#i’m glad i saved before that choice so i can go through all the scenes i wouldn’t have got otherwise

[danielnelsen]

so if you romance and ascend astarion you can kick him in the balls when he tries to turn you and it’s just very funny, he’s so pissy about it. so much for the most powerful vampire of all time or whatever, he stamps around like a toddler and then leaves forever

[unrealisticlea]

Remembering 911 is a drama first and a procedural second and they love putting couples through hell before giving them a happy ending, here's my realistic bucktommy arc for season 8a. It’s gonna feel very slow because I’m taking into account that there are emergencies, 6 other characters, Tommy’s not a main, and maybe there’ll be some work related storylines for Buck.

The first three episodes are the big emergency. But Buck's distracted. He keeps checking his phone, at some point he refuses to go on a call because he received the news about an aviation incident (it's the Athena's one, Tommy's not involved whatsoever). The Big Call with all those firehouses involved starts and on the scene Eddie has to save Buck's life from something falling because Buck got distracted because he saw a hat with 217 on it on the ground and started panicking (Eddie screams "Buck what the hell!!!" and he goes "sorry, I thought..." and trails off). The Big Call ends and Buck reunites with Tommy and acts like he thought he was dead and starts touching him everywhere and frantically saying "I was so worried, I'm so glad you're okay" and Tommy hugs him but he looks kinda confused.

At the end of episode 3 or in episode 4 Buck and Tommy are on a date at Buck's place but Buck doesn't look at Tommy and Tommy tries to engage him but Buck's very quiet. And Tommy asks "are you okay?" and he says "yeah" but he's still quiet.

And that's when Buck pulls an Ali. Well, he doesn't have the time to pull an Ali because Tommy suddenly looks very sad and in a very monotone voice says "let me guess. Dating a firefighter is harder than you thought. It's messing with your head and you aren't sure you can deal with it" and Buck feebly says "if I'm distracted on the job, people die. I'm so sorry".

And Tommy just starts collecting his things (he has an overnight bag) and not looking at Buck he says "it's okay. You're not the first person who doesn’t feel like dating a firefighter. You know that.” and he sounds mad and sad and keeps moving like he can’t get out of there fast enough.

Buck follows him looking desperate and asks “can we still be friends?” and they are in front of the door at this point and that’s when Tommy finally looks at him in the eyes and says “No Evan…Buck. I’m sorry but I’m not friends with people I’m in love with”. And Buck kinda smiles even though there are tears in his eyes and goes “You’re in love with me?” and Tommy nods and answers “Yeah. Too bad that doesn’t change anything.” and closes the door behind him.

We have 3-4 episodes with other storylines and we don’t deal with the break up at all. We’re only reminded in passing. There’s a scene in one episode where Chimney says “Buck, stop moping about Tommy and come help” and another one where Eddie says “if it makes you feel any better, I don’t think he left his couch for anything except work” and Buck says “it makes me feel worse but thanks”.

Than in episode 8/9 we finally have the conversation with Maddie. Buck says “I don’t know how you do it. Seeing Chim leave every morning knowing he might not come back. You are so much stronger than I am, Maddie”. And Maddie answers “It’s terrifying but the alternative is not seeing him at all and that’s even scarier”.

And Buck looks pensive and then admits “I thought breaking up with Tommy was gonna make me feel better but now I’m still worried about him and I can’t even text him to asks if he’s alright. It’s hell.”. And Maddie says “Evan. You’re the one who taught me that sometimes staying with someone who loves you instead of running is the scariest thing you can do but it’s so worth it.” But Buck looks unconvinced.

The choice is taken out of his hands. Because 1 or 2 episodes later, in the last episode before the hiatus multiple times during the episode we see Buck taking out his phone and hovering on Tommy’s name in his contacts or in his messages. He finally calls in the last minute of the episode. We hear the “This is Tommy Kinard, please…” but it’s interrupted by the firehouse alarm ringing and the announcement system saying that Harbor Station requested back up because a chopper went down.

[daitranscripts]

Skyhold Conversation: Here Lies the Abyss

Morrigan

Skyhold Masterpost Related Quest: Here Lies the Abyss

The PC speaks to Morrigan after the events of HLTA.

Choice dependent dialogue:

Morrigan had Kieran with HoF, HoF went through the eluvian with her [1]

Morrigan did not have Kieran/Morrigan did not maintain contact with the HoF [2]

1 - Morrigan had Kieran with HoF, HoF went through the eluvian with her

Morrigan (completed HLTA after WEWH): So you have saved the Grey Wardens from their own self-destructive foolishness. ‘Tis for the best. Morrigan (Completed HLTA before WEWH): I was pleased to learn you saved the Grey Wardens from their own self-destructive foolishness.

Morrigan: For all their eagerness to shed blood for their cause, we will still need them should another Blight arise. ‘Tis fortunate my Warden was not here, or he would surely have been in the middle of it.

PC: Your Warden?

Morrigan: You might know him as the Hero of Ferelden. A lofty title, though he wears it well.

Dialogue options:

General: I’m pleased for you. [3]

General: You have a husband? [4]

General: Where is he? [5]

3 - General: I’m pleased for you. PC: It’s good to know you have someone special. Morrigan: Nobody is more surprised by that fact than I, Inquisitor. [6]

4 - General: You have a husband? PC: didn’t see you as the type to settle down, Morrigan. Morrigan: (Chuckles.) ‘Tis not so domestic as you picture, but even so, it has far outstripped my expectations. [6]

5 - General: Where is he? PC: Where is your Warden now? [6]

6 - Scene continues.

Morrigan: My love is on a quest to combat the Calling—the actual Calling that signals the end of a Warden’s life. If he is successful, it will mean a long life for him… perhaps for them all. Once Corypheus has been defeated, I fully intend to join my love once more. Kieran misses him greatly.

7 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: Why didn’t you go with him? [8] Investigate: Can he stop the Calling? [9] Investigate: Are you happy? [10] General: Could he help us? [11]

8 - Investigate: Why didn’t you go with him? PC: It seems odd he went on an adventure, and you stayed behind. Morrigan: We are neither of us so weak, we would die of loneliness. Where he went, Kieran could not follow, and thus I remained behind to look after our son. We will be together soon enough, and I am glad of it. [back to 7]

9 - Investigate: Can he stop the Calling? PC: How can the Calling be stopped? Is that actually possible? Morrigan: Grand Enchanter Fiona was once a Grey Warden, but something removed the blight from her blood. Similarly, a Warden mage named Avernus performed experiments that prolonged his life to unnatural lengths. So we know it is possible. Indeed, ‘twas I who found the lead my love now follows in the western lands. Success is not guaranteed, of course, but he has never lacked for determination. [back to 7]

10 - Investigate: Are you happy? PC: Are the two of you happy together? Morrigan: The three of us. And it is little business of yours. But… yes. I never thought to find someone in the world I could trust as an equal. He has been a good partner, and a good father. And now I pray we discuss something else, lest these honeyed words make me vomit. [back to 7]

11 - General: Could he help us? PC: Is there any way the Hero of Ferelden could help us against Corypheus? Morrigan: ‘Tis unlikely. Corypheus uses the blight, but he is not controlled by it like a true darkspawn. Still, my love has ever been resourceful. I can give the Inquisition a means to send him a message. He will think this message means I miss him, of course. (Sighs.) He will be insufferably pleased with himself. I hope you appreciate this sacrifice, Inquisitor. Scene ends.

After PC makes contact with the Warden: Morrigan: Leliana gave me the note that the Hero of Ferelden included for me. She may have even left it sealed. A pity. She would have learned things that could even make an Orlesian blush. Now, was there anything else?

—

2 - Morrigan did not have Kieran/Morrigan did not maintain contact with the HoF

Choice dependent dialogue:

Alistair/Loghain left in the Fade [12]

Stroud/Hawke left in the Fade [13]

12 - Alistair/Loghain left in the Fade Morrigan (Warden Alistair): So, Alistair is dead. Morrigan (Warden Loghain): So, Loghain is dead. The Hero of River Dane, responsible for the deaths of so many Grey Wardens until he became one of them.

Morrigan: ‘Tis fitting he died in a foolhardy, if heroic, fashion. That was his way.

Dialogue options:

General: It wasn’t foolhardy. [14]

General: You knew him? [15]

General: He will be avenged. [16]

14 - General: It wasn’t foolhardy. PC: It wasn’t foolhardy—he sacrificed himself so I could escape. Morrigan: Perhaps you and I have different definitions of the word. [17] ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ 15 - General: You knew him? PC: It sounds like you knew each other. Morrigan (Warden Alistair): For a time, though we were hardly friends. Morrigan (Warden Loghain): He attempted to have my companions and I slain during the Fifth Blight. That did not end as he expected. Morrigan: Still, I cannot fault his valiance. Considering the end that normally awaits a Grey Warden, he did well. [17] ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ 16 - General: He will be avenged. PC: Corypheus will pay. Morrigan: Of that I have no doubt. [17]

13 - Stroud/Hawke left in the Fade

Morrigan (Wardens banished): I hear the Grey Wardens are now banished from southern lands? Such a decent into infamy after their victory in the Fifth Blight. I wonder if they wish now the war had spread further? They have until the next Archdemon’s rise to repair what damage they have done, if they are even able. [17]

Morrigan (Wardens allied): I understand you have spared the Grey Wardens from destroying what goodwill was left them? ‘Tis good of you, considering the weakness Corypheus exploited was their own doing. Still, should an Archdemon one day arise, they will no doubt be needed. Or so they would have us believe. [17]

17 - Choice dependent dialogue:

HoF survived [18]

HoF made ultimate sacrifice [19]

18 - HoF survived

Morrigan: One thing which makes me curious: did you encounter the Hero of Ferelden at Adamant Fortress?

20 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: You knew [them]? [21]

General: I’m sorry. [22]

General: It was very chaotic. [23]

General: Not that I know of. [24]

21 - Investigate: You knew [them]? PC: Was the Hero of Ferelden a friend of yours?

Choice dependent dialogue

Romanced HoF [26]

Not romanced HoF [27]

26 - Romanced HoF Morrigan : More than a friend, as it happens. We traveled together during the Blight, and after… we parted ways. Where I went, he could not follow. [28] ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ 27 - Not romanced HoF Morrigan: We traveled together during the time [they] fought the Blight. Morrigan (male HoF, Morrigan did the ritual): I helped him, and he helped me. Without him, Kieran would never have been born. [28] Morrigan (female HoF, Morrigan did the ritual): I helped her, and she helped me. Indeed, without her, my son would have never been born. [28] Morrigan (did not do the dark ritual): I would not say [they were] a friend. We parted on poor terms, though I wish it had not been so. [28] ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ 28 - Scene continues. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Morrigan: Regardless, did you see [them]? [25]

22 - General: I’m sorry. PC: I wish I had more to tell you, but no… I don’t think so. Morrigan: [They] are not the sort of [person] to fade into the background. If [they were] there, you would have known. [25]

23 - General: It was very chaotic. PC: I have no idea, Morrigan. There was a great deal of chaos. Morrigan: [They] are not the sort of [person] to fade into the background. If [they were] there, you would have known. [25]

24 - General: Not that I know of. PC: I met no one by that title. [25]

25 - Scene continues.

Morrigan: When the Champion of Kirkwall mentioned a Grey Warden ally, I assumed it would be [them]. It was, after all, just the sort of thing in which [they] would involve [themselves]. But that rather begs the question: if the Hero of Ferelden was not at Adamant, where [are they]? My suggestion? Track [them] down. [They] could be a great aid against Corypheus… or a terrible foe to the Inquisition. [19]

19 - Scene ends.

[wisteria-cherry]

apple pie

deku x reader

notes: reader has bunny quirk, mentions of gvns, violence, veeeery minor cursing

thank you @glitch-girl318 for requesting this! i am so sorry i didn’t publish it!! it’s been sitting in my drafts finished for ages and i totally forgot to actually post it😭😭

“latte for online pickup!” you call out, setting the coffee on the pickup counter before hurrying back to the register to take the next order. your coworker had decided to take their break, driving off to get food, so you were left alone. it wasn’t the worst, but it definitely wasn’t the best either. you managed.

you make sure your ears were perked up (people often thought that when they weren’t you were upset. this wasn’t inherently true— sometimes you just wanted to rest them— but you felt no need to start anything) and smiled at the man next in line— a big fellow, but skinny, but bulky, wearing a long coat and sunglasses. you found yourself wondering why he wore sunglasses, but put it off as a personal choice.

“what can i get you?” you chirp, doing your best to keep an energetic persona up. the man glanced back and forth, and his lips parted, before he froze— the man behind him had clamped a massive, scarred hand down on his shoulder. you recognized the man as deku, the symbol of peace, number one hero. deku turned the man around, displaying incredible and possibly even scary strength.

“excuse me.” deku said, his expression somber. “but could you tell me what’s in your coat there?” you frowned, studying the man’s coat, and your heart dropped, ears pinned back. it was undeniably the outline of a handgun, and the man’s hand was undeniably moving towards said weapon.

the man raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

“get down!” deku shouted. if not for your quirk, allowing for incredible reaction time, you would’ve undoubtedly gotten shot. deku immediately twisted the man’s arms behind his back. the man thrashed about, trying to escape. the gun went off again as customers screamed and fled the scene and you stayed under the counter, trembling. it was loud, very loud. deku pressed the man against the edge of the counter.

“please stay still!” deku said loudly. “or i’ll have to use more force!”

“okay, okay!” the man screeched. “lemme go, dammit!”

deku only frowned, and he and the man left. you slowly come out from behind the counter, surveying the damage. a couple chairs were knocked over from the customers fleeing, but that was an easy fix. it was when you went around putting them back up, though, that you spotted the shattered light. the bullet must’ve hit it. you sighed and went to get a broom.

i’m glad everyone got out ok. you think as you sweep up the broken glass. your brow furrowed. my boss won’t be happy about this.

you were just about to call your boss when deku returned. you were pleasantly surprised by this; you weren’t expecting him to come back. regardless, his massive frame lumbered through the door with a worried expression. you immediately set the broom aside and turn to face him.

“thank you.” you bowed deeply. deku seemed startled.

“for what?”

“for saving the shop.”

“it’s nothing, really!” deku waved it off frantically. “i’m just doing my job is all.”

“really, i mean it.” you look up at him as he looked at the broken light fixture— he was tall.

“at least let me pay for that light the guy shot..” he offered, putting out his wallet and flicking through bills to find enough to pay it off, roughly.

“oh, i couldn’t!” you insist. “put it away, please, the insurance will cover it.”

“are you sure?” deku chewed his lip. you nod.

“listen,” you say, “what’s your favorite dessert?”

“um.. apple pie?” he blinks.

“alright. come in tomorrow.” you tell him. he seems baffled.

“okay.” he agrees, albeit still confused.

the next day, deku does indeed come in. you smile when you see him enter— just in time.

“it smells good,” deku commented, looking around for the source of the smell.

“that’s because i made you this!” you beam, setting a warm apple pie on the counter. “for you.”

“for me?” deku’s eyes widened in shock. “but… why?”

“because you saved the shop.” you smile. “and me.”

“i— i see.” deku looked at the pie. “… are you sure?”

“positive.” you nod. deku smiled at you. he had such a beautiful smile, full of light and hope.

“hey…” deku began, fidgeting slightly. “you wouldn’t want to maybe come over and eat this with me, would you?” your expression softens.

“i’d love to.”

[elaryssue]

I’m about to ramble why I think Rei works better as a Bottom than Kazuki is. They might as well switch, but this post might not be going deeper on that. As well as to clarify this is from a shipper pov.

