#he becomes less bugs as the series goes on

[therookinyellow]

You know it's a good show when it actually makes me finish a piece of art and put it online.

[dalamjisung]

A muted shade of green ✧ Chapter 6: Silver linings

genre: FINALLY JUST SOME PURE COMFORT FLUFFFFF

word count: 6151

pairing: reader x spencer reid

description: weeks pass you by without much happening and you need to remind yourself: you believe in silver linings.

a muted shade of green masterlist

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author's note: IT'S FINALLY HEREEEE! It took me so long to feel like they were ready for this but oh my god, the wait was so worth itttttt! what are you excited about with this chapter? Let me know in the comments! <3 if you want to join the taglist for this series, please let me know in the comments! also, I would love to dedicate this chapter to the lovely @donttrustlove who reads and comments on every chapter I post <3

“We have a few emails coming in for the manager position, do you want to check them out?”

You two are sitting on his kitchen counter like this is the most natural thing to do at two in the morning. Spencer has work the next morning but still insists that it’s fine and that he wants to keep you company. You think he still feels guilty about the fact that, if not for him and his weird connection to Cat, you would have never been put into this tricky of a position. So he makes up for it where he can– he brings dinner whenever he knows he’ll be home late because he knows you’ll be waiting for him to eat; he makes a mean cereal bowl in the morning whenever he has time; he leaves books he knows you are yet to read by the small table next to your armchair because that is now your armchair and he would never steal that away from you. 

In your own efforts, you also try to make him feel a bit more comfortable with the reality of everything, and you don’t bug him much to go outside, anymore. You don’t call him all panicked and gasping for air whenever he goes on work trips either, instead choosing to spend those lonely days in the endless company of Penelope. Officer Kaper has gotten better and been cleared to work again, and having him with you whenever Spencer isn’t brings you some sort of comfort and guilt. This man had become a target thanks to you and suddenly, you don’t quite read the fantastical stories of princesses and their faithful knights. The way your stomach weights down whenever they eventually get hurt to protect the fairest lady of the land does not sit right with you anymore– you refuse to believe that romance is hurt and pain for one and comfort and safety for the other. 

At this point two weeks had gone by without you even noticing. Suddenly, you jumped from day 9 to day 23 and with the month mark approaching, so is your need for answers. Cat has been silent ever since the attack on Officer Kaper’s house, and so is her partner. For a second, it’s almost like she’s teasing you, like she’s throwing a taste of freedom in your face only to later pull the carpet from right under your feet. Spencer must feel like this too, considering how jittery he has been lately. At this point, you know how to recognise the different gestures of those pretty hands, and the way he fidgets with his fingers while reading War and Peace yet again tells you that he is not, in fact, reading the book, but trying to read himself. You don’t quite understand him fully yet, and that is okay; Spencer has shown you that even if it takes time, he is worth waiting for. 

You still don’t know what happened to him, weeks ago, when you two were discussing Josh. You still don’t know what made him choke on his own words or what had his body limp and stripped of energy in your arms, but the truth is that you don’t really care what it was. Not yet. For now, you are just happy that Spencer showed you a side of himself that you had never seen before, and that he has been less… overbearing about your job. Actually, he had been the one that told you to check your emails for applications, suggesting stating the interview process so that you can make a schedule to possibly go back to the store. “Are you serious?” You whispered to him, eyes wide and waiting for Derek to pop out from the kitchen shouting ha! Gotcha! 

“Of course,” He smiled and nodded and the rest is history. 

The chairs are so close together that your legs brushes against his every time you lean forward to squint at the computer, but at this point, you two don’t even notice it. Cuddling on the couch after a mentally taxing conversation had unlocked new heights for you two, and though he does miss the way your cheeks flushed red whenever your fingers brushed, he prefers how now you just smile, honest and bright, whenever he’s closer than he should be. You don’t know that, but Spencer thinks your spoiling him rotten with these smiles. In your defence, however, smiling at him is just the easiest thing in the world. “Okay, what do we think of this one? His name is–“

“No.” 

Your head whips to look at him, eyes wide behind your glasses. “But I didn’t even finish my sentence!”

“There is a weird gap in his resume,” Spence points out with a smug smile. He likes showing off to you, you’ve noticed. 

“I can ask him about it during the interview process! Spence, he used to work at–“

“Next.” 

You know he won’t budge when he gives you that tight-lipped, dimples-showing smile of his. “My god, you are hard to please,” You grumble and poke him in the stomach with your elbow, already scrolling to the next email. 

When you feel his arm falling onto the back of your chair, you lean back a little into his touch, humming to keep yourself awake. “I am not hard to please,” He says easily. “I just won’t accept you hiring mediocre men to do the job you’ve been doing flawlessly.” 

The way he emphasises men makes you chuckle. “But a mediocre woman is okay?”

“A bit better,” He admits gruffly, and you laugh. “This one seems promising!”

“Give me time to read, Spencer!” You groan, leaning forward again and nodding while your eyes scan through each line. “Okay, she seems good, Mr. Picky. Studied English Literature, so she’ll obviously have some literary background, has previous experience managing bookshops and cafes, has dealt with stock and suppliers before…” The list goes on and on, and you write her name down on the notebook to your right. That’s where the names Penelope will be running a background check on go, per Spencer’s insistence. 

“Wait a second,” Something about the name, so visual and palpable in your little notebook previously filled with facts and memories of Spencer, makes you frown. Why does it sound so familiar? 

Abigail Harrison. 

“What is it?” He hums, chin once again finding perch on your shoulder. Little by little, you start to think that that is where he belongs, leaning on you, relying on you. “Who is Abigail Harrison?” 

“I don’t–“ But then you see it, the address on top of the resume and you hold your breath. “Abigail.” 

“Abi– Wait, the new neighbour? That Abigail?” His arms go around you, and now you’re in an awkward angle, half falling off the chair, half leaning on him, but you don’t mind. What you do mind is the uncomfortable, suspicious feeling in your gut. “Oh. That’s fine.” 

“You don’t think it’s a weird coincidence?” Turning to look at him, you bit your lip in unsureness. 

“Not really– if anything, I think it’s a very logical series of events,” He shrugs and you feel it in your own body. “She clearly has the experience and is obviously looking for a job, so why not one that fits her as an employee and is just a five minute walk across the street?” 

As if sensing your worries, Spencer moves, yet again doing the unpredictable and dropping a gentle kiss on your shoulder. Having one thing to worry about it not enough, apparently, so he gives you another one, and now you know for a fact you won’t be able to sleep any time soon. He’s been doing things like this lately, and you think it’s because he’s finally getting used to your presence next to him at almost all hours of the day. His phobia of germs seems to be pushed aside when it comes to your skin, and if he washes his hand right after letting you go, you don’t take it to heart; it’s just who he is. But with cheek kisses and forehead kisses starting a list, this is yet another one for you to tally up– shoulder kisses. All five stars, ten-out-of-ten-would-do-it-again, though you don’t really ask him for them. You just wait. Living with Spencer has taught you patience, amongst many other things, and for him you don’t mind exercising it to its fullest, excited for your list to grow even longer. 

“Garcia already ran her name through the database,” He whispers in your ear, hands going up and down your arms in a gesture that tells you he knows you’re nervous. “She’s clean, sweetheart.” 

This is new too. 

Letting out a strangled noise at the changes that kept on coming, you nod, mind completely shifting focus. “Yeah, okay,” You breathe out, eyes slowly fighting to stay open and not because of the time. “I uh, I’ll reply to her and ask her to come in to the shop for an interview…”

“That sounds great, but it also sounds like it can be done tomorrow when you’re not almost falling asleep,” Oh, sweet, innocent Spencer. Before you can even protest, he shakes his head, smiling like he’s trying to hold it back. “We’re going to bed, Y/N. I have work tomorrow and now, so do you.” 

Any and all protests fall disappear from your lips– the prospect of getting to go to work after only being able to keep the store’s website open actually has you excited enough to make you sleepy. The contradictory emotions will surely bit you in the ass when you actually lay down next to Spencer, but you don’t care. You get to open up the shop again and that alone is enough to make you squeak in glee, naked feet thumping through the wooden floor. He always bugs you to put on socks, afraid that you’ll get sick with the cold breeze that manages to push its way in despite the windows being shut, but you like feeling the cold on your soles. It always sends a little zap of life up your body and you enjoy it the same way kids enjoy hopping in the mud despite the mess– it makes you feel alive. 

There is a rhythmic routine to how you and Spencer get ready for bed. He brushes his teeth behind you, and you usually wash your face first, so that while he does it, you can braid your hair ready for the night. At first, you didn’t really worry about that because you two did your best to stay in your respective corner of the bed. You tried putting a pillow between you too but after the first time you kicked it off of the bed, you never bring it to the room with you again. Then you tried just paying attention, but that made you lose a significant amount of sleep and you ended up cranky for days. Giving up and accepting that, like it or not, you will end up waking up in Spencer’s arms, legs tangled with his and mouth drooling a little on his shirt, had been the best thing to do to move forward. Now, you two don’t pretend that anything else will happen, and before you’re even asleep, he opens his arms with a grunt, your signal to scoot closer and enjoy your very own space heater of man. “Alright, alright, I’m here,” You mumbled, happy with the way your body is warm but your feet are cold. So cold, in fact, that the moment one brushes up against his, Spencer yelps. 

“What the hell was that?” He gasps, eyes going wide in shock. 

“What?” You ask, smiling mischievously. 

It would be unfair to say that the fear from early in the days has disappeared. It hasn’t– you’re still scared. Sometimes, it tackles you like a football player, abruptly and with so much force that you’re left breathless and immobile for a few minutes. Other times, it creeps up behind you, and you have time to prepare yourself. Despite the sudden appearances, however, your fear has lost that constantness that it had before. It’s duller, to the point that at times it’s just not there at all. And you quite like it, everything considered… it gives you space to breathe. It also gives you space to be– not be anything specific, but just be. And the more you can be, the more your personality starts to come back, peeking through the curtains you had set between yourself and the world. 

Spencer always knew you were a playful woman, but this just confirmed it. “Y/N, don’t you–AH! Oh my god, these are death machines! Put some socks on!”

“Never!” You shout before fully pushing your feet against his legs. 

Laying there, feeling Spencer squirm underneath you and then going off on some random fact about why it is important to keep your feet warm, is when you remember. 

You are a believer in silver linings. 

And you believe Spencer might just be yours. 

————————————

The shop looked exactly like you had left it, which made you happy and sad at the same time. Took you almost an hour to leave the house that morning, Spencer practically having to drag you away from the mirror with promises that “You look beautiful, Y/N.” Officer Kaper is waiting for you by the door when Spencer drops you off with a kiss to your cheek and hurried steps down the street. 

From then on, it’s a frenzy of cleaning. You try to convince Officer Kaper– or Mike, as he told you to call him– that he should sit down and guard the door, but he’s having none of it and instead, carries the not so heavy boxes of brand new books that you ordered as soon as you got news you’d be coming back to work. This is exciting to you, this return to normal, but it also makes you somewhat anxious. Once all of this is resolved– and you’ve taken to thinking about it with the mindset that it is not if it will be resolved, but once it is resolved– what will happen to you and Spencer? Living with him has its perks and the biggest one is that you get to actually see him with some sort of frequency. You get to experience having him in your life instead of just someone who comes and goes as they want. If you go back home, even if just across the street, right above your store he visits everyday… will you still feel this connection you do right now? Will you still get forehead kisses, and sneaky touches of his hand, and his pinky hooking with yours when you pass by?

None of that matters, though, when you hear the bell ringing through the shop. A customer. “Hello!” You call out from the shelves, making your way to the front. A buzz of anxiousness runs through you, though you quickly put it out; there is a literal police office standing guard by the door. You are safe. 

You are even safer when you see it’s Abigail, the downstairs neighbour. 

“Hi! I’m a little early, I hope that’s alright?” 

Oh god. With all the cleaning and organising, you lost track of time. “Oh gosh, yeah, of course!” You say, pulling your hair down from the mess on top of your hair and smoothing it down. 

You want to make a good impression on her. Out of all four interviews you have today, you hate to admit that Abigail seems the most fit for the position. Her experience is almost immaculate and her immediate availability is almost too good to be true. In fact, Abigail as a whole, with her warm smile and welcoming aura, seems too good to be true. As much as you believe in silver linings, she just seems like a straight up miracle. 

“Please, sit,” Pointing to the foldable chair by the corner of the counter, you smile. “We don’t really have a sitting area yet, but I’m working on it.”

“Oh don’t worry about it!” Abigail’s voice is bright and peppy, and you should like her. You do like her, actually, but even so, you can’t quite ignore the nagging feeling in your gut. “I also brought a copy of my resume in case you didn’t have mine readily available–“

“I have it here, but thank you!” So far she has been nothing but delightful, and to be honest, it’s almost like she is a missing puzzle. The way she fits in the store is almost weird, and maybe is the way she is dressed so similarly to you, or how she looks like someone who would manage a bookshop, all plaid and cardigans and pretty smiles. 

