#just in case. there's no doubt they'd be buddies

[fl00mie]

first thought on what happened yesterday (sans au tumblr sexyman poll)

[bellaxgiornata]

Seeking Forgiveness [Part Nine]

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader Word Count: 4k [Series Masterlist]

Warnings/tags: 18+ contains angst, emotional hurt, delayed comfort, pregnant Reader, mentions/fear of miscarriage

a/n: Long time no update, I know. I was stalled with this fic because it wasn't supposed to be long, but then it grew into something bigger and needed a new direction and it took me a bit to figure that out. Now I think I've found it. Feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

Matt’s fingers slowly ran over the braille document on the table before himself, his mind struggling to focus on the work he was supposed to be accomplishing right now. He'd promised Fog yesterday at the office that he'd help him sift through some more information for a case they'd been working on first thing in the morning, but his mind just couldn't stay on task. Repeatedly he'd had to run his fingers over the letters just to get a couple of them to form words in his mind, but then in mere seconds he'd forgotten what he'd just read.

But how could he focus on work right now with what he was doing later today? The only thing he could think about since the moment he’d woken up and shuffled out of his bedroom this morning was you. Because today was Saturday. It was the day you’d agreed to meet with him for that coffee where you’d planned to have an important conversation with him. And as much as Matt had tried not to let himself hope for too much to come from this talk, he couldn't stop that hope from growing inside of himself. It had been steadily growing brighter and brighter ever since you’d first agreed to meet the other night. 

As his fingers traced the braille letters of the same line on the page yet again, Matt could feel the weight of Foggy’s eyes on him from across his kitchen table. He could tell Foggy had begun to notice his behavior, his increasing annoyance becoming apparent in the way his fingers had been steadily tapping faster against the table in less of an absent fidget and more of an agitated rhythm.

Once more Matt tried to read the line again, retracing his fingers over it as he leaned further over the document, as if getting closer to it would somehow help him to concentrate. But then he found his mind once more diverting from its task, instead thinking of himself sitting with you over coffee in only a matter of hours. Because soon he'd actually be talking to you, hearing your voice again, possibly even the sound of your laughter that he so sorely missed. And if he was lucky, maybe you'd let him hold you in his arms again, even if it was just to say goodbye.

“Alright,” Foggy said in exasperation, slumping back in his chair. “What is it that's got you so distracted? Because I've been here for almost a half an hour now and you haven't even read the page that's been sitting in front of you for just as long. Is it some Daredevil thing that's on your mind? Because buddy, that can wait until later tonight. We have actual legal work to accomplish right now.”

Matt released a defeated sigh, sitting back in his chair and pushing the document away from himself as his attention shifted over to Foggy. He felt guilty for not being able to focus on work–a problem he'd truly struggled with for far longer than just this morning if he was being honest. Ever since he'd learned you were pregnant his mind was often elsewhere.

“It’s nothing to do with that. It's just–I'm meeting with her this morning. To talk over coffee,” Matt told him. 

Foggy suddenly sat up straight in his chair, the annoyance in his body language immediately disappearing. He said your name in question, the tone of it hopeful.

“Yeah,” Matt acknowledged with a nod. “She agreed to talk and that's all I can focus on. I'm sorry, Fog. I just–just can't think about anything else because I don't want to mess this up with her. I doubt she'll give me another chance to sit down with her.”

“I don't know man,” Foggy disagreed. “I think she wants things to work between you both. From what I hear, it sounds like she's just scared.”

Matt pulled a face, his head canting to the side. “Scared?” he repeated. “Scared of what?”

“Of things not working out between you both,” Foggy answered. “I think you both really want the same things. And from what I’ve heard, I think she’s scared you might hurt her again.”

Matt frowned as he shifted his attention away from Foggy, his right hand reaching up to messily run through his hair. He wasn't certain of the truth in everything Foggy had just said. Matt had a feeling that he wanted far more from you than you wanted from him. And that scared him . But he absolutely refused to ever be in a situation to let you down again. He’d learned from his mistake–he would never break a promise to you again.

“So what exactly are you both planning to talk about this morning?” Foggy questioned. “Just the baby? Or…is there talk about you two getting back together?”

Matt's hand ran another pass through his hair in nervous frustration. Of course that's one of the things he’d wanted to discuss with you, but he was certain that particular topic wasn't even on the agenda for this morning. It probably wasn’t even remotely on your mind. It didn’t matter if you’d asked him to hold you in your bed the other night after the scare you’d had because he’d known exactly what that had meant. He was just happy that at the very least, you found his presence comforting still.

