#i was a bit nervous about his arc in the first half of the season because it seemed to be chasing it's own tail a bit

[badasscoffeemug]

okay, so, i tried to pull as many interviews as i could to see if i could parse what the original plan for bucktommy was (or if there even was any), and subsequently, if there had been a pivot of any kind. now, we are not privy to any bts talk, and storylines are never set in stone, even from when they've been teased or promoted (henchim friction? hello?) but interviews are really all we have to go off of. so, idk, i compiled some quotes, all bolded emphasis is mine.

i kinda got the impression that it really was supposed to be a 4-episode arc for tommy, after which he would gracefully bow out and leave buck a newly realized single bisexual. for some reason, that changed and they chose to keep him around and extend that storyline (gelled rather well in the story? opening the door for potential future storylines?). except then they had them break up anyway, leaving buck in much the same place he would have been had they called it quits in 7x06, only much more heartbroken (essentially wasting over half a season's worth of buck storyline, except he's sadder now, i guess). but, judge for yourself.

march 28, 2024, TM: Showrunner Tim Minear also teased future episodes for Tommy. “He’s going to be around for a little bit. He’s not going to be a member of the 118 again, but he is going to be involved in some stories.”

april 4, 2024, TM: “I was kind of bored with the hamster wheel of the relationships [Buck] had been in. His story needed a slap. It needed some something fresh. This felt like it could be important to some people, and it felt like it was right for the character.”

OS: “I’ve always had in my head that I wanted a partner for Buck to be someone where it wasn’t easy”

TM: “That’s what I like about this. He’s not siloed off into some love interest story with a character who has nothing to do with the main characters.”

Minear noted that Tommy is currently an important romantic partner for Buck, largely because “it’s sort of the entry-level relationship.” Yet at the same time, he noted that he doesn’t think “anybody’s making wedding plans.”

“It really is a first fling for Buck right now. What that might amount to, only time can tell. But what I’m interested in is not something that’s fraught. I’m interested in something that’s tender and positive”

april 4, 2024, OS: “The focus was on it being important, but also not wanting it to feel like the bravest episode in television. We just wanted to tell a lighthearted love story that happens to be a queer love story.”

april 5, 2024, TM: “[what] I don't want to do is the mistake that I think we've made with some of the other love interests, which is siloing those characters off into their love life and they have no kind of organic connection to the rest of the characters in the story. [...] Going with Tommy allowed us to start to play a story without just inventing a whole new character just for the purpose of being the bi character or the gay character or the male love interest for Buck.”

april 12, 2024, TM: “that moment at the end of the episode where he sits down with Tommy and says, “You said I wasn’t ready. I don’t know what I’m ready for, but I’m ready for something. I’m just sure what that is yet.” But he feels safe with Tommy. So even though he doesn’t know exactly what road he’s stepping onto, he’s willing to roll the dice.”

april 12, 2024, LFJ: "So, it happens in phases. My manager said 9-1-1 called, and I was like, 'Cool.' And then he is like, 'All right, well, they called for an arc.' And I'm like, 'Four episodes? Cool.'

"Given the circumstances, we just kissed. There's something there. We go on a date, and then Eddie happens to show up because there's only one restaurant, I guess, in L.A., and I would totally understand if he was nervous and whatnot." (this quote has nothing to do with my point really i just think it's so fucking funny. this entire interview is so messy.)

"I have no idea," he explained when asked what the future could hold for the duo. "If the writers do choose to extend this storyline and make it into its own thing [...] I'm just as excited as you are to find out."

april 12, 2024, OS: "I just hope he continues down that path and I think we will see him opening up more and more, and being louder and prouder about it. I want to tell real stories where not everything is going to be straightforward, but I don’t want the angst or the trauma to be in these kind of negative troupes that we’ve seen before. I want them to have real world problems that couples or people who are first dating have, but I don’t want it to be rooted in outside people being homophobic or anything like that. Those are stories we have seen and we’ve told, and sure, of course, happen in the real world, but I want to tell a happy story between these people and a real story. They have issues and they have things to deal with, but I just want them to be real world, everyday relationship issues."

april 18, 2024, OS: "we want to tell it in an honest way where not everything is going to be easy and carefree. There are going to be issues, but we also don't want it to feel like it's down or too heavy. We want to tell this queer love story in a very honest way, but also in a very loving way."

"Tarlos is a beautiful relationship," Stark says. "I'm just honored to get to tell a story that can kind of partner up with that and maybe continue with a similar thread."

"I really want to see Buck continue to explore what it is that really speaks to him, and what he's into," Stark says. "He's obviously going to continue down this path with Tommy for now. I don't know what that story is going to end up being, but I would really like for Tommy to stay a part of Buck's life, regardless. He's obviously opened this door for him, and I think it would be really nice if [Tommy] was able to continue to hold [Buck's] hand and could help guide him through this process. As somebody who's a little older and more experienced, to kind of help shepherd Buck into this new phase of understanding who he is."

april 23, 2024, OS: “I really enjoy [Lou]. I really enjoy working with him. I think he’s been a great addition to the show, and I look forward to — assuming Tommy sticks around for a while — continuing to develop that relationship with him on-screen and off-screen.”

may 2, 2024, JLH: "I’m really excited for Buck, because I think he’s a person that has never quite settled into who he is. And if this is who he is, it’s beautiful,” Hewitt said. “I was so happy Maddie felt that way, because that’s how I would feel. And I’m really happy that she’s there for him. In Season 8, the actor hopes Maddie gets to “understand what all that means, be in that with [Buck], and get to know Tommy better.”

may 3, 2024, KC: “I think it was the brilliance of [co-creator] Tim [Minear]. Even introducing the storyline of Buck and Tommy, he said, "I don't want it to be this very special episode of 9-1-1. I'm going to make this a f---ing romantic comedy, man. You won't see it coming. It'll come out of left field." And I think that's the same thing he did with the revelation. There's no sit down, there's no big discussion or talk about it. It's what it would be. This guy has found love fina…. Well, I think love finally.”

may 3, 2024, KC: "When I heard about the storyline, I was super excited. And on a selfish note, I'm really happy because they brought Lou Ferrigno Jr. back. We've become really good friends, as he was in "Hen Begins," "Bobby Begins Again," and of course "Chimney Begins," and we formed a tight personal bond. I think he's a terrific actor, and I think this new dynamic brings this newfound energy into that storyline and into the show, and I'm excited to see how it blossoms."

not dated? post-7x06, KC: “It’s one of my favorite scenes,” Choi says. “It’s a reveal for most of the characters that Buck has found a love interest he’s actually interested in. It’s adorable, it’s cute, it’s perfect, and the audience is going to love it.”

OS: Stark likens Buck’s journey to “a hamster wheel”: “He’s been taking one step forward and two steps back, as is quite typical of being in your late 20s and early 30s, trying to find yourself,” the actor explains. “As we’ve moved into this seventh season, he’s found a way to really discover who he wants to be.”

july 8, 2024: 7x09 deleted scene released

september 9, 2024, TM: “They’re still getting to know each other a little better”

september 11, 2024, TM: Minear says not much time has passed between the events of the season 7 finale and the season 8 premiere, so there haven't been many developments in Buck and Tommy's relationship. "But we see that they're more comfortable together," he explains. "We'd definitely call them a couple. Obviously they're comfortable hanging out with Eddie, but when you couple with somebody, it takes up some of your time, so that also leaves Eddie a little bit out in the cold. Well, not out in the cold, but Buck doesn't have as much free time as he did before, let's put it that way." (yeah so, this barely happened?)

september 20, 2024, OS: “We don’t really have too much of a time jump moving into this season, so the relationship with Tommy is much where it was left off,” explains Stark. “It is in its early stages. They’re still learning and figuring things out about each other and what a relationship might or could look like.”

[demon-ness]

In fact, Masquerade is the most interesting and well-made character in this anime. The problem is that the authors of this anime don't know about it. I'm not going to talk about it in detail today (believe me, I can analyze any of his quotes for an hour, and it's not even a joke). Just small details.

Episode 44. "Just this one time." Funny line, isn't it? Masquerade jokes in his own way, telling Dan that even now they are not friends. Dan was lucky today, but it won't happen again. It was a joke. It was funny for both of them. But do you remember that this was the Last Battle for Masquerade? And the fact that he was definitely aware of it? Have you ever thought in general that this whole battle is suicide? Have you ever thought that in a joking manner this guy confessed to Dan that he was going to die today? I understand that this is obvious. But I'm surprised by the fact that it's in a children's show.

The first meeting of Masquerade and Dan. We will not discuss the battle itself now, we are concerned about the "dialogue" after its end. Everything Masquerade says may seem completely meaningless at first glance. But if you think about it… the Death Note did not even dream of such a level of manipulation. "I could have taken Drago, but I felt sorry for you." Of course, he couldn't. The rules work differently. In such a situation, he basically couldn't do anything at all. But Dan DIDN'T KNOW that. I'm sure Masquerade just said that to piss Dan off. I wouldn't like it either if my opponent (whom I was going to defeat without any problems) took PITY on me. Masquerade then tells Dan a little bit about the real state of affairs and the significance of the fights. And then he adds, "To save the world, YOU have to defeat ME." And this, again, makes no sense if taken literally. Masquerade is just a pawn of Naga, defeating him will not save the world. But Dan DOESN'T KNOW about it. So Masquerade gently guides Dan along the path he needs. Indeed, from that moment on, Dan devoted all his time to strengthening Drago for the final battle. Without even realizing that he's actually just cooking the perfect dinner for a Hydranoid. Simply put, what you might consider the senseless pretentious nonsense of a "very cool and mysterious" clown was actually quite an effective way to fool Dan. And you, to be honest.

I can't help but notice that in the trio of main villains of the first season, Masquerade is the most human-like. Not only externally, of course. What makes him a REAL PERSON, what his colleagues don't have… he fucks up a hell of a lot. Seriously, watch all the episodes with his appearance. In at least half of these episodes, something will not go according to his plan. You will very often see him staring at others in surprise, not understanding what nonsense they are doing and saying. He is almost scared when Shun ALMOST hits him in the face. During the battle with Joe, he is already preparing to pose victoriously when everything starts to collapse. And he's just upset. Yes, globally, in fact, everything was going ABSOLUTELY according to his plan until Dan returned from DD. But if you pay attention to the details? He almost always doesn't know what's going on and just tries to adapt. Because, you know, he has little life experience.

It's very difficult for me to talk about Masquerade without the context of his entire character development arc. Keeping the main points in mind, you will easily notice how every tiny detail makes sense. Almost emotionless behavior for most of the season, sometimes illogical actions, a nervous breakdown and a crack on the glass left after episode 38… Everything makes sense. Especially if you remember that we are talking about a not-quite-human character.

We'll talk about it again, if that's our fate.

[tezuze]

Hi I’m gonna rant about Ghost Game for a second

Not to meaning to add to the endless “What the hell happened to Ghost Game????” discourse but uh, yeah I guess I am contributing to that

I have quite a bit to say about my theories on what I think went wrong and what they could’ve done better and why I desperately do not want a season 2 (I know the irony of how that looks on me) but if I wrote all that in one space I think it would be so long that even I would start begging for me to shut up

So, I’m going to split these up into more digestible categories that I’ll write whenever I’m procrastinating

In case I never get around to anything else, I’m going to start with the biggest loss to me, how I think the Digimon were supposed to influence their tamer’s personal growth and visa-versa

I’ll put the rest below the cut before I get outta hand

Hiro and Gammamon: Augh. These two frustrate me the most. So much lost potential in my book, but I would feel weird putting the mc anywhere but the top of the list, so I decided to put them in the order they join the cast and therefore you get my most passionate feelings first.

Almost one of the first things we learn about Hiro as a character is how self-sacrificing he is. He’s your stereotypical mc who wants to help everyone, but the narrative points out that he’s willing to be helpful at the expense of his own wellbeing, which paints his conventionally good trait as a flaw. And that’s about all they touch on in the base show, with a lot of reading between the lines. I would’ve loved to see the ramifications of his self-sacrificing nature and have the cast point out how he’s really harming himself and stretching himself thin just to appease others. I don’t think the “being helpful is good, but not at the expense of your health” moral is touched on enough so I always get excited when stories have that as one of their themes.

And then there’s his partner, Gammamon, the exact opposite of Hiro. He’s needy, dependent, wild, and selfish at the start. He doesn’t care about others (or their belongings). He’s demanding. He’s destructive. He proves to be a handful for our polite little Hiro, especially with his dad missing and this responsibility suddenly thrusted upon him.

I would’ve loved to see Gammamon teach Hiro to be a little more selfish (or at least, more self-preserving), while Hiro teaches Gammamon to be more considerate and tame. Of course, we see Gammamon grow in this way but the story doesn’t really make it clear that it was necessarily Hiro’s doing or give much of a catalyst at all for why Gammamon has personal growth other than it would be troublesome to have such a brat as the main creature. Now, I know that Guilmon’s arc was kinda similar in that they didn’t have direct events or anything that would make him mature, but it still felt more… realistic? Tended to? Idk I’m going to force myself to move on.

Ruli and Angoramon: Honestly just kinda disappointed with the lack of attention these two got in general in comparison to the other pairs, but I digress.

We meet Ruli with the impression that she’s brash, headstrong, and charismatic. She does things her way on a whim. Especially in the first few and select episodes, but in my opinion, it seemed like they kinda pushed her to the background and her personality was very passive and mild at times (and I don’t think that was on purpose).

