#hence; why its a bad cameo

[oflgtfol]

i will forever defend boba appearing in the mandalorian entirely bc he was THEEE mandalorian like the existence of him as a character in the OT singlehandedly dominoed into the creation of this show. how can you have a show about a mandalorian called The Mandalorian and not feature THE mandalorian. and even besides that, he and din genuinely play off each other so well, like boba was not just a simple cameo for cash greed purposes, because he was an actual character in din’s story and the two of them work well as foils to each other. meanwhile say like ahsoka in the mandalorian was there just because she’s ahsoka

[lover-of-mine]

so I saw your earlier post about how Tommy is getting Ali’ed, and I wanted to ask about who you think is the most developed and likeable out of Buck’s love interests? (except Eddie ofc, he’s the best and I can feel it in my bones that he will become endgame.) I’m still in s3, so I’m kinda a new watcher you could say. (I’ve read too many tumblr spoilers and copius amounts of fanfics though, so I’m able to keep up with and watch season 8 live).

I wanted to ask this because I’ve seen so much Tommy hype and promotion on here that I really thought that he was developed as a character and a main. But from what I’ve heard, he’s only worse than Buck’s and Eddie’s actually developed love interests. Before I actually started watching the show, I’ve only heard bits and pieces here and there about 911 and the “gay” firefighters, but that’s about it. I only started watching seriously during season 7, and I’m a pretty slow binge-watcher (hence why I’m only 3x12 lmao). When I went back to season 1, I fully expected to see Tommy (bc honestly, I thought Tommy and Eddie were the same person for a while lmaooo), but then I got to season 2 and saw the begin episodes and I was like wtf? How do people actually like this man? Eddie is literally RIGHT there. Even if Eddie wasn’t endgame or a romantic interest, he’s still a better compliment to Buck platonically than Tommy is romantically. So then I thought “oh maybe he had a redemption arc or like changed for the better like Buck did,” but from what I’ve seen on s8 and on here, it seemed like he didn’t? So that only makes me more confused on why a majority of the fandom seems to love his character. Personally, I don’t really see anything, but I guess everyone has their own opinions 🤷🏻 . Though, I’m scared that I’m basing this on too little info and I missed something because I haven’t watch seasons 4–7.

(this got so long I’m so sorry. it kinda ran away from me a little bit 🫡. Lowkey needed to vent my thoughts)

Hi, darling! I'm gonna ignore Abby, because in the context of season 1, Buck is her love interest, not the other way around, since she is the main character. So most developed is hands down Taylor. Ali was barely there, and Natalia didn't fulfill what they wanted to do with her since the actress couldn't come back to s7. Likable is complicated because Ali and Natalia aren't around enough for you to get attached and, Taylor and Tommy have a past of hurting the 118, so it's hard to be sympathetic at times. Taylor gets a lot of background information, they live together, even though the relationship is clearly wrong, both of them are trying to make it work as best as they can, so it makes sense for Taylor to be around. She tries to love Buck as best as she can, it's just not enough, they are incompatible. And, well, Tommy. Imma be honest, the only thing Tommy has going for him is the fact that he is a man. The bt fandom took that and ran. Basically, they decided that since he is a man and a first responder that meant that the relationship would be super developed and they built it UP based on nothing really (actually based on Lou having a cameo and people paying him to headcanon with them, but that's a whole another you just had to be there), not on the show at least. I don't believe he had a redemption arc, the show kinda makes it seem like being queer excuses his behavior and just doesn't address it. In my opinion, when I try my best to be unbiased and ignore the way I deeply hate the character because of the fandom, I think Tommy is pointedly being written as a bad fit in Buck's life and the relationship will run its course once Buck wakes up and stop just accepting whatever.

And if you think Eddie is the better compliment to Buck and you're still in 312, just wait, they get more intense. It's madness. They are soulmates, I don't care about anything else.

[cupidjyu]

detention for romance

hyunjae x reader

summary (because this is strangely long): as the president of the student council, you're faced with expectations. what you don't expect is to be put in detention with the student that you've heard endless negative rumors about... but he's not as bad as you had thought

genre: school au, unrealistic high school romance (yawns), flirty hyunjae, gosh he is such a waist grabber, he punched someone, but its all okay!!! he has a little sister, close proximity in a library lol, soft moments, falling asleep on his shoulder, oblivious reader, constant constant bickering, getting together, kissing, high schoolers who unrealistically make out (yawns again), slight neck kissing, cursing, younghoon sunwoo cameos notes: im not even going to talk about it word count: 10.5k (woops)

Whenever the name Lee Hyunjae was spoken in a noisy classroom, bustling hallway, or bathroom with a leaking sink, it would always be accompanied by a wince. People would contort their faces in worry whenever someone even mentioned his name or they would take the long way to get to the history classroom if it meant they wouldn’t have to come face-to-face with him.

Lee Hyunjae. The student in class 1-B was closed off and considered the scariest one ever. Some never dared to speak his name, behaving like he was that one villain with no nose from those Harry Potter movies. He never talked to anyone and if an unknowing new student ever tried to, he would stare at them silently. Some people say that he glares. Some say that he rolls his eyes.

“I heard that he’s in a gang and murders children for money,” Your classmate once said. Class 1-A loved to talk about him, hence why you strangely knew so much. You looked up from your sketchbook.

“Children? Of all types of people?” You squinted.

“Doesn’t he seem like the type to hate children?” She replied. “C’mon, you’re the president of the student council.”

You frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re supposed to be smart.”

You shut your mouth at that. Maybe, you were book-smart. Street smart? You could never decipher why people hated Hyunjae so much. But then again, you never saw him before. Maybe he was just quiet. Or maybe he really was in a gang and murdered children for money. All you knew was that he was not part of your business so you couldn’t care less.

Besides, you had a student council meeting to host after this.

—

“What do you mean you lost the one thing that we needed?” You whined, staring straight at Sunwoo. “This event is the last one of the year and you—“ You sighed, pinching the area between your eyebrows.

“I’m sorry,” He cried. “It’s not my fault someone crashed my car on the way here and they fell out.”

You pouted. “Are you okay at least?”

He grinned, motioning to himself. “All in one piece.”

The one thing was actually the flower garlands for the spring party that you were tasked to plan. They were supposed to hang from the ceiling, along with string lights to resemble a pretty forest. Being the president of the student council was quite tiring. In fact, you never even intended to become one. You just happened to have decent grades.

The spring party was in just a few hours and if there were no flower garlands, then the highly anticipated party would be empty and disappointing. You couldn’t quite afford the embarrassment, especially from how many tickets you had sold.

“What do we do?” You sighed. “You can just start decorating with what we have then.”

A few of the students nodded. As they left, another member, Younghoon, approached you with a small smile. He was tall and often looked innocent like he had done no wrong. But really, he was anything but that. He loved to joke around and break the rules. You wondered how he even got into the council with such a record.

“You know,” He started, leaning against one of the rickety desks. He wobbled slightly against it, ruining the “cool” facade he decided to put on. “The main office has some of those garland things. Last year, they had a flower sale so they used those as decorations. I saw them in the closet when I was caught cheating on a test.”

You stared at him with a bored expression. “You got caught cheating on a test?”

He groaned. “Yes, and I failed the class. But that’s beside the point! You should go to the office and get the flower garlands. You’ll be just in time.”

You really contemplated it for a second. “Can I really? What do I say?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “The principal doesn’t let any student borrow supplies for parties and such.”

You frowned. “You’re of no help then.”

Younghoon gave you a confused smile. “What do you mean? Just… kindly borrow them. Just for one day.”

You gaped at them. “You mean to steal them?”

He nodded as if that was the simplest thing ever. “Just sneak in and grab them. What could go wrong?”

“I am no thief,” You grumbled.

“Then I guess your party will suck then.”

You gasped. “You take that back.”

“Never.” He stuck his tongue out and then he turned towards the door. “Just think about it, won’t you? Code to the closet is 1026 by the way.” He winked as he turned down the hallway with a small wave.

You were left in the empty classroom speechless. There was no way you would steal from the school. That would result in serious consequences and you couldn’t ruin your reputation. With an abrupt shake of your head, you headed out. 

And then you stopped. To the right, was the gymnasium where the party was being set up. To the left, was the main office with the flower garlands. You bit your lip, whipping your head from either side. 

You ultimately turned left.

“What am I doing, what am I doing?”

–

Why did every single door of the school have to creak? Holding your breath, you peeked inside. Your eyes surveyed the room. It seemed that everyone else had left except for two people, talking in the very corner. This was the perfect chance, as you could see the closet, just on your right.

As quietly as you could, you stepped inside, hurrying over the old-looking closet that looked like it could collapse at any moment. 

Just get the flowers and get out. 

Your hands were practically shaking as you turned the lock.

1…0…

“Punching a student is not tolerated in this school.” 

You inhaled sharply at the familiar voice of the principal, but you turned back to the lock, determined to go unnoticed.

2…

“Miss, I had my reasons.” Another voice, younger, almost like he was in your grade. He sounded tired and annoyed.

“That boy ended up with a broken nose. What possible reason could there be for that?” The principal was stern. 

You paused for a second. But still, there was one more number left.

…6

With a proud smile, you silently unlocked the closet. And there it was, like an oasis in a dry desert, the flower garlands. They were prettier than the ones you had previously. Your smile grew. Oh, the party was going to be beautiful.

You were just about to grab the flowers and escape when the younger student spoke up again. “My little sis–”

“What are you doing over there?”

Clenching your jaw, you froze. Then you whipped around, only to face the principal who was staring back at you with an angry expression. Behind her, was a tall man. He must be a student as he was dressed in the typical uniform. His tie was loose and his shirt was untucked, which usually resulted in being dress coded. He didn’t seem to care though as he tilted his head at you with a nonchalant expression, one hand in his pocket. 

You smiled nervously. “I was borrowing something.”

“You aren’t permitted to take anything from there. How did you even get the code?” The principal spoke sternly. “You should be setting a better example. As president of all people.”

You frowned. “But, I needed it for the par–”

“You don’t need it.” She interrupted you. “What you do need is detention. Both of you.”

“What?” You exclaimed. “I swear that I–” But it was of no use, as she was already writing your name up, as well as the other student’s. You peered at his chest only to find that there was no name tag. You sighed. This was not how you expected things to go.

“Detention.” She handed both of you the paper. “In which you both will be sweeping the art room, organizing the library, and cleaning classroom 1-B.”

“Miss,” The man complained, stepping forward. You widened your eyes when you realized just how tall he actually was. “All they did was try to steal stuff. How is that–”

The principal only raised her eyebrow at the word “steal.”

You nudged his shoulder harshly. “You’re not helping,” You whispered frantically.

He gave you a small smirk. “Well you’re not very good at stealing now are you?”

You flushed at that. “I was just trying to–”

“No more objections,” The principal stated. “Attend the party… or whatever. But you will report to detention tomorrow afternoon.”

You sighed and walked away. The man, whom you’ve now nicknamed “dickhead,” quickly caught up to you. You glanced at him with narrowed eyes, refusing to say anything. Close up, you realized that he wasn’t bad looking. He had a tall nose bridge and deer-like eyes that would be considered kind-looking if it wasn’t for the constant teasing look on his face.

“Stealing from Miss principal,” He spoke up, his voice laced with amusement. “I admire your bravery.”

You rolled your eyes, walking faster. He continued to trail behind you. With annoyance, you whipped around, already agitated from the past events.

“Why are you following me?” You frowned.

He smiled. “Don’t you need a date for this party? I’m trying to ask you out.” 

You widened your eyes, your throat closing up suddenly. “Wh–what?”

He stared at you for a good minute. And then he motioned to the side with a laugh. “Just kidding, my locker’s right here.”

You groaned and turned around. Your hands clenched into fists as you stormed down the hallway. 

“Dickhead.”

Little did you know, that he was watching you rush down the hallway with curious eyes. 

–

Cursing at the couple who decided to make out right in front of your locker, you rushed down the stairs, your hands fumbling to fix your hair. Turning the corner, you were met with the entrance of the art room.

To say the least, your friends and fellow classmates were in much shock when they found out that you of all people had gotten detention. Again, you couldn’t care less. You just needed to get this over with. 

Perhaps this could be a great learning experience! You smiled painfully. 

I hate this.

Peeking through the window of the door, you could see that same man, sitting at one of the tables. Again, his uniform was awfully undone. The tie was loose like before and this time, the top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. You sighed, looking down at your uniform. Neat and ironed, because you were always expected to set an example.

Slowly, you opened the door. He looked up and his lips immediately lifted up into a coy smile.

“You’re late.”

“There were some… issues.” You shivered at the thought. Out of all places, they were kissing in front of your locker?

He laughed at your expression and he stood up from the table. And then he squinted at your name tag.

“Your name is?”

“You can’t read?” You furrowed your eyebrows.

“Bad eyesight.” He grinned.

“Y/n,” You sighed.

He nodded. “I already knew that.”

“What?” You stared at him with confusion.

“President of student council,” He stated. “I hear about you a lot.”

“Then why’d you ask…” You muttered to yourself.

“Formality reasons.” He shrugged. “Like you would for me. You probably hear about me a lot too.”

You frowned as you reached over to pick up the brooms, handing one to him. He stared at it blankly, and so you sighed with frustration and thrust it into his chest.

“I don’t know you though,” You replied.

He raised an eyebrow. And then he stepped closer, looking down at you with a disbelieving look. You gulped, taking a step backward.

“You’re funny,” He whispered. 

“I’m not trying to be.”

“You really don’t know?” He widened his eyes. “Lee Hyunjae?”

And that was when the world suddenly came crashing down on you. It all came together like pieces of a puzzle. The constantly messy uniform, the smirk on his lips, the whole reason that he was in detention in the first place? Punching a student. 

You gasped, taking an even wider step backward. His eyes almost dimmed at your action along with his smile faltering with… something like hurt.

“You’re Hyunjae?” You mumbled.

He nodded. “And now you’re going to run away like everyone else does.”

“No.” You shook your head. “I’m just wondering…” You spoke with astonishment. “You’re not even that scary.”

He gaped at your words, his broom almost slipping out of his hands. “Scary?”

You snorted. “You have no idea what my class says about you.” You turned away for a second, beginning to sweep up all the colored pencil shavings and cut-up paper.

“Amuse me.” He appeared by your side with a small smile. You watched as he began to help you clean up the floor. You shouldn’t be so surprised but with what so many people say about him, you couldn’t help but be a little bit shocked that he was doing a basic household task.

“Are you in a gang?” You looked up at him with a stifled laugh.

“Yes,” He spoke. You eyed him suspiciously. “No,” He finally sighed. “That would be cool though.”

“Do you murder children for money?”

He winced and looked at you. “Do you believe these things?”

You shrugged. “Just curious.”

Hyunjae groaned, batting your broom with his, causing you to glare at him. “I’m a perfectly normal student.”

“Okay…” You muttered. “Then why’re you in detention for punching one?”

He grew silent at that. When you looked up at him, you could see that his jaw had clenched. He didn’t answer the question either, as he abruptly walked away to clean up somewhere. You stared after him, trying to decipher his strange reaction. 

After a few more lazy broom sweeps across the floor, you turned to him, only to see that Hyunjae had stopped. He seemed to be staring at an open sketchbook on one of the tables. Quietly, you walked behind him. That was when you realized… that was your sketchbook.

Other than managing school things, you secretly enjoyed drawing in one. It was when you could escape from all your responsibilities, instead choosing to focus on doodling and perfecting a pretty picture. And you must have left it here the other day when it had mysteriously gone missing.

With a squeak, you lunged forward and shut it closed.

He jumped and stared at you in shock. That was when you came to the realization that he was sort of… cute when surprised with the way his eyes were round and his lips parted.

“Those drawings were not mine,” You rambled.

He stared at you, unimpressed. “Thanks for confirming that they’re yours.”

You sighed with defeat. “You weren’t supposed to see them. It’s private.”

His eyes searched yours. “I didn’t turn a single page. It was just open. Besides…” He trailed off. “That one drawing was very good.”

You gulped, suddenly feeling your cheeks grow warm. “Oh,” You stuttered. “Thank you.”

He gave you a small smile. Suddenly, all of those rumors that you’d heard of him had completely dissipated from your mind. You straightened up, studying him with perplexion. He wasn’t half bad. Just… a little quiet.

He pulled out one of the stools and sat down, inviting you to do the same. Cautiously, you did so, facing him with sudden nervousness.

“Can you show me another?” He asked, his eyes filled with genuine curiosity. “If you’re comfortable.”

You faltered over a breath. You watched him for a second, wondering if he was going to maybe burst out into laughter and claim that he was just joking. But instead, he only stared back expectantly.

“Okay,” You whispered. With shaky hands, you searched through your sketchbook, choosing one of your favorites. Hesitantly, you turned it around. He studied it quietly. And then he looked back up at you with a soft smile.

“Aren’t you talented?” He murmured.

You were sure that your cheeks were completely red now. Shutting the book with a loud bang, you looked down at your lap. “Shut up.”

“I’m being serious,” He chuckled. “My little sister likes to draw too, you know.”

You looked up at him in surprise.

“Little sister?” 

He nodded, a sudden fond expression taking over his usual bored one. “She’s adorable. And she somehow looks up to me. I advise her not to.”

You gave him a soft smile. “She must look up to you for a reason.”

He snorted. “I try to set an example. But I’m afraid she’ll become closed off like me. She’s very bright.”

You could practically feel your heart bloom. The way that he spoke of her with such a gentle voice put a funny feeling in your stomach.

“You must love her.”

“I do,” He said with an affectionate tone. “That’s why I’m here in the first place.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at that, toying with the broken spine of the sketchbook. He quickly noticed your confusion and he sighed.

“She wanted these drawing supplies. You know, the ones with unicorns and colorful rainbows on them. So naturally, as a great older brother, I bought them.”

You laughed at that. He gave you a small smile back.

“But I was also late to school so…” His ears turned red. “I had to bring them here.”

“And?” You watched him curiously.

“The other guys in my class noticed.” He frowned. “They threatened to steal them and when they found out that it was for my little sister, they even said some mean things about her. They haven’t even seen her before.”

“Oh,” You breathed out, guiltily. “Is that why you punched one of them?”

He nodded with a sigh. “It’s okay. She was happy to receive them.” He grinned fondly. “She even gave me a hug.”

“So you’re the protective type,” You wondered. You looked at him with kind eyes. “I’m sorry about what happened.”

He shrugged. “As long as she’s happy.”

You gave him a slight smile as you stood up from the stool. Motioning to the door that led directly to the school courtyard, you turned to him. “Would you like to take a walk? We're done here anyway.” Unfortunately, you couldn’t leave right after finishing cleaning since the principal had set a certain mandatory time for both of you to stay here. Quite stupid in fact. 

But, you adored the school courtyard. Especially when it was bright and sunny, all the flowers along the trail brought a certain peace to your usually stressed mind.

Hyunjae looked at you with slight surprise. “Me?” 

“Who else?” You frowned.

He shrugged. “Don’t know. No one usually asks me these types of things. You’re a nice change of pace.”

Your eyes softened at that. Well, up until he—

“Getting clingy for me already?”

