#i do think they could've been that and i DO think they had strong platonic feelings for each other

[crivalsduo]

one of these days i'm gonna through and list all the canon moments where i feel like it points to c!dnb having feelings for each other or at least the possibility of that.

[takes1]

heyy I must tell you all those tsukishima fics were so good😭 i used to literally log on to tumblr everyday just becausd of yoy😭 can I request a mattsun x oblivious reader?? Where he has tried multiple times to tell her thwt he likes her but something or the other happens and he can't and also thr reader has absolutely no idea that he likes her. Maybe in thr end he can be like do you not like me and stuff snd then she is so confused becsue she did not think thwt he'd like her back snd lmao they go out later

mattsun x oblivious!reader

the sheer quantity of tsukki lovers was a shock when i first started posting that old series lemme tell you. i rlly appreciate that!!

warnings. sfw, fluff

details. libero!reader / girls team!reader / mattsun fluff / aoba johsai fluff / oblivious!reader / platonic?cuddling / mattsun is always warm / giving you his jacket trope / rbf!mattsun / thinking he hates you trope / pda / 2k words

links. my masterlist. more haikyuu. my ao3. requests OPEN

There was only so much to be done about the bitter cold tonight. The Aoba Johsai teams had their joint biyearly dinner, but thanks to a last-minute close for renovation at your usual spot, you and at least fifteen others were stuck waiting for a reservation outside on the town square.

"Fuck-k!" Oikawa shuddered loudly, teeth chattering as he stepped out from the restaurant you were all barred from.

Somebody whined, "I just wanna sit down!"

Iwa trailed close behind, steam practically coming off of his head as he stared down at his phone. He kept his foot in the door for an older couple, sparing a passive-aggressive look at how easily they were seated.

"It'll be another 20 minutes at least," You overheard him, quiet but frothing with frustration, to your own team captain.

Only a few were properly dressed for the weather outside. It was getting darker fast, and the wind was picking up.

You were able to catch a glimpse of his phone screen. He had the estimated wait time from the restaurant's website; 5 groups were before you, but they were nowhere to be seen.

A harsh wind howled through the street and inspired you to jump behind the nearest body. You and the other liberos were lucky to have your faces protected by the gathered group of shoulders and chests, but that's where your blessings ended. Your cardigan could've been made of tissue paper, how thin it was.

The wind settled and you glanced to see who you had nestled up to- you jumped back with a muffled yelp. It went ignored because of the symphony of complaints, curses to the weather.

Matsukawa was glowering down at you. God, was he warm, but he was so mean.

He was the most unsettling member of the guys' team by far. You got along fine with everyone else, but there was some unspoken hatred in his eyes every time you had to interact with him.

He often tried to speak with you after practice, about receiving of all things, quizzing you about your methods from the games he watched or practices he caught. You didn't like how his questions were made to make you feel stupid, so you tended to keep it short with him and run away as soon as you could.

His stare was harsh and judgmental, his frown deep and unforgiving. It gave the impression that he was tearing you apart in his mind.

"Awww, (Y/n)," Your captain, whom you had backed into, put her arms around you at once.

She didn't offer as much heat as him, but it helped to make you feel safer, and wanted. You turned and pressed your face against her chest as she pulled her jacket around the both of you.

Most of the girls were huddled similarly, choice of attire more of an issue than the heavy-coated guys.

Matsukawa wore a thick, black work hoodie, nice thick pants, boots, and a utility jacket over that. You squinted, jealous and bitter, at how he wasn't shivering at all.

"Tw- t-twenty- minutes?" You shuddered against her, sniffling.

She hummed, her cold, dead fingers no help against your sides.

The wind was so strong that it stole your breath with every gust. Your ears were throbbing, your nose numb, even when another teammate joined the huddle.

Not only had you not dressed for the cold, but you didn't expect to be standing so much, so your heels were killing your feet. Another twenty minutes wasn't doable.

"Hey! There's some benches over here!" Somebody called from down the sidewalk and around the corner.

Those that knew it would take longer, especially in uncomfortable shoes, instantly started to migrate away from the door of the restaurant.

The benches were a little wet from the light drizzle earlier. It made most of your teammates hesitate to sit down, including you. You gave a dismal sniffle, completely exhausted from shivering, unable to get any colder or more glum. You peeled off your cardigan.

"Hey, wait wait-!"

"Noo!"

Your teammates gasped, grabbing at you, as you used it to wipe the bench dry.

You turned, offering them a seat, your ferocious shaking in direct contrast to the point you were trying to make.

"It- was-wasn't keeping me warm-- anyway," You struggled to declare.

The three of you sat down on the freezing metal. At least it was dry now. You stared, twitching hard, at the soggy ball in your numb fingers and tried to zone out.

Your eyes had been closed when someone big squeezed in next to you, at the end of the bench. It was too much energy to open them to see who it was.

But a heavy, warm, and cozy presence over you shocked you to open your eyes again.

"Put this on before you pass out," Matsukawa muttered, hands grabbing at the back of his own hoodie, too.

Your face would've felt warm if not for the conditions. It was already stinging, but it stung some more.

"Thank you," You shivered.

His lowered, studied stare at you as you struggled to put on his hoodie with numbed limbs made you feel like a dumbass. He probably thought you were an idiot.

His arm was so solid as he took his outer jacket back, to put it on over his long sleeve shirt. You quickly put up the plush hood and pulled the drawstrings, ears pounding at the relief of some heat.

Then his arm was back, around your shoulders, rubbing firm to get you warmed up faster.

"Thank you," You repeated, better now, and all you could possibly think to say.

When you glanced at him, you found him looking around. There was a protective air to him, like he was busy watching for something while he took care of you. He wore it well.

His hoodie smelled distinctly like him and you found that you did not mind it in the slightest. You were subtle, pulling it over your nose -breathing deep now that you weren't struggling to filter this icy cold air-, letting your body get wracked by his strong rubbing, your head steadied a little on the inside of his big shoulder. It slowly fell, heavier, on him as you learned to trust that he was being helpful.

The wind picked up again- this time you felt invulnerable to its brutality, but he squeezed his working arm into your waist and pulled you, shockingly easy, into his side with no space left between your bodies.

At this point, you were feeling guilty for enjoying it so much. There was no ounce of softness in his angry face to indicate he wanted to hold you. His nose crunched more at the wind, now that he had less layers to protect him. You could only assume he was just being chivalrous.

It made the remainder of the wait harder, in a different way.

"Oh," Iwa raised his brow at you as you passed him to go inside.

He didn't look at you for long, because he referred his gaze to Matsukawa and exchanged a smirk you couldn't see.

When you were all seated, nobody went to sit right next to you. The table was full except for the one seat while everyone filed in. At first, Watari pulled the chair out, but took one look at you and also said, "Ooh," before sitting elsewhere.

Matsukawa sat down without so much as a look at you.

Every guy at the table was looking at him, so you knew you were right about something. You just didn't know what, yet.

The whole evening, he was quiet and only spoke a few times when directly referred to. Otherwise, you felt the weight of his subtle, unwavering gaze anytime you mustered up the courage to contribute to the conversation at the table.

Surely he just wanted his hoodie back. He wore it so often, so it must have been how pitiful you looked outside to make him give it up like that.

Bellies full, bill paid, and a little more relaxed after a fun dinner out with friends despite his presence, you were all starting to leave to go home.

You stood still outside for a moment, sniffling but content, pulling up a route on your phone to walk back to the bus stop. It was a subtle way to wait for him to come out, so you could give him back his hoodie and brave the freezing journey back.

"You got somebody to walk you back?"

He leaned down to speak quietly, just to you. You watched his hand close the distance and rest on your shoulder. It made you stutter.

"Not- not officially."

Then he was walking you back to the bus stop, making a silent trek more difficult than it had to be if you had just gone by yourself. When you spared some meager glances at him, he had that same vibe about him- like he was preoccupied, displeased, and would be unpleasant if you tried to say anything.

It would be another five minutes for the bus.

He stood close to you, his arm against yours, because this bench was wet and you weren't going to repeat that mistake.

"Do you- uh," He rocked a little on his heels when you looked at him, "Do you not... like me?"

It was a staggering question. You held yourself, painfully aware that you were only standing because of his hoodie around you.

"Sure, I like you," You said in a stilted tone.

It wasn't enough and you knew it as it rolled off your tongue.

You cleared your throat. He looked away.

"I mean- I thought you hated me before today, so," You gave an empty laugh to help ease the tension.

"Hate you?" He turned towards you, hands in his pockets. It was the most emotion you had ever seen on his face.

Clearly, something was off. You squinted at him but only could hold it for a second, "Well, yeah, you're kinda... mean-,"

The shock on his face made you stumble over your words.

"But- uh, today you were so nice! Thank you, for your hoodie, that was very sweet-," You glanced around his face, confused, trailing off, "-of, you..."

He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, eyes closed, pained at your words. You felt astoundingly guilty, more cold than ever, in a way.

"I gave you my hoodie because I like you."

He put the hand back in his pocket, turning to face the street, watching the lamp posts with a forlorn air about him, "I've been tryin' to ask you out for months."

Your mouth hung open. You covered it, after a few seconds, with your hand.

Was that what all the looks meant? Was that seriously what he was getting at every time he spoke to you? Your face warmed- a welcome sensation.

"I... didn't know," You said simply, pressing up to his side.

It worked, thank god, and though it took him a second, he put a hefty arm around you.

"You were really that clueless?" He muttered, rubbing his warm face with his other hand.

The truth did feel pretty obvious in hindsight, but you reminded him, "You're more intimidating than you think."

In the quiet, the bus sighed around the corner.

"So... I can keep the hoodie?"

You looked up at him, excited at what you could see now as his nervousness. He pressed a hasty kiss to the top of your head as the bus rolled to a stop in front of you.

"Hell, yeah."

VIP

@integers @yuchacco

my masterlist. my request box.

[pyrodolls]

Hello!!!

Please can I request headcanons on how twdg men would react to an injured Reader 👉👈

VARIOUS TWDG MEN X INJURED! READER HCS PT. 1

WARNINGS: spoiler free, gender neutral reader, could be read as either romantic or platonic hcs, angst to comfort i guess ?

A/N: woah hey guys... it's been a week.. oops. but hey i'm posting the requests... slowly... but it's only slow bc i'm constantly going back and changing things so i'm never really satisfied with my work smh. also if this does well i'll do the s3 and s4 men. btw i'm so sorry lee's was short idk what else to write for him.

let's say you went on a run for supplies, but it went wrong. you were attacked by walkers, and you just barely survived without getting bit.

LEE would stay calm. or at least, he'd appear calm. it was mostly for your sake, because he didn’t want you to panic. he'd seen plenty of injuries at that point, so he was quite desensitized to blood and all kinds of wounds. he was still worried about you, but he was just relieved that you were alive. after the incident, he allows you to continue going on runs and doesn’t fuss over you. he believes that you're strong enough to handle yourself. he isn't going to baby you after one little incident, but he's definitely going to start asking you if you need his help. if you say no, he'd respect that.

KENNY on the other hand, was panicked. he saw you unconscious with blood everywhere. he was the first one running over to you to find out what happened. he immediately checked for a bite, even after you reassured him that you didn’t have one. once he saw that you weren’t bitten, he was still panicked anyway. he was angry. he was desperate to find someone to blame rather than admit how terrified he was to lose you. you could've died out there. you should've been more careful. he should've been there. why wasn't he there? he should've protected you. the person with you should've prevented this. the person with you should've helped you. his anger wasn’t diminished until he saw you healed and walking around again. he masks his sadness with anger and often doesn't know how to control his emotions, but at the end of the day, he always remembers that the important thing is that you are safe. and you were never allowed to go on a run without him again.

BEN had no clue what to do. he was convinced that you were going to die. usually, he'd think a little more rationally when someone in the group is injured. he may be young, but over the course of the apocalypse, he's garnered a small bit of medical knowledge. he's aware that a simple accident isn't enough to kill someone. but when it comes to you, all logic is thrown out the window due to how much he cares about you. when he saw you bloody and weakened, he was terrified. he begged whoever was taking care of you to do their best. he stayed by your side as much as he could. he barely ate or slept until you were healed. once you were finally healed, he swore to make sure you never left his sight again. he's aware that you're stronger than him and you're capable of taking care of yourself, but he'd be damned if he lets you get injured again. he knows he isn't the strongest guy around, so there's not much he can do anyway, but after your accident, he started to get paranoid when he didn’t see or hear you after a short amount of time.

