#it may not be as active as some of my others but dib is kind of a back-up for when im in the mood honestly

[thedelicatearcher]

Swiftie finnick odair and rock gf

At first it's like the "omg, am I about to introduce you to Taylor Swift?" And he just explains everything to her so exited and shes like "yeah, basic white girl music, not for me" but he saw how invested she really is when he talked about her exes and how she tried to hide her humming tto the songs. later he finds her screaming haunted and better than revenge and crying to them and the other pop-rock songs

swiftie!finnick odair introduces taylor swift music to his rock!partner

finnick odair is a die-hard swiftie. not one of those swifties who rabidly defend taylor at the slightest criticism, but the kind who has made her music his daily soundtrack, likes decoding the double meanings of her lyrics, and enjoys the sense of community in the fandom. 

he has playlists for every mood or situation he may find himself in. even for the most unlikely scenarios, he has a taylor swift playlist for it. you couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when you stumbled upon his ‘for my next car crash’ playlist on his phone.

on the other hand, pop music was never your thing. you always leaned towards music with heavier instruments, preferring rock’s distinctive melodies over the more repetitive sounds of pop. that’s one of the reasons you never actively listened to taylor swift; she never caught your attention as you thought her music fell into the realm of generic pop.

while deep cleaning your shared home, he swiftly called dibs on the music and grabbed the speaker. as you vacuumed the carpet, he swept and mopped the floor, singing along loudly and occasionally using the mop as an air guitar. 

then, a string of dramatic violins filled the room as ‘haunted’ started playing. you found yourself enjoying the song, quietly tapping your foot to its rhythm. eager to know the artist, you approached finnick and tapped his shoulder, pulling him out of his trance. “honey, what’s that song?” you asked curiously, and his eyes immediately lit up. 

“am i about to introduce you to taylor swift?” he asked, his voice filled with anticipation. his emotions were transparent, a wide grin on his face as if he wanted to kiss you senseless or start jumping up and down like an excited kid. however, your curious expression faded, and all that escaped your lips was a nonchalant “oh."

as soon as your smile vanished, so did his excitement. “what’s that supposed to mean? i thought you liked the song,” he asked with a sincere pout. the enthusiasm that had surged through him was gone as quickly as it had come.

“it’s just that her music is not for me. you know i'm not a fan of basic white girl music,” you shrugged and turned back to continue vacuuming the carpet, totally clueless at the puzzled look on his face. “honey, it’s not like that. just give it a chance,” he said, a little defensive. as much as he preferred to avoid conflict, he felt a little offended.

the moment you said “but she only writes about her exes,” his jaw dropped and he looked at you as if you just insulted his bloodline. he left the living room and went to the bedroom, a pang of guilt hitting your chest as you felt as maybe you had gone a little too far. you didn’t mean to insult his musical taste; in your head, you were just sharing your thoughts about an artist.

in reality, he was carefully making a playlist made just for you, taking into account the genres of music you love, the melodies that make you dance, and the themes you appreciate in songs. and there was finnick odair, with a playlist full of songs he knows you would like and some which make him think of you, a shy smile on his face as he imagines the look on yours when he explains to you all the metaphors in the songs he had loved for years.

“honey,” he calls you when he sees you sitting on the couch, his heart sinking a little when he sees your defeated expression. “i’m sorry, finn-” you start apologizing, but he cuts you off. “don’t worry, darling,” he presses his lips to your temple and nuzzles your head lightly. “i know you didn’t mean it in a bad way. i have something for you,” he says before sitting next to you with his legs crossed and pulling out his phone, your eyes curiously watching his screen as he opens a playlist named after you.

“i made this for you. just some songs i think you would like, and some that remind me of you,” he held back his urge to pepper kisses across your face when he saw your eyes soften. and he played every one of them for you, not before giving you a brief explanation about it, taking his time to describe some of the metaphors casual fans wouldn’t understand, and pointing out lyrics that paralleled certain moments in your relationship.

“they’re kinda good,” you admitted sincerely, your heart fluttering at the sight of his cheeky grin, knowing he was about to tease you for weeks. “i knew you were going to like them,” he admitted with one of his cocky smiles, playfully nudging you with his elbow. behind his smug grin, there was a warm feeling in his chest; he would not overlook you taking time to appreciate the music he so dearly loves, enjoying it and reading into the lyrics, even though it’s not the kind of music you would usually listen to. 

later, when he stumbled into the kitchen and found you humming the melodies of ‘the story of us’ completely unaware of his presence, he felt satisfied, mentally patting himself on the back for knowing you so well that he found the exact songs to help you change your mind.

[foap-enjoyer]

Hostage | Kidnapping | Held at gunpoint

Held at gunpoint.

'After surviving a deadly explosive, Soap and Rudy must navigate themselves out of a collapsing building. The thing is, they're not as alone as they think they are.'

Triggers for this prompt: Blood, explosions, breathing issues. Ships for this prompt: Implied Ghoap, implied AleRudy, semi-implied SoapRudy.

Word count: Around 4000, a lot longer than my usual ones.

Read it here, on AO3: Ouch. - Chapter 3 - Tsukuyomi_Ravioli - Call of Duty (Video Games) [Archive of Our Own]

~

Mexico had really grown on Soap. Las Almas had especially grown on Soap.

It only made sense. He may have not grown up in this city like his friends, Alejandro and Rodolfo, but he had spent countless nights here helping to defend it. He’d seen what his friends do to defend it too, on the daily. He’d seen the love and adoration in their eyes, the protectiveness of a nurturing mother to a young child. It made it impossible to not root for the city besides them. 

141 often came back to the city as a squad. It was almost like a holiday for them, except they weren’t on vacation and were there to help out Los Vaqueros with menial tasks. Price called it training, Soap called it a paid holiday. 

Today, however, it was more like a paid nightmare.

It had started off normal enough, though. Nice cup of coffee, bickering with Gaz, joking with Ghost, a usual morning for 141. 

Los Vaqueros were great hosts. It helped that the leaders of said group of ‘cowboys’ were their personal friends, of course. Rudy was always in charge of their accommodation each time they visited, and he never skipped on pleasantries. He loved to spoil the Brits like they were his own children, which Soap couldn’t refuse, of course. Who didn’t like to be spoiled?

They got their own little apartment for the four of them, on base. One of the best, actually, a spacious nice little home with four bedrooms, two en-suites and a fully-functional kitchen and living room. Where they got the funds for these kinds of things, Soap had no idea, but he wasn’t about to complain. 

Though he might’ve, only for the fact that Price and Ghost got dibs on an en-suite. Rude.

Anyway.

Usually, their day consisted of running drills alongside Los Vaqueros’ soldiers. Or more specifically, Gaz and Soap would run drills and get all sweaty and irritated while Price sunbathed and Ghost read a book off to the side, safely tucked in the shade. 

Alejandro and Rodolfo, for the most part, would either supervise or be off doing other things themselves. They weren’t instructors, after all. They were leaders, and as it turns out, leaders do a lot of paperwork.

Sometimes though, they would all pack into a truck together. Him, Gaz, and Rudy in the back like ‘children’ while Price, Ghost and Alejandro sat up front like ‘adults’. If Soap was being honest, it was slightly humiliating to be crunched between the Staff-Sergeant and the Sergeant-Major like some forgotten middle child, but he enjoyed it. Purely because it got them out of drills.

During these days, they would go around Las Almas. Usually they had a specific thing in mind. An elderly shop owner asking for assistance, a woman with a lost dog. Turns out Los Vaqueros did a lot more than just being soldiers. They were caretakers. Helpers. Protectors.

Sometimes, though, there would be actual issues. Soap enjoyed those days more than he should’ve.

Today was one of those days. A patrol of Los Vaqueros had noted strange activity in a set of abandoned buildings off of the south-side of the spacious city. Old, ex-apartment buildings nestled within the town. They claimed they had seen figures going in and out over a few nights now, and Alejandro wanted to check it out himself. 

So, he’d brought Rudy, being that the man was his second-in-command, and had been gracious enough to let 141 tag along. There were no complaints on their end. Running drills got incredibly boring after a while, of course.

When they arrived, they were greeted with three, huge buildings, standing in a sad little row. Old, worn, and just about done-in entirely. Moss, vines- anything that could grow had grown, sneaking through the windows and into cracks of the concrete walls. 

It was sort of beautiful, in a way.

“Soap, Rudy, you two can check that first building.” Alejandro had instructed, “Ghost, Price, that second one. Me and Garrick will check the third one. Once we’re all done we meet up here, alright?”

Strange, slightly unusual duos, but Soap didn’t mind it. Rudy was a nice guy, one of the sweetest people he’d ever met. He had no qualms on his side, and by the smile the Sergeant-Major shot him in turn from the other side of their squad’s little circle, he didn’t seem to have any issues either. This was just a simple little recon mission, after all.

Why would there be any issues?

~

Soap really, really should learn to shut his mouth sometimes.

The building had been normal, to begin with. Sure, it creaked under their feet as they advanced, checking each and every room, but it held strong. It was almost like visiting his grandparent’s house, the familiar grunt of the worn-down stairs as they advanced upwards sounding incredibly similar to when he would attempt to tiptoe downstairs for a snack late at night, as a young child.

Soap led the way, and Rudy followed closely on his heels. Turns out the other man preferred to follow, not lead, even if he was, technically, a rank above Soap. If they were going off of Mexico’s military ranking, at least.

“Helps me see a situation clearer.” He explained from behind him, tucked into his shadow, flashlight beaming out as he pointed it down the corridor where they had just come from. “That makes sense, right?”

“No, yeah, I getcha, mate.” He nodded, turning them down another corridor. There were no windows down this route, nestled between heaps of rooms. “I’m the same, ‘cept sometimes it’s nice to lead, yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

Something about his tone sounded off, but Soap ignored it for now, moving deeper. “You seen anything yet?”

“Negative.” Rudy huffed, coughing slightly at the thin layer of dust surrounding them. “This place is old as fuck.”

“You said it.” He laughed. There was no way, beyond some teenagers, or maybe even some squatters, that anyone had been here for a long, long time. Maybe the soldiers who had claimed they had seen someone suspicious had simply been mistaken. “No ones been in here for years.”

The next room they came to still had the door on its frame, which was unusual.

What was more unusual was that, when Soap pressed down on the handle, the door wouldn't budge.

“Locked?” Rudy asked over his shoulder, his breath ghosting by his ear.

“No, something’s behind it.” He grunted as he shoved his body into the frame. Something shifted on the other side, ever so slightly. “I can feel it.”

“Odd…” Rudy hummed, “Together?”

So, together, they worked to jostle whatever it was behind the door enough to slip inside. It turned out to be a chair, placed there by a human. 

“If someone put this here, then that means they must still be around, right?”

“Sí.” Rudy wandered around the room like a sniffer-dog. Eventually, he found what he was looking for. Or at least, he found something. He gestured Soap over from where he was standing on the other side of the large room. “Look.”

A tiny hole. Big enough for someone to wiggle through. “Think the person who put that chair is down there?”

Rudy shrugged, kneeling down to peer inside. “Probably.”

Soap turned as Rudy worked, viewing the rest of the room. It was huge. One wall of the room was covered head-to-toe in windows, and the other with beautiful graffiti from previous explorers. Names, pictures, hell, was that a pokemon he could see?

“Fuck!” Rudy spat, jumping up violently before beginning to sprint over to where Soap stood. “It’s filled with fucking explosives, get down-!”

His face collided harshly with concrete as he was shoved forwards by Rodolfo- instinctively, he raised his hands, pressing down against his neck and ears just as the explosives detonated. 

A deafening roar filled the air as the explosion reverberated through the building, the sheer power of the shockwave being enough to shake the once-steady ground beneath them. Glass shattered from the surrounding windows, sharp crystal-like daggers raining down onto him where he lay. 

It cut into his skin, his clothes- anywhere it could make purchase with his body, it did. He could feel it in his hair, his arms, his neck. Around him stunk of gunpowder, of dust. Of blood.

“Rudy?” He coughed, wheezing. He needed to find Rudy.

Pushing himself upwards with shaky hands, he ignored the way the glass stung against his flesh, how it ripped open the palms of his hands. Blinking away crystals of the stuff that clung to his lashes like glitter, he peered around at the carnage surrounding him. 

Not that he could see a lot of it. A thick, brown and black dust coated everything. Every wall, every floor. Every surface. Rodolfo couldn’t be far from here, right? He’d practically been on top of Soap when the explosion hit… How far could one body travel before they disappeared beyond view? 

He hoped Rudy was still alive.

Now on his knees, he shuffled through his kit, bloodied fingers finding his military-grade flashlight, flicking it on, a smear of blood left behind by the action. The light did little to cut the air, but it was the best he had.

Gathering himself finally to his feet, his eyes rolled to the back of his head as agony spread throughout his spine, running up and down and sending him crashing to the floor with a yelp. The flashlight fell from his hand, rolling across the dusty floor and out of view. Fuck.

“Rudy?” He gasped, “Rudy, fuck-” Where was everyone else? He knew that they had seen their building blow up, they had to be rushing to their aid, right? Had Rudy been found by them?

Desperation clawed at him like a feral animal. Even if the rest of 141 and Los Vaqueros had seen them go down, it didn’t change the fact that he was still in the building. A building that, by the looks of things, was very close to collapse. Rudy was, no doubt, still here with him. Rodolfo wouldn’t leave him here, which made it fairly obvious he was still lost in the fray of brick and debris, same as him. 

He didn’t have time to ponder on what had caused such horrific agony in his back. He was a soldier, dammit, he’d been through worse, and he would continue to go through worse. This was simply one of those moments. He couldn’t just sit there and wail, waiting like a petrified child for their mother to come to their aid. He needed to get up, find Rodolfo, and get the fuck out of here.

Beginning once more to force himself upwards, he quickly became well-acquainted with how suffocating the smog was around him. It was making breathing feel like an Olympic sport at this point. He could feel pieces of debris in his lungs, rattling each and every breath to enter and leave him. At least this time, he was able to stay on his feet. 

He could hear an alarm distantly, screeching and echoing into the silence.

It was weird how that worked. Something as devastating as an explosion, in a large building especially, and yet, the world was quiet. As if waiting on bated breath.

He too, was waiting on bated breath. Except in his case, the outcome relied entirely on him. 

His hand found a crumbling wall, and he pushed himself forward into the smoke.

~

It didn’t take him long to find Rodolfo, actually. He just had to follow the path of destruction the man’s body had made.

“Rudy.” He rasped, falling onto his knees in front of him.

There was blood everywhere, he wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Or who it was coming from, actually. They were both dead on their feet; the sight was gruesome. His hands reached up to grab Rudy’s cheeks, holding his head up from where it rested awkwardly against the destroyed wall behind him. Unconsciously, his thumbs began to move, rhythmic across the torn skin. He wasn’t sure if it was to soothe him, or Rodolfo. 

He was certain the man had broken several bones, just looking at him. His chest was caved awkwardly, and his nose was certainly broken. His body had been through the ringer, but he was breathing. That, to him, was all that mattered. 

Besides them getting the fuck out of here. 

He still hadn’t heard any news from his comm-line. He’d tried radioing during his search, but he couldn’t connect to the outside, let alone Rodolfo himself. Either his radio was jammed, or this whole building was blocking the signal. Which was just peachy. 

Or maybe, just maybe, all three buildings had explosives buried inside them. That was enough to twist his gut uncomfortably.

Rudy groaned, stirred slightly. His eyelashes fluttered, causing the dust around them to swirl. 

“Rudy.” He shook his worried thoughts away, clutched closer, staring at the man’s half-lidded eyes, a hint of brown behind paled features. They weren’t focused on anything. He wasn’t waking up, at least anytime soon. Soap was on his own for this. 

“Fuck, okay.” He let go of the man, setting his head gently back down before rolling onto the back of his heels, ignoring the pain that striked up his back like a snake, simply letting out a soft hiss. “Okay, okay. I got this.” 

He just had to find an exit- how hard could that be?

Taking a deep breath, which he quickly regretted, of course, he looked around them. He knew there was a corridor that ran between rooms, as all buildings had. Maybe that was still intact…

It didn’t change the fact that he’d have to drag Rodolfo’s unconscious ass with him; and with the amount of pain he was already in, he didn’t know if he had it in him to do that.

But, as always, he had no choice. So, gritting his teeth, he forced himself to his feet. 

He leant down just enough to hook his fingers into the shoulder-straps on Rudy’s tac-vest, tugging the man forward until  he was free from his neat little slot into the broken wall. 

His muscles screamed in protest as he dragged Rodolfo, and himself, in a way, through the debris-filled building. Each step he took echoed into the silence around them hauntingly- where had the alarms gone from before? 