Pretty.

Abigail is pretty and that’s when it downs on you that you feel a little jealous. You are not ugly by any means, but the idea that Spencer will go to your store only to look at another woman– a younger, prettier woman– has you holding your breath. 

“Y/N? Are you alright?” 

Snapping out of it, you blush in embarrassment. You’re being crazy and you know it. “Yeah! Sorry, my mind went somewhere else for a second. So uh, why don’t we start with you just telling me a little bit about yourself and what do you want to work here, I guess.” You sound as unsure as you feel, and you suddenly regret saying no to the list of questions Spencer offered to make you. 

“Well, we’ve met briefly when I was moving into the building,” She giggles. “But my name is Abigail Harrison, recently moved to Washington D.C. from New York City–“

“I’m from New York!” You exclaim, big smile spreading as you finally place the familiar intonation in her voice. 

“No way! Where? I was born and raised in Brooklyn!” And suddenly it all makes sense– her cool nerdiness, her extroverted nature, her ease to fit in. This girl is definitely from Williamsburg.

“Oh, I was raised in the West Village but then moved to uh, Upper East Side,” The memory of moving in with Joshua is an uncomfortable one and makes you immediately change the course of the conversation. Throughout this interaction, you have to remember to be nice, but also serious. You don’t want to give her the impression that this will be an easy job, specially not with how reluctant you already were with hiring someone. “So, why do you want to work here? Besides the close proximity, of course.”

“To be honest, I–“ And there is a pause. It’s not long nor weird, it just sounds like she’s thinking, but Spencer likes to point out your own pauses whenever you try to lie to him about your strategy during nightly backgammon, and it’s become a sort of a bad habit you’ve gotten from him. Squinting, you let her continue. “I just really like the store. I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, but I walk past here every morning, and every morning, I prayed that it would be open. Everything inside looked so… homey. So familiar. And I’ve worked with books my entire life, you know? I thought… it was fate.” 

There is a redness in her cheeks that makes you squirm in your seat, nape of your neck suddenly feeling a little clammy. “Fate…” You mumble, nodding while looking down at the blank notebook on your lap. Right now, you are torn– you are trying to understand what is it about Abigail that makes you so hesitant while also fighting against your gut simply because the more she talks about her experience, the more you know she has to be the one. 

“…and after almost five years as a manager, I’ve found that I have a really good method of keeping things in order,” She finishes, nodding eagerly for you to show her any reaction. 

“That is really good to hear,” You gulp, getting your head back in place. “So just to reiterate, this would be a full time, part time position, of sorts. I would still come in some days in the week, and you would be acting manager whenever I am not here to oversee things. Whenever I am here though, you would be a very welcomed extra pair of hands and company. Believe it or not, we tend to get quite busy during lunch time and it was getting a bit too much to be here by myself.”

“So we’d still work together some days, right?” Her excitement is so clear in her voice that even Officer Kaper turns to pay more attention to you two. “Like, we’d still get to be a uh, a team?”

“Of course,” You say, nodding stiffly and looking at the clock. “I love working in a collaborative environment and I wouldn’t leave you alone in a new job straight away. We’ll start with training days and go from there.”

“That sounds incredible!”

“Yeah…” Looking at Mike– you are doing your best to abide by his wishes and call him by his first name– he gives you a little nod of recognition. “Anyways, do you have any questions for me?” When she shakes her head, you get up and offer her a hand to shake. “I’ll be making a decision by today end of day. I have a couple of other people to interview, but I’ll let you know either way.” 

Is it just you or is her hand lingering a little? 

“If you don’t call me, I know where to find you,” She says, her little laughter giving out the fact that this is supposed to be a joke. But you don’t laugh. And neither does the armed policeman by your door. 

“Ha ha,” You say, trying your best to be nice regardless. “That you do!”

“Your boyfriend is lucky to have you, I bet he gets lots of books for free,” Abigail is a chatterbox, that much is clear, and with every try for a conversation, the more you feel like she’s just digging for gossip. For a minute, you actually think you are back in high school. 

“Wha–“

“Or is that not your boyfriend?” 

You don’t really know what to do, and it shows. Which is why you’re not surprised at all when Officer Kaper, your one and only hero, steps in. “Sorry to ask, ma’am, I should’ve said something before, but would you mind me checking your ID? We are conducting a security check system for the businesses in this area, there has been a rise in robberies lately and this is just for precaution.” 

“Oh my! Of course,” After that, it doesn’t take long for her leave. 

There is not even a minute of silence until a customer walks in and you have to slap that fake smile in your face again. The hair on the back of your neck is standing up in a way that makes you a bit too aware of everything, and that, in turn, makes your heart skip a beat. Nervously glancing at Mike, you keep trying to remind yourself that you are safe, that you have someone to protect you. It’s hard to focus on your work when Spencer’s voice echoes in your head making up a list of everything that could go wrong. Your job is very open to the general public. People can easily see inside. You don’t know what they have in their bags. His habit of mouthing off whatever comes to mind is not coming back to bite you in the ass. 

“You have a boyfriend?” Officer Kaper’s questions snaps you back to reality.

“Huh? Oh! No!” Shaking your head, you awkwardly lean over the counter to try and ignore the sure blush on your cheeks. “She’s talking about Spencer.” 

“She knows Doctor Reid?” It’s clear from his tone that this arises some suspicion in him. 

“She just moved into the building and we met her when we were coming out for a second,” You shrug. You don’t want to feed your panic and you also don’t want to leave the man who got injured because of you on edge and scared. Abigail is just a bit taller than you and definitely stronger, with the body of someone who seems to care about her healthy appearance, while you… well, you prefer sitting on your armchair all afternoon with a cup of coffee and a book in your hands. A bit of a cliche, yes, but your life overall was a bit of a cliche, if you think too hard about it. “Spence thought it was better to let her believe whatever.” 

“Hm, I’m sure he did,” Mike said with a dramatic wink, wiggling his brows in that suggestive way that makes you chuckle so desperately that he has a hard time not laughing at your reaction. “You know, I think Doctor Reid has a crush on you.” 

“Ex-Excuse me?” You sputter out, eyes wide at how easy it is for this man to voice something that has been swimming in your head so insistently. 

Spencer having a crush on you is not that wild of a thought, when you think about it objectively. It’s the Proximity Principle. You read about it once back when you were in college and it’s kind of stuck– people are more likely to form close relationships with other people they spend significant amount of time with. Unfortunately, though, you also know that crushes are also dependant on a certain fantastical factor, something that allows humans to project a lot of their needs onto the one that holds their affections. Predicting Spencer’s needs is actually not hard either, and the more he tells you about himself, the more your heart break for the boy that lives inside that man; the one that is afraid of being abandoned, the one that misses his mother dearly, the one sees a family in the coworkers he spends so much time with. You see how you can fulfil this role for him, you’re not blind nor stupid. His smile gives him away, to be very honest, with how bright and big it gets when he notices you waiting for him to get home, sitting in your armchair, reading the book he left for you next to it. Or how he tries to hold it back, that gorgeous, beautiful smile, when he hears you calling his name, all whiny and shy at the same time, to ask him something so ridiculous and out of pocket that he can’t do anything but laugh. 

You are the sense of belonging he never had. 

The same way that he is the sense of consistency you’ve always craved. Though in your case, you know that he is so much more than that. 

In his… well, you will never know until you ask. 

And my god, you’re not ready to ask.

“Yeah, a crush,” Officer Kaper shrugs, walking to the counter and smiling like a kid saying something naughty. “He used to talk about you all the time, before all this. The pretty bookseller.” 

“Now you’re just enjoying making me squirm,” You say, squinting at him despite how his words make your heart race. 

“Maybe I am,” He jokes. “But I’m serious! You two are obviously into each other… right?” 

“Officer–“

“Mike, please!”

“Mike,” You sigh with an attitude, rolling your eyes in exasperation. “Are you trying to profile me?” 

His silence is enough of an answer to make you gasp. 

“It’s not like that–“

“Mike, do you want to be a BAU profiler?!” The way you whisper makes all of this feel like a big secret ever. Your body is leaning over to try and get closer to him, and you’re so excited about knowing this that it makes you bounce a little in your feet. “Why didn’t you say something before? I’m sure Spence would help! You can ask him all the questions and–“

“I already too the FBI entrance exam once and didn’t get in,” He interrupts you with such abruptness that something in the air shifts. This is not fun anymore. It’s tense. “It’s fine. I’m happy doing my part here with the MPD.” 

“You are,” You nod. “You really are. Thank you.” 

That is the last of the small talk for the day, the next interviewee coming in before you can say another peep. 

————————————

“Did you have a good time at the store today?” 

This is the first time that you are not the one doing the waiting. Or the cooking. Or– “Did you clean?” You ask, a bit shocked with how spotless the entire place looks even though the air smells like tomato sauce and… something else? 

“Why do you say this as something so hard to believe?” Spencer is baffled at your expression, laughing incredulously. “I live here! This is my apartment! I’ve been living by myself since I was 18!”

“I just never seen you clean!” You defend yourself with a lighthearted laughter.

“I’m thirty years old!”

“That just means you’re old,” And you two fall back to the usual teasings while you walk around the living room, dropping your coat and bag on the couch, and moving into the kitchen to help with whatever you can. “Oh my! And you even cooked! Careful Spence, you’re spoiling me… I might just want you to make me dinner everyday from now on.” 

Spencer just shrugs with that little shy smile playing on his lips. “I could get used to spoiling you…” 

“I could get used to being spoiled,” You mumble, eyes unwavering from his. Letting the tension of the moment grow, you push your hair behind your ears. “Can I help with anything?” 

“Not really, I made sure to start it really so it would be ready when you came home,” He says and turns into a ball of excitement that is all limbs and fast words. You love him like this and so you listen, like you’ve been yearning to do all day. He tells you that this is a recipe that Rossi taught him a while ago, and the wine is the exact same one he recommended back then, and just as he says, when you look closely to the busy workspace on the kitchen isle, there they are– two glasses half-full. In a very Spence fashion, he goes on and on about the exactness of the ingredients and how the whole idea that cooking is about ‘feeling it’ is kind of stupid, but the more he talks, the more breathless you find yourself. 

There is wine. 

There are entrees, and it looks like Spencer did his due diligence, buying your favourite crackers from the deli nearby. 

There are main dishes, sides, dessert; and you guess it is some sort of a tiramisu, catching the smudges of chocolate powder and coffee by the sink. 

And then there is Spencer. There is Spencer back home early. Spencer wearing his favourite purple sweater. Spencer with his combed hair. Spencer without his phone? Now you are suspicious, looking around with a confused frown on your face.  

“Is everything okay?” 

“Where is your phone?” His satchel is also not where he usually leaves it, gone from it’s perch by the door. 

“My phone?” He asks, sounding as confused as you. “Why do you need my phone?” 

“I don’t, I just never seen you without it.” 

“Oh,” That makes him laugh. “I don’t need it today.”

“Why not?”

“Curiosity killed the cat, Y/N,” Spencer catches you by the shoulder and brings you back to the set dinner. “Just sit down and enjoy this. We finally have some time to spend together.” 

“You would never let anything kill me,” You say so easily that it can’t be anything else other than the truth. “Why don’t you need your phone?” 

He snorts and turns to mix something in one of his many pans. “Because Hotch and Rossi forbade the team to call me tonight. Derek said he’d be on call instead.” 

“That’s awfully nice of Mister Muscles,” You comment offhandedly and there is something about the way you notice Spencer tensing a little that makes your smirk.

“He has a girlfriend, you know.”

“Oh, I know– I heard it all from his baby girl, who is not his girlfriend, but is a big fan of that couple,” You say, happily smiling while munching on a cracker. “Why?”

“Just checking if you knew. A lot of girls are usually… taken… by Derek’s looks and charms, but he’s off the market now. I think Savannah is here to stay.” 

Crinkling your nose at the though of dating Agent Derek Morgan, you quickly shake your head. “God, no, I’m not– No. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he is objectively handsome, but he’s not my type.” 

“Are we talking about the same Derek Morgan?” He scoffs without turning to you. “He is everyone’s type…”

“Not mine,” You repeat, silently getting up from where you sway your feet. With muted steps, you walk around the kitchen isle to stand behind him, fidgeting with your hands in a moment of unsureness. 

Maybe you are reading this wrong. Not every man that does a nice gesture is interested in you, you know that mainly because you never really believe people are interested in you at all, but it’s getting progressively hard to not look at everything he had done for you and not think it is a date. 

Before you can overthink this, Spencer is moving backwards. “Oh? What is your type, then– oh fuck!” Your arms go around his waist as soon as he bumps into you, and you don’t let him squirm away, even though he tries. “Y/N, wha-what are you doing…?”

Gently, you let your head fall onto his back, forehead pressing close to his nape. Silence reigns until you are ready to speak, but Spencer waits, tense and oh so patient. “Spencer,” You whisper with your broken voice, nerves getting the best of you and making you shake like a chihuahua. “Spencer, is this–“ 

Sweet as ever, his hand moves from the counter, where his knuckles are white with how hard he grips it, to a slow touch to your hand. Brushing his fingers overs your skin, he whispers back. “Is this what?”