You gawked at him. “No? Oh my god, I was being a perfectly nice friend, and you…“

Hyunjae raises his hands up like he was being arrested as he heads for the door, gesturing that you go first. He laughed, “Sorry, sorry. And are we really friends now?”

“If you would like?” You looked at him unsurely.

“Great.” He gave you a kind smile.

As you walked, the afternoon sun beaming down on you, the two of you fell into a comfortable silence.

“So you’re just a quiet person?” You spoke up.

He turned to you. “I guess so. I promise I don't usually punch people.” He winced at the thought.

You snorted. “I get it. You were just being a good older brother.”

He hummed as he kicked at a pebble, watching it roll away.

“How was the party?” He asked quietly. “And don’t tell me you actually needed a date because I would have gladly—“

“Oh we don’t have to talk about it,” You whined. “It was a mess. Everyone was disappointed and I felt like such a failure.”

He smirked. “I mean it wasn’t all a failure.”

You looked at him. And now that you were getting a proper look, you found that he was much better than decent-looking. He was handsome. You’ve witnessed the kind side of him already and so the teasing smile on his lips began to become almost… charming.

“How’s that?” You narrowed your eyes. “You weren’t even there.”

“But I saw you. On the way home.” You could’ve sworn he did a once-over as if he was imagining you in your party attire again. “You looked beautiful.”

Your retort was caught in your throat as quickly as a spark of fire. Almost tripping on a crack in the ground, you cleared it and turned away.

“Thank you.” You squeezed your eyes shut, knowing that he was still watching you intently. “Still think it was a failure.”

When there was no response, you looked back up only to meet Hyunjae’s amused expression. He was smiling at you softly and his eyes sparkled with a hint of mischievousness.

“What is it?” You spoke cautiously.

“Nothing.” He tilted his head slightly, his eyes wandering to one of your ears. “Your ears turned red.”

Stuttering, you shoved him harshly in the chest. “Shut up. And your uniform! It’s all messed up.”

He grinned wider, leaning close so that he could whisper right into your ear where supposedly, they were red from embarrassment.

“It’s a stylistic choice.”

Inhaling sharply, you pulled away, his low voice leaving shivers down your spine. “W-well it’s a horrible one. So face me.”

He easily complied, shockingly. Your fingers hesitated at his chest, multiple red alarms going off in your head asking what the hell are you doing? Ignoring them, you began to button up his white dress shirt. Accidentally, your fingers brushed against his bare skin in which you could see that he gulped. You smiled slightly, glad to know that you also had an effect on him.

Then, your hands came down to his loose tie, pulling it right up to his collar. You desperately tried to ignore his watchful eyes, looking down at you.

“Done,” You breathed out as you tried to avoid his knowing eyes. “And tuck your shirt in yourself.” 

“So you’re not going to shove your hands down my pants today? Disappointing.”

“You dirty-minded moron.” Checking your watch, you realized that you could have left long ago. 

But he stopped you, his hand catching your wrist.

“Your hair.” He approached you this time, his large hand smoothing down a lock of hair. Just as you thought he was done, he tucked one piece behind your ear, his touch gentle and almost caring. “There.” He smiled. “I returned the favor.”

A quiet “thank you” was all you could muster. Your heart was beating abnormally fast. It didn’t help that he decided to tuck another piece of hair behind your other ear, his fingers brushing softly against your cheek.

“I didn’t know I looked like a mess,” You muttered.

“Still pretty to me.” He smiled.

And so with a wave, you said goodbye to Lee Hyunjae who wasn’t so scary after all. With a quirk of his lip, he waved back.

—

“Look who’s late this time?” You lifted an eyebrow as you leaned against one of the many bookshelves. Contrary to popular belief—by that you mean, your classmates who still think that you’re some literature god who can decipher every single piece of Shakespeare just by skimming through the plays—you didn’t often come to the library.

It was rickety and had odd lighting, making everything seem orange and dark. In front of you were two carts, filled with books that needed to be returned to their rightful home. What a boring detention task. How’s this supposed to teach you to do the right thing?

Hyunjae approached you with an obviously faked guilty look. “Sorry about that.” His voice was oddly croaky. As if he had just woken up. “I fell asleep. Physics is really boring.”

So he really did just wake up.

You gazed at him wordlessly. And then you walked forward, pushing one of the carts straight into his stomach. With how tired he was, he couldn’t quite register the feeling yet.

And then he groaned in pain.

“Y/n.” He scowled. 

You smiled cheekily. “Let’s get this over with.”

“After you,” He sighed, motioning to the first section labeled Historical Nonfiction.

As you two wandered the various bookshelves, placing the books back, the two of you had a few casual conversations. Sometimes, Hyunjae would make you laugh. And sometimes, you would just feel the need to fix his tie and collar all over again.

“Your uniform,” You grumbled. “It bothers me.”

He smirked. “Want to button it up for me again?”

You swallowed thickly. “No. Do it yourself.”

“But I like when you do it for me,” He replied, unabashed.

“Be quiet,” You snapped, slapping his hand with a book in which he winced. 

It grew quiet after that. Still, the silence was never one that was awkward or made either of you uncomfortable. It was just… simple. The shuffling of your clothes and the thump of books being placed on the shelves. But there was one question that continued to linger in your mind.

“Hey, I have something to ask.” You turned to him. 

“Hm?”

“Who were the guys who made fun of you? And the one that you punched?” You asked.

He paused, looking at you indecisively. “And what are you going to do with them if I tell you?”

“Nothing,” You replied. “Just curious.”

He eyed you suspiciously but he ultimately exhaled deeply. “There were only two. One being the guy who ran against you for student council…”

Your mouth dropped open at that. Oh, how you hated that guy. He was obnoxious, had an incredibly loud and squeaky voice, and he absolutely loved bothering you. He once even tried to sabotage one of your events.

“And the other was the captain of the football team. The one I punched.”

Now you were gaping at Hyunjae like he was crazy.

“You punched him?”

“Yeah, and?” He widened his eyes cutely.

“But he’s seems so… strong,” You wondered. You had seen the way he plowed through other players in games.

He gave you a slightly crooked smile. “But look who’s broader?” 

You grew quiet at that. And you must be insane because your eyes quite literally scanned over Hyunjae. Were his shoulders always this wide? And the way that his sleeves were rolled up slightly to reveal his arms were so–

“Focused?” He teased, leaning closer.

“Mhm,” You breathed out. “They’re assholes.”

He gave you a half-hearted smile. “Well, what can I do? At least I get to spend more time with you.”

You rolled your eyes, reaching back into the cart. Reading the number on it, you internally groaned when you realized that it was meant to be on the very first shelf. The one at the very top. Biting your lip slightly, you reached up. To no avail, you couldn’t quite extend far enough.

That was when you felt a chest being pressed up to your back. Hyunjae’s chest. He took the book from your hand, his skin brushing with yours as he placed the book for you. Gulping thickly, you looked up, only to meet his soft eyes. He lingered there for a moment, leaving you to realize that he smelled good. Very odd observation to make.

When he finally pulled away, you stared at him with utter shock.

“Shy, dear president?” He whispered. “Your ears are red again.”

“I’m–” You jerked a thumb behind you, desperately trying to escape. “I’m going to go. Th-thank you.”

“Anytime.” He gave you an annoyingly flirty wink as he pushed his own cart. The two of you went your separate ways.

You hummed to yourself as you worked on your own section. But you slowly stopped when you realized just how lonely it was without Hyunjae around to tease you or talk about random topics. Still, you prevailed. After what happened, you weren’t sure if you could face him again.

With a tired sigh, you pushed the cart, rounding the next corner. That was when you saw two boys. One had an annoyingly high-pitched voice, almost like a stupid mouse. You recognized him. The other walked with his chest funnily puffed out. You also recognized him. The football captain. So Hyunjae really is broader, you wondered to yourself.

But then you froze. Hyunjae is right here, in this room. And if they saw him– 

Leaving your cart behind, you whipped around, weaving through the many bookshelves. With rapid breaths, you searched for him, only for you to ultimately run straight into his firm back.

He jumped, turning around.

“Y/n?”

You didn’t reply. Without a second thought, you grabbed hold of his wrist and pulled him along. You dragged him into another section. Then, you pushed him against the bookshelf, pressing your body close up to him. Again, you were surrounded by his scent which still smelled incredibly good, much to your demise.

He stayed silent, studying you with a tilt of his lips. You stared back up at him. You should be explaining but instead, you seemed to be in a trance over how warm his body was and how his lips were very–

“What’s this?” He finally purred, his voice low.

“Shush,” You whispered. When you realized that he was staring down at your lips, you shut your eyes and pressed your forehead against his chest shyly. “I saw them. I’m trying to hide you.”

“Oh,” He breathed in slight surprise. Then he huffed out with amusement. “I don’t think this is really working,” He teased. “They could still see me. Plus, it seems like it’s you who’s hiding. In my chest specifically.”

Clearing your throat, you lifted your head and looked up at him with embarrassment. 

“But that’s kind of you.” He grinned.

“Shh.” You pressed a finger to his lips. He only smiled wider. The two of you stayed in that position for a few more minutes that almost began to feel like hours. His hands were straight at his sides as if he were afraid to touch you. You were still pressed up against him, your hand resting on the bookshelf and the other toying nervously with the hem of your clothes.

Once you were sure that there were no more voices, you pulled away, brushing yourself off. You were about to make a joke to clear the tension that had suddenly built up when you heard a man talk. Specifically, the football captain. The one that Hyunjae had punched. 

“Hold on,” He called out to the other boy. “I need a book for my Greek mythology project.”

You glanced at the nearby sign that clearly, ironically, and very unfortunately read Greek Mythology. You turned back to him with panic.

“Hyunjae–”

He stared at you silently. You gasped when you felt a hand snake around your waist.

“Do you trust me?” He asked.

“What?” You replied with alarm. “You’re asking me that now?”

“Do you?” Hyunjae repeated, furrowing his eyebrows.

You gulped. “Yes.”

And in just a second, he had flipped you around so that the ridges of the bookshelf jutted into your back this time. His hand tightened around your waist and his other hand wandered to your upper back. 

“Wha–”

“Close your eyes.”

Your mind was already rushing with a million thoughts. But you still followed his order, shakily shutting your eyes closed. That was when you were only left with your sense of hearing, smell, and touch. You could hear him, feel him shuffle closer. You could hear his breath against your ear. Why was he so close? And then you felt his lips–his very warm lips–brush against your neck.

Inhaling sharply, your whole body went rigid.

He didn’t do anything else, you soon realized. He simply lingered on your neck, breathing slowly as his hands continued to pull you closer. Hyunjae had you trapped in his arms, his lips just centimeters away from the spot under your jawline. Yet he never made contact. Except for that accidental brush that sent goosebumps down your whole body.

That was when you heard the guy’s voice again and his footsteps approaching.

“It’s here– what the hell? Nevermind. And get a room.” 

And then the footsteps receded.

After what felt like forever, Hyunjae stepped away. He seemed to be experiencing the same effect with the way he was breathing heavily and his cheeks were tinted red. But this was his doing after all.

You opened your mouth and closed it repeatedly, trying to find the words to say. And then you shoved him by the chest.

“What was that for?” You exclaimed. Your hand came up to that same spot on your neck, which felt warm from his breathing. You felt a flush from head to toe. “You almost– kissed me.”

“That was the point,” He replied. “To make it look like we were making out and having the time of our lives.” His eyes continued to linger on your lips and that specific area on your neck. “What perfume do you use? It smells amazing. Pretty like you.”

You froze. And then you groaned with frustration.

“I didn’t– wear perfume today,” You muttered. “And was that the best you could do? We couldn’t– run away? You had to…” You trailed off, the sensation coming back to you all over again. “Do that thing?”

“What thing?” He smirked. “Almost kiss your neck?”

“Yes,” You mumbled. “That.”

He thought for a moment. 

“Because,” He whispered, leaning closer. “This is more fun.” He adjusted your crumpled collar, his hands lingering there, before looking back up at you with a teasing smile. “Your ears are red again.”

And then he walked away, leaving you to stare after him in complete shock. Lee Hyunjae was not scary at all. In fact, he made your heart beat faster. Much, much faster.

–

“Can I take you out somewhere?” He had come up to you after all the books had been put away. You still couldn’t quite look him in the eyes. And it seemed that he noticed as his eyes glinted with mischievousness. 

“Okay,” You replied, still avoiding his eyes like your life depended on it. “Where to?”

“I’ll tell you when you look me in the eye.”

His finger hooked under your chin, forcing you to anyway. You inhaled sharply.

“I’m looking now,” You whispered with your voice wavering.

“I was thinking, roller-skating?”

Your eyes brightened at that. “Oh yes! That would be so fun. We’re going to have so much fun.” You turned on your heel, bounding out the door.

You missed the way Hyunjae gazed at you with fondness.

–

“This is not fun,” He muttered. His knuckles were practically white with how hard he was holding on to the railing. You giggled at the sight as you easily glided past him. He watched you with a glare.

“Do you need help?” You called out to him, taking note of the way his legs wobbled like a baby deer.

“I do not,” He huffed, trying to save his pride. But then he paused. “Can you… maybe?” Now it was his turn to not look you in the eye.

“Of course.” You smiled, appearing by his side. You held out your hand in which he stared at it in confusion. “Take it,” You urged. “And follow me.”

It was strange to see how easily his flirty persona had completely disappeared at this moment. You liked this side of Hyunjae: his eyes round and nervous, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration, and his lips pulled into a concentrated pout. All it took was for him to choose to go roller skating. Even though he couldn’t even roller-skate himself.

Hesitantly, he took your hand in his. You ignored the way that his fingers and palm fit so perfectly with yours. You also tried to ignore how smooth and warm his hand was. And the fact that you had already felt his hand before. On your waist.

You still never quite got past that moment. Something about the memory put a butterfly-like feeling in your stomach.

“Set your feet wider apart.” You slightly pulled him away from the railing. He looked at you with an adorably nervous expression. You laughed. “When you step, try to lean on each side. So you can balance.”

He followed what you said and soon enough, the two of you were skating down the rink. Smoothly? Not really, with the way he constantly stumbled like a deer learning how to walk. But it was enjoyable, the way he would occasionally smile at you, his hand tightening on yours.

“Hyunjae, you’re a professional now,” You joked.

He scowled adorably. “You’re so funny. You enjoy my embarrassment.”

“Maybe I do,” You snorted. “You’re getting better though.” 

He looked at you earnestly. You could see the way the purple and blue lights, lit up every feature of his face, creating a view that could fit perfectly in a soft-colored painting. It seemed that the lighting also affected you as his thumb began to caress your hand. 

“You look pretty,” He whispered, only loud enough for you to hear.

You widened your eyes. “Hyunjae–”

“And you make me smile,” He confessed. “So thank you. For trusting me, even when others don’t. I promise I really don’t punch people on the usual.”

You laughed, your eyes crinkling. “Of course I’d trust you. You’re very charming, did you know that?”

He only scrunched his nose in response, but you could see that his ears have tinted red, even under the blue-ish lighting.

“Your ears are red,” You pointed out. 

“Haha.” He narrowed his eyes.

–

Now, the two of you were walking home together. Though you did insist that you could do so on your own, he refused to leave your side. He even gave you those stupid puppy eyes that you couldn’t reject.

“Did you have fun?” He peered at you, anxiousness flitting across his expression.

You smiled reassuringly. “Definitely.” And you don’t know why you did it, but you reached forward and took his hand in yours. His eyes went wide in an adorable way as he gazed down at your connected hands. You could even see him struggle to hold back a smile.

Then, he schooled his expression into a teasing one again. The one that you’ve grown to become used to.

“Hey, do you know what this means?”

“That we’re very good friends?” You gazed at him innocently. You held hands with your friends so that must be what it means. Right?

“That we’re— what?” He stared at you in utter disbelief.

“Good friends?” You stared back. His firm grip on your hand loosened slightly at that. “Because we’re hanging out. Are we not?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “I thought this was a da—“

But then your house came into view. You turned to him with bright eyes.

“We’re here,” You sighed. “Thank you, Hyunjae. For a wonderful hangout.”

“Hangout,” He choked out. He reluctantly let go of your hand as he still held into the tips of your fingers. “Yes, hangout. I had fun.” His smile was almost painful, forced.

You grinned, pulling away, the constant spark between your hands finally being broken. You gave him a small wave in which he did the same.

Lee Hyunjae who was a good friend. A friend who almost kissed you and held your hand the whole night. A great friend.

—

“Am I being friend-zoned?” He muttered to himself, kicking a can that lay astray on the sidewalk.

He mulled over all the possibilities. It was either you were just incredibly oblivious, or you didn’t like him back and were trying to let him off kindly. He sighed, pouting to himself.

His mind darted back to all things regarding you. He would never admit how much you made him blush just over the thought of your smile. And the way you filled him with warmth, he sometimes daydreamed of just pulling you into a hug. 

Suddenly, his cheeks began to hurt. Ah. He’s smiling to himself again like a lovesick fool.

“Fine,” He groaned, slapping himself. “I’ll just get over this stupid crush.”

Should be easy.

—

Being president of the student council had its sorrows. When you said that the party was the last event of the year, apparently you were wrong. The principal suddenly wanted you to set up a fundraiser in three days' time.

Not to mention that you had exams to study for and projects to keep you up late at night. You’re not only stressed but a little bit—no—very sleep deprived. 

With a pained sigh, you flopped your head on the desk, hitting your forehead with a thump that only worsened your headache. You felt someone poke your shoulder so you were forced to look up. 

“Could you please do my homework?” Your classmate pleaded. “I have a date tonight but I’m failing this class.”

Another poke on your shoulder. You turned.

“Can you send me the instructions for the literature project?”

And another except on your back. You turned around again.

“For the fundraiser event, how many tabl–”

Abruptly, you stood up from your desk, your chair creating a loud sound that made everyone else in the classroom jump. You pinched the crease behind your eyebrows.

“I have a headache,” You told all three students who were pleading with you to do their work for them. Two of them simply grumbled and turned away. But one, she was your favorite of all, looked at you with kind eyes.

“You should go to the nurse’s office.” 

With a deep breath, you nodded and headed out the door. Again, you were met with a choice–a fork in the road, per se. To your right, was the nurse who could treat your pounding headache. But to your left was the stairway to the rooftop of the school.

You turned left again.

Bursting through the doors, you took a long inhale as you enjoyed the fresh air. Luckily, the weather was bright and blue, perfect for clearing your head. Other than the drawings in your sketchbook, you had another secret. That was the rooftop.

You often came here whenever your brain was fuzzy with unnecessary thoughts. You liked to sit here alone, doodle on a blank page, and just be yourself. All alone.

Except you weren’t.

When you turned to your usual spot, a wall that was at a certain angle where you could see all the prettiest clouds, there was someone else sitting there.

“Hyunjae?” You peered at him. 

He looked up at you with slight surprise as he pulled off his earphones. He looked attractive like this. He was sitting against the grey wall, one leg extended. His hair was messy and tousled from the wind and he had that signature smile on. You couldn’t quite tell if it was teasing or genuine. But you liked it anyway.