LUKE was incredibly worried when he found out you were hurt, and he rushed to carlos to make sure you were okay. he trusts carlos and he knew that you were in good hands, but he still needed to see you in order to know you were okay. once he saw that you were alive and not bitten, his worries quickly washed away. he confident that you can handle yourself, so it was just a little accident. but to be sure, he stayed by your side to tend to all of your needs and acted as your personal butler as you were healing. but there was still that nasty thought that crept into the back of his mind: the thought that you could've died. but he shook it off, not wanting to think about it. as long as you aren't alone on your runs, he isn't worried at all. he knows you can handle yourself. but if you can't, he would gladly be your knight in shining armor and take care of you.

NICK immediately spiraled when he saw you bloody and unconscious. he's lost enough of his loved ones; he can't lose you too. he paced outside the door where carlos was taking care of you, fiddling with his thumbs and being uncharacteristically quiet. the minute that carlos opened the door, nick rushed over to you and kneeled by your bed. he stared at you in silence, contemplating what he would do if you died. the others had to pull him away from you to let you rest. he was quiet for days after that. he let you rest, but he didn't leave the house at all just to make sure he was there to take care of you. he's convinced from then on that you need someone with you on runs. it's not that he thinks you're weak and you need to be protected, he just doesn't want to go through that period of depression and worry ever again. he was shattered at the thought of losing you. he's already damaged by plenty of his loved ones being killed, but your death would've been his breaking point.

[cowgurrrl]

darlin’ i’d wait for you

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader (plus platonic Ellie Williams x fem!reader)

Author’s note: Inspired by my real life love for my godchildren. Mis almas, no hay nadie que ame más que tú. Gracias por elegirme.

Summary: “Ten fingers. Ten toes. And even if you had none of them, you’d still be the grandest thing I’ve ever seen.” - Emily Henry, Beach Read aka you and Joel have a baby [3.0k]

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, descriptions of labor and delivery (nothing graphic), swearing, lots of emotions, fluff

"You need to be resting!" Maria says as you pace the living room with your hands on your hips. Ellie is watching you move from her space in the kitchen, her knee bouncing with anxiety as she sits there. 

"You need to find Joel!"

"Tommy's getting him right now. Please, just lay down."

"I'm fine," another contraction ripples through your body, and you grip the back of the couch. "Fuck! I can't believe Joel convinced me to do this again!" You yell. The pain tightens in your lower abdomen, and you drop your head to the cushions, unable to focus on anything else. Strong hands press against the small of your back, applying the perfect counter pressure to your contraction. The tension releases just enough for you to pick your head up and find Maria standing over your shoulder, a knowing look in her eyes. No words need to be exchanged for her to know how grateful you are for her presence.

The contractions have been coming and going since late last night, but you didn't think much of it. They were sporadic and not painful enough to make you think you were in labor. You had false contractions with Jane and expected the same thing with this one, except that these contractions became very real very fast. Joel was already out on patrol when you had Ellie run to Tommy and Maria's for additional help because they were getting so bad. This baby is coming soon. 

"Do you have a bag ready to go?" Maria asks as the contraction ends, and you nod, pushing yourself up. 

"In our bedroom closet, but it's missing some stuff." 

"Okay, tell me what you need, and I'll pack it."

"I can do it."

"Honey, if you walk up those stairs, there's no way you'll make it back down." She says, and you sigh. Reluctantly, you list some last-minute things that need to get thrown in the bag and where they'll be. Maria turns on her heels and sprints up the stairs, ever a woman on a mission. Ellie walks over to you as Maria's figure disappears, standing awkwardly near you as you hold your belly. 

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to scare you." You say, wrapping her in a hug or as much of a hug as you can manage with the baby in between you. She relaxes and lets out a big breath as you rub her back.

"I feel like I should be the one comforting you." 

"I've done this before. I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, but that was before," the fear in her voice rattles you to your core, and you pull away to look at her. Her bottom lip is cracked and bleeding from her teeth worrying at it all morning, and she looks like the scared kid you met in Boston. "You really should be on the way to the hospital." 

"As soon as Joel gets here, I'll go, okay?" You say, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She shakes her head, and you open your mouth to say something more, but the vice grip returns, and you grip her shoulders. Your head bows under the weight of the pain, and you clutch Ellie like a lifeline.

"Okay, they're getting closer together. Maria!" Ellie yells as she holds you upright. You vaguely register Maria rushing down the stairs and telling Ellie something, but you don't have enough energy to listen. Time could've stopped right there, and you would've had no way of knowing. No stab wound, gunshot, or punch even comes close to this pain level. Your breathing is uneven, and you can feel yourself sweating bullets despite the cool August air. You thought you were ready. You thought you knew what to expect after Jane, but this is different. You wonder why you thought you could have another baby as the contraction fades. Maria says your name, and you pick your head up from Ellie's shoulder.

"We need to get you to the hospital right now. Joel will meet us there." She says, but you shake your head, the lump of panic in your throat tightening. Memories of begging your mom, Jane's dad, friends, or anyone to come to the hospital so you wouldn't be alone replay in your head. You were alone and scared and sixteen fucking years old when you had Jane on a stormy Tuesday morning. The nurses looked at you like a kicked puppy and mumbled, "a baby having a baby," under their breaths when they left you to cry alone while holding your newborn. 

"No, no, no. Joel's not here yet. I'm not going without him."

"I promise that Tommy will bring him to you. I'm sure they're on their way back now." 

"I'm not going by myself!" The harshness in your tone makes everybody in the room pause. "I've already done this alone once, and I'm not fucking doing it again. So, we are going to wait for Joel even if I have this baby on the fucking floor! Do you understand me?" 

"Hey," Ellie says softly. "Hey, you're not alone. At all. We're all here because we love you and want you to be safe. Nobody is going to leave, okay?" She says, rubbing your back as tears fill your eyes. 

"I can't do this." without her, you want to add, but you don't. Ellie pushes the sweaty hair out of your eyes and holds your face so you can look at her. Your breath is shaky, and you feel like you could shatter into a million pieces, but her brown eyes are looking into yours so intently that you have no choice but to look back.

"You can. You can do this. You're doing so good. You're going to have this baby, and it'll probably be the cutest fucking baby ever. And we'll all make stupid faces at it and love it even though I don't even think I like most babies, and you'll be okay. Both of you," her eyes don't move from yours as she speaks, even when you start crying. "You're not alone, but I can tell you're in pain, and we need to get to the hospital before it gets worse, okay?" She asks, and you take a shaky breath before nodding. Ellie and Maria seem to let out sighs of relief at the same time, and they start ushering you to the door when it opens.

"I'm here! I'm here! I'm sorry I'm late," Joel yells as he and Tommy run in. He smiles and runs over and kisses you. You have half a mind to smack him for looking so giddy when you're in so much pain, but let him kiss you anyway. "You ready to have a baby?" He asks as another contraction tightens in your stomach, making you squeeze him tightly. You don't get to see your family scrambling to get out the door, but you feel it. Bags and coats find owners as your entourage helps support you down the steps of your home and on the path to the hospital. 

Four contractions come and go on the way to the hospital doors, where Maria, Tommy, and Ellie cheer and promise to wait there until you're ready for them. "Almost there, baby. We're gonna get you all the good drugs, okay?" Joel tells you quietly as he flags down a nurse and a wheelchair for you. The nurse asks rapid-fire questions as she rushes you into a delivery room, and Joel does his best to answer them. You curl into yourself the second your body hits the hospital bed, yet another contraction hitting you, but this time with a familiar splitting pain. You're not going to have time for the good drugs.

The rest is a blur of doctors, nurses, questions, and Joel whispering praises into your temple. Your vision struggles to focus on anything as pain radiates from your hips to your back and up your spine. It's excruciating and dizzying, and you think you'd throw up if you weren't so focused on getting this fucking kid out. "One more, baby. One more push, and then it's over." Joel tells you. You don't respond. You can't. All the blood rushes through your ears, and you squeeze his hand hard. For a moment, the whole world stops, and tears fall down Joel's face as the tiny baby is placed on your chest. You gasp and hold them close as they screech, announcing their arrival loudly.

"It's a girl!" Someone announces, and you laugh weakly, struggling to catch your breath. You look down at your daughter and kiss her head as she continues to cry.

"You're okay. I've got you. We're okay, sweetheart. You're safe," you tell her, rubbing her back. Joel reaches out to trace the apple of her cheek and grabs her tiny hand. You and Joel join her crying, everything besides your family becoming obsolete. Joel presses a chaste kiss to your lips and smiles when you laugh against him. "I told you so." You say, and he laughs. 

"You were right," he says. "I'm so proud of you." He kisses you again as your daughter cries beautifully on your chest. Jane didn't cry at first when she was born, effectively scaring the shit out of you and everyone else in the room, but when she finally did, it was like you were breathing for the first time, too. You think this may be the first time since her death that you've felt that much peace. 

Joel cuts the cord, and the room devolves into a controlled madness with nurses and doctors calling things back and forth to each other. You don't care. The little girl on your chest has settled down and tucked her head under your chin, listening to your rapid heartbeat and recognizing the pattern. "We're right here, baby girl. We're not going anywhere, okay?" You whisper to her, kissing her over and over again. She smiles, and you immediately recognize Joel's crooked smile— nine months of carrying her and a record-breakingly fast delivery for her to be his twin. 

"Mama, we're gonna take her to get cleaned up and get her measurements, okay? The doctor's working on getting you fixed up, too." A nurse says, and you nod. 

"Just be careful, please. I made her from scratch, and it took a really fucking long time." You say as you pass her to the nurse. Everyone, including Joel, laughs even though you're serious. Joel leaves your side only to follow the nurse to the other side of the room, watching her every movement meticulously. You keep eyes on both of them. She starts fussing as the nurse cleans her up, and Joel reaches out to smooth her hair. He says something to her that you can't hear and watch him start crying again. She settles down again, but Joel is a mess. The nurse offers him a tissue, and you laugh to yourself but don't do anything to get his attention.

Let them have their secret conversation. You have a feeling it will be the first of many.

She's asleep, but you can't stop looking at her. Joel is lying in the hospital bed with you as she rests in his arms, your chin hooked over his shoulder so you can stare at her. The little girl who gave you enough excitement for a lifetime is bundled up in a white blanket with a striped hat covering her dark hair. Her legs are long and skinny, but she's strong, grasping anything within reach.

She has his nose and lips, but your eyes match. Her little chest rises and falls steadily, and little sighs come from her occasionally as she sleeps. Her hand somehow escaped the swaddle, and her fingers flex around the blanket's fabric like she's trying to decide whether she likes it. Joel reaches for her tiny hand and tries to tuck it away again, but she resists, making an angry face until he lets go. You laugh and melt simultaneously at her actions.

"She's perfect," you whisper as you kiss Joel's shoulder. He hums and turns to kiss your temple. "How did we get so lucky?"

"I've no idea," he whispers back. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Her. This. Making me a dad again." His voice is so tender and raw that your eyes mist up again. You sniffle and wipe your eyes.

"Anytime, cowboy," you rest your hand on her chest to feel the little heartbeat you made from nothing but stardust and blood. Her face scrunches up in her sleep before her little fingers find yours. "Well, maybe not anytime, but you know what I meant."

"Oh, 'm ready for another one right now."

"Never in a million fucking years could you convince me to do that again."

"You did great." He says, and you smile. You're both exhausted and should be sleeping, but you can't stop looking at the life you created together. She's not even a day old, and you know you would tear the world into a thousand pieces if she asked you to. You would do anything for her.

"D'you still like the name we picked?" You ask, and he nods.

"Do you?"

"I think it's perfect for her."

"Hey, guys," a nurse peeks her head in the door. "Are we ready for some visitors?" She asks. You nod, and Joel adjusts baby girl in his arms. Her little arm reaches up in a stretch, and she fusses when she loses the grip on your hand. You tell her you're not far, and Joel bounces her. 

"Hey," Ellie says softly as she enters the room. You smile and sit up, ignoring the jarring pain in your hips at the movement. "Oh, my God. How are you feeling?" She asks as she hugs you like she's afraid she'll break you if she holds you too tight. You rub her back and kiss her head.

"I'm okay. I delivered pretty much the second they could get me to lay down."

"I knew we should've gone to the hospital sooner!" Ellie says, and Joel shushes her. She makes an eek face as she looks at him.

"A baby's tryin' to sleep here."

"Holy shit," she breathes, taking in the bundle in Joel's arms for the first time. "Girl or boy?"

"I'm pretty sure the Millers are only capable of having girls at this point," you say, and Ellie smiles. "Do you wanna hold her?" 