“Spencer is this a…” Why can’t you bring yourself to say it? 

Around you, there is noise. You hear the neighbours upstairs, the click-clack of their shoes echoing until they are gone. You hear the heater pipes reading themselves to work through the night once again. You hear the food in front of you two bubbling and sizzling. And my god, do you hear him… you hear his heart, beating, racing, so strong and fast, that you smile to yourself. This is all Spencer– every noise, every shake, every thump and thud of that amazing, loving heart of his.

“It is.” 

Your arms squeeze around him in shock. “I didn’t even say it.”

“By now, you should know you don’t have to,” The soft cadence of his perfect pronunciation tells you that he is feeling confident and calm, and you bask in it for a second or two. Until he hits you with the million dollar question. “If Morgan is not your type, who is?”

“I want to say it, though.”

“Who is your type?”

It’s a weird battle of stubbornness between you two, but you don’t mind. You would fight this war forever, if it meant this– feeling him alive and breathing and laughing. “Let me say it,” You ask, smiling coyly even though he can’t see it. “Please.” His adorable little laughter sends a wave of ripples down his back and you press your face closer to feel it. “Say it then.”

“Spencer Reid, is this a date?” 

“I was hoping it would be,” He says and pauses. “Y/N Y/L/N, am I your type?” 

“I don’t really have a type,” You say slowly, pulling back a little to nudge him to turn around. You only smile when you see his eyes– those curious, curious eyes– that constantly look for answers for his questions. Sometimes, you don’t have answers, but he looks for them anyways. First in one, then the other. Spencer looks at you carefully, slowly, like you are something worth committing to that memory of his by the detail. Like he wants to remember you even when he closes his eyes. You see it, how you make him feel like he belongs, with your open smiles and blinking eyes. But you also see, for the first time, how you are also so much more. “But if I did, it would be you.” 

You are a believer in silver linings. 

And yes, Spencer might just be yours… specially with the way his lips feel against yours. 

---------------------------------------

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[storiesbyrhi]

Witch!Reader x Bat/Vampire!Eddie Munson Series Masterlist The Grimoire

Warnings: canon typical violence, horror genre typical violence, swearing, no beta, warnings updated each chapter.

Synopsis: No witch has stepped foot in Hawkins since 1845, but when Vecna opens the ground and poisons the town, a voice begins to call to you. Have you been brought back to this cursed place to heal the townspeople’s wounds, to save a hexed bat that always finds its way to you, or to redefine your history with a reunion 150 years in the making?

Chapter Summary: A voice calls to you.

Author's Note: Set around two weeks after the ‘earthquake’ and is canon-compliant except there is no Eddie in 1986. This fic takes a couple of chapters to get going, so stay with me. I am SO excited about this, and I think you will love where it goes.

1986

The colony screeched and swooped, taking off into the inky dusk sky with graceless chaos. Each bat had stretched their wings and dropped from their forest dwelling to join the trilling and flapping. Only one remained.

He perched high in the treetops, an unwillingness to join the others that was not typical for a bat. Impossible for a bat, depending on who you asked. He observed the night grow darker with an entirely unnatural sense of understanding.

Eventually, he would fall from the branch and join the others in the hunt for moths and wasps, beetles and bugs. The hunger would drive him to it, yet the hunger could never be satisfied. It had been like that for one hundred and fifty years.

He was the oldest in the colony and couldn’t remember being young. He couldn’t remember reveling in warm nights or cicada season. He felt as if he had always haunted the forest and always would. He felt, and that was the problem.

The other bats did as all Eptesicus fuscus did. They were born into a colony around April and spent a month nursing from their mothers. The pups grew up, hibernated in the winter, mated, and bared the next generation, ultimately living a short life, just shy of a decade at best.

This bat did not. He did not hibernate alone or with others. When they found warmth and shelter in dilapidated buildings, under tree bark, or in caves, he remained a presence on the boughs of the forest’s tallest trees. He did not mate and did not father. He did not fly patterns across the sky while the town below slept. He ate to survive and continued to live well beyond his species’ dictated years. Nothing more. Nothing less.

He watched over Hawkins, Indiana for over a century. With each passing year, things would change. Slowly, the wilderness had been reduced to clusters of wooded areas by modernisation and industrialisation. It was becoming more and more common for the bats to come into contact with humans. A vast majority of the time, the people screamed and ran, terrified of disease or spooked by urban legends. Some marveled at the bats with respectful awe. Some tried and failed to catch the needle-teethed things for sport. Mostly, they were left alone to mind their own bat business, and mostly, that’s what the ageless bat did.

It wasn’t until mid-nineteenth century that the bat sensed a deep and profound shift. The Lab was built and the earth suffered. The bat had an ariel view and echolocation, but he couldn’t know what happened within the walls. Decades passed and the mystery continued. By 1983 though, he knew his kind wasn’t the only nightmare fuel in the woods.

1984. 1985. And, in 1986 the ground split open, spilling the Upside Down into Hawkins. An earthquake, reported the news. The sixth sense innate in all animals knew better Deers, birds, and bees all migrated out of pattern. The colony of bats entirely disappeared one night, having feared the vibrations pulsating from the cracks in the earth.

Only one remained, an unshakable and quite possibly magical force tethering him to Hawkins.

…

“That town is no place for a witch,” came the warning. “Something is still wrong with Hawkins. Can’t you sense it?”

Infamous in Indiana, Hawkins was the place where buildings burnt and people went missing with threefold outcome. One: they were never seen again. Two: returned, but at what cost? Three: bodies found, so disfigured by unseen violence that it was hard not to believe in monsters.

When the streets fell apart in 1986, sending part of the town down into hell, it would have been fair for Hawkins to lose what remained of their resolve. Yet, the town would go on to rebuild, and between the freshly poured concrete and funeral services, a battle was fought in secret.

“A doorway was opened. They may not claim victory,” came another warning with a beg to heed.

Yes, it would be the fight of their lives, but it wasn’t for a witch to interfere with. That was a hard line in the sand of magic that even you would not cross. They called him Vecna, but you had no name for him. His sorcery was not of the natural world. To let him know of yours would be to risk it all.

There was more to you than witchcraft, however. Hawkins was a town in crisis, and there was space for you to help and heal.

“It’s not just him,” cried a third and final warning. “The ground is consecrated,”

“That’s old superstition,” you dismissed.

“So is blood moon bad luck, but look what happened last time. And falling brooms, broken mirrors, and circles of salt. We are superstition. There are some places witches should not go.”

Your mind was set and your path clear. “Something is calling me there. Doesn’t that have meaning?”

“Not all callings are sanctified,”

“Do we fear holiness or not?” you asked. “I can’t walk consecrated ground but should only show devotion to the sanctified calls?”

There was no answer.

You sighed and softened your voice. “Look, I know you mean well. All you do is out of love. I know that. But, I need to do this. It’s… I don’t know… So real. The calling. It almost has a voice,”

“The timing,” was offered as a reminder.

The first time you felt something coming from Hawkins was when the quote unquote earthquake happened. A catastrophic event like that had to have more consequences than just Vecna, you thought. It could have shifted other magic and natural musings.

“I’ve made up my mind,” you stated with boldness beyond your rank in the coven.

“Are you so willing to discount lore?”

“Folklore. It’s 1986. I know witchcraft isn’t a science, but you have to give me more credit than that. We don’t have to listen to every whisper on the wind and take for gospel the tea leaves in our cups… Nuances, you know?”

Your eyes stayed closed and your hand gripped the pen tightly, waiting for a reply to be sprawled out on the page. When nothing more came, ‘Are you so willing to discount lore?’ the last words scribbled in a handwriting not your own, you breathed out hard.

Automatic writing took a lot of energy out of you, but it was the best method of speaking to The Witches Who Came Before. Reading back their psychographic warnings, you felt a small sense of guilt over defying them, but more than guilty, you felt empathy for a town so beaten by evil over and over.

Hawkins was calling.

…

Aid workers, distressed families, and reporters had flooded the small town, making it all the more easy for you to slip by the city limits unnoticed. Although you weren’t sure what should or could be noticing you, there was still a small exhale of relief when you didn’t burst into flames as you drove passed the ‘Welcome to Hawkins’ sign.

The voice calling you to the town hadn’t been polite enough to give specific instructions. In lieu of directions or coordinates, you drove along roads that appeared to be out of the path of the earthquake, finding your way to a bar called The Hideaway.

Inside, patrons sat around watching their town on the news while staff rushed to cook food and package it up for the crisis centers.

“Bit of a wait on food, honey,” a waitress called to you.

“Just after a Coke.”

It seemed uncanny for a bar to be operational in the middle of an emergency, but it also befit a town so used to death. You took your can of Coke from the waitress, left a ten on the counter, and made your way around the tables to get to the noticeboard on the other side of the room.

Lost dogs. Swimming classes. Babysitters for hire. Then, your eyes landed on it.

1BR TRAILER. PARTLY FURNISHED. WATER/ELECTRICITY. NEEDS REPAIR. CHEAP. CALL: FOREST HILLS TRAILER PARK. 312-683-1192.

Maybe it had already been volunteered to home displaced people, but you trusted it was worth a shot. “Hey, can I borrow your phone?” you asked the waitress, walking to the bar and leaning on it. She nodded and dumped the old rotary phone in front of you.

After four rings, “Forest Hills,”

“Ah, hey. I saw your flyer. About the one-bedroom. Is that still available?”

The woman made a scoffing sound. “Apparently beggars can be choosers. Ain’t nothing wrong with that trailer but Red Cross said it ain’t fit for people. On account of the mold, they said.” Her voice was gravelly from a pack a day, but she didn’t sound unkind.

“I don’t mind mold,”

“Guess it’s available then.”

…

The bat had never known illness or injury. Whatever was killing the trees though, had touched him. He didn’t wither and die like other flora and fauna, but he wasn’t unscathed. It was as if he was burnt from the inside out, a mark on his feet spreading slowly but surely.

The sensation was unpleasant at first, but grew more noxious. His wings wouldn’t stretch their full span, and he could only glide small distances. The bat found a small patch of trees not yet turned to ash, settling in at the base of one, hiding under brush for warmth.

It was a fine place to die, if that should be his fate. He was where he belonged.

…

Forest Hills Trailer Park had been subdivided again and again; any spare patch of land was used for caravans and tents of people left homeless or those coming to watch the disaster unfold.

The one-bedroom trailer Michelle, manager of the park, gave you the keys to was indeed in need of repair. There were air vents that sat wide open, the outside cold seeping through. Dark mold grew in the corner of the bedroom’s ceiling. And the carpet should have been replaced years prior.

The very first thing you did once alone in your new home was ring a small bell you kept in your bag. Three shrill rings for good fortune. For everything else, you’d need supplies.

The local general stores would likely be low on stock, and the shopping mall had burnt down only a year ago. It stood in ruin, yet to be redeveloped. Before you ventured to the shops, you decided to take a short walk around Forest Hills and the surrounding land to see what could be foraged.

As you passed people, some looked you up and down, Satanic Panic clouding their perception of anyone they considered to be different from themselves, to be ‘other’ in any way. Some neighbours though, waved and offered a friendly greeting. “Michelle con you into that old trailer?” one asked, to which you politely faked a laugh.

Out beyond the trailers and RVs was a patch of land that seemed unaffected by everything happening in the town. The trees soundproofed the space, making it feel miles away from civilisation. While there wasn’t much in the way of edible mushrooms and plants, nor things needed for your craft, you sensed an undercurrent of magic there.

Crouching down, you picked up a golden leaf, twirling it between your fingers. Close, you thought, but didn’t know what it meant.

It was then you saw it out of the corner of your eyes. Something moved under the tree near you. Small. An animal. A rabbit, maybe? Rats or opossums or a trash-stealing raccoon?

Slowly, you sat down on the forest floor, cross-legged and facing the tree. You would wait until the animal revealed itself on its own terms.

The bat was so weak he could hardly move. He tried to hide away from the human that was watching him, but he couldn’t. When he resigned to his position, he let his vision focus on you.

You weren’t surprised to see the bat. The feeling was relief, like you’d found a missing thing. It was clear something was wrong with the creature though. “Do you need help?” you asked it.

Still slowly, you scooted closer to the bat. There were no obvious signs of injury. His brown fluffy body was free from blood or gore. Perhaps he had torn a wing or flown into a tree.

“I can help,” you whispered, holding a hand out flat to the ground. The tips of your fingers were close enough to the bat that he could bite if he wanted to, or he could shuffle forward into the softness of your hand.

Whatever compelled the bat to never leave Hawkins, compelled him to fall onto your palm.

“Hi,” you greeted, bringing your hand to your chest and holding the bat safely between your hands. “What’s happened?”

