to keep Choso distracted and away from saving his brother. 

To make matters worse, the higher-ups knew about this whole thing. They had the power to stop things before they got out of hand and chose not to. They couldn't care less if Sukuna’s vessel or the half-curse were taken out in the process. They just watched, waiting on standby as things unfolded.

The two things they really wanted to know, Kenjaku’s whereabouts and his next move, were something Lysithea refused to reveal. Leaving everyone at Jujutsu Tech clueless on how to proceed. 

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

A part of him died with her that day. It took him a long time to recover, to return to himself again. It wasn’t until he met you that he realized how love should feel. You made him feel whole again, piecing together the still shattered pieces of his heart. 

He leans forward in his chair, watching the rise and fall of your chest as you rest in the hospital bed. It has been 7 hours, and you still showed no sign of waking. 7 hours he stayed awake, fighting the burning in his tired eyes as he refused to leave your side. Machines and cords hooked to you, steady beeps filling the air. Fluorescent lights illuminating the room, highlighting the fresh bandages that wrap around your body. One of his large hands firmly wrapped around yours. 

He wishes he could take everything back. Never met you, never started seeing you. Every kiss, every shared moment, he would undo it all if it meant he didn’t have to watch you suffer before his eyes. If it wasn’t for him, you would never have ended up in this situation. You would be safe at home, drawing in your sketchbook or out with your friends. He has ruined you.

Shoko healed you to the best of her ability, using both her cursed technique and medical expertise. You were alive, you were stable, but still not awake. Even though the blood he transfused to you did help until Shoko arrived on scene, it was attacking your body. She wasn’t able to fully flush that from you. 

“It’s up to her now,” Shoko told him after leaving the operating room. “She has to win the fight on her own.”

“She will” Choso assured her, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Even when everyone doubted if you could pull through or not, he refused to give up on you.

“Please, little flower.” Choso begged, scooting his chair closer to you. The legs screeching loudly against the hard tile floor. He rests his cheek on top of your chest, looking up at you with red and puffy eyes. “Wake up. Please wake up for me.”

dividers by @cyberangel-graphics

Taglist: @lavenderdaydream97 @angel04-01

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read so far! With this chapter, we are now caught up to everything I have on my Ao3, which means it is time for new stuff to be released! The next chapter is written and will be uploaded sometime next week :)

[yiangchen]

as much as i love bellarke, i think a kiss (on the lips) would have been too much in the s2 finale. clarke had already been forced to mercy kill finn and lexa had just betrayed her. and then bellarke committed genocide. all in the same season. girl was going THROUGH it. i also think the cheek kiss is fitting. and that much more heartbreaking somehow. it’s like. i am too broken to offer anything to you. all i can offer is this short-lived moment of intimacy, and then i have to go. you deserve so much more than me. you know that’s what she was thinking despite his pleas for her to stay.

now, i could see an au where he convinces her to stay, but only if they don’t stay in arkadia but go somewhere new. there are so many post s2 au fics where t100 and bellarke settle by the sea and i absolutely ADORE that concept. in a world where they were going to be cancelled after two seasons and knew about it, i could see this happening and there’s a montage implying everyone lives happily ever after and bellarke gets together eventually.

season 3 is a tricky one. because that season is A Lot…as we all know lmao. they were definitely being set up in the first few episodes. however, gina’s and lexa’s deaths very quickly make things kinda complicated. i love the idea of bellarke happening during hakeldama (all of the emotions were coming out and that kneeled down hand hold was insanely romantic), but only in a universe where bellamy and gina either weren’t together or she didn’t die. i honestly think gina wasn’t going to exist originally and that s2 set up bellarke to happen in s3, but then lexa’s popularity caught the writers off guard, and they decided to go the c/lexa route briefly. so then gina was added in. and things very quickly became a kind of love square (bellamy’s jealousy/hurt over clarke working with lexa and raven telling bellamy “too bad you were never that devoted to gina”). it’s honestly wild looking back at how blatant that was. before the bellamy, clarke and echo triangle, there was the bellamy, clarke, lexa and gina square (and before that there was the bellamy, clarke, finn and raven square…but that’s a discussion for another day!)

anyway, moving on to s4. i do agree that they probably considered clarke making it to space or bellamy staying on earth, but only in a universe where they were going to be cancelled. bellarke never spent a significant time in the same place off screen. i think that was intentional. we were never meant to miss any of bellarke’s story. and if they had gotten together over a time jump, we would have missed so much. i do think it works in the case of a cancellation though. i can see it so clearly. when clarke comes back and sees that he didn’t leave, she’s furious, asking him why, and he’d probably say something sappy yet sarcastic about how it’s kinda hard to listen to his head when his heart is telling him he’s in love with the girl he’s supposed to leave behind. idk who kisses who, but let me tell you, this would have been the KISS we had been waiting for. and then! cue montage of bellamy and clarke surviving together and meeting madi and becoming a family and then five years later reuniting with everyone in space and in the bunker.

on a side note, it absolutely kills me that we will never know what bellamy was going to say in 4x06. you are so right though. the writers know and they never went anywhere with that. just like the radio calls. absolutely tragic…

speaking of the radio calls, i would just love to know what was running through their brains with that one. oh to have been in the writers room during that discussion…

it's still so fascinating to me that bellarke was supposed to happen in 6x10/6x11, bob was informed of this, but then he received the script and it didn't happen. that's just so sketch. truly what was going on behind the scenes. it's just so WEIRD the more you think about it. also makes me wonder if that was the first time that had happened. i mean, we already know that there were changes to the 1x08 script to get rid of the line where bellamy asks clarke to run away with him, so i don't think it's that far outside the realm of possibility to think that there were other romantic lines/scenes that were cut throughout the series. i honestly think every season they probably toyed with the idea of them happening, wrote a first kiss or a confession or maybe an almost kiss, decided against it and thought hey actually let's push this to next season, drag it out a little longer.

[morning-gist]

Five Reasons Why Star Trek Continues is a Stellar Tribute to the Original Series

2. Emotional Connection and Closure

Today, we continue with #2 on my list. Check back tomorrow for the final installment

When Star Trek was abruptly canceled after its third season (1969), fans were left without a conclusion to the Enterprise’s five-year mission. For decades, this incomplete journey remained a bittersweet aspect of Star Trek history. Star Trek Continues stepped in to address this, picking up where TOS left off and carrying the story to a meaningful conclusion.

Through its carefully crafted episodes, the series wrapped up storylines and provided fans with a satisfying farewell to the original crew. The final episodes were particularly poignant, exploring themes of legacy, exploration, and personal growth that resonated deeply with viewers. By completing the mission, Star Trek Continues gave fans the closure they had been longing for, bringing a sense of resolution to this iconic chapter of the Star Trek universe.

What made the series even more special was its ability to expand the Star Trek universe in a way that felt authentic and meaningful. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Star Trek Continues built upon the foundation of TOS, bridging the narrative gap between the original series and The Motion Picture. This respect for the legacy ensured that the show felt like a natural continuation of the original while adding new dimensions to the Star Trek mythos.

By combining emotional depth, respectful storytelling, and a sense of closure, Star Trek Continues provided fans with a final journey alongside the beloved crew of the Enterprise. It wasn’t just a continuation—it was a celebration of everything that made Star Trek iconic. For fans who had followed the series since 1966, this was the perfect way to boldly go one more time.

Transition to Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

[zkylearnstherope]

Victim [An Analysis] Finale + Theories

Part 1 - Part 2 - [Part 3]

Alright, here's the finale. There are some stuff I forgot to mention in the first two parts, and some corrections too. A few analysis from Wanted, and I am also including theories at the end as well.

Thank you for @d8tl55c for pointing it out.

That map was of Newgrounds, not the Outernet, which was I initially thought. There are two more texts at the bottom of it, and one was also highlighted in yellow, but it's two blurry to read.