Rudy was limp below him, his feet leaving a trail atop the dust behind them as they ventured through the corridors. He made the occasional grunt, or groan, but otherwise, was deathly quiet. It scared him. 

Though, he supposed, at least the silence was nice. It made it easier to hear for anything else, right? Made it easier to tell if they were alone. At least, he hoped.

Not that he expected the culprit of these explosives to be wandering around in its debris like a damn dumbass. He expected it to just be him, Rudy, and some tumbling pieces of rock. The place was abandoned, when they’d gone in, after all. Maybe some poor old squatter or two had gotten trapped in the fray, but he could leave that to rescue services. He was a soldier, not a firefighter, after all.

Though he supposed the only difference at this point was the gun he carried.

Or did carry- where the fuck was his gun?

Leaning Rudy down onto his legs, bloodied head pressed against his knees, he fumbled his hands across his vest, searching for his holster. 

When he found it, his fingers wrapped around nothing but air. Great. How much equipment had he lost today now? He wondered how much that would cost him. It wasn’t like this stuff was dirt cheap after all.

Guess he was a fireman after all.

Resigning himself to his new job, he continued dragging his friend down the corridor to safety.

~

Okay, so scratch that previous thought. 

The culprits were most definitely running around this place like scattered rats.

He didn’t know how many, or where they were, but he could hear their voices echoed in the remains around him. Murmured Spanish, whispers, laughter, jokes, words he couldn’t make out. Rudy was still unconscious in his arms, helpless. He still didn’t have a gun, defenceless. Not to mention the building was still wobbling around them, threatening to come down atop them with every step he took.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Had they seen them come in here? Had they set those bombs off? Had this been a trap laid out for Los Vaqueros that he had just, like his usual self, gotten messed up in? Or was this cartel related? A personal hit on him? Or Rudy?

Was Graves back to haunt him once more?

He had so many questions, yet so little time. He knew it would only be so long before they caught on his trail in the dust, so long before he would finally come eye-to-eye with these madmen stupid enough to come back into a destroyed building to hunt down two measly soldiers. 

Especially when one was already halfway into the golden gates. It was pathetic, really.

Rodolfo just had to take this moment to stir, of course, because why wouldn’t he?

He groaned loudly in the silence, his head shaking back and forth as he came to. Soap was tempted to shove a hand in the man’s mouth to shut him up, but he thought against it, instead dragging them both into the nearest room. Better to hunker down and hide rather than keep going at this point. 

Even if he was worried about the building collapsing on them, it didn’t overrule the fact they were being hunted like vermin in the crumbling walls.

He could hear voices getting closer, footsteps beginning to echo throughout the building that weren’t his own as he settled him and Rudy down under a nearby surviving desk. This room must have been an office. Had to have been. At least it worked as a hiding spot.

Rudy blinked, brown eyes half-glazed with confusion as he peered around them both, taking in their huddled space. He had to have a concussion, no doubt. That’s why it had been so difficult to wake him. “So-ap?”

He pressed a finger to his own lips, and Rudy fell silent in understanding, still incredibly confused. He could tell by the man’s furrowed brows, and how his lips pursed, thinking. 

Soap prayed he kept his thoughts to his own mind, because the voices were now just outside their room. Loud and abrasive.

“You sure you heard something down this way?”

“Definitely, man, I’m telling you!”

“I don’t think I quite believe you, Andres.”

“No, no, he’s right, look.”

They must have spotted the trail left in their wake. He prayed to a God he no longer believed in that they’d go the opposite way. Rudy’s legs must have disturbed his own footprints a little, right? Maybe it would be impossible to tell which way they went.

“They’re nearby, that’s for sure.” One murmured, Andres, he believed. “Split up?”

“Yeah.”

“Wait-” The third called out, worried, “What about the others?”

“The other soldiers?”

“Yeah. In the other buildings. You guys saw ‘em too, right?”

“Course we did, Camila. We find these two fuckers then we go for them, alright?”

“That’s a stupid plan, Barto. One of them was the Ghost! Even I know who that is!”

Maybe they’d just argue forever. Soap hoped they would. If they were right, and his Spanish was correct, the others were fine. Only this building had explosives in; they hadn’t expected the soldiers to split up, thank the stars for Alejandro.

It meant rescue could very much be around the corner. He just had to hold on. Just had to keep Rudy alive. That wasn’t so much to ask for, he supposed.

~

It was Camila who found them.

Her gun was the first thing he saw, actually.

She was a young woman- in fact, Soap would prefer to say young girl. She was no woman, she didn’t look a day past thirteen, yet she had tattoos, piercings, and a mean yet frantic look about her. 

The muzzle of her gun aimed directly at his head, before swapping down to where Rudy’s lay against his chest, before back up at him. “Guys!” She called out, “I found them!”

The two boys had rushed over only seconds later. Men, actually. They were very much men, unlike their young counterpart. 

Balto had a cruel smile stretched across his lips. “Looks like only one of you made it, hmm?”

Rudy was still breathing, he’d just fallen unconscious again, and yet this man thought…  Yeah, you know what? Soap could work with that.

Pushing Rudy away from him, he held in a wince as the man flopped onto the cold floor, practically corpse-like, save from the faintest of breathing. If he could make them think he was dead, they wouldn’t shoot him. 

He could save Rodolfo, at least. He could die peacefully then.

The sudden movement startled Camila, who backed up, gun still held in a tight, white knuckled grip. Balto simply grinned, and the other one, Andres, well he simply watched, tight-lipped. They all had their hands on their guns, holstered or not. 

His mouth dried uncomfortably, but he forced his voice out. “Are you the pricks that did this?”

Balto chuckled, gesturing to Rodolfo. Andres moved, grabbing the soldier and tugging his body out of the way, dumping him across the room. Soap’s eyes followed frantically, as much as he tried not to show it.

Now he was alone, trapped under a desk, with a gun at his face and help far, far away. Great.

“Are you Sergeant Mactavish?”

He snarled. “What’s it to you?”

Balto shrugged, “Nothing. We don’t want you. We’re looking for an ‘Alejandro Vargas’. You know him? Is he here?”

“Why the fuck would I tell you that?”

His gun unholstered easily, aiming directly onto Soap’s forehead. “Do you not want to live, little boy?” He laughed, before nodding at the lump that was Rudy in the corner behind him, “Or do you want to join Mr Parra over there?”

He swallowed harshly. “He’s here.”

“Good.” The man purred. “Get him up. Let’s go meet him, shall we?”

~

Leaving Rodolfo behind left a bad taste in his mouth. 

The man was barely hanging on, with injuries Soap didn’t know the full extent of, and now he had no one to watch over him, in some dusty room in the middle of a collapsing building. 

He’ll be okay, he’ll be okay.

“Move it, gringo.” A shove to his back had pain flaring up his spine. Fuck. He hissed, and the hands returned, shoving him again. “That hurt, sweetheart?”

Fucking sweetheart. Really? Two could play at that game. “Nope.” He popped his lips on the p, grinning. He’d turn around to face the person who dared pet-name him, but his neck was in so much pain he worried it’d snap clean off. “Thanks for the concern, though, love.”

The cock of a gun silenced him. Unfunny, all-too-serious bastards.

“What exactly are you going to do, once we find Alejandro?” He asked aloud as he walked, or more stumbled down corridor after corridor towards the presumed exit. “You want an autograph or something?”

Another shove. Pain once more turned his legs to jelly. He grunted. “Fine, fine, I’ll shut up.”

“But you don’t.” Balto huffed, “Just shut the fuck up. Why would we tell you what we want with him?”

He bit his tongue before his big mouth said something he’d regret, an insult resting heavily against his closed lips. He wasn’t about to get shot for something so stupid. Not when they clearly didn’t need him. 

Not when he was the only person who knew Rodolfo was still alive.

“Good boy.”

Light came sooner than he’d expected from a massive hole in the building’s exterior wall. He squeezed his eyes shut, head pounding. Blunt nails on the back of his neck steadied him as he stumbled forward, scratching at his skin to keep ahold of him. The cold metal of a gun pressed against his temple. His shoes touched grass as he was hauled out fully into the open. 

“Soap!” 

He wheezed, fumbling to right his legs under him, blinking back waves of agony as he fought to simply see. When had seeing become so damn hard? 

“Ah, Captain Price!” Balto called out from beside him, “Glad to finally meet you! I’ve heard a lot of good things”

“Where’s Rodolfo!” That was Alejandro snarling like a feral beast. Soap was trying his best to blink away the harshness of the sun, and his efforts rewarded him with a blurred, far away view of the Los Vaqueros. Price was next to him, and next to him was Ghost. Next to him, Gaz.

“I swear to God, if you fuckers-”

“He’s dead.” Balto shrugged, grinning. Soap gulped at the look that tore through Alejandro’s face at the news. Like his whole world had come crashing down beneath him. “Didn’t survive the explosion. I thought you trained your men better than that, compadre?” 

“We are not friends.”

“Ah, but we were once, weren’t we Colonel?” 

Great, more lore. More drama. Soap could barely keep track of what was going on five minutes ago, let alone now.

“I will hang you.” Alejandro threatened coldly, “I’ll tear you limb from fucking limb, Balto-”

“What?” The man fluttered his eyelashes innocently. Soap felt the hand adjust against his neck. “It wasn’t me who killed him!”

“Soap.” Price barked out, disregarding the arguing men, “You alright, son?”

He wet his lips. His voice was hoarse and raspy, and he wasn’t even sure Price heard him from all the way across. “I’m fine.”

Hands tightened against his neck, choking him. He spluttered, coughing. “But he won’t be unless I get what I want.”

“And what do you want, exactly?” That was Ghost this time. His voice was deep and threatening. At least, to everyone else. Soap knew the man was a big softie at heart. Especially for him.

“Alejandro. They pay big money for you, in America, you know that?”

“Unfortunately.” Alejandro’s eyes darkened.

The hand loosened just enough for him to catch a breath. “So?” Balto’s voice curled against his cheek, waiting. The gun was on his other cheek, muzzle pressed into the dusty flesh. “What’ll it be?”

There was silence, for a moment. 

It felt, almost, like a cowboy standoff from an old Western. He swore he could almost hear the tell-tale music in the background. The thudding of horse-hooves, the slow-mo sound of the first gunshot-

Balto dropped dead right beside him.

The hand holding him meant that he, too, was dragged downwards, awkwardly flopping against the grassy floor as bullets rang out around him. His back ached horribly, and he was reminded all too clearly of the initial explosion as he clutched at his neck with shaking hands. 

At least this time there was no glass.

If he had half the mind, he might’ve grabbed the fallen gun and joined in himself, but before he could even begin to think about that, the moment was over, and the field was silent.

“Rudy-!”

Rudy?

Soap blinked open his eyes. 

Yeah that was Rudy alright.

Sure enough, at the mouth of the hole blown into the building was none other than Rodolfo Parra, smoking gun in hand and blood streaming down past his broken nose onto his goofily grinning teeth, staining white red. Very much alive, contrary to popular belief. 

Of course Soap knew that. But he was still just as relieved to see the man as anyone else. 

Except maybe Alejandro. The way the Colonel practically teleported over to his Sergeant was a little unnerving, if he was honest.

“You alright, love?” 

Ghost had teleported almost as quickly to his own side, a worried hand on his shoulder, squeezing softly. Concerned brown eyes stared through his soul; gloved hands moved to touch his bloodied, dusty head, searching for any trace of a gunshot wound. Any trace of inflicted injury beyond what was already fucked up.

Was he alright? 

Was he alright? 

Did Ghost really just ask that? 

He sighed grumpily. "What do you think?"

Ghost laughed, "I think you'll live."

~

This one was one of the hardest prompts to complete. I HATED writing the majority of this, which is unusual. It's been my least favourite so far haha.

Though I'd like to come back to it, I think it was just writers block. Since I always enjoy writing Rudy (sorry Soap, I just prefer writing Rudy lmao)

[howget]

10 Simple Tips How to Manifest Your Soulmate on Valentine's Day 2024

If you find yourself single this Valentine's Day and are ready to attract your soulmate, fear not! Manifesting your soulmate is a journey that can be both exciting and fulfilling. Let's explore some methods and tricks to help you navigate this path How to Manifest Your Soulmate on Valentine's Day 2024 and welcome love into your life.

10 Simple Tips How to Manifest Your Soulmate on Valentine's Day 2024

How to Manifest Your Soulmate on Valentine's Day 1. Set Clear Intentions: - Start by defining what you truly desire in a soulmate. - Be specific about qualities, values, and characteristics that matter to you. 2. Create a Vision Board: - Collect images and words that represent your ideal relationship. - Use a board or digital platform to create a visual representation of your desires. - Place the vision board in a visible spot to reinforce your intentions. 3. Practice Self-Love: - Before expecting love from someone else, cultivate a love for yourself. - Treat yourself with kindness and engage in activities that bring you joy. - Confidence is attractive, and self-love is the foundation of a healthy relationship. 4. Positive Affirmations: - Incorporate positive affirmations into your daily routine. - Repeat phrases like "I am worthy of love" and "My soulmate is on their way." - Remember, self-talk matters; speak to yourself as you would to a dear friend.* 5. Be Open-Minded: - Avoid setting rigid expectations or idealizing a specific image of your soulmate. - Stay open to surprises and embrace the idea that love may come in unexpected forms. 6. Socialize and Expand Your Circle: - Attend social events and activities that align with your interests. -  Join clubs or groups where you can meet like-minded individuals. - Who knows, your soulmate might be hiding in the most unexpected places.* 7. Trust the Process: - Understand that manifesting your soulmate is a process that takes time. - Trust in the universe's timing and be patient with yourself. - Good things come to those who wait, and love is no exception.* 8. Practice Gratitude: - Cultivate a sense of gratitude for the love you have in your life, even before your soulmate arrives. - An attitude of gratitude creates a positive energy that attracts more positivity. 9. Release Past Baggage: - Let go of any lingering attachments or negative experiences from past relationships. - Think of it as making space in your heart for new and exciting possibilities.* 10. Visualization Meditation: -  Set aside time for meditation to visualize your ideal relationship. - Imagine the emotions, experiences, and connection with your soulmate. - Create a mental image that feels real and tangible.

**Methods to Create Your Soulmate Manifestation Script**

1. Reflect on Your Desires: Take a moment to envision the qualities you seek in a soulmate. What values are important to you? What kind of connection do you crave? 2. Positivity in Affirmations: Craft your script with positive affirmations that reflect the love you want to attract. Use statements like "I am ready for a loving and supportive relationship." 3. Visualization Techniques: Close your eyes and visualize yourself in a loving relationship with your soulmate. Feel the emotions, see the surroundings – make it as vivid as possible. Tricks to Boost Manifestation Power Consistent Practice: Repeat your soulmate manifestation script regularly. Consistency is key to reinforcing your intention and sending it out into the universe. Gratitude Journaling: Maintain a gratitude journal, focusing on the positive aspects of your life. Gratitude attracts positivity, enhancing the effectiveness of your manifestation efforts. Humor and Love: A Winning Combination Inject a bit of humor into your manifestation script. Imagine describing your ideal partner with a touch of playful banter. After all, laughter is a great way to connect with others. Example Script Snippet: "I'm calling dibs on a partner who can make me laugh so hard, I snort my morning coffee. Someone who appreciates my quirky dance moves and doesn't judge my questionable taste in rom-coms." Incorporate these methods and tricks into your daily life as you navigate the journey of manifesting your soulmate. Remember, the key is to approach this process with an open heart, positivity, and a sprinkle of humor. As Valentine's Day dawns, let the love you manifest for yourself attract the perfect companion into your life. Enjoy the adventure, relish the present, and embrace the excitement of welcoming your soulmate in 2024! Conclusion the soulmate manifestation script is a delightful and empowering way to call love into your life. By combining positive affirmations, visualization, and a sprinkle of humor, you can create a script that resonates with the universe, paving the way for the love story you've always dreamed of. So, grab your cosmic pen and start writing your chapter of love and connection. Read the full article

[cyanidesymphoniesxylophones]

Revisiting old concepts, HASO but aliens find out humans can be mithraditic, part two.

Landing on a planet is always fun for your resident poison checker, since he gets first dibs on EVERYTHING the crew finds or thinks is edible. Even if some things are edible, they might bring about a side effect unrelated to harmful poison, like mild paralysis or extreme gassiness.

Crews usually have one Axtor'aax, a biological furnace of a behemoth, to test if the foodstuffs are poisonous, but the SS Kalayaan has one cheeky Filipino and a handful of scientists monitoring his vitals to test for poison.

"Tell me again why we let the human eat poison as much as he wants?" Aaret, sighing from both their mouths, asks. "I mean, no offense to the other humans, but most of our sister crews know Xy simply as "The Human."