The bat was a common species; you recognised him as the aptly named big brown bat. His body was the size of a baseball, and some of his colouring was wrong. His legs and arms would normally be pink, but they were a sickly black colour. It looked like his brown fur was beginning to turn too.

“Did you eat something bad? Accidentally poison yourself?”

The bat, of course, did not answer your questions. You looked around the trees for other lost animals or any sign of something that may have caused your new friend to become sick. When there were no answers there either, you stood and took the both of you back to the trailer.

…

Destiny and a little folly may have led you to Forest Hills and the one-bedroom trailer, but you had come to Hawkins prepared nonetheless. In your car, there were supplies to ensure if you’d had to sleep there for a couple of nights, you could. The bat would benefit from your readiness.

The sleeping bag you’d packed was turned into a soft nest for him. “Alright, let’s get you warm,” you whispered, placing him in the middle. He shuffled on the spot for a few moments before settling, his brown eyes still watching you.

When you offered him a piece of banana, he nibbled at it.

When you gingerly stroked his fur, he let you.

Still, there was something about the way the bat watched you, something in his reaction to your movements. You couldn’t put your finger on it, but it was most definitely curious.

“Alright, my furry friend. We need provisions. Especially if there’s gonna be two of us.” You spoke to him as you pulled your jacket on and grabbed your bag. “Please be here when I get back. I promise I can help you.”

…

It was dark when you returned home. Stores were staying open late to receive interstate deliveries and provide goods to the in-need townspeople, so you managed to get most things on your list.

Inside the trailer was cold, the spring air outside not yet filtered with summer’s coming warmth. You checked on the bat, ensured he was still cosy in his nest. Then, you got to work.

After soap and scrubbing did its part and the mold was attacked with vinegar and bleach, you boarded up the vents and added repairing them properly to your to-do list. In the bedroom, the bed was covered in fresh linen while you dreamed of a brand new mattress.

The only other furniture in the so-called ‘partly furnished’ trailer was a couple of bar stools at the kitchen bench, a televisionless television stand, a couch in surprisingly good condition, and a coffee table that sat a little too low to the ground.

Next, you took a ritual learned from your sisters whilst in India and let milk and rice boil over on the stove for prosperity and abundance. From time spent in Lowcountry, you observed the practice of painting your porch blue. The trailer didn’t have a porch, but the doorframes would suffice. It would ward off evil spirits, as would the salt ring you ran around the home. Finally, mugwort and sweetgrass smudged through the space, cleansing and claiming it as your own.

By the time you were finished, it was almost midnight and your stomach growled obscenities. The bat had been nibbling on the fruit you’d offered, but you’d not eaten since the morning.

After two cups of noodles and a cup of white jasmine tea, you unpacked the small cat bed you’d purchased for the bat. You relocated him into it, still with the sleeping bag, and pushed it under your bed. He’d like it in the dark, you thought.

Skipping a shower, you changed into pajamas and got into bed. Sleep came quickly, perhaps quicker than it had in decades. You dreamt that night. Of darkness. Of blood. Of screaming. Nothing coherent, nothing recognisable. Just an ominous feeling that you were going to find what you were looking for, ready or not.

End Note: Reblogs and comments are so appreciated. Like I said, it will take a couple of chapters for you to fall in love, but I promise you will.

If you are interested in the witchcraft in the story, check out The Grimoire. It will be updated with each chapter!

Fic Taglist: @kaitebugg03 @paranoidmunson @amira0303 @munsonsbait @idkidknemore @paprikaquinn @stardustworlds @loz-brooke @wyverntatty @vintagehellfire @dark-academia-slut @scarletwitchwhore @becks1002 @mrsdollardog @heyndrix @luceneraium @rosaline-black @devilinthepalemoonlite @goldencherriess @iamwhisperingstars @wiltedwonderland @blueywrites @breezybeesposts @jadehowlettthewolf @spikesvamp79 @foreveranexpatsposts @stardustmunson @tortoiseshellspells @wingedpeachjudgegiant

All Eddie Taglist: @solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @munsonlives @sweetpeapod @depressooo-expressooo-blog @thorfemmes @hawkins-high @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl @lilzabob @mymoonisalways-in-scorpio @averagemisfit03 @ches-86 @ilovecupcakesandtea @onehotgreasymechanic @hazydespair @lacrymosa-24 @mel-the-fangirl

[prince-liest]

I just wanna gush bc omg I love the 666 series so much. I think it made me realize I might be... furry-ish? adjacent? I just find it so satisfying how you go into detail about the unique body features of both of them, the way it feels to have deer ears or kiss a TV and just generally how much thought is put into the way their bodies work, and I've realized that my interest in that kind of idea is a pretty good reason to partake in more explicitly furry media lmao. Anyways

I'm also really in love with how you maintain the balance of each of their personality traits. Vox is simultaneously so pathetic and cringefail (also your dialogue for him is perfect, I can hear it crystal clear in my head) but also he has vastly more emotional intelligence than Alastor, no doubt at least in part because he has to deal with Val, and he's able to marginally calm down with his obsession to deal with sticky situations, but even then he still retains his personality and bumbles things sometimes because of the flaws in said personality! It's great. I also really appreciate the balance you've struck with Alastor, I feel like often Alastor is either written to either soften up so immediately that it feels disconnected from his character or is written overly mean and heartless for my liking and the way you've written him is such a delicious balance between softer aspects such as the prey instincts or moments of vulnerability and his untouchable and manipulative self, and also the way this side of him is neither written as wholly a front or wholly his real nature and the complex ways this makes him struggle with his increasing vulnerability. TL;DR arghgr your characterization is so good it makes me go a little feral

Also while I'm here, I'm curious whether you can give an answer to the degree to which Alastor is touch-averse. There's obviously a lot of ways in which he fundamentally dislikes touch but it also seems like there's at least some kinds of touch where he doesn't dislike the touch itself so much as he's afraid of the way it brings about feelings of caring and/or enjoyment being cared for. I'm curious how much, in general, you would say his touch aversion comes from either cause and possibly what kinds of touch do/don't provoke those flavors of aversion

Omg, what a lovely ask to receive. Honestly, everything you said that you enjoy about how I characterize these two is very much what I've been actively gunning for, so it's an absolute delight to see it outlined back to me. Success!!! Thank you so much!

And ahaha - I'm not a furry but I fucking love inhuman characters. Being raised in the pits of Homestuck fantroll RP made me enjoy the whole "they're bug/fish aliens" thing and it definitely rears its head again any time I encounter characters with inhuman qualities. I love writing Vox's TV/computer-ness and Alastor's deer and radio bits, and integrating them into who they now are as people.

As for Alastor's touch-aversion: It's funny that you ask about this, because the next chapter of 666 is going to dive into it a bit. Specifically into the fact that it's not, like, a set of boundaries that is consistently defined, and I write him that way on purpose. The very first time he and Vox sleep together, Alastor bottoms. He becomes significantly less amenable to touch after he goes through an uncomfortable rut cycle that gets sexual. By the time Vox convinces Alastor to fuck him, Alastor would never let Vox do that again and frankly only agrees to topping because Vox gave him an option that didn't involve getting his dick out. Then in the next episode, they're having clothes-off sexual contact. So, what gives?

Things that play into Alastor's willingness to touch and be touched as far as Vox is concerned:

How does he see Vox at that point in time? Disgustingly entitled (ew)? Hilariously beneath him (haha who cares)?

Does he care about what Vox thinks of him? Does Vox touching him draw his attention to positive or negative assumptions he has about Vox's perspective on doing so?

What value has he attached to this particular touch in the power balance of their relationship? Is he humoring Vox? Does he assume Vox thinks he's owed this? Does he perceive it as something Vox is genuinely doing for him?

Has he tried this particular kind of touch before? He's pretty willing to experiment, but that doesn't mean he'll do something twice without a compelling reason if he didn't like it the first time.

Is he getting off on this situation sexually? If so, is it fully willing (read: not a byproduct of uncomfortable hormones) on his part? That only really happens when he's in a submissive role and Vox is hitting a few very specific kinks, a major one of which is basically CNC tilted 30 degrees to the left.

Is he enjoying the touch in platonic ways? How does he feel about that? Is it a vulnerability to want something? Is it feeding his ego to be catered to? Is he worried that what he enjoys platonically is being read into in ways he doesn't like?

Is he fucking drunk? Things that bother you when sober often seem like a non-issue when you're not, both on a physical and emotional level.

How much touching has been happening recently? Has he hit his limit? Did he deliberately put himself into a situation earlier to have his limit be hit and surpassed, and now he's in the aftermath?

He does have a certain fundamental purely physical dislike of touch, but it's something that is really affected by how he perceives each individual situation as well as his relationship with Vox at that time, and his previous experiences!

[baenyth]

Bethany's Bizarre Miraculous Rewrite: The Romance Subplot for the Planned Seasons

One of my goals for my rewrite is to make the romance subplot of the series less drawn-out, more cathartic, feature more of the side ships of Lukanette, Adrigami, and even Marichat, and also get more gay. So without further ado, here's the romance subplot for the first five seasons:

Season 1 (Equivalent to seasons 1 and 2, twice the length of a normal season): Basic lovesquare antics. Marinette loves Adrien, but not Chat Noir. Adrien loves Ladybug, but not Marinette. They're also both fucked-up. Marinette knows Adrien's schedule and far too many personal details about him. Adrien as Chat acts entitled to Ladybug's love and even causes an akuma with his entitlement. He does get raked over the coals for that and after Glaciator/the Ice Cream akuma becomes far more respectful towards Ladybug, but still harbors love for her. He starts to move on from her after Frozer/the Ice Skating akuma, however.

Season 2 (Equivalent to season 3): The love square reversal happens a few episodes in. Yes, really. Adrien gets over Ladybug in favor of Marinette, while Marinette tries to put her feelings of Adrien aside to prove to her class that she isn't just jealous of Lila and targets Chat Noir instead. She does act salty at Kagami for a few episodes, however. During the kwamiswap Lady Noire is utterly down bad for Mister Bug as they fight All Eyes on Mecha. Desperada's arc of Ladybug picking Adrien in favor of Luka is replaced with picking Chat in favor of Luka. The season 5 episode where Marinette and Chat Noir go on a date and gets the ice cream man akumatized occurs here. Alya has doubts about Marinette's crush. She's right, and eventually Marinette realizes that and goes back to Adrien. Since the two are in love with eachother, things work out quickly and easily and they get together and kiss by the season finale.

Season 3 (Equivalent to seasons 3 and 4): On the first episode of Season 3 Adrienette has a horrific messy breakup after Adrien discovers the Schedule and similar things. I was thinking of putting it four episodes in, but I decided 1. it would be better if it was the beginning of the season and 2. I want Adrienette fans to feel the same despair I felt as a Lukanette and Adrigami fan at the start of season 4. The rest of the season focuses on the aftermath of this nightmare breakup. Ladybug and Chat Noir comfort and give advice to each other about the breakup and coalesce into a queerplatonic couple. They still don't figure out their identities because they're dumb teens. Marinette and Adrien start dating Luka and Kagami respectively halfway through the season and their relationships get plenty of time to shine. Marinette genuinely falls in love with Luka. Same with Adrien and Kagami. The love square is dead. Good riddance. Thankfully, Marinette does apologize to Adrien, and they make up and become just friends.

Season 4 (Equivalent to season 4): Here's some context: in the Season 3 finale, Hawkmoth was finally defeated but not Coeur, the woman behind Hawkmoth. What's worse is 1. Master Fu had to abdicate guardianship to Ladybug and 2. Coeur managed to discover multiple hero identities. So now Ladybug is working overtime creating guardian potions and doing nightly patrols to check up on everyone who got exposed. She's getting stressed, she's burning herself out, and so her parents start helping her with her guardian duties (they've known since season 1,) giving Ladybug a support group that she's not telling Chat Noir about. And kittycat's getting suspicious. He knows Ladybug's not telling him information and in general he feels like he's on the level of the side heroes rather than one of the main two, causing relationship troubles in their queerplatonic couple. Chat Noir starts training to compensate for this, to the point where he awakening his fullest Miraculous powers (infinite cataclysms!). All of this hard work for both of them causes strain in their civilian relationships, and they unfortunately have to break up because of it and because they can't tell Luka/Kagami their secret identities. And then Luka accidentally finds out both heroes' identities while Kagami manages to figure them out on her own. As for the stuff between Ladybug and Chat Noir, it gets resolved by Cat Walker, although here Ladybug is more unnerved by Cat Walker, and she apologizes to Chat Noir and lets him as much in the loop as she can without compromising her identity.

Season 5 (Equivalent to season 5 except not really): Ladybug and Chat Noir are back as a queerplatonic couple, baby! The two of them against the world! And also the other heroes! The fun parts come from their civilian relationships. Luka and Kagami, now that they know our heroes' identities, start dating them again, but the other way around. Lukadrien and Marigami. These relationships are arguably better than the other ones, too. Luka and Adrien share so much in common that they really get eachother, while Marinette is more comfortable with her sexuality and has a girlfriend that pushes her to be more, and Kagami has a loving relationship with little-to-no secrets! Rose is ecstatic. Tomoe is pissed because no Adrigami. Also, at the end of the season, after Coeur fucking dies and Felix, her last minion, is arrested for being a butt, we finally get an identity reveal between Ladybug and Chat Noir! And if this ends up as the series finale, Lukadrien and Marigami converge into the polycule of the gods, Lukadrigaminette!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

"Do you Trust me?"