Many people dislike Bottom Rei just because He has a cold attitude and resemblances the stereotypical father figure. But also because they want to break the well-known: “shorter and slimmer grumpy guy” over-used BL troupe. I do understand that. However, at doing that, many other fall in the cliché of placing Kazuki as the bottom just because he enjoys doing activities stereotypically associated with women, such as cooking, cleaning or being fond of children. Which is, I think, a very sexist argument and I’m glad the writers are doing a great not, amazing job with this character. He is very comfortable with his colorful yet masculine style, which doesn’t only display on his outfits but also in his furniture choices (because yeah, at this point it’s canon he made almost all the decoration in Rei’s flat). But at the same time, has a feminine spot, because he literally choose almost all of Miri outfits and wow, they are very cute and stylish.

I don’t care if they themselves call him “The mom”, because is more like a joke about this specific topic, more like: “let’s make a male character that can break gender rolls without making him act or look girly, but adding many troupes that people will laugh about because they remind them a mother figure and many situations they themselves have gone through. Let’s just show the world that men doesn’t have to be pleased with helping the minimum in the house or when taking care of the children, where both parent should be doing equally.” Coming back to Rei, in my opinion him being the bottom might even deep the plot concerning his OFF and ON modes and all about the Suwa family legacy: His OFF mode represents everything his father despites and works as a antonym of the “ very masculine and elegant cold-blooded hitman”. Where being placed in a submissive position is just unacceptable for the image of Superiority and dominance a future Boss must display. I will always see the Father-son conversation in chapter 8 as subtext of a homophobic Father and his gay son. (Or at least that’s what you can see on media). All about continuing the legacy is literally Shigeki telling Rei to have blood-related children of his own with of course a high class girl that might as well be involved in their world and share their vision, like the daughter of an associated gang. Just for this old piece of sht to discover that his own blood might actually prefer other men company. Which is also implied in the scene when he talks sht about Kazuki. Just for it to be even more suspicious when Rei immediately defended him with such emotion in his voice. (he even refers Kazuki by his name). Miserably destroying his façade about hadn’t made any personal attachments. At that point it was clear to me his father didn’t bite a bit of what Rei had said.

I also hold the headcanon that Rei took after his mother, and my as well be a reason for his father being so cruel to him, especially when he was younger and the resemblance was stronger. Plus adding the fact that, even though he see many of Kazuki’s plans as dumb or stupid, he goes along with them, even when it’s obvious he could reduced him at any moment, he lets Kazuki handle him around and invade his personal space. This guy is touch-starved and enjoys being taken care of and seem pretty comfortable having someone else taking the lead, although he might first die before admitting it.

Just to finish this mess, apart from the mother – malewife jokes, there is nothing that can convince me of Kazuki being the bottom. Yeah, these are anime clichés, but even between all the broken ones, I feel the staff did saved the physixal ones (height difference, body shape), plus the fact that Kazuki is the only one to be shown interested in being in relationships where he tops (obviously with women). Or when his relationship with Rei and Miri is compared as his with Yuzuko and the unborn baby. Of course Rei was also compared with his mentor, where Kazuki might as well resembled his wife. But chapter 7 did went deeper with the comparisons.

[fatalwhims]

i am going to ramble about Heart of the Sun Warrior into the void in hopes that someone will actually browse the tags and join me because i need to gush about this book through incoherent rambles

Wow how do I put into words how this book (and duology) made me feel?? Tan had me guessing throughout the entire book about who would be endgame. Just when you think the scale tips one way, she follows it up with a tender scene with the other boy (?? ok technically man, but we’ll affectionally say boy because they are my boys). It swung back and forth so much that tbh I got frustrated at one point and legitimately thought that Xingyin wouldn’t end up with either. 

With Wenzhi’s last scene in DOTMG I had a feeling that he would be endgame. So I’m surprised that even with that feeling, I was so unsure throughout the entire book. With Xingyin + Wenzhi’s conversation before the final battle and the finality of the word “Friends” and Xingyin’s monologue: “a part of me mourning the end of something precious, that never truly had a chance to begin”, I thought that was it. I convinced myself that the “I love you” when he died was just her speaking in the moment. Yes it was a truth, but not the truth. And with Wenzhi dead I didn’t think there was any chance that she would end up with him in the end.

Unless he was reborn as a mortal. Which brings me to the ending... oh the ending. It was such a beautiful resolution. What a way to bring Wenzhi and Xingyin back together, but also involve Liwei. With his death, I thought the only way Wenzhi + Xingyin would end up together was if he was reborn as a mortal and she found him. But to have Liwei send him down so that he could regenerate his immortal self, to do this out of love for Xingyin to see her be happy...we love to see growth! And not just growth of Liwei, but also Xingyin in her decision to wait for the elixir of immorality. It’s the classic tale of an immortal falling in love with a mortal and having to watch them die and then find them again in each new life. Tbh it’s a tragic curse, but there was so much joy in Xingyin’s thoughts as she describes all the moments that they would share together, that it filled me with hope instead (that and the fact that it shouldn’t be centuries hopefully). And the resolution really comes full circle with Chang’e and Houyi’s circumstances. 

My thing with love triangles is that I feel like the author can sometimes force their resolution by just writing out the one who isn't chosen by giving them less screen time. For a while I felt like that's what Tan had done. Liwei just didn't have as many opportunities as Wenzhi here to prove himself or do something for Xingyin. Wenzhi had the pivotal role of getting the scroll from his father and then casting the enchantment, which was the key part that tethered them together and allowed for the sacrifice. Liwei was imprisoned for part of the novel. Etc. Etc. But as I thought more about Wenzhi's death and how he gave his life for her and thus his crown, I realized that Liwei could have given up his crown too. Ok yeah, it's easier for Wenzhi to do that when he knows it's a choice of life or death. Maybe if Liwei was tasked with the same decision to save her, he would give up that duty as well (tbh he probably would). BUT in the aftermath, when he still wouldn’t make the choice and help her heal... when he still believed that she would be able to live there, despite how much he could sense her hurting, that was when I knew that Liwei just couldn't choose her over everything. And he admits it when they meet for the final time. I guess all this to say that, I’m glad that Liwei did have his chances and his choices and that he wasn't just written off as shitty guy.

[mkiss723]

LItG S8 Vol. XI

This one is long! 😘

More gossip?! Of course I want to know it all duh!

Jin grabbing me for a chat before the movie night was good. Got to hear him out. I’m glad he’s being respectful of Sienna but I wish she could get it through her thick skull that he’s just not that into her.

Movie night!

I feel so bad for Bea. She is so sweet and he is such an ass. But she is the one who chose to bring him back over the others when we tried to warn her so… 🤷‍♀️

Oops there I go again, spilling tea I’ve heard… 😏

And I do believe Jin but he also could have been a bit more clear so I do get where she’s coming from. A little bit… I did like getting to rub it in Sienna’s face though 😝

Paying gems to watch Liam fail miserably with Claudia was totally worth it! 🤣

Ugh Emel and Oakley are super irritating at this point. Hypocrites both of them! 🙄

Both Jin and Max’s clips were both super cute and choosing between them is getting harder by the episode! I still love Jin though!! But Max is so tempting 😉

My clip was so nice and tame… this time round. (I’ve seen some other scenarios of what plays if you’re not loyal and oh boy! 🫣)

Not sure how I feel about Theo and Hari talking about me too in their clips. I feel bad for the other girls. I’ve never once flirted with either one…

The boys recoupling was fine. Went pretty much the way I figured it would. OG LI picked us (yay for us loyal girlies!!) and then our Casa LI picked Sienna (yuck) and I’m not sure how I feel about that since I like him too… would have been interesting if Oakley was able to choose Sienna and then have the rest of the couples all mixed up 😅

This is the one time I will thank Liam because… Holy… Moly… that shower scene was 🥵 I’m seriously enjoying the newer spicy scenes. They are much better this season! All ways are hot so play them alllll! The pinning the hands up against the wall is sooooo up my ally I can’t handle it 🫠

Dammit Sienna… just had to ruin it there didn’t you? Though I’m not sure why it would be a secret if you’re coupled with the person you’re caught with. Oh no! You caught me getting busy with the guy I’m coupled up with and have been keen on the whole time! What will everyone think? 🥱

Heart Rate Challenge Time!!!

So excited for this HOWEVER the outfit choices are awful! I am so disappointed in the options for MC! Why the awful bright iridescent colors?! What happened to our choices compared to the other girls?? I would literally have taken any one of those over our choices! Ours are so tacky and cheap looking! The mermaid isn’t sexy AT ALL and the cowgirl literally hurts my eyes AND the hat/collar don’t sit right on MC’s body and hair! 😤 The other girls get such cute outfits - especially Bea and Emel…

Anyways, back to the challenge! I do enjoy this one but seeing Sienna all over my Casa boy was hard to watch even though I’m with Jin. I wish we could choose to dance a little bit for everyone like Claudia did instead of all one person. I want to raise as many heart rates as I can!! 🤣

Hazel liking Liam is sad. Poor girl. Oh well she’s been warned too. Bit of a hypocrite with Emel though (shocker!) calling out Hari for not dancing with Hazel but Hazel chose Liam to dance all over and nothing was said to her… I hate double standards.

Not sure how I feel about the Viking outfits… like I like that each boy’s version is a bit different, but the hats sit really weird on their heads. Definitely not a fan of the caveman one on Jin, doesn’t show enough! Max’s superhero is so cute! He can save me any day! Also, he gets bonus points for having pop as his song type because that is what I picked as my favorite! And I’m a fan of Indiana Jones so that was a good one too! But the guys outfits are pretty cute this season! Overall two thumbs up for the boys 👍👍

And of course Liam is a jester… 🙄

I wonder how the results will go… if either Jin or Max gets their heart rate raised most by Sienna then I’m gonna be upset. I know I can’t have both in the same playthrough, but they’re both still mine!! 😅

I really hope the new bombshell doesn’t pick me. Please go for anyone else but me. I am finally back with Jin and I don’t want to ruin that! Also, I’m not a fan of his face so that doesn’t help! lol I guess we shall see what happens next week.

This time it isn’t as bad to wait like the past few weeks have been so that’s good… or is it bad? 🤔

[monsoonxskies]

Please please tell me more about this werewolf au! I love renfield and werewolf. I want to know what will happen if you put them together.

I’m so glad you asked! And I hope you’re ready for a MAJOR infodump here~

This is going to be a pretty lengthy post, so I’m going to do a full rundown of the backstory and such under the cut! There are some spoilers for the Dracula novel intermixed in there, so fair warning there if you haven’t read that. Also some Renfield 2023 spoilers towards the end. I’m assuming most people interacting with this have seen it, but it’s still worth warning for.

Backstory:

This AU primarily plays off of the Renfield movie and a little bit of the 1931 Dracula and the original novel itself. Ren still takes on the role of the real estate agent going to make a deal with Dracula. However, instead of just becoming Drac’s familiar (like in the Renfield movie), he gets turned into a werewolf. However, he doesn’t know this right off the bat.

Fast forward a bit, and Ren has been in the asylum for quite some time. Again, no sign of being a werewolf up to this point. But he’s pretty mentally deteriorated. When he would have died in the novel, he instead transforms for the very first time. This introduces an important plot point: His transformations are often controlled by Dracula. In this case, Drac knew he was in some deep shit with everyone on their way to kill him, and so he forced Ren to come to his rescue. And without much of a choice in the matter, Renfield has to comply.

After a killing spree in the asylum, he comes across Mina Harker. The one person who treated him as a human being through his madness. Something about that fear in her eyes, yet that unmistakable bravery as she locked gazes with him, snapped him out of all that terrifying rage he had. (To clarify here, everyone was kinda stationed at the asylum in the book. Hence why Mina is here to begin with.)

But, in that moment of vulnerability, he hears a click of a gun. None other than Quincy Morris is staring down the barrel of a rifle, not seeing Ren as human but rather one of the enemy- A wolf was akin to Dracula, and thus Quincy saw Ren as a threat. Renfield gets past Quincy, but not before taking a shot to the ear. This never healed and he still has a hole near the tip of his right ear, even in human form.

He escapes the asylum. He saves Dracula. They do their whole song and dance between these events and the events of the 2023 movie.

Modern Day:

Renfield has chilled out over the years. His arrangement with Dracula is merely a job. He’s grown a bit bitter over time. What’s the fun of being a werewolf if it’s just an infinite game of fetch?

The only saving grace he has is the time around a full moon. You see, Dracula’s control directly relates to the phases of the moon. A full moon is a werewolf’s time, and thus Ren has time to be free. To be himself. To run free, enjoying the perks of being a werewolf. He truly does enjoy it! He just hates the stupid fetch game Dracula is constantly forcing him to play. All it does is put the blood of innocent people on his hands and leave him with more shredded clothes.

As you can probably guess, the time around a new moon is when Drac’s influence over Ren is at its peak. If Dracula wants something, he’s going to get it, and Renfield does not get a say in it. In many cases, he’s still fully aware when this happens. So he’s been forced to do some horrible things with no way of stopping himself.

Eventually, he finds the therapy group. And everything is going great. He meets Rebecca in the restaurant scene, just like in the movie (no, he doesn’t wolf out here because I think it’s better to save that for a later discovery). He starts taking care of himself more. He figures out that oversized sweaters are great for having something to wear in werewolf form. He figures out just how much life he’s been missing. He has hope for the first time in years.

But the full moon slowly wanes away. Dracula’s demands start coming through again. At first, he tries to ignore it. But the closer it gets to the new moon, the worse things get. And things start looking darker than they’ve ever looked before.

What about the bugs?

Yes! Well, he still does get a bit of power from their life force, but! It’s not just bugs he can gain power from! Pretty much anything that isn’t human will give him power, and the larger it is, the more power he gets. However, given that it has to be alive for him to get anything out of it, he doesn’t like consuming anything much larger than a rat or bird.

Notably, during the night, eating enough bugs or whatnot can give him a power surge needed to change forms. It’s oftentimes how he manages to do such on short notice, when he can’t take the time to mentally prepare himself for it. I love Renfield, but I’m sorry, he doesn’t escape the pain of shifting forms. Nobody does. That’s a rule across the board for many of my AUs haha- On that note, he also can’t transform during the day.

————

I think that’s a good starting point! I’ve got a lot of random fun facts and other random ideas for differences in scenes that were in the movie, but I think this is enough information for the time being! Feel free to ask more if you’d like! I’m thrilled that I received this ask, and it was a wonderful thing to wake up to!

[mar-zom]

responding to your post about the aot ending. (if this doesn’t work for what you wanted don’t answer but i thought i’d open up about this!)

i just finished attack on titan a few days ago. because before that, i hated what i saw. like, from the perspective of someone who got all their information from manga clippings on tumblr. and here’s why i hated it with every fiber of my being:

a) i hated marley. i didn’t like reiner or zeke, i hated gabi, and i hated how much attention they got in the final season/issues. i wanted to see our main cast, not these side characters who ruined everything. (after finally finishing it, i have a new appreciation. i still dislike gabi and zeke, and i’m not the biggest fan of reiner. but i found myself absolutely adoring porco and colt and pieck and it gave me room to open up)

b) i hated eren. he went from the protagonist we were supposed to adore to the antagonist we were fighting against and i thought it was too bold of a choice and i couldn’t get on board with it. the whole conversation with armin and mikasa… ugh. i was infuriated. and everything i saw only furthered that. the rumbling?? mikasa kissing his decapitated head??? it was all so weird and upsetting to me. (i sobbed over the scene where she kissed him. i cried through the intro every time. he was a child. he just wanted to save his friends.)

c) levi. i was BEYOND convinced that without hange in the picture, he couldn’t have a happy ending. i was livid that he survived. i was infuriated that he survived AND didn’t ever fully heal from his physical injuries. it felt like they had taken everything from him, and i was so mad about it. (i made a whole post about how wrong i was about this one)

so, yeah! these were the reasons that it took me several years to finally actually finish attack on titan, and see that the ending isn’t as bad as i had previously thought.