The sticks around vic knows where the PCs are. But this doesn't explain how Purple has his own human. Purple can move from the Mac, to Minecraft, to the Outernet. And King was also able to buy a Minecraft item too. Is the Outernet more easily accessible that we initially thought?

Another thing I want to point out is that I don't think The Salad cares much about the Outernet. They have never expressed interest in finding out where King lives, nor did they explore the area after Showdown. Finding the city in The Box didn't even surprise them a bit, nor seeing more sticks like them. They know it's there, but they just don't care about it that much.

So, even if Second finds out about what Dark and Chosen did, I don't think he would align himself with vic, to be honest. He'll just go back to ALANSPC.

The building in Wanted exploded because Chosen hit the glitch bullet with a fireblast. Yes, he also has fireblast. Although, I will admit, it does look different than the fireblasts in Victim. It could be an animation thing, since they made the episodes a year apart. Or it could also mean that it was only Dark who was doing the destruction. But I don't care. I still hate Chosen for letting it all go down.

Also, this scene was definitely referencing Mitsi. Another one almost got hit by a rubble because of him.

And here's a summary of why vic is NOT an evil boss. Read the Part 2 for a more elaborate info.

The workers did not resign. The majority of the workforce disappeared because of the event. The string is connected to FRAME article of Where did they go?

Only one of them gave a (bad) interview. And it was at the same time the rumors started going around that he was in debt because the shareholders started selling shares. It was 3 articles in total written by a rival company to deface him.

Why do I think there's a rival company? Because of the incident report of someone getting caught stealing the UI Tools. Agent was able to subdue the suspect, and they filed a police report on it.

Yes, the Rocket Co. company "is not the same". That's because the original people were not there anymore. THEY DIED.

The previous articles say that vic hasn't made a public appearance, even after he became the new CEO.

He wasn't mistreating his workers. He's just not there.

And assuming they used to party all the time with Mitsi, those times should've stopped as well.

The article just exaggerated all the events at the company, and probably what that worker said in the interview as well. Typical newspaper stuff.

Everybody desperately want to make vic the evil cold boss, and people always forget that he and The Mercs have NEVER KILLED anyone.

What he has done so far was beat a god-level terrorist with ominous music playing in the background, and people were like- yeah that has to be the super bad guy ever. Everybody knows that nerd CEOs of tech companies are evil, yeah.

Despite seeing Victim where vic is the one who grants powers to people, people still think he would "take Second's power for himself".

A truly truly misunderstood character. Not only misunderstood, but there's barely anyone who cares enough to listen.

Second and Yellow's Capture.

Rocket Co. has two goals: Capturing Chosen and figure out how a cursor ended up in the Outernet.

The UI Tools were very rare. And because they were hunting down a cursor, they needed to know where Second got the pencil. Sticks are afraid of the Animators, they don't want the idea of them just casually showing up to the Outernet. Second was captured because of his potential connection to an Animator. And so did Yellow.

They are not aware about the hole in the Sky Tile, so there's no way they'll figure out how Yellow managed to summon a cursor, without capturing him too.

Although, it was actually Dark's tech that did the summoning, so I am not sure if Yellow would even be able to replicate it.

Agent overbeating RGB.

I see all of it as precaution. Chosen and Dark has already managed to wipe out Newgrounds. And now an Orange hollow managed to laser beam one of those terrorists.

It's only logical for them to assume that everyone that is potentially connected to The Chosen One would be powerful as well.

That's how I would respond too. I wouldn't trust people connected to terrorists, not even children. I would take try to take them down quickly before they could even harm the civilians around me. Agent was protecting the drivers, his family. No way he's letting them be in danger again.

(Also, I never agreed with them being children, but it's not related right now.)

I don't know why they stopped scanning Chosen. I honestly think it's a writer's plot hole, but an in-universe explanation would be that they needed to get everyone away from Second as possible. He could potentially get out at any time.

Why did it take too long for Agent to Pause Second and Chosen in Wanted? Were the Mercs playing with them all that time?

I don't see Wanted as the Mercs having fun.

I was more distracted by the fact that Second decided to use animals as meat shields. He can draw Rockets but not sure why he drew animals. A very odd choice for someone to immediately want living things to protect him. But that's not important right now.

It seems to me that the fight was being observed by cameras, and Agent has comms on. They were being ordered to push Second to use the Pencil to the extent of his abilities.

Since this was the first time they've seen a stick create life, and it was an Observation Sequence. NOT playing around.

Since I was right about vic having a tall wife, and that Agent is some sort of a sadist policeman, here are more theories I have.

The people around vic, especially his wife, knows that there Evil Animators out there, I want it to be true, that Mitsi was the one behind the Freedom website. She drew Black victim because they know how Noogai3 kept reviving the same black hollow over and over again. It was initially meant to save future versions of victim, but it ended up freeing Chosen and now Dark was created too.

The idea that they wanted to help enslaved sticks but ended up releasing the Terrorists of Newgrounds is so good of a backstory.

It was Chosen who saved Agent Oreo.

As much as I hate Chosen, I can't deny that this is his portal.

As to why he decided to save people, I have no idea.

The next Corn Dog Guy appearance will be his POV in Newgrounds. Then, we'll get to see what Chosen is actually doing there.

[small text] SKY Journal Astronomical breakthrough Highlights from SKY conference about(?) discovery of Sky Tiles How do Sky Tiles affect our understanding of weather? Microscopic examinations of Green Life Particles advance medical technology. [small text]

The Outernet sticks are aware of the benefits of the Green Particles. Now, I wonder if vic is now seeing Second as his way to save everyone? But too much time has passed, I don't know if Mitsi is still recoverable.

Right now, vic is trying to find out how an Animator managed to come to the Outernet. I personally think that the next episode would be more flashbacks but from Chosen's POV. Gotta get that angst meter high up.

I'm sure I had more theories, but I got so distracted today, that I forgot some of them.

Anyway, thank you for reading.

[humansbgone]

And it's scriptwriting time again! But first, there was plotting. Just lots and lots of outlining--not only for episode 11, but for the next five or six episodes after it, too. Major thanks to SinclaireDeLune (https://www.instagram.com/sinclairedelune  ) and Ehan Viles for their help with that!

On previous episodes, a lot of meat was already written out years in advance. I just had to stitch it together. But, we've finally hit a point in the story where not a lot has been fleshed out, so I've had to do some fleshing. The Formicosa City part of the story has been hard for me to get a grasp on in particular the entire time I've been working on HBG, so that isn't helping. On top of that, a lot of episodes have been dragging more than I would like, so I really want to tighten up these next ones.

Now, at least a week for storyboarding, and another week for recording voices and making the animatic, after which I can ship that off to DDX.exe (https://ddxexe.bandcamp.com/ ) for her to start on music.

Then, I can finally begin model and asset work. I'm going to be looking into some new workflows, so the amount of time that will take is unpredictable. I also can't say a lot about how long staging, blocking, and animating will take until the animatic is done. At this point, I'm tentatively looking at a release somewhere in the ballpark of April to May. We'll see how it goes. Until next time!

[chaos-societies]

Episode 9, The Green Hills

[x] – The Hills – Talisk

The first day of travels after their pit stop at Búra’s homestead was light and uneventful. The night out in the wild made the gang already miss Búra’s welcome, but they managed. The next morning was cool and there was dew on the flora around. They continued northwest and soon came up on a hill. As they did, they could tell the world around them was different. It was the first hill that was completely covered in lush green grass – no signs of dirt or sand.

As they reached the top, they looked out and saw something they had never seen before. For miles, as far as the eye could see, green hills covered the expanse. Some hills small, some obscured the horizon, some were bare and some had tall and healthy trees. The sight shone a new spirit in the crew and even brought tears to Amy’s eyes. The grass was a deep green and white clouds speckled the pure blue sky overhead.