"Can I?" She asks as Joel stands. She's unsure what to do but copies Joel's position and puts a hand under her back.

"Support her head," Joel instructs quietly as he carefully transitions your daughter into Ellie's arms.

"I got it. I got it," she says. Instinctively, she starts swaying back and forth and patting the baby's back. Joel stays nearby, watching as Ellie gets comfortable holding her. Your heart could explode seeing the three of them together. "Who are you?" She asks quietly, pulling the blanket under the baby's chin so she can see her. 

"This is Charlotte Elaine Miller," you say. "Charlie, for short." 

"Hey there, Charlie girl. My name's Ellie."

"She's your big sister." Joel adds. Even though he's talking to Charlie, he's looking at Ellie. She takes a shaky breath as she processes his words. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses her forehead. 

"I'm one of your big sisters," she says. The pregnancy hormones and the day's emotions catch up with you, and you couldn’t stop the tears even if you wanted to. Something about seeing Ellie with Charlie hits you hard. "I've got so much to teach you and tell you about when you're a little bigger, though. There's not much I can do with you right now except, well, this," She shrugs as if to make her point to the sleeping baby, and you laugh. Charlie stretches again, probably getting used to having so much room now that she's out of you, and yawns. "Oh, big yawn. Good job." Ellie praises.

"You're a natural," Joel says, making her smile.

"I dunno about that, but she does like me. Right, Charlie girl?" she asks, and the Charlie girl in question chuffs. "Oh, we're gonna have so much fun together." She says sincerely. Joel meets your eyes, sending you a knowing look and a crooked smile, and you smile back a little sadly. He works at his jaw, and his Adam's apple bobs as his eyes sparkle with tears again. No words need to be exchanged. You know. You may be one of the only people who know. Ellie rambles to Charlie, ever the present audience, and you remember, silent and pious in your devotion. 

You think you'll spend your whole life remembering, a constant scramble for pieces of memories that bring her closer. You think you'll find bits of her in music, the summer sun, and your girls' eyes. You think you'll tell Charlie of her big sisters, who were loved and cherished beyond belief, and their shared adoration of Patti Smith. You think you'll be able to find a way to talk about her that doesn't feel like your soul is desperately ripping away from you. For Sarah, Jane, Ellie, and now Charlie, you think you would do anything.

Even after so much loss, destruction, and nights spent hopelessly staring at the wall like it would be enough to start Jane's heart again, you think you would do it all again. The world can be a really shitty place, and you've seen firsthand how horrible people can be to each other. You and Joel have been a million different versions of awful people, and you can never escape that. But you have Ellie and Charlie. And each other. And for a moment, in this horribly lit hospital room, every minute of that misery has meaning.

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taglist: @evyiione @nyotamalfoy @abbyhaslongshorts​

[captainsophiestark]

Nothing Wrong With Emotions

Platonic!Anakin Skywalker x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2024! Requested by Anon! Hope you like it, Nonnie, and thanks for being patient through the delay!

Fandom: Star Wars

Day Twenty-Six Prompt: "You were the first."

Summary: Anakin's at the beginning of the worst two days of his life. Thankfully, his best friend is there when he needs them, and they're more emotionally intelligent than some of the other Jedi.

Word Count: 4,903

Category: Angst, Fluff

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

My mind whirled as I marched through the halls of the Jedi temple, the length of my to-do list rapidly creeping towards overwhelming. This war had been going on for far too long, and even worse, there'd been a growing disturbance in the Force that had been nagging at the back of my mind for days. I kept glancing outside, expecting to see dark storm clouds through the windows to reflect the storm I felt coming with every fiber of my being, but the bright blue sky was unobstructed.

Something was wrong. I knew it, and so did the entire Jedi Council and then some. But none of us could quite figure out what.

Until anything more concrete could be figured out, we all still had mountains of work to accomplish. I needed to visit Jocasta in the Archives, check out five different books, bring a few to the Creche, meet with Master Windu-

My mind and body came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the hallway like I'd physically run into a wall. My to-do list, the lurking low-level disturbance in the Force, and just about everything else in my mind had just been shoved violently to the side by the feelings being put out by my best friend, who was apparently just down the hall from me.

Anakin Skywalker and I had met when he became a Padawan. We'd crossed paths regularly enough and spent enough time together that we'd bonded quickly, and now, he was probably my closest friend in all the worlds. As a result, I could usually read and feel him through the Force better than anyone else. But with the knot of negative emotions he was putting out right now, I was betting a Jedi in the Outer Rim would be able to notice.

I frowned, dropping my data pad on the nearest table and turning to go after Anakin. I had no idea what could've caused the hornet's nest of energy my best friend was putting out, but there was no way I was going to go about my day and ignore it.

I had to jog a little to catch up to him, since he was walking away from me. I caught him at the end of one of the Temple's hallways, seemingly headed for the hanger. I grabbed his elbow before he could round the corner, and he whirled on me with such a fierce scowl that, had it been anybody else, I would've flinched.

"Ani? What's wrong?"

Anakin practically growled, his shoulders up by his ears and his jaw clenched. Still, he had the gaull to say, "Nothing."

I scoffed. "My friend, I've never seen a more obvious lie in my life. I know you much better than that, although you apparently don't think so."

That negative air around Anakin instensified. He was clearly hanging on by a thread. I glanced around the hallway, and although no one else was around, I knew from first-hand experience that the Jedi Temple wasn't always the best place to process strong emotions.

"Alright, how about we go somewhere else?" I suggested, gently taking Anakin's arm again. He kept his glare trained on me, the swarming storm still clearly raging, but he didn't try to pull away from me either. Gently, slowly, I led Anakin away from the Temple, and thankfully, he followed.

"Where are we going?" Anakin barked, the first words he'd managed since his lie in the hallway. I glanced back at him with a smile.

"A place that's good for processing shit. Just trust me for a minute, okay?"

Anakin didn't respond, but he didn't make a move to leave, either, and the dark cloud centered on his chest didn't get any bigger. We climbed into my speeder, and after a short ride, parked at the top of one of the tallest buildings on the planet. The sun had just started to set, painting the sky in beautiful colors that didn't match the lurking darkness at all.

I hopped out, and when Anakin didn't immediately follow me, I motioned for him to do the same. After another moment's hesitation, he slowly climbed out of the passenger seat, glaring doubtfully around us.

"What is this place?" he asked. His tone had lost some of its gravel, which was a relief. I smiled and spread my arms wide, gesturing to the rooftop before us.

"This is paradise," I said. "A smaller, separate loction to the Coruscant Gardens. I made friends with the gardeners here a while ago, and they agreed to let me come up here and hang out whenever I wanted, as long as I don't hurt the plants. It's become my favorite place to be when I need... space. From the rest of the Jedi, to process things, from the war and the senate and whatever else... for anything, really."

"What do you mean, when you need space from the rest of the Jedi?"

I turned back to Anakin with a raised eyebrow. The set of his shoulders alone told me he knew exactly what I meant by "space from the Jedi", but they also told me he might not be in the mood to be teased about it.

"Well... you know, sometimes the Council and everybody can get a little... stuffy. And they taught me a lot of great techniques for managing my emotions, but meditation takes a lot of fucking practice and doesn't always work for me, especially in the middle of a storm. So, I've found other strategies for when the regular Jedi ones don't work. And from the energy you're putting out into the world right now, I thought you could use something like that."

Anakin frowned, but he took a few steps closer to me, away from the speeder. I gave him a tentative smile.

"Are you saying meditation doesn't work for you? That... that what the masters have taught us doesn't work for you?"

I shrugged. "A lot of the time, it does. More and more the more I practice. But sometimes, no, Ani, it doesn't work for me. The feelings are too strong or get too built up, and I need another way to bleed off steam before the kettle boils over, so to speak. Like this!"

I turned from Anakin and raised my hand, using the Force to start the program I'd put together up here years ago. To the side of the garden, in the empty parking space next to my speeder, a plate shot up and into the air. I used my blaster to shoot it before it could come back down, and I grinned as the thing shattered to pieces. Then, I turned back to Anakin with a smile.

"It's more satisfying to smash the plates by hand, but I can't do that from a distance, and I wanted to show off."

Anakin just stared at me for a long moment. To my relief, his surprise and confusion seemed to be taking over some of the space his anger had been occupying before.

"Are you really telling me that when you're angry... you come up here and smash plates?"

"When I get angry enough, yeah. It's not a fix, though, it's just a pressure vent. When I really feel like I'm going to lose it—like when I heard about what General Krell did, and all I wanted to do was go kill him in his cell—I come up here and let some of that rage vent off. Then, it's easier for me to use other, less destructive strategies to manage things. But Ani, I don't think I need to tell you, trying to mediate when you feel like your blood is boiling and every nerve in your body is screaming? It's... not the easiest thing to do."

"No," he said, voice grim and the scowl back on his face. "No, it isn't."

"So then let's smash some plates! Come on, I promise it'll help. And then maybe you can tell me a little bit about what's wrong. Talking usually does wonders for strong emotions, too."

Anakin looked dubious, but we'd been through so much together that he trusted me enough to try.

Anakin moved into the space I'd specfically designed as a sort of protected area for plate-smashing, picking up the first thing he saw. He held it up, but paused briefly and turned back to me. The rage swirled around so strongly, I swear it almost manifested physically around him.

"And you won't tell the Council about this?"

I snorted. "No! Fuck the Council! Smash some plates!"

Anakin huffed, then didn't wait another second to do as I said. He moved like lightning, grabbing one plate and then another, hurling each one into the ground. He kept going, getting more and more worked up, the anger rising up and around him as he let it all out. He became more and more frenzied, then slammed one last plate into the ground so hard that parts of it became dust, before letting out a long, loud scream.

I just watched him, being careful not to let my emotions bleed out through the Force too much. Watching my best friend clearly in so much pain was tearing me up, but I knew Anakin would hate the pity, so I needed to move past it for both our sakes.

Finally, as the scream died out with the last of Anakin's air on that breath, he slumped forward, breathing hard. Still, his shoulders were lower than his ears for the first time since I'd found him in the hallway, and that roaring wave of anger had quieted a little, being joined with frustration and sadness.

I gave him a second, then slowly approached when I was sure he wasn't going to reach for another plate. I put a hand gently on his shoulder, and when he turned to face me, I found him with tears streaming down his face and the same fierce scowl he'd had earlier.

"Anakin," I said, trying to strike the right balance of calm and firm. "Talk to me."

"I can't," he ground out. "I can't talk to you!"

"Why? I swear, everything stays between us. But the plates are just the first part, Ani. The second part is talking things out and finding a way to move forward-"

"No!" He'd been shaking his head for most of my speech, but he broke in when he couldn't take it anymore. "There are things you don't know, that I can't tell you!"

I studied his face, trying to figure out what exactly he might be referring to. I had a couple of theories, but Anakin still didn't seem to be in a good place to respond to theories, so I decided to take a different approach.

"Okay... is there any part of what's bothering you that you can talk to me about? Even something smaller, that's been part of the buildup? Or you could just tell me about the feelings without talking about the cause."

Anakin took a few deep breaths, clenching his jaw as he took heavy breaths in and out. He looked to be at war with himself, so I just concentrated on putting out calm, non-judgemental energy and hoped for the best.

Slowly, Anakin straightened. I let my hand drop back to my side, but I didn't take a step back. A lot of the manic energy had disappated from Anakin, but none of the emotions had yet.

"Master Windu doesn't trust me. I- I found the Sith Lord."

"What?" I cried, leaning forward and grabbing Anakin's forearm. "Anakin, are you serious?"

"It's Chancellor Palpatine."

I just blinked at him for a few moments, trying to take that information in. Then it was my turn for some fear and negative emotions to take root in my chest.

"Shit. Are you sure? Of course you're sure. Oh, this is the absolute worst-case scenario. Anakin, did you tell Windu? What did he say? If he's not going to do something, we-"

"He's going to confront the Chancellor with Masters Fisto, Tiin, and Kolar. I told him that the Chancellor is very powerful, and that they might need my help. I offered to go! But he refused to let me come. Told me to sit and wait for their return in the Council Chambers."

I frowned again, my mind racing a million miles an hour. I didn't let go of Anakin, and I could feel just how carefully he was watching me. Knowing that Windu and other Jedi had gone after the Chancellor was simultaneously scary and a relief, but in both cases, it meant he was currently someone else's problem. I could put that on the backburner to pay attention to my best friend, at least for now. I took a deep breath and shook my head.

"You think Windu told you to wait in the Council Chamber because... he doesn't trust you?"