Thank you for answering and wanting to share your opinion! Even though you had rocky opinions starting out i’m glad you were able to finish it in the end, no matter how your opinions changed or stayed the same!

Here’s my thoughts: (feel free to skip if you’re not interested)

It took me a really long time to finish AOT as well, i started watching it when Season 1 came out and then was hesitant to watch any further when the next season was added because i was nervous about how the story would go, im glad i finished it when i did though because i grew up and was able to understand the plot a lot better.

i can completely relate on not liking Gabi or Zeke, even after finishing the show i still strongly dislike them. though i feel a little neutral when it comes to Reiner and the other Warriors. I feel bad for Reiner and how far he was pushed even after he had wanted to die but his actions were still awful, i do not sympathize with him but i do pity him. Marley is still unforgivable in my eyes.

As far as Eren goes, i’m pretty neutral on him, it’s very Love Hate relationship between me and him. It was the first time i’ve ever seen a protagonist become the antagonist (or at least an anti-hero) so it was very shocking. I hate Eren because he made the decision without anyone else’s consideration and believed it was okay, even after we get a glimpse of his talk with Armin in the final episode he still did The Rumbling. I love him because i feel bad for him, he was just a kid when he was pushed into the role of a Titan shifter and everyone in the Survey Corps took advantage of his titan, seeing him as a tool rather than anything else.

I believe that how things ended was the only way things could have ended, everyone was pushed to the extreme and killing Eren was the only way to end the story (i know a lot of people have problems with the ending because of Eren dying)

I was happy to see that Levi got a (overall) neutral ending (imo) although i agree that without Hange in the picture it would be hard to see Levi surviving I believe that Hange dying was the final straw with him so you can imagine my surprise to see that he survived AND then was in a portion where he was being very kind and generous to the kids (though it makes sense because he had been in the same position as them before) i’m very happy he survived in the end

In the end, i didn’t side with either sides of the war because overall, there were no completely good people with good intentions, and i was glad it turned out that way because no one is entirely good. Nothing is ever black and white.

Overall it’s really interesting to see what other people think of the ending so thanks for sharing!

[writer-akihiko]

so mc running away i love it the angst 👌 so if its alright can you the same but with the dorm leaders?(pls do a good ending my poor heart cannot take it-༎ຶ‿༎ຶ)

Dorm Leaders + MC Running Away

So I apologise for the lack of happy endings, if you want to call it that. The scenarios turned out much more different than the First Years probably because of the power gap I had in mind. Also, for anyone wondering, the Vice Dorm Leaders will have a shot of saving you next! When I get to it... Cut for length. Also please help to share because I limited the tags!

Warnings: Character Death [Not you or the main boy], mentions of abuse and emotional manipulation [On the Reader] and violent actions [The Dorm Leaders]

"I'm not going back."

"Wh... What?" He was astonished. "YN... I've looked far and wide for you- please-"

No words left his mouth as you stepped away from him, tears in your eyes and you were going to make a run for it again.

Malleus Draconia

Your words struck a chord in him. He didn't mean it, but when you said that you weren't going back, he almost lost control. What did you mean you weren't going back? You promised him to be his Queen!

No... he's not accepting this. His Queen deserved better. His larger hands encircled your wrists, stopping you in your tracks. No matter how much you tugged and pushed, Malleus' strength was beyond you. In your sole despair, you fell in his embrace.

Every ache and injury struck your core, as you cried your heart out. "I can't go back Malleus," you whimpered. "I... I'm sorry."

Your hands gripped tighter onto his clothes. "I don't mean to fight against you, I-"

The Fae Prince sealed your bruised lips with his own, pulling your smaller form into his lap as he took in the moment of the bittersweet, longing kiss. "YN... listen to me," He said, his own ice cold tears falling onto your cheek, healing your wounds. "You never have to apologise for your suffering. Not even to me."

Malleus held you close as you drowsed off. The gentle smile hardened into a growl, as his back arched, black wings bursting out of his body. Malleus, in his dragon form, summoned the thorns to protect you, holding you as if you were his personal dragon hoard…

The principal, or more accurately the culprit, Dire Crowley was a fool to step out. It disgusted Malleus to his very core, his claws setting the very ground on fire as Crowley stepped closer. No words were exchanged between them. For all the suffering you faced, it was to be paid in tenfold as the dragon took a deep breath, releasing the fire in his chest.

"It was a fraction of her suffering…"

Riddle Rosehearts

He was ballistic. Riddle had been eager to bring you back immediately, but the sheer refusal and attempt to run away made him think that you hate him. He was blaming himself, sobbing to the ground.

Riddle's breakdown made you stop. No matter what you did, you still love him. Riddle's hiccups of sobbing paused at the feeling of your arms wrap around him. He wanted this, he wanted your warmth, he wanted- no… he needed you so badly he'd ceased to function without you.

"I don't hate you Riddle," You said, kissing his tears away. Your pretty Queen of Hearts had ruined the uniform he so proudly kept up with and Riddle himself was unkempt. Riddle cradled your sore body, letting you tell him your stresses and your breaking point abused over and over again by Crowley.

Riddle's heart softened ever so much for you, as he realised that he was to a fault as well. It was then he started to cry for you. "YN… I… I lost control. I know I can't be forgiven for the stress you went through so-"

"Rosehearts! You found her, how wonderful!" The jovial Principal cried out. In his hand was a magic tracking spell and that's when Riddle was struck with guilt once more. He doomed you, again. He… no, he refuses to end it this way.

Your loving self became meek, frightened by the aspect of being under Crowley's care once more. You trembled, reaching out to the hem of Riddle's coat. "Riddle… Please don't let them take me…"

He pulled you up, whispering to you. "When I cast my magic, run YN."

"Ridd-"

"Never thought you'd defy me, Rosehearts. Being a law abider and all~"

"Off With Your Head."

Kalim Al-Asim

"Y-YN?"

Kalim desperately hung onto your ankle, on his knees, begging and bargaining you to stay.

"YN… Please don't leave me again," He begged. "I'll… I'll stop dragging you to parties! I'll get you anything you want just please… please come back to me."

His tears wet your foot, as his grip left light marks on your ankle. Kalim never meant to harm you. He was so desperate to make you stay, but in his heart, he knew that he didn't have the strength to keep you with him if you desired to leave.

"How could you think that?!" You cried out. You stooped to Kalim's level, tackling him in hug so hard that he crashes to the ground. "I… I'd never leave you if I had the choice! I couldn't stand NRC anymore…"

You sobbed into Kalim's chest, wondering when it'd all end. You could never refuse Kalim, but what about everyone else? What about Crowley? Your spine shivered at the monster's name, wanting everything to disappear except for you and Kalim.

Kalim didn't know what to do. He didn't understand why Crowley would do such a thing to you. If Crowley was causing you such pain… He'd just have to get rid of the problem. You only deserve the best, after all. It's not his fault, nor is it yours.

You had cried yourself to utter exhaustion. Kalim gently wrapped you up in his jacket, cradling you to his chest. As if clockwork, Crowley appeared to the heartwarming scene, simply glad that you were going to be returned.

"Al-Asim, Dire should patch her up nicely-"

"No."

Crowley coughed. "What was that?"

"I said no," Kalim reiterated. "I have no reason to listen to you…"

"Since YN and I aren't your students anymore."

Azul Ashengrotto

How grateful he was to find you near the water. He almost turned red at the thought of you willing to search for him. Azul never thought you'd long for him this way, but you knew him, and you knew him well.

As if on cue, you looked beyond the trees to see your beloved, running from the sandy shores barefoot to be caught by your precious Azul. Azul doesn't have the best reflexes, trying to catch you without hurting you.

Azul took one good look at you, and the sight was enough to make him cry. Messy hair, cuts and bruises littering your skin possibly from running through the rocky forest, feet with sores from rocks… and tearful, sorrowful eyes.

Not an inch of sadness deserved to touch you. That was one of his core beliefs. He didn't say anything to prompt you to tell about what you'd been suffering. He knew. He knew every line of the story, and it made him ever so guilty that it led to this. If he just paid more attention to you, or at least try to.

Azul offered you everything. An ear to listen and his body for comfort, with his arms wrapping about you. If the simple action was enough for your forgiveness, he'd do it over and over again.

It was for a moment Azul held you, before running the water with you in tow. From the forest emerged the tweels, but what was behind you made you scream. Crowley, with his magic, retaliating against the twins' magic.

Azul wrapped you around his tentacles, drifting further into the ocean with you. He bent down to whisper in your ear. "YN, close your eyes. Don't look."

You shut your eyes tight as you did, hiding yourself in Azul's chest, away from the scene.

"May we never see you again, Crowley."

Azul and the twins in their merforms plummet into the ocean, deep down where Crowley would never come to touch you.

Idia Shroud

He wasn't surprised that the huge robot scared you. It was his secret project after all. He immediately let himself out of the robot, but he was hesitant to step into the forest. Idia was scared, but he still had to protect you!

"Y-YN..."

"Idia!..."

You stopped running, seeing your boyfriend pop out of the robot. Idia was quick to get over his reluctance as his panic shifts to your injuries instead. He wanted to cry out of joy from the mere chance of finding you.

Idia tried to treat your wounds as best as he could with the emergency kit conveniently equipped [he really did think of everything] although his wrapping technique was unkempt at best.

Idia's attempts to heal you made you forget of all the suffering. You couldn't help but laugh, realising how much you missed Idia. He knew that you needed this time. Oh, how he wanted to whisk you away...

But he might as well. You're his, right?

Crowley didn't get close to reaching you. Idia thought of it all. He tracked every move the principal made, fooling Crowley to think that Idia was with you the entire time, with the tracking device that Crowley so faithfully gave him.

"How desperate... it's honestly funny..." Idia scoffed at the idea of Crowley getting to you.

With the S.T.Y.X androids, Idia confronted Crowley, who was in sheer confusion.

"Crowley… burn in hell."

Leona Kingscholar

Leona didn't hold back. He couldn't believe you would say such a thign to him… The only conclusion he reached to was that you hated him. You hated his very core, just like everyone else… He was scared. It frightened him to the core that after everything he did, you still hated him.

"YN… stop fucking around with me," He said, grabbing onto your wrist. He wasn't about to throw a tantrum then and there. He had to get things straight. "Hey… tell me. Was I just a waste for you?"

"W-What are you talking about Leona?" You pushed against his chest, trying to get some distance but Leona was way stronger than you. The lion couldn't listen to reason. He simply went on about how you must've hated him, and how much you despised him.

"Did I mean nothing to you, YN?" Leona was shaking, his shoulders trembling from the mere thought of hearing those words.

You wrapped your arms around Leona, pulling him in close. "I never did… How dare you think that you stupid lion?!" You said, sobbing your heart out. You were equally hurt, but you never once thought Leona would think such a thing.

The emotional reunion was interrupted by the principal himself, pretending to be moved by such a scene. The false pretense of safety caught on to you, and you were sent into a panic, clinging onto Leona for fear of your life.

"I hate you!" You yelled, your body crumpling to the ground just as Leona caught you. "I hate you, I hate you. I don't want to go back, don't make me!"

If you were to scream anymore, you might collapse from exhaustion. Leona was quick to carry you in his arms, holding you close to his chest, where you were comforted by his heartbeat.

"Hoi, good for nothing principal," Leona called out, a single claw drawn out, igniting his Unique Magic.

"Move before I turn you to sand."

Vil Schoenheit

He was stunned to see you in such a state. He called out for you, and you stopped in your tracks. Was he that incompetent that he can't keep you with him? Did he not treat you right? Was his mere presence just torture for you?

Vil couldn't keep it in anymore. He needed to know. "YN… why won't you come back? Tell me, is it my fault? Am I not worthy of you?!"

The once prideful queen fell into shambles of insecurity as his mind won't stop painting images of you walking away from him, of you calling him your doom, of him being your captor… No, he didn't mean it…

"Was I the villain in your story?! WAS I?!"

Vil had never cried as much as he did. He needed to know that you didn't of him as a nuisance. He really was worthless if he made you feel unwanted… so please, he needed an answer.

"How could you think that, my love?"

You stooped to Vil's level, brushing away the tears that ruined his makeup with your very hands. Oh, your poor Vil… You were too selfish, thinking of your own suffering. With Vil in your arms, you felt whole once again. You gave Vil your actual answer, relenting every moment of your stress that stemmed from Crowley.

Oh… how his sweet potato must've suffered. Vil had a stuck of guilt, considering that he was under an Overblot as well. No matter, he had to make things right. For your sake, for his love's sake.

"YN, Crowley is trying to find you. But I… I have to set things right," He said, pulling you up.

The rustle of leaves had you on guard as from it came Dire Crowley, revelling in the scene.

"Schoenheit. You are supposed to bring LN YN to me immediately as I ordered."

Vil for once scared you. It scared you how enraged he was, and your heart wrenched at seeing the ink droplets by his hand.

"Vil, don't you dare-"

He turned back to you, whispering for you to run to Rook's safety. "Don't cry, my love."

You tried to hold the tears once again as you saw Vil shifting forms to an ink-like mess, this time his rage directed at Crowley. You could only run away, praying in your heart that Vil was safe.

[zepskies]

Omg I’m so glad to hear that! I really worked hard on this chapter. It’s the culmination of a lot of angst and heartbreak for these two.

I had hoped that you would feel inherently the weight of these 10 years on Ben. I’m glad he doesn’t feel like the same guy we met in Part 1. That’s exactly it—the combination of being alone with his thoughts after what she said to him, and the reality of what he’s been through, has been enough to force him to reckon with himself a fair bit. That really hits for him when he finally sees the reader again. And I’m glad you liked their Bonnie and Clyde moment lol!! That’s exactly what I was going for too—that they feel like actual partners now. 💞

One thing that kind of bothered me about canon season 3 of the show was that suddenly SB was in New York. Like, how did he get there? How did he find an airport, get through Customs, etc.?

We didn’t see any of that, and so probably the hardest part of this chapter was making that journey feel real, and as exhausting as I imagine it would’ve been, especially after everything they’ve been through.

I can always trust you to pick up what I’m laying down, both on that, and all the little “tells” with Ben, that he’s changed, that he’s trying to protect her, be there for her, care about her. (Not pushing for sex WAS a big tell, wasn’t it?) 😅

As for Ben and the reader in the shower scene: Yeeess, that’s what I was going for. A combination of rough and gentle, lust and passion, but also a note of caring. And finally honesty. Like you said, “lovers, not like fuck buddies.” Ooh yeah, I didn’t even notice it myself when I was writing, but now that you point it out, the way he kisses her, both during and not during sex is very telling.

“You’re all I’ve got.”

For him to even admit that really is massive growth. 😭😭 He had to ask her if she still thought he was an asshole (AKA hated him), and if she was still afraid of him, because he does care. You’ll see more of a window into why he saved her in the next chapter, but that’s the choice that really cements it for him, that he still cares about her, just like you said, more deeply than he would have ever been able to say before they were captured. I love how you noticed all those little physical tells, as like in BMD, Ben will show his feelings primarily through his actions first, rather than in words.

I understand the reader's fears but I'm with Ben on this one. Murder. Murder them all lol.

LOL honestly same page there. Countess and the others will be seen again very soon…

Ugh, even in your desire for revenge, you're treating reader as an equal and I'm just soooo excited to see what's next!💚

That’s a big step for him, right? Part 10 is my 2nd favorite chapter, so I really can’t wait to share it with you everyone this time next week!! Thank you so much as always for letting me know what you thought. 💕💕

Lost on You - Part 9

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x F. Supe!Reader

Summary: 1983 is a big year for you. You’re finally chosen to join the ranks of Payback, led by the most (in)famous supe in the world: Soldier Boy. He’ll never admit that he’s trying his damndest to figure you out. You’ll never admit that he’s actually growing on you. But the problem with this game is deciding who’s the predator, and who is prey.