Sonic and Tails let out a gasp as they sprinted (and flew) off with excitement. They could say no words as laughter and chuckles obscured their vocal chords. Rouge and Amy took a seat on top of that hill and took in the sights. Amy’s hand was mindlessly running through the soft grass. The grass was short where they were but they could see where it grew tall not far off. Sonic was already probably half a mile off in the distance. He sprinted through the tall grass leaving a trail mowed over in his wake; a path carved into the undisturbed stalks that weaved sporadically about the hills.

“I take it these are the Green Hills.” Rouge stated the obvious.

Amy wiped another tear from here eye. “It’s beautiful.” She sniffled a little. “I’ve never seen so much green!”

Rouge took a deep breath of the cool fresh air and just smiled. “Yeah.”

Meanwhile, Sonic continued to run and Tails hovered over him. The landscape became an instantaneous escape and they relished in the moment. Sonic’s arms were extended so he could feel the brush of the tall stalks as he wisped by. Tails flew a bit lower and reached one hand down so he could do the same.

At one point the grass began to shrink down to a similar height as that first hill. Sonic stopped and Tails followed suit, hovering a bit as he lowered his feet gently onto the ground below. They looked back and saw Rouge and Amy maybe a little more than a mile off sitting and relaxing. Sonic waved to them and they waved back. He placed his hands on his waist and looked around. The sight of endless rolling hills of green and the earthy scent of the greenery around made Sonic extremely content. But it also shot a pang of sadness through him. All his life, he had lived on South Island and though it was vastly greener there than in the Greater Area, it paled in comparison to this. But that was his home and he knew he would have to return to the desert once again and eventually for good once they were all finished with their journey. He almost wished he could live in the free open Green Hills forever but knew he couldn’t abandon his friends and family, and his chapter of his Society.

The sadness left him as a breeze rolled through and the light rustling of the grass was heard all around. Waves were seen rolling over the hills from the wind as if they were in a green ocean. He smiled once more.

Sonic and Tails made their way back to Rouge and Amy who were now standing on that same hill they left them on. Amy was twirling around with her eyes closed, chin high, and arms extended out. As Sonic came up, she stopped and smiled at him. “Oh, this is wonderful isn’t it!”

“It sure is!” Sonic answered. But Amy continued.

“The air is so fresh, the scent is new, the breeze is cool, there’s so much green!” She placed her hands on her chest and took a deep breath.

Something came over Sonic and he formed a light grin as he walked up to Amy and took her hand. He pulled her a bit and twirled her to kick off a bit of a dance. They moved around in the grass smoothly. Tails smiled while Rouge rolled her eyes. After a few extra seconds, Tails broke out his feadóg and began playing a light tune. Rouge couldn’t fight the feeling for long and began lightly clapping to keep a beat with Tails’ tune.

The couple continued to dance for a bit, now to Tails’ jig instead of a melody inside their heads, and as the tune slowed down to end on long note, Sonic and Amy also concluded their dance.

They rejoined Rouge and Tails and quickly decided it would be a good time to stop for some food. They sat down on top of that same hill and began eating, looking out at the vast sea of green. The meal was relatively quiet as they just stared at the sight in front of them. Who knew a view with nothing but hills and a few trees could be so breathtaking, but when that sight is new, and so different from empty desert, it was wondrous to the quartet.

Knowing they couldn’t sit for much longer, and that they could continue to take in the scenery as they journeyed northwest to Smithwick, they cleaned up from their meal and strode on.

The ground beneath their feet was firm compared to the sand they were used to but also soft and not a discomfort to their roving feet. The grass was soft as they kept up a good stride often with hands extended. The breeze continued to welcome them to the new land and the sounds of flickys in some of the trees created a peaceful ambience.

They continued their trek and as the day continued, they knew they should be able to see Smithwick at some point off in the distance. But for the first time since leaving South Island, they almost wished they would not arrive at the seaside city just yet. The buildings, streets, commotion and crowds of a city were not at all appetizing to them now that they were in the open lands of the Green Hills. But nonetheless, they continued on to try and make it to their destination before it got too late. The sun was already setting to the east as it did on Mobius and the far off peaks of the Sléibhte Scáthaigh were barely seen over the top of some of the hills. The sun began dipping below the highest peaks on the far off horizon and the sky to the west was warm with sunset colors.

They came up atop a hill and finally saw Smithwick off in the distance. The landscape sloped down from that hill but the green pasture continued to the city and beyond. The sea was sparkly with the sun’s dying light and lights from the city were beginning to shine as the night sky took over. They figured another hour to two they would be out of the fields and back to the city. They were reminded of their first visit to Cap and prepared for the variance of Societies and hustle from street vendors.

Tails broke out a piece of paper that showed a rough layout of Smithwick that Uncle Chuck gave them. The library was on the far end of the city, opposite of the ocean but was not too far from them as they were coming up on the southeastern part of the city with the ocean to the city’s southwest. Tails explained the location of the library and the crew decided to stop by the next day after finding a lodge for some rest and a warm meal. And with that, they moved on – saying goodbye to the lush Green Hills for the time being as Smithwick awaited their arrival.

[x]

As the gang entered the city, their expectations were met as all types of people moved about despite it being well past dusk by now. They did not enter right into a market place as they did when they arrived at Cap which was a relief for the weary travelers. They quickly decided to find an inn and settle for the night and pay a visit to the library the next day.

They passed a few inns that clearly delineated specific Societies. ‘Greens Only’ – they continued to move on. ‘No Reds Allowed’ – it fit the mark for the time being but they still felt weary about it, especially if Knuckles joined them before they left. Finally they came across an inn with a sign posted in the window, ‘All Colors Welcome’. It was not in as great of condition as the others but it wasn’t bad and definitely felt like a place worthy of their patronage. They stopped by.

As they walked in, they saw many Mobians dressed in varying attire attributing to their respective Society. Though all were welcome, they all still sat in cliques with groups of their own. They approached the innkeeper behind a desk near the front. “What can I do ya for?” He asked.

“Two rooms please, two beds each if you can spare them.” Sonic asked.

“Sure thing. What Society?”

“Oh, uh.” Sonic was a little taken back. He looked at the rest of his group with a raised brow. “I thought all Societies were welcome?”

“Oh sure! We have rooms available in all our Society-separated corridors!” The innkeeper said cheerfully.

It definitely wasn’t what they were expecting but they shrugged it off. “Uh, Cyan please.”

“Sure thing, right this way.” The innkeeper stepped out from behind the desk and took them to a small hallway with a few doors with a cyan colored pane. “I assume one room for the lassies and one for you two lads?”

“Correct.” Sonic answered.

Their host nodded and opened the first room. It wasn’t bad at all, in fact it looked better than the exterior of the establishment. “Will this suit ya?” Sonic gave a thumbs up. “May I ask how long you’ll be staying?”

“Uh.” Sonic looked at Amy. She shrugged her shoulders. “Can we pay night-by-night?”

“Of course. Just ask that if you are looking to take your leave you let me know at the desk by mid-day ‘tis all.”

Sonic smiled kindly and agreed. Amy brought out a coin sack of tokens and gave the innkeeper the pay for the rooms. He thanked them and gave them a rundown of amenities before returning to the desk.

The four of them decided to freshen up after their long travels and then meet in the lobby for a meal. After some time, they were all ready except Rouge.

After a few urges from Sonic and Tails to get her moving, she came out of her and Amy’s room and they headed to the lobby. They each sent their food ticket to the bar and waited for their food at a table near the Cyan hallway.

“Well I’ll be.” They all heard in a familiar voice. Sonic felt a firm grip on his shoulders as he looked up to see Knuckles staring down at him. “And here I figured you’d be staying at the ‘No Reds’ inn down the street.” He said with a smirk.

“We almost did, figured it’d keep us from running into you.” Sonic jested. He stood up and gave Knuckles a fist bump. “Good to see you! How long have you been here?”