"Good, then they should know how hard it is to find an inert and nonvolatile mithraditic body composition that's acquired and not natural." Olivia Deusa snaps back, without looking up from her status board of her pesky crewmate. "Ready if you are, Xy. Start cooking up some grub."

"Don't mind if I do!" And as always, Xy snaps up the ingredients raw first, one by one, as he ponders on what to do with them, then in a flash Aaret would have thought to be exaggeration if they didn't see it first hand, sorted them into poisonous, toxic and edible. "Some of the toxic ones are edible, and this one is only mostly poisonous. The core is safe to eat once you boil it, I think. It has that jimmyweed taste."

"Hm, and what's your conclusion, Xy?" Olivia asks over the barking of data.

"We're on a garden planet for a more advanced palate. These flavors locked behind poison is a strange kind of irony, but give me two minutes and I'll have antitox for most of them."

"Most? Don't tell me..." Aaret palms his face with his multiple hands.

"Chill, Art. Most of these are like rotseed levels of toxic. Mostly. There's one I'm actively trying to fight right now. New experience to try and actually be immune to a poison that's stronger than my immunity."

"Your temp's rising, Xy, we have emergency stabilizers ready too."

"Fries, my sauce and a hug? Thanks, Liv."

"Shut it. This is only because you proved a point."

"Don't worry, I'll ask for the chef to cook y'all a pizza for stabilizing too." Xy winks at the human crew, who groans in collective cringe.

After the tests, Aaret finds the strange smaller human, chewing on one of the poisonous subjects absentmindedly. "Xy, if I may?"

"Shoot, Art, you've been meaning to ask that question for a long while."

"Uh. I'll go ahead and fire off then, why do you eat poison?"

"Anything is better than starving, Art. Pain of poison is temporary, but the pain of starving goes forever. I'm never truly full, so I eat everything." Xy says, a surprisingly somber tone awash over his voice. "Poison checker lets me eat anything and everything, and I get paid for it. Some of my money goes to a personal farm I have, where some of my friends grow non-poisonous variants of my favorite nutritious plants to feed hundreds, maybe thousands of starving kids." He smirks. "Most of it goes to paying back Liv and her potatoes, as well as more food, obviously."

"Huh." It's never east for Aaret to understand the humans, but now, for just a tiny smidge, he became closer with the strange hungry human.

HASO but aliens find out that some humans are mithraditic

Mithraditism, by definition and simplified, is immunity to poison.

"Aaret, have you seen my potato plants?" Human Olivia asked her alien crewmate, as she looked around the greenhouse.

"It seems human Xy has taken them a while ago and replaced then around sector E3 afterwards. Is something the matter?"

"There's a lot of matters. Those plants were flowering, and Xy likes eating the flowers."

"? Pardon, but aren't potatoes edible?"

"If you count the greeneries and the flowers as edible, you'd be as good as if you ate the rotsack seed fresh and undiluted."

"What?! Then shouldn't we stop--?!" Aaret was stopped by the sight of the Human Xy in question, walking in with a handful of fried flowers, and a platter of fried potato. "Made snacks. Want some?"

"Human Xy, you musn't ingest those flowers!" Aaret's voice coming out of their two mouths was rising due to concern. "They're highly toxic!"

"... So is your cuisine to normal humans, Aaret. Have I refused your food ever?" Xy chuckled.

"See, 'Ret, Xy can eat whatever he wants. He's mithraditic."

"What's that?! Some sort of... Genetic mutation that allows humans to just not be poisoned?!"

"Yes and no. It's eating enough poison to not be affected by it."

"WHAT?!" Aaret was shocked by very little things, but every new thing they learned about humans just took off the calm face they had.

"Remember the tha-kari you use to cook, Aaret? Why around a day or two's worth disappeared?"

"I-I chalked it up to vermin from my homeworld."

"Well, Xy's legally classified as a vermin from your homeworld then. That's why he was sick for half a day." Olivia sighed.

"Listen, new encounters, new food. And speaking of, eat up, Liv. I promise there's no funny business in the fries."

"You used up 5 of my plants to snack. I'm taking your next salary."

Aaret has never seen Xy distressed until his food money gets threatened. Humans are... Strange.

[gravity-knight]

I just want to say something at this point for the guys

Eri I’ll leave out for now because I feel like we all know how I feel about him.

Guan Yu was actually the guy I was interested in the most at first. I really don’t know why, just found him cute. As time moved on I was surprised that so many others were interested in him. He’s very down to earth but reserved at the same time? He did nothing to stand out, imo, but he did all the same. He seemed into Gino from the beginning but he later surprised me when he revealed he was into some one else as well.

Gino is just adorable as fuck. He’s been in love with Guan Yu from the very first moment. He’s like a big puppy. But being very open and honest to the point everyone kind of stayed away from Guan Yu because it felt like he had called dibs in a way, impressed me. And omg the speedo 🙈 but I’m glad that he showed interest in Bobo as well. And he’s softer than he appears. The constant touching of Guan Yu is cute. I did worry if he was making the other uncomfortable. Just because I find him endearing doesn’t mean Guan Yu was ok all the time. I do hope he enjoyed it

Bobo, along side Guan Yu were two that caught my eye from the beginning. But when Bobo went out with Shih Feng he felt very flat. And then later he felt very straight guy stuck amongst gays. It was just cautious and I was afraid he’d say or do something insensitive. Which he kinda did but I could be a little dramatic. The comment about Nio put me off but he was just being honest, I guess. I did take that he was nervous into consideration and thanks to Eri he opened up a lot more. I’m glad he and Gino have a mutual interest in one another. My interest in him fell a bit but seeing him more active (and with Eri) gave him back some cool points. He’s so supportive and childish 😂. When Gio and Guan Yu came back from their date, he was so upset and wanted to leave

Nio. Is a bit of a wild card. He’s different from what I thought and seems to change slightly, often, a lot. He’s…calculating? I can’t think of another word right now. He doesn’t put all his cards on the table, it’s like he’s holding back?? I dunno. Finding out he had interest in Guan Yu surprised me. And then the confession after the rooms were changed. I dunno there’s an air about him.

Susu is another surprise. He said he’s a pretty anxious person. Introverted in a way but he’s way more involved than a few others. He seems the perfect fit for this show though. He’s not simply stuck on one person. I mean he went for my boy Guan Yu first but he opened himself up with each interaction with the other guys. He’s trying things out and I like that. And omg the speedos too 🙈

Shih Feng and I can’t even recall the other guys name right now because he barely talks, are about on the same level to me. Shih Feng has been kinda quiet from his first outing. He doesn’t seem interested in anyone and is more like an observer. He’s Guan Yu/Gio shipper for sure. But when they announced someone may be leaving I thought it would be him because he received no calls and every one seemed interested in another.

The other guy basically shot himself in the foot when he asked that question. I mean I personally would’ve just laughed and brushed it off but I didn’t consider how uncomfortable that would make everyone. He’s now somehow an extra on the show. Even when the four guys were hanging out he was always at at the end or at a distance from the others. He even expressed that he didn’t have feelings for anyone anymore after like the first day. And then the trip to the pool was a disaster. I feel bad for him because it seemed like a punishment. If he weren’t so brand new I would’ve said he’d be leaving before Shih Feng

[storyventure]

#STORYVENTURE  ——  an  independent  multimuse  blog  with  muses  from  various  games ,  animanga ,  webcomics ,  and  animated  movies  and  shows currently  low-activity  due  to  life.

mobile - accessible  links :

Carrd (under construction)

Rules (check “read more”

Muses (check “read more”)

Memes

Docs Page (under construction)

Interest Tracker (under construction)

CURRENTLY WATCHING

Steven Universe: 150 ep left

Invader Zim: 21 ep left

Retold by Salem

FULL MUSE LIST & RULES UNDER THE “Read More”

Muse Count: 53

PRIMARY

Adora (Shera)

Entrapta (Shera)

Hordak (Shera)

Horde Prime (Shera)

Amity Blight (The Owl House)

King Clawthorne (The Owl House)

Willow Park (The Owl House)

Vash the Stampede (Trigun Stampede)

Million Knives (Trigun Stampede)

Ciel Phantomhive (Black Butler)

Yang Xiao Long (RWBY)

Qrow Branwen (RWBY)

Weiss Schnee (RWBY)

Salem (RWBY)

Roman Torchwick (RWBY)

Adam Taurus (RWBY)

Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars Rebels)

Cal Kestis (Star Wars Fallen Order & Survivor)

Darth Maul (Star Wars Rebels)

Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Verse)

SECONDARY

Drew Anubis (Dislyte)

Triki Loki (Dislyte)

Xiao Yin (Dislyte)

Trevor Sphinx (Dislyte)

Lucifer Morningstar (Obey Me)

Leviathan (Obey Me)

Belphagor (Obey Me)

Diavolo (Obey Me)

Death the Kid (Soul Eater)

Crona (Soul Eater)

TERTIARY (On hiatus, but will write upon request only)

Alucard (Castlevania)

Dracula (Castlevania)

John Morris (Castlevania)

Maru Mori (Blue Period)

Haruka Hashida (Blue Period)

Yatora Yaguchi (Blue Period)

Luz Noceda (The Owl House)

Gus Porter (The Owl House)

Vee Noceda (The Owl House)

Hunter Wittebane (The Owl House)

TEST MUSES

Zim (Invader Zim)

Tallest Red (Invader Zim)

Dib (Invader Zim)

Amethyst (Steven Universe)

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

REQUEST ONLY

Eda Clawthorne (The Owl House)

Lilith Clawthorne (The Owl House)

Hooty (The Owl House)

Legoshi (Beastars)

Louis (Beastars)

Haru (Beastars)

Rezaren Ammosine (Dragon Age: Absolution)

Fairbanks (Dragon Age: Absolution)

Qwydion (Dragon Age: Absolution)

Sebastian Michaelis (Black Butler)

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

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

GUILDLINES

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

BASIC RP ETIQUETTE: No God-modding or power-playing allowed. Trim your replies please. Do not force ships. Just don't be a jerk.

SHIPPING: I love all kinds of ships. Romantic, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love, Familial Bonds, Platonic. I am open to developing relationships with all of my characters as long as there's chemistry. And both muses are of the same age. & as stated before. Please do not force ships on me if I'm not interested in the idea of it.

ACTIVITY: Due to life. I am very low-activity. But I try to spend my time here as much as I can. Please be patient with me.

MEMES & THREADS: Memes do not expire. So, please go ahead and send me memes from months ago or years ago. I don't mind at all. Always feel free to turn any meme response into a thread. I am a huge fan of multiple threads with my writing partners. Never hesitate to start something new with me even if we have a lot of other threads already. If sending memes isn't your thing, I would love to plot something out with you, don't hesitate to pop into my ims. If I spam you with memes please do not ever feel obligated to respond to them.

TRIGGERS & THEMES: Please note that there may be dark or sensitive themes present on this blog from time to time. If there is something i’ve neglected to tag, please kindly let me know.

FORMATTING: If you need any adjustments to the way I format my replies please do not hesitate to ask! I am using the legacy editor.

ICONS & THREADS: as a friendly reminder. Some of muses like Dislyte and Blue Period maybe iconless for awhile. Until I can commission someone for icons. If you choose to use icons in your own replies. That is fine with me. If you don't. That's also fine. I don't really have a preference on icons in threads.

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E114-115 (Nov. 10, 2020)

My wi-fi’s gone distinctly shaky, so it must be that time again! I don’t think I’ve ever watched the pet montage with sound on, and the sheer majesty of Henry snoozing on a Nicolas Cage pillow is somehow ever better with a swelling orchestral score.

This episode’s guests are Liam O’Brien and Taliesin Jaffe!

Brian: “How’s everyone feeling?” Taliesin: “...god.”

There’s a brief discussion about sports. Liam and Taliesin agree that they like the cowboys. Not the Cowboys the sports team, just cowboys.

Taliesin, on episodes featuring him and Liam: “We have a dark sad energy that I think works well together.”

Brian leaps out of his chair. “My pants kind of match the wall!”

Also Brian: “You guys fuck with Barney?”

Okay, okay, okay. First question of the night at 7:09 PM. What was it like to find Vess dead? Liam had a lot of avenues of conversation he was planning with her and was disappointed to lose access to those. Taliesin notes that it’s ten days before they can talk to her again.

Another contemplative digression. Liam: “Google ‘fartiste’.” Lots of talk of sphincters.

Brian asks what it was like to see Molly committing such heinous acts. Taliesin: “I have a nice wall built because I understand the mechanism by which Molly is Molly, and knowing the mechanism, I understand what Matt’s doing. It’s only Molly so far. I always knew that whatever was going on in the background was sinister and a little bit iffy. And, you know, Molly was never actually against a little skullduggery. He’s not a moral person, just, you know. Situationally kind.” Taliesin genuinely isn’t sure how much Lucien knows about Molly’s life, but he looks forward to someday being able to talk about the initial conversation he and Matt had about Molly at a Starbucks by a tattoo parlor.

Brian wonders whether Vess’s death has made Caleb start thinking about how other Assembly members may not be all that untouchable after all. “It’s totally surreal and absurd to him. I still think of them as powerful, though. Story-wise, Caleb thinks of them as dangerous as fuck. All of them.” Getting to know Vess might have helped him figure out what to do next about Trent - now there’s even more uncertainty there.

On potentially having to explain Vess’s disappearance: “Clay’s just gonna peace out. By the time this becomes a problem, he feels this is not his problem. If there’s a good path to everyone working out, sure, but boy it don’t look like it right now.” Caleb’s “just in con-artist mode at the moment.” They’re both more focused on what’s going on at the moment.

“I will actually say, it wasn’t until halfway through that even I noticed [that Clay was being flirted with]. I really appreciate it, just because very, very early on, from the beginning, I was very much like, I’m just going to play him ace. He’s got no interest in this shit. All that energy gets directed into other places. I was like, it’s a shame that it will never come up organically.” He was pleased to have an excuse to bring it up in-game. He does note that because of the costumes “it was like being flirted with by Ganondorf.”

As soon as Laura was actively interested in reading Der Katzenprinz, Liam knew he wanted to put the whole book together. Taliesin: “I can barely take a walk every day. Who the fuck are you?” 

Cosplay of the Week: a fiery Caleb! (lilac.cos on Instagram, photo by fourphotoscosplay on Instagram)

Everyone’s a fan of Dagen Underthorn. Liam: “I love him because of how salt-of-the-earth he is. We’re a bunch of weirdoes.” Taliesin figures he’ll wait for the M9 outside the cave, but “three days, tops.”

“Clay’s seen a lot of things go down when people are mourning. This is a new one, so he’s definitely not sure what to do, and hasn’t really had an opportunity to be like: a little trepidation would be advised, because this could go really poorly, and you’re all a little weird about this. He’s assuming that Molly was another nice guy like the rest of these nice people, but after the Traveler he’s a little more wary of trusting his friends’ judgement on the character of others. It’s a lot like hearing about somebody’s ex and they’re like, oh, they’re coming to visit.”

Why was it so hard for Caleb to walk away from the necromantic emerald? “The first answer is that, Caleb, who is humble in many ways, is also cocky. I’m the best at it, I’m really good. One thread in Caleb’s personality is his hubris. The other answer to it is that Liam thought it was hilarious.” 

Taliesin: “I could’ve possibly stayed a little longer.” Brian: “How much longer?” Taliesin: “Until we had to resurrect someone.”

Brian asks what it was like to have a battle de-escalate to the point of “dinner and friendship”. Taliesin: “It’s been a hard year and I was tired. I don’t want to hurt anything for a while, I just want to have cocoa on graph paper.” Caleb invited the yetis in because “one, that’s amazing. But also they said they would escort us and be our bodyguards for a little bit.” He thought he could entice them to stick around longer, having plied them with cats and pastries.

On Caduceus getting to be a mammoth: “The same way that Caleb is a creature of hubris, Clay is a creature of self-control, and is really invested in his ability to maintain himself and to not get lost in the situation; even in a heightened situation, he’s still very much himself. This was uncomfortable. Eventually, with some hindsight, he’ll enjoy the notion, but at the moment, it’s definitely a lot of, that did not feel okay.”

Fan Art of the Week: the kitties in the kitchen! (kristen_felan on Instagram)

Why was it important to Caleb that Veth stop touting him as a leader? “It’s never really bothered him intensely, but it’s been a thing for a very long time. It wasn’t worth making a thing about it, but it was never true for him. He just doesn’t feel like a leader, he never did. He went from being an A-hole to one of the knights of the round table.”

Who does Clay think needs the most guidance? “Yasha. He’s feeling at least reasonable about everybody. He feels like Jester doesn’t quite have her shit together, but she’s fine, and Fjord’s doing just great. Everyone seems to be coming together. Yasha had a breakthrough but hasn’t really processed yet, so it’s a lot of, like, hey guy, so. You know. Now that we’re feeling more healthy, maybe it’s time to make some healthy decisions?” Liam suspects some of the characters will continue evolving even after the campaign is done. Taliesin: “Life doesn’t have an act structure.”