AN: The great escape…

Song Inspo: “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” by Kate Bush

Word Count: 7.2K

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! Blood and violence, death, angst, trauma and PSTD, smut, hurt/comfort and feels.

🎵 YouTube Playlist || Spotify Playlist

🎙️ Series Masterlist

Part 9: Free to Be You and Me

Free me, you compelled Eisenstein’s mind.

He obeyed you with a vacant look in his eyes. He unhooked your straitjacket and opened the door. After you grabbed up his cattle prod, you still didn’t release your psychic hold. You ordered him forward, and for the first time you walked freely out of your cell without restraint.

Take me to Soldier Boy.

Eisenstein walked forward. Any time you came across a guard, you tased them long enough to touch whatever scrap of skin you could, usually their face or their neck. You added them to your collective control.

Now you had literal bodyguards protecting you as you made your way through the compound. You hadn’t used your powers in so long. It felt good, like stretching an aching muscle.

Once you reached Ben’s cell, Eisenstein stopped in front of it. When you peered inside the small window on the door, it looked misty as hell.

Clear the gas, you ordered.

The doctor pressed a key of numbers on a pad beside the door, and the gas receded into the vents.

Open the door.

He did as you commanded, then he stepped aside for you. You ordered the guards to stand watch outside the open door before you hurried inside. Ben was lying on the floor, mostly on his side. He was still very naked, though your face warmed as you tried not to focus on that part.

It made you sad more than anything. They’d been keeping him in here like an animal, worse than you, and after what he did for you…you could no longer find it in yourself to hate him.

You took his face into your hands and tapped his cheek.

“Ben… Ben, wake up,” you prodded.

His brows twitched. He made a sound of waking, and you swept his hair out of his eyes. Before they even opened all the way, his hand shot out and grabbed you by the throat. It choked a gasp out of you as you scrambled to grab his wrist.

“Ben,” you said with difficulty. “It’s me…”

Though if you thought about it, after the last things you’d said to him, maybe he did really want to kill you. Maybe he regretted saving you after all.

As he blinked more awake, this time he actually took in your face. His hand relaxed when he recognized you. You panted in relief to see it dawn in his eyes. His thumb slightly brushed across your jaw, and your name fell from his lips, almost in wonder.

“Yeah, it’s me,” you said with a smile and tears in your eyes. “Come on.”

You helped him up the best you could. His frame was bigger and heavier, and he was still a bit unsteady on his feet. He slung an arm around your shoulders and let you guide him out of the room. He tensed at seeing the guards in their green uniforms and Eisenstein standing there, but you held a hand to his chest. His skin there was hot to the touch. You frowned.

Must be whatever the serum did to him.

Dismay pulsed inside you, but you’d think about that later.

“It’s okay, they’re with me,” you told him with a smile, before you looked at one of the guards.

“Give him your clothes,” you ordered.

The man was compelled to set down his gun, take off his hat and the rest of his uniform, even his underwear, socks, and boots. He gave them all to Ben, who raised a brow.

“I’m good without the briefs,” he said with a grimace, tossing the used underwear to the floor. You flickered at a smile.

“Guess you’re going commando,” you said.

Ben scoffed. He muttered, “Yeah, what else is fucking new.”

A sliver of sadness once again pierced you, but you stayed quiet. He released you so he could get dressed. Biting your lip, you glanced away to give him some privacy.

Another guard turned the corner and noticed you all in the hallway. He raised a pointed finger and shouted something in Russian, then he raised his gun. You ordered your guards to shoot the man, but the damage was done. A red alert was sounding overhead.

“Let’s go,” Ben said. After lacing up his boots, he guided you with a hand on your back.

Eisenstein and three guards formed a pack of protection around you and Ben as you moved through the compound. You slowed to a stop at what looked like a laundry room.

“I need something else to wear,” you said. “Once we get outside, I’m gonna stick out—”

Ben eyed your thin gray gown and socks. He grabbed your arm and led you inside.

“Find something in here,” he said, as if that wasn’t your idea.

Instead of wasting time picking an argument, you just nodded in agreement. You looked around and picked through the large clean bin of clothing. It held several mixed bundles of faded green men’s shirts and pants. Finally, you managed to find a dark red tracksuit. It was a men’s size, so it wasn’t going to fit you, but maybe you’d look a little less ridiculous. Ben tossed you the smallest pair of boots he could find, and they were still huge. They would have to do.

“How do we get out of here?” you asked as you got dressed. You turned around for a semblance of modesty, but it didn’t stop the man from glancing over, checking out your ass, bare legs and back.

“We fight,” he replied. There was a dark note in his voice that you understood, and you agreed with him.

“I know. I mean a little more specifically,” you said. When you were dressed, you turned around and met your companion’s grim look. Together, you two returned to the hall and focused on Eisenstein.

“What’s the best way to get out of here?” you asked him. Your hold on his mind forced him to answer honestly.

“The compound is three stories underground. You must take the elevators up to the top,” he responded, almost like a robot.

“Show us,” you ordered.

The doctor complied. He led the way, and the guards covered your back as you hurried through the maze of hallways. Finally, he led you to the main laboratory. Inside were the rest of the doctor’s team trying to filter out and evacuate, while the rest of the security guards formed a line against you. You saw where the scientists were headed, to a large elevator along the far wall. 

“There!” you pointed, grabbing Ben’s arm.

He held you to him quick when the shots fired your way. He protected you with his body as the bullets bounced harmlessly off his skin, though a few of them tore through his clothes. He turned around but kept you behind him. His hands curled into fists, and he rooted his stance. You weren’t sure what he was doing, but you hid yourself behind his broad back.

Ben charged up the power that had already been building in his chest. It had started from the moment they injected him with that goddamn serum.

Now, he knew what it was. It felt like lava inside his chest—a nuclear force that he unleashed throughout the lab. It destroyed everything in its path, from desks and beakers to walls and support beams, to the men screaming and trying in vain to get away.

When it was over, Ben heaved for breath but remained standing. You peered around him in shock.

“Oh my God…”

There wasn’t much left of the lab, just a ruins, and a meager group of survivors, limping, moaning, struggling. Your face evened out, akin to stone. You had no sympathy for any of them. You endured their studies and were forced to hear their thoughts. You knew that these men weren’t men at all.

You decided to finish the job.

“Cover your ears,” you told Ben. He shot you a questioning look, his brows furrowed. 

“Just trust me,” you said.

Then you opened your mouth, and you sang. Your eyes glowed with power, and the force of your siren song gripped every man still alive in the room. They soon began screaming anew, holding their heads as tears of blood streamed from their eyes. That included your guards, as well as Doctor Eisenstein.

Ben was forced to cover his ears, gritting his teeth. It didn’t affect him as badly, but even he yelled in strain.

You released your hold on the room and stopped singing. By then, all the normal humans were dead.

It was your turn to catch your breath. You’d used up a great deal of energy in a short span of time with your powers, and your body was still weak and undernourished. You took an unsteady step forward and nearly fell.

Ben caught you around your waist. He gathered you up against his chest, and you tried to grab onto his arms and keep your head raised.

His gaze flit over your face. “Can you walk?”

You closed your eyes to try and clear the dizziness and black spots from your vision.

“Uh, yeah. Just give me a minute,” you said.

Ben made a sound of impatience. He hefted you into his arms easily. You gasped and held onto him, and he made his way across the ruined lab.

The elevator doors were fried, but the compartment still worked. Without dropping you, he wedged his hand in between the fused metal doors and ripped them open. Then he stepped inside with you in his arms.

You felt the heat still emanating from his chest. You glanced up at him. There, he met your stare. There was so much you wanted to say, and yet, you had no idea how. You wondered if he felt the same way.

He faced forward again, and you did the same. You two rode the elevator all the way up in silence.

You asked him to set you down on your feet when the elevator finally reached the ground floor. It was merely a lobby area with some thick double doors at the end. You practically ran to it, regardless of your unsteady gait. You just wanted to breathe fresh air and see the outside world.

And it was beautiful. You teared up at seeing the gray sky and the expanse of snow-laden mountains in the distance, even though the air was freezing. A gust of wind shoved at you. You held yourself with a shiver and a gasp as you stared out at the expanse of snow ahead. You weren’t dressed for a cold snap in Siberia. 

Ben wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you back. You doubted he felt the cold much with his invulnerable skin. For once you were jealous.

“Come on, there’s a car over there,” he said, pointing to a small parking lot.

The only scientist who escaped the lab was trying to thrust his key into the door lock of his gray sedan. His hands were shaking badly, but he managed to get the key in. A heavy hand fell on his shoulder.

The scientist slowly looked up, and he saw Ben’s grim reflection in the window.

It was the last thing he saw.

You and Ben bickered over the navigation to the closest airport. You had the map in your hands, not that you could read it very well in Russian, but he claimed his instincts were leading him south. You once again wanted to throttle him.

You eventually figured out the way to the closest international airport, thanks to the small image of a plane on the map. You didn’t have luggage, which made things easier, but you still needed to compel several people into giving you a pair of tickets (in coach, as to not be suspicious—through security and Customs before you could board the next flight to New York. By the time you and Ben actually sat down in your shitty seats on the plane, you were exhausted in every way.

“You can have the window seat,” you offered. “I’m probably just going to sleep the whole way.”

Ben tacitly agreed and slid in first, but he watched you lower down into the middle seat with a tired sigh. You glanced over at him.

“How’re you feeling?” you asked.

“Fine,” he answered, his voice deep and stoic as always. He opened up the bag of snacks he’d snuck onto the plane and started chowing down on some beef jerky. He offered you some, and you took a couple of pieces.

It was hard to tell what he was thinking. You felt a bit of anxiety coming off of him with your abilities, though you supposed that could’ve been from the plane gearing up to take off, finally getting you guys the hell out of here.

Or maybe, like you, flashes of the past decade were still filtering through his mind, making this moment seem unreal.

We actually did it. We made it out.

Even so, you weren’t sure what he saw when he looked at you. The last time you two had truly spoken, you’d said a lot of hurtful things, even though many of them were hard truths he’d needed to hear.

“Yes! It is your fault. Because you’re too much of a mean, callous, arrogant, entitled, selfish, fucking asshole to see that everybody hates you!”

“The only thing I really wanted from you was what you could do for my career.”

You remembered the sound of his voice, not even angry anymore. Just resigned.

“It was all an act, huh?”

“Yeah, it was,” you said. “I fucking hope I never have to see your face again.”

The memory of it made your chest sting. It also filled you with questions you were almost afraid to ask.

Did he resent you? Hate you? Was this Bonnie and Clyde escape plan just for convenience’s sake, or…did he actually care about you, deep down?

As you thought about what happened yesterday in his cell, the way he’d saved you from Eisenstein’s experiment—the serum that created the damn nuclear bomb in his chest—you had to wonder…

If he didn’t care about you, why else had he saved you? 

The question continued to revolve in your mind, like discordant notes on a stanza’s refrain, until your exhaustion claimed you.

Flashes of memory scored through your subconscious. They filled your dreams with echoes of pain and the sound of your own voice giving out.

You woke with a start, heaving for breath as panic rose high in your chest and throat. Your heartbeat was pulsing in your ears, and you felt clammy and wrong.

Ben whispered your name sharply. His grip on your arm broke you out of the haze, but it startled you as well. You blinked fast, as if you could clear the nightmare from continuing behind your eyes. He glanced over his shoulder at one of the flight attendants passing by. Ben soon returned his attention to you though.

“Calm down. You’re going to blow our cover,” he said.

You nodded shakily, but you couldn’t help it. Tears welled up in your eyes and made your lips tremble.

“What if they come after us?” you whispered. You were even trembling in your distress. “What if they find us—”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Ben said sternly. “We Kentucky fried all those Commie cocksuckers.”

“I can’t. I can’t go back,” you said, shaking on every word. Your fear, your panic was rising, making your hand clutch at the front of his shirt.

Ben’s frown deepened. He turned toward you and took your face in his big hands, earning a gasp from you. Your watery eyes met his firm ones.

“You’re not going back,” he said. “That shit’s over, you understand me?”

Tears continued to slip down your cheeks, but you gave a jerky nod. He didn’t seem satisfied.

After a moment of hesitation, he pulled you in for a hard kiss. Your breath hitched…but your eyes fell closed. You didn’t care that his scraggly beard rasped against your chin. All you could do was focus on the familiarity of his lips moving against yours.

He pulled away slowly, with him seeming to try and gauge your reaction. Your eyes slid open and met his. Your fingers tangled further in his shirt, and you tugged yourself closer, your lips nearing his in askance.

He answered you, kissing you again.

Landing in LaGuardia Airport was even more of a shitshow than it used to be. A mess of people and traffic and tourists and resident commuters, it didn’t matter that it was at one in the morning. Cars honking and people jabbering and the clanking of suitcases rolling across the ground as airport staff droned instructions on the overhead speakers; it was all discombobulating for you, after having spent so long alone and in the dark, with minimal interactions or stimulation.

You had a feeling you weren’t the only one a bit overwhelmed. You noticed Ben’s tense expression and tight shoulders. His head turned at every sharp sound…and even sounds that weren’t there.

You stayed close to him as you two found your way outside the airport. You watched out for him silently, while he kept a hand on your lower back. Neither of you seemed to want to lose each other in the throng. He managed to hail a cab, beating out a businessman who was busy talking on some kind of cordless phone.

You and Ben shared a bewildered look on that one.

Once you were in the cab, sitting beside Ben, you let out a breath of relief. It was still cold in April, and your overlarge tracksuit wasn’t cutting it.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked. You glanced at your companion and gave him a raised finger, imploring him to follow your lead. You had an idea.

“Take us to the nearest department store,” you said.

“At this time? All the stores are closed,” the cabbie replied.

“Just do what she fucking said, all right, pal?” Ben said, none too gently. He was already on edge from the long flight and antsy to get somewhere comfortable.

“Okay, man. Jeez,” the cabbie muttered. He drove off, peeling away from the curb and merging into traffic.

You couldn’t fault Ben; you felt the same way. You laid a comforting hand on his thigh. He glanced at you and calmed, somewhat. He raised his arm and draped it over the back of your seat. You tentatively took it as an invitation, so you scooched over a little to rest against his side.

Let out a long breath through his nose, he looked out the window at the passing scenery of the city. The nightlife all flashed by in familiar colors and sounds of cars honking and music playing in the distance. Meanwhile, his fingers brushed along your shoulder absently. As the car’s warmth seeped into your bones, you tried your best to stay awake.

You and Ben broke into Sears via the backdoor alleyway, next to one vile smelling dumpster. There you veered off into separate ways in the department store.

You chose to grab a cart before you went into the women’s section. You started with the bras and panties and pulled things off the display tables and hangers, regardless of their price. Dear God, I’ve missed real underwear. You even grabbed a few silky, lacy things in the lingerie section, with a secret smile over your shoulder.

You grabbed a razor while you were at it, along with some other toiletries, shampoo and conditioner, a generous pile of makeup, and some other hair and body products.

You later perused with a half-critical eye at the rest of the women’s clothing. Apparently, jeans were a lot baggier in the ‘90s, and you were finding too many crop tops and overalls.

What the hell is this decade? you thought, but you managed to find a few outfits you liked that were still versatile enough to mix and match. You didn’t know when you’d be able to do this again.

Within the hour, you met back up with Ben, who was carrying all of his clothing finds piled up in his arms. You smiled in amusement. Typical man.

He dumped it all into your cart—a few pairs of pants and shirts and jackets and shoes, and even a men’s electrical shaving kit.

“Good call, lumberjack,” you said, eyeing his beard. Ben shook his head and ran a palm over the sheer length of it.

“Let’s just get the fuck out of here,” he grumbled.

“Ooh, wait,” you said, pointing at a row of suitcases. “That’ll make this easier.”