Similarly to Hiro and Gammamon, Angoramon has quite a few contrasting personality traits. He’s softspoken, knowledgeable, and introspective. When Hiro first meets Angoramon, he doesn’t want to reveal himself because he’s nervous and doesn’t want to be a bother.

I think these two were supposed to balance each other out. Ruli would learn to think about things more and not run in half-cocked, maybe start to appreciate the more slow and peaceful things in life like nature and reading (Yeah Ruli, don’t think I forgot about that scene where Angoramon wanted you to read one of his favorite books and you DIDN’T and never DID). Meanwhile, Angoramon would come out of his shell more from sticking around Ruli. Possibly learn not to be so overbearing? Idk, honestly I don’t think Angoramon has as much room for growth because he seems the most level-headed character in the cast.

Lastly,

Kiyoshiro and Jellymon: Now, I know I have some bias toward these two so it might seem I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt but I’m going to try to come at them as objectively as I can.

They kinda half-executed what I think they were going for with these two, so they don’t offend me as much (which I think is part of the reason why I like them so much), but a full written out arc between them would’ve been a dream.

Kiyoshiro at the beginning of the series is, well, a sniveling inconsolable scaredy cat. On top of that, he’s kind of cocky and stuck up, obsessed with order and somewhat an introvert (to a lesser extent and differently than angoramon, in the “can’t relate to other humans” kinda way). Outside of his flaws, he is at least kind and pure of heart (I mean his name more or less means “pure white”) with a strong sense of justice and morals.

Jellymon, the devil creature, is so chaotic her intro episode goes right for the “everyone is going to die and it’s all Jellymon’s fault” thing. She has her moments of scheming and kinda like Gammamon, is pretty selfish and demanding with hints of Ruli’s recklessness as well.

As far as their canonic growth goes, Jellymon’s the only one that sees the bravery in her darling, which helps him nurture that courage and cast aside some of his fears (which, yay they actually kinda do in the series albeit pretty indirectly and kinda inconsistently). Also, the narrative never outright says Kiyo is lonely but he surely doesn’t have any companions, but we can see him grow on his partner and admit that it’s nice to have such a close friendship (pretty sure the whole “I like humans” thing was directed at Jellymon, even though she’s not human shhhhh it makes sense I promise)

Now for what they didn’t really touch on, I think these two were supposed to break each other’s stubbornness. I think Jellymon was supposed to show Kiyo how to relax more and not become so absorbed in studies/research and such. We meet him already knowing he has a love for anime, idols and the like so I’m not sure if he could really learn the lesson to appreciate more of the little things, but maybe she’d show him to love some more like, people-centered type things? (I mean she does love festivals). On the flip side, I think Kiyo was supposed to use not his classroom knowledge, but his personal knowledge to show Jellymon all there is to love about humanity outside of their monetary worth and give her a genuine love for the human world. Oh yeah, and teach her to stop scamming people.

“”””I’m gOinG tO tRy To LiMiT mY BiAs oN KiYoSHiRo aNd jElLyMoN”””””””” *Proceeds to spend half my rant talking about Kiyoshiro and Jellymon even though I think they did them pretty well*

Anyway, would love to hear other’s opinions on this as well as if it seems like I’m reaching and there weren’t supposed to be arcs like this. I just feel like the characters are too inherently flawed and contrast too perfectly with their Digimon for them not to have intended some more character-centered personal growth arcs.

I’m sorry and thank you for reading my dumb thoughts.

[emilythezeldafan]

GIVE US OSWALD COBBLEPOT HEADCANONS. PLEASE 🙏 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

WOAH HEY THERE

Actually gonna be my first time posting Gotham headcanons on Tumblr and I'm a little nervous but sure, why not

General Headcanons:

sorry for these being short I just woke up

While the in love with Ed arc did still happen, sorry but Nygmobblepot isn't canon in my 'verse since Eddie is shipped with my OC :'), then again I'm not opposed to writing or reading polyamory it's just not something I do with my usual friend group.

his limp is a lot worse than it looks, he's in a lot of pain from it and he disguises it because he's just that stubborn.

His mother taught him how to dance, he's actually very good at it. Also got a decent singing voice on him.

Actually finds his middle name a little bit embarrassing - I mean, there most be a reason he never says it in the show.

X Reader Headcanons:

Since I know people like this stuff thought I'd have a go.

Keeping it gender neutral so everyone can picture themselves or an OC. First of all, he will treat his S/O like a precious gemstone or like they're made of gold or something. Not in the smother-y way or like they're a possession (although he does get a bit possessive sometimes), but rather that they're held in the highest regard to him and none of the rest of Gotham's thugs dare touch them or else.

Depending on whether they were there for his mothers' death or not he probably won't want to see them for a while (not that he doesn't actually want to see them, he just doesn't want to be seen like that)

Eventually Edward found him half dead on his doorstep muttering about them so he did the sensible thing and tracked them down

"Y/N, come get your Sad Wet Penguin, it's making me uncomfortable."

So that ends with them, Edward and Oswald all staying in his apartment together. Which makes for some hijinks let me tell you.

Evelyn Hart (one of my OCs) visiting regularly and asking when the two of them (if not already) are going to start dating

Siding with him against Edward and Evelyn when things start to go to shit

Edward trying to kill them as revenge for killing Kringle clone (I hate that storyline with a passion. Although they weren't romantic here as Evelyn is his ship but he was fascinated/obsessed with her for her looks would could be taken the wrong way so I still get angst)

However when Strange takes them Oswald actually goes to Edward for help. Evelyn had to convince him but it worked.

Planning to leave Gotham with Edward, Evelyn and Oswald during Season 4 but staying to help the rebellion

Either becoming a supervillain themselves or leaving Gotham in the ten years

Oswald and Edward having a particular grudge against bats for keeping them away from their loves for so long

[gazeopard]

Long-awaited Thoughts on the Part 1 Teasers

Been a while since I posted anything Beastars-related because I've been trying to focus on my own writing as well as on the damn GED. Having ADHD makes everything so slow and cumbersome...

I saw the teaser trailer back in March when it first came out, including the livestream from the Japanese YT channel (I forgot the name lol). Even though I couldn't understand what they were saying, I was excited (and nervous). I've made it no secret in the past and present that I've become very critical of Beastars' later arcs, especially everything post-Season 1 over the past few months.

Looking back on Season 2/post Vol. 6 these past few months got me noticing many things I didn't consider firsthand, or things that just flew by me due to my brain being off and only focusing on the things in front of me, as well as hearing things others on and off of sites like Reddit had noticed that I didn't initially have also gotten me looking back with a more critical eye.

A part of me is hopeful for Season 3. I have hopes that it'll change and salvage enough of the last two arcs into one cohesive finale, fixing all the bad, weird, or questionable writing decisions on Paru's (and I'm sure the publishers) end.

But after Season 2 basically followed the manga almost exactly, even up to the other strange writing decisions that were made that started the downfall of Beastars, I'm wondering if it's even worth it. If it's even worth holding onto hope anymore. And if I'll just be disappointed and let down again.

At the same time, a small part of me just... doesn't really care about Beastars anymore...? At least, at the moment? Partially because of the long wait. And partially because I've been trying to focus more on my own writing for my "Fireborn" books, trying not to fall into the same traps that others have stumbled into, all while taking bits of what I liked, didn't like and/or thought could have been better, and running with them to salvage them enough to be something worthwhile, entertaining, and memorable. 

Also, I have a feeling that, since it'll be a 2-parter, both parts will consist of only 12 episodes... which makes me more nervous than excited. It probably means the Dropout Arc will follow the manga exactly, while Melon's arc will probably follow the manga exactly the way it did, only it'll have tons of fat removed.

I dunno. I mean, the theory was that the final season would have 24 episodes, and 12 + 12 = 24. Though, I was kinda hoping the final season would be just one season with 24 episodes, as it would have probably broken the 12-episode mold. But breaking it in half seems like the better way to go. I don't know. I'm still kinda nervous.

Again, part of me just almost doesn't really care what happens. If it's good, great. If it's bad like the rest of the manga.... eh...?

I guess it's because I'm too jaded now. Idk. I will probably watch only for Melon. Not that that makes much of a difference anyway, considering what a mess he turned out to be in the end of the manga.

This probably also means Haru is still probably going to get treated as more of a prize to be won, again. And Kyuu's probably gonna still be in it and divert attention away from the more important things (Louis and Juno's development as a couple, Legoshi and Haru's relationship development as a future couple, Melon's development as a villain, etc) to put screentime on things that ultimately won't matter again, the narrative is still not going to hold Legoshi or Louis accountable for their actions, Legoshi's still going to hate himself and pull out his own teeth (only for them to magically grow back making the whole thing pointless) and avoid Haru most of the time again, making them getting together feel unearned, and Melon's still probably going to be an inconsistent mess of a villain and his promise with Haru will be dropped after looking like it'll be important... again. 

Or maybe they'll remove the things that didn't work and replace them with ideas that will work and improve it. Hopefully.

But seeing the official trailer four months ago made me more hopeful and curious. I'll still watch it to see anything is different as well. The animation is still gorgeous.

Also, I loved seeing the return of hellhound/demon-eyed Legoshi again! I remember being disappointed that they didn't really bring that back in Season 2 when I saw it, especially during the fight against Riz, but I'm glad they're reviving it here. Seeing him wake up with red eyes after having a dream about Haru where she was replaced by Louis' foot, all while hearing the red deer demand him to eat it, makes me wonder if they're going to give Legoshi some serious and dangerous consequences from consuming Louis' foot last season? Are they going to give give Legoshi a reason to drop out?? I was wondering if maybe his consumption of Louis' foot reawakens his carnivorous instincts and he finds himself wanting to eat Haru, which causes him to drop out? It also makes me wonder if they'll bring more focus to his meat-withdrawal symptoms. After the water fountain accident, his instincts never really came up again in the manga and were more told to us rather than shown. 

The shot of Legoshi and Haru outside also makes me wonder if they're including a scene where Legoshi sees Haru off to college. It'd be cute if they did. So the implications in this teaser showing him struggling again after seemingly overcoming them… really gives me a lot of hope that they're improving the manga.

Also:

Gosha and Yahya look amazing. It makes me excited to see how Melon will look, and it makes me curious to see who Studio Orange got to voice them.

AND we've finally got a date. December. When in December? Who knows. It's better than no date at all.

All in all, I'm still a bit nervous, but am still hopeful.

[sailforvalinor]

Season 2 of Bia is turning out to be a bit of a slog, mostly because the fighting between Bia and Manuel’s families gets dialed up to 11–don’t get me wrong, I like that they’re raising the stakes, but it’s surprisingly intense and so drawn out. They’re giving the Montagues and Capulets a run for their money, but in a way that it’s almost physically painful to watch.

I probably would have given up at this point, if not for the two saving graces of this season:

1. Pietro, too nervous to confess his feelings to Daisy directly, sends her a bouquet of flowers and signs it “From Your Secret Admirer,” hoping that she’ll figure out who they’re from. Daisy becomes obsessed with trying to find out who it is, but doesn’t even seem to consider the possibility that it’s Pietro. She even comes to the conclusion that it has to be someone who lives in their apartment building, but she seems to suspect everyone BUT him. She even confides in him about her suspicions, and he just kinda stands there like “🥲.” (In spirit he is looking into the camera like he’s on the Office.)

Hilariously, half the cast are already in-the-know that it’s Pietro, and I suspect that before this is over, everyone but Daisy will know.

2. LUAN!!! MY NEW FAVORITE CHARACTER LUAN!!!! (Insert “friendship ended with Pietro” meme—jk jk). I love! This guy! He gets introduced at the beginning of the season as Thiago’s childhood next-door neighbor, and moves into the apartment building. Unclear what his profession is exactly, but he’s an extremely tech-savvy world traveler who has been to all kinds of places. This absolute ray of sunshine waltzed onto the show in possession of all of the braincells. This isn’t to say that there are no braincells to be found in any of the other characters—while in keeping with the genre, characters do make stupid decisions on occasion that make you want to bang your head against a wall (especially in this season so far), this show really isn’t that egregious as it could be in that respect—but Luan seems to have an abnormal level of perception (and to be honest, genre-awareness) that the other characters don’t possess. He refers to it as his “intuition”—whatever it is, it has him picking up on inconsistencies and secrets within seconds of being in the show that it took other characters 20+ episodes to figure out. For example, within seconds of meeting Helena he figured out she was hiding something—and honestly I think it’s only a matter of an episode or two where he figures out that she’s Bia’s sister. He also figures out that Pietro is Daisy’s secret admirer after seeing them interact exactly one (1) time:

Daisy: “Oooooh, I bet my secret admirer is the guy who lives here that’s a DJ!”

Pietro: *pretending to ignore her* “Could you run to the store and get me some ingredients?”

Daisy: *sighs, leaves*

Luan: “It’s not the DJ.”

Pietro: “How do you know?”

Luan: “Because it’s obviously you. Bye.”

Pietro: “Wait—no it’s not!”

Luan: “BYE”

Pietro: “LUAN GET BACK HERE”

Also, I have to emphasize that Luan is the only one to actually deduce that Pietro is in love with Daisy on his own—all of the other characters that know were told by Pietro.