Taliesin: “I’m looking forward to playing the Tomb Takers after they TPK us.” Liam: “Dibs on Cree.”

[thebadbatch]

Could I have a Hunter x reader imagine with scenario 12 and prompts 6 from sad and prompt 9 from angry/jealous/protective ? Female reader would be great :) thank you!!!

A/N: Thank you so much for your request! I really do hope this is what you were looking for! If there's anything your unhappy with let me know and I'll change it for you! :) I hope you enjoy it!

Hunter x FemReader

Plot: The reader gets into a troublesome situation during a mission with Hunter, luckily he's there to help!

Warnings: Descriptions of violence and Injury!

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

Stay with me

Cid had another mission for you and the rest of The Bad Batch, which in all honesty, you were pretty thrilled about due to the high pay in credits. It would definitely give you enough to get your new gun upgrades with your share. Though, as the others had reminded you, the higher the pay the harder the mission would be and in all honesty you didn't take their words seriously until now. Currently, you were dragging yourself in your custom armour through the desert sweating and desperate for some kind of shade. Hunter was walking beside you, chuckling at your tired self as he fiddled with his knife. Only you two had been assigned to this area, the other four sticking with the ship to do some mandatory repairs. 

"Are we almost there?" You sighed, making sure your blaster was still hooked securely against your hip and trying your best to keep up with Hunter who really didn't seem to mind the heat. He laughed a little more, turning toward you as he softly grabbed your arm to pull you closer. 

"Keep up, soldier." Hunter reminded, placing his knife back against his arm and gazing around the deserted and broken ships covered in sand. "We shouldn't be too far off, we should head to that ship over there." His finger pointed toward a half broken star destroyer which seemed to have been deserted for many years, luckily for you two. 

"It looks uh, pretty broken up." You tilted your head a little as you both grew closer. "Is this definitely where the shipment is?" Hunter crouched alongside it, checking for a control panel he just knew was nearby despite the sand coating most of it. 

"Affirmative." Chuckling at his words, you crouched down beside him placing your knees against the sand that sunk down a little. You were familiar with this from your home planet, remembering how sand was always accompanied with a huge ocean - unfortunately not here though on Jakku. You swore if there was water right now you'd definitely be in it, kriff the credits. "Found it!" Hunter grinned as he slammed the control panel with one punch, the door opening and allowing sand to fall into it along with you two. The drop wasn't much, just enough to make you wobble a little and lose your footing. Hunter luckily had caught you, his arms around you which caused your face to heat up. Thank stars for your signature helmet, though you were pretty certain Hunter had picked up on your increased heart rate. Adjusting yourself with a little cough, you allowed your eyes to scan the ship you were on whilst activating your helmet torch with Hunter doing the same. 

"Right, find the supply shipment then we can head back to the Havoc, right?" You began to follow in his footsteps, keeping your blasters in your hands. 

"Yeah, sounds simple enough but there are gonna be some obstacles I'm certain." Hearing the footsteps belonging to you both echo around the metal hallway you both lingered in, you allowed a light sigh. 

"Obstacles? Like what?" You practically felt his grin with his blaster in hand ensuring the coast was clear. 

"This is your first time at Jakku, right?" You could only nod in response, genuinely curious to the dangers you both may face. "This place is home to thieves, outlaws and scavengers - just be on lookout alright?" You smirked under your helmet before turning the corner with him. 

"Nothing we can't handle, right?" Hunter stifled a laugh as you both approached another room, slamming the control panel down as it opened - surprised to find the room well lit with electricity pumping through the circuits. Keeping your blaster on you, you began to look around the room keeping an eye out for the crate you were assigned to collect. 

"Here." He grinned, turning toward the box and typing in the code Tech had given you both to open the crate and bring it back. "Right let's take it out of here and get back, I'm getting a bad feeling." With a quick nod, you pressed a button on it causing it to levitate as you pushed it forward, following Hunter's footsteps as a new layer of tension appeared. Something was up and he knew that, you both didn't want to run into any trouble. Though then again, it seemed too late for that as you were pulled back with a blaster placed to your head - your helmet being removed and tossed aside like it was nothing. 

"Hunter-" Your voice called, genuinely quaking as your blaster was tossed aside as well, clanking against the floor which made him turn around and pull out his knife beside his blaster. 

"Shut it, girl." The man snarled, pulling you closer and tilting the blaster against your head. "I believe that you're taking something that belongs to us, so in return I think we're going to be taking something that belongs to you." Hunter snarled and stepped forward, keeping his blaster pointed toward the man who held you and his knife threateningly turned toward the other person who had taken your gear. 

"Back away from y/n otherwise I swear to Maker you won't live to see tomorrow." 

The man who held you laughed, turning toward his friend who grabbed your blaster and pointed it toward Hunter who didn't hesitate to shoot at him. The blast unfortunately missed the man but hit the gun, resulting in it being thrown back across the room.

"Now you've just made a stupid mistake haven't you?" He growled, shooting down at your leg causing you to cry out for Hunter - falling against the man who moved the gun back against your skull. "Now drop your weapons and the girl lives, simple solution don't you think?" Hunter's face turned from seriousness to panic at your pain, reverting quickly to anger as he threw his gun and knife down against the floor. 

"Kill me but please, just leave y/n." His words were gentle as he knelt on the floor to the man's request, hands behind his head and his eyes grew glassy at your pained state. 

"What do you think we are? Generous?" He chuckled a little, his laugh a little psychotic. "Shoot him." As the other person raised the gun to Hunter, you screamed and kicked with your legs straight into the man's knee and once he fell back, you stomped on it ensuring it was broken. Dodging the bullets that the man on the floor and beside you shot, you kicked the gun away from him and held it yourself - shooting the other person with ease before collapsing against the floor. Hunter rushed toward you, grabbing his weapons and ensuring they were both down for the count. A movement from the other person made him snarl as he shot out at him before picking you up against his chest securely. 

"Y/n! Y/n come on stay with me." You sighed a little against his chest, whimpering at the sting of pain the bullet had caused against your leg - it was definitely bleeding but it was difficult to treat underneath your armour. Grabbing the crate, he laid you on top with your helmet and blaster beside you, pushing you out and straight back to the Havoc as promised. Whilst he was running with you, doing his best to keep you conscious, his words were pretty gentle. "It's alright Mesh'la I've got you, you're gonna be okay." You couldn't help but allow a smile to fall against your face, you felt awesome. Saving Hunters life definitely got you first dibs on rations until the guilt wore down - if it ever did for him anyway. You wouldn't let anybody hurt him just like he was about to give his life for you. Finally reaching the Havoc Marauder, you heard Hunter's pleas for help as he rushed in - Tech soon at your side with the others. 

"I'm fine." You coughed out, attempting to sit up only to wince at the pain as your armour was removed leaving you in your blacks so that Tech could assess your wound. 

"You're not fine but you'll live now you're here." With his words, he applied a bacta wrap to your leg after burning the wound shut. Your face was scrunched up with pain, Hunter holding your hand and threading his fingers through your hair. 

"Good girl." He smiled, keeping you back against him. Smiling against him, you held on gently before he huffed a little. "But don't you ever be that reckless again, I had a plan." Laughing a little, you turned your tired gaze to him. 

"Oh yeah? I didn't see you doing anything." He blushed a little at your words as he gently held you closer to him. 

"I'd lay down my life for you, y/n - I hope you realise that. I'd do it willingly, I always will." You nodded gently before pressing a light and thankful kiss to his cheek. 

"You won't have to with me around, now don't be so stupid next time." You chuckled gently as he smiled down at you as the others gently gathered around ensuring you were alright. As protective as he is, you knew he'd want to get his revenge somehow - their death wasn't enough. As long as you were alive with him though, you knew he'd be alright. He wouldn't go off the rails anytime soon with you keeping him in check. 

"Stay with me, y/n."

[princessfbi]

Have you seen the discourse with Maddie happening in the fandom? I was wondering if you could share some Buckley sibs headcanons,,, yours always makes me smile

Hi Nonnie!

I've seen a little bit sadly. It’s super disappointing that some people can't see the beauty of Buckley Siblings' relationship. I've had to put a block on the discourse tag though because I'm the type of person who will dig incessantly if I get a shred of mess and all that ends up doing is making me mad and then suddenly I'm upset for hours afterwards because I can't shake the feeling which is when I don't get any writing done. We've got to take care of our mental health just as much as everything else and I live by my number one philosophy which is to be kind and respectful and to mind my own business. I like what I like, read what I want, write what feels right, and I stopped letting others dictate what makes me happy.

Here's some Buckley Siblings HCs just for you! Some of them I've featured in fics and some I've just had floating around in my brain:

Buck can drink his coffee black but he prefers it with sugar and maybe a little cream. This is because that's how Maddie takes hers. When they were younger and Maddie started drinking coffee, she would let Buck have a sip of hers until eventually she just would make him his own (much smaller) cup.

Maddie bought her Jeep with her own money. She'd been saving up cash because her parents would drag their heels on helping her get any source of independence so she decided to do it herself. Buck saved up about 80 dollars (mostly in ones) that he rolled up and put in a little box before he gave it to her for her birthday. In return Maddie told him he got "front seat dibs".

Maddie taught Buck how to swim. She did it because one time Buck cannonballed into the deep end before he proceeded to panic and Maddie had to go in and yank him above water. He clung to her like a koala for a few lessons and so when Maddie finally had to just dunk him and teach him how to put his head underwater she did that thing you do to babies and blew on his face. He couldn't even be mad about it because he touched the bottom of the pool which was awesome!

Any Father's Day/Mother's Day activities that Buck did at school he just made for Maddie.

Any event that happened at school where parents would come for lunch or whatever, Maddie would get a note (she got very good at forging her mother's signature) that would get her out of a few classes so she could walk over to Buck's school.

The first time Buck climbed a tree, he got stuck and Maddie had to come get him.

Maddie gave Buck the safe sex talk in the parking lot of JC Penneys. There were pamphlets.

When Maddie was first dating Doug, she was driving Buck to practice (which her parents refused to do because they thought Buck wouldn't be able to figure out a way to get there so then it solved their problem of him not playing but they were so wrong) and got a flat tire. Doug came and helped her change it but Buck hated all the little comments Doug would make so he asked his dad to teach him how to change a flat (one of the few things Philip Buckley was actually pretty eager to be involved in).

Buck grew up with Maddie defending him constantly whenever his mom and sometimes his dad would say something particularly harsh so when he started to push back it was usually to defend Maddie because that was around the time she was starting to chafe at their insistence to stay quiet and hidden from the world in their restrictive grief. Maddie deserved to live her own life and even if it tasted like vinegar on his tongue to say it, he would every time his mom or dad made some backhanded about her going off to live with Doug in Boston. Whenever Maddie would come back to town to visit, Buck would beg his parents not to hound her because one time it got so bad, Maddie cut her visit short and didn't call for months. In turn, Maddie always respected Buck's choices. She may not have agreed with them but she would back him no matter what.

Buck was the only one of their family to show up to Maddie and Doug's wedding.

Maddie taught Buck how to ride a bike which was confirmed via canon so I was VINDICATED but Maddie also taught Buck how to drive. She came back to Hershey the summer Buck turned 16 and helped him get in his hours he needed driving with an adult before taking his test.

During the summers, Maddie would sign Buck up for the summer reading program at the library. Buck only had to read ten books to get a ten dollar gift card to an arcade that she'd planned on taking him for his birthday but Buck decided to read the fifty books that you needed to get a gift card for a pizza party so he and Maddie could go.

Birthdays weren't really a thing in their house but Buck and Maddie always tried to do something for each other. Even when he was away Buck made sure to send Maddie flowers on her birthday to the hospital.

Buck never really knew he was smart until he met the 118. Like he knew he was smart but he didn't know he was smart until Bobby said something. But he never thought he was stupid either because Maddie went out of her way make sure he knew that growing up. She would introduce Buck with a fun fact always. "This is my little brother, Evan. He just made varsity for football at his school!" "This is Evan, my little brother. He made honor roll this semester!"

The Jeep was their escape for a long time so it was an easy choice when Maddie saw that Buck needed a more permanent one.

When Maddie would get in a fight with her parents (which was often) she would go to her room and fume because she needed a minute to be alone and Buck would sit outside her door and stick his fingers under it. Sometimes when he could hear Maddie crying, he'd shove a tissue under the door too. Sometimes Maddie would hold his fingers.

Buck's favorite holiday was Fourth of July because he and Maddie would go get the biggest mixed ICEEs and then sit with the top of the Jeep off to go watch the fireworks.

Buck one time called Maddie in a panic because he got roped into taking someone to prom and he had no idea what a corsage was

Maddie and Buck have very strong opinions about corn on the cob. Like STRONG opinions. Bobby does too so it much be a Midwestern thing but Chimney made the mistake of making a throw away comment about how he heard New Jersey was known for having the best corn and he lived to regret it.

Maddie hates hiking but Buck loves it because he can climb things. So, Maddie found him a rock climbing gym and got him a membership his fifteenth birthday.

Coming from the household that they did where the emotional neglect was so apparent should've crippled Buck and Maddie but instead it made two beautiful people who care very deeply about one another. They saved each other and I love them so much!

[shadowofthelamp]

Partners

Swap Zim and Dib decide to work together. Technically a direct sequel to this thing that was posted a year and a half ago. Like, comments, and reblogs all super appreciated!

Wordcount: 1800

Warnings: Mentions of Dib experimenting on people, I guess?

Zim woke up strapped to a lab table that smelled so strongly of blood that he almost threw up. (Which was quite an accomplishment, considering it wasn’t like Zim was a stranger to animal test subjects, or even getting himself injured.) It took him a few seconds to remember why he was strapped to a bloody lab table, but hearing the familiar voice frantically muttering next to him helped.

“Come on, I need to kill him, but it’s Zim, I like Zim, I don’t want to kill him, but he’s a threat to the mission, I can’t upset my Tallest or the Professor, but maybe I could just wipe his memory...”

That voice was Dib. Dib, the stalker who had turned out to be a real live alien. Dib, the kid (was he a kid?) who must have strapped him to a table.

_____

It had started out pretty easy- he’d already known where Dib lived from the one time Dib had dragged him there when they’d both gotten caught in an explosion and he’d wanted to help patch Zim up. All Zim had to do was use a taser to short out the electric fence and some hacking to get in the front door once he found the security frequency they were using.

It was child’s play, although it wasn’t like it would be easy for anybody else. Zim was special. He was always special, always better than everyone else. Dib had seen that. As annoying as he got at times, Zim was glad that at least he was annoying because he liked Zim.

However, things had started to go south as soon as he got inside the front door. There was a chubby little pig perched right next to it, and it sniffed at him before its eyes lit up bright red.

“STATE YOUR BUSINESS.”

“You talk?” It looked like a regular pig to him, usually talking animals were a lot clunkier and more robotic-looking.

“IRRELEVANT. STATE YOUR BUSINESS, HUMAN.”

“Seeing Dib.”

“NONE MAY PASS.” The pig jolted up on two legs, and Zim noticed a small zipper on its belly only moments before the pig grasped at it, yanking it down and ripping off its- costume? It didn’t look like any fabric Zim had ever seen- to reveal a silvery robot with burning red eyes. A dozen weapons, mostly guns and knives, popped out from its head, and Zim couldn’t bite back a yelp as he fumbled in his backpack for his own laser gun.

“I know how to use this thing, you know!”

“ANY THREAT TO THE MISSION AND TO MASTER GAZ MUST BE ELIMINATED.” 

Zim squeezed the trigger, but the robot- okay, it moved way too fast for a robot that size, Zim’s tended to blow up if they tried any fancy acrobatics, but this one flipped out of the way, his laser blasting a hole in the wallpaper instead. 

He took half a second to breathe before squeezing the trigger again and swinging it around, burning a line through the wall and couch before hitting the robot and getting a metallic shriek out of it as it lunged for him, pinning him down by the shoulders and making him drop his laser.

“ELIMINATED. ELIMINATED. ELMINATED.”

“Release Zim!” Zim kicked up and heard a metallic crack before he rolled to the side, thankful for those self-defense classes he’d taken as the robot plunged about fifteen knives into the spot where his head had been half a second ago. The red eyes narrowed at him before activating rockets in its feet, and Zim ducked as it swung with a giant mallet from its head. He dropped to the floor, fumbling for the laser and swinging it around to take another shot at the thing. 

The gun managed to blast one of the arms off, but that sure as hell made it mad considering he didn’t have time to dodge the second swing of the mallet. He saw stars for half a second before there was nothing at all.