“Y/n,” He breathed out and then he patted the spot next to him, inviting you to sit. As you did, you immediately felt comfort from the way his shoulder pressed against yours, his warmth taking away that chilling feeling that clouded your mind the past few hours.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, turning to him. You inhaled slightly when you realized just how close he was. You took the time to run your eyes over his soft features, your gaze lingering on his bottom lip for a second longer.

“I hate physics,” He deadpanned. “And you?”

“I’m just tired,” You laughed bitterly. He took note of your tone and he shuffled even closer to you so now your legs were touching.

The two of you fell in silence. You played with your fingers with nervousness. You didn’t even know what you were nervous about. Was it him? Was it the way that he continued to look at you with so much softness in his eyes?

“You know, Hyunjae,” You started, your voice low. “You’re not all too bad.”

He huffed out a laugh. “I thought that we’ve established that a long time ago.”

“But what you said earlier. While roller-skating.” You faced him with a soft tilt of your lips. He gazed back, a strange tenderness behind his expression. “You make me smile too.”

“Oh. That’s… good,” He replied breathlessly. “Did you come here just to tell me that?”

“No.” You rolled your eyes. “I really am tired. You call me dear president but I’m tired of being one. I came here to clear my mind.”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Would you like me to leave?” He questioned.

And he didn’t even move but you were already grasping his wrist in your fingers.

“Stay,” You whispered. “I like being with you.”

His eyes widened at your words and you could even see, under the afternoon light, that his cheeks have tinted pink.

“I’m going to flunk physics class if I keep skipping,” He muttered but he still relaxed next to you. 

“I can teach you,” You offered. “When I’m not exhausted.”

“Mhm,” He hummed with amusement. “You do that. When you’re not exhausted.”

You didn’t reply. Instead, you leaned your head on his shoulder. It was warm against your cheek and honestly made a great pillow. You could feel him stiffen for a second but he slowly leaned closer so that your neck wouldn’t hurt. Your fingers stayed on his wrist, holding it loosely as his hand laid out on your lap.

Quietly, he leaned his head against yours, encompassing you in warmth and… something else.

After a while, Hyunjae lifted his head to check up on you, only to find that you had fallen asleep on his shoulder, your cheek smushed (adorably, in his opinion) into it. He was glad that you weren’t awake, or else you would notice how fast his heart was pounding. Then he glanced down to where his hand was still on your lap, your fingers wrapped around gently.

He gulped thickly as he turned away. He couldn’t move but he desperately wanted to. When he had said that he would get over you, it seemed almost impossible now with how strong his feelings had become.

“I really like you,” He whispered. And he hoped that he would one day tell you when you were properly awake.

–

As time passed, you grew closer to Hyunjae. From a student that you had only merely heard rumors about, to a friend in which you’ve started to notice the way his lips moved for some reason.

It also seemed that the principal had forgotten to schedule your last detention. Not that you minded, but it made it harder for you to see him. But of course, he took it as his responsibility to take you out to places whenever he could.

And the rooftop slowly became a two-person thing. Usually, you ended up falling asleep on his shoulder. He would always reassure you that he didn’t mind.

Lately, you’ve noticed that he had grown quiet. A lot more than usual. Of course, he teased you but you’ve also taken note of the way he often liked to just look at you. If you were talking, he would gaze at you with soft eyes. Or if you smiled, he would smile back, looking at you as if you had hung the stars in the sky.

It was the night before school. You had things to prepare but mostly, you laid in bed, bored. But you lifted your head when you heard the doorbell ring. Furrowing your eyebrows and glancing at the time, you realized that you had no deliveries or guests to expect.

Rushing to the door, you turned the knob. You widened your eyes.

Hyunjae. He was dressed in his usual school uniform. Except something was different. His collar was ironed, every button was properly done, and his tie was pulled up correctly. His hair though, was still tousled. It always has been. It reminded you much of a puppy.

In his hands was a bouquet of flowers. Held close to his chest, you could recognize pink roses. You once read in a book that it meant innocent love. He looked straight out of a romance comic book. Charming in his school uniform and lovely with the flowers that complimented his golden skin.

Your eyes traveled down and–

You choked.

There was a small girl on his side. His little sister. She was grinning up at you and you couldn’t help but notice the resemblance. They both had the same deer eyes and an adorable smile. The only difference was her height which only reached up to Hyunjae’s mid-thigh, as well as her chubby cheeks.

You turned to Hyunjae.

“What are you–”

“Babysitting duty,” He blurted out. “But I just need to tell you something. If you would listen.”

You gazed at him for a moment, taking in the sight. He shuffled on his feet and you could tell that he was incredibly nervous.

“Okay,” You replied in surprise. “What is it?”

“I…” He trailed off as if his mind had suddenly gone blank. But then his sister tugged on his hand. He crouched down so that she could whisper in his ear. You watched, completely endeared.

“Right.” He cleared his throat. “I want to tell you that I…” He trailed off again. His cheeks turned red. He looked down at her. “I forgot again.” 

His little sister groaned. He smiled sheepishly as he turned back to you.

“I like you.”

Your lungs felt like they were punctured as the pieces all clicked for you, just like they had when you found out his name back in that art room. The flowers in his hands which probably mean everything about romance and the fact that he fixed up his uniform for you; the soft looks whenever you would laugh; his constant flirting that you had imagined to just be his humor; it all meant something.

“You… what?” You uttered.

“I like you. I have for a while,” He said with his voice wavering. “And I was supposed to tell you this huge speech that we–” He glanced down at the small girl. “–prepared together. But I get nervous around you so I forgot.”

“Hyunjae…”

“And I don’t know if you return my feelings.” He frowned. “But I just wanted to tell you that I have this gigantic crush on you. She would know.” He gestured to her again. “She always points out how I’m always blushing.”

“Blushing?” You widened your eyes.

“Because I’m thinking of you,” Hyunjae whispered. 

“Oh,” You breathed. “But why me?”

“I love everything about you.” He gave you a soft smile. That same one that you seem to see every day now. “Your smile is pretty. You’re just very beautiful. Inside and out. All the time.”

You felt like your face was on fire and that you might just suffocate from how fast your heart was beating.

He sighed, noticing your silence. “You don’t have to return your feelings or say anything ye–”

“I like you too,” You squeaked.

His lips parted at that, the flowers falling to his side. “You do?”

“Yes, I think.” You smiled sheepishly. “I’m new to this, Hyunjae.”

He grinned, looking at you teasingly. “I can guide you, dear president.”

“Don’t call me that,” You groaned. 

“I can call you anything,” He muttered, stepping closer. You looked up at him, your eyes studying his soft expression. “Gorgeous.” He tucked a piece of hair around your ear. 

“Hyunjae,” You whispered.

“Or would you prefer breath-taking?” He teased. 

“Neither.” You squeezed your eyes shut.

“It seems that you like both, sweetheart.”

“Mister,” You warned. “There is a child present.”

He widened his eyes and he stepped away immediately as if he had just remembered. Hastily, he turned to his little sister who was staring up at the two of you innocently.

“If you speak of this to mom…” He narrowed his eyes. “She’s going to kill me, you know?”

The girl only giggled and made a zipping motion to her mouth.

You snorted at the sight.

“Hyunjae,” You spoke up again. “How long have you liked me?”

He smiled. “A long time. You’re awfully oblivious, Y/n. That time we went roller-skating was meant to be a date. And why do you brush off my flirting everytime?”

You stuttered, “I– I’m sorry. I thought–”

He laughed, gazing at you fondly. “As long as you know now.”

You hummed, leaning against the doorway. “I guess you have me now, handsome.” You looked at him slyly.

His eyes were adorably wide now. He straightened up. “Repeat that?”

“Handsome?”

“Yes, that,” He breathed out. 

“Handsome.”

He turned to face his little sister. “Hold this.” He placed the bouquet of flowers in her small hands. And then he immediately stepped forward and hooked a hand around your waist. He quickly pulled you in, causing you to stumble slightly and fall into his chest. Steadying you with a small smile, he brought you into a kiss without a warning. 

You gasped in surprise but you slowly relaxed into it. Your hands wandered to the back of his neck, causing him to hum with satisfaction. The kiss was soft and innocent with barely any movement and his lips were even softer than you imagined. You could sense that he was going to deepen it but you were interrupted by a small, “Gross!” 

The two of you pulled apart, only to see that his little sister had cutely stuck her tongue out. He scowled playfully before reaching down to pick her up in his arms, as she tightly held onto the flower bouquet in her small hands.

“This was your idea in the first place, dummy,” He grumbled, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, causing her to laugh adorably. You smiled at the sight.

Lee Hyunjae wasn’t scary at all. In fact, he was just a huge softie who had fallen in love with you.

–

You could be going on dates with Hyunjae but instead, you were still serving detention with him. After your first kiss with him, it seemed that the day after, the principal suddenly remembered to schedule your detention time.

With a sigh, you swept the classroom. Classroom 1-B, specifically Hyunjae’s classroom. 

“I daydreamed a lot about you here.” He brushed past you with a small smirk.

Your cheeks flushed. “About… what?”

“A lot.” He walked past you again, this time letting his hands fall to your waist for a moment. You inhaled sharply at the sensation. “Your lips.” 

You gulped, turning to him. To no surprise, he was staring straight at your lips.

“I daydreamed about hugging you.” He suddenly appeared behind you, wrapping his arms around you into a firm back hug. You couldn’t help but smile at the way he nuzzled his nose into your shoulder.

“Hyunjae,” You whispered. “We’re supposed to be cleaning right now.”

He smiled, holding you tightly. His lips only hovered over that spot on your neck. The spot that he had almost kissed back in the library.

“But we’re alone. Just the two of us,” He muttered back. You swallowed thickly, willing yourself not to let your eyes wander down. The whole day, during classes, you kept thinking of them. What it would be like to kiss them again. 

Really, your only kiss with him was the one on your porch. The one that was interrupted by his little sister.

“We have responsibilities,” You shakily replied.

“But don’t you want to know about my last daydream?” He pulled away, his hand still placed on your hip.

You breathed deeply, knowing very well that your ears were red right now, which he loved to point out.

“What… is it?” You glanced at him nervously.

“I daydream about kissing you.” He leaned close from behind, letting his lips brush against the side of your cheek. And you had hoped. Really hoped that he would whip you around and pull you into a deep kiss. But much to your disappointment, he only walked by, off to pick up some crumpled test papers.

With a groan of frustration, you set your broom down.

“You can’t just say that and not–” You sighed, shutting your eyes with embarrassment. “Not kiss me.”

His eyes sparkled at that but he only spared you a glance.

“But apparently you think cleaning a classroom is more important,” He hummed. “I respect your opinion. So I guess you’ll just have to wait for my kiss.”

You glared at him for a moment. But he only tilted his head, his lips quirking up slightly. With an annoyed sigh, you picked the broom up and began to sweep the floor again. This time, a little bit faster and more aggressively.

Hyunjae only chuckled at your actions. 

And purposely, like the absolute lunatic he is, he would brush past you, letting his hands trail somewhere on his body. Every time, you would scrunch your eyebrows, trying to contain the sudden need to grab his collar and pull him into a harsh kiss.

“Focus.” 

“Shut up.” You glared.

“You can shut me up later.” His eyes again, traveled downwards.

Once you were sure that the floor was clean enough, you practically threw the broom off somewhere. Storming over to where he was waiting for you, leaning back against the teacher’s desk, you faced him.

“Are you going to kiss me now?” You said.

He smiled. “Should I?”

You frowned. “Because we’re finished so–”

“Can’t get enough of me?” He quirked his head. He stood up. Again, you were reminded of just how tall he was. “Can’t stop thinking of my lips?” He took a step forward. You took a step backward, blinking nervously.

“What are you doing?” You whispered.

“You want to kiss me so bad, don’t you?” He teased, continuously backing you up. “That you rushed all of your cleaning just so you could press your lips to mine?” 

You gasped when you realized the back of your thighs hit a student’s desk. He only continued to step closer, forcing you to sit up on the desk. He watched you with a glint in his eyes. And then he stepped in between your legs, caging you between his arms and hovering over you with his hands resting on the desk on either side of you.

“Hyunjae,” You breathed out, your hands resting on his chest. 

“So should we do this properly?” He asked, his voice dropping to a low tone. His gaze followed your lips, making you hold your breath. “Since she’s not here.” 

Out of context, this would sound like a horrible love affair. But you only snorted since you knew that he was talking about his little sister.

“Are you saying that your sister is a bother?” You laughed.

“No.” He grinned. “But I can’t afford her to witness this.”

“Witness what?”

He smiled. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“Enlighten me,” You whispered.

“Should I?” He chuckled softly, as he shuffled even closer so that your chest was against his. You could even feel his breath fan over your lips. He tilted his head with a lazy smile.

You laughed, leaning your forehead against his. “Yes,” You whispered. “Or else I’ll take the lead.” 

“I would love to see that,” He teased.

And much to his surprise, you took hold of his collar, and you finally, finally, pulled him against your lips. He let out a muffled sound but he almost instantly melted against you.

Groaning with satisfaction, his hands came off the desk, instead choosing to take hold of your lower back and waist, his fingers digging into your skin. This kiss was much, much different from your first one. This one was filled with a flame that couldn’t be put out. As his lips moved against yours fervently, one hand traveled down to the side of your thigh where he pulled you closer. 

You hummed as you tangled your fingers in his soft hair, tilting your head to deepen the kiss. Easily, he obliged, kissing you so hard that you felt your hands go weak, going slack and resting on his chest. He never seemed to slow down either, only breaking away so that he could find his way under your jawline. 

“So this finally happens,” He muttered. And he leaned back in, kissing down until he found that spot–the one that he had only lingered on before in a rickety library. Now, he was pressing kisses to your skin as he meant it. You gasped at the feeling.

“Hyunjae,” You breathed out, tugging at his collar as you tilted your head against the sensation. You could even feel him begin to smile against your neck.

“Perfume?” He whispered.

“None,” You gasped.

He pulled away, searching your eyes with so much softness you felt like you could just melt right then and there. “You smell good. Sweet like candy.”

“Shut up,” You grumbled, leaning forward so that you could hide your face in his chest. His hands came to the small of your back, pulling you into a hug. It was gentle and innocent, much different from the kiss.

And then his hand came under your chin, lifting you up so that he could press his lips to yours. This time, the two of you savored the moment, moving slowly. Both of your eyes were shut and your cheeks flushed.

“She’s only five years old,” He whispered against your lips, breaking apart reluctantly. You could tell that he was trying to catch his breath as his hands wandered across your waist. “This is PG-13.” He grinned.

You laughed. Or you tried to until he shut you up with another kiss.

“You look beautiful,” He said, his eyes gentle on yours.

“And you look like a mess.”

“And who’s fault is that?” He glanced down at his crumpled collar where you had grabbed it and initiated the kiss in the first place. You smiled up at his messy hair and his pink cheeks. Then your eyes met again.

“Can I kiss you again?”

“Please.”

And he did so, pulling you closer by the waist. You were so focused on his lips that you hadn’t noticed the voices out in the hallway.

“We just need to get the flyers for–”

The door creaked open. The two of you broke apart. You looked down at the way he had you pressed up on a desk and you choked. It must be an odd sight, seeing the so-called quiet, intimidating student making out with the picture-perfect president of the student council.

And it was Younghoon and Sunwoo–members of said council. Their eyes were wide and their mouths had dropped open. Sunwoo had even let go of the book in his hand, causing a loud thump on the floor. Younghoon’s eyes trailed from both of your spit-slicked, swollen lips down to where you were all up against each other, Hyunjae’s hand still on your waist.

You stared back and Hyunjae only pulled away slightly with a smug smirk.

Sunwoo’s eye twitched. 

“What the fu–” 

[factual-fantasy]

27 asks! Thank you for all the kind words! :}}}💙💙💙

@network-warrior-01

Funnily enough I have been thinking a lot recently about making my own web comic, right here on Tumblr! I have a lot of concepts, although I don't know if I'd make a separate comic just for the Factual Fam. I feel like they kind'a already have a web comic..? In a way.?

And I feel like if I made a story driven comic about us, separate from the ones I'm already making.. It would feel.. idk, off? My lil guys are meant to be with me, going with the flow of whatever's going on with my blog/my life. This is their story. Their lives with me are their story. If that makes sense?? I'm not sure if I have any other ideas in mind for them.. what would their world even look like if I wasn't in it or if it was different from what they have now..??

But on the other note, could you imagine? Me? Making a 100% original comic? With my own original characters, story, and world? Its a daunting thought. The sheer amount of stuff I would have to plan and the amount of angst I could inflict on ya'll would be insane <XDD

And yeahh,, the fanart thing would be a problem... <:/

The four of them sit together at the base of my stuffed animal pile. Nice and cozy! :}}

@cudlycorncornsworthcoberson

Actually the quilts are rather deceiving, they're just for show! <XD Bibi was conscious and could talk when he was still a picture. And he became a drawing without the use of a quilt. Jangles had a quilt but was still a picture. He was later "brought to life" with my pen!

The thing about all that life stuff, quilts, pens.. its honestly just for show. Those things don't bring them to life, I do. The flashy ways I do it are just for fun <XD

And about Cici! She was talking! And I think kind'a the idea as to why Jangles could hear them both was not only for the spooks. But becuase Cici and Gerald's concepts were so strongly developed at that point they were basically fully fleshed out characters. Their bodies just didn't exist yet. Hence the "I cant see" I hadn't stitched her button eyes on yet!

So basically their personalities and designs had been thought out. They just weren't there yet. But their presence was still so strong.. And Jangles being a picture kind'a bridged the gap between the concept world and the drawn one. If that makes sense??

He could still hear them after he was drawn though, I guess its an ability that he kept even after being art-ified..? <XD My lore's a little whack- its best not to look too far into it!

Also thank you! I'm glad you liked it all! :DD

Like I've said before, the best way to show you care is with comments. That's what would make me the happiest. :)

And sure I will! Some comics and random cameos here and there.. I already have some comics in mind.. 👀👀

I haven't seen the Puss in boots movie, but something tells me you're right XD

Hmm.. I don't actually know.. That's a good question :0

I guess they would react the same if us humans found a group of people like that. And what would humans do? Probably report it to someone?? <XD

@minophlia

XDD Thank you! I'm so glad you like me and what I make!! :DDD

Giant scary abstracted monsters that attack anything in the vicinity?? Nope nope nope!! Jevil would FREAK OUT and Immediately warp them out of there with a mirror. Cant risk anyone getting hurt!

That's not a half bad idea! :0 I'll see if I can remember to get around to it <XD

Also thank you so much!! :DD

All I know of punch out is from smash bros. And I got beef with Little Mac. Anytime anyone plays as him they always kick my butt XDD

I imagine Jevil wouldn't tolerate it much. If Jax was being a butt towards Jevil that's one thing. But as soon as he starts to direct that to anyone else in the group- especially Seam.. Then there's gonna be a problem. :x

Seam would be annoyed. But its likely the same as Jevil. He doesn't really care about his antics, but as soon as its directed at Jevil or someone else.. well then there's a problem-

@abaroo

Thank you so much!! :DD And of course I held his widdle hand! He needed the emotional support! He was making the biggest decision he's ever made in his life- <XD

And you're welcome! <XD I'm so glad you liked it! :}}

No no no no that is the wrong habitat for me!