Also, Luan seems to have a budding romance with a girl named Pixie—she was a side character in the first season, I just forgot to mention her, but she’s a gamer girl tomboy who is the sort of tech manager/behind-the-scenes gal for FUNDOM. Her whole arc in the first season was about her regaining her confidence, as she used to be a YouTuber until bullying over her appearance drove her to shut down her channel. This makes it all the more adorable when she and Luan run into each other at FUNDOM (quite literally, a la cliche meet-cute), and Luan thinks she’s the most beautiful girl he’s seen in his life and acts like he’s been hit by a train:

Pixie: *runs into him* “—oh no, so sorry—“

Luan: “—marry me.”

Honestly, just how persistently flirtatious he is in every scene he’s in with Pixie makes you think that he’s like a chronic flirt or something, but when he talks to Thiago about her, he remarks that he’s never seen him like this, so I guess Luan really just saw this gamer girl and thought “AHA! I HAVE FOUND MY WIFE!” He’s a guy who knows what he wants, I have to respect him for it.

[oldschoolcrimefighters]

oc bullshit behind the cut, feel free to ignore

Some of this art is a bit old now so excuse the uh *waves* general shittiness. Or blame it on tumblr. Actually just do that.

My first foray back into ttrpgs was with a Masks game, which is teenage superhero drama.

So naturally I designed "What if Harry Vincent was The Shadow and also a young woman", aka Lio, aka L'Esprit, who was the great-granddaughter of Not-Shadow and trying to live up to his legacy despite being a severely depressed teenager with no/little power in a superpowered world. (She later got a girlfriend, glitchy electrical powers, and her own costume.)

After a couple years we went into 'Season 2' with a new group of characters. I took the Reformed playbook and a basic Hawkeye background concept and built Hanna: an ex-supervillain (left, Springheel Jack) who was placed on an experimental correctional team after her arrest and became a trial hero (right, Cadet). She went on to develop her own superhero identity that still used the elements of Springheel that she liked (mostly the boots.)

(Bit of a sidenote, but we then had a 'Season 3' wherein Hanna took on the Doomed playbook and became a half-metal shapeshifter. I did some Noir AU doodles for this season including Hanna and her robot boyfriend as a mob enforcer and boss, respectively.)

Somewhere in here we took a break to play Legacy for awhile, which is a post-apoc game, so I dragged out The Shadow again, specifically the facial damage concept. This is Luca, he's a tol nerd with a prosthetic face. (The right lower picture is very much based on that one Jae Lee comic cover.)

At the beginning of 2020 we tried going back to Masks for a season 4 school arc, wherein I built Archie, the school journalist and professional pain-in-the-ass little gremlin -- so, Clyde Burke. (His eyes are weird because he is also half alien. That's not important.) I never got to play him much because Covid happened and our Masks GM doesn't like playing online.

(I don't know why I put him in such garish colors in that first one, I'm sorry)

October 2020 my boyfriend started running Kult: Divinity Lost. I took the Criminal playbook and dragged out Hawkeye again to build Cait, an odd-looking, antisocial, nervous, semi-feral weirdo who happened to be really good at stealth and burglary. (Plus an incorporeal cat-demon twin, who is beside the point.)

Played her for two solid years and drew her a lot, which has given me a lot of practice for when I get back around to drawing Hawkeye

Basically her spiritual dad

Anyway those are most of my long-term TTRPG OCs over the last few years and all of the ones I can remember with a clear Shadow influence. If you made it through all this, thank you and feel free to check out my artblog for more art or to ask about any of them or whatever, I'm totally not up to ramble about my OCs at any and all times.

I just want to let you know that I was part of a Call of Cthulhu campaign (it's on hiatus, sadly) that takes place in the 1930s. So me being the nerd I am, made my character a pilot and named him after Miles Crofton and Kent Allard.

His name is Miles Allard. His nickname is Duck. I really miss playing him.

Neat! Sad that the game is on hiatus, I know that pain all too well T.T That seems like a solid character concept, and I like 'Duck' better as a nickname/callsign than Eagle, seems way more like a nickname someone would actually get from his pals lol. (Also I knew there was a pun there somewhere but it took me five minutes after posting this to finally put it together. M Allard. I love it.)

I haven't played CoC myself yet but I did recently play Achtung Cthulhu (ww2 and more of a pulp-thriller vibe than a horror vibe) as a pregen who I played as Basically Hawkeye

(My worst-kept ttrpg secret is that 90% of my long-term characters start as reskinned blorbos. ...I might add onto this with a very long art-filled ramble about some of them. There's at least two inspired by Hawkeye, two Shadows, and one Clyde Burke.)

[pynkhues]

Hi!! i really wanted to know your thoughts on the culmination of romans arc!! i definitely didnt expect him to stick with his siblings even w logan staring him down and promising a place for him in the company after selling. Even though logans never gonna choose his children over himself, i think him trying to get roman back on his side, demonstrated that ultimately he favored roman and it was never gonna be kendall or shiv. Or it could just have been that logan thought roman was easier to crack lol. I really liked the romangerri bit at the end with gerri essentially siding w logan bc it was best for her and the company, w no loyalty to roman (as she should) and his reaction was very interesting. Also what did you think abt the conversation between logan and roman on the way to the reunion w matsenn, could that have alluded to at the very least non straight roman? I also feel like that conversation and shivs comments leaned very heavily on his mommy issues and could also explain his mountain of sexual issues and his fixation and relationship w gerri. i’ve been dying to know what u thought!!

Hi! Thank you, anon, and oof, I loved Roman's arc across the season and especially I loved how different it was from Kendall and Shiv's fall from grace in s1 and s2 respectively.

I think the show does an incredible job generally about the different ways the Roy siblings have internalised and externalised their father's abuse, while still allowing for certain similarities. In so many ways, s3 re-emphasised that with Kendall and Shiv being a sort of dark mirror to each other, and I think it had this wonderful effect narratively of while the two of them were so fixed on reflecting each other, Roman and Connor both got to grow and contort and really develop and regress in their siblings' blindspots.

By that, I mean there was this sort of space opened up by Kendall being ousted and Shiv being on the backstep and both of them still only viewing each other as competition. That newly opened space gave Roman and Connor the room and the opportunity to step up. I think s4's likely to really drum that home with Connor, but for s3, I think we saw what Roman's capable of (for better and for worse) when he's given both guidance and room out of his siblings' shadow, something he hasn't had since - - well. Maybe ever (or at least since Kendall was in rehab).

I was so nervous going into that last scene in the finale, because I was the same as you! I thought there was a risk thatt he'd betray them (especially with him and Kerry being colour-matched!), but I actually think it makes a lot of sense that he wouldn't. Jesse talked a bit in the Controlling the Narrative segment that it was feeling the weight of support from his siblings that let Roman stand his ground, which I think you can really feel in the scene, but I also think there's this interesting layer to it too where the show's really established two things about Roman. The first is that Roman has really good intuition in a way that none of his other siblings do, and the second is that Roman learns in a way that none of his other siblings do.

Roman's greatest strength is his ability to - - mmm, not shapeshift exactly, because I don't think that's what Roman does, but read people enough to know how to accomodate them and play to their personalities and their interests. He does it with Lawrence as far back as 1.06, and it's a skill we've seen develop across season 2 and season 3, but, importantly, one he really grew confidence in over the back half of s3. He's learnt to trust his instincts because he's increasingly realised his instincts are right.

Add that to the fact that Roman takes away lessons when things blow up in his face (which hilariously neither Kendall nor Shiv do), and I think that final scene felt so authentic to who Roman is. He had both gut instinct telling him not to trust his father, and the benefit of hindsight. He's seen exactly how Logan's gone back on his promises to Kendall and Shiv, he's seen that Logan's word only holds it's meaning in the minute he says it. That it doesn't hold under it's own weight, and when faced with Logan's dishonesty, Roman had instead this immediate and brutally naked honesty between him, Kendall and Shiv to fall back on, and right then? There? That mattered a lot.

And as for Logan and Roman's conversation on the boat heading to Matsson – yeah! I actually kind of love how ambiguous the show is being about it, haha, and I think Shiv hit the nail on the head in the car where she said Logan thinks there's something wrong with Roman. I don't know if Logan even necessarily actually thinks he's gay, especially given what just happened with Gerri – in fact, I think there's probably an argument to be made that Logan's latched onto homophobic insults because at least being gay is something he understands over not being able to have sex. If Roman's fucking men, at least he's fucking, and there are ways around it. Not being able to have sex at all, especially to a guy like Logan, I think signals to him that Roman's effectively broken, something put into even starker relief when compared to his other children who have all got very active sex lives (albeit all of them with uhhhhh dysfunction / baggage / manic obsessive issues attached to said sex lives, haha).

As for Roman himself, I do think he's not straight, but I think it's really open to interpretation at this point what that means and I don't expect the show to ever clarify. I do think a lot of his issues stem though from a mix of insecurity and inadequacy complexes, anxiety and being desensitised to sex acts (and as a result attracted to more extreme things) as a side effect of being terminally online. What do you guys think?

[imrowanartist]

I made another Clone Wars sketchdump, whoops ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Here are some more of my Star Wars ramblings/head-canons: - I very much ship Ahsoka and Rex as siblings. ‘Soka is 100% the 501st’s little sister. After the clone wars, their relationship evolves from big brother and little sister to just brother and sister. As equals. - Cranky sleepy Rex is inspired by a fanfic called ‘Regrettable Life Choices’ by Project0506 on AO3. I keep going back to it. It’s so funny XD - As you can see by my cadets sketch, I also head-canon Rex as being born with blond hair. It just seems too unrealistic to me that he bleaches and dyes his hair every few days while there is a war going on. I think it’s much more likely that it’s a genetic mutation. Jango had a blue eyed, blond sister after all. - I think Rex and Cody have known each other since they were cadets. I imagine Cody taking pity on Rex being bullied about his hair and taking him under his wing because he sees his potential. So Rex serves in the 212th first, under General Kenobi and his padawan Skywalker. When Anakin gets knighted, Cody recommends Rex for ARC training, after which he is assigned his own battalion under the newly knighted general Skywalker. I bet Cody regrets that choice more than once. - In this house we stan clones with curly hair.

(I used Kibbitzer poses from their Patreon packs as references and adjusted them to my needs)

Image ID under the cut

[Image ID: six pictures showing several characters from Star Wars. The top left is an image of Rex in his Phase 2 armor carrying Ahsoka, with her season 3-6 outfit, on his back. She has a bandage on her leg but doesn’t seem too worried about it. Rex is looking a bit exasperated but fond at the same time. The top right image shows Echo and Fives. They’re wearing their blacks and the bottom half of their ARC armor. They look like they have just been through some intense training. Echo is doubled over, his hands on his knees. Fives is next to him, sitting down, his arms leaning on his knees. He’s looking at Echo, exhaustion on his face. Below that is an image of Rex dressed in his blacks, laying on his stomach in bed. There is a strip of light from a door shining exactly in his eyes. He has one eye closed and the other open in a squint. He looks extremely annoyed. On the left of that is an image of Cody and Rex as cadets. Rex is slightly shorter. They’re both wearing cadet uniforms and have their hair semi long and curly. Cody’s being dark while Rex’s being blond. Cody is facing the viewer looking at Rex from the corner of his eyes, while Rex is standing with his back to Cody, looking over his shoulder at him. They’re both trying to look serious. On the middle right is an image of Kix, Jesse and Hardcase in their phase 2 armor. Jesse is in the middle and has his arms slung over Kix and Hardcase’s shoulders, grinning. Kix is on the left, facing forward, a grumpy expression on his face. Hardcase is on the left, slightly facing Jesse, an equal grin on his face. On the bottom left is an image of Fives and Tup. Fives has his ARC armor and Tup his phase 2 armor. Fives has his hand on Tup’s shoulder, smirking at him while gesturing something. Tup is facing Fives, an attentive look on his face, his arms held in front of him in a lightly nervous gesture. End ID]

[mandareeboo]

SU Music Rankings

Bc I can and I wanna start some Disk Horse rip. These are all in order of preference, with explanations, etc. It’s a long bitch. That said, I’m not counting little short jingles or small joke songs like Little Butler. This is the meat and potatoes of SU music- just under 30 songs. I might do the rest if people like my takes lol.

I scored it mostly on three bases- how dear it was to my heart, how much/often I relisten to it, and also what it means to the plot. That said, little fun songs don’t automatically go farther down than big, plot-heavy songs either! It’s a strange little balance.

Special Note: I don’t dislike any of this music! I love SU and that includes its bumps and glitches. I just pick favorite children lol.

1.) Change

Was there ever a more Steven moment than when he wiped the blood off his face and kissed it into sparkles? I think not. 

If “Be Wherever You Are” is an ode to young Steven, then this is teen Steven’s. Talking about change, and how much and how little it can do. How he holds his arms up for Spinel to hug him, so trusting. How he seems able to just. Break into soft tears at will, and not to be manipulative- it’s just his kind nature. The warmth in his voice. Fuck yesssss.

2.) Change Your Mind

This song is only fifty five seconds and it’s EVERYTHING to me. It really felt like someone was speaking the words I’d always held deep inside of me, unsure of how to say. It feels like a goodbye to someone who never really loved me. 

As much as I enjoyed Future, if this was the finale of SU, I would’ve been perfectly okay with that.

3.) Drift Away

This song gave me legitimate shivers the first time I heard it, and it still haunts me to this day. Spinel stayed, and waited, and all she got was a transmission thousands of years later. Fuck.