He agreed. Soon, you had each picked out your suitcases and packed them with your finds. Then you literally rolled out the way you came.

You paused at the door when you heard a clicking sound, followed by the handle turning. A security guard was just as surprised to catch you and Ben as you were to see him. But before he could even raise his gun, you stepped up and touched his face.

Sleep, and forget.

Within seconds, the man’s eyes rolled up into his head, and he slumped to the floor in a heap.

Ben had the next idea of where to go, after hailing another cab. You went along with it, but you thought he could’ve picked something a little more…inconspicuous.

Your eyes were bright, however, when you stared up at the beautiful building of the Plaza Hotel. You had never stayed here before, but it was also the home of the Oak Room. Ben had taken you there for dinner a handful of times, including on your first date.

“Why here?” you asked, glancing up at Ben. He shot you a knowing smile.

“Was feeling a little sentimental, I guess.”

His hand came to rest on your lower back again, and you ventured with him inside to the hotel lobby. It was pristine, as always, with its polished tile floors and vaulted ceilings. It wasn’t check-in hour, so the place was mostly empty, save for a single front desk clerk on the night shift.

That was in your favor though. You two might’ve raided Sears for new clothes, but you definitely didn’t look like the Plaza’s typical guests. With a quasi-flirtatious hand over the young man’s wrist, you were able to compel the clerk to book you and Ben into an entire suite with a king-sized bed, indefinitely, and all complimentary of the Plaza Hotel.

“Enjoy your stay,” he said robotically as he gave you the room keys. You gave him a smile with the glow of your eyes.

“Thank you. I’m sure we will.”

You were run down. You felt it in what seemed like all of the joints, muscles, and sinew in your body when you and Ben got into your suite. The place was lavish and beautifully decorated in soft yellows, crèmes, and beiges, with dark wood furniture, vases full of pink roses, and fine art on the walls, but all you cared about was dumping your suitcase on the floor and dropping face-first onto the bed.

“Oh my God, a real fucking bed,” you said into the clean, soft cotton. It actually brought tears to your eyes.

You managed to turn yourself onto your back as Ben rolled his suitcase to a stop beside yours. He watched you in bemusement.

“You did good, sweetheart,” he said, briefly grasping your arm as he passed by. It warmed a smile and a blush onto your face.

“What do you feel like eating?” he asked. “I’m gonna order some food.”

You shook your head and gave a dismissive wave of your hand.

“Anything. I’ll eat literally anything.”

He went to the phone on one of the nightstands and dialed Room Service. He ordered enough food to feed three of him (and one of him could be a whole dinner party). Satisfied with the promise of fast service, he hung up and started unpacking his suitcase for a change of clothes.

You sat up with a groan. “You can take the first shower. I need a minute to get situated.”

More like, gather your strength. Using your powers so much across the course of your journey back to the States had taken it out of you, beyond what you’d expected. You needed at least a few of days of solid R&R. Make it a year.

Ben eyed you as he began to unbutton his shirt.

“Or, you can join me,” he said.

You turned to face him more fully at that. Your mouth parted to reply, but you hesitated. His offer took you by surprise, even though it probably shouldn’t have.

He saw your uncertainty. What surprised you even more was that he didn’t press it. He just nodded slightly, and went into the bathroom to finish undressing. Within a few minutes, you heard the showerhead turn on.

What do you want here? you asked yourself.

It should’ve been a simple question. Somehow, it wasn’t.

But you made a decision. This time, you weren’t thinking three steps ahead. You weren’t thinking about consequences, or what people would expect of you. You just thought about what you wanted, here and now.

Slowly, you got up from the bed. You took a breath to steady yourself, and you went into the bathroom. The mirror was already fogged up with steam. Behind the shower curtain, you could hear Ben scrubbing and humming some tune to himself, making you smile.

You shed the ratty old jumpsuit from your body with slightly shaking hands. From anticipation or nerves, you didn’t know which. After stepping out of the heap of fabric, you called his name softly. You knew he heard it, because the humming stopped.

Ben pulled back the shower curtain to find you standing there, gazing up at him while biting the inside of your lip. His eyes drew down your form, over each and every bare curve. You wondered if he remembered it all with the same clarity as you did, the way his body used to fit against yours.

He reached out his hand, and you took it, letting him guide you into the shower. He slid his free hand around the back of your neck and drew you into a passionate kiss, hotter than the spray from the showerhead beating down on you both. His arm came down around your waist and he turned you around to press you against the wall.

You gasped at the cold impact of the tile, but you welcomed the heat of him. You met his each and every demanding kiss in kind, sinking your fingers through his wet, longer hair and dragging your nails against his scalp. Meanwhile, his hands were everywhere, sliding possessively up your sides, up smooth skin to squeeze your breasts, rolling your hard and sensitive nipples under his thumbs.

You arched into him with a pleased moan. It had been so damn long since you were touched. Perhaps it was a poetic form of irony that he was the last man to have ever fucked you.

Ten long years. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t thought about his hands, his mouth, the memories and the feeling of his cock inside you, stretching you, filling you. The thought had you slipping a hand down between his body and yours, roaming down his chest and abs, just to caress the full risen length of him in your palm.

He groaned into your mouth, instinctively pressing himself into your hand and caging you harder against the wall. His lips veered away to kiss and suck his way down your neck. You panted for breath against him.

“Ben, please,” you pleaded. Your hand pumped him faster, twisting along his shaft and goading him to full mast.

He panted with a nod, nosing along your throat. “All right, baby doll. I gotcha.”

He made his way down your body to lap at your breasts, taking a nipple between his teeth and teasing you there with the scruff of his beard. You moaned, had to release your hold on him when he took your hand and pinned it by your head on the warm tile. His other hand skimmed down your wet body to cup your mound.

You whimpered, instinctively pressing yourself into his hand. You felt his familiar smirk between your breasts, just before his thumb drew down between the slick folds of your pussy. It swept back up to brush your clit, and you jolted against his hand, releasing another moan. You were so damn sensitive already.

Ben seemed to enjoy it. He took his time working you up, strumming along and inside your slit with his fingers, making you clench on nothing in anticipation. Just when you opened your mouth to snap at him to fucking touch you already, he obliged you, slipping two long fingers deep into your channel.

You gasped and shuddered at the invasion, but it was a welcome one. He built up a rhythm, rocking his fingers inside of you while his thumb pressed and circled at your clit. It didn’t take long before your inner walls were clenching around his fingers as you shuddered your release. Your warmth coated his hand down to the knuckles.

Ben kissed you deeply, cutting off your moaning of his name. From there, he grabbed your thigh and helped you hike your foot up on the soap dish on the wall, so he could make room for himself between your legs.

He used the remnants of your slick to coat himself, before he sheathed his cock deep inside you with one push. Both of you groaned at the feeling, a sweet relief and a tight fucking fit. It was like your body remembered the shape of him.

“You still take my cock just right. Fit me like a fucking glove,” he said, sliding out of you with ease. He eased back in with a snap of his hips, inching you up higher on the wall. You clung to his arms tighter, with your nails biting fruitlessly into his flesh.

“God, yes,” you uttered.

But just when he started picking up a rougher, delicious set of thrusts, Ben faltered as his body locked up on him with the force of his orgasm. He came quickly, too quickly, for him. His brows furrowed as he caught his breath. You picked up on his surprise, and then his frustration—at himself.

“Fuck!” he growled, fisting a hand against the wall.

You were a little stunned yourself, but quickly you had to try not to laugh. Biting your lip, you reached up to stroke his cheek.

“It’s okay,” you panted. “It’s okay, baby. It’s just been a long time.”

After a few seconds of continued seething, Ben met your gaze. Seeing that you weren’t judging him, he reluctantly settled down.

“Still think I’m an asshole?” he asked.

The question caught you off guard, but you softened into a smile.

“That remains to be seen,” you replied.

He almost huffed. He slid a wet strand of hair behind your ear.

“You still afraid of me then?” he said.

Your amusement faded. You tilted your head at him, raising your brows. He was still inside you, and he asked this question?

But if he was asking you that, then he really did want to know. You grasped his chin and made sure he looked you in the eyes.

“Are you going to hurt me?” you asked, in a tone that quietly demanded. “Am I safe with you?” 

His eyes held a weight you hadn’t seen before.

“You’re safe with me,” he said.

You felt his sincerity. It rang true in his words, and you saw it for yourself. You believed him.

So you nodded. You let your hand fall to his chest. “Okay.”

He nodded as well. Finally, he untangled himself from you and turned off the showerhead, the water now run cold. He stepped out of the shower first, but he turned to give you a hand. You accepted his help as you came out and grabbed a couple of towels for both of you. After you had yours wrapped around your body, you reached for his arm to earn his attention.

He had been honest with you. You felt it was time for you to give him the same.

“Ben,” you said, with a sigh. “Back then, I lied to you.”

He snorted. “Which time?”

You gave a wry look, but you were serious. You shifted closer to him. You both stood there, dripping wet, with mere inches in between while Ben looked down at you, and you up at him.  

“This. You and me…it wasn’t all an act,” you said, as tears began to well up in your eyes. “I just didn’t want to admit it, even to myself.”

Ben hummed in contemplation. He raised a hand to draw a line down your cheek with his thumb.

“Hmm. Well. Maybe you weren’t the only one,” he said eventually.

Your lips tugged at a smile. He leaned down and met you with another kiss, and this time it was a slow, simmering heat.

Ben took his time in the bathroom afterward to shave his face with the clippers and razor he bought. When he padded back into the dining area, by now fully clothed in a shirt and some sweatpants, he found you already eating without him. You were tearing into some chicken parmesan ravenously while watching a show on TV. 

“What’s on?” he asked, sitting down across from you at the two-seater table. He grabbed one of the plates with his steak and potatoes and began tearing into his own meal. He intended to hit the chicken wings next, or maybe the burger sliders and fries.

“Seinfeld?” You sounded unsure. “It just started. Supposed to be a comedy, I think.”

You and Ben watched the episode until the credits rolled, but he shook his head, licking his fingers after finishing his fifth chicken wing. You were drawn to the sight—grossed out, and yet, a little turned on.

“Nothing happened in that whole goddamn episode,” he said.

You were inclined to agree. So what if they couldn't get a damn table at a Chinese restaurant?

“Okay,” you checked the pamphlet TV Guide. “Let’s try…Friends. It’s on next.”

“The One with the East German Laundry Detergent,” was the name of the episode, according to the TV Guide. You actually enjoyed yourself throughout the whole thing. Even Ben laughed at some of Chandler’s lines. You hadn’t heard that rich, boisterous laugh of his in so long, it made you laugh just by proximity.

By the end of the episode, he was finally done picking at the leftover food. You had finished a long time ago, but you liked seeing him sitting more relaxed in his chair, less on edge.

“Now that one was funny,” you said, when the end theme started to play. Ben balled up his napkin and tossed it on the table.

“At least Rachel’s hot, but don’t tell me she gets with that dopey-eyed pussy.”

“Aw, you mean Ross? I think he’s cute.”

Ben shot you a glance, his brows knitting together. You couldn’t help smiling as you sipped at your glass of wine. He got the feeling you were teasing him. (And you were.)

“Come here,” he said, hooking his foot around a leg of your chair. You yelped as he dragged you close enough to take you by the arm and tip you over, into his lap. You allowed it with a laugh and wrapped your arms around his neck. His hand slid up your thigh in your little pajama shorts, while you caressed his cheek and explored the new beard he was sporting. It was nice and trim, along with the smoother sweep of his hair.

“I like this, by the way,” you said. Your nails scratched through his beard playfully. You kissed his cheek. “Very handsome.”

Ah, there it is, the reappearance of that smug smile of his. You decided to take it down a peg.

“I didn’t mind the lumberjack though,” you teased. “I knew no one would recognize us with that shag carpet on your face.”

Ben’s face fell into annoyance. He stood, picking you up along with him. After he brought you over to the bed, he fairly dropped you down onto it, making sure to smack your ass for good measure. You squealed with laughter.

“You wanna fucking sass me? Fine,” he said, raising a brow. “I’ll just have to punish you.” 

“Nooo, don’t do that. I’ll probably like it,” you said, with both amusement and desire glinting in your eyes while you slid your arms around his broad shoulders. You slipped your legs around his waist as well, guiding his hips down against your already pulsing core. 

Ben broke slightly, his amusement peeking through.  

“I don’t remember you having such a smart mouth,” he said. You trailed your fingers across his cheek. 

“I think you’ll learn to like it,” you said, shortly before you lured him into a kiss.  

He fucked you well into the early morning, where you two finally got some sleep. Around mid-afternoon, you woke and ate and showered and continued to relearn each other’s bodies. You spent the entire day and night in that hotel room, recuperating and healing in your own ways. 

Late that night, you rested in the crook of his arm while he smoked a blunt. You’d compelled one of the bell men to find some reefer. You knew it would help Ben sleep better, and it served to calm you down when anxiety threatened to choke you again. 

It was never as bad as it was on the plane ride over, but sometimes it hit you at odd moments. 

Are they coming after us? Does Vought already know we’re here? Will they try to ship us back?

You knew you had been careful, but anything was possible. 

You extended an expectant hand. Ben took one more puff before he handed the blunt over. You puffed a couple of times and passed it back with a cough. 

“I still don’t really like this shit,” you said in distaste. 

Ben chuckled. “You still don’t know how to smoke it, either.”

You sighed in amusement, stroking a hand over his thigh absently. You two hadn’t bothered getting dressed in hours. Cheers played on the TV—something you both could agree on.

“I need to check in with my family,” you said after a while. You missed your brother especially. God, your nephew had to be close to fifteen years old by now. The thought made your eyes water, but with a deep breath, you managed to taper it down.

You turned to the man beside you. “Do you…do you have family anywhere?”

Ben let out another long puff of smoke. 

“Anyone who mattered is long dead,” he said. He looked down at you, meeting your gaze. “You’re all I’ve got.”

You smiled a little sadly, but you grasped his hand and threaded your fingers through his. 

“But I’ve got a score to settle,” he said. The hardening tone of his voice concerned you.

“With who?” you asked. 

Ben reached over to the nightstand and put out his blunt on an ashtray. He shook his head. 

“Everyone,” he said lowly, “in that goddamn Tower.”

You frowned. You released his hand so you could turn over and face him. 

“Ben, I know how you feel, but think about this for a second.”

“It’s all I’ve been thinking about since we got out of motherfucking Siberia,” he said tersely. “Those cocksuckers are gonna pay for what they did.”

You took a steadying breath. “Okay, taking on the team is one thing. But Arthur, Stan Edgar, all of Vought? It’s dangerous.”

“And? Don’t try to tell me what I can’t fucking do,” he barked. 

You glared at him, sitting up and taking the blankets with you to cover yourself.  

“Don’t you fucking snap at me!” Your voice cracked just as firmly as his. “I’m trying to tell you to be careful. Because if not, we could wind up exactly where we were before, or worse. And I told you, I can’t…I can’t go back.”

You began to break down at the end there. Your lips trembled as your anxiety bubbled over, making tears spring to your eyes. They stung hot and escaped the corners of your eyes. 

“Ben, I can’t—” you hiccupped. 

His brows were furrowed, his jaw clenched, but now, it was less so in anger. He took your face into his hands like he had on the plane, so you’d focus on him. 

“Hey, hey,” he said, earning your attention. “That’s never gonna happen. I’mnot gonna let it happen. But I am going to put all those spineless bastards into the fucking ground where they belong.”

He wiped at your tears with his thumbs. After a brief pause, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to your lips. Then another, a reassuring kiss on your forehead.

He pulled back to earn your gaze.

“Then we take it all back,” he said. “You and me.”

It took you a moment to come back to yourself. You were still apprehensive about this plan, but you knew you didn't want him to do it alone. Nor did you want to end up alone, without him. You sniffed and nodded. 

You and me.    