"I know it. He told me himself I'd earn his trust only after he returned from confronting the Chancellor, only if I was correct."

I narrowed my eyes and huffed. "That's fucking ridiculous."

"You sound angry."

"I am angry. You've been here for a long time, Anakin, and you've done so much for the Order and for the galaxy as a whole. If Windu has a problem, he at least could've put it a little more diplomatically."

"I don't think I've ever seen you angry before."

The shock of that statement was enough to shake me out of my thought. I met Anakin's eyes with surprise.

"What? Yes you have."

"No, I haven't," he said, a bit of irritation in his voice. Thankfully, it was the kind I normally heard from him whenever we bickered, not the more serious kind. "Jedi don't get angry, just like you, and just like Obi-Wan, and just like every other damned Jedi but me!"

"Anakin... what? Of course Jedi get angry! Do you not remember me threatening to kill Kenobi when he threw out the Outer Rim delicacy I tracked down while we were out there because 'he thought it looked spoiled'? I literally almost punched him in the nose!"

"No, I don't remember that!"

"Kriffing hell! You must've been training or something with Ahsoka. Whatever. The point is, Anakin, everybody gets angry. Everybody humanoid, at least! It's emotion, which all of us have. Even Obi-Wan, who I'll admit, is remarkably good at not letting anything get to him."

Anakin just stared at me, looking absolutely thunderstruck, so I continued.

"We also, like you and everyone else, get sad and scared and exhausted and irritated. And happy and excited and impatient! It's normal to feel, Anakin. I'm sorry if somebody made you believe otherwise."

He started shaking his head, slowly and then much more quickly and frantic.

"No. No, that's not the Jedi way. The Jedi aren't supposed to feel, we aren't allowed to feel."

"If that were true every last one of us would've been kicked out years ago! Anakin, you can't control your feelings. You can control how you handle them, and that's what they're always trying to teach us at the Temple. But there's no amount of training or pratice or meditiation or whatever that can just magically make you not feel anger, ever again."

I saw Anakin's mind working as it processed what I'd just said. He seemed to accept it, at least, before I could feel his attention shift in the Force, and his fierce scowl returned.

"Even if you're right, no amount of 'handling' would help me."

"What are you talking about? Come on, Ani, I'm your best friend! If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"

"No one! I already told you, no one! I'm... I'm running out of time..." The sharp storm of anger changed abruptly into one of fear as Anakin's attention shifted away from me and back to the city. "We've been here too long. I need to go, now!"

He started taking off for the speeder, and it took my brain a few moments to catch up to his 180 degree shift. Once it did, I ran after him.

"Anakin, stop! Please, talk to me!"

I caught the edge of his robe and pulled it back. The moment I did, Anakin whirled on me, his expression a storm that threatened to bowl me flat. Still, I didn't flinch, and I didn't give up an inch.

"I can't be here! I'm running out of time! Padmé-"

He stopped abruptly and scowled even deeper, but the name was already out of his mouth.

"I knew this had something to do with her! Come on, Ani, talk to me. What's wrong? Is she okay? Is she mad at you? Is somebody coming after her again?"

"It's... It's none of your concern!"

Anakin whipped around again, pulling his robes out of my grip, but I called after him.

"If something's wrong with my good friend and my best friend's wife, then it's absolutely my concern!"

That got Anakin to stop dead in his tracks. He turned back around to me, his expression wild as the wind from up here blew his hair. I just stared back with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you know about that?" he demanded. I scoffed.

"Anakin, please! I'm your best friend, and the two of you are absolute shit at hiding it! I literally walked into the kitchen on one of the Cruisers and found you guys making out."

"When?" he demanded, sounding indignant.

"You'd know if you'd had an ounce of awareness! You were so busy making out with your wife that you literally didn't even notice I was there. I turned around and walked out because I did not want to see that for another second, and you clearly wanted to keep it a secret on some level. But this was months ago."

Anakin looked like I'd just shoved him over. I put a hand on my hip and raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to recover from his shock enough speak again. When he'd just about got there, I continued.

"Now seriously, Ani. If something's wrong with Padmé or your future child that you conveniently forgot to tell your best friend about, I want to know about it. I want to help you."

Anakin blinked a few more times, then finally sighed. He took a few steps towards me (and away from the speeder), his shoulders slumping.

"I... I've been having these dreams. I haven't been able to tell anyone but Padmé about them, and she keeps telling me they're nothing. But they weren't nothing when I was having dreams about my mother."

I closed the rest of the distance between us, putting an arm around Anakin as I eased him into sitting on one of the garden's benches, close to the edge of the parking lot. His hands shook as he held them up to emphasize his speaking, and the second he noticed, he shoved them between his legs.

"I keep having nightmares about Padmé dying with our children, as she's having them. There's something very wrong, but she won't believe me, and I can't talk to anyone else about it without telling them about our relationship. It's on me to save her. The Chancellor seemed to know, seemed to want to help me... and I don't know that I have another choice anymore."

"...Anakin. You just told me yourself that he's a Sith lord."

"But what other choice do I have?" he cried, exploding again. "I won't lose her. I won't let her die! I was too late to save my mother, I won't be too late to save Padmé. Master Windu says he doesn't trust me because he can feel my fear, but how else am I supposed to feel?"

I nodded, taking a deep breath as I put my hand on Anakin's shoulder again. He was seething, but he tolerated it.

"Your fear is valid, Anakin. If I had recurring nightmares about losing you, I'd be sticking to you like glue on missions. And that's without the factor of children! But if you starting taking rash, drastic actions as a result of that fear—like trusting a Sith lord who's been lying and manipulating his way through the Jedi for years—it might just cause exactly what you're scared of in the first place."

"So what are you saying? You're telling me I should do nothing, too?"

"No! Just... take a few deep breaths, and make your decisions with as rational a head as you can. From what I remember you telling me, Anakin, the dreams about your mom were actually visions happening in real time. And I'm sorry to remind you of that at all, but that means they were different than your dreams of Padmé. I saw her walking around the senate chambers today. She's not already dead."

Anakin took a deep breath as, to my relief, my words seemed to manage to get through to him, at least a little bit. When he spoke again, it was at a normal volume despite the words being a bit strained.

"That doesn't change the fact that she's in danger. Just because she's alright for now doesn't mean that she won't be-"

He broke off, clenching his fists and squeezing his eyes shut tight. I moved my hand from his shoulder to take both of his hands in mine.

"Has Padmé gone to her doctor lately? To check out whether anything is wrong? She's due soon, isn't she?"

"Yes. She's due soon. I don't know if she's been to a doctor since the dreams started. The Jedi... things have been keeping me from her recently."

"Well, okay then. For Padmé's sake and your own, let's sit up here and take a few deep breaths. I know that sounds like what everyone else in the Order's been telling you, but we did smash plates earlier, so I'm hoping you'll trust me. Then, once we're acknowleding the fear but making it take a backseat on decision-making, we can go see Padmé. We'll talk to her, and go see her doctor, just to check everything out and make sure it's all okay. I'll go with you to maintain the 'friendship' cover as much as possible. With all of the technology and medicine available to us, Anakin—especially since Padmé serves in the senate and you're a Jedi—any complications should be completely treatable and preventable. Then, once you're feeling alright about that, we can make a choice."

Anakin narrowed his eyes, then raised an eyebrow at me.

"And what choice is that?"

"If you want to stay with Padmé, we stay with Padmé. If you want to talk to Windu, we work together and come up with a plan for you to talk to Windu. Hopefully, by the time we get back to the Temple, he and the others will have defeated Palpatine and we can put all this behind us. But one way or another, we can practice and work out a conversation starter for you to discuss with him why he doesn't trust you, and how that makes you feel. It might not change his mind, but I really think it'll make you feel better to get it out there and talk about it with him. Calmly, though. As much as you might want to yell at him, and as nice as it might feel in the moment, it'll only make you worse off in the end. Which is why we come up here to smash plates first."

To my immense relief, that last part made Anakin crack the smallest of smiles. The knot of fear and lingering anger was still there, but much smaller, and confined to just a part of my best friend. That overwhelming knot I'd noticed earlier was almost entirely gone.

"I... think I like that plan. At least the first part of it."

"Good, then let's go do it. Just remember, Ani: I'm here for you. Odds are good that you're going to feel really scared and really angry again as we deal with the next few days. And that's normal. We just have to practice managing it, and I'm here for you whenever you need help with that."

"...Does that mean I officially get access to this place whenever I want it?" He gestured to the garden and smaller plate-smashing station around us, and I smiled.

"Sure. But you're gonna have to do some shopping for cheap plates before you come up here again. Believe it or not, I'm just about out."

"Seems like a pretty low number of plates you had up here. Aren't you supposed to be more prepared than that as a Jedi Knight?"

"Plate shopping was on my long list of errands for today. But... I ended up having more important things to do with my day."

The two of us shared a smile, and although Anakin's was weak, it felt like the sun shining down on us to me. We weren't out of the storm yet, but looking at my best friend in that moment, I knew we were both going to get to the other side okay.

****************

"Oh... my stars."

I grinned, my feeling echoing Obi-Wan's as the two of us and Ahsoka were led into the delivery room. Padmé laid in the bed, a baby cradled in her arms, and Anakin stood beside her with the other baby in his.

After Anakin and I's long talk on the roof, and after getting through some of the immediate aftermath of dealing with Chancellor Palpatine being a Sith lord, he'd finally decided to share his and Padmé's "secret" with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, along with Rex, Cody, and a few of the other clones we'd been to hell and back with. Literally all of them had already known, but everyone other than Obi-Wan pretended to be surprised for Anakin's sake, and the knowledge meant a lot more to all of us now that Anakin had voluntarily shared it with us.

Even after all the doctor's appointments and support from his friends, I could feel the weight that had lifted from Anakin's shoulders with Padmé sitting in bed now, tired but healthy, their babies just as healthy and delivered in their arms.

"Wanna hold her? Her name's Leia," Anakin said, gently holding the baby in his arms out to Obi-Wan. He looked about knocked flat, but gingerly held his arms out all the same.

"Of course I do."

Anakin smiled, gently putting Leia into Obi-Wan's arms. Ahsoka headed over towards Padmé, and I was about to follow her when Anakin caught me, taking my arm and gently pulling me aside.

"Do you have a minute?"

I nodded, following Anakin as he led me just out of the room and into the hallway. I raised an eyebrow, but I could tell from Anakin's energy and the smile on his face that this was nothing bad.

"I have something to ask you."

"Okay... spit it out then. Dad."

Anakin's smile was enough to outshine the sun, and it warmed my heart to see him like that.

"Well, Padmé and I talked, and... since both of our lives are so dangerous, and since I may or may not be able to continue in the Order depending on how well we can continue to hide our secret..."

I scoffed, but Anakin ignored me.

"We wanted to make you the honorary, support-parent of the twins. I'm not going to let anything happen to us, but if something ever did... we want you to take them. And either way, we want you to be involved in their lives as... a mentor, of sorts."

"Anakin... I don't need a title or an official invitation to do everything I can to be in their lives. Frankly, not even death could stop me. Since Force ghosts exist and all."

Anakin grinned. "I know that. But I want you to have the title anyway. I mean, who better to help guide my kids through life than the person who made sure I didn't let my fear ruin any shot at actually seeing them?"

"...Surely someone else has told you that emotions are a normal, healthy thing for you to be feeling?"

"Believe it or not? You were the first."

I smiled, then moved forward to wrap Anakin in a tight hug. He didn't waste a second returing the gesture.

"I would be honored to play a role like that in the twins' life, Ani," I said, not letting go of him as I spoke. "Thank you for trusting me with it."

"Thank you for helping me get a hold of everything. I love Obi-Wan, but... he never managed to teach it the way you did. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't found me when you did."

I squeezed Anakin tight, letting the seriousness live on for another moment before pulling away with a grin.

"Are you kidding me? I'll always find you, whether you want me to or not. I'm your best friend. You can't get rid of me, and you can't hide anything from me. And don't you forget it."

Anakin scoffed and rolled his eyes, but I could see how genuine the smile on his face was. I clapped him on the shoulder and took a step back towards the delivery room.

"Come on. I'm honorary guardian of the twins, and I haven't even met them yet. Obi-Wan's been holding Leia for long enough, it's my turn now."

"Good luck getting her back. Did you see the look on his face? I think I'm going to have to force him to let her go."