4.) Here We Are In The Future

THE MOVIE IS SU AS ITS BEST AND I WON’T BE SWAYED ON IT. Steven being a teen who loves his weird family but is growing just a bit sarcastic to their drama. The adorable love he and Connie share. His slow realization that he will always be working, always have things to do, is both somber and real. The Crystal Gems won’t be safe with one epic battle. They’ll be safe with years of hard work and love. HIS LITTLE HANDSHAKE WITH AMETHYST.

This is a helluva bop and a great way to summarize the main character’s backstories.

5.) Let’s Only Think About Love

Did ya’ll know that Zach Callison killed his throat with that last note? He gave his all for this performance in a vocal range he no longer comfortably do and by god did it SHINE. The FLAIR. The FORESHADOWING. All of the Gems all being awkward about Rose and Steven trying to bring them to the present. Peridot having a mini-existential crisis in a cute yellow dress. I love Zach Callison’s normal singing voice but man is that a fucking bop. Nothing will ever beat it.

6.) Here Comes A Thought

This bad boy helped me out a LOT with some mental issues I was dealing with in high school. I was unmedicated, unsupervised, and full of anxiety. I’d have break downs when I tried to speak about certain things. I couldn’t function. This song inspired me. It helped me feel okay with my intrusive thoughts.

And the episode! -chef’s kiss-. Once again bringing up the morally gray area of training child soldiers. Connie expanding her social group. Steven’s trauma hauling ass in that second half. The ANIMATION. Stevonnie’s gorgeous singing voice. GOD yes.

7.) It’s Over Isn’t It?

Just barely squeaking above Stronger Than You, this ballad is everything gorgeous. The whole episode is. I think Mr. Greg stands in the top five of my episodes for the entire show. It even got nominated!

There’s just so much about this song that I love. The gentle melancholy of Pearl’s voice. How the crew had to redo the shots for this bit bc Deedee went so fucking hard. The hard cuts between Pearl, remembering the love of her life, and Steven, who has begun to feel like he took her away. I’d recommend this song to anyone, regardless of what they do or don’t know about SU, simply bc it tugs so many heartstrings of love, loss, and responsibility.

8.) Stronger Than You

Did you realize this episode aired SEVEN years ago? This bitch was what got me into SU! Hearing about Ruby and Sapphire made my little gay heart so happy inside, and then getting a whole song confirming that they were a couple, that their love powered the strongest Gem on the team? Aaaaaaaaa

To this DAY I get excited when I hear Estelle start singing. This song is timeless. This song will live in media history. God I fucking love this song.

9.) Other Friends

I’m not the biggest musical person, so I hadn’t heard of Sarah Stiles before her casting as Spinel, but JESUS CHRIST the lady went hard. She went SO fucking hard. Sarah Stiles started on 100 and somehow just kept CLIMBING. You can just hear the sheer manic energy building in her voice, the anger and resentment. 10/10 Sarah Stiles is a queen.

10.) Independent Together

This made the list entirely bc the crew was like “you’re gonna get a himbo ass Steven-Greg fusion singing with Opal while Garnet flies across the moon on Lion while floating” and I am forever thankful to them for it

11.) Who We Are

Bismuth deserved more songs. ‘Nuff said.

12.) Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth)

It Could’ve been Great is EASILY one of my favorite s2 episodes. I love the entire concept of this song. Of Steven making music to reflect how much Earth means to him and his family. Of him teaching Peridot some self-care. Also Peridot’s singing voice is really cute and squeaky. 

I know it’s silly, but I would’ve really enjoyed a flip around of this in Future! Like Peridot reminding Steven how much he loves music, that he needs to take time to relax for himself, maybe with a new verse or just a remix of the original song!

13.) Something Entirely New

I watched this episode as it aired, and I legitimately almost cried. I love Charlyne Yi’s voice so much ya’ll- her raspy, not perfect singing voice against Sapphire’s deep soothing lull is great.

And to have Ruby and Sapphire’s meeting be the way it was- for Ruby to bemoan Sapphire losing Homeworld, to being stuck with a single Ruby, while Sapphire is a noble who has always been taught everyone in her “caste” is vitally important (and has, in her own mind, taken that to mean every Gem, as she should) and how they come together and make each other happy. Good shit good shit.

14.) I’m Just a Comet

The fact that Greg’s music career never really blasted off pisses me off to this day bc Tom Scharpling’s voice is fucking BUTTER. Also the song really feels like a jab at his parents now that we know the kind of dynamic he had growing up. “This life in the stars if all I’ve ever known” is definitely him wiping away their existence after reminding them (and himself) the things they used to say about him.

15.) Do It For Her

This episode. This fucking episode. This episode got me permanently hooked on SU. I’d just binged season 1 and was kinda meh about it overall after the bop of Stronger Than You. “Oh,” I thought to myself, foolishly, “I’ll probably just casually watch this from time to time.”

Like three days later Sworn to the Sword aired and that was it. I was hooked! Pearl’s gentle training song turning darker and darker, Connie’s accompaniment from nervous to determined to fully into such a toxic mindset. The fact that SU had the BALLS to discuss the repercussions of training child soldiers, now and later. This episode was everything to me, STILL is everything to me.

Six years and well over 100 fanfics written later, I think it’s safe to say this show swallowed me whole and never let go.

16.) System/Boot.pearl_final(3)

I debated putting this on the list because it’s not anything crazy important, just a way to show things are Wrong, but I had to do it entirely bc Pearl is so damn SALTY.

Like telling us about the Gems makes sense, she felt like she was given a duty, but she went so damn petty. WHY is that Ruby alone. Gross. This Amethyst is a trash dump. Wtf are you people.

17.) Full Disclosure

This episode really feels like a turning point for SU. Before, the show had its dark moments- but now we’re in the thick of it, and it’s not going away. Full Disclosure felt like an rebuff to the idea of returning to any normal we’d established in season 1. Gems are actually a giant species now. Gems tried to kill us now. There’s this Yellow Diamond bitch who got namedropped. Something about a Cluster. 

The song itself is BALLER, with its ingenious use of Steven’s ringtone and photos as he tries to decide whether to clue in Connie on all this nonsense. Meanwhile we, the audience, already know damn well Connie about to yeet some common sense into him.

18.) What’s the Use of Feeling Blue?

I’mma admit it- I’m a Yellow Diamond stan. I’ve always loved her- her anger, her poise, her hardworking nature. I actively argued against the “Yellow Shattered Pink” theories back in the day. But, man, when this arc leaked? I got so overexcited I was too jittery to watch it for like two days. It’s easily my favorite arc of the series. The sheer alien nature of the zoo, the Famethyst, and absolutely Patti Lupone’s beautiful ballad. Goddamn. Yellow singing to Blue to try and help her regain her old status, the warble in her voice as she reminds Blue she misses Pink too, the movement of the bubbles as she talks about attack. It gives me shivers to this day. FUCK.

19.) Tower of Mistakes

This is, fun fact, that only SU song I have completely memorized. The story itself is kinda funny! See, we lost internet at my house for a solid 5 to 6 months when these episodes aired, so I only got a very brief window to view them all. But this was the first Amethyst song in a long while, and I didn’t want to forget it! So I keep replaying it in my head for ages. And that’s still definitely a thing.

Anyway will never not be sad that this entire song was about making it up to Garnet for Amethyst’s perceived slights with Sugilite (which was a two-way road), only for Garnet to pressure her into fusion later when pissed and never discuss it again bc Garnet probably never thought twice about it and Amethyst has the emotional openness of a clam that’s just been told its ugly. Helluva way to make someone feel like shit, G. Helluva way to bottle that shit, Ames.

20.) On the Run

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Amethyst! Needed! More! Songs! 

The dichotomy between Steven’s play and Amethyst’s honest desire to run away from home is so well-done, especially when you consider a lot of Steven and Amethyst’s actions are playing together. The song is also near and dear to me simply bc it’s my favorite Amethyst episode to exist (well, maybe second to What’s Your Problem, but not by much). Moments like these are all the proof I need that they were right to fuse first.

21.) Be Wherever You Are

This tune really just feels like an ode to who Steven was as a kid. Trapped on an island with no way home, and he’s just happy to be with his friends. The stars are beautiful and not oppressive. Also that one animatic with Lars and the Off Colors playing in the Homeworld Kindergarten to this music was iconic and made this song get stuck in my head for a solid month.

22.) Familiar

I ADORE how the crew use bright neon colors to show how alien Homeworld can be. And Steven recognizing that the Diamonds treat him how the CGs used to, and how prepared he is to “fix” a broken family. It’s a soft, gentle tune about melancholy. Also the Pebbles are beautiful.

23.) Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart

Such a cute little love ballad, but every time I listen to it now I just imagine the heart attack Rose must’ve had at the line “And if we look out of place/Well, baby, that's okay/I'll drive us into outer space.” like there’s a Vietnam war flashback if I ever heard one

24.) What Can I Do?

I’m kind of neutral on this one? Rose and Greg both have great voices, but the song itself lacks many lyrics. I think it was definitely a good way to show Rose’s flaws in thinking.

Also, I’m shocked they managed cram that much vaguely sexual innuendo into two minutes, followed by how Not Hetereo that dance between Rose and Pearl was, and not get their asses chewed by it. You go guys.

25.) Cookie Cat

I love a lot of the vibes this song has. The lyrics are so damn prophetic, but they also sound like the kind of weird 90s commercials I grew up on. It’s been like two decades since I saw the Shirley Temple commercial but I’ll be damned if I don’t remember “Animals crackers in my soup! Monkey and rabbits loop-de-loop.”

26.) Giant Woman

I am. NOT the biggest fan of Steven’s original singing voice. I feel bad saying that, since it was just Zach Callison as a kid, but he never jived well with me for some reason. So I wouldn’t listen to this on the fly. 

The song itself is still really good though, with all sorts of fun animation of Amethyst and Pearl being bitchy to each other. It’s a bit sad in hindsight to see tiny Steven trying to get his moms to get along. Ahh, season 1.

27.) Strong in the Real Way

This song has SUCH a strong start. Pearl reflecting on Sugilite’s problems, but the show making sure to show us that Pearl’s lack of enthusiasm towards her also lends itself to jealousy as well as just general malaise. How much she cares about Steven, and wants him to grow up strong. 

And then Steven just kinda. Ruins it? I appreciate his enthusiasm for tryna bulk up but to take what was starting as such a rich, personal song and broadcasting it to random strangers just makes me a bit sad. Almost a bit angry on her behalf?

28.) That Distant Shore

I KNOW this is gonna create some discourse, but I’m just not the biggest Lapis stan. I love her voice. I love the visuals of the song. And I get why she felt afraid and needed to flee.

But Lapis never got to take responsibility for her own actions. And, in the end, the song feels hollow to me- because we all know she’ll never talk to anyone about it, know she’ll burst back in and destroy the barn, and no one will ever question it. I like Lapis a lot, but I feel like her arc never was fully finished. She never got help. She never learned to feel safe.

29.) Dear Old Dad

I’ve yet to meet a single human being who likes this episode tbh. There’s some great discussion about what kind of parent Greg is from it, and what kind of dynamic he has with the Gems that he felt he had to fake an injury to hang out with his son. Honestly the first half was fine and dandy. It’s just that then they Greg just went out of his way to drag Steven away from missions and such. It never jived well with his character before or after.

Also, is it just me, or does Zach himself sound like he hates the song as he sings it? There’s no passion or heart in his voice. It sounds like they told him to read off cue cards and he did. Tom Scharpling’s best attempts didn’t save this one for being a skipper. But the episode, unfortunately, isn’t, so it gets a spot on here.

[solarsleepless]

Hello good sir.

Please rant to me about avian hybrid/ Lion hybrid/ enderman hybrid c!Niki headcanons and au's. I NEED MORE of your c!niki banter cs I have already read your fics 3times over and over again.

SHJHJSHJSHJSHJSH GIVE ME GENDER EUPHORIA AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE

i'll give some hcs for each

Avian Niki

niki is either a crow hybrid or an angel hybrid. on one hand crow niki is funny to me on the other hand badass angel

her feathers, ironically, stay white during her 'villain' arc because yaknow symbolism

when she was going out with puffy, she'd let puffy preen them

because she was the only other winged hybrid, quackity trusted her to preen his own wings

in return he preened hers while she was in jail

she used to fly with puffy because love <3

during her isolation arc, she takes out feathers as an unhealthy coping mechanism, reasoning to herself that there's no need to preen if she doesn't have any feathers left (yes it's morbid)

eventually tho she just. doesnt even wear clothes for her wings

she just hides them underneath, which is of course VERY uncomfortable

they get worse and worse and ache more and more and she wants to fly so badly but she can't unless she preens them and she can't because she just can't!

when she joins the syndicate, the first thing phil says during their second meeting is: "hey niki didn't you have wings? what happened to them?"

his voice is tinged with sympathy; he knows what it's like to not be able to fly

she freezes, just stops moving, then starts to cry

phil is worried he's done something wrong, but then she reveals that she's kept her wings hidden under wil's coat and cloak all that time (note the symbolism)

he immediately is like "what the FUCK" when he sees them because there are feathers falling when it's not even shedding season yet?? also there are a few in places they shouldn't be at all? there are some fucking missing?????

long story short it takes multiple hours to get them back in place

niki passes out during it because it's been so long since she hasn't been in constant pain

when she wakes up, phil insists on keeping her there to preen her wings

also the syndicate has a long discussion about what happened and they promise each other and themselves to help her get better

Lion Hybrid Niki

she purrs end tweet

no but seriously this girl will purr to end and back

she purrs louder than ranboo which is SAYING something

she loves the scritchy scratches behind the ears. like REALLY loves 'em. she'll just- once you give her scritches she just. surrenders and leans into it. her purring sounds like a fucking jet plane when she gets the scritchies

she can roar, she only uses it to intimidate people tho

her self-worth is just. deeper than bedrock. she has no self-worth

she and puffy are working on it but she still... needs help

sometimes she gets phantom pain from her declawed fingers. she's found out it hurts less when she massages it, but she can't actually reach it, so she asks puffy to do it, and puffy can't help but feel guilty each time she sees the stumps

also niki hates getting her nails trimmed. like HATES it. even if she doesn't want them growing as long as they did before, the idea of something sharp near her fingers after what happened just makes her blanch

eventually tho she does have to do it

she hugs puffy while ant cuts her nails, and puffy whispers sweet, reassuring comments to her.

like

"you're doing so good. i'm so proud of you" and "we're almost there. you okay? we're gonna get through this."

sometimes tho niki just.. can't handle it. but she doesn't want to disappoint puffy either so she tries to just get through it anyways.

puffy notices her discomfort and asks her if she wants to stop. niki hesitates before nodding.