_____

“Dib,” Zim croaked, head feeling rather like it was full of rats that had thrown a dance party inside his skull and left a mess all over the cerebral cortex. 

“But this is a perfect opportunity for some experiments, you wanted that, didn’t you Dib- huh?” Dib looked up from muttering to himself.

Or rather, the alien did. It was still wearing Dib’s trademark goggles that looked heavy enough to weigh his head down with lenses too dark to see anything underneath, but its skin was an even darker shade of green, and it had a pair of twitchy antennae. No nose, no ears, and it had donned a full-on labcoat that was soaked in a whole lot of red and black stains. He’d always kind of figured aliens were real somewhere out there, but seeing it... it was like reality had tilted a little to the left. There were more pressing matters than a crisis about aliens existing anyhow, and Zim was pretty good at repressing things he didn’t like.

It sounded like Dib, though, and the way it fussed with its hands was the same with two fingers and one thumb on each, same as Dib. ‘Machine accident’, his ass. 

“You’re awake?”

“Y-yes, I’m awake. Could you let me go?” His voice came out sickly-sweet and polite, like he was talking to the counselor again to convince her that he was fine.

Dib-alien shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I really would like to, but you know too much. Protocol is pretty clear- dispose of or brainwash all witnesses when the planet is marked for conquest. But brainwashing knocks out a lot of the intelligence, and that would be such a waste, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, yes it would,” Zim agreed. “So let me off with a warning?”

Dib folded his arms. “Nope. But the fact that you actually held your own against a SIR unit for a full minute as a smeet- and one that I modified to be extra aggressive- just tells me that you’re still useful as a specimen.”

“Hey, I’m not a- a- smeeb!”

“Smeet, child, baby, whatever term it is you humans use.” Dib waved a dismissive hand, stalking closer and looming over Zim. His eyes were a deep, electric blue like an unsucked sour candy, and Zim squirmed under the restraints. “That table is where most of my previous experiments died, and I don’t want you to just be number thirty-six, you know?”

“Thirty-six? Thirty-six what?”

“Oh, this and that. Humans are good for experiments, they’re very determined to survive so you don’t have to use as many.”

“Well, so is Zim.” Zim tried to twist away, but something metallic erupted from Dib’s backpack like a dozen sharp insectoid legs, propelling him up onto the lab table before he dropped directly on Zim’s chest, driving the wind out of him.

“I’m well aware. You’re already a survivor, aren’t you?” He ticked off on his fingers, alien butt shifting on top of Zim a bit to get comfortable. “Barely any parental supervision, yet you create machines and work on biological experiments that are beyond the capability of most humans three times your age. You almost get blown up often and yet walk away from it. You’re an anomaly.” Dib leaned closer, and Zim could taste the sugar on his breath. “I like anomalies.”

Zim attempted to buck Dib off to no avail as he continued. “Find the exception and you’ll have found the thing of most interest, the thing that makes or breaks a species. The outlier the proves the rule, and you’re a human that behaves like an irken, showing just how far ahead of the rest of your species you are. According to my research, they’re going to burn when Gaz decides what to do with this place if they don’t destroy each other before she gets around to it, but I just might keep you as a pet.”

“Zim is no pet!” Even with little oxygen left in his lungs, Zim shouted, snarling up at Dib with his lip curled. “Earth may be terrible, but it’s mine, so back off!”

“Oh? So you agree that Earth is terrible?” Dib tilted his head to the side, one of those long antennae twitching, and Zim narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not very good at research, are you? Of course it is! But it’s mine, and I don’t want any buggy alien getting his sticky hands all over it!”

“It’s not exactly up to me,” Dib replied, hearing the wheeze in Zim’s voice and sliding off his chest to the table itself, and Zim sucked in a deep breath, feeling the air reinflate his squashed lungs. “Gaz is the one who’s actually invading, I’m just here to study the planet in case there’s anything useful. You’re a pre-contact planet, or at least that’s what’s logged, so this place is a treasure trove of undiscovered species. I’m trying to convince Gaz to at least set up a preserve so I can study some of them once she’s done with the invasion.”

“Are you even listening to me? I told you to bug off! Leave me and Earth alone!”

“I’m listening, but I told you, it’s not my call. Even if it was... you said it yourself, Earth is terrible. It would be far more useful to the Empire as a sugar-harvesting operation, or a zoo, or something else. Humans don’t really deserve to be in charge, they’re just going to blow themselves up eventually.” Dib shrugged.

“If I was in charge, you wouldn’t say that,” Zim muttered, and Dib’s antenna twitched again.

“What did you say?”

“I said, if I was in charge, you wouldn’t say that. I bet if everybody listened to me, you’d take that back. I’m a human and I know I could fix everything.”

Dib stared at him for a solid ten seconds, and Zim wasn’t sure he hadn’t spontaneously kicked the bucket. Did aliens do that? “You’re a genius. You’re a genius!” 

“Of course I am, but why?”

Dib smacked his hands on Zim’s cheeks, squishing his mouth in like a goldfish. “Of course, how didn’t I see it before? Your potential is stifled by the fact that you only have access to tools that you create, but if we worked together, you could help us because you have intimate knowledge of humanity, and I could help you by giving you limited access to my technology! We could be lab partners- I wouldn’t have to kill you, and you can help reshape your species for a better future!”

Zim blinked. “Does this mean you aren’t going to do horrible experiments on me?”

“I can’t promise that, but I’m not going to kill you right now.”

“Good enough for me!” Zim tried to shake Dib’s hand, before realizing that he was still restrained to the table. Dib leaned over, hitting a button just next to Zim’s head, and the restraints popped off. Zim rubbed his wrists for a moment as he sat up, mind still whirling.

This was a chance to fix everything, to make things the way that they should be.

“So, you won’t kill all humans, and you’ll give me access to cool tech.”

“I’ll consider your input on that, and I’ll give you access to cool tech.” Dib nodded, taking Zim’s hand, and a slow grin spread across Zim’s face.

“Then lead the way, Dib-thing.”

[anyu-blue]

OOF

Okay so you know how sometimes in the creative process ideas sneak up on you?

Well I just got one of those in the sense that I feel like I got punched in the face it snuck up on me so fast and was/is so hard and heavy I’m left a little stunned and reeling...

Yeah..

Haha

Sooo in the possibly futile idea I may one day write it or have some reason to have written it down here we go:

Iz story in which after the Florpus movie (Maybe- IDK I haven’t seen it or 99% of Invader Zim soooo who knows) Dib is more or less forced or convinced (not sure which direction we’d go here) to gain a more... rigorous form of therapy, in which he becomes calmer and of course is lead down the path most other people are- in the sense he becomes ‘normal’.

Of course it would start with Dib actively avoiding Zim- his brain conflicted and fighting itself, but as time went on he’s become a totally different person (I’m thinking he becomes a football player sort of TOTALLY different). Calmer, level headed. Kind, but slightly aloof. He’d gain popularity with the most normal of the normal and grow to be a forgettable face as much as just a ‘decent’ person. I think he’d gently avoid the sciences- as that would have been the cause for his mental break when he was 12 anyway- and pursue other, more practical, and normal human things. Gaz wouldn’t be immune to all this- their father might just have to accept Dib as a lost cause and be proud of him for what he COULD do rather than pursue science like he want him to... in which case Gaz will become the target of her father’s overbearing desire for a successor. She’ll be amazing at it... but withdrawn in a more forlorn way- calmer as well.

What this entails is he is convinced through RIGORIOUS therapy that Zim is, in fact, a human with some weird medical condition(s) and eccentricities himself- which for normal people are to be avoided.

In my version of this story (regardless of how the show or movie turns out cuz idrk their real relationship, really) Zim would definitely take notice and having had been exiled completely from the Irken race on threat of death (or worse). Zim would not entirely give up on domineering over the human race, but he would funnel it in a different direction- screw the tallest (more or less- though he’d NEVER NEVER say it out loud) this is HIS world and he will find a way/ways to make it more to what he wants/needs.

But anyway.. Zim would notice and would realize Dib’s sudden loss of potential. I don’t know that he would know why Dib gave up to begin with- not knowing about the severe therapy- all hush hush- thinking it was some human need to process the trauma that was their space adventures. He’d just give him space as he himself would be processing it all and changing a part of his core self to be not for the Irken race, but for himself (ROUGH when you are genetically engineered to be self sacrificial for the cause)... And by the time he notices Dib is actively avoiding him.... by the time he notices Dib has all but forgotten him... Zim has more pain and wrenching to go through.

ANYWAY

Zim WOULD eventually notice. He wouldn’t be held back in grades because GIR can help as a stand in, and so does Zim’s own knowledge and ‘medical’ condition excuse- he can pass his classes with zero effort and blah blah... but he’d notice that Dib is... different. And he’d notice he doesn’t entirely like it. And of course he’d be more of the ‘shy kid’ after all is said and done. But one day he’d approach Dib (because Dib certainly isn’t going to come talk to him, despite the stares and more Zim tries to burn into him) and try to talk to him. Dib would be completely neutral-level kind. Knows Zim’s name, but the memories are all... twisted and weird and blocked, more or less. So it’s basically like they were never enemies or whatever they were. Almost like they never knew each other at all.

And that would hurt. It would HURT in a way Zim finds too familiar and wrenching. Dib would ever be kind, but yeah... his soft kindness and gentle letting down of “Hey, bud, I’m sorry but I’m not sure what you mean and I got some stuff to study for, bye.” that’s totally NOT Dib... but is? But no...?

Cue Zim with another breakdown/loss and a bit of his old self resurging to never back down- to get Dib back- the ONE who KNEW and sure maybe judge him, but with Irken adgenda off the table maybe they could be friends?!

Shenanigans of Zim being a pest/bother in school and stalking and otherwise, and Dib TOO GOOD at suddenly looking the wrong direction (almost like a reflex, weird), and having someone else around, and some backfiring... Dib’s kind gaze getting harder and harder to bear because it’s almost like PITY.

Possibly lots of blood. Possible gore? If I could stomach it?

Some themes of self harm, and psycosis, and dark thoughts/themes, and perhaps even some.. em.. nsfw unsolicited offers like Zim screaming “I’ll even let you dissect me!!” in the middle of the cafeteria to try and get SOMETHING of the old Dib back.

Possible Zim physically attacking Dib on a few occasions too. Possible Zim starting to wonder if he IS a human with severe mental issues... he knows he not lol but the IDEA and he’s just SO confused!! and at a loss.

Lots of reckless behavior.

REALLY rough...

But.. knowing me...

I adore happy endings... so all that pain and toil and turmoil would be worth it.

Dib would start to crack. Fight himself too. Try to maintain. Try not to maintain. Realize he has this weird reflex and weird physical reactions around Zim. Know SOMETHING is.. wrong.. off... Epic Mental breakdown ensues.. Not sure about Gaz, but she def has a part...

In the end... they would save eachother.

I’m thinking this would also be a ZaDr type fic... cuz I love messy love too... lonely and never lonely all in one.

But yeah.. *ahem*... all of this hit me in the span of like 5 seconds earlier and I’m... *croaks* I’m TOTALLY okay...

*Squeaks*

[some-cookie-crumbz]

Sweet Fluff

Because I am a dumb, I accidentally answered this request privately before finishing the fic, so here it is!

For the phenomenal darling @blackpennyforrester​, TodoMomo feature flower crowns and swooning Shoto! I took a few creative liberties but I made sure to keep in the main things you were looking for! Hopefully this delivers that TodoMomo goodness you were looking for~!

Bonding experiences, as far as Momo was concerned, were a necessity when it came to assuring their success in their future field. As Pro Heros, they would need to understand the basics of teamwork and have some sense of comradery with others in their field, as well as other relevant civil servants. While they were simply students now, these were life skills that would be of use to them for years to come! And considering they'd most likely still be collaborating with one another once they graduated and started working in the field properly, it only made sense they would improve their relationships while they had the free time to do so!

It certainly wasn’t just an excuse to spend some time doing fun activities with her friends. That would be frivolous.

When she’d wandered into the 2-A dorms to find one of their underclassmen settled on the couch, openly weeping and spouting flowers from every patch of exposed skin on her, she’d been a little taken aback. The underclassman had apparently come to confess to one of their male peers in Class 2-B and, whoever they were, had rejected her promptly. Tooru and Mina had seen the whole scene in passing and insisted on bringing her to their dorm building so she could calm down some. Not long after that had been when Momo returned from the campus library. Evidently the flowers had something to do with her - Fujiwara Hanako, as she introduced herself between sniffles - Quirk. She had small, earth-like patches in her skin that she could sprout various types of flora at a whim. When Hanako became overly emotional, though, her ability to control her powers went a bit haywire.

Once they’d managed to calm her down, Kyoka and Iida were tasked with escorting her back to her classes' dorms while the rest of the present students tried to figure out what to do with the petaled army she’d left in her wake.

“Oh! Oh!” Tooru squealed, flailing her arms about wildly, “I know exactly what we should do with them!”

“Sell them!” Ochako said happily.

“No, silly! We can make flower jewelry with them!” she corrected, already starting to grab a handful of the flowers.

Mina gasped excitedly and lunged towards the pile herself. “You’re so right! Okay, if there are any orange cosmos in there, hand them over! I’m gonna make the cutest necklace you’ve ever seen!”

“There’s enough here to make an entire jewelry set for basically everyone in class, kero,” Tsu chimed as she walked around the couch to join them. She started rummaging through the bright, colorful offering before producing a flower and giggling. “Wow, she even made lotus blossoms, kero!”

Kaminari, who had been loitering behind the couch during the whole scene, wandered around as well. “You weren’t kidding with this, huh? Welp, may as well come down and help you guys out,” he hummed, settling in between Mina and Tsu.

“Kaminari, you know how to make flower jewelry?” Tooru gasped excitedly.

He grinned and jerked a thumb at himself. “I have two little sisters at home so I learned a lot about this kind of stuff. And not to brag, but I can also braid hair like a boss!”

Momo frowned. “If we are going to be making jewelry with her flowers like this, we should also make a few pieces for Fujiwara-Chan. It would be a good way for us to show our support in case she needs advice or comfort again,” she pointed out.

Ochako giggled as she scooted a bit closer to Tsu and patted the spot beside her in invitation. “That’s a great idea, Yaomomo! We can make jewelry for everyone else in the class, too! So that she knows that Class A always has her back!” she giggled.

“I call dibs on making stuff Bakugo and Kirishima and Sero!” Mina gasped excitedly.

“What? Dude, no fair! Me and Sero are total bros! If anyone gets to make something for him, it’s me!” Kaminari argued.

“Aw, are you jealous?”

“You already get to make for two of my other bros, you can’t take Sero too!”

As they all settled into work, casual chatter continued on with the occasional playful jab here and there. Momo started with the flower goods for Fujiwara-Chan - making a flower crown, bracelet and necklace using the softest colors she could find and taking a few suggestions from Aoyama on how to help it stand out- before moving on to her own. The longer they worked, the more of their peers trickled out to help make the floral items. Almost all of their class was settled in to work on the little goodies, only three members of their class missing. While Tooru and Mina worked on teaching Kirishima, Ojiro and Shoji how to make bracelets, Ochako updated the rest of their peers of what had led to the flower invasion. Sato had been quick to scamper to the kitchen, insisting he’d make some kind of baked treat to offer the other student. Tokoyami, Sero and Midoriya began trying to figure out who in the Fujiwara could have possibly been confessing to while Bakugo shared some rather colorful opinions about whoever it happened to be.

A part of Momo was almost startled at how personally Bakugo seemed to take their underclassmen’s rejection, but she supposed it made sense. She’d learned very quickly that the abrasive young man tended to respect people willing to take risks and prove their courage. While a love confession was a rather mundane thing, it still did take a lot of conviction to do. At some point, insisting he wanted to prove that he could, in fact, style hair like he’d claimed, Kaminari settled in behind Momo to use her as his example. He had carefully tugged her hair from the tight bun she’d tied it into while studying and gotten to work carefully entwining her hair with the crown settled on her hair in such a way that it didn’t snag or tangle with the flowers.

She finished her own set up before reaching out to grab a few more flowers; rindou flowers, white roses, and yellow pansies to weave into the next item on her mental list. She used the rindou flowers at the front, weaving three of them together before alternating between the roses and pansies to complete the crown. Kaminari whistled as she finished it off, holding it up to preen at her creation. “That’s amazing, Yaomomo!” he chuckled before they all perked up as the front door opened.

Kyoka and Iida wandered back over to them. “Ah, how was Fujiwara-Chan?” Momo asked worriedly, setting her most recently completed crown aside.