Rollo voice) no

I feel like Rollo’s going to become a puddle of angry goo (think like a freshly salted slug) by the end of this series of headcanons…

A Big Scarabia Welcome to Rollo!

Savanaclaw’s weather was already bad enough, but Scarabia is 100 times worse. When Rollo hikes his way to the entrance of the grand dormitory (just a short stroll from the mirror), he looks like he’s about to give way to heat stroke if he doesn’t drown in his own sweat first.

He’s graciously received and personally welcomed by Kalim’s open arms (Jamil at his side) and just about the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. Rollo doesn’t sense any immediate ill will behind it (unlike the majority of the despicable mages that infest NRC), but he’s unsettled all the same by Kalim’s intense friendliness. When the Scarabian dorm leader goes in for a hug, Rollo politely steps back and declines (citing his excessive dampness as an excuse).

“Oh, you’re right! You’re not used to this kind of weather back home, huh? Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you!! Come on in! You’re today’s guest of honor!” Kalim beams, cheerfully ushering Rollo inside. Jamil follows quietly, but is staring intently at Rollo all the while—this man still remembers everything Rollo did, and he’s harboring a deep-seated grudge.

Kalim starts off the visit with a big tour of Scarabia! He forgets a lot of the finer details, so Jamil has to fill him in on the architecture and history of the dorm as he supplies them with water. (Kalim pauses to call out to and greet mob students as they pass.)

At first, Rollo’s impressed by the spread of knowledge provided—but the more he sees of Scarabia, the more disgusted he grows of its gross opulence. All the gold and jewels in the storage room could feed the entire City of Flowers for a lifetime and then some!!

The flippant way Kalim talks about his lifestyle also grates on Rollo. Who in the world places orders 100 coconuts for themselves, then buys diamonds for his entire dorm as souveinirs? Why does Scarabia have such frequent banquets and parties? How can one man live in such excess and not feel once ounce of remorse for it?! It boggles the mind.

“Hey, you must be hungry from your trip! Let’s put some food in you!!” Kalim summons a feast with the wave of his hand (Jamil had been up all night and all that morning preparing it). “Thank you, but just a nibble is enough for…” Rollo is interrupted by Kalim shoving some grapes into his mouth. “Ooh, you have to try this! Oh, and this too! And this cheese…!”

At one point, Kalim offers an apple slice with an ant on it, which causes Jamil to lock up. He screeches in disgust when Rollo casually kills the ant by squishing it under his thumb, then proceeds to take out a few others lying in wait. (“You touched bugs with your bare hands!!” Jamil cries, looking like he’s going to be sick any moment now. To this, Rollo retorts, “I should like to see you come up with a better solution!”)

After (force) feeding Rollo, Kalim tells him he has “a surprise” in store, which makes Rollo’s stomach sink. The dorm leader runs off, telling Rollo not to move from the spot. Left alone with Jamil, he warily eyes the man (who has been strangely standoffish the whole time). Jamil meets his gaze coolly. “… I didn’t tell him,” he says simply.

“To shield his poor little heart from breaking?” (Jamil shakes his head. “No, this isn’t about his feelings. I could care less about them. Kalim would only be sobbing and pestering me about my safety. I already have enough to deal with on my plate, I don’t need the extra stress. He’s kept ignorant out of convenience.”)

As expected, a self-serving reason. Rollo’s disgust does not abate. Still, a part of him wonders if Kalim would still be kind if he knew the truth of what happened in the City of Flowers, if some darker side of him would emerge as a result. No mage, no matter how upbeat, is entirely free of sin.

Kalim's taking longer than expected to get back, so Jamil and Rollo end up awkwardly playing some board games while they wait. Though Rollo tries his best, he's no match for Jamil, who takes delight in letting loose (he usually can't when he plays against Kalim) and smoking him in every match.

The ground shakes, rattling the stones in their mancala board. With each passing moment, the vibrations grow in increasing intensity—and suddenly, the doors kick open, revealing a parade of animals!! A tiger, 75 camels, 53 purple peacocks, 95 white monkeys, llamas, bears, lions, and even a flurry of birds!? Kalim arrives riding on an elephant and laughing to the slack-jawed Rollo. (Jamil groans. “You’d better get used to this, or you won’t make it through the day,” he warns flatly.)

The animals swarm Rollo, all of them kicking up a cacophony and demanding attention from him. He’s backed into a corner, trying to keep them at bag by poking them with his staff. Alas, to no avail!! The animals smother him in a pile of fur and feathers, and Rollo lets out strangled cry from between them.

“I think they’re getting along!!” Kalim notes from atop his elephant steed. (“Yes, I’m so happy for him.” Off to the side, Jamil snickers with some kind of sick, twisted joy.Finally, it’s someone else suffering for once instead of him.)

One thorough cuddling session later, Kalim flies to Rollo upon his magic carpet (it had been stashed away with him on the elephant) and offers a hand. He yanks his guest up with a grin and plops Rollo down beside him. “Next up: a magic carpet ride!” (“W-Wait, I don’t think my constitution can handle this much excitement…!!)

“Come now, where is your sense of adventure?” Jamil says as he kneels beside them on the carpet. His words are kept in an even enough of a tone, but there’s no mistaking the smirk on his mouth. (Rollo quietly fumes about it.)

Off they go into the Scarabian desert! Rollo wishes he could call it a peaceful ride, but it isn’t. Kalim keeps telling the magic carpet to show Rollo the tricks it knows, which means they’re not only soaring, but also tumbling and freewheeling through the sky. Below, the sands shine and shimmer splendidly.

Rollo’s eyes are clenched shut as he bends over the side of the carpet, trying hard to keep the contents of his lunch down. “Don’t you dare close your eyes,” Jamil whispers. “And hold your breath, it gets better.” (By ‘better’, he means ‘worse’, Rollo suspects.)

They speed up, bursting through the clouds, before dropping back down with collective shrieks. Rollo has to clutch onto his hat to keep it from flying off, forcing a scream back down as he hangs on for dear life, praying to be anywhere else. His eyes are wide with alarm, the fear inside of him clawing to escape.

The wild ride comes to a stop at a single spot of green and blue in the expanse of sand: an oasis encircled by broad-leafed trees. Rollo can’t scramble off that infernal carpet fast enough. (“Wow, he must have been really looking forward to this!!” Kalim chirps.)

With such crystalline waters available to them, Kalim thinks its only natural to take a dip! (Jamil has his sunscreen, towel, and swimming trunks on standby.) Rollo hurriedly backs away, trying to opt out—but he loses his foot in the shifting sands, and…

SPLOOSH!!! He’s drenched, the water weighing down his big hat and robes. Rollo looks less human and more like an angry wet cat (so much so that neutral-faced Jamil has to stop a smirk from overtaking him). Kalim, for his part, is super apologetic and offers Rollo his towel.

And so, Rollo sits in the shade of a tree while swathed in Kalim's towel, glaring at the Scarabia duo as they paddle around in the oasis. He hates that he can't just walk out on them, for he'd surely perish in the desert.

Rollo feels something at his feet--and when he looks down, he finds the magic carpet curled up there, emitting a sound akin to a dog panting. It seems... oddly excited to spend some time with him? Rollo frowns and makes a shooing motion, trying to banish the accursed thing--but, much to his dismay, it refuses to leave him alone and instead lingers at his side until the evening sets in ("Hmph, intrepid creature, aren't you?").

Thankfully, the trip back is uneventful (the magic carpet seems to have expended most of its energy on the showboating trip to the oasis). Rollo never thought he'd be so glad to see the garish interior of Scarabia again, but here he is. Jamil suggests that he prepare for bed (an idea which sounds surprisingly... normal, and thus earns a suspicious look from Rollo). "Oh? Do you doubt me? I would never try to deceive a beloved guest of Kalim's."

"Don't worry! Jamil's super trustworthy!!" Kalim adds. "Plus, we have to go get ready for the... Mmmmpfgh!" (Jamil quickly covers his mouth and gives a curt smile. "... As I was saying, you should wash up before bed.")

In spite of his doubts, Rollo relents with the suggestion to unwind for the night (he's had much too adrenaline for his liking today). He's escorted to a larger-than-life bathhouse and supplied with expensive-looking shampoos, conditioners, soaps, loofahs, a fluffy towel. and silk pajamas. "A bit much, don't you think?" he asks of Jamil. ("We don't do anything half-heartedly here," Jamil replies mysteriously.)

Being alone has never felt so good. Rollo has always preferred to be by himself, but after a day as hectic as this one he feels so relieved to not have Kalim and Jamil (or pesky pets!) with him as he sinks into pleasantly sweet-smelling waters.

He slips into the silk pajamas and steps out of the bathing area in slippers. Jamil bows to him and waves a hand. (Rollo's suspicions heighten.) "Right this way to your room for the night."

The inside of Scarabia is so big that it takes Rollo a while to realize that Jamil is actually leading him away from where the student rooms are—and how odd for such a noisy dorm to suddenly be dead quiet!! Just as Rollo begins to voice his apprehension, Jamil leads him right into Scarabia’s open-air lounge.

POP, POP, POP!! Party crackers go off, showering confetti onto Rollo’s freshly washed hair. He blinks several times to confirm that he is not, in fact, dreaming. No, it feels like more of a nightmare than a dream.

The lounge is infested with mob students, the air filled with loud music and the delicious smells of a sumptuous feast. Kalim emerges from the crowd and spreads his arms. “SURPRISE!! We’re throwing a banquet in your name! To our new friend!!”

Rollo feels so faint, his legs give out and Jamil had to catch him. “M-My handkerchief,” he sputters out weakly—alas, his coping mechanism won’t be able to help him now (he had foolishly tucked it away with his NBC uniform to dry overnight). “You have a party to tend to,” Jamil tells him.

The subtly evil sparkle in his dark eyes implies that Jamil knew this was coming all along… and had let it happen. He had been the one to lead Rollo here, the one to silence Kalim when he started to over speak. Anger rises in Rollo, and he struggles to contain it. “You scheming little weasel…!”

He’s not allowed to finish his statement, as Kalim has hooked one arm in his. Jamil waves good-bye to Rollo as Kalim yanks him around the room, introducing mob student after mob student to their honored guest. None of the names or faces stick in Rollo’s head, but the nausea from the earlier magic carpet ride is returning.

Speaking of the magic carpet, it trails after him and Kalim for most of the night! It weaves itself between Rollo’s legs and seems to stare at him eagerly, as if wanting head pats or compliments. (Rollo makes a face, but that doesn’t deter it.)

For the most part, Rollo keeps his mouth shut to avoid instigation (the last thing he wants is to lose it in such a public space) and downs as much grape juice as he can to quell his annoyance.

When all are full on food and drink, they’ve got to shake off all that energy!! Many take to the floor to dance, Kalim and Jamil included! They’re like birds in motion, free and flowing. Kalim just does what feels best to him, wheres Jamil mixes street dancing with his own expressive style. Rollo stands firmly at the sidelines, arms folded disapprovingly.

“Look at that disgusting display,” he grouses. The mob students around him cheer and hoot for their dorm leader and vice, their support rising about his disdain.

Now Kalim’s spinning wildly, his laugh reverberating like a bell’s echo. His arms extend as he twirls, reaching out to grasp Rollo by the arms. “Come on, dance with us!!” Kalim invites with sparkling eyes.

“No, I couldn’t…” Rollo protests, looking down stubbornly. Kalim misinterprets the motion as genuine bashfulness. (“It’s okay to be shy! That’s charming too.”)

There’s another tug—this time, Jamil. (“That’s right.” A smirk. “What’s so wrong with being a little bad once in a while?”

Rollo is dragged onto the dance floor against his will, set into the same twisted rhythm as the music. Those around him must get a sick thrill from the beats, each and every one of them a thrall to their own hedonistic desires. He wonders how they can live like this, free of care and worry—but as he dances among them, he, just for those moments, is left as feathery and as lightheaded.

How long do they dance for? He loses track of the time. There’s no clock to chime midnight to banish the magical spell placed upon him, only the burning in his feet as he dances the night away, intent on outdoing Kalim and Jamil.

Rollo basically blacks out in his bed that evening 💀 Man’s so tired and so done with this, he just wants OUT already!

… His body’s aching in the morning. (Nobody make an “he’s an old man!” joke, Rollo will smite you right where you stand.) He literally groans out loud as he hauls himself out of bed and prepares for the day. At the very least, his uniform has completely dried off from the unceremonious dunk in the oasis!

Kalim tries offload some extravagant parting gifts onto Rollo before his departure (from piles of gold and jewels to exotic new pets) to which Rollo stubbornly refuses. This leads into a back-and-forth about what would be a suitable souvenir to bring back with him from Scarabia. (Rollo won’t have any of it!!)