The two of us shared a laugh as we reentered the delivery room. The past few years of the war and the past few weeks especially had been brutal, on all of us. And there was still a lot of work to be done putting things right. But some very, very good things had come out of it, too, and no matter what came next, we'd always have each other.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21

[theyluvlyss]

𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬

《 ♡ 》 headcannons

───────── 《 .°•♡•°. 》 ──────────

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 :

while it's always fun to imagine (haha, get it💀) what it'd be like for him to be your best friend or your boyfriend, there's times when you yearn for that tension. that something in between that's more than a platonic relationship, but just short of being a lover. and I'm here to revive that feeling of what it'd be like for bruce yamada to have a crush on you...

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 :

fem!reader x bruce yamada - she/her/her pronouns!

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐞 :

70s-80s - the grabber doesn't exist

𝐓𝐖/𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 :

I actually don't think I cussed at all (rare lyss achievement) (unless you count abbreviations💀) - fluff, fluff, fluffff! very cute and sweet - bruce being his golden boy self💛💚

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ...𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

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Bruce having a crush on someone is so OBVIOUS and pathetic (but like in a cute puppy way lmao🐶😙). Definitely the type that goes out of his way to hide it and whisper and giggle around like it's some huge secret, but mf, you told all of your friends, your baseball coach, half the members on the team, your entire family, your crush’s entire family, the stray dog, and the pizza delivery man😐😭💀.

By the time he's going out of his way to woo his person of interest, they pretty much already know and are either elated to reciprocate his fond acts, or are swift to let him down easy (although the latter is rare, because, well… it's Bruce lol).

But with you, reader… for some reason, I feel like you somehow wouldn't know. Bruce will go through his normal routine - shy smiles, hushed whispers whenever you're near, etc. Best believe your parent(s), his friends, your friends, the wind, the trees, and even the damn walls already know, and if they could talk, they'd tell you, because you somehow have no clue. Brain absolutely empty on the knowledge that Bruce Yamada fancies you and is planning on making moves sometime soon.

And his reasonings, that special little thing that drew him to you, was probably the fact that you had never paid him any mind to begin with. You didn't dislike him, but you had no interest in him, either, like most other girls and guys did.

No strong desire to acknowledge him unless he did so first, no needs to be around or find excuses to hang out with him. Hell, even when you two passed in the hallways, he'd have to wave to you first just to get your attention. Not that he minded, but he just wasn't used to that, so he was intrigued.

Now, I'm not trying to say he has a big head or that he's egotistical or anything. If anything, he really liked that you were not consistently fawning over him and pursuing something fake in order to have his name in your mouth. Not to mention, he did genuinely find you interesting for other reasons.

A reader (clearly💀✋🏽), close-knit to your group of people, observant, and definitely easy on the eyes, all he was ever doing was making sure that his remained on you. Even when you caught him, he wouldn't shy away from smiling even wider, sending you a wave that you'd hesitantly return, just for him to refocus himself back on the lesson or his friend group or whatever else it was that should've been holding his attention instead of you.

This is how it would start. Him making it very obvious he had some sort of interest in you, but not the best at relaying what kind of interest.

To you, it really could've been anything. Was he making fun of you? Did he know something about you that you didn't? Was it your appearance? Something wrong or out of place? The possibilities seemed endless, and they only dwindled when, more and more, Bruce attempted to weasel his way into your life “casually”.

I put “casually” in quotes because it was anything but that💀.

Mans literally walked up and insisted on knowing what it was that you were reading, forcing you to swallow your pride and reveal *insert your answer here lol* which had him then pressing for more information. And while this was rattling at first, he was determined to have you be more and more comfortable around him until the word “friend” left your mouth first.

He'd rather you take control of the labels instead of him placing them upon you two, an indicator that he was doing something right rather than coming off as pushy. And once you had done so - “Bruce, you didn't have to. We're friends, you don't owe me anything :).” - that's when he'd up the antics.

Like I've mentioned before in another post, he is a true giver. A giver of words, gifts, affection, etc. So naturally, he's throwing you compliments left and right, being reassuring and supportive when you need him to be, encouraging you to come to him for help with any and everything, gifting you things ranging from small and meaningful to large and random; you name it, he was doing it.

Call it a courting speed-run. Not in the sense that he's literally taking things too fast or faster than you'd like, but I just mean he's quite the natural charmer and well…

Bitch it's working🤷🏽‍♀️😆.

The only times when things could come to a complete halt is when he's jealous. If he's jealous. I feel as though this would be a rare feat for Bruce. He's always been a very secure and comfortable guy, very easy-going. Like I've mentioned before, he wants you to take the lead when it comes to labels, and he figures that if the label isn't “boyfriend-girlfriend” “dating” “together romantically” “significant other” or anything else of that nature, then what right does he have to be feeling envy towards anything or anyone else you give your attention to?

To put it simply, Bruce and jealousy are not a thing unless and until you two are officially together. And even then, should y'all get together and should he feel there's even an ounce of a threat, his natrual response it to just kill ‘em with kindness.

It's his default setting😭 - no one can be upset or mad at or resentful of him when he's just such a stand-up, charming guy.

Someone's flirting with you right in front of him, you introduce them out of obliviousness to the other guy's antics, and all Bruce does is flash that smile and offer his hand to shake - “Hey, nice to meet you! I'm Bruce Yamada. Cool jacket, by the way. Is that real leather? Those are hard to find!” - the other guy doesn't know whether he wants to continue flirting with you anymore out of respect for Bruce, whom of which they just met and already love lmao, or begin flirting with him instead because, well… they just met and they already love him!

There's hardly any room for jealousy when there's no long-lasting competition. Plus, when it comes to objects/events/close friends and family, he's more often than not encouraging you to indulge further, maybe even finding ways to join. It's what he would want upon telling someone else his interests in baseball, style, music, etc…

He wants that for you as well, and he's more than happy to be the person for that. More than happy to ensure that you're happy above all else because if there's one thing he was absolutely sure he loved about you, it was you being content♡.

Meanwhile… jealousy rising within you is a different story entirely🥴💀.

While you try not to allow instances to be frequent, and you've done your best to accept that, “My crush/best friend is popular. Of course people are going to flirt with him sometimes…” those factors really didn't do much to ease any tension whenever a girl would shove herself between you and Bruce just to make it known she was trying her hand at flirting with him, regardless of if he had previously expressed any infatuation with you or not...

“Brucie, hi…!!”

“Brucie…?” You'd murmur to yourself in disdain, staring with a quizzical expression etched onto your face while he all but smiled and greeted the girl with the same elated tone.

“Oh, hey, what's up?”

“I'm having a party this weekend, ya’ know? My birthday landing on a Saturday and all.”

“Wow, that sounds awesome! Does it have a theme?”

“Oh my god, how'd you guess…?! It's 'Hawaiian Paradise', complete with a beach theme for the pool and everything. Who knows, maybe you'll get to catch me in my new bathing suit if all goes well - if you wanna come, of course.”

At one point, subtle hint drops and sparkly-eyed looks into his own got tiring for you. It was only natural you gave into your spite some of the time…

“Aww, that sounds really fun!" You'd chirp, faking a warm grin before breaking the "bad" news you had just come up with. "Too bad he can't make it. We actually already had something planned that day🤕.”

“We did😃?”

“Yup😬😀.”

“What, like… like a date?” The girl would ask, her hopes dwindling by the second at your sure words.

“...” And with all eyes on you, you decided in the moment that a slight loss of your dignity was worth it to shoo the girl flirting with your crush away from the scene. Away from the two of you and farrrr away from him…

“Yup.”

“Welp, you heard the lady…" Bruce would agree gingerly, shooting off a giddy smile and wrapping and arm around your shoulders. "We gotta date that day, and who am I to skip out on such a pretty face?”

“Oh… Well, okay… See you, then.”

And sure, while Bruce had enough sense to spare you in such a situation, it didn't mean he wouldn't be throwing lighthearted teases your way after the fact…

“If I'd known that me going to another girl's house would finally get you to go out with me, I would've planned this all myself way sooner.”

“Bruce, pleas-”

“-No, no, don't let me steal your thunder. You're a cute actress when you're all robbed of my attention.”

“😐…”

With all of these factors about Bruce combined - his gift giving, complimenting, dotingness, teasing rambles about you liking him, his charming nature, etcetc. - confessing to you actually becomes a lot harder than one thinks. While he's gotten over the nerves and fear of rejection that came with doing so, it was you actually taking him seriously that became his biggest obstacle.

I imagine there having been literally several instances where this man has confessed to you, and you're just so sure it's another one of his little, “I know you love me😙🤭.” smug typa things that you kinda just, “Harhar, you're very sweet, Bruce, now help me carry this in…” y'know, laugh it off.

Meanwhile, in his head, he was being 1000% fr, and lowkey just poured his heart out to you😃🥲…

But, by the time he wants to try again, overthinking prevails, and he's just letting you assume it was all a part of his loveable charisma. By maybe the third-fourth-fifth time of this routine, though, he'd lock in and get serious💀. He'd confess, you'd brush it off, but this time-

“No, (Y/N), I'm being serious. I've liked you a long time now, and I know it might be kind of…sudden for you… but it's not for me.” Etcetc., insert the rest of a love spill here because I'm too lazy to fluff it out myself lol and there you are, standing, wide eyed and heart swelling because he's really liked you this whole time and YOUR DUMBASS HAS BEEN LETTING IT SLIP FROM ONE EAR AND OUT OF THE OTHER, OH GOD, YOU MONSTER-!!!😫💔‼️

Jkjk I'm playin' lol🤭😹.

But, with such tensions, it definitely makes for a sweet moment and results in you two beginning a wonderful relationship. Not to mention, y'all do become an IT couple, like, once again, POWER DUO. So truly, it all works out for the best🤷🏽‍♀️.

𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 !!

...next up is billy✨️.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ...𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ...𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭

𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 :

@in3rci4

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 :

1,894 words

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 :

none :(

[skylarsblue]

✦C.o.D Call Sign Inspo✦

(I've been having a bad writer's block, but, I do have some mini ideas that I can't flesh out. But, I know some people struggle with names/concepts for Y/N's/Characters. So! I'm giving them out for free in hopes it'll inspire something in someone so they don't go to waste!)

✧Somno; Gender Neutral. A y/n that's main trait is being a hyper insomniac. To the point they always seem tired, constantly consuming caffine, etc. But even if they're falling asleep where they're standing, they have incredibly fast reflexes. Could lead to some funny scenarios of finding them asleep in weird places, or, a cute concept (them only being able to sleep when they feel completely safe; ie: with one of the c.o.d characters)

✧Mama; Feminine. Pretty on the nose, but it could also be translated into a different language to match a country of origin. The concept is basically just...an aggressively maternal lieutenant/captain. Because I feel we don't have enough strong MILF's in this world, let alone in this fandom. This could also be used platonically because 141 specifically could use a mom type. Ghost & Gaz specifically.

✧Saint; Gender Neutral. Can be used for a character that's incredibly self sacrificing. Which would make for good fluff & good angst, plus, I think a lot of us can relate to feeling. Partially inspired by a random line I thought of - "If I die protecting you, that's far less frightening than you being gone when I could've protected you. Dying once for you is a peaceful passing, rather than dying every day you're not with me."

✧Salvadora/Salvador; Fem or Masc. Disclaimer; when I had this idea I imagined a woman. An alternative to the cartel story line in Las Almas. Y/N runs a civilian resistance against the cartel and has commandeered a village to keep citizens safe. It's basically a paradise in the crime ridden city. They've been providing sneaky support for Alejandro's men. (Honestly, this concept is pretty specific, and more detailed, and I might break it down more/write it on my own if possible)

✧Copycat/Mimic; Gender Neutral. A y/n that's incredibly skilled at mimicking voices. Whether in different accents or actual voices.

✧Mirage; Gender Neutral. Disclaimer; I imagined this also as a woman because I like powerful ladies. Similar to the one above but instead of just voices, they're just great at disguises in general & particularly sneaky. Like they "fade out of existence" if you look away at the wrong time.

✧Lynx; Gender Neutral. For a small, deceivingly cute looking character that's actually super deadly and quick. Do not trust the toe beans.

✧Nessie; Gender Neutral-Fem Lean. Pretty self explanatory. A character that's illusive and great in water. Bonus points for Scottish rep.

✧Sparks/Fuse; Gender Neutral. Just a fuckin' pyromaniac that can make their own bombs, super impressive and intricate ones. Thought of a scene where they're all in the heat of battle, low on ammo, and Y/N brings up randomly that they were a troublesome teen who almost had a criminal record. Price asks what the charge was and they just light something that doesn't look at all like a bomb, with a giant grin. "It was arson!!" And then they throw a fuckin' devastating bomb.