“She was still rather upset but insisted that she’d be fine on her own,” Iida said. Then, he scowled and chopped one of his hands through the air. “I am rather disappointed that one of Class B’s students would give her such a callous brush off, though! As both upperclassmen and Heroics students, they should have been much kinder in turning her down!”

Mina frowned. “She still wouldn’t say who it was?”

Kyoka sighed and shrugged with a shake of her head. “She tried to tell us but then she got too upset and we really didn’t want her setting up in another fit of tears. I mean, it seemed like she was already starting to get some backlash from overdoing it with her Quirk when she was here,” she explained. She then perked up when she saw the multiple arrangements on the table. “Huh, seems you all found a good use for them, though.”

“Of course!” Tooru giggled happily as she hopped on to her feet. She reached over to carefully set a flower crown decorated with various purple, red and dark blue flowers on the other girl’s head. “I made this especially for you!”

A faint pink tint spread across the purple haired girl’s cheeks. “Aw, you didn’t have to do that,” she hummed, reaching out to loop an arm around the other’s waist.

I know, but I wanted to! And it looks so cute on you!”

“You do have a keen eye for this kind of stuff, babe,” Kyoka leaned closer to press a few quick kisses to the other girl. One presumably landed on her cheek while the next met her lips, judging by how her giddy giggles were cut off a bit by the second one.

Sato suddenly appeared in the doorway. “Cake’s almost done! Aoyama, wanna help me decorate it?” he called.

The blonde’s eyes lit up as he scampered over, sporting two flower crowns and a slew of flower bracelets as he did. “Oui! It must be très magnifique for a young maiden with a broken heart!”

Tsuyu watched him go before looking back at the others. “So who should have delivery duty for the cake and flower goods, kero?”

“Not those two, obviously,” Kaminari snorted, indicating Tooru and Kyoka being all gooey with each other. “That’s a sure-fire way to rub salt in the wound, having a happy couple like them come bring you a bunch of ‘Sorry You Got Dumped’ presents.”

“Is it really getting dumped if they were never going out, though?” Kirishima asked with a tilt of his head.

Mina patted his shoulder. “Oh, Kiri, my friend… My poor, sweet, romantically challenged friend… It totally does,”

“Well one of the deliverers should be someone who is good at being empathetic to other people,” Ojiro chimed, carefully finishing off a flower necklace of his own.

“Mhm. And we really should send more than one person,” Ochako pointed out, “and have at least one of them be someone who Fujiwara-Chan spoke to when she was here.”

Midoriya perked up before nodding. “Yaoyorozu-San, you were here with Fujiwara-San as well, right?”

She blinked in surprise. “Oh, yes! Only for a little bit, though,”

“Why don’t you and Todoroki-Kun take the goods to her? You already know the situation and you’re great at relaying information, so you can update him pretty quick,” he said.

“But why Todoroki? No offense, but the guy’s not the best when it comes to dealing with people,” Sero pointed out with a quirked eyebrow.

Midoriya glanced at him. “He may not be the best, but he’s better than you’re giving him credit for. He won’t go poking or prodding at her about it if he knows it could upset her. Plus, he needs the break from studying up in his room,”

Iida glanced over at that. “Wait, he is still studying?”

Midoriya nodded. “Yeah. I tried to convince him to come downstairs with me when I first came down, but he insisted he needed to keep at it,” He then turned to look at Momo with a smile. “But, I get the feeling that if it’s you that asks him, Yaoyorozu-San, he’ll be inclined to go along.”

She nodded before picking up the flower crown she’d made. “Well, I did want to take him one of these, anyway,” she said quietly.

“Excellent! You can go get him with Sato-Kun and Aoyama-Kun finish getting the cake ready to go!” As Momo headed for the elevator, she missed the knowing grins exchanged by Midoriya and Ochako, the two rather pleased with themselves. They’d thought it’d be a little harder than all this to start enacting their plan.

She fiddled with the crown in her hands as she took the elevator up. Would Todoroki be okay with going with her? She didn’t like the idea of bothering him while he was studying, but Midoriya did raise a good point about him needing to take a break. She didn’t like the idea that he was overworking himself by studying too hard. And if he’d been at it all day, didn’t that imply he was having trouble with a subject? Perhaps she should offer to help him work on whatever it was once they got back. Normally the two of them tended to struggle and succeed in opposite areas, so she might be able to help clear up his confusion.

When the doors opened, she made a beeline for his door, glancing down at the crown she had made for him again. Hopefully he would like it. She remembered him mentioning before that rindou flowers were his mother’s favorite, while he himself admitted to thinking roses were appealing. She thought the combination of blue and white would be a good fit for him, with the yellow being a nice little splash of warmer colors. She hoped he would like it. She raised one fist and knocked gently.

There was a small sigh as the door was pulled open. “Midoriya, I appreciate your concern but-!” Todoroki started to say as he opened the door before pausing at seeing her. He blinked slowly. “You aren’t Midoriya.”

Momo let out a small amused giggle at the reaction. “Indeed I’m not, but he did send me to come get you,” she said.

He nodded again, his eyes lingering on her before he reached out and gently curled a strand of her hair around his finger. “You curled your hair,” he commented.

A small splash of pink hit her cheeks. “A-Ah, actually, I didn’t. When my hair isn’t tied back it tends to curl like this. I am unsure if it’s just a matter of humidity or what, but it’s always done this,” she explained.

Todoroki let out a small hum, carefully tucking a strand behind her ear. “It looks very nice. You should wear it down more often,” His eyes then swept up and took in the pink, purple and orange flower crown intermingled with her hair. “Hmm? Where did you get that?”

“Oh, we made them. And I made one for you, as well!” she said, perking up and smiling as she held the crown up. She reached over and carefully settled it atop his head then preened in delight at how well the colors intermingled with not only one another but also the colors of his hair and eyes.

He reached up and gently touched the crown. “The flowers you used,” he trailed.

“I remembered you mentioned that you liked them or that they were important to you,”

“You remembered something as trivial as that?” he asked, just the slightest hint of surprise creeping to his voice.

“It isn’t trivial, Todoroki! Things you like and dislike are not trivial information,” she tutted lightly.

A small smile turned up on Todoroki’s lips at her words. “Thank you, Yaoyorozu,”

“It was my pleasure. Besides, since Fujiwara-Chan created them, it only made sense to use them,” she giggled.

He blinked and tilted his head. “Fujiwara-Chan? Who is that?”

Momo gasped and clapped her hands together. Ah, how could she have forgotten the reason she came to get him? “You and I have been given a small mission.”

“Mission?” he parroted skeptically. She nodded and gave him a brief overview of what had happened with Fujiwara-Chan; the confession, the rejection, and their class’ attempt to cheer her back up. He nodded slowly. “It seems rather inappropriate to respond to a confession like that. I mean, it’s incredibly disrespectful.”

“I agree. Sadly she wouldn't tell us who it was she was confessing to, so we have no idea who behaved like that,” she sighed.

“Probably Monoma,” he scoffed as he wandered out of his room, shutting his door as he did. “He has a propensity for peacocking around as if everyone is beneath him. I could see him being rather tactless when rejecting a confession.”

“I suppose I can ask Itsuka-Chan about it later. But, for now, we have a job to do!” she said happily as she stepped a few paces back. Todoroki shifted to walk beside her as they approached the elevator. “Oh, by the way, Todoroki… Midoriya mentioned you were doing some studying today. Were you having trouble with an assignment for class? If so, I’d be more than happy to help you.”

He stared at her for a moment, expression unreadable, before shaking his head. “It wasn’t exactly a school thing but… I have come to a conclusion regarding it. I greatly appreciate the offer of help, though,” he mused. She blinked and tilted her head, confused but opting against pressing further. She knew Todoroki well enough to know he liked his privacy and would come forward with something when he realized he was in over his head, though, and chose not to stress over it.

Inside, Todoroki made a note to try and ask Fujiwara-Chan about how she’d prepared to take a huge step like a love confession. Without Yaoyorozu there. He didn’t want her to realize his feelings before he was ready to tell her himself.

[zims-left-shoe]

Agent Mothman (Dib x Male Reader)

Like most of my other fics, characters are aged up to high school. Plus, a friendly reminder that my request box is open!!

The silence was overwhelming. The pressure of everyone's collective held breath was almost palpable, your chest reactively tightening for no good reason. As you looked around you, eyes were wide, jaws were set and clenched in preparation to cringe. The only two who stuck out from the crowd were Zim and Dib, when did they not? Zim looked lost in thought, mind seemingly several thousand galaxies away, hands folded together neatly in front of his face, his chin resting on them. Dib, on the other hand, appeared to be over the whole ordeal. His posture was slouched as he stared ahead at the board through half-lidded eyes. As the quiet persisted, an anxious energy settled over your classmates (besides the two previously mentioned, of course). Eyes twitched, fingernails scraped the tables, feet began to tap restlessly on the floor.

"Y/n." The teacher finally spoke, bringing the whole class to sigh in relief, the building pressure suddenly released all at once. Many students leaned back in their chairs, high fiving each other. "Y/n, you will be partnered with Dib." You shrugged your shoulders as many looked to you in pity, some even whispering their sympathies. You had never aligned yourself with any group in particular throughout your school year. Granted, you were only a few months in, but you had switched schools so much you had learned to play the field. You avoided Dib considering his stigma, enabling you to be tolerated by the majority, however you were never mean to him. In fact, you rather liked him. You only chose to silently observe him rather than act upon your curiosity. 

"But wait, who's going to be paired with Zim?" You heard a student groan, everyone's breath being held once more. You let your gaze drift over to your partner. He seemed relieved, a slight smile settling on his lips. This was probably the best case scenario for everyone. No one else had to work with Dib, and you were the only one who never picked on him for being just a bit different. 

Once your teacher had finished reading names, you were all asked to sit with your partners. Without an ounce of reluctance, you sauntered over to Dib's otherwise empty table, taking one of the many available seats surrounding him. You needed to figure out a plan quickly, considering you only had one night to do the project. The project wasn't super taxing, in fact it seemed almost like busy work that would promote socialization at the same time, but it wasn't like your time frame was ideal. 

"Dib, right?" You held up your hand in a slight wave. "I don't think I've officially introduced myself. I'm Y/n."

"I know. The new kid who has no real friends yet is somehow still deemed acceptable by the popular kids? An anomaly for sure." Red painted his face, his eyes widening as he realized how his words may have came off as. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude. Or creepy. You know what? I'll just stop talking." An awkward chuckle escaped your lips as his eyes fell to his sneakers. After a slight pause, Dib spoke again, his tone much more reserved than before. "I can just do the whole project and you can put your name on it if you want. It's not that hard." He was giving you an out, not wanting to piss you off. Reaching an arm out, you slugged his shoulder lightly.

"Nah, come on. I don't roll that way. Besides, I want to hang out with you a little."

"You...want to hang out...with me?" Dib pointed a finger to himself, eyes wide behind his large glasses. An incredulous expression was etched into every single feature of his face, as if he couldn't believe those words left your mouth. 

"Yeah." After that syllable, the bell rang, dismissing you from school. You stood up, gathering your things. "Anyway, I'll be at your place after dinner. Just text me your address or whatever." You quickly scribbled your digits down on a scrap piece of paper that was laying around, passing it to him. "See ya!" You dashed away, sneaking one last glance back to see Dib still sitting in his chair, as still as a statue, not believing that this was even happening. 

Your stomach felt as if it was full of butterflies, and you couldn't shake the grin that had spread across your face as you began your walk home. 

God...he was even cuter than I thought... You were embarrassed by your own thoughts, pinching yourself on the arm. Truth was, you may or may not have been stalking him a little. He lived in your neighborhood, and you just couldn't help it. You had always been a hopeless romantic of sorts, and all it took was one look at him in class giving a presentation on the gremlin in his backyard and you were in love. You didn't even need his address, you knew where he lived, but you didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, so you asked for it anyway. Plus, it was a way to sneak him your number. And it wasn't as if you were actively trying to find out where he lived. It was pretty much impossible to ignore him and Zim screaming at each other as they ran back and forth between their houses all day. 

"This is going to be a long night." You sighed out, foot striking out to kick a rock, the satisfying skittering sounds it made calming your nerves a small amount. 

-

You drew in a deep breath as you brought your fist to the door, rapping on it a few times. Rocking back on your heels, you clutched your notebook and other supplies tightly to your chest, internally cringing at yourself. Everyone at school thought you were incredibly cool, but on the inside, you were just a lovesick gay who was overflowing with big dumb energy. The door swung open, bringing you to jump and be pulled from your motivational speech that was being given inside your head. 

"Come on in. I'm surprised you showed up." Dib stepped aside to let you in, gesturing past the living room to the kitchen where a purple-haired girl sat at a table, picking at the remaining food on her plate. A floating monitor hovered near the table as well. "We're just finishing dinner, but you can follow me if you want." Nodding, you padded behind the social outcast wordlessly, taking a seat next to him at the table. "Gaz, this is Y/n, my partner for my project. Y/n, this is my sister Gaz."

"Hey." You waved to the girl. Her expression remained squinty as she continued to pick at her food, eyes dancing between her plate and a Game Slave which was charging on the counter. 

"Whatever." She grumbled, never even directly acknowledging your existence once. You began to wonder if Dib was actually the most normal out of his entire family, which was saying something. Dib awkwardly cleared his throat as he pointed to the floating monitor, which displayed a man in a lab coat and goggles furiously working on something. 

"Oh, and this is my dad. He's at work right now, like usual. When he can't be with us for dinner, he either videocalls us from his lab or plays a pre-recorded video reminding us of chores and dinner instructions." Despite how sad the things he had just said sounded, not an ounce of bitterness was up for display on his face. Instead, his eyes shone with pride, happy to have a dad who was making a difference in the world, even if he could never really be a conventional father. "Anyway, just let me clean up and then we can get to work." Dib stood up, bringing his own plate over to the sink and running it under water, placing it in in its respective place in the dishwasher afterwards. Waving for you to follow him, he led you down the hall to a room that was clearly his. The door was covered in posters and stickers of aliens and other supernatural creatures, a good sized "Keep Out" sign the centerpiece. You wondered what would be inside, becoming excited. You figured you were the first person besides his own family to be seeing his room. He twisted the knob, casually pushing the door open, allowing you to step inside. 

"Wow..." You trailed off as you glanced around. There was so much to look at. Your eyes darted from one thing to the next, barely able to take it all in. There were several computer monitors surrounding a desk that was littered in papers and catalogues for supernatural hunting items, a few prototypes of possibly his dad's inventions scattered there as well. His room was lined with posters of aliens and other entities, an important looking briefcase thrown haphazardly onto his bed. The one thing that held your gaze the longest was a ginormous cork board. Several photos, drawings, diagrams, and hurried scribbles of notes were tacked up there, filling it to the max. Each paper was connected with color coded strings, things circled in colored pen seemingly at random, although you knew better. It was the definition of organized chaos. In large, bold, red letters, one word was scrawled on a paper at the top of the board: ZIM.

"I'm sorry, I tried to clean it as best I could. It's still kind of a mess." Dib hurriedly stacked papers together on his desk, trying to make it look presentable. 

"It's fine, don't worry about it. You should see my room. Half of my shit isn't even out of boxes yet, and we moved in months ago." You laughed, sitting down on his floor. "So, alien invasion, huh? Isn't Zim that kid with the skin condition?" You asked, gesturing to his cork board. His shoulders tensed as he unplugged his computer and brought it down to the ground, taking a seat beside you.

"Could we just get to work? Please?" He seemed to want to sweep that subject under the rug, and you decided that you would let him.

"Okay...so anyway, this research poster. You got a topic in mind?" Your prompt drew him out of his unsociable shell, albeit hesitantly. 

"Personally, I was thinking Area 51, but if you wanted to do something else..." He genuinely appeared to not want to upset you, despite usually not caring about how he came off to others. 

"That sounds great, Dib. Interesting too. You think they're really hiding aliens there?" Laying down on your stomach, you rested your face in the palms of your hands, gearing up for a long talk. A smile crept onto your face as immediately his eyes lit up.

"I'm glad you asked."

-

"I think we have the essentials. Now we just need to get them onto the poster, which is probably the most time consuming part." Dib stretched his arms towards the ceiling while you yawned and cracked your back. You didn't know how long you had been sitting on the floor for, but a glance to the clock by his bed told you it was 8:01 pm. The two of you had spent the last couple of hours researching, organizing notes, and mainly just talking about yourselves. You had no idea why everyone constantly was ragging on him. You found him to be incredibly interesting and entertaining, hanging onto every single word he spoke. You weren't really sure if you believed in all of these supernatural creatures, but you also didn't think that they couldn't exist. 

"I think so too. You ready to start on the poster now?" Reaching out, you gathered the posterboard and construction paper Dib had brought in from his garage together.