Jamil mediates, eventually convincing Kalim that his “invaluable friendship” and “the fun memories they made together” is treasure enough for Rollo. (Both he and Rollo gag internally at the idea, but Kalim seems super satisfied with it.)

"Yes, this won't be an experience I forget anytime soon," Rollo says dubiously. Kalim doesn't catch the malice in his flat tone, but Jamil definitely does.

[skzstoryvault]

Into the Earth (Hyunjin, we'll see if spicy)

Hyunjin x f!reader

multi-chapter fic

AU

happens a few years in the future

Hyunjin is in his post-idol era. Working as an artist and fashion icon.

Warnings: mentions of scamming, dishonesty, abusive people and various kinds of abuse, parasites (and not the Bong Joon Ho clever kind), misogyny (but not Hyunjin!), ageism. More to be added with later chapters.

This is in no way meant as a commentary on the real persons depicted here. They all deserve the world.

Please be kind.

Please do not report this post. If it's not your thing, just scroll away.

If you're underage, please scroll on, there is nothing for you here.

If you enjoy this story and are reading along, I would love to hear your comments in the replies, reblogs or DMs - however you feel most comfortable.

Like I mentioned, this story is finished, but I will slightly change its course based on the way the chapters are received.

Story title is inspired by a Lorna Shore song I saw this on @jeonginsleftcheek 's series "The Sun to Me" and it seemed like a fun idea. I hope my choices of music won't scare people away so here is a song that goes with this chapter.

Part 1 - Escape

Detox. That shit isn’t real and never works the way they advertise it, but looking at his life, Hyunjin knows he’s overdue for a massive one. His work and the life he built around it brought him here, to this point - which means it was his choices, one by one, made impulsively, independent from one another, that, in turn, led him along the way so…

He won’t blame himself. That’s the first step. Guilt is not productive. Responsibility is, and Hyunjin feels he’s neglected himself too much lately. Looking around, anyone would say he is where he wants to be, with a degree of freedom enviable to most people. He has an apartment in Paris, in a beautiful arrondissement, far removed from the more mundane realities of the City of Lights. He is a working, successful, sought-after artist with weekly events and his paintings sell for hundreds of thousands of euro. Still, on the inside, he feels abandoned and cold. After completing his mandatory military service in Korea, he returned to idol life, but something was missing. His spark was somehow extinguished while away. Being made to crawl and toil, being stripped of his identifying features to be made to conform to the army codes and regulations left an ugly mark on Hyunjin’s soul and he realised he could not shake it off or heal it over. Some people are simply not designed for violence and war, nor are they made to bend the knee before institutional brainwashing and conformism culture. When the industry didn’t want him back, he had art to fall back on. And fashion too, although that was largely depending on his idol status. He’s still a Versace and Cartier house ambassador, but the other brands he had deals with backed out. In fairness, he did age, objectively, and to some, that is the biggest flaw anyone can have, no matter how iconic they are. It stung to receive the polite missives informing him his contracts would not be removed. Although Hyunjin felt it was wholly unfair, since the only way he could prevent ageing was to die young (in which case he would be of much less use to the brands), he noticed he did not take the rejections as hard as he expected. The older he got, the more he liked himself and the man he woke up to being every day. Away from other people’s ideals and expectations, Hyunjin liked how his mature self was shaping up.  There was a time when the life of partying, drugs and sex with famous and attractive people tried to pull him into its vortex, but Hyunjin’s natural shyness and sensitivity made him stay away, genuinely afraid that he would lose himself and make some colossal mistakes for his life - like become an addict, get an STD, get someone pregnant or fall in love with the wrong person for him. Staying home in Korea was not an option, since his parents were bugging him to get married and have kids because he was at the age when most people back home were welcoming their second child. But nothing felt right. That hurt, because he felt like Korea was his home, but the people around him were doing their darndest to prove him otherwise.

So Hyunjin fled and sought refuge in Paris. Sometimes, the city had Felix in it, and the short days spent with his favourite human in the whole world made his loneliness more bearable. Felix was writing, producing and performing all over the world, modelling and appearing in fashion edits for the biggest magazines, and he seemed to be doing alright, although he too had taken his hyungs’ leaving for the military service extremely hard.

And while he was able to recognise and stay away from life’s most frequent traps, Hyunjin still managed to back himself into a corner - his art began to feel like work, routine intervened, people he met on the daily didn’t want to know him for him, just for his fame and aura.

This morning, while still in bed and scrolling on Instagram, he clicked on an ad from the firm he buys his fresh fruit from. It’s a neat system, a monthly subscription of whatever bio fruit, veg and other, homemade products are in season at the small farms that are members of this website.

CrowdFarming.com - Hyunjin has been a subscriber for two years now; he has a few adopted olive, mango, clementine and pomegranate trees he regularly gets sent fruit from, aside from his monthly subscription box. And now, thanks to the ad, he learned that he can go and visit his trees because some farms allow the tree parents to do so. There’s also a pop-up with “we’re hiring” and Hyunjin had a look there too, but they are looking for farm hands. Still, it stayed with him and the idea gnaws at his subconscious even now.

The more he thinks about it, the more he loves it. He can run away. Ask his concierge to take his mail and that’s about it. He doesn’t even have plants in his apartment, since he travels so much, so there’s not much to think about if he wants to be spontaneous. He also doesn’t like to think about the fact that he has no roots anywhere and he has no idea how to put that emptiness into words in order to share it with other humans and maybe ask for help. So fleeing makes sense again. He at least made sure that dropping off the radar won’t come back to bite him in the ass later, so he can’t be accused of making dumb decisions. Impulsive? Yes. But not lacking foresight.

He leaves his Cartier necklaces and rings on the bathroom shelf above the sink. When he sees himself in the mirror, he avoids his own eyes and he sighs before grabbing scissors and cutting his wolf cut shorter. It still covers his eyes artistically, but it won’t bother him or get in the way for a while.

Rummaging through his wardrobe, he has to dig a lot until he finds something that’s not designer and super expensive or flashy-looking. He can barely put together an outfit. Hyunjin sighs again, shaking his head at how shallow his life looks under closer inspection. He ends up going to Miniprix and buying a few flannel shirts, undershirts and briefs, ratty jeans, a good pair of boots and a trucker hat. This should last him until he arrives at his destination. Plus, he wants to travel light.

He has only a few things to take care of, so that the people who make money off of him don’t panic and send out search parties or get the Interpol involved. Then, in the morning, at 5, he catches a plane to Spain. Part 2

[dcfanfictioncatalogue]

stephanie brown NOV 2023 fic awards

this is part of a new experimental thing I'm doing, where I will comb through every fic posted/updated in a character tag for a specific month and find my favorites! I hope this will encourage people to read and comment on new and active fics with less-focused-on characters.

-> Action & Plot <-

Purr-ple Power [series: 2/2], by Cephalogod. 5.7k, T, timsteph pre-relationship. summary: batman wouldn't listen to steph about her dad, but luckily for steph, a certain cat-themed vigilante is more than willing to. my notes: I adore "stray" fics/AUs, so it's about time steph got one! her particular brand of mischievousness is more than suited to selina's, and tim in this series is so funny. love!!

&&

Road to Recovery, by Solemini. 19.8k, T, gen, 6/6. summary: cass leaves steph the batgirl suit, and everything changes. a complete rewrite of batgirl 2009. my notes: god. this steph is angry. and she deserves to be-- she hates the world for not treating her right, she resents her upbringing. this is our angry robin. but it is, despite that, a tale of joy and love. basically, it's a gorgeous retelling of batgirl 2009.

-> Fluff & Humor <-

the relief of home, with you, by MermaidMarie. 2.5k, G, stephcass. summary: a series of little moments in the home steph and cass share. my notes: AAAGHGHG this was so cute!!! absolutely adorable and lovely 10/10 no notes the perfect friends to lovers domestic fluff

&&

the purple menace and camera boy, by waffleinatorinator. 1.2k, T, timsteph pre-relationship. summary: steph is spoiler, tim is a civilian, and he finds her injured in a dumpster. my notes: they're so cute!!! this is just one little scene but it's an adorable setup and I enjoyed it immensely.

⇘     click for more!     ⇘

-> Whump & Angst <-

distress signal, by waffleinatorinator. 5.4k, T, implied stephcass. summary: cass's distress signal goes off. steph runs across a city for her. my notes: the angst is DELICIOUS. the author's tag of "if there was a pwp tag for whump i would use it" rings very true. definitely good steph angst >:)

&&

i swear that i'll be yours forever 'til forever falls apart, by waffleinatorinator. 800, not rated, timsteph flavoring. summary: steph comes back as the red hood, and she's out for revenge -- but she doesn't get what she expected. my notes: this concept is everything to me -- reverse robins tim as red hood always bugs me when steph is logically supposed to be in that spot in the order and when it fits her story so much better. I also love tim's dedicated loyalty to her here, and how insane they both are &lt;3

-> Currently Updating <-

Girls Against God, by cookiesncrows. 36.3k, M, stephcass endgame, 22/?. summary: jim gordon falls ill, which means babs and james have to tolerate each other enough to take care of him. in the interim, kate kane moves back to gotham to be the new batgirls' mentor, which steph and cass are not fond of. my notes: ohh the angst is so good!! this fic is very heavy on the character interaction and the plot which I personally adore, and the inclusion of lesser-known characters that are written very well makes this whole world feel fleshed out and real.

&&

The Ping-Pong Wars, by fadesfanfic. 6.6k, G, gen, 5/?. summary: steph beats damian at ping-pong, and damian becomes hellbent on reclaiming his honor. my notes: it's silly and fluffy and somehow manages to perfectly capture the batgirl 2009 vibe of steph trying to bond with this feral little child. well worth the read!!! &lt;3

send me an ask for fic rec lists ++ to find a fic lost to the sands of time

[shigayokagayama]

sakurai hato or minegishi :3? my faves

sakurai:

Sexuality Headcanon:

this man is gay

Gender Headcanon:

honestly nothing in specific. cis but in a "never really put much thought into it" kinda way. could he be inclined to question or transition? perhaps, but he is too busy cleaning up the giant comical jar of disgusting orange sauce that spilled all over the floor because a customer insisted they could fit a weeks worth of groceries into one cheap reusable grocery bag and it predictably split open and went everywhere and now the whole store smells like nondescript orange sauce and he has a headache from the smell but the manager will be pissed if he closes the register and moves to one further away so he just has to mop it between customers and the stain remains until they redo the nylon in 30 years.

A ship I have with said character:

koyama. made for each other.

A BROTP I have with said character:

i really like thinking abt post canon 7th division staying friends :] i think they hang out sometimes

A NOTP I have with said character:

none that come to mind? obvious stuff aside i suppose

A random headcanon:

a common theme between all three of these characters is that theyre young enough to fall in the age range where they could have been kidnapped by claw and i choose to believe that's what happened. especially sakurai. this kid screams kidnapped. no one would have looked for him....

General Opinion over said character:

i dont think about the 7th division members all that much just because they all get introduced in my least favorite arc so i dont really have a reason to reread/rewatch unless im doing a full series rewatch, but as a background character enjoyer seeing people have thoughts on them makes me very happy

hatori:

Sexuality Headcanon:

gay asexual seems right for him i think :]

Gender Headcanon:

definitely some flavor of transmasc

A ship I have with said character:

computers. other than that ive seen people ship him with joseph and i see the vision.

A BROTP I have with said character:

similar to above i think he and the rest of the super five are still buddies after everything.

A NOTP I have with said character:

this is a weird question to answer for the more minor/background characters so instead ill say "i used to sorta ship him and minegishi in like a qpp sorta way when i thought they were like the same age but learning minegishi was like 19 and punching the numbers meant that unless they didnt meet until less than a year precanon there's no way to make that not weird so i dropped it". so it goes.

A random headcanon:

ditto to above and also reddit moderator. i know he's a reddit moderator on some tech forum giving the world's most smarmy and least helpful advice

General Opinion over said character:

i like him! i dont think of him too often but im fond of all the super five.

minegishi:

Sexuality Headcanon:

ace aro :]

Gender Headcanon:

transfemme nonbinary <3

A ship I have with said character:

none really. they dont have time for that they have a thankless minimum wage job to work.

A BROTP I have with said character:

super five but also i realized hoshida from the reigen manga is in the age range to have gone to middle school with them before they became a terrorist and the idea of them having been childhood friends who fell out of touch and then him turning on the news to find out the kid who used to make him clover necklaces is wreaking havoc on downtown is REALLY funny

A NOTP I have with said character:

most things honestly at this point. i am so sorry shimamine shippers they took everything from you with the fanbook

A random headcanon:

i feel like post canon theyd become a bug person. like, getting big terrariums with self sustaining ecosystems of invertabrates :]

General Opinion over said character:

i actually like them a lot! i feel like its clear from the answers to these that theyre the one out of these i think about the most frequently lol. i just. how did you join the upper echelon of a terrorist organization at age 16. what happened.