“Got here yesterday. I had to sell a few bushels of fruit from Angel Island before I could rake in a comfortable amount of tokens. I still hate how you all have to deal with currency down here. Was getting some grub myself when I saw you all sit down here.” He pulled up a chair and joined them.

The quintet exchanged stories of the past few days. Sonic Amy Rouge and Tails on their travels, Búra, and their experience that morning seeing the Green Hills. Meanwhile, Knuckles joked about all the shenanigans his group up on Angel Island got into. They all ate their food and had a pint or two of some beer before calling it a night. They arranged a time to meet and head out to the library first thing in the morning.

…

Sonic was not greeted by any morning sun the next day. In fact, to his slight surprise, he awoke to the light sound of consecutive ‘tings’ and a grey sky. It was raining outside. He slowly got out of his bed and gave a big stretch. He scratched his sides as he looked over at Tails in his bed, still sound asleep with his hands under his cheeks and the occasional flick of his ear. The sight gave Sonic a bit of a smile before turning his gaze out the window. The rain was light but steady. It shouldn’t give them any issues to travel to the library later. He also figured it must have been much later in the day than he, or any of his crew, likely anticipated waking up to. But after their travels out in the wild and having only the grace of one night at Búra’s, he was glad to sleep in.

He and Tails were out in the common area drinking some tea while waiting for the rest of their crew. Knuckles joined them, though not from his room but from the streets where he claimed to have been searching for some fresh fruit in the market. Shortly after Amy and Rouge emerged and they took their leave for the library.

Though it was not the first time the crew had seen rain, it definitely was not as common in the Greater Area as it was there in the Green Hills. The topography would surely look different had it been. But they enjoyed it, more so than their encounter with the storm after leaving Cap for they did not have to sleep under cover from the weeping sky. The light drizzle and the cool air made for a brisk climate and the ambience was peaceful. There were many overpasses and a lot of cover as they traversed through Smithwick so their fur and clothes remained mostly dry.

The city was vastly different than Cap, as that was their only frame of reference for anything urban. Grey and white stone were the basis for the structures around. Lichen and moss were sometimes growing on the structures and vines draped portions of walls in some parts. The architecture was different as well. With arches of stone wedged perfectly together to support the block to its sides and crude etchings in the stone, there was an aesthetic to the place.

They came across a courtyard with an aqueduct that ran overhead with little rivulets spawning from it, leading to smaller channels that snaked around. Some of the outpourings led to a garden behind a rusty metal gate. Another few led to a fountain where some people were washing their clothes, not even being bothered by the trickling of the rain. A large portion of the aqueduct passed by a watermill with a small window above the wheel that allowed the scent of delicious fresh bread to creep out into the open air. A bakery must have been on the other side of the watermill, utilizing the rushing water’s motion to mill grain. The group was curious if the rain had any major affect on the water level of the aqueduct or if the flow they were seeing was about standard on most days.

They passed through some small tunnel-like passageways where steps branched off the path and led up to doors and terraces above that ended up being the cause for the small tunnels. This happened for a while as they must have been passing through a residential area of the city. They noticed the city was not as bustling as it was the night prior when they first stepped foot into Smithwick but quickly concluded it was likely due in part to the weather.

The group passed through another small passageway and found themselves in an opening with what was clearly the library on the other side. Just like the one in Cap, it had grandeur to it. It too stuck out from the rest of the city and looked much older than the architecture around. However instead of clay, like the library in Cap, it was crafted with stone and wood – much like the city that surrounded it. There were pillars outside the entrance that held up a small overhang. The doors were a sturdy red wood with delicate carvings. They entered and saw the interior was quite similar to the library in Cap. It had three levels to it with the center being clear all the way to the roof. There was slanted glass in the ceiling that would likely bring in a lot of natural light if the sun had decided to show its glow that day. The rain falling on the windows ran down out of sight to the rest of the rooftop. The library was much more populated than the one in Cap and Mobians could be seen traversing the tall bookshelves on the balconies of the second and third levels.

The gang continued to walk through to a desk in the back where a small koala was flipping though an old book. She gingerly adjusted the glasses that rest on the end of her nose as she turned another page.

“Excuse me ma’am?” Sonic asked as they approached her.

“Yes?” She looked up to them with tired aged eyes.

“We are looking for some books on some ancient texts. My uncle said he sent some correspondence to this library that may aid in what we are looking for.”

“Hmm.” She looked away and grabbed a small notebook. “Ah, yes. The head librarian had passed that we might be expecting a group that meets your description.” She closed the small notebook and left a bookmark in the other book she was reading then stood up. “Come with me.”

She took them to a small study in the back part of the library. It was a cozy room with a few comfortable chairs and a single desk. “Wait here while I bring the requested material for you. We set it aside a few days ago.”

She briefly left and Amy noted how accommodating she was compared to Eiméar. Rouge joked that it was likely because they did not personally know Uncle Chuck like she did. Though they don’t know the history behind the elder hedgehog and the bandicoot, they had gathered that it must have been an exciting one.

The koala came back with a small cart and a few old books stacked on it. Tails thanked her for her hospitality but she insisted that that was the accommodation was standard in the great libraries as their intent was purely for scholastic advancement. She left with a declaration that they were free to ask for any assistance if they needed it.

To no one’s surprise, Tails was the first one to dive into the books. Knuckles was a little less interested and decided to claim one of the chairs as there were not enough for all of them in the small study.

They toiled over the books but did not find much. After some initial readings, they all ended up indulging in their own interests as Tails read up on understanding ancient Ogham. Amy looked up ancient runes however the most progress she made was relating to what some of the symbols on her tarot cards meant. Most notably a quarter of the cards seemed to relate to water and another quarter related to fire, based on the cen and laguz runes they had found. The other half of her cards must then have related to earth and air and she was determined to figure out which were linked to what. Knuckles continued to take an easy nap, Sonic became more preoccupied with a chain bookmark in a random book he was ‘studying’ and Rouge took numerous breaks between any short reading she was doing to ogle at the embedded gems and embroidery in the ancient texts.

The group left the library mentally exhausted. Up until now, they had Uncle Chuck to point them in the right direction. He was the one that would toil for weeks over possible interpretation of these symbols that have lost their meaning many centuries ago. Sonic and his troop didn’t know where to begin, let alone any hint of where to possibly find another crown.

The rain had stopped at this point and the sun was beginning to show its face behind some of the clouds. Knuckles and Rouge wanted to go out and get some food and Tails wanted to go back to the inn to look over some of the notes he took so he could try and learn more about Ogham to make future studies quicker. It would seem not all of them were mentally exhausted.

Sonic at this point had beckoned to Amy that this would be a good time to get out of the city and explore more of the Green Hills. She agreed to join him and the group took their separate ways for the rest of the day.

Outside the city, Sonic walked with Amy along a main road that headed north. The road was lined with wildflowers and had divots for both carriage and vehicles; although the latter was actually quite a rarity in the world. The Reds at Rockbase had a few desert buggies and Tails had the Syphon but even those were not a common sight in the general sense. Tails happened to come across the Syphon, abandoned in a canyon in the Jagged Browns, and was only able to get it running through his acquired knowledge of mechanics. Most of which he obtained simply by studying the Syphon’s systems. When it was brought back to South Island, with help from Sonic’s legs and Knuckles’ strength, most residents didn’t even know what it was.

But Smithwick must be large enough to see high levels of trade requiring the rare and expensive modes of transportation. Much of the world still utilized more traditional modes of travel which Sonic was quite content with, based on his natural ability.

He and Amy continued walking for a while. Amy could tell Sonic was getting a little antsy at the pace and rolled her eyes before offering to Sonic that he could carry her. He gladly obliged and swooped her up then quickly sped off into the distance.

They came across a rocky area off the main road. There were some rocks protruding from the soft earth that led down toward the bottom of a hill. There, a small creek seemed to have cut through the earth from runoff of the rain that ends up occurring in the area. The creek snaked around the base of the small hills and led off into the distance. Thousands of years of runoff must have eroded the land to expose the rocky terrain beneath as natural stone surrounded the creek for as far as the eye could see.