"Yeah, in a minute. I have to use the bathroom and then see what Gaz is up to, I'll be back in a few." You hummed a response, Dib standing up and exiting, closing the door softly behind him. Deciding to take a closer look at the Zim conspiracy board, you pushed yourself to your feet, leaning close to try and decipher the grainy images. One in particular caught your eye. It wasn't in color, and everything seemed fairly blurry. Zim, or what was supposedly Zim, was hunched over something that looked to be a robot. Except, as you looked even closer, Zim seemed to have these buggish eyes and long, skinny antennae in place of his hair. Rubbing your eyes, you flopped down onto Dib's bed.

"God, I must be seeing things." You had managed to convince yourself that you had been staring at computer screens and papers for far too long, and that your eyes were playing tricks on you, showing you what Dib wanted you to see. Closing your eyes for a minute, the rise and fall of your chest turned slow and steady, and you could feel your grip on reality loosening. 

A ringtone of sorts snapped you back from your almost-doze, and at first you thought it was your phone, but after waking up a bit more, you realized it was coming from one of Dib's monitors. It appeared he was getting a call. The monitor showed nothing besides a logo of some sort of eye, as well as an option to accept the call or decline. Filled with curiosity, your feet took you to his desk where his monitor sat. You barely felt in control of your body as your finger swiped at the screen in the direction to accept the call.

"Agent Mothman-" The voice coming through the monitor was distorted, but you got the impression that it was on purpose. The image displayed was a dark silhouette of what seemed to be a man. "You're not Mothman."

"You mean that cryptid from West Virginia? No. I'm not." You took a seat in Dib's desk chair, which was very comfy. You assumed he spent a lot of time in it when he wasn't hanging out with Zim. 

"Who are you and what do you know?" The voice was menacing, and you vaguely wondered if Dib was involved in something more serious than you thought. Quirking an eyebrow, you tried to not let any miniscule amount of fear you were feeling show.

"I'm, we'll just say Agent, uh...Nessie." Feeling uncreative, your mind drifted to the Loch Ness Monster. 

"You're not Nessie either." 

"You got one of those too? Ugh, fine. What about Agent Chupacabra?"

"Well, no, but...you're not any agent we know of."

"But I could be! Agent Chupacabra reporting for duty!" You brought your hand up to your head stiffly in a mock salute.

"But you're not a member of the Swollen Eyeball! What are you doing on Mothman's computer?" 

"The Swollen what now?" You were smiling stupidly, only because you couldn't really grasp what the current situation was. 

"Hey, sorry, Gaz decided to hound me over drinking the last soda, so I took a little longer than I thought-" Dib opened the door to reveal you sitting in his desk chair, trying to look all spooky for the guy in the monitor. You thought he'd laugh at your stupidity, but he was not in the least bit amused. "OH MY GOD AGENT DARK BOOTY!" Slamming his room door, he darted over to where you were sitting, almost tripping and falling on his face. He made a strangled noise as he noticed the disappointed expression that rested on the silhouette's face.

"Who is your little friend, Agent Mothman?" The distorted voice was cold, and you could feel Dib almost shrink next to you.

"Listen, I can explain-"

"I thought we stressed secrecy, and the fact that you are not allowed to have outsiders sit in on our important meetings."

"Meeting?" All of a sudden, several of the other monitors sparked to life, various other silhouettes coming into view. Just in one glance, you could see that Dib wanted nothing more than to fade away into a cloud of space dust in that moment. You stayed silent, knowing that Dib was in some serious trouble because of you.

"We had a meeting at 8:30 pm sharp, Mothman. You knew this. And you had a friend over?" Dib's face, already pale, turned even more so. Any lighter, and you thought for sure he'd become a ghost on the spot. 

"I am so sorry, I had a school project, and he's my partner, I lost track of time." He looked absolutely helpless, and without a word, you stood up and gathered the poster supplies. Snapping back to his senses, he turned to you and began shoving you out of his room and herding you to the front door.

"Dib, I-"

"You really need to go!" There were no other words said between the two of you as he quite literally slammed the door in your face. A sigh slipped past your lips as you clutched your project items in your arms, dragging your feet across the pavement on your walk home. You lazily stumbled through your front door, mumbling a greeting to your parent(s) as you headed to your room, gearing yourself up to finish the project before morning. 

-

"Thank you to Y/n and Dib for their, erm, informative...presentation on Area 51. That was your last one, so enjoy your last five or so minutes of class." Your teacher went back to their desk as you and Dib retreated to your own table. You hadn't talked much since the incident last night, and quite frankly, you were tired from spending hours of your night creating the visual portion of your project. Dib's lips were tightly pressed together in a thin line, and you guessed there was something he wanted to get off his chest. 

"Look, Dib. If there's something you want to say to me, just do it. I'm sorry for answering your call, that was not a good move on my part, and I also apologize for getting you in trouble with your, uh...society." Running a hand through his dark hair, Dib shook his head.

"No, that was my bad. I forgot I had a meeting. I'm also really sorry for kicking you out and then forcing you to finish the project on your own." Your expression softened, unable to resist forgiving him.

"Yeah, that was kind of a dick move." You elbowed him jokingly, hoping he would loosen up now that bygones were bygones.

"No, seriously. How can I make it up to you?" He looked as if he wouldn't be taking no for an answer. He had gotten a taste of what having someone who genuinely enjoyed being around him was like, and he wasn't willing to let that go. A sly grin tugged at your lips, and almost immediately an idea came to mind.

"Consider yourself forgiven if you take me ghost hunting, or whatever it is you do." His shoulders tensed, but relaxed when he realized you weren't making fun of him. 

"Well, you're in luck. I just received a case file investigation last night on a bigfoot lead. I'll pick you up at eight, if that works?" His words were cautious, almost as if he still believed you were phishing.

"It's a date!" You cheered happily, already excited about getting to spend more time with him. A faint blush dusted his cheeks at your wordage.

"Of-Of course." He stammered out, grateful for the bell that rang not even a second after. 

"See you tonight, Dib!" You waved as you made your way home, wanting eight to come as fast as possible.

"He knows the project is over, right?" Torque Smacky raised an eyebrow, questioning Dib and wondering why someone as cool as you would be hanging around with a guy like Dib by choice. 

-

The doorbell rang, and you sprang up from where you sat on the couch, overjoyed to head out. Practically throwing open the door revealed Dib in all of his trench coat glory, albeit a bit nervous looking and sweaty. 

"Alright Mr. Mothman, where are we going?" You grabbed onto his arm, eventually linking it with your own. He cringed at the nickname, but resisted nothing else. 

"To the park. Apparently, some woman saw bigfoot there the other night. Also, fun fact, I saw bigfoot in my garage one time. He was using the belt sander." Your eyes widened, and you immediately realized why everyone called him crazy. You took it upon yourself to believe him. He obviously believed in himself, so why shouldn't you?

"Interesting. You see any other spooks in your time here?" He shrugged as you walked.

"I mean, I think a few ghosts and, well, aliens of course, but we've been over that. Also, I have vague memories of being abducted by aliens as a kid. I think they were trying to experiment on me to create some sort of genius super baby or something." You couldn't help the laughter that tumbled from your mouth. It wasn't necessarily laughing at him, more so that you weren't sure how else to respond. You didn't want to put him down, but at the same time, his story was very out there. And although you weren't 100% on board with the whole supernatural thing, you believed in him and his words. If that was his truth, you would stand by it. "You ever see anything supernatural?" You pointed a finger to yourself, as if to ask, 'me?'. 

"Well, I mean...I did live in West Virginia for a while when I was younger...a lot younger. And then we moved around a lot." Your eyes instinctively narrowed as you tried to recall those times with you and your neighborhood friends. "And, you know, Mothman was like the local legend. He's basically a celebrity down there."

"No way! Did you actually, like, see him?" If you didn't already have it, you sure had his full attention now. 

"No. I believed in him for a while, but we never saw him, and as I got older and distanced myself from there, I just kind of figured it was bullshit. My friends and I, we would go out at night trying to hunt for him with flashlights and stuff. Sometimes we'd bring lamps onto the porch and plug them in, building little 'Welcome, Mothman' forts to sleep in." You chuckled, remembering how much you had believed in all the spookies and specters as a child. 

"That's adorable." Dib's lips were parted in a smile as he continued to lead you deeper into the park. You weren't sure when you had actually gotten there, but you weren't really paying much attention.

"Well, maybe we could do that together some time. I know Mothman isn't really big in this part of the country, but who knows. Maybe he'll come." Softly bumping Dib in the side, you were pleased to see his smile only grow. 

"I'd like that." The nice moment was interrupted by rustling of the trees, and Dib turned on his flashlight, pointing it to the treetops. "There!"

"I thought bigfoot was more on the ground!" You called as you raced after him. You both came to a grinding halt, your feet skidding in the grass to try and avoid ramming straight into Dib's back. The boy you were with aggressively pointed his flashlight into the tree, resulting in a loud hiss from whatever was up there. "Maybe it's just a cat, Dib!" You tried to pull him away, not really liking how riled up he was at the moment.

"Zim! What are you doing here?! What evil things are you planning?" 

"Zim?" You looked upwards, following the beam of the flashlight. Sure enough, there was a green body hunched in a tree branch, a robot of some sort next to him. 

"None of your business, Dib-stink!" Zim spat, turning to face your friend. It was then you got a good look at his face. It wasn't the slightly abnormal one you were used to seeing every day. His eyes were red and buglike, sleek, black antennae sprouting from his head. 

"Holy shit, Dib. You're not crazy." You flicked your flashlight on as well, aiming it at who you thought was your classmate. "He really is an alien!" A strangled cry came from the alien sitting atop the tree branch.

"GIR! Do something!"

"Yes, master!" The once cheerful-looking robot suddenly turned much more serious, dropping down from the branch to where the two of you were standing. You yelped, unsure of what this thing was capable of.

"Relax, his robot is pretty much usele-" Dib began, but his sentence came to an abrupt end when several missals and other weapons emerged from his head. 

"How do you like GIR's new adjustments, Dib? I finally got his behavioral chip fixed to where he's responsive, but not too serious." Zim smirked, and with the point of one of his clawed fingers, his robot was on the two of you. 

Simultaneously, both of you let out a scream, reaching desperately for each other's hands as you ran for your lives back to Dib's place. Your feet pounded the pavement, lungs feeling as if someone was raking knives down your throat and organs, yet despite all that, you both refused to look back. Only when you were on his porch did you feel comfortable sneaking a glace behind you, only to find an empty street lit up by streetlights. Breathing heavily, the two of you leaned on each other for support. Dib looked very worse for wear. He didn't seem to be too athletically inclined. 

"I think...we lost him..." You spoke between gasps for air, grinning all the while. He nodded vigorously, still wheezing. After the two of you had regained your breath, you both managed to catch each other's gaze. You felt every portion of your brain that was in charge of thinking shut down as you leaned in closer to him. You were barely even aware of what you were doing as you pressed your lips to his. His eyes looked as if they were about to burst from his skull, but after a moment, they eased shut as he relaxed into the kiss. You pulled away, feeling heat rush to your cheeks, almost as if your face was on fire. Your stomach was tied in too many knots to even look at Dib, but if you had, you would have seen that he wasn't fairing much better. In fact, he was probably in worse condition. "Thanks for the night of fun, Agent Mothman."

"Uh-huh." He mumbled out, and his brain looked miles away. You decided just to go home before you did or said anything else that could be classified as stupid. As you power-walked away, Dib's hand found its way to his lips, where the feeling and warmth of your own still lingered.

[electrozeistyking]

MOON ETERNAL

Dib tried his best not to laugh at the look on his alternate's face, but it was so hard not to when the awestruck expression was painfully obvious. "What, you've never seen the night sky before?" Dib joked, his amusement spilling into his voice. "No, it's just..." Zib's voice was uncharacteristically quiet, as though he was afraid he would disrupt something if he spoke too loudly. "It's been so long... I... I guess I forgot what nighttime was like." He tilted his head up to the moon, deeply sighing. "I didn't realize how much I missed this." On Dib's end, he didn't exactly get what there was to miss. It was a cloudless night, sure, and the full moon casted a pale light that made the grass look almost silvery in a way. The night life was active all around them, which he knew Zib would occasionally stop to listen to. Even if he didn't know or understand what Zib missed about nighttime, Dib found himself taking mental notes about how his other was responding to it all. Out of nowhere, it was almost like Zib was an entirely different person; he was weirdly calm and relaxed, softspoken. It was only weird because he hadn't realize Zib could reach that point — he'd always seemed like a feral and almost always busy kind of person who had never heard of "toning it down". But if Dib hadn't known any better, he'd say Zib had always been like this. Zib looked surprisingly at peace. Content. "...mean, when you destroy a reality, you can't exactly expect a day-night cycle," Zib was saying. "No sun for that, y'know? All you get is just... purple sky. All the time. It really screwed with my sleep cycle for the first couple of months. But then again, it was an already terrible sleep cycle, so I guess all it did was make it worse." He suddenly laughed. "Oh! I just remembered... it, heh, it won't make any sense without context, but you remember that Zim suit I had? 'Course you do, it's not exactly that hard to forget. Being cooped up in that thing almost all the time meant no one would notice if you fell asleep! I do mean that. I can't even begin to count how many times I passed out in there! "Long story short, you should have seen!" He broke into a fit of laughter. "The look! On Number 2's face! When he realized I was...! I was asleep!" He wrapped his arms around his stomach, laughing so hard that he even may have cried a little. When he eventually recovered, he sighed, his eyelids drooping. "Ohhh... man. 'Course, then you and your Zim came along and ruined everything, but! You can't always get what you want, life isn't fair, other inspirational quotes." Dib couldn't tell if Zib was (still) mad about that or not. If he was, he was doing a surprisingly good job of hiding it. They stayed out there on the hills for a while, Dib deciding it was his turn to run his mouth off. Dib proposed his idea of partnering up to solve paranomral mysteries and such together. At first, Zib made little "Mhmm!" noises of agreement, which steadily became more far and few between, becoming more and more subdued. Eventually, they stopped all together. When Dib finally finished speaking, Zib didn't offer a response. Turning his head, he realized exactly why his alternate hadn't replied. In Dib's time of rambling, Zib had laid down on his stomach in the grass, resting his chin on his arms with his eyes closed. Dib would have thought he was just relaxing, if it weren't for the soft snoring emitting from him. "You didn't seriously just fall asleep," Dib said, stunned. He reached over to poke the other Dib in the side. "Zib. Ziiiib, this is not a good place to sleep. Ziiiib, wake up." Zib furrowed his brows and grumbled, rolling onto his side so his back was facing Dib. "You have to get up at some point, y'know," Dib told him. Amidst the incoherent mumbling, all Dib got was "no". "I'm not carrying you," Dib told him. "Carry me, peasant," Zib mumbled, but Dib couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "I just told you, I'm not—" Dib started, then cut himself off, standing up and brushing himself off. "You know what? Fine. You want to sleep here? Go ahead. I'm going home without you." Zib looked over his shoulder, a half-awake expression and a frown on his face. "You're a terrible person, you know that, right?" Dib tried his best not to laugh at the look on his alternate's face, but it was so hard not to when the awestruck expression was painfully obvious. "What, you've never seen the night sky before?" Dib joked, his amusement spilling into his voice. "No, it's just..." Zib's voice was uncharacteristically quiet, as though he was afraid he would disrupt something if he spoke too loudly. "It's been so long... I... I guess I forgot what nighttime was like." He tilted his head up to the moon, deeply sighing. "I didn't realize how much I missed this." On Dib's end, he didn't exactly get what there was to miss. It was a cloudless night, sure, and the full moon casted a pale light that made the grass look almost silvery in a way. The night life was active all around them, which he knew Zib would occasionally stop to listen to. Even if he didn't know or understand what Zib missed about nighttime, Dib found himself taking mental notes about how his other was responding to it all. Out of nowhere, it was almost like Zib was an entirely different person; he was weirdly calm and relaxed, softspoken. It was only weird because he hadn't realize Zib could reach that point — he'd always seemed like a feral and almost always busy kind of person who had never heard of "toning it down". But if Dib hadn't known any better, he'd say Zib had always been like this. Zib looked surprisingly at peace. Content. "...mean, when you destroy a reality, you can't exactly expect a day-night cycle," Zib was saying. "No sun for that, y'know? All you get is just... purple sky. All the time. It really screwed with my sleep cycle for the first couple of months. But then again, it was an already terrible sleep cycle, so I guess all it did was make it worse." He suddenly laughed. "Oh! I just remembered... it, heh, it won't make any sense without context, but you remember that Zim suit I had? 'Course you do, it's not exactly that hard to forget. Being cooped up in that thing almost all the time meant no one would notice if you fell asleep! I do mean that. I can't even begin to count how many times I passed out in there! "Long story short, you should have seen!" He broke into a fit of laughter. "The look! On Number 2's face! When he realized I was...! I was asleep!" He wrapped his arms around his stomach, laughing so hard that he even may have cried a little. When he eventually recovered, he sighed, his eyelids drooping. "Ohhh... man. 'Course, then you and your Zim came along and ruined everything, but! You can't always get what you want, life isn't fair, other inspirational quotes." Dib couldn't tell if Zib was (still) mad about that or not. If he was, he was doing a surprisingly good job of hiding it. They stayed out there on the hills for a while, Dib deciding it was his turn to run his mouth off. Dib proposed his idea of partnering up to solve paranomral mysteries and such together. At first, Zib made little "Mhmm!" noises of agreement, which steadily became more far and few between, becoming more and more subdued. Eventually, they stopped all together. When Dib finally finished speaking, Zib didn't offer a response. Turning his head, he realized exactly why his alternate hadn't replied. In Dib's time of rambling, Zib had laid down on his stomach in the grass, resting his chin on his arms with his eyes closed. Dib would have thought he was just relaxing, if it weren't for the soft snoring emitting from him. "You didn't seriously just fall asleep," Dib said, stunned. He reached over to poke the other Dib in the side. "Zib. Ziiiib, this is not a good place to sleep. Ziiiib, wake up." Zib furrowed his brows and grumbled, rolling onto his side so his back was facing Dib. "You have to get up at some point, y'know," Dib told him. Amidst the incoherent mumbling, all Dib got was "no". "I'm not carrying you," Dib told him. "Carry me, peasant," Zib mumbled, but Dib couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "I just told you, I'm not—" Dib started, then cut himself off, standing up and brushing himself off. "You know what? Fine. You want to sleep here? Go ahead. I'm going home without you." Zib looked over his shoulder, a half-awake expression and a frown on his face. "You're a terrible person, you know that, right?" Dib bowed with a flourish. "I try to be," he said with a wide, smug grin on his face, batting his eyelids. "You dingus," Zib cursed at him. "Help me up." After a minute where Dib didn't move to help him, he said, "No seriously, I can't find it in me to want to get up." -  -  -  -  - Dude, I often have to draw something traditionally then digitize it if I want to draw anything with even one character in it, but this time I didn't do that. So this is a feat on my end that I, for one, am super proud of. And it's LINELESS art, which I am normally TERRIBLE with. It's just... I fuckin' love this. So, uh, yeah! I was hit by a sudden bout of inspiration, and so this drawing (along with this story) exists now. While I'll never know why my best writing and art comes when the sun goes down, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I loved creating this!