"niki, you being comfortable is so much more important than this. we can do it tomorrow, okay?"

Enderman Hybrid Niki

makes littol enderman noises. sometimes when she's stressed, sometimes just idly, sometimes when she's happy!

she has a tail because how can i not give her one

also she has pawsies and hands like magpiebur by @/nightferns (BECAUSE I LOVE THE WAY THEY DRAW WILBUR'S PAWWWS)

can withstand water a little better than ranboo, being more human than him

it still burns though

she just has higher pain tolerance lul

also can touch snow unlike ranboo because she's half human, half enderman

her ears and tail twitch whenever she's anxious

didn't really like eye contact, and the l'manbergians respected that (esp eret who didnt like people staring at their eyes either) until schlatt came along and basically forced it, so she kinda forced herself to do it from then on

unlike ranboo however, she doesnt go into enderwalk. she actually hasn't got an enderwalk because ranboo got it from nervous habit and it 'evolved' from there (my hc anyway), she instead literally gets hurt

like it hurts her to make eye contact

ranboo sees that she makes eye contact despite being an enderman hybrid and is like: "...HOW???"

she's just like "oh i force myself to do it lul. cause everyone expects me to anyways. it hurts after a while but its fine"

he just goes completely silent after that, then tells phil and techno at the syndicate meeting (while niki is admiring steve) not to hold eye contact w/niki because it hurts her

techno: "HEHH??? she seemed fine when i visited her!!" ranboo: "yeah she's been hiding it this whole time because society expects her to do it." techno, an adhd fella: "..phil where are the adoption papers-"

niki's confused by the end. why did nobody look at her? why did nobody maintain eye contact with her??? did they not like her?

but at the end phil explains that they thought that because she was an enderman hybrid she wouldn't like it (they're lying to not throw ranboo under the bus)

niki just stares, then starts to cry because holy Shit they are so nice

"nIKI NO YOU'RE BURNING-"

used to bite her tail as a way of self-harm. techno was VERY concerned when he saw the bite marks, but niki just lied and said that it was a dog attack

he knows for a fact it wasn't a dog because he's been bitten and his furniture has bites and it didnt look like that

more like that One Time when Ranboo bit him while he was in his enderwalk state

cue him connecting the dots and being like "...WAIT"

niki also really likes blocks. like we all know her city is weird in some parts because it's built with different blocks, signifying niki's jumbled up mind while planning to kill tommy. but in the enderman hybrid niki hc, its also partly because blocks feel nice and she wanted to feel different ones

her tail curls around the legs of people she likes. so far, it's gone around: wilbur, tommy n tubbo (those two specifically during pogtopia), fundy, eret, puffy and the rest of the syndicate

whenever puffy made her flustered she'd blush either green or pink. no inbetween. puffy was very confused and thought niki was disgusted by her at first and was all :(( before niki explained her wack biology

that's all i got for now im afraid!

[flightfoot]

My ranking of Sentibubbler, Rocketear, Mega Leech, Crocoduel, and Wishmaker

Since it looks like it’s gonna be a bit before we get some new ML episodes (seriously it’s been nearly a month since the last one and we STILL don’t have an exact date), I figured that I’d rank the episodes we already have, giving my reviews of them along the way. I already ranked the first nine released episodes, which is why I’m only doing the next five right now. At the end of the season I’ll probably rank all of season 4′s episodes together, but with less in-depth reviews because that would be INSANELY long and no one would read it.

I’ve enjoyed all the season 4 episodes so far and this was a pretty good batch in general, but some of them still have to be further down the list, sadly.

5. Mega Leech

This one was hands-down my least favorite of the batch. I liked Ladybug’s speech to Mylene about how being brave doesn’t mean being fearless, and Mylene and Ivan standing up against eco-washing corporations, even defying Mayor Andre to do so, was pretty cool. I found it interesting that they’d tried to tell their classmates about what was going on for AGES, but hadn’t gotten their attention until now, and the class didn’t even remember it. Just nice to see Mylene and Ivan having their own problems and goals that, since we normally just follow Marinette and Adrien, we don’t really see.

Personally though, I just found it kind of forgettable. A fun enough episode, but not much more. I’ve always been okay with Mylene, but never found her super interesting, and this episode didn’t change that. The Gabriel and Adrien scene at the ending was interesting, but raised more questions than it answered.

In a season as chockful of plot and character development as season 4, Mega Leech came off as filler.

4. Rocketear

So all four of these next episodes are AMAZING, so the rankings might shuffle around in my final season 4 ranking, since they’re pretty close to each other. 

Rena Furtive looks awesome, and I really love how we got to see Alya and Nino dealing with their own emotional issues, having their viewpoints shown. Poor Nino had the world conspire to make him think that Alya had fallen for Chat Noir. His detective-noir setup was hilarious! 

Got some major bombshells too, with Adrien finding out Alya’s and Nino’s superhero identities AND that they knew who the other person is, that they know each other’s identities. Something which he doesn’t react well too, and for good reason. Gives some delicious drama and angst and exploration of Adrien’s emotions and feelings.

Really appreciated what the episode did with Alya too! She has her own wants and needs. She really wants to be able to show Rena Furtive off, but understands why she can’t - she was the one who came up with the ruse in the first place, after all. Doesn’t stop her from really, really wanting too though. Enjoyed seeing her banter with Chat Noir too, they both give as good as they take.

Best of all, Alya put her own mental and emotional well-being and her relationship with Nino ahead at the end. She tried lying to Nino, she understood why Marinette asked that from her, but it helped lead to this awful misunderstanding. Plus she’s seen how much Marinette’s struggling with keeping all of her secrets, how much it’s impacted her relationships, and decided that she doesn’t want to get to that point.

Reminds me of Gang of Secrets, with how Marinette pushed all her relationships, all her friends away to keep her secret, but then finally caved so she could get some support. Alya hadn’t reached that point, but I can see why she’d try to head it off, not let it ruin her relationship down the line.

3. Crocoduel

I think I’m in the minority with this one, but I had a blast with Crocoduel! Tigress Pourpre was GORGEOUS, we got some of that Couffaine family drama I’ve been asking for since “Truth”, and a bunch of interesting conflicts and misunderstandings, and just... the exploration of emotions was great.

Really loved what it did for Juleka and Luka especially. Juleka got some nice character development, being able to make herself heard. And as for Luka, we got to see that the class are as much his friends as Marinette’s, that they love and care for him and want him to feel better. Seriously, that scene where all of them hug Luka and tell him how much they care for him was great!

Misunderstandings, conflicts, and fears abounded this episode, with Marinette being nervous about talking to Luka, both for her own sake and because she was afraid of hurting him more, Juleka feeling ignored and forgotten by Jagged, Marinette asking Juleka to try to ward Luka away from hers and his birthday party, and Jagged and Anarka’s pissing match. Confrontation and communication saved the day this episode.

I really love complex emotions and conflicts being explored and resolved, so I love this episode!

2. Sentibubbler

This episode might as well be named “Why Alya Is Awesome”. Seriously, Shadowmoth had her on the ropes, with Marinette, Nino, and her family all held hostage, and she played him like a freaking fiddle. And it was HER plan too, something she came up with and implemented herself during an extremely stressful situation! It convinced me that if the need arose, Alya could take over as the planner. Which makes sense, since Marinette’s been training Alya to basically be her backup in case something happens to her.

The fallout from the first half of the season with Chat Noir being sidelined and generally not seeming to be as needed came to fruition this episode, with him getting really frustrated at being left out again, after already not getting to the battle in time in Optigami. A lot of us had noticed him getting less focus and action had really, really hoped it was part of the story arc, that it’d be addressed, so it was good to see confirmation on that.

1. Wishmaker

It was a tough fight between Sentibubbler and Wishmaker, but overall I found Wishmaker to be more fun while still being a really plot and character heavy episode. It made me like Luka and Alec quite a bit more, which I did NOT expect with Alec. He’s always been a bit of a jerk, but that was really explored and explained this episode, and I liked his character development. 

As for Luka, I’m just glad he had more focus NOT centered around his relationship with Marinette. HIs interactions with croco-jagged were hilarious, and it was nice to see what he wanted to do for a living. 

Really interesting that he discovered Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s identities, and DIDN’T tell Ladybug. I’m curious to see where that goes.

Oooh, and Adrien’s dream, or lack of one - that was heartbreaking. The fandom’s talked about Adrien not really knowing what he wants, but to see it addressed like this... it was great. DAMN though, his dream being to be what his parents wanted him to be, and for him to have that dream since he was an INFANT? That hurts.

The akuma was really fun in general, giving us Croco-Jagged and Pickled Banana. I rewatched it twice in one day, and loved it both times!

[crystal-moon-101]

I wanna hear your take on Benlie and/or Benkai. You don’t have to ship them, just say a few things you could have done to make them smoother and healthier, friendship or romance. You could even have both if you have an idea on a better, cleaner break up story.

Ok, so I’m a Benlie person, 100%, and while I don’t ship Ben and Kai, I definitely think they deserved to be handled better. So I have rewritten how those relationships, along with a few others of Ben’s love life, have gone, and I’ll share it here. Warning, this does get a bit long, and does have some violence at a certain point, but I hope you enjoy my take on it!

So the start of Ben and Julie’s relationship in Alien Force is mostly the same, though I did adjust it that they somewhat knew each other before hand, having seen each other in school, especially since Ben’s soccer practice took place at the same time and same kind of area as the girl’s tennis practice.  Ben asks her out, Ship appears and becomes her pet, Julie starts understanding the alien better, sees Ben have 14 moth children, the basic stuff from canon. However, my major changes start during season 3 of Alien Force, the part of the series that took quite the nose dive in terms of character arcs. I still have it that Ben and Julie start to have issues and argue, but in believable ways, and they still clearly love each other. The issues arise when Ben does start to get cocky a little, due to all the praise he’s getting from saving the galaxy from the High-Breed, and his accomplishment surrounding that are huge, since he hasn’t won something like that before. Again, doesn’t help that half the galaxy keeps praising him and treating him like a God, but Ben does still be a hero, and even starts to get anxieties since now he’s starting to deal with bigger issues, more people demanding for him to help their planets around the galaxy, and Ben wants to be that hero for them...but there is only so much he can do. He does love the admiration from everyone, feeling special and all that, but he does start to make him feel different, in and odd way...He’s struggle to connect with his human grounds now, due to constantly turning into aliens and spending time out in space, his relationship with earth just isn’t the same anymore. And even them, aliens around him treat him as something else too, like he’s not human or an alien, he’s something else, and not knowing what makes him nervous. To mask all of these fears, he uses his over-confident nature like a mask, and it does get pretty bad for a month or two until Gwen, Julie and Kevin make him see reason. Meanwhile, Julie is struggling in her own right after the High-Breed war. She was happy to have fought in it to protect her home and people, but after seeing a proper glimpse of the alien worlds outside of earth...she will admit that scares her. She didn’t go off world like when Kevin, Gwen and Ben did, mostly waiting for them on earth and did missions there with them, even lending them Ship when they needed it. While she didn’t judge Ben and was willing to live with idea of aliens after their first date, like adopting Ship, she still have a lot to process about there being alien life. It’s much harder on her than it was for Ben, because he learnt about it when he was young, his entire family knew about it and could support him through it, and even the Omnitrix provided better understandings for him. Julie...she didn’t have any of that. It was just her dad, Ship and her, and while Ship was a good start, he was still just one tiny piece of the outside world around her. She knew she’d have to accept it over time, now that she knew the truth, and especially when earth starts learning that truth too, but at times it felt like she wasn’t allowed to process. She doesn’t blame Ben for it, as he’s so use to it all by now, but there have been many moments where he seems to forget she is very early to this whole alien concept compared to him. She was afraid she couldn’t catch up, and even has moments where she didn’t want to take a step forward, afraid of what she might find. So she started joining less and less missions with Ben, Gwen and Kevin, and while she still hanged out with them, she tried not to get involved with their alien business. She will admit, maybe a part of her wished she didn’t know about alien life at times, to have a life back when things seemed more simple.