[ghostat7am]

"Care for a bug?"

Trying to get more comfortable showing my other Crygors since I actually have eight of them but Diverged is the most beloved. So introducing the Crygor I'm the most self conscious of DKJJGN

Meet Dr. Kilrait and his critters Selene and Mauve! They're actually much bigger and tower over Kilrait, just wanted to draw them little and small

(you can see the decrease in quality as I became more and more self conscious about them SGKGH)

This au everyone is assigned a creature that people deem as scary or undesirable. Crygor (named Kilrait) is a snake, Orbulon (named Selene) is a mosquito and Mike (named Mauve) is a tarantula. It doesn't really have a story, it's mainly a series of bizarre and horror-inspired scenarios. But there is some backstory

(Character descriptions + basic backstories. CW for near death mentions & mistreatment/implied ab*se for Selene)

Dr. Kilrait (he/him - name pending) is this world's Crygor, based off a Malayan Krait, he's a happy go lucky and affectionate doctor who specialises in surgery and entomology. He cares for his patients amazingly and has extraordinary talents, he aims to change the future of humanity and make the world a better place.

However, he's hiding something underneath- he was born with the inability to feel pain or fear, attempting to change his own biology to the point of obsession. In attempt to gain these feelings, he has begun experiments where he puts healthy and consenting participants into near death situations to monitor and try to mimic their reactions. He truly has no ill intent and makes sure these patients are completely safe during & after these tests, paying for treatment for any mental trauma they may recieve from such tests- he just feels incomplete and wrong without feeling these "truly human" emotions and he'll do anything to change it, even if it means tearing his life to shreds to achieve it.

Mauve (he/him) is Dr. Kilrait's mechanical Metallic Blue Tarantula son and this world's Mike, created to ease the ever-growing internal isolation and loneliness his creator suffers from. Typically very cynical and a skeptic, but aids his father without question. Trusts his dad's every word with no further thought or hesitation since he is Mauve's only window to human society. He may seem cold, but truly he's also quite loving like his father- however he's far less doting, Kilrait is extremely doting towards anyone he goes attached to but especially Mauve. He's all Kilrait has...

A few years ago, Mauve offered himself as a test subject to ensure the equipment for Kilrait's fear tests were safe for human. Everything was going well until something malfunctioned and almost ended the robot, this was the closest Kilrait has felt true terror as he cradled his son's injured body. He is physically okay, but it has left a mental scar on them both - causing Kilrait to only become more protective.

Selene (they/them) is Mauve's spouse and this world's Orbulon, based off a mosquito, they are very snide and vindictive. Suffering from extreme trust issues due to past mistreatment and pain, taught to be a vampire and drain others of their life (literally and emotionally/mentally) - but their cruel nature encases a gentle and affectionate soul, Mauve is slowly cracking away at their shell so they can finally be themselves again without paranoia.

After being left to rot by one they considered to be their true love, Selene decided to close themselves off to never suffer like that again, turning to tormenting others to ease their unpleasant feelings and began working in shady business in disguises. One night, Selene encountered Mauve while attempting to dig dirt up on Kilrait for a paying client, attempting to scare information out of the spider- they were only met with lighthearted amusement and friendly gestures, catching Selene completely off guard. It turned into a pleasant conversation between them and Selene decided to not ruin Kilrait's life for Mauve's sake. Afterwards, they kept meeting up and eventually fell in love as Mauve gently lowered their walls.

[kingsandbastardz]

Finished episode 39. May not have a chance to get to 40 until later next week but kinda working through my feelings which are mixed about this episode:

DFS standing front and center with Sigu sect when receiving thanks is so amusing to me. He's a head taller and super visible too. Just the one prominent Jinyuan Alliance representative.

A part of me feels bad for child Shang Gudao - he lived his entire childhood being the afterthought, with less talent and ability over all. But as an adult, I'm just grossed out by him. Like by his age he should have....like. Found a monk to get friendly therapy from, joined a monastery, become an emo poet. He had options. Though with his karma, maybe he'd end up with evil versions of all of the above.

Why did Shang Gudao's meridians explode? Did his energy backfire through the broken meridians somehow?

Never trust emperors no matter how good their reputation is. D:

I still feel like the bug storyline would have been served better by focusing instead on a Di Fortress arc that leads to mind controlled super assassins storming the palace like attack dogs or something. Because as of now, Di Fortess feels like it's separate from rest of the series and just a blip in DFS's character background. While the palace stuff needs an additional episode to flesh out the emperor and the politics they hinted at

Over all, i enjoyed the episode! Buuuut I found there was a weird emotional disconnect between when the trio were working together and later on when the battle is done and DFS gives them the Styx flowers. It felt like the two were emotionally closer to DFS during the fight, but in the later scene, everyone was taking a big step back and deliberately resetting themselves to an earlier time.

Like FDB repeating an earlier line "You do have a conscience!" As if he's been consistently surprised at DFS doing anything altruistic. I know LLH never explained anything to him, and FDB bought into the demon sect narrative (which tbf is understandable - heretical sects have a reputation for reason) but he's seen evidence first hand that DFS does have it in him to help ppl if he wants to? So i find this flip flopping in attitude strange. He goes back and forth with being familiar and then acting like he doesn't know him at all.

I find it interesting that LLH equates fighting with promises of friendship between the two. Which, I think he thought dfs getting married to him, i mean, being friends that drink and look at the moon together, meant dfs had agreed. To be fair, dfs talks around it without promising anything, but I can see why llh would think otherwise lol.

LLH also repeats an early line to dfs, "You need to break your habit of eavesdropping."

Maybe it was all for the sake of emotional security, but I kinda want to shake them because I thought they moved from this point. But here they are, walking everything back so far they're repeating old lines from earlier episodes. 😬 Boys.

[eyepokai]

Yokai Watch: Rewritten. Chapter 1

Chapter 1! Lets The chapter starts with Nate hanging out with Bear, Eddie, and Katie. Eddie shows off his bug collection before he and Bear make fun of Nate for not having a collection yet, as it is Nate’s summer project. Nate argues back before running off to go catch bugs of his own. Oddly, this is the only time in really any of the games where Bear and Eddie are mean to Nate at all. There is something interesting about this scene, however. While Nate is made fun of by the two of them, if Katie is chosen, she is instead looked down upon in an almost misogynistic view by the two. While I could believe this maybe from Bear, it’s odd. After this scene, Nate goes bug hunting, finding nothing in Uptown Springdale. He decides to ask the school Janitor where to look, as he is known for his bug collection. The janitor tells Nate to look on Mount Wildwood, and Nate sets off. First, we should address the localization of the town names. Yokai watch was translated so that all the towns/cities are all similar to American town names (springdale/springfield, san fantastic/san fransisco, etc) This works against yokai watch, as in 3, it changes the story significantly. Secondly, the bug catching minigame in this series… sucks. It’s basically all luck, which I think is bad game design. The fishing minigame was changed in two to be more skill based, but the bug game never changed.

Nate heads up to the Mount wildwood shrine, and before hunting for bugs, a mysterious gate is opened. Nate goes through and finds the Crank a Kai. The Crank tells Nate to use it, and Nate reluctantly does, cranking out Whisper. Whisper gives Nate a Watch and tells him to search for a Yokai nearby (buhu). After finding her, Nate summons Cadin, one of the bugs he caught earlier who was glowing, and defeats Buhu. Whisper then gives Nate a medalium, and then the chapter ends.

There is a lot to discuss here. I like the way that Cadin is integrated, and the battle system is done well too. However, there are issues as well. First, HOW DID WHISPER GET THE YOKAI WATCH? According to later games, the yokai watch was created 60 years prior to the game, an event we see happen in 2. More importantly though, whisper gives Nate a MODERN watch, one made less than 40 years ago. Whisper, however, was sealed in a capsule for 190 years, meaning he could not have gotten the watch, or his Yokai Pad. This is a major continuity error that should be addressed.

Finally, the personalities of Nate and Whisper are notable. Both are odd. Nate has basically no personality in 1, and he mostly stays stagnant through the series, besides becoming sassier as the games go on. This is odd, as main characters evolve as the game does, and I think Nate could do with interests, hobbies, and character arks.

Whisper, on the other hand, changes TOO much. He goes from a smart, helpful, and kind (if sometimes a little oblivious) guy to a bumbling buffoon with good intentions withing one game, and it’s baffling. It’s likely due to the Anime’s influence, but it is odd.

To summarise: Bear and Eddie are slightly odd and out of character, The bug minigame sucks, Localization is weird, Nate and Whisper have inconsistent or poorly portrayed personalities, and there is a massive continuity error. However, general gameplay is great, and story integration of Cadin is good

[toxicbantha]

mi mariposa

pairing: academy! marcus moreno x f!reader word count: 2k summary: marcus tries to get away. unfortunately, he wasn't the only one with that idea. comments: this is the beginning of a series that never was. found in the drafts after a year (sending into the void not edited either. yikes)

Leaves crunch beneath his boots each step through the orange turned forest, twigs and branches snap with every little brush against his pants legs.

Marcus takes his secret path to his secret place.

Just outside of campus along the coastal shore, where he goes to find peace after a day that was all too much. To feel the sun on his skin and watch warm colors dance across the sky. To be grounded and remember what he is doing all this for. Why he is doing all this.

For his Papa. To make him proud.

He pulls at his uniform as he nears the cliff’s entrance. Deaf fingers unbutton the top of his dress blouse and tug at the tie around his neck, remove the red chord from around his bicep and shove rough fabric into an empty pocket.

He had already forgone his glasses somewhere among the training site, leaving them apathetically before stalking off in frustrated glory. Smashed to pieces or regarded carefully, Marcus could not care less in the end. It was becoming too much, all of it too much. He just needed to calm down and get away. To feel the breeze beneath his collar and be alone—

Except, he is not alone.

His secret path to his secret place… That maybe is not so secret after all.

Eyes darker than a Winter’s night greet him as he steps through the clearing. Hard and yet frighteningly soft. Her expression holds no shock nor concern when she sees him, as if she was expecting his inevitable arrival from miles away.

Maybe she has super-hearing. Maybe his footsteps were louder than he thought.

In a beat, Marcus rakes over her frame, taking in her matching uniform and for the first time, where she is sitting. He nearly lunges realizing how close she is to the edge—how her legs could easily dangle over if she only moved a few inches closer. How quick it would be for her to slip and fall into the roaring sea below.

He takes in a shallow breath, just barely holding back. It is the super in him that makes him want to say something; to leap into action without a second thought.

Maybe her power is flight. Maybe she can control the wind.

Marcus tries to recall if he has seen her before: on campus, around town, anywhere. Just to discern her abilities, he tells himself. But he knows he hasn’t. All his life, he’s never seen eyes that dark; they would have never left his mind had he.

When her features narrow a slither, he realizes he is staring; held in a daze somewhere between captivated and curious. A blush rises to his cheeks. He blinks it away and gives her a simple nod, hoping it is enough.

Somehow, it is. For she nods in return and just as simply, returns to the retreating sun.

It’s just past sunset by the time the next human noise is made. Leaves continue their rustle in the wind and waves still crash against the rocky mountainside, but no sound words or sounds were ever exchanged between the two.

Marcus squeals when the little black creature perches itself on his nose. Six long legs and the face of an alien staring right at him. How he hadn’t noticed the fluttering thing until it was too late, he would never openly admit. Surely, it was not because he was more captivated by the steady rise and fall of her shoulders than anything else.

She hadn’t moved yet, so sunset or not, neither had he.

Frozen still, his heart begins to race and his lips curve to blow a large gust of desperate air upward, trying to shoo the insect away. But the butterfly makes no move to leave its spot, as if completely unfazed by his attempt. He almost laughs—it is not that he is afraid of bugs, it is just creepy this close. Just his strange luck.

His hand rises to scare the creature away, but before he can get close enough, all too gentle fingers touch his wrist. “Wait,” a voice says.

Her voice.

Marcus stills instantly, her voice touching deep in his stomach. It was not until she spoke that he noticed how near she had come. How she is only inches away from him now. And how much more beautiful she is up close.

His concern disappears as she sets his eyes on her again.

He really hopes her power is not mind-reading.

She flicks a glance up to him and then back down to the butterfly, a slight smirk splaying over her lips as she bends closer. “She likes you,” she teases, extending a finger out to the creature. It goes to her almost embarrassingly smooth, crawling onto her hand without a pause of hesitation, as if coaxed by her presence alone.

Talking to animals, then?

The sky’s remaining glow catches on her profile as she turns to the side, warm rays bathing her body in light. And with nothing more than an effortless blow, the butterfly takes off, returning its beating wings to the wind.

A sight like this, Marcus feels, he could watch forever and never grow tired of.

He smiles, readying gratitude to leave his lips. But then something else catches his eye. “You’re an orange…” he says.

Orange. The line between an ability labeled a gift or a curse. A super with immeasurable power. A villain, if only they chose to snap their fingers a little too hard. It makes sense now, why he’s never seen her before.