Something else peculiar about the stony terrain must have been revealed through the sands of time as they also seemed to create arches and tunnels; some only a couple feet in height, others tens of feet.

“Oh yeah, now this seems like a fun playground!” Sonic exclaimed.

With a huff and a grin, Amy conceded. “Go have your fun I guess… as if the past few days of walking weren’t enough for you.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he put her down and bolted off.

Amy watched in admiration at his wild spirit as he ran toward the structures that seemed so alien to what they were used to in the sandy Greater Area. She sat down and pulled out her tarot cards to try and further understand their use, all the while letting the soft breeze caress her fur while the rustling of the tall grass from that same wind brought a calming ambience to her ears.

Sonic, in the meantime ran along that creek – small in nature but mighty in the fact that it carved through the land in a timeline that surpassed thousands of generations of fauna that was found in the fields.

He followed a path of smooth stone that led to a slight drop off and leaped into the air. He curled into a ball and landed at the base of an arch, unraveled himself and sprinted so fast he ran from base to base, upside down and all, as if it were just another path and continued on. That first loop was only the beginning in his wild timeless time trail.

Amy sat there with her knees bent and off to one side and she shuffled the deck of cards. There she laid out a number of them and flipped them over one by one. Wheel of Fortune, Ace of Cups, Ace of Swords and some others… She still was unsure how to utilize them but felt a deep connection with them and the unknown guidance she was sure they were trying to lend her.

Meanwhile Sonic’s silhouette could be seen nearly a mile away already, snaking around the bases of multiple hills. He leapt off a rock into a makeshift foot track that only he could manage. He ran along the creek that seemed to have gotten larger the further from the road it went. He saw another nearly alien rock formed loop and ran its course.

The terrain around was already like nothing he had ever seen, or even imagined possible. But then again, up until now, he only knew one small corner of the vast world. He continued further where the hills became larger and the rocks protruded higher from the ground. Topping a steep hill, nearly like a small mountain, he came across another astounding sight.

There, the rocks created a fantastical formation resembling pathways of abstract spires. Steep hills, nearly small mountains, created a bowl with pillars of rocks protruding from the sides as if each one fell from the heavens and imbedded themselves in the earth below.

Sonic did not waste time with exploring the area and jumped right from the ledge he was peering into the basin from and bounced from spire to spire, leaping between them as if his feet transformed into springs. He finally had landed next to one of the rock structures and ran long it enjoying the sights of springs that wept from the rock faces and large condors that soared up above. He zigzagged up a steep mountainside and found another depression beyond the bowl where more large boulders were piled high as if the children of giants were making rock piles. He found a natural reservoir created by the dam of some creatures with a waterfall that led to a cave-like tunnel. Sprinting through the rock tunnel, leaving behind nothing but a flash of blue and his footprints, he came across a lone peak in a flatter piece of terrain nearby. Zooming around it until he reached the top, he finally came to rest. Gazing off in the distance to take in the sights, he now noticed the basin he previously traversed, a couple miles away now, looked almost like a cage from this vantage with large gaps between the rock spires that lined the edge.

He zoomed back and circled the outside of that ‘cage.’ To his surprise, he came across a ledge side where the ground had loosened and fell to the land below. He screeched to a stop and looked down to see a cave. With his curiosity, he rushed down to take a look.

The space did not allow for such swift movements as he preferred but he continued to explore as the light from the sky above would shine through the crevices that were overhead. He moved around a bit more until something caught his eye. He squinted trying to see what it was; something etched in the rock face? It was hard to tell with the limited light. Was it getting darker? He then heard a faint roll of thunder in the distance.

He left the cave and sprinted out to a high point and saw dark clouds rolling in miles away. He immediately bolted off back toward Amy, still running through the ‘playground’ as he referred to it earlier - swiveling between rocks and up and down hills, through loops and leaping over ledges.

He got back with Amy and saw her standing there waiting for him. She too must have noticed the incoming rain. “Have your fill?” She asked.

“Was pretty cool if you ask me. There’s a cool place over there like nothing I’ve seen Ames! And of course really good for stretching the legs.” Sonic responded which earned a chuckle out of Amy. “But never mind that now. Think we can beat the rain?” He smirked.

“I think YOU can.”

“Let’s see!” He swooped her back up and sprinted off back toward Smithwick.

They made it back to the city where Sonic figured Amy could now do her own walking. “Got some time to spare as well!”

“It seems we do. Though I’m not quite sure I want to stay cooped up just yet. Oh it was just wonderful being out there, feeling the breeze and just admiring the view.” Amy added. As they walked toward their inn, they passed by a little café. Amy fiddled with a token or two in her pocket. “Care for some tea before we head back?”

“I won’t complain.”

They stopped at a small table and a waitress came up shortly after. “None of y’all are whites are ye?” The statement took Sonic and Amy a bit by surprise. They once again were reminded that South Island seemed to be a much more hospitable place than the rest of what they’ve seen of Mobius. The inquiry was probably sharper to them than most people as others at the café didn’t seem to even acknowledge the question. They shook their heads with slight concern and the waitress immediately changed demeanors. “Alright, just had to ask. What can I serve fer you two?” She asked quite cheerily.

Still feeling a little awkward, they simply made their request for some herbal tea and carried on. Sonic began to tell Amy about his ‘light jog’ and how the land seemed to transform into a fantastical landscape further upstream of the creek they departed from. He vividly described the sights and all the rock like pinnacles that were scattered around.

It wasn’t long until the waitress came back with their tea. “He ya go you two. Hope everything is to your liking.”

“Thank you.” They said in unison.

“I apologize fer asking, but I saw you two coming in from the east gate there. Are you travelers?”

“Well, yes, but we actually arrived yesterday. We’re not from this area so we were just enjoying the Green Hills a little bit.” Amy responded a bit bashful.

“You two didn’t happen to see any others comin’ down the road did you? Wearing garments resembling…purples did ya?” Her tone wasn’t spiteful, nor was it concerning; it was more inquisitive if anything.

“Purples?” Sonic asked.

“Now, I know what yer thinking. There ain’t none no more. But rumor has it two Mobians been seen wanderin’ between cities that people are claiming are purples! Heard another patron say he heard they were headed toward Smithwick from over the mountains. T’was just curious is all – sorry for the bother.” She grabbed the tea pot she walked out with and headed back indoors.

“Purples?” Amy said curiously.

“Yeah, weird.”

They continued with their own conversations and Amy was discussing her tarot cards and how she felt a connection to them but still does not quite understand them. Sonic joked about how they’ll likely find Tails asleep on his notes when they get back to the inn.

They lost track of time and started to feel the light pellets of rain hitting their fur. With apt timing, they were nearly finished with their tea and decided to make their leave before the rain picked up too much and headed back to the inn to join the others.

[orcelito]

Man I really hadn't gotten as far in the manga as I thought. I just finished ep 267 of shippuden and it's gearing up for the Gaara vs his dad fight, which I remember being where I dropped off in the manga. Bc I'd been keeping up with new chapters for a while, but with all the war talk... idk it just didn't capture 14 year old me that much. So I stopped keeping up.

Now, though. I find all the war tactics interesting hfkshdk it has me wanting to play a fire emblem game again. Hmmmmmm

[sysig]

It’s finally happening

I’m finishing TAZ: Balance tonight

[nahblubunny]

‼️‼️MAJOR SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LATEST EPISODES OF SEASON 5‼️‼️

Sorry to be THAT person… the miraculous are no longer their former form, they’re now rings that Monarch keeps hidden under his gloves during his civilian self so he can ✨Magically✨transfer the essence of the Kwamii to each and every Alliance Ring that was helped created with Kagamii’s mother. Another reason he created those rings was to pinpoint exactly who Ladybug and Cat Noir were because if they’re forced to fight an akuma, and they’re wearing those rings(which they don’t anyways seeing as they saw that danger of if they wore them) then Gabriel would be notified about who took their rings off, the unusual patterns of a normal civilian during A Megakuma Alert.