So these deep feelings from both Ben and Julie spark arguments, because both are unsure with themselves, thus unsure in relationships with others, especially each other, with Julie thinking she couldn’t keep up with Ben, and Ben thinking he couldn’t slow down for her. And it all eventually led to a point where things had to stop... And unlike Omniverse’s god awful handle of the break up, I instead had it like this. Julie is the one who starts the conversation, having called Ben over to her. She’s honest with him, saying that it’s just not working out, and that they should find different people that work for them. Ben does beg a little at first, saying he’ll try better, but Julie knows that right now they can’t be a happy couple and need space, and Ben eventually agrees, but it still hurts. It hurts more when Gwen and Kevin leave too, and Julie also goes on a tennis tournament in France, so Ben has to deal with the loneliness he feels for a while, even when Rook joins his side. Meanwhile, Julie meets Herve in France, who was taking photographs for sport magazines. The two talk and eventually hit it off, Julie somewhat clinging a little as Herve is very much the down to earth and normal human guy she thought she wanted, someone who wasn’t related to any alien business. She does miss Ben, a part of her not letting go, and while the two agreed to remain friends, they did drift a little over time. They would still voice chat, send some text and Ben would check up on her tournaments when he could, but both of their lives got rather busy and they drifted away for a couple of months, though still dearly missing each other. Ben takes his time to heal, still dealing with all the other problems he’s facing, especially the whole “Am I human, am I alien, am I something else?” and “How much of a hero am I without the watch?”. His friendship with Rook grows pretty well, and he settles somethings with Gwen and Kevin since they moved to university. So most relationships of his are going well, expect for romantic relationships...  He struggles to settle and commit to most of them, and mostly dates around for a bit, spending some time with people like Looma, Rook Shar, even Attea on one date. He does eventually settle with Ester for a bit, and the two seem like a good match. Both fun loving, eager for adventure, and enjoy each other’s company. And Ben did try and make it work, he really did, Ester was a great girl and he wanted the best for her but...again, it was hard for them to keep up with each other. Ester is a girl full of energy, and very much wants to do something 24/7, and while she doesn’t fault Ben, she will admit she does get lonely when he spends so much time off on missions she can’t join in, and the two break it off when Ben couldn’t be what she needed. But they are still close friends and hang out pretty often. Again, alone in his love life, Ben felt hopeless in it. Was he cursed to be single for the rest of his life? So when Kai came back into his life, his first proper crush he can remember, he will admit that maybe he jumped into things too quickly. There was no Kenny time traveling nonsense in this version, no fate tying to together, rather just two young teens jumping into a relationship neither ended up wanting. But they stuck with it for a while because they felt like they had to, despite the arguments and bickering. Both were scared to be alone, as Ben couldn’t lose another girlfriend, and Kai realized just how lonely her work made her feel. They didn’t hate each other, they just weren’t in love. It didn’t help that, since Julie returned to Bellwood with Herve, Ben felt jealous at Herve. Which annoyed him, because Herve was actually a really nice person, and gave Julie a lot of love. Really, it was more Ben angry at himself that he couldn’t provide the things Julie needed...And while Julie and Ben did talk and hang out from time to time, Ben was distance often, even when Julie reached out to him. It was just...seeing her so happy, living a normal life, Ben didn’t want to taint that with his presence.  It wasn’t until one fateful day that things started to turn around, though the start was pretty bad. It was another day, another fight with Vilgax, who was rampaging through the streets, clashing with Plumbers, Ben and Rook. Julie and Herve had been nearby when it started, and the two decided to help get civilians to safety, splitting up at one point to cover more ground. Julie ran into Rook and Ben, who tried to usher Julie away, but unfortunately Vilgax noticed her, and saw Ben’s panic of worry for Julie to run. It didn’t take long for Vilgax to remember who this young teenage girl was, and decided to use her as hostage against Ben. Seeing his arch nemesis using someone he secretly still loved as hostage, not to mention he had a pretty bad week before hand, Ben just...kind of snapped. He didn’t go easy on Vilgax for once, switching between multiple aliens rapidly to stomp Vilgax into the ground. (Side Note: I have the headcanon that, while Ben can do rapid transformation, if he does so many in a short amount of time, he does get a mild side affect of his emotions being amplified, due to his brain having tumbled around from the quick transformations.)   By the time the Plumbers and Rook arrived, the two city blocks had been trashed and Vilgax was burred into the road. Due to the side affect of multi  rapid transformations, Ben was protectively holding onto Julie, who had passed out from some injures from Vilgax (Nothing major, but the stress of it did make her lose conscious). They managed to pry Julie away, while Ben was taken away to calm down, needing to give his body and mind for a rest. Julie was taken to a Plumber hospital, and she woke up fairly soon with mild injures that wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to heal over the next few weeks. Many visited her, including Herve, her dad, Gwen and Kevin, along with Ship her stayed by her the entire time. It took a long while for Ben to show up, mostly because he was nervous and felt ashamed by how he acted, but Gwen gave him a good peep talk and convinced him to go.   It started off a little awkward, but simple, Ben checking how she was feeling, with her also making sure he was ok too. They catched up a bit, even laughing over some old memories, which eventually lead into a small discussion about their past relationship, both finally properly apologizing for how they acted, even clearly up a few things that were worried over, like Ben admitting that he had been avoiding Julie because he thought it was better for her, and not because he hated her or anything. Buttt, one thing lead to another and well...the two kissed in the heat of the moment, both going in for it, and for a few seconds it was bliss...until they both realized what they were doing, and understanding that one, Julie was still dating Herve, and second, Ben was still dating Kai. Flustered, Ben rushed out of there, with Julie panicking over what they did.

The two keep it a secret, not wanting people to know what happened between them, and when Julie got out of the hospital, they kind of awkwardly avoided each other, needing to think about things. They clearly still held feelings, but they were both dating other people and were scared to mess up with each other again. Cue them somehow almost always bumping into each other, like the gods themselves were trying to make them suffer, and their feelings becoming more and more obvious, but neither making a move of any kind. Ben confides in Kevin, Gwen and Rook, even admitting to his feelings and the kiss to them, and while they give him advice, they know it’s up to him and Julie to sort things out.

But Ben avoids it again, not ready and unsure in himself. He already messed up many relationships before hand, including with Julie, so what if it all went downhill again...And Julie questioned herself, she had been avoiding space and alien life for so long, thinking it would make her happy, but she starts to realize that no...it’s not making her happy, trying to deny something outside of her bubble just wasn’t working anymore, especially with her feelings towards Ben. However, after some long thinking, Ben decides to at least do one thing. So he organizes a get together with Kai at a cafe, needing to talk to her. The two have a sit down and Ben explains that this relationship isn’t working, and that they shouldn’t keep trying to make something that isn’t there to happen. Kai agrees, both feeling some stress loosen from their shoulders, and they still decide to be friends, feeling much more comfortable with a relationship like that, even sharing a nice hot chocolate together at the cafe. And so while Ben goes to deal with the other problem in his love life, Kai may or may not end up catching up with Ester in the process~ While Ben makes plans on what to do next, he and Rook are ended up being called over to a Plumber Prison base, to make plans to move Vilgax finally. Little did they know, Vilgax prepared for this. You see, a part of him already knew he’d be capture again, sent to this base to await movement, so the last time he was here, he built up some allies on the inside, and eventually the outside. He also knew Ben would show up, so he made a plan to make sure the Omnitrix wouldn’t get in the way. After how Ben stomped him into the streets before, Vilgax was looking for some nasty revenge. Not really kill Ben...but something more traumatic.  So when Ben and Rook show up, surprise surprise, Vilgax isn’t in his cell. While Rook talks to some of the guards, Ben searches Vilgax’s cell for clues, only for it to suddenly turn on, along with it’s defenses, including an electric shock that surprises Ben, and causes the watch to bug out, unable to be used. Rook check on Ben, but next thing anyone knows, alarms start blaring and almost all cells open, and prisoners start running while. Since Ben’s watch is down, and many people here hate him, Rook wants to keep him safe and tries to escort off the base. But Ben being Ben, he wanted to help, and rushed off to try and help some injured guards here and there, with Rook following. However, some prisoners, who were secretly working under Vilgax, skillfully guide Rook and Ben away from each other, and eventually trap Ben in a lone room, but not by himself. There, Vilgax was waiting for him, and since Ben didn’t have the watch to help, he was screwed. Vilgax knocked him around a few times, though being careful enough to not instantly kill Ben with his strength, before deciding finally to make the hero suffer. (Warning here for those who are squeamish) He does so but taking the tip of one of his claws, and dragging it down Ben’s arms, damaging his nerves. He would have done more, if not for Rook, the guards and some Plumber bursting in and chasing him off, saving Ben before he could bleed out, but the boy did pass out and wouldn’t wake up for a long while. People were, of course, scared...particularly Ben’s friends and family, who visited him everyday, mostly Max and surprisingly Azmuth, who also fixed the watch to help in Ben’s recovery. Gwen and Kevin ended up being the ones to inform Julie what happened, when she noticed Ben wasn’t around, and hearing that Ben almost died...it scared Julie. She didn’t want to lose him, of course, but also the idea that he could have died while they still had issues to fix...she didn’t want it to end like that, for things to be so messy and unclear. So when Herve saw her look down and upset, and getting her to explain what happened to Ben, the two talked. Herve admits that for a while he knew Julie still had feelings for Ben, and could tell that things weren’t so cut and dry between them, especially when he got to met Ben himself. He also admits that maybe Julie and Herve are, in a way, maybe a little too perfect for each other. Their relationship is stagnant at times, with not a lot of growth because never healthy challenges the other. So with no hard feelings whatsoever, Herve says that if Julie wants too, the two can break up but still remain friends, and Julie thanks him, agreeing too and even asking that she hopes he can still be her photographer. And for the next few weeks, Julie visits Ben with some of the others from time to time, hoping he’ll be ok so they can talk... Eventually, Ben wakes up, Azmuth having been there when he did so, and helps to catch the young boy up on what happened. Ben notices that, while his arms have been healing finely enough, his nerves are a little slow in the process, having not fully recovered, shown by him unable to keep his arms and hands steady, constantly shaking when moving them. It scares him, even when Azmuth reassures him that they’ll heal thanks to the watch...Ben just can’t help but feel like if they don’t heal, then he may have to give up the hero business in the end, even if that’s just his fears playing tricks on him.  So during his recovery, people come visit him, making sure he’s ok. Until eventually, Julie shows up, wanting to make sure he’s ok, and knowing they had to talk. They couldn’t keep putting it off, especially after something like this, and Ben finally agrees to stop running and to finally clear things out. They discuss a little more about their past relationship, about their insecurities during it, and where they go from here, both mentioning they’ve broken up with Herve and Kai.  They talk some more, relaxing in each other’s company, and admit to their feelings, both deep down knowing they want to give it another go. And since they’ve had time apart, learnt from new experiences, they decide that maybe they can try, taking it slow and see where it will go. And the two kiss, and for once in a very long time...it feels right. As said, they take things slow, and after everything that happened in the past few years, things actually go well for them. There are, of course, hiccups there and here, but they’re matured enough to know how to talk things through, and solve problems together.  Ben does start to recover more and leave the hospital, and while he nerves aren’t fully healed by them, they will eventually. And while the two go one small dates during his healing, catching up and being blissfully happy with each other, they end up bumping into Kai and Ester, who appear to also be dating now. One thing led to another and the four end up going on double dates fairly often, having fun times together, Ben 100% supporting his two exs dating, seeing how happy they are. Julie, Ester and Kai even like to share cheesy stories of when Ben was their boyfriend, and he loves to play alone with it too.   And that, is my take on Ben and Julie’s relationship! 💚💗

[echos-newlegs]

Hey there y’all, this is my first ever post and it was a request from a friend (idk their tumblr yet, I’ll probably just share it with them on Instagram lmao.) anyways it is a multiple part, Echo x Fem!Reader and you’ve landed on the first part! I will be linking the second part below after I make it. You can message me request too, and I’ll get to them before or after I finish this, I may do some prompt lists 😏 This is post and then Pre-Citadel. Reader has a daughter from a previous relationship and I promise it’ll get more interesting. I’ve never actually wrote and posted a story of any of the clones and I feel like I don’t do Echo any justice, but enough talk here ye be.

(P.S. c/n means child’s name. My friend was very specific with this request)

Part One - Part 2

Echo sat up at the bar. A drink in hand that he was slowly milking. His mind was everywhere but there. He was thinking about the war, sleep, his brothers he’s lost, who he could have and didn’t save. It was all a nightmare and a half. He’d honestly pay for just a simple hug from someone who wasn’t his brothers. Even from Ahsoka. Someone who he knew cared about him, but wasn’t part of him. If that made any sense?

So he stepped away from the bar with a sharp sigh. Patting Fives back. Gloved hand slapping against the others armor. “I’m gunna head for a walk,” “Want me to join ya?” Fives asked in a slur. He was obviously not milking his drinks like Echo was. Causing him to smile with a chuckle, “no, I’ll be fine, you.. Keep an eye on Rex.” He teased and Fives grinned. “You got it, vod.” He spoke and spun in his chair to face the other clones.