She stills—caught, almost—and her shoulders go rigid. Thick tension suffocates the air. “Yeah,” she finally says, and then yanks at the chord from around her arm and turns away. “I’m an orange.”

Marcus winces at the hurt in her voice and stands slowly. He wasn’t trying to pull a nerve; he should be saying thank you, not starting a fight. “I’m sorry,” he tries, “I’ve just never met an orange before.” For good reason though, they always try to say.

When a red gets mad, they can level a city. But when an orange loses control… They can level the world. Even he was only a red—all the academy’s best prospects were. So, to be an orange… That meant no super hearing, no talking to animals, no control of the wind. It was something much much worse.

A bubbling part of him should be cautious now knowing the truth, but she seems so normal.

She speaks again softly, still not facing him. “There aren’t many of us,” she agrees, “and we don’t exactly get out much.”

It is a dig, he realizes, but he does not take it to heart. It’s common knowledge that they are not allowed to leave campus.

But here she is.

Suddenly she turns and meets his eyes, something akin to worry blooming beneath her eyes. “Are you going to report me now?”

It is a prison to them, this academy. This locked down campus. It is not like they chose their own gifts. Marcus shakes his head, because rules or not, future leader or not, if he can give her this—he will. “No, I’m not,” he says, and means every word.

She smiles, but it does not reach her eyes.

Thank you. It should have been left at that, but curiosity… It is such a dangerous thing.

“How’d you do it anyway?” He gestures back in the direction of the academy. “How did you get past the sensors?”

She considers him a moment, then shrugs. “I was cloaked.”

Cloaked? That doesn’t say much. He lifts an eyebrow, waiting for more of an explanation.

“Invisible?” she adds.

But still, it doesn’t aid his confusion. Turning invisible gets picked up by the censor. It is also not nearly enough to be an orange. And doesn’t explain why she was so unconcernedly close to the cliff’s edge.

“I never said that was my power.”

Marcus winces—he must have said that last part out loud. She gives him a curious look before smirking playfully. “You trying to ask me something, Moreno?”

His shy smile is traitorous. He should be embarrassed, but instead blush rises to his cheeks for another reason. He does not need to ask how she knows his name; everyone knew his father. It’s the reason he’s come out here. And besides, he likes the way it sounds from her lips.

He scratches at the back of his neck and cocks his head to the side. “Show me what you can do?” he asks.

She smiles thoughtfully and rakes her eyes over the landscape. “Tell me a secret first,” she proposes. “It’s only fair, since you know one of mine.”

Yeah, that is true, he guesses. Marcus nods. Maybe this is part of her powers too? “This is kind of embarrassing,” he chuckles, “but when I was younger, I used to always wish I could fly. So, I used to put a metal harness on and try to make myself levitate all around the yard.”

She grins. “And did it work?”

“Nope,” he sighs, running a hand down his face. “Just ended up with a huge wedgie every time.”

Her laugh is his new favorite sound.

But he grows confused when her smile falls, and she still doesn’t move. “That was funny,” she admits, “but it’s not really the kind of secret I meant.”

Marcus frowns, not knowing her meaning.

“Well,” she shrugs, “why’d you come out here for?”

He turns quiet a moment and rakes a hand through his hair, features drawn tight. Not to talk about it, that is for sure. But the crashing waves reminds him. “I don’t know”—to watch the sunset, to feel the wind, to take a breather—“to get away, I guess.”

“From what?”

His jaw tightens, frustration suddenly taking over. Talking is the exact opposite of what he came for. “What did you come out here for?” he bites back, unable to stop himself.

She only shakes her head slowly, not entertaining his tone. “That wasn’t part of the game.”

Marcus huffs a bitter laugh. He does not want to admit the truth—he has never even said the words out loud before. But she is right, this is what he asked for. And it is just his strange luck a stranger would be the one he tells his most naked thought to. One more look into her pitch-black eyes and he falls.

“Sometimes I think I’ll never amount to half the leader my dad was. And that he would be disappointed to call me his son.”

If he expected a reaction, he does not get one. She only regards him silently, never once dropping his stare. Somehow, he is grateful for that. Grateful that she doesn’t have any pity for him, only whatever she is showing. It is strangely comforting.

She gives him a moment, then flicks her head to the side and extends her hand out to him. Still no sympathy to be seen. “Come here,” she says.

And it is the simplest direction he has been given all day. He does not need to be told twice. Marcus steps over and slots his fingers through hers. Her touch feels nice, normal in a strangely familiar way. It sends goosebumps to his heart.

She looks up at him and squeezes his hand. “Don’t let go of my hand, okay? No matter what you see.”

He nods.

She turns their bodies toward the forest clearing and draws a single hand into the air. Excitement floods his veins. "They say butterflies are an omen of good luck.” Her eyes catch his and she smiles softly. “I don’t believe in luck,” she admits, “but you might think you need some.”

Her hand flicks back, and suddenly, darkness overtakes them.

[lazycowboy666]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[iztarshi]

I think the ending + movie of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is interesting from a Doylist perspective partly because of how rushed it was - sad as that is from a fan perspective.

In the same way filler and gecko endings came from anime being made from manga that hadn't finished yet, we're seeing storytelling happen under constraints of a) stories with ongoing arcs and character development being popular in western animation right now b) studios still cancelling them with no warning and leaving a minimal amount of episodes to wrap up. We're seeing a lot of slow build up to suddenly fast-paced endings.

So rottmnt goes from being halfway through the second season of a three season story to having six episodes to wrap up. Under those circumstances it does remarkably well! A lot of minor threads - Dr Noe's quest for Raph's tooth, whatever was up with Jupiter Jim's working movie props and yokai sidekick - simply get dropped, but the overall emotional arc of Splinter reconciling with his own mistakes and with his family both past and present comes through loud and clear. The tales of the hidden city episodes coming so soon before the end set up Splinter having reconciled with Draxum and his own feelings about being a mutant too, a good thing to get in before the finale.

Talking of tales of the hidden city, this also lands us on a fairly complete arc for Donnie, almost by chance. Witch Town both contextualised the issues he'd been having with mystic and let him move on from them. I think in a less rushed ending he would have starting working on getting used to mystic powers rather than gone straight to using ninpo with no problem having always used tech before - but on an emotional level it works. It means Donnie is going into learning ninpo without hang ups about it so the fact that he uses it with ease doesn't feel wrong.

Mikey's arc also ends in... kiiiind of not a bad place. We learn why he's so intent on redeeming Draxum, that he feels like he needs to justify his own creation, and he manages to make Splinter understand and get his parents to reconcile. We don't deal with whether Mikey really needs to justify his existence, or whether he's being too hard on the rest of his family by pushing this on them for his peace of mind. Worse, the movie can't even hint at resolutions here because Netflix wanted to focus on characters that were franchise wide and not Rise specific so Draxum gets at most a cameo.

Raph and Leo's hidden city episodes aren't as deep and we end with them in an interesting place because they're mid character arc. Season two was, iirc, meant to end with Raph and Leo as co-leaders. Maybe season three would have worked towards Leo taking leadership alone. The result is that they're in an emotional place where that would make sense as a solution but not yet in a place where the solution has even started to present itself.

Raph starts the series pretty gung-ho about leadership. It's a chance to boss his little brothers around! He gets comments about being "the guy who's always telling us he's our leader" from Donnie. Then the show wears on. Villains get more dangerous. Leo nearly dies in Bug Busters from a call Raph makes. The consequences of failing missions get worse, too. Raph starts taking it all more seriously, becoming increasingly anxious about his brothers and less able to trust that they'll be okay if he's not right there to pick up the slack. He also gets more resentful towards them for making him worry like this. Pizza Puffs shows it best. Raph's feeling trapped by the role he started out wanting.

Leo's behaviour meanwhile is getting increasingly wild. I wish we had had an equivalent to Donnie and Mikey's hidden city episodes where he explained what was going on with him, because it's hard to parse exactly where he's coming from. But he's picking fights with Donnie in a way he didn't in season one. He's refusing to communicate with the team, sometimes outright lying to them. If he's upset that they don't trust him he seems to be dealing with it by being as untrustworthy as possible.

I do think it's a set up for Leo moving towards finding a role on the team that a) makes him feel fully part of it b) requires him to behave more responsibly. Currently he's pulling away, trying to be better than his brothers instead of work with them, and that's what he needs to deal with.

Then the series ends and the focus is necessarily on wrapping up the plot, plus Splinter's relationship with his sons which has been shown as loving but somewhat broken throughout the show. We're rooting for them to understand each other better and pull through to win together and they do. In the most literal-symbolic way possible.

Raph also gets his feelings dealt with as part of the ending. We had him in a bad place and then - since we get no time for anyone, including Leo himself, to realise he's capable of leading - Raph has to remain the leader through the finale. We see him deal with his belief that he has to take care of everyone and how isolated it makes him feel, and learn to open up to his brothers more and rely on them too.

This does have the odd side-effect that the finale seems to show Raph becoming a better leader right before leadership is taken away from him. But the fact that Raph was overwhelmed and stressed by the job is made evident.

Then the movie gets used to tie up the emotional loose ends Raph and Leo's interrupted arc gave us.

One interesting thing about the movie is that despite a lot of its plot being based in this struggle over leadership and Raph and Leo's feelings about it no one ever mentions who the leader is. After seeing one of the deleted scene animatics I kind of get that, though.

The animatic has Raph claiming he never wanted to be leader and just felt he needed to take care of his brothers - which is very much a retcon of Raph's arc in season one. I think ultimately everyone's feelings about leadership were just too complicated to sum up in the movie in a way that wasn't reductive.

Or maybe Netflix just didn't want series specific plot points referenced. Especially since Raph having been the leader until recently is very much a Rise thing, whereas Leo and Raph having fights about Leo's leadership ability is very franchise wide. Even if it's not usually about Leo failing to take things seriously.

But the movie does, imo, a very good job of condensing the story and making the character arcs make sense despite the finale and the declaration of Leo as leader having happened in the middle of them.

Leo's wild behaviour - put on hold for the finale - returns, with the defeat of Shredder and being named leader now being added to outwitting Big Mama as reasons he's riding high. The degree to which it's driven by arrogance, insecurity, or a mixture of the two is still debatable, but it's the continuation of the arc he was on.

Raph's anxious resentment is still there, amplified by the fact that he should be able to get a break now he's not leader, but Leo won't step up and take the weight off his shoulders.

It moves things around. Leo gets thrown in at the deep end and has to realise that he's capable of being a good leader after he's already been leader for a few months. As well as learning that he has to work with his team instead of measuring himself against them and judging who did "better" at everything.

In the end I think it's fascinating how they told a good story around so many constraints.

[alexsiple]

For the fandom ask: 1-10, Persona 5

ok hello thank u for the ask, i'm putting it under a cut LOL

What originally drew me to it

ahhhh. my past roommates were already very familiar with it and knew the story / had watched playthroughs. and through a series of events we came to have a ps3 in our apartment and they jumped on having the chance to play it themselves and then we just. would play it every night until 4 am as a reprieve from working on our thesis films. tired out of our minds. one time the ps3 crashed after we'd defeated all those mini bosses at the end and we had to do it all again. good times

What I like most and least about it

hmm... i love the story and the characters. the thieves specifically. made in a lab for my brain to enjoy. i love the rebellious messages, i love this game when it gets it right. but on the other hand i really hate the writing when it gets it wrong (misogyny? messy writing in general? sometimes the story is like "jk don't rebel against oppressive systems" or is an apologist for characters who don't deserve it) i hate kawakami as a character / dating the full grown women / the dating system in general. sorry? also it's rare i love a game that long for its mechanics but i like the battle system and all that shit. not perfect but it's fun as hell to me

A character I want to carry around in a little jar and study like a bug

answered in another ask but it's akechi. omg wait also maruki HAHAHAHA hate that guy. putting him in a box and poking holes in it

A character I couldn't care less about

uhhhhhh. kawakami? lol? or ohya? i refuse to finish their confidants. shrug. yoshida's confidant goes hard though am i right

The character who gives me the greatest gender envy

joker :/ too easy i know

A character I'd like to frame and hang on my wall and admire like a work of art

yusuke??? not because he's an artist ok i'm not on-the-nose like that i just love him he's so wonderful to me. i want him to have everything he ever desires

A character who feels like home

ryuji. i've cried about him. he's your BEST FRIEND

The character with the greatest wasted/unexplored potential

OH. lolol [any woman because atlus hates women and] i'd say haru? i could write an essay on haru but it's not interesting we all know

The character I'd most enjoy feeding to a pride of ravenous lions

uhhhhh any palace ruler can get in the lion pit i guess. even maruki but i say it affectionately (?) even sae i'm sorry girl you have to try harder. any adult in p5 actually. get in the pit. shrug. no one is safe

A ship I would gladly go down with... and then become Davey Jones, so I can continue to captain said ship for eternity

shuake... if it wasn't clear already. but i also love yusuke/ryuji :')