There are so many stupid aspects of the "the miracuclass gets to keep their miraculouses full time after Monarch is defeated" thing it's a little ridiculous but I suppose they're all just going to ignore that all their friends suddenly have new jewelry that they inexplicably can't take off right after Ladybug gets the miraculouses back. Is Kim going to wear the monkey headpiece in the pool. Can the horse disguise itself as prescription lenses or does Max just have to wear 2 sets of glasses now

Someone with artistic skills pls draw the madness

[ratgrinders]

Ok here's an updated timeline of the Rat Grinders based on the new info we got this episode:

Freshman Year

On the first day of classes Kipperlily and the others meet and form their adventuring party. Kipperlily comes up with the name the High Five Heroes.

Kipperlily excels academically, but the High Five Heroes only go on easier adventures, presumably to ensure they will succeed rather than fail at something challenging.

Ruben is primarily an acoustic/soft rock musician.

Kipperlily begins to have childish rage and resentment towards Riz and the other Bad Kids, which start out petty but gradually grow in intensity over the next couple years.

Sophomore Year

An increase in hostility, one of the first meetings Kipperlily has this year is being jealous that Riz's dad was killed by Kalvaxus, that if a person has suffered immense magical hardship it is an unfair advantage in adventuring.

Kipperlily tries to find evidence of conspiracy with her parents and is enraged that they are boring.

A week after spring break the High Five Heroes go on their first quest to the mountains of chaos, chaperoned by Jace Stardiamond.

After this, the High Five Heroes seem to undergo a shift where their rage is amplified. Kipperlily's counselor files become much more venomous towards the Bad Kids, Ruben shifts to emo music, etc.

At some point after this Ivy and Oisin propose changing the name to the Rat Grinders. Kipperlily opposes this and Lucy is on her side, but Ruben votes against her because it makes her upset and Mary Ann also votes against her but doesn't explain her reasoning.

A piece of paperwork is submitted for Lucy to change her god, but another piece of paperwork is filed afterwards rescinding that application, presumably by Lucy herself changing her mind.

Towards the end of the year, after grades are finalized but before classes are over thus avoiding the pass/fail penalty, Lucy dies in the far haven woods near Aguefort. Presumably, she could have been resurrected in service of this unnamed rage god, but chose not to. She "stuck to her guns".

Kipperlily's rage towards the Bad Kids has transitioned from childish to venomous, she "hates them".

Junior Year

At some point between the end of Sophomore year and the beginning of Junior year, the Rat Grinders specifically request Buddy Dawn join their party as a cleric.

At 8:01 am, the first day of classes, Kipperlily goes to Ashgrove to dig up the rogue teacher's grave, thus forcing her to reveal herself and granting Kipperlily a pass for all her rogue classes for the year. Presumably she was aware of the rogue teacher's grave beforehand (information only available in Arthur Aguefort's office) but waited until the start of Junior year so she could pass all her classes for the year.

Kipperlily announces her bid to run for student council president, with a platform based on equity, equanimity, and fairness.

Kipperlily asks Jawbone about the creation of Yes! and the events of prompocalypse

Her counselor notes become extremely enraged, with her straight up wanting to kill Kristin and being angry that she can't get to her thanks to Fig's protection.

Oisin, Ivy, and Buddy are seen at Fabian's house party during the first week of classes. Kipperlily is not seen but is possibly there invisible. The Bad Kids are asked to do drugs but decline. That same night, mephits steal part of a cloud rider engine kept in Seacaster Manor.

At the school assembly the following day Principal Grix reveals he was notified of students doing drugs off campus, meaning its possible the Rat Grinders tipped him off in an attempt to get the Bad Kids in trouble.

Ruben performs presumably some kind of ritual at the Frosty Fair Folk festival, with the other Rat Grinders conspicuously absent. Simultaneously, Yolanda Badgood falls dead in the same place where Lucy Frostblade died, after Yolanda had been made aware of Lucy's change in god and was investigating it. Yolanda also refuses to be resurrected in service of the rage god.

The Rat Grinders are seen at the assembly addressing Yolanda's death and how all clerics would be moved to pass/fail. Most look bored, Mary Ann isn't paying attention, and Buddy is unconcerned.

Kipperlily and Oisin get caught trying to sabotage the Bad Kids' Last Stand exam, and Kipperlily kills Buddy. Ten minutes after the Bad Kids plane shift away, Buddy is revived by an unknown figure and he pledges his allegiance to the rage god.

Now the Rat Grinders are scheduled for another trip to the Mountains of Chaos and are on complete lockdown, hiding all of them from Adaine's divination magic.

[idolomantises]

Wasn't sure when it would be the best time to discuss this, but since the ending is drawing near... yes, Bugtopia is ending.

It was a decision I really wrestled with myself for months over it, before finally concluding that letting it end after 40 episodes was the better option. Just to be clear, webtoons did not force me to end the series. They even offered to give me a pay raise to continue the series. It was my decision due to a multitude of personal factors. I'll just repeat what I said on my patreon:

I just want to say, first of all, thank you all so much for patiently waiting for my series to release and for supporting my work as I began developing the series. Bugtopia was a series I genuinely loved and adored and it made me feel so incredibly happy that people were turning their heads towards a series about weird bugs and their natural lives.

However, as you can probably guess, it pains me to say that I am concluding the series after season 1. I had 4 seasons planned with new characters to introduce, but unfortunately, I cannot see myself continuing to work with Webtoons and I want to pursue other projects.

This decision was due to a compiling number of issues with the company, the final straw was when they had a mass layoff, fired my editor that I've been working with for two years, and did not inform me for a week, leaving me in the dark until they randomly assigned me with someone else. My new editor is great and I'm glad I'm working with someone so patient and understanding, but this decision to fire my previous editor, the one who got me the job to begin with, without prior warning made me feel disrespected and disregarded, and it killed all motivation I had for properly completing the series.

I also felt incredibly overworked, I was spending vacation days working on comics and avoiding time with family just so I could get something done for webtoons once I come home. I feel like so much time was being wasted away for a company that paid me so little that I had to work twice as hard building up funds on my patreon. Bugtopia just ate up so much of my time. The pay also didn't make up for it. It's commonly assumed that webtoons authors make about $800 for the episodes they do, but that's not true. In fact, you can make far less depending on the amount of panels expected for your contract. It doesn't help that the artwork i did for banners and promotions were all things I had to draw and didn't get paid for, and the work I gave was either tampered with or scrapped, making me feel like I spent more hours of my day wasting time. There were also comics I had to censor and scrap, likely due to another series being in hot water for its racially insensitive content. But it was just extra work I wasn't being paid for. It also frustrated me because I was seeing other series with far more explicit content getting away with a slap on the wrist (turns out you can't say "fuck" anymore without it being hit with a mature rating, disappointing!)

In all honesty, it just felt like webtoons needed me more than I needed them. I was making more money from patreon in a week than I was making from webtoons in a month.

Personally, while I don't really regret my time with Webtoons and met some great people along the way, I honestly don't think any artist should work with them. You will be severely overworked and underpaid, and will barely be featured in ads unless your series becomes an instant hit immediately. It doesn't really matter how successful you are, you're just a product to Webtoons, put yourself above the corporation.

I have tried my best to provide you all with a satisfying conclusion to Bugtopia, even if some episodes may feel rushed or incomplete, but I completely understand if the conclusion isn't to your liking and I do apologize, but I could not continue working on this series if this was the mistreatment I was going to continuously get. I owe a massive thank you to my editor and assistants for helping me complete the series, I truly don't think I could have ever finished it without them.

Though I am done with Bugtopia, that does not mean I want to stop projects entirely, so please don't feel bad for me. I have a lot of upcoming projects and ideas in the works, and I'm still continuing the Monsters and Girls series.