I need to be put in a cardboard box with all the flaps open except for 1. There needs to be a grassy/muddy floor and a bowl of water.

Then put this box out in your backyard in the pouring rain. Don't give me anything to warm myself, and only feed me refrigerated watermelon. Now THAT'S what I call a comfy habitat!

@multiverse-city

Thank you so much! :DD I appreciate the compliments!! :}}

Although I'm sorry to say that I don't want me and my critters to show up as background characters.. <:( Sorry!

He probably has a couple of times yeah. Maybe right after big events or shows he got pushed over the edge and crashed.. :(

He might..? But I think Freddy would want to give Bonnie space.. Becuase when Bonnie is overwhelmed, that's what he wants. Is silence and space. And when Freddy is around Bonnie he would try to be really quiet and not move around too much..

So many siblings...

My only thought is that my version of the Daycare Attendant would better fit the role of Kaufmo. :0 The idea that he suddenly disappears, only to reemerge as a monster..

That, and I would shoe horn a bunch of unnecessary angst in there XDD

:DD Thank you so much!! :}}}

WAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Its so nice to hear that even though you knew nothing about the characters, you still loved my comic!! :DD And thinking my critters have depth?? And feel human?? WAAA THANK YOUUU!!! I try to give them all separate personality's and really put some emotion into them, I'm so glad you've noticed! It seems to be working! :DD

And again a thousand thank you's for the compliments to my sona! :DD The bloodied hands and dripping face getting worse and worse as the comic progresses to show my exhaustion,, even the comically placed hands! I put a lot of heart into all of it and I'm so happy that you've noticed!!

Thank you for all the kind words! Sending platonic love right back at ya!! :DDD 💙💙💙

@anartistwhowrites

THANK YOU!! :DDD

<XD Noooo don't cry! Thank you though, I'm glad you liked it! :))

@beryl-shade

One word; Horrified.

Aww, I'm sorry it made you cry! <:(( But I'm glad you liked it none the less! <:}}}

@badlyblurry

Darn <XD I had it match my Tumblr's theme.

@crimson-thinker

My main thing is it just feels like they "stole" what I made and drew it without asking me. And then turned around and gave it to me as a gift. Which obviously isn't what fanart actually is. But that's just how it feels.

But hey, your ask has many more reasons for me to not like fanart <XDD

The idea I had was they can use Power-Ups purely becuase they're human. Like, something about just being human gives you access to the power the Power-Ups have. .

Do you have a different idea though? I'd love to hear it! :)

[dribs-and-drabbles]

An alternative review of GMMTV Live 2024 part 2

A list of the shared items of clothing that appeared in the trailers, ranked according to the amount I squealed when I spotted it.

6. getricheasy sports shirt

The first of four from Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist, this had its first appearance in Only Friends and was used in the promotional material for The Outing but I didn't spot it in the show, so I'm happy to see it again. Who knows if it will be used in the actual show...that goes for any of these items incidentally.

5. Blue with yellow detail knitted vest

I've had a screenshot of this vest worn by Thor since I saw it as Wednesday Club aired. I swear I've seen it somewhere else before but can't remember. But hence why it immediately jumped out to me in Perfect 10 Liners.

4. Green sports jacket

On to the second of the four from Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist, and oh to be Poon and be able to wear the jacket that our King and Queen have worn -> first by Namtan in UMG and then Mix in his glorious cameo at the end of Only Friends. I predict we'll see this again a few more times.

3. Blue with brown edging shirt

I was happy to see this one, another in Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist, because I had kept it in my mind since seeing it in Only Friends - as another potential that might get worn again. It's subtle yet quite distinct...and very much in a similar vibe as many other shirts worn by Force (and shared with Sea, Ngern, and New amongst others).

2. Red, blue, and green striped t-shirt

I'm impressed with my brain for spotting this one, the last from Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist, because at first it just felt familiar, and I immediately thought of UMG but I thought it might just be because it's similar to a few stripy colour shirts that Nanon wore. But I had a look through my screenshots of the series and eventually found it all the way at the end...

1. Ink's mustard knitted vest!

This one I could not believe. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would see this iconic vest from Bad Buddy again. But here we are, on Mix no less in Ossan's Love. It's not something you'd expect to see on Mix...but then again I thought the costuming of the trailer looked a lot more 'quirky' than usual and very much fitting the kooky/slapstick vibe of the series. But honestly, this made my day.

[tatonslice]

hpapy sergey sautrdsybdauy it';s Ego day i think maybe. sergey telepole. i dont have a reasoning for this, actually.

someone made a comment about him being invincible wielding mimicry but i think he would not be able to handle the texture of Evil Skin. it did inspire me to draw him in other aleph ego though. hence the theme of the post

reinhardt cameo. both of them can handle their respective ego just fine but if you swapped it bad things would happen (even if it's not apparent with reinhardt. will leave explanation in tags)

i love drawing him in things he looks good in everything (debatably) my. favorite lc agent

he was canonically a christmas guy btw i found screenshots. thats why its the only not aleph ego in here

[supercupcakecollector-love]

the Witcher fandom, a rant

why is it so hard for people to believe its possible for a show to come back from a bad season, if  Picard can come back after a bad season 2 why cant the Witcher? 

don`t fall for the “Henry left because it wasn't like the books” rumor perpetuated mostly by alt right youtube channels who call everything they don't like “Woke”  the real reason is  likely because of contract disputes, he signed an unfair contract with Netflix signing away his likeness hence why his face couldn't be shown in his dc cameos,  and why he hasn't been legally able to do any projects outside of netflix and he understandably wanted out 

if there was a schism between the people working on the show over accuracy wouldn't other people involved in the project has left as well, like the polish producer Tomasz Baginski, who is a huge fan of the novels and worked on the games 

is it so ludicrous to believe that they saw the reaction to season 2 and overcorrected, its happened before with tv show were they get retooled after audience reaction 

we are getting the conclusion to the stuff that was set up in season 2  that felt incomplete because it was, the political intrigue of the northern kingdoms,  Geralt/Yennifer reconciling and talking about the wish  Ciri and Yennifer bonding ( I have a whole other rant coming about how Yennifer`s actions at the end of last season were misinterpreted by most people and how she was not the one in control like it may have seemed on first watch ) 

   why would they bother filming in the Sahara for the desert scenes or doing super complex scenes like the  Thanedd ball/ coup if they didn't care about the material and could just make a safe lower budget monster of the week style show with mass appeal 

I might ad that a good chunk of the outcries from so called “fans”  over the accuracy were often done with the addition of racist, misogynistic, and (now given what we know about season three) homophobic comments aimed at the female and poc cast and crew members, if it really was about representing the source material why would they feel the need to make comments like those that have nothing to do the story or characters  

im not saying you have to like this show, I have alot of problems with it myself but ever since that false headline about  Andrzej Sapkowski supposedly “ hating” the video games the Witcher fandom has had a serious problem with blindly listening click/ragebait headlines and putting words into peoples mouths,  please stop doing this so we all can have a better fandom experience 

[transskywardsword]

Dungeon Crawl - Bramble and the gang transverse an underground water temple in hopes of breaking a curse

okayyyyy i finally finished this. i'd make it longer, but im worried abt hitting tumblr's character limit so this is what yall get haha. enjoy a bramble-centric fic, some world-building for nes loz/aol's world, and a cameo from out favorite original princess! NOTE: wilds is from after totk (which i technically havent finished, hence why i haven't updated his character sheet oops) so there are some mentions of game mechanic spoilers but no story spoilers. also, he is completely mute and uses the slate as a text to speech device. i hope yall enjoy!

[image description: a digital artwork of Bramble, a Link from the loz au Heroes Gate. They are a young teen with mousy brown hair, light brown skin, and a broad large nose. They wear a pinkish purple fur shoulder cloak over their dark green tunic and orange sleeves. In the first drawing, they stand against a gloomy dark blue background, shoulders hunched as they protect a lit red candle that illuminates them in its glow. End description]

Moving out of any of the other heroes’ Hyrules and into Bramble’s home was always jarring for Twilight. There was almost a feeling of whiplash as the green and blues of their eras transformed into the ash and dust of Bramble’s; though he would never say it to Bramble, Twilight hated visiting their era. The group had hoped for a breather after their last stop in Mini’s world. The battle they spent slicing down the magically charged followers of Ganon hoping to free Vaati had proven to be unusually difficult, and everyone had been looking forwards to Grandpa Smithy’s soft beds and the bakery in Mini’s Castle Town. Instead, as soon as the last creature had fallen, the world around them froze and the brilliant blinding blue of a Time Gate flickered open before them. So, with much grumbling and groaning, the twelve walked through the Gate, trading the green lush forests and picturesque towns of Mini’s Hyrule for the decay and destruction of Bramble’s.  

Lana hadn’t gifted them with an objective this time around, and her constant vagueness was going to give Twilight a permanent twitch. It would be bad enough wandering aimlessly for days in a good Hyrule, like Quartet’s or Spirit’s, but ages on foot in the crumbling wasteland that was Bramble’s Hyrule sounded truly miserable. The group seemed to agree with Twilight, though none of them would say it out of respect for Bramble’s feelings. Somehow, despite the destruction, the teen loved the place. It was mind-boggling, but while the group stepped around puddles of toxic water and tried to avoid breathing in too much dust, Bramble walked with spring in their step, whistling brightly. Bramble led them along the winding riverside, occasionally giving a stern reminder to watch for river Zora, and promised they knew the perfect place to stay that was less than a few hours of brisk walking. Bramble never used a map; they never seemed to need to, moving as if the jagged riverside was as familiar to them as their own home. Though, if Bramble’s jumbled stories about their childhood were to be believed, then the outdoors of their crumbling Hyrule had served as home for them.

Twilight quickly worked out that Bramble wasn't taking them to a cave or protected campsite like they usually did, but to the towering, if worn, castle that sat on the horizon. North Castle. It always struck Twilight as a little odd that they all had a Hyrule Castle—even Waker, though his sat beneath the waves—but Bramble didn’t. Twilight once asked why, and Bramble’s face had gone dark and sad, the way it did anytime the reality of Ganon’s destruction was discussed.

“It was deemed beyond saving,” Bramble had said. “Besides, the North Castle is nice! Especially now that Zelda I is awake to help with reconstruction.”

Hue and Legend had exchanged that Look of theirs, and the group adjusted. North Castle replaced Hyrule Castle in their vocabulary, and the old castle was added to the growing list of things Ganon had irreparably destroyed in the young teen’s home.

 It had been weeks since the chosen had been in Bramble’s Hyrule, and even more since they all had last visited the castle, and Bramble practically vibrated with excitement. There weren’t many guards in North Castle and no servants—the government of Hyrule was still small and unstable, and there were more pressing matters than ladies in waiting. Bramble’s heroics had inspired a new wave of knights, but they paled in comparison to the numbers—and, frankly, skill—of the knights in Twilight’s Castle Town. No, these men weren’t soldiers, just farmers and wanders inspired by a teenager with a magic sword, now willing to put down their lives to rebuild what a century without a Triforce had destroyed. It was a noble effort, Twilight would give them that, even though it seemed rather pitiful compared to the might of the other standing armies in many of the group’s times.

North Castle was far from the grand spiral towers of the rest of their Hyrule Castles, instead just a haphazard pile of stone in a shape that spoke of an echo of splendor. Twilight had no doubt that the North Castle had been beautiful once—now, all that was left was a dingy stone structure stuffed with civilians searching for refuge.

It was a tight squeeze as they moved past the main gates and into the controlled chaos of the courtyard. North Castle was the last place to hold against Ganon and his armies, and it was the heart of rebuilding efforts. Refugees watched the heroes with wide, mistrusting eyes as they passed; Twilight had learned early on that trust was not something easily given in Bramble’s Hyrule, and that paranoia was what it took to keep you alive. Twilight and the others had been to the North Castle at least twice now, and still, Hyrule’s people looked at them with distrust. Or, at least, they looked at most of the group with distrust: each person smiled when Bramble passed, and Bramble seemed to know each one’s name, shaking hands and kissing cheeks and ruffling children's hair. Finally, the crowd thinned as they left the courtyard and moved deeper into the castle, and Bramble led them through winding halls up to a large door. The library.

The North Castle’s library might have once been a thing of beauty—the door’s design was weathered but clearly ornate, and even though the tapestries were muted with soot and the carpet was moth eaten, they cared an echo of grace. Bramble had been beyond excited to show the library to the group the first time they visited the castle, boasting that it was the largest library in all of Hyrule, and the sight of it had broken Twilight’s heart. It was tiny, the books damaged and worn, and it had clearly been ransacked once or twice and was still recovering from the violence. But Bramble was proud of it, and if it made the kid happy to pretend to be impressed by it then darn it, Twilight would lie until his face turned blue.

A middle-aged woman dressed in pale pink ruffles with a simple circlet on her brunette curls stood at a table, the top of it covered in unfurled scrolls, and a man in simple but high-quality clothing stood beside her, saying something about fertilizer and branching out past Hyrule’s border. Her eyes flickered to the door as soon as it opened. Twilight was big enough to admit that he squirmed a little under her gaze; Queen Zelda II of Hyrule was a deeply intimidating woman and reminded Twilight greatly of his own Zelda. They shared the same stern dark eyes and the same determination to protect their people, no matter the personal cost. She held up her hand, cutting off the noble mid-sentence.

“Thank you, Sir Ruben. That will be all.”

The man—Ruben— huffed but complied, pushing past them, and as soon as the door slammed behind the heroes Zelda II’s demeanor melted into something sweet and soft.

“Link!” She cried, rushing to Bramble’s side. She kissed their cheeks and Bramble flushed. Zelda II took their face in her hands and tilted it up, pressing her forehead to theirs.  

“It’s been too long, friend.” There was a moment of softness between the two of them before the Queen pulled back. “Zelda and I have been worried sick— but never mind that. How long can you stay this time? I’ll prepare a suite for your companions. I’ve finally gotten enough bedding together, and each one of you can have a mattress of your own.”

‘And isn’t that an idea?’ Twilight thought as Zelda II beamed at Bramble, allowing the smallest amount of bitterness to creep in. ‘A castle where having a pillow to yourself is a luxury.’

"We can find our own place to stay—" Bramble began to say, but Zelda II waved off their complaint.

"Nonsense. Stay, all of you. A friend of Link's is a friend of Hyrule. Come, come, I've a favor I've been waiting to ask you."

She pushed aside scrolls of something resembling trade routes from the table.

"I'm afraid I don't have enough chairs..."

"We can stand, your Majesty," Sky said with a gentle smile. "We've suffered worse than swore feet."

Zelda II's eyes softened at that, and she reached out to touch his arm.

"I'd rather you didn't suffer at all." She said solemnly, then cleared her throat, smoothing out the pink folds of her dress. The color seemed childish for a woman of her age, but she wore it well. "Link, I have a quest, should you accept it."

She unrolled one scroll, exposing the first map of Bramble's Hyrule Twilight had ever seen. Bramble had always traveled from memory, their impeccable sense of direction leading the chosen heroes well, and seeing a map now left Twilight to marvel at just how big Bramble's Hyrule was—and just how devastating losing the Triforce must be for such a massive country to be so decimated. Hue mentioned Lorule often, and how the loss of their Triforce was catastrophic for their country, but this, this was proof Twilight could see with his own eyes. For a power given by the Gods, the Triforce could destroy just as much as it could bless.  

“I’ve been trying to find a way to renew some of Hyrule’s failing natural resources,” Zelda II said, smoothing out the map. “There are so many things Ganon destroyed… infrastructure, agriculture…” She blew a tuft of hair out of her face. “We’ve been looking to establish trade with the land beyond Death Mountain. They have a vast coastline filled with Zora and the Zora allowed me to speak with their Queen. She believes the violence from the river Zora comes from toxicity in the water. Should we purify the water…”

“The Zora stop trying to kill people.” Bramble said, running a finger across a squiggling line of river on the map. “So how do I purify the water?”

“There is a temple we recently unearthed: the Hall of Waters. It was one of the first temples taken over by Ganon, almost a century ago, and it had all but faded into myth. Now, we know for sure that it is far from that, and from the recognizance we have been able to do, we have discovered it houses a mighty curse. I believe that the curse is what is affecting our water. Break the curse, fix the water.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Bramble said, and the queen gave them a soft smile.

“I knew you would help.”

“For this kingdom?” Somehow, despite their hunched frame and soft voice, Bramble seemed ten feet tall. “Anything.”

---

The hike to the Halls of Water was a long one. Nestled deep in the marshes of northeastern Hyrule, the air surrounding the Hall was thick and humid, and smelled positively foul. There were no plants in the marsh; anything the shallow water touched fizzled away, the toxins in the water acidic enough to eat through wood and stone. Still, Bramble was in high spirits.

“Can you imagine?” They said, jumping over a puddle, “Clean water! Zora just as peaceful as all of yours! This could mean so much—irrigation for agriculture, shipping routes over rivers, heck, safe drinking water!”

Hue grinned and ruffled their hair. “If anyone can break that curse, it’s you, kiddo.” Bramble ducked out from under his hand, biting back a smile.

Stepping carefully around puddles and standing water, the heroes came up to what had once been a waterfall. There was the occasional sluggish trickle of water over the edge of the cliff, but most of the waterfall had long since dried up—and there, hidden amongst the stones of the cliff, was an entrance. Someone had tried to barricade it shut with the rocks from the waterfall, but others, likely the recognizance Zelda II mentioned, had managed to pry them away. Spirit leaned their head in, squinting into the darkness.

“I can hear water,” He said, “and movement. Not much else though.”

“Well,” Quartet said, clapping the teen on the shoulder. “No time like the present!” Spirit yelped as he pushed him through the doorway.

“Quartet!” Sky hissed and Quartet snickered. “There could have been a drop! We don’t know what we’re walking into. Caution, please.”

‘Come on, we’re wasting daylight.’ Era signed. He tugged on Quartet’s collar, yanking him towards the temple door. The group trickled in after them, candles and lanterns at the ready. Wilds lit up his Sheikah slate and held it high to illuminate the entrance room.

It was steep, the stones slick with erosion, and sure enough, Twilight could hear running water somewhere in the dark. Waker whistled as he took in the room around them. The entrance might have been small and cracked, but the main hall was magnificent. The ceiling was domed and towered above them, so high that none of their lights reached the top. The ground was a smashed mosaic, the tile telling some sort of story involving Zora and smooth gems. It was almost impossible to make out, but beautiful nonetheless. At the edge of the room were three doors, each one massive enough to take up an entire story of a house, maybe two. Sky cleared his voice.

“You know the drill,” he said, the usual softness in his voice melting away into what Mini had lovingly dubbed the ‘serious leader tone’. “Groups of four. Hue, Mini, and Spirit with me. Era, Quartet, Legend, with Waker—”

“And Wilds, Mask, and Bramble with me.” Twilight said. He hooked his lantern to his belt and turned to Bramble. “Ready?”

Bramble nodded.

“Who’s taking the head?” They asked. “You, right?”

Twilight smiled.

“You, obviously. This is your Hyrule; you know it better than us.”

Bramble blanched. “Me? I couldn’t possibly—”

Sky clapped Bramble on the shoulder and gave them a simple smile. “Have faith. You’re the Hero of Hyrule. You’ve got this.”