 AN: 😮‍💨 Did you get hit in the feels? If yes, get ready for more of that. But after their long journey back to the U.S., their relationship is shifting now, hopefully in a more positive way (despite the tough road Ben is setting them on).

Also, there might just be a BMD easter egg in there somewhere. Did you catch it? 😉

Next Time:

More heart-to-hearts, more of "the Plan," and we get a bit more into Ben's side of things...

What time is it? It was hard to remember to keep track of that now, even with the digital clock on the nightstand. It was only midnight, but to his body, it felt like morning.

You were dead asleep. Occasionally you let out soft hums, and other semi-arousing sounds. His lips tugged upward. Still moans in her sleep.

He drew down the comforter and sheets slowly from your back. He was greeted by smooth skin, except where some marks had been made permanent. His fingers traced carefully over a rough, scarred patch of skin above your hip, as if you had been tased there repeatedly.

His jaw clenched. He could still remember the sounds he used to hear—your screams through the walls of the compound. He remembered when you eventually stopped begging for it all to stop.

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[imagine-knowing-a-name]

Afterlife

Summary: Reader dies on a mission, but keeps watch over Natasha as a ghost.

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Word Count: 3190

Warnings: major character death (but like... in a good way? First time I’ve ever happily made it Endgame compliant.)

A/N: I had to read the Aeneid for school and basically Aeneas breaks Dido’s heart and she kills herself because of him. But then he sees her in the Underworld with her former husband and I just thought it must be so awkward for that guy. Imagine if Aeneas didn’t break her heart because she’d definitely choose Aeneas over him... anyway, that's basically the concept except completely different.

—————————————————

“I’m sorry Tasha” you sobbed, tears mixing with her own as she rested her forehead on yours.

“No. No, you can’t apologise. You’re not- nothing’s gonna happen. The doctors are coming, they’re going to save you.”

“I know they’re on their way. They’re coming as fast as they can, and I’m really holding it off as much as I have power to, but they won’t be here on time Natty.”

“Yes, they will. They will. They-” she choked, “they have to”

You could feel yourself fading, and you mustered a smile for the woman you loved. “No they won’t, but it’s okay. I’ll scout out what’s next, alright? I’ll see you there” you promised, already struggling to retain consciousness. Her sobs and broken ‘I love you’ s kept you company as you passed.

—————————————————

The next time your eyes opened you were weightless. Floating high above, everything shimmered before your eyes, it was like watching through a screen. You found that you could move, somehow gliding through the air without the need for any effort or motion, just a thought. It felt different as well, nothing resisted your movement.

A cloaked figure appeared, pausing your exploration of your new powers. It didn’t frighten you though. Logically, you knew it should, you knew it would have just an hour before, yet you were serene. It spoke.

“Y/N Y/L/N, I’m sorry to say you have died”

“Yeah, I kind of worked that one out” you mocked, but it had no effect on the spectre.

Death, or whoever they were, began to float towards the scene you were watching. You followed. As you neared, it became clear to you what the scene was, the immediate aftermath of your death. Doctors were just arriving at the scene, but your gaze locked on Natasha sobbing over your body. “You have a choice, move on now and see all you have lost before, or remain in the midpoint.”

“I don’t want to move on,” you said firmly. “Not until she can come with me”

“You understand she may live many years more.” Death warned, you nodded. “She may start a new life with another, go further with them than with you.”

“And I hope she gets that, but I’d still like to see it.”

The figure nodded, sighing resignedly as if it was an answer they expected but didn’t want. “Very well. When her life is over I will return, and see then where you stand”

“Thank you” you smiled, because manners are important. Even when you are dead and talking to some other ghostly immortal being. 

It simply nodded in return, then faded, presumably going elsewhere too.

“Alright Natty” you muttered to yourself, “hope you have an interesting life cos it’s going to be the only thing I see”

She didn’t reply, as you probably could have expected. Because you were dead, and she was still sobbing over your body.

—————————————————

Fury made Natasha take a month off after your death, prompted by missions going wrong due to her distracted state. The man was a father figure to Natasha, and he took it seriously, ensuring that she was cared for. It had been intimidating when you were alive, because it was the head of SHIELD giving you the ‘dad talk’, and he’d threatened grievous harm multiple times in the beginning. But you’d grown on him, and realistically you knew he’d accepted you for Natasha from the beginning, he just had to keep up the act. You were glad for his presence now; he kept Natasha safe and looked after her in the way you simply couldn’t. 

You loved Natasha, but you didn’t want her joining you too soon. She had to live a life.

Clint helped too, despite his own grief from your death. But he kept Natasha occupied, knowing just as well as you did that she’d hate nothing more than having nothing to do. You watched on with a smile as they reminisced about you, about weird habits, or old memories between the three of you. It was lucky they only said kind things, and any criticism was said in a teasing manner, usually to be followed by laughs wet with tears. You knew they loved you, and being dead confirmed it. 

You sat with them through the smiles, but being with Nat constantly meant that you saw all the things they didn’t. Like how her face would fall as soon as the others looked away, or at night, when she’d cry herself to sleep. Everything in you screamed to comfort her, and most times you tried. But of course, your words went unheard, and soft touches went straight through her. It was tough for you, but it had to be unbearable for her.

—————————————————

Recovering from grief is a slow process. Imperceptible enough that you don’t realise it’s happening, until one day you are incomparable to the person you were at the start and, realistically, also to the person you were before.

It was just as slow for Natasha. The spy tried to hide it, but her façade of fully recovered wouldn't fool you, nor, thankfully, Clint. He did what was best though and ignored it, letting Natasha pretend she had control of the situation. Only to subtly comfort her and offer help in ways where she wouldn't suspect he knew.

Pride surged through you as the pair of them were recruited for the Avengers, seeing them suit up with the others for the first time. Fury had approached Natasha about it way back in 2009. Naturally, she then shared the secret with the two people she trusted most. You, her girlfriend (later, wife), and Clint, her best friend, both of whom were also intended to be recruited, so she really just hurried the process along.

It was to be the three of you, SHIELD's dream trio, plus the handful of super-powered beings that also inhabited the Earth: the Hulk; the newly thawed Captain America; and Iron Man. Yet you never got around to meeting the others, no event world-threatening enough to warrant the formation of the Avengers. At least while you were still alive.

Loki's arrival changed that, and, with Clint on the line, Natasha buried her grief once more. Focusing completely on getting her friend back. Natasha would succeed, you were sure of it, but a small part of you pondered the thought of if she didn't. Failure here could lead to millions of deaths, potentially including hers or Clint's. They had to succeed, but if they didn't then your wait for Natasha would be over. And if it was just Clint, would he stay with you? Probably. He had his family to look out for.

You were doing that too, always keeping an eye on the secret family you'd been gifted knowledge of. Natasha relaxed when she visited them, and she needed that after your death, so you saw them then. But Natasha didn't always need your watch, and ghost travel was a quick method indeed, so you popped over occasionally, watching to ensure their cover was still intact. You wouldn't have the power to do anything if it wasn't, you would just have to watch and do nothing, but it still felt purposeful to keep an eye on them.

—————————————————

Natasha was getting better, she rarely cried over you now. Only on special occasions, like birthdays and anniversaries, or when she'd had a particularly rough day. It was progress, and she might not be seeing it, but you were, and you were glad.

By 2014, she'd become much the same as before, which of course meant something would happen. Natasha's life could never be simple, as much as you wished it for her, something always came in the way. And now it was SHIELD.

You were present with Natasha when she got the call. Telling her to get to the hospital to visit Fury.

"No, no. Don't do this to me Nick" she whispered. It broke your heart, the words sending you back to the moment you died, the pain that had inflicted on her. She'd recovered, and now she'd be sent through it all over again.

Tears brimmed in her eyes which you hopelessly wished you could brush away. But they were still a sign of her growth, seeing Natasha cry would have been considered impossible when you first met. Now she no longer felt the need to repress it.

Even as Fury's death was called. And Maria and Steve walked away, you stayed with Natasha, watching Fury's body. Having followed Natasha on missions before, you knew what death looked like from the afterlife. Their ghosts tended to part from their bodies, and you did your best to help with the following confusion, at least until Death arrived.

You waited for it to happen to Fury, so you could talk to a friend again, but it never happened. You smirked, maybe you weren’t getting company for a while, but Natasha's grief couldn't last long when the man she was grieving for wasn't dead. At least you hoped he'd reveal it to her soon.

It didn't happen all that long after, but by that stage you were more concerned with Natasha's physical wellbeing than Fury's. She'd been protecting civilians, getting them out of harm's way, when she was shot by the Winter Soldier, only to then be cornered by the STRIKE team agents that you knew were HYDRA.

If you had taken your eyes off of Natasha for one second, you could have noticed Hill on the scene. You may have seen her covertly take out a masked guard and take their place on the very same van Natasha, Steve, and the new guy, Sam, were taken into. But you didn't notice that, and instead had a tense 15 minutes where you thought Natasha and the others would soon be joining you.

At least it made the relief all that better when she didn't.

That relief corresponded with Natasha's own at seeing Fury alive. "I'm sorry Natasha," he told her in private, "I know-... you're not losing another family member that soon". You smiled at the rare candour from him, it was what they both needed.

The next couple of days after that kept you tense. Natasha healed up perfectly fine, but was then thrust immediately back into work, going undercover at SHIELD to take back control. She did it perfectly, as you could expect, but there were too many close calls for your liking, she seemed far too comfortable being on the brink of death.

But she came through, saved the day once again, even if the government weren't fans. She was stressed in preparation for her trial, pacing back and forth and reciting her lines, she even began talking to you. Acting like you were there and could hear her words. Clearly you could, but she didn't know that. She aced the trial, and you couldn't help letting out a 'that's my wife!' when she walked out.

—————————————————

Time continued to pass with you watching Natasha. Since the fall of SHIELD she had continued to talk as if you were in the room, you wondered whether it was part of her grief, or if it was just in your memory. You hoped the latter, and it seemed proven when she got closer with Bruce.

It hurt of course, seeing her flirt with him just like she had with you all those years ago. He seemed just as oblivious as you had been too. But you didn't mind, you were glad to see Natasha moving past your death. She had a whole life to live and you hoped she would take the chance. So you were encouraging whenever one of them made a move, and you sided with Steve when he told Bruce to ask her out.

It worked well to begin with, and even after the Ultron fiasco she seemed to look out for him. But not everything lasts. You saw Natasha's heart wasn't in it when they discussed having kids, even if she was fooling him. You knew Natasha couldn't have children biologically, she'd told you when you had this exact conversation. But rather than make it a hurdle she'd immediately presented a solution of adoption. Something she ignored with Bruce. And that wasn't a coincidence, she just wasn't as into the relationship as anyone had hoped she might be.

It took another week for her to realise it herself, while captured by Ultron. She told Bruce when he came to free her, not wanting to keep him in a relationship that she couldn't make work.

She told the Avengers explicitly about you for the first time. That she'd had a wife, who she'd lost. That she still wasn't 100% ready to move on yet.

Bruce took it well. Hulk... less so. Natasha blamed herself when he took the quinjet and left, bringing Bruce to somewhere untraceable. Again, you could do nothing to convince her that she wasn't at fault.

—————————————————

2016 was an eventful year. Almost as if Natasha was heeding your request to keep her life interesting. Fighting her best friend over government regulation, then siding against her own team when circumstances changed.

Not just that, because she then had to go on the run, away from all the family she had. Until she ran into the family she had told you she'd lost long ago. When Natasha picked up the red vials and saw the pictures attached, you recognised them too. She had the matching set in the room you'd shared, her with her sister, Yelena.

You'd never met her family, but you'd heard her stories. They were nothing like what you'd been expecting. Yelena, for instance, was no longer the carefree child Natasha had described, she was a Widow now. Nor were Melina and Alexei the parents Natasha had looked up to and respected; they were selfish in their own way.

Natasha had to find this out at the same time as you, and you could see her inner turmoil. Years in the Red Room had led her to idolise her time in Ohio, and it was a shattering conclusion to remember that they were the ones who had sent her there in the first place. She didn't tell them about you, but she began to talk to you a lot more. She wondered how you would have reacted to meeting her family, whether you would have chosen to go on the run with her after the Accords. You answered honestly; that you'd go the whole world with her if she asked, and that her family seemed like a chaotic type of fun. If only she could hear.

Yelena found out about you in 2017. The two kept in contact even after the Red Room was destroyed, and Natasha went back on the run with a few other Avengers. The sisterly bond reformed, Natasha gave Yelena her trust, and with it, the secret that she'd had a wife.

Yelena provided comfort, and told Natasha that she would have loved to meet you. You wished for the same.

Thanos happened and then everyone Natasha loved was gone. Her sister, her mentee, her teammates. Half the universe vanished, not to the realm of the dead, just a mysterious elsewhere. You talked to Death and even they didn't know what to make of it, the souls were beyond reality.

For five years you watched Natasha mourn. When the other survivors did nothing, Natasha kept herself busy. You knew she was working because of the grief, not through it, but no one else saw. Not even Clint was there to save his best friend this time.

Death joined you as the time heist began. It warned you what was coming, it was still too early in your opinion, but there was nothing you could do.

"That your brother or something?" you joked, as you and Death watched the scene on Vormir, the hooded figure guiding Natasha and Clint towards the edge of the cliff.

Death laughed lightly, and you were shocked to finally receive a reaction. "Another mortal who reached too high, and given a life sentence in return."

"I didn't know you were ever mortal" you mumbled. You didn't particularly want to be watching Natasha right now, but you had to be near to her.

"It was a long time ago" Death informed you, "but I still remember. It's why I knew you would need company for this, or a distraction."

"thank you" you whispered. Clint had Natasha pinned down now. She flipped the scene over with ease.

An explosion, then Natasha was down once again and Clint was jumping. She caught him, and suddenly it was her who was dangling. Your heart clenched knowing it was only a matter of time now. And you would have to watch.

Your two former partners in crime locked eyes with each other, knowing just as well as you did what was to come. Their expressions told stories, indecipherable to anyone but the three of you.

"Let me go"

"No. Please no" Clint whimpered, "she'll wait" he added. It was true, I'd wait for eternity, but her mind was made up.

"It's okay" she smiled. She'd been grieving for over a decade. That would be over soon.

"Please-"

With a kick, she was falling, and Death led you down. Your eyes steered clear of the body.

"Y/N?" The familiar voice forced you to tear your eyes in that direction. It was inevitable, but seeing the body, and the ghostly figure beside it confirmed that it was true. The woman you loved was dead.

"Hi Natty" you smiled, walking up to her. You cautiously raised your hands to either side of her face, placing your thumbs on her cheeks. For the first time in 12 years, they didn't pass through. "I promised I'd meet you here"

She didn't show the same hesitancy. Quickly wrapping her arms around your torso and squeezing tight, her face buried in the crook of your neck. "I missed you. I missed you so much"

"I missed you too, I kept watch though"

"I know" she whispered, and you pulled away to look at her questioningly. "When I was bleeding out, after the fight with the Winter Soldier, I saw you there. I thought I was hallucinating maybe, but you were there every time I came close to death."

"And that was way too many times"

"I know" she sighed, resting her forehead against yours, "I didn't intend it... but I'm here now"

Death coughed from behind you. "I guess your gamble paid off Y/N"

"Thankfully so"

"You're happy for me to move the both of you on to the afterlife now? I'd rather not leave ghosts lurking longer"

You shared a look with Natasha and nodded.

"You were good company in the end Y/N. And Natasha, the good you have done far outweighs the bad. I hope you see it yourself someday." With Death's parting words, you began to fade, hand in hand with your wife.

Entering the afterlife, your life together was just beginning. And this time, neither of you could die.