✧Iris; Gender Neutral. A character known for a very intense/intimidating stare. Inspired by those clips of people losing to Angelina Joline's femme fatal stare. Also, them being able to read a shocking amount about a person purely through eye contact.

✧Sage/Blister/Morphine/Plaster; Gender Neutral. All names for a potential medic!Y/N. (Plaster, for us Americans, is a word for bandaid in the UK. I know y'all prolly know that but just in case)

✧Bee; Gender Neutral. For a Y/N that's visibly smaller than those around them but packs a real hard punch. Also good if they're particularly good at physical combat. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

✧Sugarcube/Honey/Cupcake; Gender Neutral-Masc Lean. I think the idea of a big buff, visibly masculine, intimidating dude being named something like 'sugarcube' is super funny.

✧Lasso/Big Mac/Stallion; Masculine. Isn't it obvious? Big cowboy man who's aggressively American even if he's actually been a UK citizen for years.

✧Bessie/Cowgirl/Chick; Feminine. Once again, aggressively southern Y/N. But, for fem!y/ns.

✧Tex/Stars/Anthem; Gender Neutral. See above, but this time, neutral. Cause I'm about equality in this bitch.

✧Cobra/Mamba; Gender Neutral. For a y/n that specializes in poisons to kill enemies, as well as a character with any association with snakes. Could be interesting for Ghost to hear.

✧Doll/Dolly; Feminine. A more "spy type" for the classic femme fatal who gets intel through allure. If you've seen my two fic concept posts, this is the call sign I'd give to the Y/N in Price's concept.

✧Tech; Gender Neutral. Pretty basic, a character that's particularly tech-y. Good with computers and hacking.

✧Bunny/Hare; Gender Neutral. For a y/n that's small, but super fast & alert. Bonus if they got Hinata jumping powers.

✧Clover/Shamrock; Gender Neutral. Irish rep. Use this for a Y/N that is somehow the luckiest unlucky person ever. Constantly ending up in situations that are stressful/intense but making it out with barely a scratch. Can add some dissonance if they actually hate this call sign because it's not luck that gets them out of these situations, and instead is there skill.

[akutasoda]

Hi! It's nice to meet you, I read though your works for a while now and saw how good they are.

I was wondering if I could request something with the hunting dogs(platonic teruko)

We the reader was there significant other/friend and died right after committing a very violent crime.

So the hunting dogs go on for years thinking that there friend/significant other was a criminal until many years later they find out that the reader died so that they wouldn't get framed with a crime.

So basically the reader died to protect them. And took being framed with a very serious crime so the hunting dogs wouldn't.

Thank you for your time and if this is to big of a request that's okay.

Have a good day!

time's long lost mistake

synopsis - for ages they never understood what drove you to do something that permanently stained your reputation, but they find out that's not the real story

includes - tachihara, jouno, tecchou, teruko

warnings - gn!reader, angst, reader dies, slight hints to blackmail, wc - 1.7k

a/n: hello! its nice to meet you to! no request is to big it just means ill take a bit longer haha - hope your having a nice day aswell!

michizō tachihara ★↷

tachihara had been through quite a bit. despite him being apart of a undercover mission in the port mafia he had never really committed a crime that would make him reap the consequences. but one thing he constantly worried about was that you may be caught up in any crossfire - port mafia or hunting dog.

being associated with both of these meant even more of a risk for you. but you knew what you were getting in to - he had told you many, many times. you had no doubt that you two could make it work and so did he. but now he wishes that maybe you both were a but more cautious.

wether the threat was from his undercover affiliation with the port mafia or because of his title as a hunting dog, you had no idea but one thing was for certain. if you did not take the fall, your lover surely would reap more consequences than you ever could imagine. you were made quite aware to the fact that there was no way out of this and that was fine. your mind was sealed on your decision.

tachihara had never thought something like this would be capable - let alone you but here he was, faced with the news of your untimely demise following the crime that seemed near impossible for someone to commit. he was near outraged, not to you, but to himself for not seeing any signs or letting you do this but now in your final resting you were branded a criminal. and yet he felt deep down as if something was off.

and it seemed his gut feeling was correct. for years he had gone on bearing the news of your demise and some part of him always felt mad when he had heard others talking bad about you and your end. but all of a sudden, like a sudden clarity, he was informed by a conspicuous individual who had presented him with clear as day evidence. evidence that could clear your name.

but now he felt even more outraged, he had let his job affect your life and caused you to die protecting him. he wished dearly that you had talked to him about it and not go along with it immediately to protect him. but it was too late for that now. now all he could do was try and bring peace to your final resting and clear your name.

saigiku jouno ★↷

jouno was always very hesitant to begin a relationship. not that he didn't want to, he loved you dearly and wanted nothing else but to be with you, but because he wanted to be with you that he feared that you would be used against him. being a hunting dog came with risks and the last thing he would want is to put you in danger.

however he eventually became confident enough to begin that relationship. trusting taht you both would be strong enough to protect not only each other but the relationship itself. the risks were well understood and much discussed before and during the relationship, he didn't want it to seem overbearing but he had to get his worries across.

however no amount of warnings could've prepared you for the decision that you were about to make. the decision if either sacrificing yourself or letting not only your liver be framed but the entirety of the hunting dogs. you wished you could've discussed it with him but time was short and you had decided the consequences of letting your liver be framed would be much worse than what you would face.

upon hearing the news, the only way jouno could describe the way he felt was betrayal. betrayal of the fact that he did not believe you could do something like that and betrayal that you had never been honest with him. he became rather quiet after. he was lost in honesty. not only had he lost you but it had left him to question things he normally wouldn't.

for years he had gone on feeling a multitude of emotions and becoming rather reclusive. that was until he was presented with quite the comically suspicious envelope. contents, that upon reading, made him realise that all this time he had doubted you. now he could feel the shame creeping up on him. why did he ever doubt you? of course you wouldn't do something like that.

and in fact he felt sympathy even more, for you. for the fact that he understood the situation you were placed in and no matter how much he wished things went differently he could do nothing to change the past. all he could do was bring peace to your reputation and get revenge in his own personal way.

tecchou suehiro ★↷

tecchou was a firm believer in justice, that was laid in no doubt. however there was one person that could rival his faith in justice. and that person was you, the person who stood by his side thick and thin. the person that understood the risks associated with dating a hunting dog and still chose to be with him. oh he wished he could of made you take back that choice.

the risks that hung over your head were a constant reminder for the reality of who you were dating. but you never minded in the slightest. you loved him and nothing could deter you from being with him. but fate did not see it that way. fate saw it fit to adminish a cruel change.

you had knew all too well the consequences of the action you were about to take. but to you, you hadn't seen it as the matter of the hunting dogs reputation or yours - but more as your beloved boyfriends reputation or yours. and you were more than willing to sacrifice yourself for him. the news had hit him like nothing he had ever felt before. he was in disbelief, how could you do something of that level and let alone die without explaining yourself to him - scratch that, how did he not see this happening.

he went on for years with the restraints your death placed upon him. he was disappointed in himself for not being there to protect you from your fate. constantly questioning the one thing he never even batted an eye at - justice. surely justice ment more than you losing your life for one crime (a rather violent one but that didn't add up for him). and even so he never felt as of he could be mad at you. he could never even dream of being mad at you.

clarity came in the form of a brown, conspicuous envelope that was laid in the middle of his residence with no recollection of how it could've gotten there. engraved upon it read 'justice for your loved one'. did he find it suspicious? yes. did he still open it? yes.

upon reading the contents, he felt as if he had lost control of his body, the envelope and its contents falling with a dull thud as he tried to process the information contained. but, however, it made everything click into place for him. inside contained documents of information passed between you and a classified individual. information that lead to you taking the fall to spare the hunting dogs of being framed for the crime you ultimately were framed with. a crime that no doubt would of lead to the disbanding of the hunting dogs.

justice was cruel. and what was even crueler was the fate of the fact that he bore for these past years. all this time he had been led to believe you truly had committed these crimes of your own volition, that he had doubted your innocence. but now he had learnt the truth and he had two options. to continue on knowing that everyone else hated you for what you did or to spread the truth and avenge your name and bribg peace to your final resting. a final will to justice.

ōkura teruko ★↷

teruko had two people that she truly admired in her life. the commander and you. she truly looked up to you in a way siblings would and you reciprocated the feeling just the same. she never really gave a thought into what being associated with her meant for you, she had occasionally but she had come to the conclusion that the both of you were perfectly strong enough to protect each other.

you however had thought more about the risks, but they quickly were oberlooked. you understood them yes, but the last thing you wanted to do was to just leave teruko. you two had made a silly child like promise to always look out for each other. and sometimes, now, she thought she could've honoured that a bit more.

she spent alot of time blocking out the noise of people telling her what happened or even just talking about it, mind spiralling into thought after thought about what could've driven you to commit such a crime. she lived in denial, no there's no way you could or would do anything like that, is what she told herself over and over again to block out the noises or glaring at those that sttill spoke ill of your name. fellow hunting dogs could only look upon her in pity.

that was until she received a few files. files detailing conversations - more like threats - sent to her that were intercepted by you. she stared at the words in disbelief. you had taken the fall for her, you had prevented her from being framed. but at a cost she didn't seem fit. while it brought her some clarity, knowing that your name could be cleared and hopefully grant you honour in death, she was unhappy that it was because of her that lead you to that fate.

many people tried telling her that it wasn't her fault entirely but she couldn't help but harbour the guilt of knowing that if she had distanced herself from you, you would be alive and well. but the more that she thought about it, the more she started realising that you took her silly idea of being found siblings and forever protecting each other a bit to serious and she admired you for that.

[frickingnerd]

to distract our hearts from ever missing them

pairing: kaede akamatsu x gn!reader

summary: before your last concert with kaede, you remind her how much she means to you…

tags: canon divergent (hope's peak student!kaede), musician!reader, angst with comfort, kaede crying, wholesome fluff, vague confession (can be read as platonic/romantic), bittersweet

“can you believe that it's been five years since we first met? to think that today is going to be the last time we'll stand on a stage together…”

kaede sat in front of the huge piano placed in the center of the stage. the auditorium was still empty, as the concert wouldn't begin until a few hours later. but as always, the two of you were already there, preparing for the show.

“if it was up to me, things would stay this way.” you admitted. “i know attending hope's peak academy is a once in a lifetime chance, but i wouldn't give up what we have for anything in the world…”

kaede was too far away from you to see, but you could've sworn you saw a small blush hush over her cheeks as she averted her gaze hastily.

“you're just saying that to guilt trip me into staying. there's no way you could resist hope's peak, if they offered you a place.”

kaede's tone was playful, but tried to brush over what you said earlier. she knew that what you two had was special, yet she had already made her choice. she might never find another musician that she harmonizes with as well as she did with you. but perhaps, hope's peak could help her achieve even greater heights. even if she might leave behind a treasured co-worker and friend in the process…

“no, i'm being serious.” you said, slowly closing the distance between kaede and you, as you walked over towards her piano. “sure, it's tempting to leave. but i know i'm not half as good of a musician without you by my side.”

kaede's head hung low as you said those words. and when you finally stopped in front of the piano, you could quietly hear her sob, as she quickly wiped away the upcoming tears.

“i'm sorry that i'm leaving…”

“oh– n-no, it's alright–!” you quickly sat down next to her and grabbed both of her hands, smiling gently at her. “i know that this is a great chance for you. you don't have to feel guilty for taking this step and doing something new. i just–”

you paused. gently, your fingertips traced over kaede's hands, as you carefully thought about the next few words you'd say.

“i'll miss you.” you quietly admitted. “you gave me a reason to be better, to improve myself and push forward. without you by my side, i– i just… i can't imagine doing this with anyone but you by my side, you know?”

kaede's eyes widened, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. for a moment, she seemed to have calmed down. but then, she started crying even harder, wrapping her arms around you.

“i don't want to leave you behind…” kaede sobbed, clinging onto you. “and i don't want this to be our last time on stage together…”

your heart ached to see kaede cry. but to know that it was out of love and affection for you made it bittersweet.