Bramble swallowed then hesitantly nodded. “Okay. Okay.”

“Meet back in an hour!” Sky called as he drew the Master Sword, its holy light illuminating his face. He shoved open the door closest to him, and with a small wave from Mini, the three heroes disappeared after him.

“Don’t die,” Waker called over his shoulder to Bramble as he pulled open his door, and Twilight gave one last look at Lana’s chosen before pulling open his own door.

---

The Hall of Waters was beautiful in an eerie, quiet sort of way. Bramble kept an ear open for the call of monsters, but so far, the hall had been silent save for the splash of their feet trudging through the shallow water that flooded the hallways. Wilds held his slate up to the walls, soaking in the murals and mosaics that lined them and taking occasional photos. It was pitch black, but between the lantern, Bramble’s red candle, and the brightbloom seed Mask had cheekily tangled in Wilds’ hair, visibility was comfortable.

“It tells a story,” Wilds’ slate chirped, the robotic, feminine voice echoing through the still air. Bramble would never not be amazed by the text-to-speech function that allowed Wilds to have a voice without needing to rely on his voice or signs. “There’s the river Zora, and the ocean Zora—and a stone? It looks like they are giving each other something, and this smooth stone is the center of it all.”

“Hue mentioned a smooth stone he retrieved for the Zora during his first adventure,” Bramble said. Twilight nodded, and Bramble hoisted their candle higher for a better look. The mosaic was brittle with age, but the colors were protected from the sun, allowing the stones to glitter brightly when brought into the light.

A woman with blue skin, flared fins, and a wide, crested forehead stood, covered in fine jewels—an ocean Zora, and a high-ranking one at that. She was flanked by an entourage of blue Zora, also ocean, and in her hands was a smooth, beautifully carved golden stone. In front of her, kneeling at her feet, was a strange, humanoid creature made of green and red scales. Fire fell from its lips as it tried to kiss her feet. Inscription in gold circles the scene, and Wilds snapped a picture.

“Don’t recognize the language.” He said, “I might be able to get the slate to translate it but… Is it anything you’ve seen before?” He turned to Bramble and Bramble scrunched their face as they tried to make it out.

Reading was hard enough for Bramble as it was, but this looping handwriting and erosion mixed with the old fashioned spelling and strange dialect to create something truly impossible for them to puzzle out. It was their Hylian, but old, far too old. If Legend or Hue were here, they could probably translate it, but Bramble was still practicing his own local dialect, let alone Gods knew how many centuries old ones. They turned to Wilds, flushing.

“I can’t…”

Wilds smiled, his teeth ghostly in the gloom. Wilds was comfortable in the dark in a way none of them were, and Bramble had a feeling he was helping light up the room out of kindness, not necessity. They didn’t know if Wilds could see in the dark, but he certainly moved like he could, like the dark was a second skin. Not at home in the blackness, but not an outsider either. Bramble thought it might have something to do with the chasms that littered Wilds’ home, but they had never asked. Wilds had made it very clear those were not to be messed with, and Bramble respected the Champion’s words.

Wilds hand glowed with a pale, eerie green as he clicked photos of the inscriptions. The slate chirped as it began translating it, and Wilds bit his lip, tapping in words.

“There’s something about a Queen from the Ocean—Rulet? Erulte? It’s hard to make out the name—and she came to ‘the Baren Place’ to give her Gift to the ‘Unenlightened’.

Wilds stepped forwards to take another picture. In this one, the ocean Zora were tearing away the fire breathing creature, wresting it away from the Queen, but she raises an elegant hand. She knelt to the creature’s level and cupped it’s face—then offered it the stone.  

“The Unenlightened were creatures of the same blood, but unblessed with Nayru’s wisdom. With the golden smooth stone gifted by Lord Jabu Jabu, the Queen gifted them with the wisdom of Enlightened creatures.”

The Unenlighted swallowed the stone in one vicious gulp, and sapphires and lapis lazuli glowed in the dim light as they circled around the creature. It rose to its feet, and instead of a monster stood a river Zora.

“Upon feasting on the Queen’s smooth stone, the Unenlightened became like Zora and swore to forever protect the ocean Zora’s gift. That’s it.’

Bramble reached out and touched the golden pearl that represented the smooth stone as it sat in the river Zora’s belly. “The first ever river Zora…”

Twilight snorted. “Hey Wilds, your sexy shark friend came out of that? Guess I’otta give Godly evolution quite the round of applause.”

Wilds smacked him on the arm.

“What!? I’m just sayin’, moving from that to seven feet with abs is impressive!”

Mask scrunched his nose. “Twilight, that’s disgusting. I don’t want to think about the shark like that,” he signed.

“Like what?”

“Guys—” Bramble said, finger resting on the stone.

“Like—like—You know what I mean!”

Twilight laughed, the bright, merry sound echoing off the watery walls.

“Oh no, am I offending your delicate sensibilities?”

“Guys--!”

“I thought—”

Bramble slapped a hand over Twilight’s mouth. “Look.”

Where the stone had been was a golden ball of light. It slowly grew, leaking into the stones of the mural until the entire river Zora was aglow.

“Quench my hunger.” It rumbled. “Fill my belly.”

The four heroes glanced at each other.

“We should circle back,” Twilight said. “Find the others, then return as a group. Safety—and wisdom—in numbers.”

Twilight was right. Safety, and wisdom, in numbers. But…

“Feed my belly.” The wall began to shake as the river Zora crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in the wall where it used to be. The golden light moved back into the chasm exposed by the crumbling wall, and black tendrils sped from the hole across the water around their ankles like dark eels. The swelled, growing, forming towering creatures of black. They had the head of a squid, with dozens of tentacles tipped with razor-sharp, jagged barbs, dripping something purple and viscous that hissed when it hit the water. The creatures screamed. Two, no four, no 7—8? It was hard to tell. The squid creatures blended in perfectly with the dark, and in a second Twilight was prone, smacking into the far wall, lantern fizzling out. Wilds spun and yelped as a tentacle swiped at him, ripping out a chunk of hair—and putting out the brightbloom. Leaving just Bramble’s candle.

“Get another brightbloom!” Mask shouted in Wilds’ general direction as he drew the Great Fairy Sword, hoping its pale glow might help illuminate the gloom. There was a grunt from Wilds and Mask swore.

“What do you mean you ran out?”

Wilds grunted again, hands more focused on his sword and shield and less on his digital voice.

“You can yell later,” Twilight said as he pulled himself to his feet. Darkness had quickly begun to swallow the room—no more lantern, no more brightblooms, and the light on Wilds’ slate had gone dim. The only light left was Bramble’s red candle. There was no way they could fight these things—in the light, yes, the four of them could certainly take them, but with just the light of a Bramble’s lucky candle, they couldn’t even see how many monsters there were.

“We need to fall back,” Bramble said as they dove to their left, a tentacle barely missing where their left arm had been. The candle flickered dangerously; somewhere north of them, Mask let out a frustrated hiss, then a sound of triumph, followed by a squeal from a squid as a blind swing landed.

“We can take them,” Twilight said. At the edge of the candlelight, he hacked at a vague, sharp shape in the dark.

“Not in the dark we can’t. Come on, Twi, we can come back with the others, but there is no way we walk out of this fight triumphant.”

“Bramble is right,” Mask called from... somewhere. “I’d rather not get sliced to death by calamari today.”

Twilight lunged to the left, spinning at a vague shadow and swore when he struck the wall, missing the tentacle completely. His lip twitched in that strange, doggish way that signaled frustration, but nodded, his face gaunt in the candle light. Suddenly, there was a yelp further in the room.

“Wilds!” Twilight yelled, spinning around, and squinting into the dark. “Status report?”

There was a rough sound of acknowledgement, and heavy breathing, and after groping through the gloom, dodging invisible limbs, Twilight found him. He passed Wilds over to Hyrule, who could feel the heat and wetness of blood.

“Fuck.” Bramble said, feeling for the wound. Wilds groaned.

“Watch the language, kid,” Twilight said, only be yanked to the floor by Mask. A tentacle whipped across where Twilight’s gut had just been.  

“Where’s the door?” Mask grit out, Great Fairy Sword humming in his hands.

“Somewhere back there,” Twilight replied. “Maybe a few hundred yards.”

“Back where?”

“Back—no, not there, back there!”

“Shut up!” Bramble hissed, and the three heroes looked at him with wide eyes.

“I don’t know if we can make it back there in the dark, but there is a gaping hole right there. I say we take it.”

“Bramble—”

“We don’t exactly have a lot of time, Twi. You put me in charge. I say we take the hole.”

Twilight’s mouth opened and closed, before looking to Wilds and Mask for help. Mask shrugged.

“You did put them in charge.”

“Fuck you.”

Wilds snorted, and Bramble swung his arm over their shoulder.

“You good?” They asked softly, and Wilds nodded against their neck. His breath was hot and Bramble could smell blood, sharp and tangy, but he wasn’t dead weight, which was a good sign. “Then let’s get out of here.”

Dodging enemies they couldn’t see, the four of them ducked down into the chasm and promptly fell, fell, fell until a pool of water swallowed them up.

The water was freezing. Bramble gasped as it sucked all the air from their lungs, and for a moment they simply flailed, before two strong arms wrapped around their middle and yanked them back up above the water’s surface. Bramble coughed, and two glowing, slit-pupil eyes stared down at him. Bramble gave Mask a half-hearted smile, and he nodded, Zora body thrumming with unworldly magic.

“My—my candle!”

Mask held it out and Bramble let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

When Mask smiled, the teeth in his Zora mouth were sharp and plentiful as a shark’s. Bramble knew magic well, especially transformation magic, and Mask’s Zora mask always felt cold and sharp, beating softly, like a fading heart, and carried the same tug at one’s gut as the ocean’s riptide did. Bramble longed to try it on, if only to see how the transformation felt, to compare it to their own magical shifting, to take note of how switching from one body to the other felt when your bones were shifting and scales were growing as opposed to limbs shrinking and wings poking their way out of ones’ skin. But Mask was painfully protective over his masks, and even more so of his full transformation mask—trying one on, even for science, would never be allowed.

“Do you see the others?”

As a Zora, Mask had the best eyesight out of all of them. He nodded and pointed to somewhere in the dark.

“Shore.” His voice was raspy, unsuited for air, “Take you, get others.”

Bramble nodded, and Mask scooped him up, moving quickly through the still waters to the far end of the room, where the glowing light hovered, exposing a rocky shore. Bramble pulled themselves up and with a flick of flint against their sword lit the candle.

Mask returned with Wilds first. In the dim light, Bramble could better see the gash that ran from under his left armpit to his sternum, jagged and torn. The leather straps and armor of his Champion’s leathers had protected most of his vitals, but blood still seeped down his chest.

Bramble winced in sympathy. Ow.

“Do you have any elixirs in the slate?” They asked, and Wilds moved to grab the slate and hissed as the movement pulled at his pectoral. A new round of blood bubbled up from the gash and again Wilds tried to grab at the slate on his hip, hands shaking.

“Here,” Bramble took the slate from him and held it up to where Wilds slowly, moving as little as he could, began to type.

“Think I have one fairy tonic. Meant to make more. Got distracted.”

Bramble nodded, continuing to hold the slate as Wilds magicked—scienced?—out a tonic. He took a deep swig, and the tenson in his face faded some.

“1-10?”

Wilds held out a 5.

“Real answer?”

Wilds made a face, before finally holding up a 6 and a half. Bramble nodded. Not good in the slightest but could be worse.

“You’re not using that sword arm,” Twilight said behind them. Bramble jumped, whirling around to where a sopping wet Twilight stood with his arms crossed. “I don’t want you moving it until we know if the gash damaged any tendons in your shoulder.”

Wilds made a choked nose, yanking his point finger away from his chest in a rough one handed ‘but’.

“No buts.”

Wilds scowled, snatching the slate from Bramble and stomping out a rebuttal, “You’re not the boss of me!”

“Don’t make me pull rank.”

“Bramble is the boss, and he hasn’t said I cant fight.” Wilds said, as if his arm wasn’t shaking. Mask snorted.

“I think you should be on defense.” Bramble said softly, gently taking the slate from him and hooking it to his side. “Twi’s right, until we can get a better look at that shoulder, you’re benched.”

Wilds glared but didn’t complain further. Mask, mask removed, cleared his throat. Before him, lit dimly by the glowing light, was a giant statue. It resembled the river Zora from before, but towered far, far taller, its scales covered in moss and algae. Its mouth was open, water pouring from between its wide spread teeth and into a basin at its feet. Bramble leaned down and touched the water. It thrummed with magic, and something rough and bumpy was at the base of the basin. They gestured for their candle, and Wilds handed it to them. It was hard to make out, but it seemed to be some kind of trap door. Something round and heavy covered them, possibly metallic. Hypothetically, they might be able to open it, but between the metal and the water, it would be too difficult. They needed to turn the water off somehow and raise the bars.

“I feel a trapdoor. I think there's bars over it—I can't really tell, but it's definitely heavy and there's no way we could lift it with the water flowing, “Bramble said.

“Well, Twilight said,” then I guess we have to find a way to turn the water off. And I’ll bet you five rupees once we get that water those bars come off too.”

“Basic dungeon crawl one-oh-one,” Mask said, and Twilight laughed.

“Dungeon crawl 101.”

Wilds made a face. Bramble knew the teen hated dungeon crawls, found them out of his depth. After all, he spent more time in his shrines than he ever did a proper dungeon. Bramble bumped his shoulder. There was a flicker as Twilight tried to relight his lantern. The wick caught for a moment before going out.

“Well shit. Looks like the oil leaked out in the fall. So we’re down to the candle.”

Bramble nodded, cupping a hand around the flame. It was warm and cheerful, promising light and safety. Bramble could perfectly remember the dungeon they found it in. The Demon, as they’d taken to calling it once they saw the demonic face the rooms made, had been carved under the Fairy Fountain of a Great Fairy long since died—three bosses and countless puzzles waited inside the graveyard of a Great Fairy, all in pitch blackness. The promise of the final Triforce piece spurred Bramble on, but once their blue candle finally melted into nothing, they were left to wander in the nothingness, trying to fight monsters they couldn’t see until—until he’d bombed the right wall on accident, desperate for a way to escape a room of goriya, and found it. The red candle. Their saving grace. If not for the item, they would have died down in the Demon, and the Princesses would be been damned. Their lucky candle.

“You held onto that even after that drop?” Twilight commented, and Bramble quickly shielded the flame as water dripped from the ceiling onto their head.

"What's so special about a candle anyways?" Twilight asked.

 "It's... it's lucky."

"Just lucky?"

Bramble shifted their weight, using their body to shield the flame from the dripping waters. "Yeah. Just lucky."

The group took in the cavern to the best of their ability, limited to the glow of the red candle. They’d found themselves on the shore of an underwater lake, the walls lined with more mosaics, and the water crystal clear, exposing elegant architecture just below the surface. Still, only Mask and Twilight had the means to breath underwater, and Bramble wasn’t fond of the idea of them splitting up.

“We hug the walls and circle around,” they said, and Twilight nodded.

“After you.”

They moved slowly, Wilds panting growing ever louder, and Bramble debated handing him their candle, if only to give the Champion something to do. The teen hated feeling helpless, useless, and Bramble imagined right now he was feeling both.

Wilds grunted, and the other three turned to him. He pointed at the far wall, where water fell from a passage high on the wall, forming a small, slow waterfall. Twilight nodded.

“Do you have your Zora armor on you?” Bramble asked Wilds, who rolled his eyes and nodded exaggeratedly.

“We could have you grab each of us and bringing us up one by one, and then continue the search up there.”

“Can you lift others?” Twilight asked, and Wilds bit his lip.

“I’ll wear it, I’m closest in size.” Mask said. Wilds nodded, bringing his fingertips down from his chin.

‘Thank you.’

“Whatever,” Mask said, but there was a smile in his voice. With a bit of shuffling between the two, Mask had pulled the Zora armor over his tunic, and wrapped an arm around Bramble.

“Ready?” He asked, and Bramble nodded.

“Ready.”

Going up a waterfall felt almost like flying and almost like drowning, and it confused Bramble’s lungs and guts every time. They gasped as they hit air, spilling onto the ground of the passageway.

“Be back,” Mask said over his shoulder before dropping down below, and Bramble flashed him a thumbs up. Slowly, they pulled themselves to their feet and relit their candle. Before them was a floor of moving spikes, shuddering in and out of the ground and walls in a staccato, only a few seconds of bare ground visible before metal stabbed up. Bramble took in the sight, counting the beat of the spikes. On the far side of the room was a switch. Well, at least it was a simple enough puzzle. Get across the room without being impaled and hit the switch. Easy.

“Too far for my clawshot,” Twilight said behind them. Bramble did not jump, thank you very much. It wasn’t their fault if the man was as quiet and stealthy as the wolf under his skin.

“Hookshot too,” Mask echoed.

“I could find something to throw across and use Recall, but that’s a long throw, even for Ultrahand.” Wilds said, slowly typing into his slate. He looked pale in the candlelight, and Bramble had a growing suspicion that the wound across his chest was worse than he was letting on. They’d make sure the Champion stocked on a thousand and one potions and elixirs after this.

“I could Jump.” They said, and Mask let out a surprised laugh.

“Kid, it’ll take more than a run and a jump to clear that.”

“I can do it. Trust me.”

“Wait—”

But Bramble was already going. They sprinted forwards and squeezed their eyes shut, digging deep, deep , deeper for that tingly warmth inside their stomach they associated with magic. They sunk a hand into the ball of power and pulled, pushing it into their thighs and heels, then jumped.

They soared. It took just two jumps to clear the room, taking a split second to land half way through, balancing on the tip of a spike before being off again. In a blink, the switch was in their hand, then on the ground as they tugged down. Nothing, except the spikes disappearing.

Mask whistles. “Damn, kid, you should have mentioned that ages ago.”

Bramble flushed and shrugged. “Didn’t come up.”

“What else can you do?”

“Well, uh. You know. Stuff.?” They said, shifting under Mask’s gaze. They didn’t like talking about themselves.

“Wait! I think the water on the statue stopped. I can see the doorway—no more bars either.” Wilds called. “Great job, Bramble!”

Bramble made their way over to the teen and looked over the edge of the entrance.

It took a little maneuvering and a bit of fumbling with paragliders, but eventually, the heroes found themselves back at the gates. The light from before stopped hovering, spun twice, and sped down below, through the entrance. Now that the water was gone and the bars open, they found themselves with another problem.

“There’s no way we can get through that,” Twilight swore, gesturing to the absolutely tiny doorway, but Mask shook his head.

“Bramble could.”

“Me?” Bramble squeaked.

“You’re the smallest out of us.”

“But I…” Bramble swallowed. Mask was right. They were the only one who would fit.

“You can do this,” Twilight said, clapping a hand on their shoulder. Bramble nodded.

“Right. Yeah. Of course, I can.”

They took a shuffle step forwards before sitting on the edge and scooting forward, grip on their candle painfully tight. One breath, two, then they pushed off the edge into the dark and wet, leaving their friends behind.