The moment Echo stepped out the door he felt a bit better. It wasn’t as stuffy and loud out as it was back in 79’s. Starting his little stroll with a small hum. He wasn’t even sure what he was humming. Just a ramble of tunes he had heard. “Mama, look!” He heard a voice shout. A little one. “C/N! Get back here!”a woman shouted and before Echo could turn around there was someone tapping on the back of his leg. “Mister, are you a clone?” Echo turned, raising an arm and looking down to the child. Brows furrowed, a small smile rising to his face. “Hello to you too, little one, yeah, yeah I am..” he murmured and the little girl squealed. “Mama it is a clone trooper! Are you one of the boys in blue? You have to be! I see you on the holo- Mama!” She rambled, and then shouted when you pulled her from Echo. “I am so so sorry about her.” You spoke. Bags of fruit and other groceries in one hand and stuffed under your arm. Your other hand now holding your daughters hand.

Echo was amazed by how much the kid knew. Smiling softly in amusement. Though he was even more amused when you came into view. You were breath taking, really. Running up behind her and pulling her back from him. Apologizing for the incident. Though he didn’t really mind. “Oh, no need to apologize ma’am, feels nice to be recognized by someone,” he joked, c/n whining a bit. “Mama, he’s part of the five oh first, I know it, I do. I was just asking him questions.” “Well baby, you can’t go running off like that,” “but mama-“ Echo kneeled and caught the girls attention, both of you actually. “You know, good soldiers follow orders, you need to listen to your mama, she just wants you safe,” he spoke. Smiling at the kid and she stared at him in awe. You watching Echo with an intrigued expression. “Yes, mr. clone sir.” She piped and Echo giggled at that. Nudging the girls shoulder. “At ease, solder, I’m an Arc Trooper, not a Captain or Commander, names Echo.” “Echo..” she whispered, “I’m c/n, and this is my mama, and she loves the 501st, and-“ you grew a bit flustered, laughing a bit nervously. “Okay hun, that’s enough. We should probably let him be now.”

Echo stood from where he was crouched, looking you in the face for a moment. “Can I at least help you with your bags,” “y/n,” he smiled as you said your name. “Y/n, it’s the least I could do.” He spoke and you smiled a bit sheepishly. Glancing down to the bags and then back to him. “Sure,” you gave in. You couldn’t say no. His eyes pleaded with you and you lost the battle. Though it wasn’t hard to convince you when help was offered. You handed him some of the bags and he took them. You stuck with less now since he took most of the heavy things. Giving you a look when you went to tell him it was fine. That you could carry them. “Least I can do for a supporter,” he added with a smile that had you smiling black and even blushing a little.

The three of you got to the apartment you lived at. You pulling out your key as your daughter rambled, somethings incoherent. Pushing the door open, your daughter running in, and you following. Turning to motion for echo to follow with a small grin. “C’mon, Arc Trooper,” you added with a grin, snickering slightly as he stumbled a bit through the door.

Echo sat the things down, looking around the house slightly before they landed back onto you. “Would you like to stay for supper?” You asked, putting away some of the groceries. “Nah, I don’t want to intrude.” You smiled, turning as you shut the fridge. “Please? It’s the least I could do, for a helper. Plus you’d make my daughters day, you guys are her hero’s.” You added and he smiled, “Alright, alright, you got me.” He added. Though he was going to say yes even if you would have just said please. He was hungry, and something other than rations sounded like an absolute blessing. Not only that, but he wanted to get to know you more. You intrigued him, you were beautiful and kind. Yet he barely knew you and already wanted to make this a normal thing.

While you fixed up supper Echo ended up wandering off with your daughter. The five year old grabbing his hand and dragging him back into her room to show him her toys. It made you a little nervous, even if he was a clone. You knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but you rarely left anyone alone with her. She was really all you had left. Her father leaving the both of you behind shortly after she was born. So you ventured back while you let some of the meat cook. Seasonings already filling the air and your senses. Peaking into the bedroom to see Echo sitting on the floor with her.. Playing. The sight shocked you more than it did him really. Standing, watching for a moment with a small smile on your face.

Echo was using the toy ship she had, flying it around and imitating noises as your daughter did the same. Brows knitted together just the slightest bit in concentration. “Ahhhh, your ships been hit!” She exclaimed and Echo gasped. “Oh no, Crash landing, or as General Skywalker would say.” “Surprise landing!” The two exclaimed at the same time. Causing the, to break into a fit of giggles. You bringing a hand up to your mouth as you leaned against the door way. Giggling a bit yourself.

Your little laugh made Echos head turn to face the door. “Ma- er- y/n,” “is the food ready mama?” Your daughter interrupted him, and you could swear he was blushing. “It nearly is, go get washed up honey,” you added and your daughter shot up. Tapping Echos shoulder, “C’mon, we have to wash our hands before we eat, Echo.” She stated with a grin and you chuckled as the two passed you to the bathroom. Catching Echos glance and shrug. Which cause you to giggle again. Catching him smile even more before he turned away,

The two came back, your daughter on his shoulders and you were dishing out food for the three of you. “Mama look! I’m big!” She was in a fit of laughter, and he was too. You hadn’t seen her so happy in what felt like forever. “You are, aren’t you?” You cooed a bit and watched as he pulled her off and placed her into a chair. Sitting in his own. “No, mama sits there,” she spoke and you furrowed your brows. “Oh sorry,” “I’m joking,” your daughter blurted with a snicker and you sighed. “She’s full of those.” You rolled your eyes as you sat and Echo seated himself again. Smiling at you as he sat across from you. “Does she get the sense of humor from you?” He asked with a brow raised. You meeting his gaze with a bit of a smirk. “Maybe she does,” causing you both to laugh a bit.

The three of you ate, but it wasn’t without conversation. You had your fair share of questions. Asking about the hand print on his armor. Why he was on Corusant and wandering. Instead of at 79’s like you noticed most other clones were. Which he has an answer for each question. Though he did seem a bit nervous almost. Once finished you instructed your daughter to get ready for bed. Though she was hesitant, she finally did shuffle off to the bathroom to brush her teeth and then her room to get dressed. Leaving you and Echo in the kitchen by yourselves.

You collected all the dishes and placed them in the sink, deciding to do them after he left. “Let me help you,” “You’ve done enough helping today, soldier.” You told him with a grin. “Sit back down, it’s fine.” You added, and he smiled. Doing as told, “yes sir,” he added and you let out a titter. He was so formal and cute.

You sat back down across from him, and he was staring at his hands. “Thank you,” you spoke. He looked up with his brows raised. “For helping, and making my daughters world.” You spoke and he shrugged. “It’s my pleasure, y/n.” You pressed your lips together. Watching him for a moment or two. “I’d love to have you back,” you words shocked him. Watching as your cheeks tinted pink and your eyes darted down to your hands folded on the table. “I mean, if you’re ever on Corusant again, I really enjoyed your company. Don’t find a lot of nice people anymore.” People. The word was vague, meaningless to most, but the fact you didn’t call him a clone made his day. You included him as someone, not what he was. “Plus it’d make c/n’s day.” He smiled and nodded. “I’d love to, I don’t find a lot of people willing to feed, let alone hang out with clones like me.” You scoffed a bit and chuckled. “You’re kidding right?” His smile faded a bit. “No?” “Echo, you’re absolutely wonderful, and I don’t see why People wouldn’t want to hang around you. What? Just because you share the same face with a million other people? That’s ridiculous and people are obviously missing out.”

Your words weren’t much. It wouldn’t mean much to a lot, but to him it was like poetry. Without the rhyming. “Thank you,” he nearly whispered. Staring at you in awe, and you smiled back. Reaching a hand out to place on top of his. It made him jump a bit, causing you to retract your hand. “No no-“ he blurted, clearing his throat. Eyes darting around. “I mean, it’s fine, you’re fine, I just don’t get touched often.” He spoke, voice light and faint. Looking up to you with tinted cheeks. You wanted to pull him over to the couch and just hug on him. He was so sweet, so unloved by those who weren’t his brothers and you could tell. Frowning a bit and you placed your hand back onto him. Watching as his expression changed a bit. Softened even more, if that were even possible. He seemed relaxed. You barely knew him and you wanted him to be as comfortable as possible.

A few moments passed. The two of you sharing glances and unspoken words. Which was soon interrupted by Echos com link. “Echo, we’re heading back, I hope you’re not getting laid right now.” Fives spoke over, drunken giggles following after. Echos tanned face flushed red. Eyes widening and his eyes darting down. “Kriff, I better get going, thank you so much for the food.” He spoke in a near ramble and you couldn’t help but smile. A small giggle following after. “Of course, you should come see me next time you’re in Corusant.” You added, walking him to the door. Both of you smiling like idiots. “Sure thing, how could I not?” He added and you directed your gaze down at the floor. Smiling a bit more. “I’ll be expecting to see you again, then.” And those words were enough to keep Echo fighting hard during the war. The two of you exchanging good byes. Echo making his way back to 79’s. Hoping Fives didn’t just up and leave him.

———————

[toujoursmiraculous]

Thoughts and Reaction to OPTIGAMI!!

I have never been so nervous and scream so much during an episode of this show before. And if you know me, that's saying something. Gabriel and Nathalie are getting seriously scary. Their plans are getting much more convoluted and are getting closer and closer to actually succeeding. And because of this, Alya's involvement is a lot more important now because there's no way Chat Noir and Ladybug would have managed it without her. Let's be real, the reason they chose Nino as their target was because Gabriel's still bitter about Adrien and Nino being friends after Bubbler. Awww all the Kwami's are so cute, wanting to go along. Trixx being like, oh well I have an owner so I can go! And Marinette being adamantly against it. It was at this moment I knew, Alya's getting that Miraculous permanently. But I didn't know if it'd be in this episode or not, so I didn't get too excited yet. But Trixx and Alya's bond is something I really like and want to see more of. Nino and Alya's little high-five/handshake is so cute I can't help but smile every time. x3

Marinette's freak-out about getting in the elevator. Luka's got a soft look on his face. Kagami's like "why are you like this" Max's just confused at what's going on AND THEN THERE'S ADRIEN WITH THE SOFTEST LOOK When you realize that Marinette adoringly (and appeared like she wishes she could have that, too) watching Alya and Nino do their little high-five/handshake is what saved everything in the end.....😬Cutting it really close. I thought Alec got trapped by Hawk Moth and that that's why he didn't show up. Who knew he was playing video games in a bathroom stall instead of doing his job lol. Lesson learned, I hope. xD I'm just surprised Hawk Moth's in the bathroom instead of his lair. He could do the same thing from home. 😂 I'm not a fan of Audrey, but that was really cold. The exchange between Marinette and Alya during an akuma attack is what I've been waiting for since Gang of Secrets. Adrien being wonderful and protecting Chloe, which could've messed up everything had Kagami not saved him. It's so sweet that despite what happened between them, she still risks herself to save him. "Plagg-" Marinette comes bursting into the elevator, looking in her bag "Tikk..iii!" OOF So I screamed, a lot. And laughed hysterically 😂 All Marinette had to do was run in facing the other way and she'd see Plagg and it'd be all over. All that had to happen was for her to run in a second or two later. All that had to happen was she noticed Adrien a second or two too late. But Adrien heard her say "Tikk...iii" in an attempt to cover herself. Remember, he's always had suspicion of Marinette being Ladybug and came to the conclusion easily enough. Kwamibuster did divert his attention away from it a bit, but Chat Blanc took place after and he didn't hesitate to think otherwise. Aww poor Zoe :c She's part of the "Chloe's used me as a human shield" club. (((Everything after this point, I had to completely redo because tumblr decided to suck and wouldn't allow me to post my message due to an "error" (which has never happened to me before), then wouldn't let me save it as a draft. Then when I went to copy it all, somehow everything got eaten and it wouldn't allow me to undo to bring it back 😭 Goodbye an hour and a half of my time. And another hour and a half redoing it all. So if I happen to leave anything big out, I'm so sorry. My luck has just been extremely awful lately.))) You can take the Miraculous away from the kid, but you can't take the Miraculous out of the kid. Max and Luka showing their hero sides while not suited up is so nice. Loving the Oblivio parallel! Marinette says softly, "I'm sure Chat Noir will save us." While I know she's Ladybug and knows Ladybug won't show up to save them, he doesn't know that. Her response of Chat Noir will come save them, shows that she has confidence in him. Even if Adrien knows Chat Noir won't show up, that's such a sweet thing for her to say and I hope he noticed that. Marinette: "I'M STUCK IN THE ELEVATOR" Alya: "Ohhh? With