“I think we're just talking about me being more involved with the baby,” he answered. “That’s all the talk is about. And don't get me wrong, I'm happy we're even discussing that after the mess I made of things over the past few months. Because I do want to be more involved in things with her and our daughter even if she hasn’t been born yet. But I…”

Matt trailed off, the frown deepening on his lips as his focus dropped down towards the table. He heard Foggy lean forward, resting his elbows along the surface of it as his pulse accelerated in anticipation.

“But what?” he pushed.

Licking his lips nervously, Matt's eyes slowly closed. “I want more,” he admitted aloud. “And I know after how I messed things up that I don't deserve it with her. She's far too good for me, Fog. I get it. But I still want it.”

“Want what, exactly?” he asked. “The relationship?”

“Yes,” Matt answered immediately. “And I still want her to move in with me like we had been planning before everything fell apart and she found out she was pregnant,” Matt confessed, finally bearing his heart to Foggy. “I want her here . I want to set up the crib in our room that’ll be our daughter’s bed. I want them all in that room,” Matt said, gesturing behind Foggy to his bedroom, “where I can sleep next to both of them every single night. Knowing they're both safe with me. And I want to make space in the closet and the dresser for both of their things. I want to accidentally pull out baby pajamas instead of a tie in the mornings.” A sad smile tugged at Matt’s lips as he imagined everything in his mind while he spoke. “I want her to keep that growing stockpile of diaper boxes in her apartment right over there,” he continued, gesturing a hand towards the closet past his couch where he kept his Daredevil suit. “And I want to wake up and make coffee to the sound of a baby babbling.”

Tears were beginning to sting at Matt’s eyes as a flood of emotion began to well inside of him. He'd never realized quite how much he had been wanting until he’d suddenly given voice to it.

“I just want her to be here so that I can make her breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening,” he continued softly. “I want her here so I can rub her back when she's throwing up or her feet when they're sore after work. I just–”

He paused, wincing. He found himself wanting so much that he never realized he'd even wanted until you had come into his life. But how would he ever be able to have any of that? After how he'd ended things with you and walked out on you when you'd begged him to stay? How did he get you to still move in with him? Let him be a part of your life again? Trust him again?

“I just want it all,” he whispered, fighting back the burn of tears. “But that's not what this talk is about today, and I understand that.”

“You could still tell her,” Foggy suggested gently. “You could still let her know how you feel, Matt. Be open with her about your feelings.”

Matt shook his head, his heart feeling leaden in his chest. “No,” he told him. “I think that's the last thing she wants to hear right now. I can't push my luck, Fog. Maybe someday I can tell her all of that, but I don't think today is that day.”

“I don't know, man,” Foggy countered.

“I can't ask for too much when I don't deserve it,” Matt said. “She needs to know I'm serious first, so that's my focus. I'll take whatever she gives me and show her that I mean it when I say I want to be a part of things. That I’ll really be there when she needs me.”

“For the record, I don’t exactly agree with that route,” Foggy told him. “But if you think telling her how you feel will somehow push her away instead of bring her closer, then I’m not about to argue because you’re obviously not going to listen. I’m just happy to hear that you’re both sitting down together to talk finally. We’re all rooting for the both of you to figure this all out, Matt.”

Matt’s attention focused on Foggy across the table from him. He heard the truth in his words with how steady his heartbeat had been. It felt good to know at least his friends believed in him. But he knew it would feel amazing to finally have you believe in him again, too.

You didn’t have to search hard to find Matt. He’d sent you a text when you’d left your apartment and made your way to the coffee shop letting you know that he’d already arrived early and grabbed a table. And now there he was, sitting in a corner booth with a coffee in front of himself and another across the table from him. A wave of nerves hit you at the sight of him in his dark jeans and snug-fitting gray shirt, your stomach twisting anxiously as the reality of sitting down with him actually hit you. It had been so long since you’d both really sat down together to talk; the only other time had been earlier this week on the night he’d shown up at your apartment because he’d heard your panic. But that had been under entirely different circumstances than this. 

Matt’s head instantly spun in your direction as the door to the shop shut behind you. You figured he’d probably picked up on your strong reaction to seeing him, and that only increased the nerves running loose in your stomach. Beginning to make your way over towards the corner booth where he sat, his covered gaze focused on you, you chewed your bottom lip while awkwardly maneuvering your small bump between the tables and chairs. Briefly you were reminded of your third date at this very coffee shop with Matt. The memory of it had you longing to be able to slide into the booth beside him and wrap your arms around him now, desperate for some of his strength to transfer to you. 

“Hey, Matt,” you greeted lightly, slowly sliding into the bench across from him. “I hope you weren’t waiting too long on me.”

A timid smile spread over his lips as he shook his head. “Not at all. Though I already ordered you a coffee.” His hand gestured to the cup now in front of you. “Vanilla latte, iced. I hope that’s okay. If not, I can grab you something else.”