It was a tight squeeze into the entrance, and once they got in, they immediately took the candle and relit it. The light was cheerful, lighting up a room of skeletons. Bramble took in a sharp breath through their teeth. Bones. Bones, bones, bones, as far as the eye could see. All Zora. They must have been guarding the temple when… Bramble shivered as moved past as fast as possible, eyes firmly in front of them. Find a door, or a switch, or something, and get back out to their friends. Easy. No problem.

The magical light sped in front of them and Bramble gave up trying to figure out where they were or where they were going, following it instead. It seemed to… like that? It bobbed and weaved in from of them, almost dancing, until they came to a dead end. Bramble leaned forward, fingers almost brushing the light.

“What do you need to show me?” They whispered, and the light inched back into the wall. Huh. Bombable, maybe? They felt along the wall. The stone here was newer than the rest of the temple, and the grout was poor quality. With a bit of elbow work maybe they could… yep. Out popped out brick, then two, until soon with some extensive shoving and kicking, a Bramble-sized gap in the wall had been made, exposing a light so bright that Bramble’s eyes burned. Sunlight drifted down from the glass ceiling, reflecting onto a shining pool lined with gold and silver. And there, in the center, was the same statue as the pitch dark room, but immensely tall, the place in its belly where the fake stone had been empty.

It has said to feed it.

That’s why the Zora were acting like this, wasn’t it? They had lost their stone, and were back to hostile, unintelligent monsters instead of proper Zora. Bramble crept closer.

“Where did your stone go?” They said, running their hands over the jewels. “Who took it from you?”

Drip

Drip

Drip

The hairs on the back of Bramble’s neck stood up. The dripping continued, and slowly, slowly, they turned. Something had risen out of the water, a story tall thing with inky black skin not unlike an eel and dozens of tentacles. Its teeth stretched on and on, longer than Bramble’s forearm, and it squealed as it flung its head back, one wide eye rolling, before flashing a barbed tongue.

The curse. It had to be.

Bramble drew their sword.

The boss lunged forward, tongue whipping wildly, and sent a trio of tentacles down with a screech right on Bramble’s head, sending them scrambling to the left. Fuck—they hadn’t expected something so big to move so quickly. It circled him, letting out taunting flicks of its tongue, eye locked on and filled with feral hate. Bramble locked their sights onto the boss, sword hand itching. The boss hovered above the ground, just out of reach. Damn it, they needed a way to bring it down.

The boss let loose a flurry of flame from it’s octopus beak like mouth and Bramble swore, rolling to the side to the red hot spray. They could feel the heat of the fire just above their head, and smell burnt hair. Bramble waited for it to flick out more tentacles, drifting lower and lower as it lashed out, broke into a sprint.

They sprung onto the spongy, slick back of a tentacle, balancing on the thin material, and moved as quickly and carefully as they could to the creature’s face. With a leap, they were on the boss’ head, and with another, their sword was plunged into the boss eye.

The boss screeched and clawed at Bramble’s legs, His trousers shredded easily under the barbed suckers sizzled, and with a jerk at their leg the boss sent Bramble tumbling to the ground, sword still sunk deep in its eye.

Crud, crud—

Bramble rolled out of the way as the boss lunged at them, sending a spray of fire that Bramble only barely dodged. Their tunic did little to keep out the heat of the magical flame, and Bramble hissed as the air grew too hot, searing exposed flesh.

The boss raised its tentacles again, and Bramble never wanted their hands on their sword hilt so badly. The creature screamed, sucking in water and fire alike, and Bramble groped desperately in their bag for their bombs.It was a better idea than nothing and, saying as their sword was stuck in the very thing they were trying to kill, they were very close to nothing. Bramble let the bomb fly, watched as it was sucked into the swirling air, and detonated.

Boom!

The boss staggered back and slunk down half in the water, trying to recoup itself, and Bramble seized his chance. They jerked forwards and grabbed hold of the hilt of the magic sword. They drew the weapon halfway out before plunging it back in and twisting, over and over. The boss howled, wrapping a sharp suckered tentacle around their leg, and Bramble grit their teeth against the sharp pain of barbs cutting through fabric and into flesh. The sword went in and twisted, over and over, black-purple blood splattering across Bramble’s face and chest.

The boss’ screams became gurgles as its eye swelled and, fucking finally, the eye exploded into a shower of gore, the creature going slack below them. Soon it was just a husk on the floor, breaking apart and melting into the waters like an oil stain on white linens. Bramble sighed and sunk to the floor, leg pulsing.

There, where the creature’s eye had been a stone, smooth as a baby’s cheek and gold as the Sun. Bramble took it with reverent fingers. It hummed against their skin, and they turned to the statue.

“Here,” they whispered. “Please, give us clean water. Please.”

They fitted the golden smooth stone into the statue’s empty stomach and it rumbled in thanks. The air was filled with a sweet, fresh scent, and then Bramble’s skin was warm and tingling as magic wrapped around them, breaking them down to their very atoms to magick them back outside.

“Wait!” They called, “My friends, they’re still down here!”

"I shall see them returned to you, Hero of Hyrule", the statue said, voice like rocks tumbling down snow. "You have my thanks. My belly is full."

Bramble felt the magic hugging them tight, tight, tighter, and then the world was gold as the Hall of Waters sent them back to the outside world where they belonged.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

You argued that my argument is bad because it's a common superhero trope to have a superpowered individual paired with a normal human... and I replied that it is a common trope that precisely works a lot with the conflict, angst, and danger it creates, and it ends horribly more often than it ends well. The trope itself by its very nature hinges on a power imbalance and the inability of one partner to access an important part of who the other person is. "I still think is bad" is a position you can have, but not a response to an argument.

My personal intense dislike for Daisy is neither here nor there -I very much avoided/refused to discuss every single time she screws every one over and is not held accountable for it and when she does feel remorse it's all about her personal angst because ultimately it doesn't matter -the question is not about who DeservesTM or Doesn't DeserveTM Daniel. It's just enough to mention in a general way that she's meant to be a troubled, angsty heroine we are meant to root for because she's the main character. If there is a self sacrificial character in AoS that is defined essentially by this very characteristic, that is Coulson, not Daisy. And from a general narrative pov, that's fine. Not every character HAS to be a martyr for them to be a good character or to be loved, but you cannot just call them it when it is narratively convenient because you the writer cannot find anything actually in the character that can make the dynamic work.

It's true that the narrative doesn't go long enough, but that is the point, isn't it? I cannot just assume Sousa will do this and that after the show ended any more that I can assume a year after the ending scene Mac left SHIELD to start a hot dog stand chain. All I have to work with is what I see in what is given as canon, and the trends that canon projects into the future. It's safe to assume Mac will stay as director of SHIELD because that's where his character has been heading to in the show. And all that Sousa does in AoS is orbit Daisy, so the safe assumption is that he will keep that course, because nothing is hinted of anything else.

Of course Sousa is just a guest star in AoS in a season where there's so much to wrap up about a large cast of main characters. So that begs the question: "why bring a new character in at the eleventh hour if you don't have the time to develop a story and connections for them?" it could have been just a fun cameo for an episode or two. Well, the answer is obvious: he's the last minute romantic prize for Daisy and nothing more. He serves no other narrative purpose in AoS. It could have been any other rando, the definition of a sexy lamp character. Hence why I think he was screwed over: he went from being a relevant character in a story to nothing more than a sexy lamp in another.

Sousa's choice to stay with the team... sure, he can physically leave, he's not a prisoner, but that's not the point at all. "Hey, your country has been obliterated and everyone you knew and loved killed. We rescued you because we like you and think you are cool. You can tag along if you want, or we can drop you somewhere if you want that" is a bit of a fictitious choice. It doesn't take any heroic courage or anything like that to choose to stay with the closest people to you -who still are virtual strangers- and that are willing to help you and take you in when you have lost literally everything but your memories and the clothes on your back. Of course I believe Sousa has all the courage and generosity required for an heroic choice. That's what he's been doing his whole life. But this decision is no proof of that at all, because it is the rational decision anyone in his position would have taken.

Daisy’s superpowers causing a power imbalance with Dousy is one of the worst arguments I’ve ever heard (despite Chloe and Enver both saying they feel the exact opposite) I hope all ships that have a superhero/non powered person are off the table for you too.

[hamliet]

I think I remember that you didn't like the Angel series so I wanted to ask you why do you think this show was badly written ?

Hoo boy.

Um. Well. It wasn't that they didn't have the right ingredients to make the show excellent; it was that they had no idea what to do with them and were unable to commit to any one idea with successful execution.

To start with, there were good elements to the show. The characters--Gunn, Wesley, Fred, Cordie, Angel, even more minor characters like Lindsay and Lilah--were compelling. Darla's arc was successfully executed, and probably the best piece of writing in the whole show. Connor was great in theory. Faith's cameos were always a highlight.

The problem is that the show is a spin-off, right? It's normal for a spin-off to flounder a bit as it tries to establish itself as its own thing while still appealing to fans of the original. Seasons 1 and 2 were not bad. Things just went off the rails starting in season 3 and continued towards a trainwreck that got successively worse. Unpopular opinion, but the highly misogynistic season 4 was better written than season 5, because at least it had an idea of what it wanted to do even if what it wanted to do was all kinds of yikes.

What was always the appeal about Buffy was the characters and their dynamics. Angel, too, established itself as a wildly interesting and compelling show when it focused on the characters and their dynamics, when it dug into what the characters wanted and how this both helped them grow and impeded them. (Again, think Darla, and also Cordelia/Angel's romance, which was lovely, and Connor's conflict with his father).

But it came across like the show writers kept panicking that Angel was too much like Buffy, and thus kept inventing dramas to keep the characters from spending significant time together. This gave it a rather cynical feel to it, as if it was snottily looking down on what worked in Buffy (which was further emphasized with season 5, which took place after the conclusion of Buffy). For example, even without the horrific subtext to the decimation of Cordelia's character in season 4, the show was committed to taking apart what worked in Buffy. Like, the actual original plan for Cordie--for Angel to have to kill her--is anti everything Buffy stood for about love mattering. (Yes, there is a way to pull this off, but the writers have given 0 indication they could or would pull this off in any interesting or impactful thematic sense.)

The writers just didn't have long-term goals of development for each character, not even from season to season. Even for their supposed plan for Cordie, for Angel, it is like--okay, so what? What does having Cordie turn into the villain do for her character? What does having to kill her do for Angel--have him identify with what Buffy went through, okay, but why does this matter since the Buffy show is already over? If there's no end goal for that suffering, then it's not very interesting.

Yes, I know "suffering just happens" is cynical realism. It can be deep, but Angel's writers aren't Samuel Beckett. Plus, Angel and Buffy were never about realism in this sense. They were about humanity, and with humanity comes hope. The striving is awful, painful, but keep going. Angel essentially removed any value to keeping going.

If they wanted to actually unpack what worked in Buffy, that could work, but the problem was that they had nothing to offer in its stead. Hence, it was shallow at best and offensive (see: the episode about a demon scared of a kid just born evil) at worst.

Apologies, this is kind of a disjointed rant. But yeah. Angel is missed potential for me. I don't actually dislike it entirely--I like a lot of aspects of it--but the disappointment is its final legacy for me.

[thedragonemperess]

What's your personal opinion on why Elite Force was so bad? Since I've ranted about that a lot and started the 'elite discourse' tag.

Introduction

I don’t think it was really bad. Yes, it was terrible compared to Lab Rats and Mighty Med (of which both deserved more seasons since they both set up so much and than threw it all away), but it wasn’t too bad. Why it was bad, though? They undid all character development, overlooked some of the best characters, and so much more!

Chase

There’s a lot wrong with Chase. First of all, they undid all of his character development and reduced him to a self-centered smart guy. (I’m not gonna say a mini version of Donald because he’s really more like Douglas, but they really just threw away his character.) And for character archs. When AJ made his list, he put Chase at the bottom. A good thing to point out is that this list was based off of the number of powers each person has and the number of powers each person has alone. So lets count how many powers they all have:

Kaz: Pyrokinesis and Flight Oliver: Cryokinesis, Flight, and Super Strength Bree: Super Speed, Vocal Manipulation, Invisibility, and Super Agillity Chase: Molecular Kinesis, Force Fields, Super Intelligence, Super Senses, Laser Bo Generation, and the Commando App (technically Super Strength as well, but that’s only Spike) Skylar: Flight, Super Strength, Super Speed, Acid Spit, Regeneration, and 21 other abilities (10 after the whole thing with Bree, but that still leaves her with the most) CHASE SHOULD BE #2 ON THAT LIST!!

And even if this wasn’t based on only their powers, he’d still be at #2!!

Then we have the Arcturian. The Arcturian Space Rock will kill you if you make direct contact with it, key word being direct. So Bree, being NUMBER #3 on the list (did I mention they overlooked her abilities, too, with the exception of one throw away line?), decided to touch it. After a series of events, she gets superpowers from it.

Bree got superpowers.

Because she was insecure about her bionic powers.

THIS WAS CHASE’S ENTIRE ARCH FROM THE BEGINNING!

And he wasn’t only insecure about his powers, he was insecure about his appearance, self-worth, and a ton of other things.

This arch was engineered for Chase, and they threw it away in favor of Bree.

Skoliver

Skylar and Oliver was the main romance of Mighty Med. Oliver had a crush on Skylar and Skylar was a lesbian didn’t reciprocate. This didn’t stop Oliver from trying to get with her, though. But the difference between Oliver persevering in Mighty Med and Olvier persevering in Elite Force is that in Mighty Med, he did it in a healthy, respectful way. In Elite Force, he became a stalker!

He watched her in her sleep, recorded her without permission, had a pretend version of her that he was dating, and more.

They turned a really nice thing from Mighty Med into something terrible just so that they could put less time into coming up with actual jokes. (The writers of these shows never really handled healthy relationships and comedy well, if Adam and Chase’s relationship says anything, but you would think [I’m only saying this because its Disney] they would put more effort into a romantic relationship.) The worst part about this is that they got together somewhat in the end of Elite Force.

Reese

Reese existed as a way to lead us to the finale of the show. She also existed as a love interest for Chase. She had the potential to be Elite Force’s Marcus or Experion, but they just didn’t do it right.

The Lab Rats’ relationship with Marcus was built over the course of two seasons, which let both the audience and the characters get to know him. Sure, we knew he was evil before everyone else, but how evil he truly was changed up until Douglas’ plan was finally revealed. He was also really close to a lot of the characters, so that makes it really painful.

Experion was one of Skylar’s close friends, almost like a brother, and we saw that play out on screen. He was only there for a short amount of time, just as Reese was, but he was already in a predetermined relationship with him. Reese had literally only met Chase that day, meaning that connection just wasn’t there.

(Also, was Reese just there to degay Chase? Because that’s what it seems like.)

Representation And Other Things Of The Sort

Lab Rats was a show that had a family in which half of it was married into. Shows have done this before, yes, but this showed the kids really just excepting it and not getting mad at their respective family. This was also a mixed family, which watching now that I’m older and really understand the importance of it, is really nice. Especially as a mixed person myself.

As for Mighty Med, and I’m starting with family again, it had a father figure who, more or less, actually cared about his kid(s) and was active in their life. It also showed him, a person of color, in a position of power. Skylar, who is a woman of color, was a badass who wasn’t boy crazy. She didn’t care about boys and the one time she did chase after someone, it was an introverted girl whom she wanted to be friends with which is pretty gay but whatever Disney. She was pretty freaking powerful, too, even without her powers.

Now for Oliver and Kaz, they were geeks. That’s a recurring fact in the show. It’s also something that is constantly saving all of their butts and was the main thing that got them their jobs. They weren’t picked on or made fun of for it, that was just who they were.

And unlike Lab Rats, Mighty Med showed a healthy relationship between brothers. Additionally, Gus was a really weird kid, but no one ever made fun of him, either. They treated him like they treated everyone else. He even ends up as one of the popular kids a few times.

Elite Force really just threw that all away in favor of (what became) a bunch of bratty kids in a pent house together.

Backstory

Mighty Med ended off on a cliffhanger, with Mr. Terror escaping, Oliver and Kaz obtaining superpowers, Alan meeting his father for the first time, and Horace using his last revival. Not to mention, Mr. Terror is Oliver’s mother and was supposed to be Horace’s wife.

And then they completely forgot about all of that and destroyed Mighty Med, killing all of the people in it in the process while also forgetting about Mr. Terror completely?

As for Lab Rats’ ending, it was actually pretty fitting and satisfying, all things considered. Adam, Bree, Leo, and Chase split up after defeating Giselle, Adam and Leo going back to the island to help the students with the big change (an update that let them control their abilities, hence no need for them to be teachers anymore) while Bree and Chase joined the Elite Force.

But why Chase and Bree? Sure, I guess the fandom Chase, but we did care about Leo more than Bree if we’re looking at it from that stand point. Now if we’re looking at it from a logical, in-universe stand-point, it makes no sense. Bree and Chase were the smarter, more experienced of the four, so they should have gone back to the island, while letting Chase and Adam join the Elite force.

Also, Leo has just become a mentor, which was what he was striving for since the start of the season. He was always being overlooked, and now, when he finally gets his moment in the spot light, its taken away from. That just really bothers me.

What Was Good About Lab Rats: Elite Force?

Quite honestly, not a lot. But considering the target audience, it was pretty good. Having two well received shows come together into an, albeit poorly set up and attempted, spin-off where they can have their own battles and story lines together is pretty cool and different. There are some flaws, like how Mighty Med logic and Lab Rats logic really don’t intertwine, but you have to keep in mind that this is a kids show.

It also showed Douglas being a pretty good father, which is really nice. Sure, he’s their birth father and/or creator, but it also shows them mending their relationship.

There were some smaller things, too. AJ’s introduction, Skylar and Bree slowly become sisters, and Chase and Kaz becoming friends were all really fun to watch. (The characters growing relationships with each other, period, were fun to watch.) The villains had good motives, and the small cameos from other shows (Bob and Crossbow [she’s more of a piece of what Mighty Med used to be, but I’m counting it]) were really fun to see. The plot could definitely be better, but it was still pretty good. And, as much as I hate to admit it, the show was genuinely funny. The amount of times I’ve spit out my water while watching this show is surprising.

Conclusion

Was Lab Rats: Elite Force as great a show as the source material? No. Was it all we thought it would be at the time? That depends on how old you were when it came out. It was, and still is, a fun show to watch, though. Yes, it would have been better if it never happened and the shows continued separately, but I’m glad that we at least have an answer to what Mighty Med and Lab Rats alluded to in their finales. Am I upset about Elite Force’s finale? Yes, and I will probably die mad about it, but we didn’t have as much time to get to know the characters and connect to them, so is it really that much of a loss? That’s up to you. Is it a fun show to watch? Absolutely.

[andiinaraethtash]

Chapter 13: Fool Me Twice and You’re an Enemy

Notes:

So I added cameos from a few hermits, the first of which is... technically (?) canon, and is in this chapter. The other two I added later on, just for funzies. If you could tell me if/when you spot them, it'd make my day! On a more sombre note: TWs. Blood, injuries, major character death (they get better, respawn mechanics are a thing in this universe, don't worry), and... oh yeah, a mild panic attack. Given what's happening, it's understandable. Chapter title from Vendetta by Unsecret.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Scott looks up at the sound of approaching rockets, and is surprised to see that it’s not Sausage, Pearl and Joey, but rather Pix. He lands with all the grace you’d expect, but the look on his face is far from serene.