Will Bugtopia ever return... possibly. I retain complete ownership of the series after a few years, and I wouldn't mind continuing the canvas series (or possibly starting over). Unfortunately I don't think I can continue the Webtoon Original as it belongs to webtoons now, but never say never I suppose!

[sol-iscus]

❗️Mild arcane spoilers ❗️

Miiight ruffle some feathers.

Not EVEN going to lie, unnecessary ship wars aside, the fan base has developed such a deep love and understanding for these characters (because let’s be honest, there are some pretty intelligent people giving eye opening analyses) that after the finale, it appears that we have a better understanding of them than the actual writers.

We deserved better as the audience after all the hype over the years, all the waiting, even after some episodes got leaked a while ago, most of us remained respectful and waited to see what this season would bring us. The core characters ABSOLUTELY deserved better as well.

It felt as if I was watching all of the characters’ development be erased in real time, or become sidelined and nearly mute after being propped up to appear as if they were going to have a significant arc.

With the amount of episodes we had, it felt like they were trying to cram a bunch of different storylines into one 9 episode season and that left us with annoying plot holes and rushed sequences.

And I’m just gonna say it.

If a certain relationship needed to be sacrificed if it meant that other characters had the proper development they needed and DESERVED, then I would have preferred that much, MUCH more than that undercooked finale.

Don’t. Even. Get me started on that caitvi scene. In the cell? Right after that conversation she had with her sister? Don’t give me that nonsense about how it’s vi reclaiming her power or something. (An actual weird ass statement from Amanda Overton in a Q&A video about how that was Vi reclaiming and working through her trauma in that cell).

No apology? No groveling for forgiveness? That little argument they had lasted like five seconds and didn’t even address the earlier conflict that happened in the show after cait left vi. And before any of you say “cait apologized with her actions”

I don’t care. Two things can be true at once, she can and should have apologized directly as well as displayed that with her actions.

Moving on to Mel??? We did not nearly have enough time to explore her new abilities as a mage, her armor, and her connection to the black rose. As I said, the storylines this season should have been more refined so we could focus on a central group of characters. They did nothing but hint at her armor from the end of season 1 all the way up until now.

Also maybe I’m hallucinating, but did we ever find out what happened to the firelight’s tree?? That’s one of the main reasons Ekko and Heimerdinger went to the lab isn’t it? HELLO?

Next on my list, Jinx. This girl has suffered to no end.

- Lost her whole family except for Vi.

- Almost died once and was brought back to life.

- Tried to end her life several more times

And you slap us all in the face by writing her off?

“Oh but she may not be GONE gone, look at the glitching at the end!"

I. Don’t. Care. It’s the principle.

I’m sick and tired of seeing characters that struggle with mental health and keep having one bad event after another happen to them, never receiving a proper ending. What messages are the writers sending with this? That death is basically the answer because there’s no hope for them? Cool. That was not an honorable act of self sacrifice, that was plain insulting.

Instead, if they still really wanted to have a Jinx redemption arc and a chance to rekindle her relationship with Vi, having her tap into engineering for the betterment of Zaun would have been the better route.

We should have gotten an extra extended episode since this is last season for the Piltover/Zaun region, and for Jinx and Vi's story. I really want to blame Riot for being greedy and possibly becoming too cocky with the popularity of Arcane that they think anything would suffice because It's Arcane.

[queenofthearchipelago]

What gets me the most about the wwdits finale is that while Nandor didn't know that Guillermo had Derek turn him into a vampire, he literally knew everything else.

He knew that the Van Helsing blood would fight the vampire cells and he knew that the only way to fix that was to drink human blood. He knew that Guillermo wouldn't do well as a vampire, at least that he wasn't ready and he didn't even hesitate to try and fix it for him. He instantly reached for the Djinn, and when that didn't work, he very intelligently made up a vampire tradition that would allow Guillermo to have a choice.

And when Guillermo couldn't go through with what was required to make that choice, Nandor essentially said, I know you. I know you can't kill him, not like this, and I know you want me to do it for you because you need me to do it for you.

And after it's done, Nandor tells him he knows it was hard but he thinks Guillermo made the right decision for himself. It's been 13 years, but he isn't ready. And then Nandor walks away to give Guillermo the space he needs to process all of that.

In this episode Nandor proved beyond all doubt that he is the smartest vampire here. He's the oldest and he's not been careless about his choices with Guillermo. He kept telling him that "He was getting around to it." But that was clearly to avoid saying that Guillermo wasn't ready yet.

And despite that, he's clearly been thinking about it. That, hey, when I do eventually turn him, because we both want that (Nandor doesn't want to lose Guillermo to old age and Guillermo does ultimately want to be a vampire), I'm gonna have to figure out how to combat the Van Helsing blood with the vampire cells.

And when it came down to it, he knew just what to do to make Guillermo human again. He knew that killing Derek would only age Guillermo by a month, not kill him.

Nandor has been paying attention this whole time. He's smart. He knows a lot more than he ever let onto before. And despite his anger at first, he did the kind thing.

I look forward to where this relationship goes from here. Because it isn't going back to how it was before. Guillermo can't just go back to being a frustrated familiar. Nandor can't go back to pretending his protectiveness is dismissal. Nandor proved here just how much he cares by throwing out all vampire tradition (as he's done before, but never like this). And Guillermo was at the mercy of a community he so desperately wanted to join but simply couldn't do it.

I don't know who they are after this, but I hope it's more honest and emotional. I hope they actually talk about what it is to be a vampire, and how does Nandor do it. I hope they talk about why Guillermo wants this so badly. I want them to talk about why does Guillermo want this with Nandor so badly, because it's clear to everyone this is more than a regular familiar and master relationship. I want them to talk about what Nandor is hoping for after all of this. To know that Guillermo isn't ready, and maybe he'll never be ready, but he doesn't want to lose him. So what does he want?

They subverted all the tropes so hard that I genuinely don't know where we go from here. Somewhere new, I suppose. What a thrill

[guardianspirits13]

I think one of the most overlooked factors in Netflix's cutthroat approach to deciding wether to renew a show is that they wholly underestimate the power of fandoms.

They seem to think that unless a show is record-breaking or award-winning it will not be profitable to renew but they fail to recognize that most people don't give a shit about the accolades as long as a show is good.

And even then, it is normal to take more than one eight-episode season to pick up real cultural traction. Plenty of now-beloved shows did not reach mainstream popularity until they were multiple seasons deep.

Netflix fails to consider the longevity of their IPs over the initial peak of interest, and have thus cultivated a self-fulfilling prophecy as people avoid starting new shows because they don't want to become invested in something that is more likely than not to be cancelled, and thus these new shows don't reach the ludicrous viewership standard they have set to justify a renewal.

Sure, they get new subscribers for new shows but what keeps them there? Maybe they'd actually stay subscribed if a new season of something they are invested in is on the way (barring the cost itself, which is a whole different can of worms).

Plenty of people subscribe only for one or two shows- I remember people cancelling their subscriptions when they took The Office off because that show alone was keeping them on the platform.

Supernatural did not get 15 seasons because of its exceptional writing or cinematography (ha), they got 15 seasons because of devoted fans who wanted more. Who kept rewatching and buying merchandise and paying for con tickets.

Daredevil is one of the best shows I have ever seen, and that was at the time where the "early" cancellation was common after three seasons (with 12+ episodes). Inside Job is one of the only adult animated series that I have ever thoroughly enjoyed, and it was lucky to have two seasons. Shadow and Bone had the potential to be a franchise based in the extended Grishaverse, and yet it also ended after two seasons.

Finally- not everyone watches shows the day they release! We don't all have that sort of time, and it's ok to discover a new show a week, a month, a year after it releases! Word of mouth and fan culture/communities have been the rock upon which lasing series are created, from Star Trek to Game of Thrones.