Adrien?" Marinette: how did she know? "Yeeeeees!" Alya: oh wait this is really bad Adrien: "I'm stuck in the elevator with Marinette!" Nino: "How cool! Adrien and Marinette are stuck together in the elevator!" Alya: "Haha yeah so cool and not problematic at all!" I love this entire scene. Alya teasing Marinette but then being like oh shoot this is seriously bad. Nino being totally oblivious to it all and thinking that it's good news to get their friends closer. And Adrien's just like, I'm not going to ask for help, I'm just informing my friend I'm stuck in an elevator with my just a friend. xDD And that kiss on the cheek from Alya was adooorable! Emergency phone for the Kwami's is such a good idea. But yeah, if they all screamed "Hello?!" in my ear, I'd be chucking my phone across the room too. Adrien's like, "who's that? That sounded like a lot of people.: "I called the fire department." OK. Yes, because you tell the fire department not to fly but to ride a horse to come rescue you when you're in a skyscraper. And repeat it again "Understood, firefighters? Ride in on a horse." Adrien's over in the corner like what the heck? You also, to firefighters, totally yell, "No, no, not prehistory!" and then sheepishly grin at the person you're with. Totally not sus and makes absolutely perfect sense! And then here's the part that has me going ??? Adrien saw Optigami's eyes on the wall, immediately alerts her to that and shushes her. Now, they're hiding from an akuma, but the thing sees them. There's no hiding from it regardless of what's said. So why be quiet? And yet, he's shushing her which convinces her to hang up. Had she continued trying to talk to them, Nathalie might've caught on to there being something up. Adrien's in Chat Noir mode here, as if what she's saying could expose their identities to Hawk Moth. That intense look he gives her after the fact too really shows that, he's not messing around. They also were both just about to tell the other their identities, them being extremely close to each other to do so. They came so close! So what's going on here, exactly? Adrien's come to the conclusion Ladybug is Marinette before. In Chat Blanc, after Kwamibuster showed him supposedly that LB and Marinette are different people, he didn't hesitate to think that Ladybug was Marinette. I don't think he's ever let that possibility go. And the events in the elevator where she started calling for Tikki, and her nonsensical comments over the phone that'd be something Ladybug does, may really have him leaning in that direction. Also, so very sus again that once Optigami went away, they both were like "Oh it was nothing" "I was only wondering what that strange eye thing was." Yeah, that's why you guys sounded nervous like you had something important to say and got in each other's faces! :D It's also interesting, because whenever Marinette and Adrien are in a situation together, Adrien almost always is the one that takes hold of the situation and is more aware of his surroundings over Marinette. xD This man over here just eagerly eliminating children. x.x Like a lot of things in this show, if Alya had just answered that phone call from Nino, events may have played out completely differently! o.o There goes the Eiffel Tower again xD It never not gets blown up, knocked over, or teleported. LOL it's so funny to me, and also such a yikes moment, that while Alya rushed over to Marinette's, got the Miraculous, teleported back, found "Nino" and gave him the Miraculous, then teleported into the elevator, Ladybug and Chat Noir's civilian selves are just trapped in that elevator, awkwardly, and all alone. Likely deep in thought feeling guilty they're powerless to do anything without exposing their identities. xD But at least they're both brooding over the same thing and probably couldn't care less if the other one talks or not, nor noticing enough that the other's really quiet. XD And the way they both reacted to the portal being opened in the elevator. Cautious, but then Adrien puts his hand on Marinette's back and kind of has

her in a position where he can pull her back to him and protect her. Which is a very different kind of protection than he's offered to others, Chloe earlier in this episode being a very good example. Just a friend? Yeeaah. The fact that in every single episode that has Marinette and Adrien interact this season, there's something there, and it's just a matter of time before it's addressed. A bit sad that we didn't get actual Carapace in this episode, but I'm hoping we get him in later eps! MAJOR OOOF A train with people in it underwater, a skyscraper with probably a lot of people in it burning in a volcano, cars, what looks to be the building they were filming the music video in Frightningale, and the Arc de Triomphe on the moon. Yeah I'm seeing where things are going now with this. I'm going to write a post addressing some of these things a bit later. Ladybug in a ponytail is the prettiest hairstyle imo. Chat Noir rushes in, sees Ladybug, Carapace, and Rena Rouge all together, first wondering how they all got in "Hello, Chat Noir" there went any of his thoughts he may have had about it lol... and feels disappointed. "Sorry! I would have got you, if I knew your secret identity." Whoa hold up. Ladybug, so forwardly talking about knowing his secret identity? o.O I smell foreshadowing. "As I always say, m'lady. To know me means to love me." "Then I'll think about it." as she smirks and giggles. Guys. She's being serious. 😍😍😍 I admit, I wish we could know what she was going to talk to Chat Noir about after everything, since she thought the situation was taken care of and asked him to wait there for her. She obviously had something she wanted to talk with him about. And thank you Marinette's observation skills for knowing that's not the real Nino! But poor Alya, so horrified like that... I bet she's thinking both "What have I done? I just gave a Miraculous away to Hawk Moth essentially." and "How is it that I couldn't recognize that wasn't my boyfriend?" On the latter, Chat Noir's made that error several times as well. Hawk Moth just really sucks to do that kind of thing to these kids. Real Nino's here to comfort Alya. Doesn't even have to say a word, just gives her a hug. I absolutely adore this. They're so perfect together. ;-; "It (Lucky Charm) always shows me the right way, but this time I was shortly led astray." "Hmm." Hmm? What the heck does that mean? More foreshadowing?? What's going to happen next omg. Yes, Marinette needs someone out there who can replace her if something happens. And I know so many people are like, oh no, that should be Chat! But just think about it. Today, Chat Noir and Ladybug were trapped in an elevator in a situation where they were powerless. They came extremely close to needing to transform with Hawk Moth watching. Had Hawk Moth not been Adrien's dad and let him be, they would've transformed and fought, no doubt. A lot of things could happen, and Ladybug and Chat Noir are always in the thick of things. We've seen one or both of them become unavailable many times. It's good that someone else is their safety net. You may see Alya as just Ladybug's but she's also Chat's too. I screamed and cheered so loud when Alya got her Miraculous to hold onto! I've wanted this for sooo long now! ;-; Okay ew, the way the music went from happy and sweet to creepy when Gabriel and Nathalie were on screen. 😬 Watch: Gabriel, in his plot to try to get to know more about Alya, will have Adrien through a party or have some friends get together at his house which will likely include Nino and Marinette as well, and have him use his own son to try to get what he wants without Adrien suspecting a thing, even thinking his father's giving him more freedom and more of a normal life. How sick. x.x This was a seriously good episode! I'm very excited to see how this all plays out, because things are getting seriously intense in many different ways! Honestly, my original write up of this post was much better but I lost it all. Which makes me very sad and disappointed, but it can't be undone. :c So

hopefully this was enjoyable anyway! I'll be writing a few posts that are more in-depth about some of the events that happened in recent episodes, including Chloe's character and situation, Adrien's feelings for Marinette, Adrien/Chat's situation with Ladybug, etc that are too specific and detailed to write in a thoughts and reactions post, so be on the look out for those! c:

[afteriwake]

A Crisis of Minimalist Arcs (Averted)

So this is the fanfic entry that was bought for a charity for Marvel Trumps Hate! I was asked by Mouse9 to write a companion piece to their fic “A Crisis of Minimalist Arcs.” I had so much fun writing this, I really did, and I hope the rest of you enjoy it as well.

A Crisis of Minimalist Arcs (Averted) - Mycroft brings his significant others to the celebratory dinner of his brother's engagement. 

It didn’t take much more than flashing his name for Anthea to get a reservation for seven at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught. Three Michelin stars, seasonal meals that would not be repeated the next time the season came around, a private dining area...if Mycroft had to pick a battleground, though he did hope it was nothing more than a chance to see Sherlock rendered speechless in their battle of wits, this was one of the best choices. Especially the private dining room; if anyone had an untoward reaction to the loves of his life, it would best be contained not just from the other diners but from anyone who wanted to pick his life apart for political leverage.

He had no plans of hiding Greg and Anthea from his parents, his brother, or the whole world, for that matter. It was just a matter of when the reveals would take place that made him a bit on edge. He wanted them to be in times and places of their own choosing, and to come out to anyone should be all of their decisions, not just his, and certainly not the decisions of someone not in his triad.

This...well, it wasn’t the best of situations, but Molly knew, and Sherlock was nosing about, so it had to be done. At least he had held firm that Greg and Anthea would be by his side.

There was an up to two and a half hour wait for the table they’d reserved, and he had decided he would personally arrange the wine list from the stores the restaurant had. His parents, while not a typical set of parents, had good taste in wine, something they had passed down to him. The champagne toast to Sherlock and Molly’s happy future together would consist of Krug Brut, Collection, 1982, Magnum, the most expensive large-format champagne the hotel had to offer. It was coming off of his personal card, because he hoped tonight would be a night of joy and celebration, and utmost happiness for all.

He kept a cool demeanor, but in reality, his insides were roiling. He was more nervous as to what Greg and Anthea would think of his parents and how the evening would go overall, than he was of actually coming out. He’d managed to keep his relationship with Anthea professional most of the times she’d met his mother and father, and this would be her first as his lover. And Greg...he was privy to the tribulations of his childhood and Mycroft hoped Greg wouldn’t hold his parents to account for the rocky road they’d had. He had issues with his parents, yes, but tonight was a night of celebration, not a night to air grievances.

The three of them had agreed they would meet at his office, and take a car to the restaurant together. The plan had initially been for them to arrive first, but a meeting with the Queen’s assistant had caused Mycroft to run late, and Greg had gotten caught up in a case, so they would be meeting at the restaurant instead. Anthea practically had a death grip on Mycroft’s hand in the car and all he could do was press a kiss in her hair and promise her a night of Thai takeaway and a film noir screening with Greg if it all went to hell.

Much to his chagrin, everyone was waiting at the restaurant except Greg. When he walked in with Anthea, he saw his mother’s eyes light up with relief, and Sherlock’s took on a look of private satisfaction. “Our table won’t be ready for another twenty minutes,” his father said as they approached. “They said it was for seven. Who’s the other guest?”

“My other significant other, Gregory Lestrade,” Mycroft said. His mother and father nodded, and he could hear a muffled hmph and turned to see Molly pressing her heel into Sherlock’s foot that was closest to her.

“Molly, I was only going to state that it was fairly obvious he wasn’t just dating one person. Now please, kindly remove your heel from my foot,” Sherlock said, giving a soft glare to his fiancee. Molly sheepishly removed her foot. “I’d figured on you and Anthea as well as you and Lestrade. And the only way it would work was if you were in some sort of triad relationship. Or is the term polycule?”

“Polyamorous will work just fine, brother dear,” Mycroft said, feeling Anthea loosen her grip on his hand. “And this doesn’t surprise anyone else?”

“Oh love, your brother said the chances you were in a non-traditional relationship was high when he told us about the engagement,” his mother said. “I’m honestly just happy that you’re happy. You’ve always been so serious and tight-laced. So we’ll get to meet your other partner tonight?”

“Yes, he’s just running late with a case,” Mycroft said, a small smile on his face. “He said it was a two by Sherlock’s standards and he’d be here as soon as he could.”

“Good. Anyone who makes my sons happy makes me happy,” his mother said, going over to hug her sons.

“I’m just surprised Sherlock is taking it so well,” Anthea said.

“There are understandable reasons you don’t want your relationship spread about the tabloid rags,” Sherlock said. “I may be a prat but Molly has been a good influence on me. I try not to be malicious on purpose, at least when people we care about can be hurt.”

“And you care about me, brother dear?” Mycroft asked.

“Yes, of course, why wouldn’t I? You’re my brother, you dolt. I only have one of those.” He paused. “And at least you have good taste.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Mycroft said, watching Anthea chuckle slightly at his statement.

Almost as soon as their mother let them go, Mycroft could hear Greg’s familiar voice talking to the head waiter, trying to find them. He stopped mid-sentence, gave his thanks, and then came over. “Am I really late?” Greg asked.

“Not at all,” Anthea replied, giving Greg a kiss on the cheek when he did the same for her. “We just got here ourselves, pretty much.”

“Sherlock knew,” Mycroft said. “Or at least he was pretty sure.”

“So he wasn’t gobsmacked?” Greg asked. Molly, Mycroft, and Anthea all shook their heads while Sherlock took on a sour look. “Damn.”

“You all wanted me speechless, didn’t you?” Sherlock asked, his sour look becoming a full-on pout at that point.

“Would have been nice for a change,” Greg said with a grin. “But as long as no one is looking to tar and feather us, all’s well that ends well.”

Sherlock’s pout deepened until Molly reached over for his hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I knew, but they wanted to keep it quiet, tell you on their own terms.”

“And then I mucked that up with the conversation with our parents, didn’t I?” Sherlock asked, turning towards Mycroft.

“It’s fine, I suppose,” Mycroft said. “It got you and our parents out of the way all at once.”

“So they approve?” Greg asked.

“Yes,” Anthea said as Mycroft’s mother came over to Greg, arms open wide. Greg grinned widely and enveloped her in a warm embrace.

“Now it’s just a matter of one or both of my boys giving me grandchildren,” she said.

“We’ll see,” Mycroft and Sherlock said almost at the same time. Their mother let go of Greg at the same time their table was announced as ready, and the seven of them followed to the waiter to it. There was a bottle of champagne chilling in a tub of ice, and Mycroft went straight for it.

“A champagne toast before dinner,” he said, beginning to open the bottle. Eventually, the cork popped and the bubbles fizzed out, and he poured each of them a glass of champagne. When everyone had a glass, he raised his. “To happiness all around.”

“To romance,” his father chimed in.

“And strong, healthy relationships,” Greg said.

“To the women who changed us,” Sherlock said.

“And the men we love,” Anthea replied.

“To the future,” Molly said.

“And a prosperous household with plenty of grandchildren,” his mother said, eliciting a groan from Sherlock.

“To Sherlock and Molly,” Mycroft said.

“And to Lestrade, Anthea and Mycroft,” Sherlock said.

“I’ll drink to those toasts,” Greg said, lightly tapping his glass first against Mycroft’s and then Anthea’s.

“Cheers!” Molly said with a wide smile on her face, and they all had their champagne. As Mycroft sipped from his glass, he realized he was thankful that his family accepted his significant others. He loved Greg and Anthea, and it would have hurt if he’d had to disown his family over love. But they were loved by his parents and Sherlock and Molly, and really, that was what mattered most.