“Pix!” Jimmy calls from about half-way across the village—or what's left of it. Most of Jimmy’s people had gotten out, had gotten to safety, but not all of them, so Jimmy is kneeling next to one of the fallen, trying to keep them breathing.

Pix nods to Scott in greeting, but runs over to his ally, pulling out some medical supplies as he goes. Scott trails after him, carefully shying away from the pools of water that litter the area. He might know what triggers his abilities, but that doesn’t mean he has much in the way of control.

Jimmy and Pix soon pass the reins of the person’s care to another villager, a blond man in a red sweater who looks much more put together than both of the other two rulers combined.

Not that he can blame them. Looking pretty isn’t much of a concern when you’re fighting for your life, after all, and by Aeor had they been fighting for it. The raids had been never ending, and if he had to guess, he’d say Pixandria had been faced with much the same.

They’d all split up after leaving the Crystal Cliffs, with Scott getting back to Rivendell to find a raid already underway. For whatever reason, though, it hadn’t been near as bad there as it was here, in the Cod Empire, where he’d headed after Sausage and Pearl arrived in Rivendell to help finish up that raid.

Hence why he’d been expecting them instead of Pix. While it did make sense that Pix would come here, the others had promised they would come as soon as they’d checked on everyone else. Of course, now that Scott thought about it, it would probably be a little bit longer before they got here if they were really going to check in on literally everyone else. He doubted the Crystal Cliffs, the Cod Empire, and Rivendell were Xornoth’s only target.

Scott realises absentmindedly that Jimmy is wringing his hands, and he reaches over to brush his fingers gently on the other man’s hands. Jimmy gives him a wry, almost apologetic smile, and stops. Turning to Pix, Scott asks, “How bad was it in Pixandria?”

“Not as bad as one would think,” Pix says, a hint of relief colouring his voice. “We have our defences built up pretty well—we have that outpost not far from our borders, after all, we have to be prepared for a raid at any time—but I don’t think we were a primary target.”

Scott nods. It makes sense. Pixandria, while a wealthy nation, has most of its might in trading, and while its military is fierce as the desert sun, it’s also small, only big enough to protect the borders, not to expand them.

“So Xornoth’s targeting the more tactically important ones,” he surmises, and Jimmy looks torn between confusion and pride.

“He thinks I’m important?”

Scott shrugs. “Not sure. It could be that you’re the head of the bigger of the two major alliances, could be your proximity to so many others… What I don’t get is why he sent such a small one to Rivendell. Or why he sent one to the Crystal Cliffs.”

Pix purses his lips. “It could be sentiment. He doesn’t want to burn his old home down, or he wants to be the one to burn it down on person. As for the Crystal Cliffs… symbolism, perhaps? That’s assuming he needs a motive at all to spread more death and destruction.”

And that’s when Jimmy suggests, “Maybe he knew we were there and was trying to get rid of us?” and a frisson of fear shakes him to his core.

“Oh, gods.” His voice is thin and brittle. “If he’d been trying to kill us, he’d have done it while we were there. He’s got eyes on us, he has to, and if he does then he’d know that us three had just left when the raid started. There’s no way that was an accident.”

Jimmy’s and Pix’s eyes go wide with fear. “That means…” Jimmy whispers, and Scott nods.

“He’s trying to finish off the Wither Rose Alliance.”

There’s a beat of silence, then Pix asks shakily, “Do we know where they are right now?”

“Where who are?” A cheery voice asks, and Scott whirls around, hand on his sword, only to relax as soon as he realises who’s just arrived.

“Sausage,” he says in relief.

Joey scoffs. “The rest of us are here, too, you know.”

Pix rolls his eyes and greets the other four rulers, but Scott is too busy frowning to share in the pleasantries. “Where’s Pearl?” He asks as soon as there’s a lull in the conversation, and Sausage gestures vaguely north-east.

“She went up to Mezalia to help Joel and Lizzie. What happened here? I mean, obviously a raid happened, but, like, what else is new?”

Jimmy turns to Pix. “Is she…?”

“Not dead, not at the moment, but that doesn’t mean…” He trails off, eyes going unfocused, but as soon as Scott goes to nudge him, he snaps out of his trance and grimaces. “Joel just died again.”

“Again?” Almost everyone else choruses, and Pix looks annoyed—though not so much at them as at Joel.

“Yes, it’s the third time in the last several hours.”

There’s a beat of silence as they all digest that, then Katherine says, “Okay. We should head up to—”

She gets cut off by a large explosion to the south, and Scott can see Sausage pale out of the corner of his eye. “Was that—” Scott manages, but Sausage is already in the air and rocketing toward his empire before he can finish his sentence. He shares a glance with the rest of them before all of them bar Shrub, who is mounted on her wolf steed, take off, following Sausage’s trail to the capital of Mythland.

The smoking ruins of the housing district come into view, and Scott almost feels sick. He’s seen a lot of death and destruction, and it’s given him a relatively thick skin to this kind of violence, but still. The pillagers that swarm the streets like locusts are chasing innocents around, women, children, all falling before the axe and crossbow.

Behind him, he hears Joey growl, but he’s more focused on the figure of Sausage on the ground in front of him, fighting off vindicators with reckless abandon. He folds his wings into a dive, landing behind Sausage and throwing his hands out, focusing on his icy rage and frigid fear, and ice spikes erupt from the ground, skewering the pillagers that were trying to get the drop on his friend.

Sausage doesn’t acknowledge him, but Scott knows he knows he’s there. They stand back to back, Scott wielding his magic and sword, Sausage his sword and crossbow. They’re both managing to direct the flow of battle around them, though they’re both being cautious as Sausage doesn’t have infinity on his crossbow and Scott’s magic is sapping his energy at a rate he doesn’t like.

They clear this street together, the others nowhere in sight, but Scott’s not terribly worried about them (except Jimmy. He will never not be worried about Jimmy). They’re off clearing another part of the city, and while he would love for them to be coordinating a little better, he does trust them to protect each other and the people of Mythland.

As they move into the next district of the city, Scott notices Sausage lagging behind, and he quickly stops and doubles back. “Sausage?”

“This is my fault,” Sausage whispers, and Scott shakes his head.

“We don’t have time to lay blame at anyone’s feet right now, Sausage, your people are dying, and we can stop it. We have to stop it. We can’t let Xornoth win.”

That seems to get through his thick skull, at least somewhat, and he tightens his grip on his sword before soldiering forward into the next battle.

Scott follows behind him, wringing out his hand which is starting to sting as it warms up back to normal body temperature. It’d cooled off significantly when he’d been casting, using his utter desperation to summon the ice spikes, but now he’s nearly exhausted, and he knows he won’t be able to keep it up any longer.

If the raid on the Cod Empire had been bad, this one is worse, ten times larger and a whole lot more bloodthirsty. Scott’s right in the thick of it almost as soon as he and Sausage finish their little heart-to-heart, and while he wasn’t raised to be a soldier, he was raised to be a master swordsman, so he’s able to cut through these brutish enemies with ease.

For the first hour or so, at least. After that, his stamina starts to wear down, and he knows they have to end this soon if they all want to make it out of this alive.

At some point, Lizzie, Joel, and Pearl show up, and their arrival helps, as does the arrival of the Gilded Helenthia’s militia, but the tides don’t really start turning until close to nightfall.

At that point it starts raining, which means lightning—which means channelling, and both Pix and Lizzie are using it to great effect.

The momentum of the battle shifts decidedly then, and pretty quickly, they’ve routed all of the pillager forces out of Mythland. Scott breathes a sigh of relief as he does a quick circle in the air above the city. Shrub, the Mother Wolf, and Joey are handling a few straggling ravagers, but otherwise, everything seems to have settled down, and just in time, too. The sun has set, and Scott can both see and hear the mobs coming out of the caves they call home.

He alights on top of the ruins of the Dark Tower, which had been brought down by copious amounts of TNT that Scott was fairly certain the pillagers hadn’t planted. Privately, he’s kind of glad that this building was the one targeted, and not the royal castle, or the keep that guarded the entrance to the iron mines. Mythland can’t lose its main export, not when it’s still recovering from its ruler’s bout of demonic possession, and countless people call the royal castle home. Either of those would have been bad.

But the Dark Tower… that’s something that they could afford to lose. All the better to lose, actually, because, cleansed or not, it had still been a monument to Xornoth, and that was something Scott is happy to see toppled.

Behind him, the others start arriving, all looking worn. Sausage and Pearl in particular are covered in blood, though how much of it is their own and how much of it is pillager blood, he doesn’t know. Joey, irritatingly enough, looks as put together as always, though he’s missing the totem he always carries in his off hand. He must have used it sometime during the battle.

Not surprising, really. He knows Jimmy had died at least once, as he’d seen him flying back from the Cod Empire at one point during the battle. Pix and Katherine look about ready to keel over, and while Joel and Lizzie are still standing, they’re leaning on each other and their tridents. Shrub is nearly passed out on top of her wolf mount.

To top it all off, not only are they injured, exhausted, and hungry, they’re also wet. And Scott hates being wet.

“Everyone alright?” Jimmy asks, and Scott nods, even though he really, really isn’t.

Katherine is the only one to answer in the negative, and Pix immediately has her sitting and is tending to a wound on her leg that looks like it might be infected.

Scott sinks to the ground, trying to steady his breathing as the adrenaline fades out of his bloodstream. Aeor, but he’s exhausted. The thought of having to fly home makes him want to cry, and he’s about to ask if they can stay the night, when Jimmy asks another question.

“Is that all of them, or are they going to target the Ocean Empire or the Gilded Helenthia?”

Lizzie and Pearl both shake their heads, but it’s the latter who answers, “Both have already been targeted. Lizzie was able to drive off most of hers by herself, and my militia was able to handle the ones at my place, but… they left a lot of damage.”

“Which reminds me,” Scott says, looking at Sausage and Pearl. “Did either of you do anything to annoy Xornoth recently?”

Obviously confused, both shake their heads. “I mean, nothing more than usual,” Sausage says, and Scott exchanges a look with Pix and Jimmy, and the Codfather sighs.

“Wonderful.” At the expectant look from the remaining members of the Wither Rose Alliance, he adds, “We think Xornoth waited to trigger the raid on the Crystal Cliffs until it was just you two there, which means he was most likely targeting you.”

Pearl and Sausage both look alarmed, with Sausage looking over at Pearl like he’s expecting her to disappear at any second. Pearl, on the other hand, looks confused.

“The Crystal Cliffs are warded to the hilt. Unless he was there himself, how would he have known it was just us there?”

Pix stiffens. “We didn’t see him as we were leaving…”

Joey immediately curls his lip. “Which means someone told him.”

Silence follows his pronouncement for a long moment. Scott is speechless. Who would—surely none of the other rulers. Surely not. Not after everything Xornoth had done, not after fWhip and Gem and Sausage’s deaths, not after fWhip and Joey’s possessions and Sausage’s corruption. Not after the torment he’s put them through, not after all the people he’s killed.

But then he can’t see any of the people of the Crystal Cliffs spying for Xornoth either.

Shrub says as much, looking much more alert than she had just a few minutes ago, and the others nod, but Jimmy voices the thought that springs to Scott’s mind almost immediately.

“But if it wasn’t one of the people, then it was one of us.”

“Quite right.”

Scott whirls around, hand on his sword, to see Xornoth standing on the tallest piece of rubble, right behind Pearl, whom he has in a headlock almost instantly. There’s a knife to her throat, and she yelps in fear. Sausage almost springs forward, calling her name, but a vine of corruption erupts from the ground, wrapping around his sword hand and jerking him backwards.

Scott grits his teeth. There’s no way he can cross the distance between him and his brother (is it his brother anymore? It’s Xornoth in fWhip’s body, does that count as him or is it just fWhip now, twisted and corrupted into being Xornoth’s puppet?) before he slits Pearl’s throat, and even as he thinks that, Xornoth digs the knife in a little bit harder, drawing a few precious drops of blood.

“Stop!” Katherine screams, standing on wobbly legs, and Xornoth laughs.

“And why should I do that, little fairy? You’ve not complied with my rule, and now I want my pound of flesh.”

Scott is frozen. The cold in his veins is threatening to spill out, and he knows if he does, it’s Pearl’s life on the line. Exchanging a look with the others, he can see them all drawing the same conclusion. Xornoth has the power to kill them and sever their landbonds in one fell swoop, and there’s no way they’re chancing that with one of their friends.

So reluctantly, Scott puts down his sword and draws the dagger he’d gotten for his tenth birthday, a memento of when things had been fine and he’d had his family, and presses the blade against his arm.

Around him, his friends and allies are doing the same, though… Joey seems to be doing it almost too quickly. He wonders, but he almost doesn’t want to know. If Joey has fallen back in with Xornoth, he’d think that someone would have noticed.

Still, he presses down harder and draws a thin rivulet of blood, while Xornoth conjures something in his free hand—empty phials, ten of them. “Jimmy, be a dear and pass these out,” Xornoth orders, and Jimmy obeys, a strange look on his face.

Scott takes one, trying to catch Jimmy’s eye, but he’s avoiding looking at anyone, and a cold feeling settles in Scott’s stomach. What if… no, he’d have noticed if it was Jimmy, right? But then, Jimmy had split off on his own right as they left the Crystal Cliffs. He could have easily let Xornoth know that Sausage and Pearl were on their own then.

It almost didn’t bear thinking about, but the more he tries to push it away, the more stubbornly it worms its way into his mind, and the less he can deny the possibility.

This time, when he tries to meet Jimmy’s eye, it’s with suspicion, and Jimmy most definitely notices and flushes bright red. The cold feeling doubles in intensity, and across the ruins, Xornoth tuts.

“Now, now, brother dear, better get a hold of those powers, or else your little friend here will find herself missing a head.”

Scott grits his teeth harder and focuses on filling the phial. He’s starting to feel light-headed, he’s given so much blood (Aeor, why did the standard phial have to be so big?). But soon enough, the phial is full, and Scott marches up to Xornoth and places it at his feet.

He’s not the last to do so, but he’s not the first either, as Jimmy, Pix, and Shrub have already laid theirs on the ground in front of the demon, and Xornoth beckons Jimmy closer.

“Come now, you know I need all of you to do this.” He yanks Pearl’s arm out with his free hand and gestures at the last empty phial in Jimmy’s hand. “If you would do the honours…”

Scott can’t see his face, so it’s up to his imagination, but he swears Jimmy hesitates before making the cut. That gives him a spark of hope, and he clings to it desperately.

The others hand over their phials as Jimmy waits for Pearl’s phial to fill up, and he catches Sausage watching Jimmy with wide eyes, wondering if he’s come to the same conclusion as he himself has. It has to be wrong, it has to, but there’s no denying Jimmy’s behaviour, which is screaming guilt.

Jimmy finally puts the stopper back in the phial, hesitates, then tears off a piece of his tunic to wrap Pearl’s arm, then sets the phial down with the others. As he backs off, Scott takes a hesitant step forward.

“Alright, Xornoth, you have what you want, now let Pearl go.”

Xornoth rolls his eyes. It’s weird how much Scott’s seeing his brother instead of fWhip, even though he knows whose body the demon is technically possessing right now. The eyeroll, however, is something he could see either of them doing, and it made Scott wonder if Xornoth had picked fWhip because of how similar the two could be.

But they were different at the same time. fWhip had drawn the line at corruption, at needless killing, and Scott can vividly remember fWhip standing up to Sausage back when it had been the latter who was possessed. Yes, they could be similar, their shared delight in chaos made that clear, but they were different where it counted.

Xornoth is talking by the time Scott finishes that thought. “I suppose I should…”

With that, he bodily heaves Pearl across the distance, and Scott has to scramble to catch her. She’s leaning heavily into his arms, her face pressed against his shoulder, and he tightens his grip on her. Silently he vows to make sure she’s alright. With how she’s sagging like a puppet with her strings cut, he’s worried that something is wrong.

Still, he glares at Xornoth as the demon waves his hand and the phials vanish. “You can’t hope to beat us, Xornoth, not when we know your plan and we’re all working to stop it. You can’t beat us when we’re all working together.”

“Are you, though?” Xornoth asks, and Scott can’t help the instinctive glance toward Jimmy, who is pale underneath his Codfather head.

Pearl shifts in his arms, and he gasps as the air is forcibly driven from his lungs. He looks down, and is surprised to see a sword protruding from his side.

Pearl’s sword.

He looks back up at her, eyes wide and tears gathering as the pain slowly registers, and it’s all he can do not to collapse as she pulls the sword out of his side and blood immediately begins seeping into his clothes, running down his shirt.

He hears the others cry out from a distance, and feels hands come up from behind him to support him as he falls backwards, but all he can focus on is Pearl knocking Pix’s weapon aside and slashing Joel’s throat in a few vicious moves. She’s about to attack Lizzie, who looks just as shocked as Scott feels, but Xornoth claps his hands slowly, mockingly, and comes to stand next to her.

“Well done, Pearl, truly, a moving performance. You had them all fooled, didn’t you. ” He turns back to Scott, whose vision is slowly going grey. “Fun, isn’t it, to have someone you care about turn their back on you?”

Scott opens his mouth to ask why, but he can’t get the breath to. Instead he ends up choking on his own blood, and Pearl—

Pearl smiles. It’s not a nice smile, either, it’s cruel and has so little--none, really--of her usual warmth that he wonders for a moment if she’s being puppeted around, too, but then he realises that the smile has no resemblance to Xornoth’s smirk either. His heart sinks.

He’s lost another friend.

Something in him snaps, and even though he’s slowly drowning in his own blood and simultaneously bleeding out, he manages to focus for just long enough to summon the cold to his fingertips. Bracing himself for the pain, he lunges forward.

Pearl moves to a defensive stance, but he’s not charging her. Despite her betrayal, he can’t bring himself to hurt her. Instead he manages to clutch Xornoth’s arm long enough to plant one hand on his chest and shove the cold into him.

Xornoth screams, and Scott has one brief moment of satisfaction before someone strong is grabbing his shoulders and throwing him off the rubble. He catches a glimpse of Xornoth grabbing Pearl and teleporting away before he hits the ground.

Notes:

Some of y'all guessed it was Pearl, but some of you thought it was Jimmy, and I just want you to know: Y'all voted on this. A while back, I asked tumblr (yes, I have a tumblr, https://www.tumblr.com/blog/andiinaraethtash if you're interested)--anyway, I asked tumblr "Jimmy or Pearl," (I'd had it narrowed down to those two while plotting things out), and y'all answered Pearl. Like, almost unanimously. So, y'know... this isn't my fault.

[scorbleeo]

Love, Victor Season 1 | TV Show Review

Victor is a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation.

Source: IMDb

Watch Love, Victor Season 1 trailer here.

Remove/Improve One Character and This Will Be A Better Show

I would be lying if I said Love, Simon the film had nothing to do with me watching Love, Victor. Hence, I would be lying if I said this review is going to be subjective and I will not be comparing the TV show to the movie. Before I begin, I need to clarify that Love, Simon is one of my all time favourite films which is why my review is quite biased.