[millennialzadr]

WHY I LOVE ZADR!!!

HEY GUYS WHASSUP? LMAO

So this is a whole ass giant long post of me absolutely spewing my feelings of love for ZADR, it was the very first thing I wrote when I made this blog and I think it’s a nice, positive thing for my fellow shippers to inhale and enjoy 👌👌

it was originally a reply to mitarashiart’s post about why HE loves ZADR (link in replies) but I decided to delete that and make my own post since MY WHOLE ENTIRE TEXT WALL WAS SHOWN IN THE REPLIES and drowned out anyone else who was trying to talk (thanks tumblr mobile u fuckin idiot)

I had also posted a summary of an AU that I’m working on in the original post, but decided to remove it since it just about doubled the length (I’m thinking about posting it separately along with the wips I’ve been putting together, we’ll see 👀)

But ANYWAY, here is about a million reasons why I think ZADR is the fucking best, so if you like reading gushy gay ship feelings, please enjoy ❤️❤️❤️

[Posted June 2019][WARNING, LONG ASS THOUGHT BARF]

SOOO, holy hell y’all my journey back into this fandom has been a wild and unique experience for me, i went from adding invader zim to my bookmarks on kisscartoon, rewatching the series, finding out theres a movie coming out, finding out there was a shitload of content i’d never seen before (commentaries, lost episode scripts and audios, panels, the COMIC, episodes i’d never seen because the dvd i used to watch was scratched!! and a FUCKLOAD of quality modern fan art like oh my GOD) and finally curiously googling ‘zadr’ (which i was way into when i was maybeee 13/14) to see if there was any interesting new art, and holy hell, mita (the artist above) singlehandedly THREW me down the hole into modern zadr hell, first with his absolutely stunning IZ art (all his art is dope tho check him out yo), then reading the above explanation put the final nail in the coffin like, 100%

so i wanted to add onto his post here on why this ship got me so fucked up, both for anyone who might be wondering why on earth i’m shipping two characters from a kid’s show (i’m very aware how weird that is at first glance trust me) and also so i can get some ideas down for possible future reference (will i ever draw them? maybe)

(first of all, a disclaimer, and this is not pleasant to write but it’s important to address for clarity’s sake: I have no interest in romantic or sexual relationships between minors, and do not ship zim and dib as they are presented canonically in the show (as children). what i’m interested in is the conceptualized relationship they may have as modern adults, and i view zadr more as taking the concepts of existing characters and experimenting with them with different interpretations, which i personally think is a constructive and fun creative outlet, especially if these characters hold personal significance for you (childhood faves of course). growing up together is an important facet of their relationship, and certainly they were important to each other even as children (see: mopiness of doom) but as an adult i’m personally curious about what kind of adults they might’ve become, and that’s the focus of my interest. i’ll still be reblogging regular IZ art because it’s dope but if you see shippy looking art of them as tiny lil beans its either friendship or chibis (and i personally headcanon zim as getting taller with dib but some people stick with his canonical height when drawing them as adults, which is super short. it still doesn’t mean he’s a kid). aaand i wish i didnt have to write this and it would just be obvious but we live in a sick sad world and it is sourced from a children’s cartoon so i feel its necessary. end of disclaimer)

NOW THAT THAT’S OUT OF THE WAY

- ok, first reason’s a bit obvious - the nostalgia. holy hell, the feeling of rediscovering a ship that was popular when i was a preteen during the mid 2000s and discovering a totally new perspective on it as an adult comes with an almost totally overwhelming sense of nostalgia and comfort, as well as inspiration!! the kind of art that seems so common for zadr, these sketch pages of scenes and expressions and visual gags where artists would just scribble every idea they had and LOVE doing it, this was exactly the kind of art that made me so passionate about drawing as a kid, and it still sparks such a powerful feeling of love and admiration for me to this day. fan content of iz and zadr is simultaneously achingly familiar and totally new and fascinating, and it just makes me SO damn happy to consume, it is most definitely my new comfort content. and just, GOD. THE ART!! SO GOOD. FUCK

- now for the characters themselves: for some reason i just really love the thought of a mid twenties, modern Dib?? lanky goth dork, disaster bi, depressed as shit, uses bad sweaters and memes to cope?? when i was a kid i didn’t even LIKE Dib, but now i totally sympathize with him! he’s just a hyper obsessive nerd wishing there was more to life than the situation he got stuck with, how wildly relatable. he was a pretty big asshole as a kid (even to people besides zim) but he was also totally isolated and constantly bullied, so there’s a lot of room for growth. i feel there’s a lot of juicy character development potential for that boy, and there’s always been a special place in my heart for characters who are totally sad and screwed and hopeless, but there’s one thing, or person, that means the world to them and could possibly save them…

- aliens. Zim. i love nonhuman characters, i love monsters, i love aliens, i love characters that don’t understand human shit (and thus have much less room for shame or fear bc theyre just totally oblivious the negatives of modern society) and need guidance (bonding!!) from their human. i also love morally grey characters and characters with skewed logic, they’re always really interesting, and Zim himself just has such a unique personality and set of mannerisms, he contradicts himself a lot and you can never quite expect how he’ll behave, and i love that in a character, it makes them super versatile and fun, especially since there’s so many different possibilities for their development. Also, Zim is a gremlin, a little shit, and a disaster. I also love those traits in a character. And don’t even get me started on his character design?? big sparkly eyes? expressive antennae? monster teeth? complimenting colors? he’s adorable.

- mutual obsession. for someone like Dib, who seems almost repulsed by how boring and slow the people around him are, Zim quite literally personifies Dib’s  escapist fantasies, both as an inhuman entity from beyond the stars, and as a person who’s knowledge, charisma and mystery far exceeds that of anyone Dib has met in his entire life. (so basically what i’m saying is that for a shunned, jaded misanthropist, an actual alien is terribly alluring, even if said alien is dangerous, stupid, and possibly insane). not to mention Zim vindicates Dib’s entire life passion, the supernatural! Even when their relationship is totally negative, there is not a single inch of room for Dib to get tired of Zim. as mita explained, they validate each other. for Zim, WHO AGAIN, IS TOTALLY SHUNNED, ISOLATED, AND HATED BY EVERYONE HE KNOWS, Dib is the only person in the universe who gives a single shit about him!! he gives Zim credit as a threat, a capable invader, which if you ask me is the sole thing Zim is after (he’s hellbent on his mission because it would win him the approval of the tallest, all he’s ever wanted is recognition from the people he thinks so highly of). He literally gets depressed when Dib isn’t around to pay attention to him, not even the tallest were enough to motivate him before Dib came back. these two have no one and nothing without each other, and while lifelong nemeses is fine and dandy, i personally prefer friendship, affection and love, cause i’m a softie like that. how could they possibly get there after years of actively trying to kill each other?? well, i think under just the right circumstances it could become a possibility after a long, long time.

- growth. i. love. me. some. good. character growth. especially for characters with trauma/mental illness, bc again, relatable. these boys have issues, and as mita mentioned, their canon stories are actually INCREDIBLY sad! but the happy thought is, they could recover! they could help each other recover, for little reason other than the two are the only source of happiness for each other. now of course this also opens the gate for angst lovers, but at the same time offers potential for comforting, uplifting content of the boys supporting and inspiring each other, maybe even to the point of becoming happy and healthy enough to create the lives they want for themselves (as in appreciating life and doing things that make them actually happy instead of the delusions of grandeur they both sought when they were younger). gimme that positive shit and let the poor beans be happy  щ(ಠ益ಠщ)

- LITTLE THINGS. LITTLE THINGS THAT ONLY COME WITH CHILDHOOD FRIENDS. WITH HUMAN/NONHUMAN. WITH THE SHOW’S WEIRD LOGIC. Zim being the person Dib knows best and vice versa. Zim having an involuntary respect/admiration for Dib because he’s tall. Learning each other’s needs, limits, and communication methods, both emotionally and biologically. Sensitive antennae. Affectionate bickering. Being less insecure bc your partner literally has no idea why you see your flaws as flaws. Laughing at the flaws they do notice because they make no sense. Zim only wanting to eat waffles and chow mein. Dib being forced to overcome his depression lethargy and stay hygienic/keep the apartment clean because Zim has a sharper sense of smell and is afraid of germs. Endless conversation about anything and everything because they’re from literally different worlds, and endless intrigue. TOUCHING. TALKING. DOING EVERYTHING LIKE ITS THE VERY FIRST TIME AND ALWAYS NEEDING THE OTHER TO GUIDE THEM. HOLY HELL THERE IS SO MUCH POSSIBILITY FOR TINY LITTLE MOMENTS THAT MEAN THE WORLD. FUCK. GOT ME FUCKED UP.

so that wraps up the why. fuck man. its just such a good ship. if you read this big ass text post, thank you for indulging me, i hope you enjoyed it! because i enjoy it very much 👀 so stick around if you’d like to for a shit load of IZ and zadr content on this blog, possibly (MAYBE) even from me!! come roll around in alien hell with me why dontcha ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ its a fun time! thanks for reading!!!

-

SO THAT’S MY MANIFESTO Y’ALL, FEEL FREE TO REPLY WITH YOUR OWN REASONS!! I WOULD LOVE FOR THIS POST TO JUST BECOME A BIG GIANT PILE OF LOVE AND YELLING!! GO NUTS! SCREAM ABOUT IT! INFODUMP! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! I’LL READ EVERY LAST REPLY! Y’ALL DESERVE TO ENJOY YOUR SHIP BC IT’S LITERALLY THE FUCKING BEST!!! LOVE Y’ALL!!!!!!

[deltacomerade]

so, i’ve been a lil confused by this since it was posted: why did the MCR accounts post about Umbrella Academy? like, okay, obviously Gerard wrote the comic and produced the show, it’s their project, but it’s strange that both the band’s account posted about it and the show’s official page tagged MCR in the post teasing Here Comes The End (which is honestly fucking great, not perfect, but great).

i know a lot of people have naturally assumed it means that the boys will make new music for the soundtrack, which if it is the case Hell Yeah Sign Me Up, but i’m a lil hesitant to believe that.

some others are thinking Gerard just posted to the wrong account on accident (which sounds like something they would do), but if they did, why would the post still be there, and then followed up by a thing for Here Comes The End? i know Gerard doesn’t give a flying fuck about social media 8 times out of 10, unless its about some cool rocks they found, but still. ((EDIT: I haven’t seen solid proof of this, but someone mentioned the reason MCR was tagged and why it posted there is Maybe because Ray is in charge of the acount, and that was their way to include him since he helped out on the song with Additional Guitars and (also weirdly) Bass, which kinda makes sense, but last i checked, or simply assumed, i’m pretty sure all the of the guys have access to the account, since both Ray and Frank posted stuff about their experiences in the band, so i’m not entirely sure about it. Also, while about as active as Gerard, Ray does have his own Instagram, so that doesn’t help support this theory.))

and some people have also said it’s just Warner Bros. wanting to get some free publicity, which definitely sounds like something they as a corporation would do. BUT Umbrella Academy isn’t owned by them, the show itself is owned partially by Dark Horse (who published the comic) and Universal, who bought the rights waaaay back in the day to make a movie out of the comic, but then changed it to a show. so it could be Them wanting to get publicity (maybe as “repayment” in a way for Dark Horse doing the Killjoys comic for Gerard and MCR or some dumb shit like that, who knows) this honestly makes the most sense out of everything else, but a lot of people, unfortunately myself included, just naturally assumed it was Gerard’s idea alone. which is a great transition into;

at the top of this Weirdness Heap (which is probably gonna be Gerard’s second solo album name. back off Moss Lord, i call dibs), someone mentioned years ago when the band was originally together, Gerard wanted to keep the two projects seperate. and, to add onto the last point, as a producer, does Gerard actually have the power to choose where to advertise the show, or are they just going along with what Netflix marketing decides to do because Netflix is in charge of the whole shebang? either way, it still don’t make a lot of sense to me.

ALL THAT BEING SAID, it isn’t the first time the MCR social media accounts were used to promote the members’ individual projects, the FB account promoted Frank’s album last year in May, but weirdly not Mikey’s work with Electric Century on either FB or IG. (again, Devil’s Advocate, there has been publicity on the other members’ Personal Accounts on different platforms and such, but not that i remember on the MCR page) ((EDIT 2: After a bit more careful digging and some assistance, i did find that the MCR account DID help promote Mikey’s new album, i just overlooked it a bit...in hindsight, i’m realizing maybe i didn’t work hard enough on this, and am kind of an actual dumbass? honestly though, this was All just a personal thoughts thing, not actually a criticism of Gerard or the band, so it doesn’t really matter.))

in summary...i honestly don’t know. like, obviously Frank, Mikey, and Ray knew about it ahead of time, they showed and voiced their support. and honestly, i fucking love how they all support each other with their own projects, its kinda sweet. (and yeah, i know some douchehole is gonna chime in with “Free Money”, but I DONT CARE THIS YEAR IS A FUCKING CESSPIT GIVE ME THIS ONE THING) and also, while i know they aren’t a perfect person, and they’ve acknowledged that themselves, i really truly firmly don’t believe Gerard did it to be selfish and abuse their power as the band’s leader to make a quick buck. while they obviously need to support their family, Gerard still does their best to stand by what they believe or oppose what they’re against, including selling out. i know some of you would disagree and think i’m just stupid, but i stand by that.

in the end the best answer may be the simplest one; since the virus started, maybe the band didn’t want the account to be stagnant until the tour starts up again, and thought they would use it to support each other’s work. it’s honestly possible once they start posting things related to their own work collectibely rather than just as individuals, they could just take both posts down.

[ So Bottom Line Here Is Don’t Go And Try To Bully, Accuse, Or Make Fun Of Gerard Again Of/For Something As Asinine As This, It’s Literally Not That Big Of A Deal, They’re Both Things They’re (G) Passionate About You Shitheads] (i’m not saying Stop The Memes, cuz i know that most of them are not made to be mean-spirited and some are honestly a lil funny, just...Dont Be A Dumbass, thats all i’m saying)

like i said, i dont know, maybe i’m overthinking again? it’s not a huge deal, i’m excited for the new season and for whatever things the Emo Gang summon in the future after this hellhole of a year blows over, just my two cents.