[strangelysamantha]

hey, i have a jj maybank request! fem!reader, possible angst!

so basically, y/n is a pogue and gets along with the other pogues (john b, pope, sarah, kiara & cleo) except for jj. y/n is always bright, a total sweetheart and bubbly and jj…hates it.

john b recently opens up a surf board shop on that stranded island that they’re on?? and he leaves y/n and jj alone to polish some boards hoping that they’d get along. jj complains about every little thing y/n does and starts calling her names. she gets really upset and storms out the shop to clear her head. she goes by the water for a swim but a dangerous tide picks her up and jj notices and saves her?? hopefully this makes sense!

the deep end ☆

jj maybank x fem!reader.

warnings: mentions of drowning, jj being an asshole, swearing.

words: 1,674.

summary: jj somehow finds everything you do annoying to the point he criticizes everything you do. john b thinks of a plan that will ensure his two friends will befriend each other. it was working at first, until it wasn’t.

request? yes!

a/n: y’all have such good ideas what the?! thank you for the request! if you enjoyed please like and comment. this is angst with fluff at the end. <3 BTW i am from missouri and have never surfed so i hope i got the polishing of the surfboards correct. :)

my masterlist

——————————————————————————

john b always had a plan, well usually he did. if two of his friends were fighting, he would always find a way to get them to get along. he knew that stranding kiara and sarah on a boat together in the middle of nowhere would force them to fix their friendship. so, with that knowledge, he knew that he could do the same thing with jj and you.

you were always nice to jj, he just seemed to get annoyed with you all the time. you didn’t know what you had done, if you had even done something. he just always felt the need to critique you. it became harder and harder everyday to ignore him.

since washing up on the abandoned island, john b was ecstatic for his brand new start. unsurprisingly to anyone, his first idea for creating a new civilization would be a surf shack. he started building it right away. you would occasionally help, but he was determined to do it on his own so he would always send you away.

“okay! john b what would you like my help with? i can do anything you need. just let me know.” you smile brightly at john b, while he stared at you. “listen, i love you. but, i don’t need your help at the moment. you should talk to everyone else.” you frown at his words, “fine. but you better get me the minute you need assistance.” he nodded. “will do.” and with that, you left joining the others.

jj was talking to cleo before silencing upon your arrival. “hey everyone!” you smile at the group in front of you. “hey! how’s john b?” kiara asked. “i think he is good, he’s actually pretty much done.” you play with the bracelet on your wrist. kiara nods, “that’s great.” pope smiles, “statistically speaking, we can’t ensure that his shack will be entirely safe as he built it all on his own.” you stare at pope. “true… we’ll let’s hope it doesn’t collapse on him.” pope smiled at you, glad you listened to his random fact.

jj groaned. “awe, how sweet pope!! you found a girl who wasn’t disgusted by your weird and useless knowledge.” you gasp in shock, “jj! shut up you are so rude.” jj laughs, “it’s just a joke, why do you always have to be so offended?” you glare at jj. “jj it’s not funny, you’re just a dick.” pope sighs. “it’s okay, don’t worry.” you frown in popes direction. you quietly pull away from the group. you walk to an area of sand, plopping yourself down. that’s when john b approached you.

“hey, remember when i told you i would come get you when i needed help?” john b smiled at you. “yes! do you need my help?” you tilt your head to the side, waiting. he nods. “i need you to wax up some of the boards i made.” you nod. “okay! sure.” he walked you to his shack, helping you set up. you began waxing the board, paying attention to the direction and the amount of wax you were applying. john b waits a minute watching you, before he decides to leave.

after a minute, you see jj approaching the shack with john b who held a smug smile on his lips. you shake your head, confused. “friends.” he looked between you and jj. jj held an unamused look on his face. “as my close friends, you will wax these boards for me. you can’t stop until you guys fix whatever feud is going on between the two of you.” john b stands his ground. jj scoffs, “we don’t have a feud.” you nod your head in agreement. “jj is right, his hatred is definitely one sided... it is not a feud.” you laugh softly seeing jj send a glare your way. “yeah okay. whatever guys. just fix it, and if you even try and leave, i’ll send cleo after both of you.” your eyebrows lift in shock. you mutter a quick okay, returning your attention to the board.

jj stares at you, watching you apply the wax. he couldn’t help but get upset. everything you did just made him annoyed. he grabbed the wax, working on the board right by yours. silence falls over the two of you. it’s not awkward or weird, it actually feels quite normal. until jj interrupted it so he could judge you.

“youre doing it wrong. i mean come on.” you stare at jj, “jj please just focus on your own board.” you shake your head, continuing to polish the surfboard. he glares at you. “whatever. just keep doing what you are doing, and then john b or i will fix it after you.” his attention turned back to his board. you rolled your eyes. “i will, thank you.” he breathes in, inhaling the waxy scent. “you are so annoying you know that?” you ignore jj’s words, focusing on the board. he continues, “i mean everything you do. everything you say, it pisses me off.” you nod slightly. “you done?”

“no, actually i’m not.” you bite your lip, fixating on the wax that is spreading along the smooth surface. jj stops waxing the surfboard. you look up to see he is already staring at you. “you know, you act like you are better than us, i mean why do you hang out with us anyway?” jj waits but continues when he realizes you won’t reply. “you are fake, you are so upbeat and bubbly that it’s annoying. you are a double sided two faced bitch who says anything to get in good graces.” you inhale, looking up at him.

“listen jj. we are stranded on this fucking island. TOGETHER. so either drop it and move on, or just shut the fuck up and stay away from me.” you place your hands on your hips, breathing slightly staggered from anger. “everyone speaks so highly of you saying how great you are; but the only jj i’ve met is a total douche. if you hate me so much then just stay the fuck away from me. if you continue you’ll just be wasting your breath and energy anyway.” jj holds back a laugh at your sudden outburst.

“you really think if i had the choice, i would want to be here? especially with you?” jj asked, you already knowing the answer. you stay silent. “exactly. no one can deal with you for that long anyway.” you roll your eyes.

“whatever jj. you win.” you toss the wax to the side, frowning. you don’t turn back to him, you just ignore him. you start to walk towards the beaches seashore. it was getting slightly hot, so you decided to take a dip into the water.

you were salvaging the few moments of freedom you had, before you got john b’s and cleo’s wrath from leaving the scene before mending the friendship with jj. it was practically impossible. what did jj have against you? you tip toed into the water, getting deeper and deeper. you floated at the top of the water; the coolness feeling great on top of your hot skin.

jj truly had the biggest nerve, your mind was overwhelmingly clogged. you felt seaweed scratch against the bottom of your foot, this caused you to jump, your adrenaline levels rising since you thought it was a fish. you try to remain afloat, but the high tide caused the waves to crash right over you repeatedly, being faster and higher than ever. you went above water trying to shout for help, but your mouth was filled, causing no sound to come out. you thrash against the water, kicking to stay afloat. your throat was burning, your legs tired from kicking, and your lungs filled with liquid.

a pair of hands wrap around your stomach, dragging you out the water. you were placed on the warm sand. “shit.” jj stared at you. your head felt light. jj’s hand began pumping your chest, curses falling from his mouth. “come on, just breathe. please.” you cough, the salt water exiting your lungs, and dropping onto your neck. you gasp for air, opening your eyes to be met with jj’s face. you breathe heavily for a minute.

“jj… thank you.” you sit up, pulling him into a tight hug. your hands wrap around his neck, one of them grabbing his hair. his arms held tightly around your waist. his chest was heaving heavily, shaking slightly. “i hate to be so cliché j, but you genuinely saved my life.” he frowns at you. “i almost lost you.”

jj’s confession confused you. “what?” you say softly, your hand combed through his hair. “look. the reason i’m so mean to you, is because i knew that if i was nice to you, my already intense feelings for you would only amplify.” you frown at him. “you’ve had a crush on me this whole time?” jj nodded. you went to talk, but your friends interrupted the moment.

john b rushed to your side, kiara and pope swiftly behind him. “what happened!! we were watching from over there.” john b pointed in a direction farther away. “one minute you were swimming… the next you we’re gone!?” you wipe your neck, trying to dry it off. “jj saved my life. i almost drowned.” you frown, the group in front of you nodded. “im so glad you are okay.” kiara bent down pulling you into a hug. “i’m glad you are safe now too.” pope joined in on the hug; as well as everyone else.

sarah, kiara, and cleo bend down, reaching for your hands. they help you up, dragging you to your feet. they walk you away from the crowd, bombarding you with questions. “so when you were drowning what did it feel like??” you turn around watching jj, you smile slightly before turning to them. “oh get ready for the amount of details i’m going to give you guys.”

possibly a part two…??? not sure yet :) <3 also!! i’m proofreading this tomorrow since i’m not entirely sure if it has errors or not! ily!!

[doublel27]

I'm very interested to see where they go with this Owen and his father storyline. What do you hope/think we will get out of it?

I think they added a fascinating facet to Owen Strand in this last episode. Now, I’ve made no secret on this platform that I find Owen to be a really interesting and deep character. They’ve been seeding this storyline since season one, where he punched people, and I’m so glad we’re finally going to crack open the Owen Strand nut to learn more about who he is as a person and why he works the way he does. 

So before, I’ve mostly theorized about 9/11 and the divorce from Gwyn which rocked him, Tim’s death, the whole Gwyn reunion-break up with the child that isn’t his, and how he saw Jonah as a “redo” almost, and the dissolution of the 126 and his running away to the mountains, and how all of this impacts him. This root being his dad abandoning the family (Owen’s words) is fascinating and makes a lot of sense. Tying my old meta to this new revelation may be a whole other meta - but let's be real, death and divorce can feel like an abandonment. The grief of being left behind is something that impacts Owen. I’m really hoping we’ll see the ties be made to the losses he’s faced. But Owen already tied to two near loses to his father during therapy and they both have to do with his relationship with TK. The sequence of Owen’s brain associating down to clowns is beautifully giffed here (thanks @maxbegone). The first thing the dot reminds him of is the spot on his lung. The second thing following the dot brings him to TK in the ICU on a vent. The third is the clown. So, let’s go back to season one and the spot on his lung. This is part of our introduction to Owen Strand, the second scene we have is him going to the doctor after TK admits he’s going to propose to Alex. Owen wants to know if he’ll make it to the wedding. He hides the cancer from TK, and makes the choice to leave the 252, a family he refused to abandon when the other members abandoned him through death, and picks TK and has a very heavy-handed, co-dependent plan to save TK. Originally, he thinks the cancer is going to kill him, and as many people have noted, built a team that reflects Owen’s favorite qualities back at him, but also surrounds TK with them. In some ways, he’d been waiting for 9/11 to kill him since he survived. He always knew he’d leave TK some day, but Owen was determined to do it by leaving TK in the best place possible. 

We then move to TK on a ventilator. This is an entirely different scenario, and fascinating, because we as an audience never saw that interaction. We have the still of Owen standing by TK’s bed, where he looks exhausted and devastated. But we DID see Owen’s speech, which is heavy handed and full of self-recrimination. @marjansmarwani did a great job pointing out that this is largely because he’s partially bargaining. If I do this, I’ll get my son back. Because the failingOwen keeps focusing on, is quitting, on giving up, his heart giving out by not fighting for the 126 and their family to remain whole. In Owen’s mind, he’s being punished for abandoning his whole family by the world threatening to take his son. If he fixes it, if he fights to put the family back together, he’ll get to keep TK. And even if he doesn’t keep TK, he’ll know he did everything to try and put their family back together.

And it’s so fascinating that these two moments are the moments he thinks of before his own abandonment that’s tied to his father and that creepy picture of a clown. We now know Owen hasn’t seen his father since he was 12, and supposedly (per season one) he stayed in California until he was 16. And while I don’t always trust this show with math, that gives four years of them remaining in the same state without seeing each other. Then he moved to New York and has built an entire life without ever letting his father know. He’s held this grudge, and that’s not a surprise, for at least the last 40 years. But now, despite his fervent insisting to TK that Owen never abandoned him in 1x10, it’s clear that he at least subconsciously is tying those in a linear connection to his own son. While Owen clearly has a better relationship with TK, the level of defensiveness when TK says “You left us” in 1x10 feels far more understandable (if incorrect). To Owen, abandonment involves never seeing the person again and TK still came to the firehouse, was a part of Owen’s life. By 1x10, they live and work together, a level of togetherness Owen couldn’t manage with his own father. What I am hoping for on Monday is to understand what happened when Owen’s father left. Did Owen become so angry that he refused to speak to his father? Did his father actually stop speaking to Owen? Or did Owen’s refusal get to the point where Walter Strand stopped reaching out? What was their relationship like before Owen turned 12? Were they close? Were they already distant and this was further rejection? How does Owen compare his divorces, specifically the one where he left Gwyn and TK, from his parent’s divorce?

I’m also hoping to contrast the relationship between Owen and Walter with what we’ve seen of Owen and TK. Owen and TK are openly affectionate. They care deeply about each other’s opinion. There is a level of respect that goes both ways, even in the face of both of their mistakes. TK talks to Buck in 2x03 about how his dad never gave up on him, despite every bad choice TK has made. Owen gives TK his medical power of attorney when he has surgery, which is a huge level of trust and respect. They don’t have a perfect relationship, there are plenty of mistakes and missteps, but they have a GOOD relationship.  

[macgyvertape]

BG3 Act 3 thoughts and liveblog part 5

It wasn't intentional because I don't know and didn't research the DnD combat system but funny my character has wound up a bit like the Abhorsen in a loose sense, where the powers she uses the most are Bard music and necromancy.

Here's the part where I definitely noticed how little commentary my companions had about things or spoke during quests, and I hope that gets expanded on during the enhanced version.

Now that I have the ability to shrink characters, disguise the squad, create arcane gates, and Astarion can turn into a small ball of mist I went to go explore that drainpipe since I figured it was so out of the way it would reward exploration. I was right, cool underground area and I figure Astarion, Karlach, and Gale are the right squad for it (wish I had room in the party for Wyll especially as his dialouge in camp is now bugged).

 The combat trial went smoothly by arrows to blast elementals into the chasms, but my character definitely laughed at being called “a paragon of justice”. Since Gale and Astarion won’t solve the chess puzzle, I’m glad killing the chess piece with an electric puzzle was a valid solution

At first I was like oh no the dragon is dead, then I’m like “oh shit The Emperor was Baldur”. There are things about combat I’m still not understanding well, but through lots of expensive scrolls and summoning lots of assistants I got the crash landing achievement

Taking the same group to do the hag quest since they fought Ethel before. Nice that Gale can just remove curse and dispel whatever the sheep hex was. Mayrina has the line “twice you’ve saved me, I’m starting to think you’re my guardian angel”  which my character has to find hilarious considering all the murders 

Of course my character was inspired by killing Ethel a second time, I figure my characters motivation was joy in killing Ethel again and stopping her from getting what she wanted by saving the child. Also as a show of skill leaving all of Ethel’s victims alive this time. I was surprised at how there weren’t any companion interjections during this quest

I rescued Volo and I think the game meant for me to rescue him hours ago since he’s talking about Bhaalspawn and somehow knows I am one 

Love how fucking manipulative the Emperor is “I have no more secrets from you…. We are true allies now” lmao. Its fun how if you push him the slightest bit he goes full mask off. Wonder what different options there are if you ask him what learned, he say my character was “complex and full of contradictions”. I also played through the seduction scene before reloading and its so well done and manipulative.

My character definitely doesn’t trust the Emperor but isn’t going to burn that bridge just yet; as much as she uses seduction and is fine being seduced, the stakes are too high for her to do so here. 

My character, Astarion, Halsin and Shadowheart walk right into Shar’s temple ready to slaughter everyone and walk out, which we did and my D!urge character of course killed Mother Superior after Shadowheart told my character to do what they like. I think it's a key aspect of my D!urge that the killings don’t stop even if she’s no longer technically The Dark Urge. Wonder if Bhaal’s chosen D!urge gets any fun lines about how while the Mother Superior was so worried about the Absolute she missed the plotting of Bhaalists and Baneists. 