“No,” you said, a nervous smile forming on your own lips as you shook your head, getting comfortable in the booth. “It’s perfect, actually. Thank you. I’ve been on an iced vanilla latte kick for weeks now.”

The smile on Matt’s mouth turned sheepish as you reached out and picked up the ice cold cup. You drank down a sip of the coffee, reveling in how good it tasted as you watched Matt’s hand awkwardly scratch at the back of his neck.

“So I’ve heard,” he said. “Karen mentioned that the other day actually. I figured it would be a safe bet.”

“Oh,” you said. “That makes sense then.”

Lowering the cup back to the table, you shifted anxiously in your seat. Normally things had never been this tense between you and Matt, but you weren’t certain how to navigate whatever the pair of you were now. You weren’t entirely sure how to just be around him anymore, especially not while currently carrying his child.

“So how’re things at the office?” you asked him.

“Good,” Matt answered. “Busy. There’s a handful of cases that we’re working on and I think we’re all realizing we may have overextended ourselves, but we’ll figure it out.”

You nodded, your finger toying with the condensation on the outside of your plastic cup. “That’s good. How’s uh–” you paused, not certain you were allowed to be asking him something so personal, but the question had already started to come out before you could stop it, “–how’re things going at night? With, well, you know…?”

Matt sent you a small smile, his covered gaze focused on you from across the table. Your eyes dropped back down to your coffee cup, your heart beating a little harder. You forgot the effect he had on you, but with him sitting right there after months apart, you couldn’t entirely ignore it now. 

You missed him.

“Also good,” he answered. “Not quite so busy, but still…busy.”

“Right,” you muttered awkwardly.

How the hell were you supposed to talk about the baby growing inside of you when you could barely look at him to discuss normal pleasantries? It felt so wrong being so awkward with him as you sat across the table. You found yourself struggling with this meeting more than you’d anticipated, wishing things just felt like they used to be between you both.

“How’re you doing?” Matt asked softly.

The gentle tone had caught you off guard, your gaze flitting back up towards his face. He looked just as nervous as you felt. And Matthew Murdock didn’t generally get nervous.

“Do you want the polite response I usually give people?” you half-joked. “Or do you want the honest answer to that question?”

“The honest one,” he replied.

“Well,” you began, your gaze dropping back down to your coffee cup, “I’m tired all the time. I’ve probably finally reached your level of tired.” 

You paused, smiling down at your cup when you heard him laugh lightly across the table from you. The sound had a warm, pleasant sensation gradually settling in your stomach.

“I almost always have a headache I can never seem to get rid of,” you continued. “I’m guessing that’s something to do with the hormones and increased blood flow. And I feel like my lower back has a personal vendetta against me as of late.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, amusement in his tone. “How’s the nausea?”

You shrugged a shoulder, your eyes once more returning to his face. Internally you cursed him for being so handsome. It only made you long to grab him and kiss him like you used to be able to. Clearing your throat, you tried to ignore that thought.

“Better,” you answered. “Not magically gone like I somehow assumed it would be once I got out of the first trimester, but I don’t want to vomit all the time. Though uh–” 

You paused as a grin spread over your mouth, noticing how it was quickly mirrored on Matt’s face as his head tilted curiously to the side. That flutter of warmth in your stomach felt like it was steadily heating you from the inside at the sight of it.

“What?” he pressed curiously.

“So when you’re pregnant,” you began, the grin remaining on your lips, “your sense of smell heightens. Also because of the hormones, I assume. But I’d wanted to tell you about that little symptom the moment I started experiencing it because I figured if anyone else would understand how gross passing a dumpster smells, it’d be you.”

“You’re certainly not wrong,” he agreed with a chuckle.

“And that symptom hasn’t exactly disappeared yet,” you told him, your grin having grown into a smile. “So some things still make me want to puke. Particularly the smell of bell peppers for some unknown reason.”

“Duly noted. I’ll make sure not to bring any near you,” Matt teased. “But I’ve read that ginger helps–”

You raised a hand, cutting him off and shaking your head as you pulled a face. Matt’s brows furrowed beneath his dark lenses, his mouth suddenly closing.

“Sorry,” you said, your stomach churning. “It’s just that I tried using those hard candies they make for morning sickness so much that the ‘g’ word now makes me immediately want to puke. They’ve had the reverse effect on me.”

“Oh,” he breathed out, the smile falling from his lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“That’s alright,” you assured him, picking up the cup of coffee from in front of you again. “I didn’t expect you to.”