With that being said, I wished I could have loved Love, Victor Season 1 more than I actually did. I had high hopes for the TV show and I was expecting the TV show to be similar to the movie despite the trailer literally stating it was not the same. Unfortunately, it was because of my expectations that I ended up loving this TV show lesser than I expected to. Love, Victor Season 1 is easy, light-hearted and oh-so-fluffy cute (though it had its irritating moments too) but, something about it was missing – I could not connect with the characters even though there were 10 episodes for me to do so. Not being able to connect with the characters plays a big part in my lack of enjoyment for the show.

I had no problem with the storyline, it was actually okay, I liked it. The only part of the storyline I did not appreciate was when Victor decided to date Mia. It's not so much Victor's decision but more of Mia's constant presence in Victor's life when they were dating that I disliked. More explanation will be provided in the later part of this review but here's the short version: Mia is my least favourite person in Love, Victor Season 1.

So, yes, I enjoyed the storyline but being able to connect with the characters would have guaranteed more enjoyment in the show. I do believe one of the reasons I could not connect with the characters was because of how much I actually disliked Mia's character. Nothing against Rachel Hilson nor the way Hilson portrayed Mia. I just really disliked the character herself. I am unsure if it's because I could not relate to Mia's mother issues thus I could not understand the choices she made throughout Love, Victor Season 1. Mia just annoyed me 90% of the time she appeared in this season. What I simply could not understand was how was Mia painted as a saint? From what I saw in the entirety of Love, Victor Season 1, Mia was an immature self-centred hypocrite. Did I mention she is extremely selfish too? I really did not see which part of her was supposed to be the "saint" part.

Thankfully, Felix's existence in Love, Victor made me forget everything horrible about the existence of Mia in the TV show. Despite the title of the show being Love, Victor, Felix Westen is the star of this show. I loved just how pure his character was. Felix was constantly being bullied but his optimism and confidence never wavered. Felix is a ray of hope for so many people who watched the show, one way or another. Moreover, his kindness and understanding to everything Victor related right from the beginning was extremely admirable and pleasant to watch. Examples: When Victor lashed out at him early on in the show, when Victor's family fought during mealtime and Felix was right there, when Victor came out to Felix, and when Victor told Felix he cheated on Mia – the understanding and lack of judgment there. I have a long list of main characters' best friends that I adore but Felix? He stands quite high up on the list in spite of being a new addition to my imaginary list.

P.S.: Anthony Turpel nailed Felix's character!

Honestly speaking, Love, Victor Season 1 really isn't that bad. I did not hate it and wished the episodes were longer or there were more episodes. Bram and Simon's cameos were VERY appreciated. Also, that ending when Mia was obviously going to use Andrew as a rebound but Andrew outright rejected her and stated the reason for the rejection? Hell to the yes Andrew!

Rating: ★★★☆☆

[mask131]

I do strongly believe that the decision to reject the pure anthology format of AHS is part of why the show “decayed” over time. 

Because the decision to link EVERY season together is really not a good thing. The first three seasons were conceived as separate universes with separate rules (hence why different versions of the supernatural and the afterlife). To try to put them together can result only in a confusing and unstable mash-up worth of the bad “fantasy kitchen sink”.

Now, I will agree when it was first done it was quite nice - the character of Pepper being developped in Freak Show was very well done, and it worked well enough on its own so that people who didn’t see Asylum would still get hooked and feel something. And the Twisty the Clown cameo in “Cult” was also working really well - because it did not took over the main story, it did not need a forced explanation, stayed mostly as a background/detail and if you hadn’t seen Freakshow it still worked.

But then came along stuff like the Queenie cameo in AHS: Hotel which not only felt forced but also made this very all-over the place season even more all-over the place. Or Apocalypse... oh dear god, we all remember Apocalypse for the bad fanfic that it is, right? This is the ultimate reason why you don’t mix together two seasons of AHS that not only do not share the same cosmogny but also but do share the same tones! Murder House was mostly a “gray” horror, a morbid and disturbed romance, a modern tragedy with gothic tones, a spooky and bitter haunted house story with nihilistic undermessages. Coven was a horror comedy and “light horror” season, creating a very gruesome coming-of-age story interwoven with jokes ; morbid and violent urban fantasy aimed mostly at teenagers, a story about keeping up a moral code and a form of goodness in a cruel and corrupted world. The two have very different approaches to horror. The result was very, very bad. 

Roanoke is one of the best season of the “post-anthology-wall-break” AHS because it actually had so little links to the other seasons - outside of subtle thematic and visualistic nods in the first episodes (each episode represented a different AHS season), the story grew and developped itself on its own, without having to force or cram itself into another story, or to act merely as a development or addendum of a pre-existing season. That was a very good season. 

[chibimyumi]

I completely forgot how creepy Nina Hopkins used to be when she first appeared. Do you think Yana is fixing another mistake? Because in last chapter Nina is still being creepy but it's more like she's too excited to notice Meyrin discomfort. Or is this just me trying to be positive?

【Response to: Man!Greller Debunking Series, header 6】

【Relevant post: Yana and Grell, Owning up to Mistakes】

Dear Anon,

I think there is too little information to be able to tell whether Yana is trying to fix the mistake of portraying a gay woman as a molester (with strong pedophilic undertones), but judging from the material there is, I would say it is possible that Yana is trying, but that if she is, her efforts are not as clear as what she has been trying to do for Grell and for Chinese characters.

Please allow me to explain why I think so.

Character Introduction

First, let us look at the main points about Nina, and how she was established. When we first get introduced to Yana, the first impression we have of her is a predatory gay woman who has zero regards for other people’s personal space or consent.

Except for just molesting Meyrin’s breasts and thighs, when working for O!Ciel she also just ripped his clothes apart. Sure, she did not make any attempts to touch him further, but ripping someone’s clothes from their body just like that is a move that stems from lack of respect for someone else’s body.

On top of her lack of respect for others’ bodily autonomy, Nina is also a raging sexist and hides behind the shield of #FEMINISM, and likewise has no regard for the feelings of likewise her customers (Finny and Bard).

This of course is played for laughs, but that does not justify this #FeM!NIsT action... [please click here for more about female sexism for laughs.]

By the time that Nina was introduced, we were already familiar with a character who is actually rather similar to her... the Viscount of Druitt.

The Viscount of Druitt is the first character to be established as someone who has “unrestrained libido”, and we also learned that touching a young child whom he acknowledges to be too young is fine according to him.

The Viscount is a gag character, his ‘threat’ was placed solely on the fact that he partook in human trafficking, and his pedophilic action was entirely unaddressed. Considering Yana’s job history, we can also assume this was a problem she did not see as something that had to be addressed.

This confirmed that the creator is comfortable with an adult advancing on children, and the Viscount together with the clear Seba/Ciel baiting served to “warm us up” for the concept of shota-con.

So by the time Nina makes her entrance and proclaims to be only interested in women AND boys under the age of fifteen, the manga probably expected its already-warmed-up readers to assume that ‘to be interested in’ refers to a sexual way considering how she pounced for Meyrin the moment she saw her.

Homosexual people are being associated with predatory pedophiles, because homosexual are deemed to have ‘unrestrained libido’... this all is the result of the slippery slope argumentation fallacy... “‘same sex love?’ What about animals? What about children!” (FoxNews’ favourite ( ^ v ~ ))

In Kuroshitsuji so far there have only been two characters who are confirmed to not be straight, and thus it is rather unfortunate that both of them are weirdly okay with being “interested” in children.

Second Appearance

By Nina’s second appearance she has not molested anybody, so I would say there is improvement that in the least she did not commit sexual assault. But sadly ‘not groping someone’ is hardly enough to redeem a character. Otherwise her raging sexism still hasn’t improved an inch.

But considering how she is a super minor character, we cannot expect Yana to suddenly drop her “iconic #RagingFeMin!iSt behaviour” without giving her a semblance of a redemption arc. As her sexist behaviour is basically the trait she is now known by, I would say we probably won’t see it disappear in future. But as long as she is not groping anybody, I personally can live with her. I don’t LIKE it, but I can live with it.

Third Appearance

When Nina makes her third appearance she is still just the same #RagingFeMin!iSt, but she has not touched anybody unsolicited. So here too the ‘improvement’ from her second appearance has at least not been undone.

****TLN: I retranslated this line because in the scanlation I found, it was wrongly translated. The mistranslation said “as usual, it’s refreshing to an extent to ignore you.” This is not Sebastian saying he wants to ignore Nina, it’s him showing his dismay at being ignored thoroughly again.

Latest Appearance

In Nina’s latest appearance she does show some clear disdain for Sebastian, but here too she does not grope Meyrin. Although you could say that flirting with somebody you had just met with such proximity is a bit rude, this too is forgivable as long as this is where she stops.

Difference between Nina, Grell and Chinese characters

The main difference between why Yana’s attempts at fixing her mistake in her portrayal of transgender people and Chinese people work is the timeline.

In this latest portrayal of Nina, the timeline is set in the past. Because we have confirmation that in future Nina would grope Meyrin, none of Nina’s mistakes have been ‘compensated for’. Nina going from relative restrain to sexually aggressive can easily be understood as Nina’s fondness for Meyrin having grown over time, after all. Hence, Nina’s problematic portrayal has not been fixed, and neither has the connection between ‘homosexuals and predatory pedophiles’ been broken... i.e. no character growth.

Nina’s ‘more acceptable behaviour��� is different to Grell’s in function. Grell had made a grave mistake in the past. But later when she had her appearance, all her controlled behaviour was shown as the result of her disciplinary confinement and self-reflection. Therefore the audience knows that her terrible behaviour is probably left in the past for good. 【Click here for full analysis】i.e. Character growth!🎉

As for Chinese characters. Meyrin’s ‘problematic portrayal’ was that when she was introduced she was pretty useless and spoke Chinglish. Later it was confirmed that Meyrin is not bad at English at all, but that her Chinglish was in fact a choice. Perhaps a front that she had put up as a professional choice considering her current job as Phantomhive sniper. 【Click here and here for the full explanation】

Lau was portrayed as a clown character, accompanied by your #SexualisedKungfuChinaGirl Ranmao, and he seemed to fulfill no other role than comic relief... a role Chinese characters often fulfill in both Japanese and Western media.

Later in the Mansion Murder arc however, we got a pretty solid confirmation that Lau was not in fact a clown, and was switching between masks to fool others. Then in the Public School arc, we got undeniable confirmation that Lau would use British people’s stereotypes against British people to get things done.

Then in his latest ‘cameo’ in chapter 159, we got yet another undeniable confirmation that Lau is not just not a clown, but in fact a man so fearsome, so powerful he managed to scare a respected syndicate leader in London. We now know that the two Chinese people we thought to be useless Chinglish speakers at first are both terribly dangerous, potent people.

Conclusion

While in-real-world timeline wise, these #problematic characters all have improved behaviour or acceptable explanations as for their past behaviours, I would say the problem of Nina’s character has not been fixed because of the in-story timeline.

While Grell, Lau and Meyrin’s problems are effectively left in the past through story-telling and potent writing of Yana, for Nina the same cannot be said. 

I hope this helps! (*´｀*)ノ

[noddytheornithopod]

Okay, now that I’ve gotten all the Bad Batch controversies out of the way... I can finally talk about the actual damn episode properly.

Like I said on my whitewashing post, overall I liked it, but I am kinda hesitant for reasons I explained there. I now want to focus on the actual story itself on its terms, and see how I feel about that. Apologies if I jump all over the place.

Probably my biggest issue narrative wise was that I felt some of the stuff around Crosshair was a bit contrived. Like, I was fine with him going full GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS and all that, my issue is that I feel like the others took a while to realise he was following Order 66. Like, Tech even says he can’t be certain their mutations entirely screwed up their programming, with the camera even cutting to Crosshair. And like, before that Crosshair is berating Hunter for letting Caleb escape. When Tech said what he did, I feel like Hunter should’ve probably said something like “that must be why Crosshair tried to kill the Jedi”. Granted, it probably would’ve then led to questions like why Crosshair’s genetics let his chip work and not the others (something that isn’t answered, but it’s not something I felt that needed to, different genetics affect things in different ways we can’t always predict), but like, when they’re on Onderon and Crosshair’s like “yeah let’s shoot literal child refugees”, I feel like they shouldn’t have just conflicted with him, they should’ve outright wondered if he was falling for his programming. It doesn’t break the episode for me and I guess they probably just assumed Crosshair was being his usual dickish self, but I guess that also is a reminder that this is the second time we’ve seen him, so we don’t know if he’d normally be up for killing innocents if a mission requires it (since TBB are still given missions, their thing is they just do them the wrong way). It’s just like, you’d think at least Tech would make some comment about it. As Saw said, he’s supposed to be the smart one lol.

On the topic of inhibitor chips, I was surprised that Crosshair’s was only partly working. I guess it’s because he still had a level of personality to him? The more you know, I guess.

I do think the Bad Batch work better here as many have said, I guess probably because they’re the focus of the story so they have more room to show who they are and nuances to that. My favourite is probably Tech, I tend to gravitate to the nerd characters in things. Shame he has to look so fucking white for being a clone of a brown man though. :/ Kinda like Wrecker too, even with the issues HE has too. Great, even in my main comments my issues with them are popping up. :v

On that note... I do appreciate the idea behind the Bad Batch, being clones who turned out different and it’s about accepting and embracing your differences. It’s just in execution, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Like, it could be a commentary on things like ableism, but thing is, these characters are basically superpowered (if people weren’t fixated on bashing women they don’t like and were equal in their vitriol, you could EASILY call the Bad Batch a bunch of Gary Stus). It’s one of those things where a sci-fi/fantasy allegory is well intentioned but because of things that don’t apply to our reality, the allegory kinda falls apart. Like yes, “be nice to people different to you” is one thing, but it does lowkey feel a bit like “they’re judged because they’re better than everyone else, those stinkin regs are just jealous”. Well no jealousy is shown in the episode, in fact a normal clone calls them defects... which is weird because even if yes TECHNICALLY they are, they’re basically presented as turning out different, but those differences are things that are beneficial to them, and not impairments. I guess I feel like the message would be stronger if they actually had major weaknesses, aka why they’re “defective”, but their strengths are something they excel at so much they’re allowed to serve (which I GUESS was the idea, but we don’t know what made them defective originally and what got their mutations enhanced). And yes, you can infer things like Wrecker being “dumb” (which has its own issues, and even then he’s still competent enough on a battlefield, honestly he might even be more just impatient and impulsive and thus can’t sit still to learn more complex things), but yeah. It’s kind of a mixed message here, I appreciate what they’re going for, but like many fictional allegories, it kinda falls apart and it’s also presented in a very individualistic way.

Okay let me say something positive: AZI-3 IS BACK! I assume he got memory wiped so he wouldn’t have any memory of Fives, but I really liked him in the Order 66 arc of The Clone Wars so I was happy to see him again. Well, until he was hit with that stun blast. I hope he’s okay and able to be repaired!

Echo’s attack with his probe arm thing is pretty cool. It was also cool seeing how he was integrating into the Bad Batch. I also theorised he was most likely to be immune to the inhibitor chip out of the group, because while I felt the Kaminoans wouldn’t overlook inhibitor chips in even mutated clones (they do explain that they kept them around because they were always successful at what they do despite their unorthodox tactics), I had a feeling that the Techno Union putting all those cybernetics in his head maybe screwed with or even removed the chips. Get the poor guy some skin colour though.

I have also seen some people bring up the potential issue of ableism with Echo given he’s an amputee with prosthetics, but I don’t have much to comment on in that regard. But yeah, using disabled bodies for shock value and it being seen as a measure of humanity like in The Bad Batch arc of TCW is a trope I could really do without.

I’m liking Omega so far. She’s definitely got a different vibe to other kid characters we’ve gotten in these shows, probably because she was raised on Kamino. Also appreciate that her voice actor is New Zealander too (she’s not Maori which would’ve been the ideal, but was born to Indonesian Chinese parents). Her curiosity makes a lot of sense, she’s not just mischievous because kid. Was nice to see Hunter open up to her too.

I’m intrigued to see where they take Crosshair. IDK why his genetics allowed his chip to still work, but it’s nice to see at least one of the Bad Batch follow Order 66. I guess they decided against it for more (as much as I’d liked to have seen it) because Order 66 doesn’t just make clones decide to kill Jedi, it basically removes any level of humanity and personality they may have developed and makes them basically stormtroopers. That, and well they want our heroes of the show to be the Bad Batch, and that can’t work if they’re now the goody two shoes batch.

On the topic of Crosshair, my favourite scene in the episode was actually when Omega talks to him. She tries to empathise with him, and whether she’s just naturally intuitive or is Force sensitive in some way, she can tell that Crosshair despite everything seems to be struggling, and it’s ultimately beyond his control that he’s like this now. And then he’s off to get his chip working at full capacity and is now a full on Imperial, RIP.

Also yeah, I’m on team “Omega is Force sensitive”. It’s possible she just has some heightened abilities because she’s an enhanced clone, but the way they framed her firing the blaster especially just screamed Force sensitivity to me.

On the topic of inhibitor chips, Crosshair proves that it’s possible to make them stronger, so it does potentially mean that if members of the Bad Batch are captured, their chips could be dialed up to make them loyal Imperials. I guess one could also wonder if they could be slow for the effects to come into play for some of them, so some maybe slowly turn later on? I doubt they will go that route because they probably want to keep all our heroes around, but it’s something, especially if they eventually conclude they have to remove their chips to be safe.

Seeing Saw in the first episode was surprising but also pretty cool, especially with how the model is transitioning from his Clone Wars appearance into Forrest Whittaker. Love how he sees right through Palpatine’s bullshit, especially when he makes that jab at Tech that seems to be a bit of a blow to his ego, lol. Some have wondered why he’s so chill here, but you have to remember this is early days Saw. He’s still cautious, but he’s not paranoid and overly violent. The way some of those refugees reacted to the clones does make it seem like there’s already Imperial forces occupying Onderon (well, they’re literally out in the forest at a camp). Mainly bring that up because I have to wonder how much time has passed, and how quickly Imperial forces showed up to Onderon.

Seeing Tarkin be a dick is always glorious. He just goes everywhere and KNOWS he’s in charge, lol. It was also interesting how even if he’s feeling like he’s ready to abandon clone forces, he sees potential with Clone Force 99 if they can follow Imperial doctrine.

The Kaminoans also seem distrustful of the Empire, not because they’re against it but because they want to keep their current deal. Maybe if Tarkin heard them out the Empire would have a better army, lol. Taun We from AOTC even cameoes. I do wonder what’s eventually going to happen though, given the clones are obviously abandoned in the end, I wonder how the Kaminoans are going to take it.

Also, Nala Se is back. Yeah, THAT Nala Se. Wonder what she’s doing with Omega as her medical assistant, lol. Oh yeah, she also stopped the doors and let the Bad Batch escape. I have no idea what she’s planning, but I feel like she’s being shady, given not only the Fives stuff but also because despite having a fondness for Omega she does seem like she’s very controlling of her (after all, she’s just property to her), hence why Omega wants to get out and be with the Bad Batch.

Okay, I think that’s everything I wanted to say? But yeah, have a lot of reservations, but still curious to see where this goes despite that.