“come on now…” you smiled, trying to be strong for the both of you. “don't cry, alright? you're way prettier when you smile…”

[kiwibongos]

warning for ab/se & toxic relationships. and sdr2 spoilers duh

im thinking abt the remnants of despair. cause i hate how it just seemed to be like, "theyre suddenly brainwashed and then they turn evilll and they kill because they dont feel anything" like, i hate that. it feels so underdeveloped. it cant just be despair, it has to be deeper than that, i think it'd take personal angles and link with a lot of their own trauma, leaving them really vulnerable and deranged. so heres my own interpretation and headcanons for some of them

contains mikan, nagito, fuyuhiko, peko, akane, kazuichi, and brief analysis of the rest. keep in mind i havent seen the animes yet lol so this is a basic layer of it, but i just rly wanted to let this out cus i dont see it talked about. storing my brainrot here for later moments.

first of all i feel like the brainwashing would be a very slow process bc junko would definitely just manipulate everyone in her way to get what she wants. and by the time the world was plagued basically, all the remnants clearly had really unhealthy feelings related to junko specifically. they all love her, hate her, or praise her, but its all in very different ways that would be bc of their own personal backstories

we all know how mikan and nagito feel. mikan was constantly hurt by other people before junko herself, itd make sense for her to develop a very unhealthy attachment to her. mikan was extremely vulnerable and controllable, she would do anything for anyone and especially junko, just so no one is mad at her, hence why it got so twisted to the point where she wanted to keep a part of her inside forever. she wanted to be loved so badly, she would take whatever form of it she could. thats why it was so easy for junko to get her under her boot. now nagito has an odd love-hate relationship with junko imo (his mind is so messed up man) even if he praises hope in such a grossly obsessed way, the mf still TOOK her arm. i know he did it because he hated her so much and i guess to take power back, but i feel like because nagito had never really been loved, he wanted to try and feel what it could've been like out of some kind of confused desperation and fondness for her in a way, because his mind has no idea what those feelings truly are or what they mean, as hatred and love often get mixed up in his head and form this horrible amalgamation with whoever he meets, which is clear towards the survivors in the nwp anyway

fuyuhiko put junko's own eye into his own socket, and i feel like his relationship with her while in despair would be familial and extremely unhealthy. he is definitely one of the most fucked up to me. id say by my own headcanons though its heavily implied in his fte dialogues, is his parents are very ab/usive right from the start. fuyuhiko is messed up to all hell, he was constantly struck and under pressure but he had to be strong and perfect because he was the head of his clan, hence like his insane tolerance for pain. he had to make his clan, or more importantly his parents proud, or else he was a failure forever. so he clung onto that and did his best trying to be good enough for basically anyone. and even before despair he was in a really bad stubborn, mean, depressive state, leaving him far more vulnerable and more open to violent, impulsive actions as long as junko was smart enough to get him under her finger. fuyuhiko never knew what true love felt like (platonic or not), and when junko took advantage of all of that and he slowly fell into despair, shit hit the fan. he lost morality and he had come so attached to her to the point where junko was like a mother figure to him. he wanted her to notice him and be proud basically, it was moreso the idea of someone-- anyone-- being proud of him, but junko was his main focus of that by now, given his state. to him she was like the mother he never had, who seemed to be on the same terms with everything he had believed, someone who approved of him, so he wanted to make her proud, even if it was hurting him. fuyuhiko would keep digging himself a hole of desperation and self destruction, seeking more and more pain to test his endurance because it's what she wanted, and that became what he wanted, too, because pain is all he's used to. and because of that, makotos guess was right; he wanted to see her despair. it'd make sense he'd want to take a part of her, to see horrors she had witnessed so he could understand it, so she could be proud of him and part of him forever. he felt like if he did that, he would finally succeed, he'd achieve perfection, and he did. he'd done everything junko wanted him to do, while quenching his own thirst for violence itself, all via his own delusions. that was love to him and it felt real

as for peko she was definitely also treated the same in the kuzuryu family but more dehumanized obviously, so i think she'd feel a similar way; always needing to be good enough, but more specifically protecting the ones she cares about at all costs even if it results in bloodshed. i think she'd be a lot colder, forcing to suppress her feelings since she just has to follow fuyuhiko wherever he goes, and she was pretty much as insane as him as well so anything slid. i know peko doesnt want to be a tool, but she'd definitely succumb to the fact that she has to be one when they're under despair at the same time, and if she was going to be his tool, she has to be like a robot and just do what follows, because she didn't see herself as a person, her chance of being her own human was ripped away

as for akane, she grew up very poor, and didn't live a good life at all either (w/ definitely bad parents) but she always tried her very best taking care of her siblings in the past, despite everything. i think there was a lot of twisted familial love with junko whom she started to see as a sister despite being unrelated, just because of being a caretaker all her life, its just kind of instinct to protect anyone, but that just got mixed up as she fell into despair, and she would only protect junko, while chaotically killing anyone else in her way. she'd fight for her endlessly, she was one of the strongest, at least for a while, im thinkin she found her body and wanted to preserve it as much as possible by the end of everything, she still wanted to take care of her and do everything for her even if she had been too late. and with that, and barely any food in an apocalyptic world, the inevitable happens. akane would fall into a very hurtful spiral of self hate, that her starving was a sacrifice to junko so she could prioritize her first instead of herself, while also it being like a punishment to herself for her own failures and how she was failing to preserve junko

kazuichi always hated himself. he was bullied often, didn’t have a lot of friends going into high school, and he was very desperate for attention, especially from women. he’d be very notably attached to junko which would eventually evolve into romantic feelings, similar to mikan. he craved attention and validation so much, it left him very vulnerable, and kazuichi often grows attached to people who show him a sliver of kindness anyway, so junko would likely personally manipulate him and praise him, and they’d grow close, and he’d develop a very strong attachment towards her that derails into love and lust. and once he was influenced by her under despair, he would do anything for her. so, he’d get his hands on a lot of weapons, and go on mindless killing sprees, causing havoc 24/7 just to please her and keep her memory alive through despair. and deep in his mind, he probably truly thought that junko was his soulmate, that they were destined to be together, and he was fulfilling missions just for her, and in the end, they could be together

extra stuff i guess? as anyone would expect, sonia just became a corrupted leader and took advantage of her power under despair. her kingdom would try to keep her above it, but she’d fall into it somehow anyway, and probably had already been plagued by corrupt/unjust views by junko before, so she’d lead her people to worship junko the same way she does, and anyone who stood against it would be punished severely. mahiru falls into morbid curiosity because of junko and gets worse, given what she does with her camera, also both mikan and gundham would try to stitch junko up a little, and try to keep her from falling apart as long as possible. mikan is more likely to do that for her own twisted romantic purposes, but if gundham gets a hold of her before or after mikan, he would take her blood for himself, and most likely start a cult to worship her, all for like weird satanic purposes involving rituals and stuff. he’d also encourage his members or the other remnants to indulge in certain activities for the sake of praising her. gundham would probably even believe she was some demon from the underworld who granted him powers and chose him to carry on her legacy

also teruteru was just a little hungry. boys gotta eat

[whyreyousoobsessedwithme]

Do you think PTJ will make Gun x Crystal a ship? I mean, the fanart on his page might be foreshadowing something plus he likes to throw in ships at the worst times. And since Gun didn't let Charles kill Crystal because he either felt bad or wanted to see how far Charles will go for his goal of becoming a king, he might end up catching feelings for her. I mean it looks like a platonic, sibling-like relationship but we thought the same for Vin and Sujin so.💀

527- 530 Spoilers, thoughts + theories. I know I was supposed to answer this like 3 weeks ago, but I've been busy with work and other things.

Personally, I hope not. What those two need rn is therapy and healing. But yeah, I could see ptj making Gun fall for Crystal. It'll be onsided for sure, though. It's kind of obvious he plans to put Daniel and Crystal together. Hopefully, they maintain a platonic relationship, I really think it would benefit both Gun and Crystal since they're both lonely children suffering due to their family's actions.

527

How the hell did Gun end up on the beach like that without anyone else noticing him?

It is genuinely pissing me off how normal and kind Gap is acting despite being a serial cheater. "A place without honor," he says, like he doesn't cheat on his wife every Tuesday.

I have a lot of questions about how Gun got into prison. Did Gap pull some strings? Did he steal something in order to be put there because he had a white collar, but that would mean that the court was invovlved too and since Gun is a Japanese citizen wouldn't they try to contact his family? OMG, I hope they didn't make him spread the cheeks for inspection. He's too young.😟

Pls, I was joking when I said he probably went to prison to train

I NEED to know how Charles ended up as a prison volunteer. Also, how did Gun recognize him? Did he also come in contact with Charles in the past?

I need to know exactly just what Charles' plan was that he was willing to beg Gun and kill his own child. This old hairstyle of his also confirms that he was the one who hit crystal in the past, and after reading this chapter, it was most likely because she was ruining his plan by being too weak and emotional.

Gun hit a growth spurt in prison, yet somehow his clothes still fit him?

I don't think Goo stabbed his master on purpose, and even if he did, he probably had a good relationship with his master. Also, cut down goblins, really? (I'm being picky i know)

528

I personally think Goo, at least in the past, is stronger than gun.

I think the reason Gun yaps so much during fighting is because he's having fun.

Not Goo being Gun's sexual awakening

It always baffles me how these guys fight literally anywhere, and NO-ONE ever walks in on it. Like people visit the park ALL the time.

Shintaro already looks like he's not taking it well. The guilt is settling in. He looks worn out by everything.

529-530

It's shocking and low-key annoying to know the main reason Gun ruined so many lives is because he wanted to see a hypothetical situation play out to heal his daddy issues.

No way these grown ass men's first thought at seeing Gun again was "goblin"

Momma Park coming thru at the end, I told yall she cared for him in her own way.

Ptj, please stop making their bitties bigger than their head, its scaring me😭

Somi and Shingen both grew up in an environment where they experienced little to no familial love. It makes sense that she didn't realize it was her maternal instincts kicking in. One thing I didn't like, though , was how ptj made someone as strong as Shingen SULK over a defeat for 10+ years. Like, I know it was probably because of his decided fate, which led to him prioritizing fighting and meeting someone who can basically outdo him in the one thing he's supposed succeed at is shocking, but there could've been more depth. Like all that because he lost?!

Seeing Somi laying there bleeding out makes me realize how young she is. There was definitely a massive age gap in her marriage. She looks close to my age tbh, thinking about it now, she was mostly likely groomed into becoming a tool for her family to use for their sake.

Shintaro, girl, fuck you. Tf you mean "send you behind her", go follow your son instead.

Ptj, enough with the naked men😭

King of Busan looks like Taesoo 2.0. Let's just hope he didin't take after Gap in cheating, too.

I wonder if Gun came across Jinrang in prison?

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND THREE

ROCK LEE vs HYUUGA NEJI

Reasons for submission under the cut

Lee

ROCK LEE VS GAARA

kind as can be; willing to jump to action to help his fellow comrades even after going through a life-threatening, major surgery

practical and fashion-forward with his bright green onesie. Function over form, and is prepared at all times by carrying around a spare onesie he will give without question to anyone - even complete strangers

has a surprising edge to him at the beginning of the series; he was ready to severely maim anybody that he saw as a genius

more dedicated than anyone. Was forced to face his own mortality and make a life-or-death decision in the name of his dream, after a literal crushing defeat, and he chose to fight for it. Inspiring

embodies the ideals of original series Naruto. True underdog, had nothing going for him, came from nothing with no legacy or powers, was so disadvantaged that he physically could not meet the bare minimum abilities of his peers. But he worked harder than everyone else and proved that he can be a great shinobi despite all the adversity he faced

Sasuke had to copy Lee’s moves with his Sharingan to succeed during Chuunin exams

cute as a button. Come on.

his fans are dedicated and make amazing work, fanart and fanfic

Kishimoto said he was his favorite character to draw. Boom. Favoritism. Love to see it.

pairs well with everyone. Platonic or romantic, Lee has a great dynamic with other characters

his summer outfit from Guardian of the Crescent Moon Kingdom was the best outfit in the movie

gave us Metal Lee! Blessed us with Metal Lee, really

was the character to beat in the early series if you wanted to show how strong you actually are

Gaara vs Rock Lee was one of the most iconic fights in the series, and everyone remembers where they were when they first saw Lee drop his weights. He owned that fight so hard that people forget he lost.

was wronged by the series. He deserves to win as justice.

got [submitter] personally through the worst times; his ability to persevere face of adversity convinced me I could do it too. He wasn’t special and neither was [submitter], but we didn’t need to be. We can make ourselves great. If no one else got me, Rock Lee’s got me

he’s one of the first non-jutsu using ninja so make such a big impact

was the first person to actually harm Gaara

played a huge part in Gaara becoming a better person

he’s one of the only people that can catch up to Sasuke and easily rivals Naruto in Taijutsu

his kind, determined and cheerful attitude is a joy to watch

Rock Lee removing his weights is easily one of the most iconic moments in the entire anime

has helped several submitters feel better by simply thinking about how he wouldn’t want them to think like that

objectively would’ve made a better protagonist based on the themes alone

KICKS MAJOR ASS

wrecked Sasukes shit, I like Sasuke but that was really funny

he looks like a frog. Who doesn’t like frogs

inspired Sasuke

fights are always entertaining, they’re very well choreographed

he forgave Gaara for nearly killing him and nearly ending his dreams; he was never even mad at him

Rock Lee vs Sasuke was iconic

his heart is so full of love

never did anything wrong

had a squirrel befriend him

hard worker

good friend

rises to any challenge

when he does diss people they are the most brutal yet entertaining disses you ever hear

positive, weirdo, energetic, enthusiastic, joyful, chivalrous, motivated, dedicated, sweet

Lee and Neji had something homosexual going on

YOUTH !!!!