All this to say, @netflix yall get your act together and renew Dead Boy Detectives before you lose your captive audience 🫠

[ultravi0lence14]

Don’t Delete The Kisses

dean winchester x fem!reader

1.2k | fluff

summary: dean couldn’t bare to leave you when him and sam went on hunts. but the thought of kissing you when he got back home kept him going.

the memory of dean’s kisses were all you had when he would leave for long hunts.

every time, you would wait by the bunker door as sam loaded up the impala, holding onto dean as he assured you that him and his brother were going to be okay.

you had faith in them, they had been doing this for a long time after all. but with all the times they’ve died, been brought back to life, and even sent to hell, you were bound to worry a little.

before he’d get in the impala, dean would always press a lingering kiss to your cheek, telling you that he would kiss your lips when he got home. you didn’t understand why at first, but dean finally admitted that if he were to kiss your lips before a hunt, he’d never want to leave.

the eldest winchester always was a protecter. being accustomed at such a young age when watching sam. so even though he knew you were more than capable to handle yourself, the feeling of leaving you alone in a massive underground bunker where he was too far to keep you safe always had him worried.

you never wanted to be on the battlefield, always wanting to stay at home with bobby, read lore books, and give tips and advice to other hunters when needed.

but bobby had passed away, leaving you in the hands of the infamous winchester brothers.

not wanting to leave the only home you knew at first, you were adamant on not leaving with sam and dean and living a life on the road. but after the bunker came into the picture, and dean crawled his way into your heart, the past two years had gone by in a blur.

sitting and waiting for the boys to call was all you did at first, but after realizing some alone time would benefit you, the copious amounts of books moving into the bunker became something sam and dean got used to.

before the phone would ring with sam and dean on the other line, you’d be found in your room, book in hand as you absorbed new worlds and forms of literature. when that got too much for you, you’d find yourself sat in front of a tv, a new show playing every other week as you went through them pretty quickly to sam’s concern.

but you would still have that nagging feeling of dean’s absence. it settled deep into your bones, having you miss him so dearly it almost hurt sometimes.

he was the first boy you ever truly loved, and you’d be damned if he was torn away from you.

so you waited. waited for the fateful moment when the roar of the impala could be heard. when dean would come down the stairs and instantly go and try to find you. for when he did, dean would not waste a second in crushing his lips to yours; finally getting the feeling of you close to him again.

today was no different. sam and dean had been on a case in missouri for the past week tracking a vampires nest, and you couldn’t wait until they came home.

castiel had stopped by a couple days ago, but he had to leave quickly when the angels in heaven needed his assistance. you were left alone, reading the lore books that you hadn’t picked up in the bunker while playing online sudoku with charlie.

you had ventured into the kitchen only a half hour ago, grabbing a small snack before finding comfort in your bed. a new book was opened on your lap while an episode of your favourite tv show quietly played in the background.

the calming atmosphere you had created was quickly broken as the door to the bunker opened, the sound of boots clambering down the stairs as sam and dean’s voices flooded through the air.

you smiled to yourself, sitting up in bed and patiently waiting for dean to find his way to your room. when the door creaked open, you couldn’t help a wider grin breaking out onto your face as dean’s tall frame stood in your doorway.

he didn’t waste a second. coming to you in two long strides as he pushed you back onto the bed and smashed his lips onto yours. his hands found a home on your face as yours quickly went to his hair, threading your fingers through the strands as his moved from your cheeks down to your shoulders.

breathing in heavily as you pulled away, dean moved off of you so he could lean against the head rest of your bed. moving to pull you forward until you were attached to his side.

dean’s lips instantly went to your forehead, placing a delicate kiss before resting his head on yours. “god baby, i missed you so fucking much.” he all but breathed out, allowing you to curl deeper into his side.

placing a kiss on the inside of his arm, which was wrapped around your shoulder, you lifted your head so you could properly look into his eyes. “i missed you too. far too much than i should’ve actually.”

all dean did was laugh, shaking his head as he moved his chin to rest on top of your head. “thought sam was going to punch me for how much i was talking about you.” all you could do was lean up to place a quick kiss on his lips, slightly leaning back so your faces were close. “that makes us even then.”

for the next couple of hours, you and dean just calmly rested in your bed, quietly talking to each other about the case and what you had been doing for the past week.

the two of you could’ve stayed there forever if it wasn’t for sam peaking his head in and asking what you two wanted for dinner. when you all agreed on something, sam offered to go pick it up, promptly leaving as you moved to get off of dean’s chest.

“thinking of making some cookies for dessert, wanna join me?” you sat on the edge of the bed, dean reaching over to wrap his arm around your waist. only moving to rest his chin on your shoulder after your proposal of a sweet treat. “i’d be stupid to say no. cmon sweetheart, sam will be back soon.”

that’s how you spent the rest of your evening. baking with dean as you waited for sam to come back with dinner. ending the night as you and dean watched a movie to help you fall asleep.

dean looked down at your sleeping frame, stroking his fingertips up and down your arm as he wondered how he got so lucky.

he had a place to stay, his brother helping him fight the supernatural, and his girl by his side. what more could dean possibly want in life?

dean sometimes found himself thinking back to all those years ago, when he broke into sam’s apartment at stanford to bring him back into the hunting life. he was a 26 year old who spent his time with meaningless one night stands, leaving them in the morning and spending his energy on finding his dad. back then, dean didn’t think his life would get this good.

brushing your hair back from your face, dean realized he wanted to cherish each moment he got to kiss your lips. he wanted to remember what it was like to kiss your forehead, or even the small section of your palm. for forgetting what it was like to feel your love seeping into his pores through your delicate kisses would possibly be the worst thing to ever happen to dean winchester

[ennas-aesthetic]

Can we just... Talk about this moment right here?

Because - God. Imagine being Edwin in Episode Six. 

Imagine being kissed for the first time and realizing that there are these feelings you have for your best friend that you need to confront, that you've felt this for him for a long while. Imagine the burst of panic, the terror this engenders - because while it was out of the question before, the act of being kissed (and - to your horror - finding yourself wishing it was with him instead) makes you consider for the first time that maybe, just maybe, admitting this to him won't be such a disaster. Maybe you can be honest with him now; nothing would have to change, and the delicate status quo you've built together for the past few decades doesn't have to crumble to dust. Charles is your best mate - you can’t keep lying to him if nothing else. He deserves to know. 

And it's nerve-wracking, and it's petrifying, and you're a ghost but it makes you feel so sick (no, not sick - ghosts aren't supposed to feel sick.) It makes you feel like you want to vibrate out of this plane of existence. You dress nicely to summon the courage needed, to brace yourself for the heart-flaying (you see him look at you, see him take in your new outfit. If he hadn't noticed it would have been so much easier... but he does. His smile is soft and fond, and the hope that blossoms from your chest is terrifying and pathetic). 

Then you think: "Buck up. Do it now." But there's a case that needs to be solved, and now everything's going wrong and everything is awful and suddenly you're clinging to the flimsy roots of an ancient, gnarled tree trying not to be subsumed by a giant mushroom. And you think, after more than a hundred years of pain and suffering, parting with the burden of existence would be a little easier, except you're back where you once started: a frightened schoolboy held down by cruel hands, and you're afraidafraidafraidafraidafraid...

You feel a hand, firm and steady, enclose upon yours.

Your head snaps up, eyes wide, and you see him staring right back at you. He does not say anything - the gag won't allow him to - but you know Charles, could read him in death, in this world and the next. He is scared but resolute, panicked but defiant. His grip on your hand is vise-like, and you choke back an incredulous sob. Because if this shall be the end, the final end, then at least you'll be going down together. There are no cruel hands this time, harsh enough to bruise: just his, fierce and unwavering. You don't have to face oblivion alone anymore. 

And... Oh, god. You're in love with him. You love him more than life, more than death - this you're certain. And for that moment you make yourself believe that maybe...just maybe...

He may be a tiny bit in love with you, too.