My character hates Shar for just the purposeless cruelty, and sees a mirror of what she went through with Bhaal in Shadowheart. Unlike the Nightsong my character didn’t pressure Shadowheart one way or another, let her make her own choice about her parents. I'm not sure if she defaults to a mercy killing in other playthroughs or if it's previous choice dependent.

My character’s one for trying up lose ends so they went back to Saverok and then killed him when he attacked. 

Aww if you kiss Halsin in front of Astarion (like right near him) he says “Don’t mind me I’m just enjoying the show” and he does sound sincere. Kissing Astarion didn’t result in any commentary other than him genuinely saying he enjoyed it. Kissing Halsin again while Gale was right nearby, Gale chimed in with “It’s a wonderful feeling to care for someone so deeply. Treasure it”. I spent some time playing around with subbing Gale for other companions and no one had any response. Guess that means Gale isn’t a 3rd wheel but is part of this Astarion/D!Urge/Halsin relationship in every way but sexual. 

Wasn’t expecting the very emotional moment where Astarion says he wants to try doing things like sex again in regards to the Drow orgy, but the narrator comments his face showed “no trace of joy”. Wanting to have sex that it turns out you don’t like or enjoy but you really wished it went well is something that’s really personally relatable, but I don’t see often in media. Just really wish Astarion had some dialogue about it afterwards. Also holy shit Halsin has some trauma, and a lot to unpack there about this is the circumstances surrounding when he divulges it and how he talks about it as “not so bad”. Does feel weird that the game doesn’t count Halsin as a love interest for the orgy, so you can’t just leave Astarion out of this encounter. 

Jaheira has kids?! Funny to just walk into a random house and discover that. There’s no way my character isn’t gossiping about that later. I agree with Astarion that Jaheira is a terrible mother, not for keeping her family secret but only sending one vague message that made them think she was dead in what seems to be a repeated series of events.

Wish the devs would have allowed me to ask Halsin THE DRUID about this write of a timeless body. 

Finally going after Minsc, but really I had a lot more fun having my character and Astarion rob every vault. Some really interesting stuff about and written by Gortash and some fun clothing in other vaults

Wow non lethal attack just don’t fucking work on ranged weapons, I had to look up how to save Minsc because it wasn’t obvious how to do it. I don’t like Minsc personally, and he and my character would have a party alignment conflict in an earlier game, but my character wants to make Karlach happy and she likes Jaheira and Minsc, so guess Minsc gets to live.

My character returned the money to the bank, well half of it after making the banker cover the rest. She doesnt need the full 10k but would can see the big picture it would be worse if Baldur’s Gate economy crumbled. I don't think there would be actual in game consequences but I have so much fucking gold

Now’s the time to run around the city and find the rest of the hidden sidequests and interactions. Like I just got one where Karlach finds an old friend

I found Gortash’s parents and that’s a fuckin fate worse than death, to be trapped in your own body being puppeted and the ending “come again soon” after the mental connection breaks really drives home the horror. I’m not going “oh poor sad villain backstory” for Gortash, but more ok dude does the revenge feel good to puppet your parents and make them say they love their son?!

Gortash’s parents sold him to a warlock/demons then he later sold Karlach to demons for power, cycles of abuse especially with his mother calling him “same as when he was a boy, hateful little wretch”. Karlach had some great dialogue “why you get fucked up you fuck up right back” and I think its really powerful Karlach suffered like she did and is so dedicated to helping people. 

My character put Gortash’s parents out of their misery; multiple resons my character would think this is the correct course of action: in this case death would be a mercy, and it's both a way to deny Gortash his own revenge and get info from the parents’ corpses, and a gesture for whatever partnership her past self had with Gortash that his parents don’t get away consequence free after she kills him and destroys the Illithid brain

Love the CRPG style environmental story on the plague ship, classic cursed deals

Well well well if it isn’t the consequences of my actions with Ptaris aka the gith egg I took in Act 1. Really glad I’ve started using detect thoughts way more, hearing how he was abused until he snapped and that he’s truamatized. SURE WISH MY COMPANIONS HAD ANY SORT OF DIALOUGE OR REACTION TO THIS.

BG3 Act 3 thoughts and liveblog part 1

I couldn't stop comparing DOS2 act 3 and BG3 act 3, since act 3 is a bit underbaked in both games compared to the other acts, but wow BG3 just has so much more polish and content.

The prologue reveals my character is a Bhaalspawn, I feel like it's just so widely known at this point

Defining character moment for Astarion “the problem with what Cazador has done is he did it to me”. Since Asatarion really wants this she’d help him sacrifice his “siblings” what matters to her is that Astarion is safe, but she’s worried about the unknown details but is still planning as if its possible. The dialogue options of “a killer isn’t worthy of respect” is fucking laughable my character would never say that lmao. 

When the narrator was saying you have a bunch of options what will you do, for my character it felt best to say “when the moment comes I’ll do what feels right”, since she's more of an opportunist

Ooof that fight with the gith was rough even on easy mode.

My character wanted The Emperor to prove he was the protector, but then tried to read his thoughts anyway. She’s also very grateful Lae’zeal wasn’t around when this happened considering Orpheus is real and a renegade mindflayer has him prisoner

Learning that the protection against the Absolute comes from Orpheus being trapped really puts a damper on my character’s plans to not get rid of the tadpole and associated powers. It's too dangerous to count on Orphues being imprisoned. Also the Emperor was a successful power player in Baldur’s Gate, so she’s more wary of his plans and agenda than the fact he is a mindflayer. 

My character did turn down the Emperor’s offer to evolve her, sorry she just is too attached to how her body looks. She also thinks this is a line in the sand she’s not going to persuade her companions on, unlike the tadpole powers. (personally it's the fact that it messes up your teeth, huge personal squick). I guess had my character take on so many parasite powers it gave me a fucking 21 score roll to not evolve. 

EDIT: the next day I got spoiled on the Emperor’s seduction scene and it’s friendly manners being all a front; real fucking surprise pikachu face moment for me. That my character who manipulates, lies, and seduces people might encounter someone who emotionally manipulates, lies and will seduce people. I didn’t fully trust it and thought it might have its own agenda, but still I was a little too trusting that there might have been some genuine emotion. Like DAMMIT I was rewatching Felix rvb scenes before I started the game and he has a line “Funny how an act of sacrifice like that [getting hurt] buys you so much trust”. Which is exactly what the Emperor did, where it knelt down and made a big show of how it trusts me not to hurt it and when it calls on us for that dramatic rescue that while genuine was an excellent opportunity for it to be revealed. Apparently the 21 roll is because I used so many tadpoles which the game treats as buying into The Emperor’s promises. Its repeated lines of “just like you” and “i’m on your side” to establish common ground and then presenting itself as a criminal with “a heart of gold” in its backstory. I/my character was skeptical on some details considering it also presented itself as a major power player, but bought into it’s use of “allies” when what he meant was “pawns”.  

Gale had the comment “you’ve not taken this power for yourself… why offer it to me” and I wish I could respond like what Astarion said, that don’t want to sacrifice my body. Astarion had a whole lot to say on the subject but Karlach only had 1 line about being surprised I hadn’t taken the power/transformation. Funny to see how other companions had lines about how they hadn’t done any tadpole powers and they weren’t about to start now. 

My character’s made an enemy out of the undead lich Gith queen, whom only Orpheus can oppose, and there’s an entire Gith resistance working to free him as well. So that really kills any plan of using the Absolute for herself because she’d be better off with Orphues fighting the Gith queen

Really Astarion and my character have come so far from act 1 where he was warning me about how easily Cazador could kill me to now where he’s saying if Cazador comes for him he’ll strike back and he’ll have my character along with him 

The one group my character has been consistently nice to with no promise of reward is kids, so at this point she’s just resigned to them showing up at camp as long as there’s someone like Withers, Halsin, or Wyll to keep them from getting hurt. 

My character is helping the strange ox yet again. It won’t reveal what it is but she’s really curious, and it hasn’t seemed to kill people, so she’ll help it because it might be a useful ally in the future

I love Biscotti what a GOOD DOG (love the animal writing in this and DOS2)

I think its funny that for a while I was thinking that Astarion wasn’t that pale, but in the bright light of Baldur’s Gate he really is. I think it's due to my monitor that has super high contrast

Surprised Halsin has the most dialogue in the refugee area mostly about how he’s rapidly becoming disillusioned with the city, and I tried a earlier save without him and the other companions like Astarion or Karlach don’t speak up if he’s not there.

Community meme about Gortash: I can excuse him being the chosen of an evil god and using his power to found a murderous evil cult but I draw the line at him and his PMC making surveliance cop robots. Bane is just the god of cops and Gortash works for Boston Dynamics

I like to think a bunch of the companions have been a positive force on my character so she’s helping the refugees in her own manner (lots of intimidation), and wants to see the Tiefling refugees make it after all the struggles. That there were explosives in toys justifies her being nosy and helping

Karlach really wants to go to the circus, unfortunately my character is a vicious murderer lmao. Thankfully she’s great at [persuading] and charming. Astarion, Halsin, and Karlach seem to be the best “go to the circus” group

Incredibly cool to hear my bard character perform along with the other bard in the circus

The dinosaur and the magic cat in the circus are being mistreated, Halsin is right to be mad about it. I used Astarion to pickpocket the key, then mage hand to open both cage doors

My character doesn’t like clowns and after she felt that murderous urge there’s no way she’s getting on stage. I watched the different versions of sending Halsin or Karlach up on stage but sending Astarion up on stage really is the best version. Role playing it as after he made that comment about clowns being a horror and with how both Karlach and Halsin approve of picking Astarion while he doesn’t approve if you pick someone else; its some light hearted group teasing of a guy who usually has a joke at others expense “You love the spotlight, don’t you… here’s your big chance”. Yeah he says he’s going to kill me but he’s not seriously upset.

Astarion and my character both enjoy killing clowns, see we’re great together

My bard character was pissed about the Djinn scamming with the spin the wheel game so of course she went back to rig things to get the jackpot. 

Ok so my character gets her meteorites back, that she’s a Bhaalspawn, she’s not surrendering to the D!urge or worried about atoning, but that she’s being encouraged to slaughter her line and that its the woman who hurt her before is a opportunity for power and revenge coinciding nicely

For now the only person my character is telling is Astarion, this is a big thing to confess and she wants to play this close to the vest for as long as possible. While she did have earnest suspicions since the oubliette, she’s more afraid about standing up to a god and the loss of control. I personally like how Astarion comforts you after that dialogue a lot more, especially the way he says you must try to beat Bhaal and not become a slave.

[tunnaa-unnaa]

Pokemon Scarlet&Violet 2nd trailer: Compliments and concerns

New pokemon look awesome! Let others theorize about lore, I’m here for the game mechanics and graphics. Let’s dive in to the trailer for a deeper look!

^ Confirms what we saw in the announcement trailer: Pokemon centers in the field are like rest stops. Notice the beam of light on the roof, so they are presumably easy to find when you’re out there. I like the palm trees here heh.

^ Game crests. The designs imply Scarlet = modern, Violet = traditional. Art deco vs art noveau kind of thing.

^ Professors Sada and Turo however have the opposite theming, and theirs matches the legendaries. Though instead of “traditional” I’d describe Sada “primal”, with the loin cloth style outfit, claw jewellery and ACTUAL FANGS. While I otherwise don’t mind her design, it’s a bit offputting to make your “savage feral lady” darker skinned, though the 3D render is much lighter. Racial stereotypes and whitewashing in the same character, ah. Generic-white-man Turo over there is just forgettable and boring. So overall not a fan of these two. Maybe they’ll have character to make up for the designs.

^ While I enjoy seeing the starters rendered, I can’t say the art direction is very pleasing. SwSh had a lot to improve when it came to graphics, but its art direction knew what they were doing. These guys just look kinda blurry and their shading is messy and lifeless. There’s hope it’ll improve before release, like it did with Let’s Go and BDSP.

^ This rival battle scene looks incredibly rough. The trainers are insanely far apart, small pokemon are barely visible in the middle, scenery is completely uninteresting and that building(?) on the left is the ugliest block of graphics we’ve seen in any game so far. Some red and yellow stuff poking through under the “doors” and just overall a wth experience looking at it.

^ Science guy is here! I just wanted to highlight the contrast in detail between clothing and the backpack, as well as the player character and the npc. A bit jarring tbh. BUT. I do like the speech bubble design. It matters a lot to me - we have to look at these bubbles constantly when we play so them looking neat is a must.

^ Multiplayer in the same world sounds super fun, a big push forward from SwSh. It also looks like you’ll have your pokemon following you so YES, FINALLY THEY GET IT. The world here looks a bit empty though, so I hope it’s not as shallow as it was in PLA and we have actually interesting things to find out there.

^ I like the backgrounds here, implying very diverse scenery, but I can’t say the same for the player customization. If it wasn’t for gen7 and gen8 with their sports uniform nonsense I wouldn’t have to worry, but the fact that all of these characters are simply wearing color-coded school uniforms is very concerning. If they lock us into wearing this kind of outfits for the whole game I might as well die.

^ This is terrifying.

^ ^ Smoliv sneaking and catching scene shows us it’s not PLA mechanics and instead we’re back to classic pokemon style battles and catching. Honestly glad, it wasn’t a concept I wanted for all upcoming games. I want to highlight the hideous background though. The completely flat, blurry ground and untextured tree trunks are... well, yikes.

^ Battle UI is super simplified! I’m conflicted, because although it is nice and sleek, it’s also a bit unpolished almost. Having the opponent status over its head PLA style kinda makes me think you can have battles against multiple wild mons at the same time. If not, the UI choice is a bit odd since it could just use the traditional diagonal corners style.

^ ^ Prepare yourselves to people complaining about attack animations, because we’re back to pokemon standing still and performing motions instead of actually moving. Although I did enjoy the PLA mobile battle arena style a whole lot, I can deal with this coming back for now. It’s a stylistic choice at this point, and saves a lot of dev time that they can spend on more important things.

^ Pokemart, healing, and? I wonder what the third kiosk is for. Also fun to see that it really is a rest stop, with a couch and some tables. Why they felt the need to keep the “corporations and advertisement are just part of the pokemon world now” from SwSh I’ll never know.

^ The two most important pseudo-legendaries are in. We can rest easy.

^ The venonat looked huge so I was excited for pokemon sizes to be back from PLA, but maybe it’s just close to the camera. Gosh please keep the size variations, it was the most fun thing to come out of that game.

^ That’s one ugly cave, though at least it’s not a path disguised as a cave like Crown Tundra in SwSh. What I’m saying is it’s alright but it lacks atmosphere completely.

^ Are these gyms? Activities? Some hints towards a new gimmick? Hard to say yet. At least they look more interesting than SwSh gyms.

^ Koraidon and Miraidon look absolutely fantastic! The trailer-exclusive render of course makes them look even better, but just overall their designs ooze coolness! Nice to have some lizard-inspired legendaries!

^ If Riddler is correct, they’ll be Dragon/Fighting and Dragon/Electric and have multiple forms that the player can ride on in the overworld. Heck, just look at them! - Miraidon already looks like a vehicle, with jets and all. - Koraidon has literal reins on its head. - Both of them have “wheels” on their chests. Not literally, but you can’t deny the look. - Both of them have handle-looking extensions on their shoulders and backrest shaped extensions on their backs.

So it’s not hard to believe. Personally I wish they just gave me a bike and a surfboard and let the legendaries have more dignity than to be reduced to a school kid’s taxi service.

Closing thoughts:

Overall I’m very excited for the games, but it keeps disappointing me how lackluster the visual design of the pokemon games seem to be consistently. What Scarlet&Violet might lack in the visual department I hope it makes up for with new pokemon designs, a fun playthrough experience and a competitive meta without goddamn dynamax.