Neji

very tragic character

has so many layers

has a great arc (if you ignore the. yknow)

the eye imagery is very good

the inherent queerness of rebellion

carried the Hyuuga clan

awesome hair

disrecpected by the narrative

could've easily been a revolutionanist if the mangaka wasn't a coward

[sora-of-uranus]

Another issue with S3 is they really could've explored personal stories more (Eddie's relationship with his dad which is disregarded after Sweet briefly expels the Sibunas, and the descendants plot). Instead, they over relied on the romance which caused problems for new characters (KT being considered an obstacle for Peddie) and old ones (Patricia being jealous the entire season and Fabian not having a plot due to a lack of a romantic partner and being paired with Mara at the last minute).

I have no idea how long this has been waiting for me to read cuss I never check my inbox but OMG THIS THIS THIS! especially the relying on romance. So often (even before season 3) romance was used as a driving force for the narative or character arcs and whilst thats great...it gets boring. It's quite a large main cast with side characters being introduced every season. There isn't realllly enough school romance plots that can fit in WITH the mysteries for every character to constantly have this romance plot line. But as you said with Fabian, the writers also don't know what to do with a character once they remove that romantic partner. I think it's espeically hard for the writers to continue writing a compelling and strong character arc once the person is in a relationship. Patrica I think is the best example of this character growth stunting because in season 1 she didn't really have a massive romance arc like in other seasons. her growth happened through her platonic love for Joy sure, and eventually learning to be friends with the sibunas and realising that she CAN trust other people to help her. But no massive romantic love stories. Then eddie comes and as much as I LOVE them her own character growth was pushed back to focus on the romance. and that focus on her growth just never returned in a satisfying way for me. But also your definitly right with Eddies relationship with his dad it was such a complex and tricky relationship that seemed to only cause problems when the narative needed it to. Honestly thats how a lot of the characters negative aspects work, they are fine untill the narative NEEDS them not to be. And no this isn't me trying to say "characters need to constantly be suffering from past issues with no growth" even though as I'm reading it back it kinda sounds like I am, but certain things just don't randomly go away before returning at the same extreme level as when it was before. If they had worked through Eddies relationship with his dad and explored it before them finding a working solution, fantastic, but then they don't need to bring it back up UNLESS something new happens that shifts the peace from before. Imagine if Nina never got over her home sickness but it only popped up every 5 episode. That would feel strange and weird. I would like to add that this isn't me saying that season 3 is awful and that the first two seasons don't also have these issues, but its more prevelant in season 3 and there was less 'intresting 'special' moments to make up for it.

[alitgblog]

finale thoughts!!

I knew fusebox had to drop the ball at some point it just happened a lot slower than I was expecting 🤣

first off, now that I've fully rejected Theo it feels like he's missing in action again, hilariously. said it before, but they said he's like the dad of the group initially and I wish we'd have more platonic interactions with him to see that.

Hari and Hazel having Oakley and Emel esque drama God damn we should've just kept Oakley and Emel. That would actually be more interesting to me bc in character makes sense, they're always fighting but something about their last argument was the last straw and then they tearfully announce finale morning that though they care for each other they decide to break up and won't join everyone in the final to be true to themselves (basically I stole this from love island USA S4 with Nadjah and Jeff lol)

also bc I liked Hari and Hazel together I wish they could've just made it. Like they make more sense to me than Bea and Logan.

Speaking of Bea and Logan, I do think they're such a random couple. I mean, ngl it's not like the love island show always produces four strong couples for the finale each season, but since like S5 of the game it feels like there are no good couples that make sense in the finale except for MC and whoever she's with. Like Amelia and Toby MAYBE just bc they were written for each other, but even then. at least when Angie coupled with Oliver as a last minute love interest for her, there was the story that she couldn't find anyone and that they had a lot in common and actually showed some interest in each other until fusebox threw that out the window and made Angie a lesbian (which I'm not complaining about but then whyd they keep Oliver around)

And since I'm talking about all the couples anyway I guess I will comment on Theo and Claudia being together still for some reason?? said this before but WHY. at least they're a hot couple. if they're still together during the reunion though oml 🙄

anyway hideaway is nice.

I didn't realize your answer with Hazel would determine your final date but that's cute it's in a castle. Also I picked it bc I personally thought that would be interesting, but I totally forgot Jin is also a history nerd so I'm just gonna pretend that the imaginary producers were like oh we have a perfect date for these two hot nerds lol. I wish he had more comments on the castle though, bc yeah he's a history buff! just really shows the dialogue is all merged now so it's very generic.

like I feel like Jin hasn't made any jokes for a while too, which is out of character but that's bc the dialogue has to work for Jin and Oakley and Jack and Tyler too 😭 I guess it doesn't need to be fully custom but a couple lines here and there to remind us of the character they had in the beginning would be nice.

I love Hazel up until this episode now because what do you mean they're fighting over suck and blow now???? I let the card drop bc I want to be an instigator!! let MC kiss Hari again,, cause a big fucking mess 🤭

that did not happen of course

I also think we just didn't need drama the last episode. like there'll be enough emotions with the characters being sad about leaving and talking about the outside, there doesn't need to be more relationship drama. if there MUST be drama: do what I said earlier in the other hari/hazel bullet point where they just have a swift death and self eliminate in the morning/afternoon, or have petty drama between non romantic islanders. like when S2 the girls are arguing over lotion or perfume or whatever or the salt crisps later and bathroom problems later on. These guys have been living in close proximity for some time, they're bound to get agitated over little things that don't result in big shocking revelations and breakups, so just do that.

speeches cringe as always but that's just the nature of those declarations anyway. Hazel though, girl, stop it.. I'm getting the ick for you as a friend

another comment for branching would've been nice: it's weird that Claudia is like omg we're besties when they both sorta cheated on their partners in casa for each other (in my game at least). like she says we have to plan to hang out outside the villa and I'm thinking oh shit,an open relationship with Jin??gotta make sure he's okay with it first 😂😂

Beady eyed Finn is around and he clearly got that post villa plastic surgery

also wtf, seriously Finn!!!!????

like Hamish I don't like and I don't think it makes sense he'd do it S6, but I understand that he's a fan favorite and very silly so that's why he's there. S7, I didn't play but I think it was Ivy and she's not a fan favorite, but I could so see the producers trying to pick anyone who had the free time and wanted to do it and she's the only one who said yes. But Finn??? I'd bet on Eddie coming back before Finn?? And fusebox has access to S4, like they could've picked Bruno, so why Finn??

and of course fusebox does one last begging for gems in exchange for some gossip you can do without 🙄 AND it would be gossip about ex in the villa no thank you

even though we have a few more

[lloydfrontera]

i am entirely convinced that if you took tged and just replaced the scene where he gets married to alicia to be the one where he gets married to javier the plot would not only feel wayyy too coherent to be straight, it would probably make MORE sense and be MORE satisfying that way... i'm just saying...

(the guy talks about how hot javier is like every single time he gets the chance istg... jealousy my ass)

mmmgghhhh!!! listen!! ok listen!!! i didn't mention it in this post because i was trying to focus on the focus that,,, the novel itself didn't need a romantic subplot because the emotional weight is already being carried by lloyd and javier's relationship (along with a healthy dose of lloyd&arcos&marbella) so it would've been perfectly fine for it to remain completely platonic and it still would've made perfect sense without the need to shove an unnecessary romantic subplot that added almost nothing,,,

but on the other hand!! it would also make total sense for lloyd and javier to end up together in the end! like!!! c'mon!!! they are!!! so much!! they're perfect as best friends don't misunderstand me! but they could've also been perfect as a couple!! their story would've made just as much sense had it been romantic and not platonic!!

and listen if in the scene where javier (and i will never get tired of saying this) crosses literal universes to get to lloyd those two had kissed i would've totally screamed but also not been nearly as surprised as i probably should've been.

because the way their story is written,,, it would've made just as much sense as letting them remain friends.

now, do i think the story makes more sense if lloyd and javier are in love? not necessarily, i think platonic relationships can and often are just as strong as romantic ones, so them being best friends does more than enough to justify their actions through the plot.

do i think lloyd and javier ending up as a couple makes more sense than lloyd and alicia? yes, absolutely, a hundred percent, no doubt kajdhfkdas

like,,, you cannot build the foundation of your entire story on the relationship between two guys and how much they care and love each other and then,,,, make a completely different relationship between one of the guys and one of the female side characters be the core of your happy ending,,,, like,,,, it makes,,, no sense,,, there's a disconnect between those things!! that wouldn't exist if you just dared to make your protagonist fall in love with each other!! like their relationships is already the heart of your story, why not allow it to also be part of the happy ending if you're that committed to needing a romantic relationship be part of it????

and i guess that's my issue. like i don't think the novel needs a romance to make more sense or be more satisfying, but if it has to have one, then it made more sense for it to be lloyd and javier considering they were already the core and emotional slowburn of the entire thing.

(but also yeah lloyd spends a ridiculous amount of time talking about how hot javier is it's so funny lmao)

[moltensmusings]

Hi! I saw your last fairy tail post and was wondering what your thoughts are on jellal, he's my fave but I still have some genuine criticism of how his character was handled😔😔 would love to know what you think

So I want to start with saying: I think Jellal had interesting concepts but wasn't handled great by Mashima. A big failing of later fairy tail is just how much it relied on fanservice. I'm not even talking about the ecchi kind. Just in general you could really tell Mashima focused more on giving diehard fans/the loudest members of the fanbase stuff they wanted over telling a compelling story and doing justice to his characters.

I'm going to be getting critical of jellal in a way that will potentially be a little mean, but know my frustrations at his character are always targeted at Mashima and never the fans. Mashima writes him, he's responsible for anything that happens. Don't feel the need to change your opinion because of what I'm about to say.

I think jellal in a lot of ways exemplifies some of the worst problems in fairy tail as the show goes on. He's a villain who was very much just cruel and sadistic who doesn't get a proper redemption arc because he's just suddenly good and any development he does get happens off screen because heaven forbid Mashima slow burn something. He's one of a group of a characters very important to Erza's backstory and yet outside of a few arcs with Milliana, he's largely the only one to get focus leading to the concept of found siblings with Erza being largely forgotten and sidelined.

He consistently has things happen to him that could make for fun changes to his story (losing his eye sight, losing his memories, etc.) and every time Mashima walks it back and chooses the most status quo option because things changing in fairy tail is never allowed under any circumstances (We aren't allowed to have a new guild master besides makarov, we aren't allowed to kill of anyone even if their death would make a narratively good choice (Makarov), we aren't allowed to see people become disabled or weaker from choices they make that should take a toll.)

His bond with Meledy and Ultear is given no build up which would've made Ultear's sacrifice more painful, which has a lot to do with male/female platonic friendships almost completely being ignored unless it's the main group. And his inclusion/the decision to have Erza join Crime Sorciere during the year time skip makes legitimately no sense for her as a character. The choice could've worked for someone like Juvia or Gajeel who were notable villains before joining fairy tail (a plotline that would've given jellal new friendships and dynamics to play with) , yet instead we have a shadow organization allowing in essentially the poster girl of a very well known Guild.

Alvarez as a whole really is an arc I despise because it's complete nonsense but I'm not going to talk about that for now because I will get off topic and angry.

Jellal could've worked and been a character I liked in the story, but Mashima never did anything potentially daring with his character that could've challenged viewers or benefitted Erza's story. Outside of him being a villain, being a love interest, being a strong wizard, and forming a criminal organization I can't tell you anything about him. I have no clue with this man likes or hates, I have no clue who he'd be if he wasn't leading crime sorciere or providing an emotional crutch for Erza to lean on.

I don't hate jellal, but he frustrates me. And in general that's my sentiment with most fairy tail characters.