That uncomfortable, awkward silence fell over the pair of you again. You took a sip from your cup, watching as Matt’s left hand on the table began anxiously tapping along it. Swallowing down your drink, you supposed you should probably discuss the real reason you were both here.

“So uh,” you began, clearing your throat as you set the coffee cup back onto the table, “we should probably talk about the baby.”

Matt nodded, a tense smile now drawing itself across his lips. As if he was nervous about this topic of conversation.

“You were saying the other night that you wanted to be more involved?” you asked. 

“Yes,” he answered earnestly. “If that’s alright with you, of course. I know she’s not exactly here yet, but I’d like to be as a part of things as I can be.”

Eyes dropping back down to your coffee cup, your index finger smeared a drop of condensation along the side of it. There was a heaviness in the air between you both, one you didn’t need Matt’s senses to detect.

“How involved?” you asked softly. “You want updates if something is going on or…do you want to actually attend appointments with me?”

Matt perked up in the booth across from you, the movement drawing your attention back over to him. He was sitting a little straighter now, something hopeful written across the features of his face even with his glasses on. 

“Would that be alright?” he asked. “If I wanted to go to some of your appointments with you?”

“I suppose so,” you answered slowly. “But I don’t know how interesting they’d be for you. Unlike the rest of us, you don’t need technology to hear her heartbeat. I’m assuming you’ve already been listening to her since I got here.”

Another sheepish smile slipped onto his lips. “You wouldn’t be wrong,” he admitted. “I’ve grown quite fond of the sound of her heartbeat. Especially hearing it beating so close to your own.”

A flush crept up your neck, your gaze dropping back down to your coffee as one hand nervously began spinning your cup on the table. You hadn’t expected him to tell you that, or for how it made you feel. 

“I have an appointment in a couple of weeks,” you told him, trying to ignore the heat in your cheeks. “I can let you know the details when it gets closer if you’d like to come with me.”

“I’d like that,” he replied. “A lot, actually.”

Nervously gnawing on your bottom lip, your gaze still averted from him, you weren’t sure how to broach the next thing you’d considered bringing up. Matt had wanted to be more involved, but how much more did he truly mean? 

“So you also said that you wanted to be around when I didn’t necessarily need you,” you began carefully, your eyes slowly drawing back up to his face. “What’d you mean by that exactly?”

You saw the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his finger tapping faster atop the table. His other hand reached up to readjust his glasses along the bridge of his nose before he spoke.

“I know we’re not together,” he answered slowly, “but I’d like to spend time together. With both of you. If that’s okay? Not–not all the time. Like I said, I know we’re not together and I’m not going to delude myself into thinking things are other than what they are right now. But I’d like to help you out if I could. Cooking or cleaning occasionally so you can just rest. Grabbing groceries if you need. Anything like that.”

“You…really want that?” you asked, eyes narrowing curiously. “Especially with how busy you are?”

“I want to help,” he assured you.

You nodded slowly, aware that having him around you more often would only make you miss him more. But if things were ever going to progress back to how they once were between you two, you figured this was a good first step to reaching that.

“Okay,” you whispered.

His dark brows jumped up onto his forehead in surprise. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you answered. “If we’re going to figure this parenting thing out together, I suppose we should start figuring it out before she’s born. Right? It only makes sense.”

A broad smile broke out across Matt’s face immediately. The sight of it nearly blinded you with how happy he’d suddenly looked. 

“You mean that?” he asked. “About doing this together–raising her together? Do you really mean that?”

“With how much you clearly seem to want to be a part of this,” you told him, “it seems cruel not to try to see if things can work out. So yeah. I think we should focus on taking small steps towards that and see if things can actually work out eventually so we aren’t just…co-parenting.”

There was a faint tremble to his lips that you’d just barely caught despite that beaming smile on his face. The sight instantly reminded you of the other night when he’d asked for permission to feel your baby bump. He’d gotten so emotional the moment he’d felt your daughter move and experiencing that with him had felt special in a way that you couldn’t exactly describe. You just knew that after that moment, you didn’t want to keep any more of those experiences from him. Not if he was truly going to give you and your daughter all of himself.

“Plus, I could use help thinking of a name,” you added with a small smile. “She’s not just mine, after all.”

Matt sniffled softly, his lips still faintly trembling. He almost seemed to be on the verge of crying, and you wondered if he wasn’t wearing the glasses right now, if you’d have seen his eyes rimmed in red and filled with tears.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his hand sliding across the table towards you. “For giving me this chance despite everything.”

Your eyes dropped down to his outstretched hand, studying it for a moment. You knew what that hand meant beyond the obvious gesture. Hesitantly your right hand released your coffee cup and slowly slid across the table towards Matt’s. Carefully you wrapped your fingers around his, your heart beating a little faster when his gripped yours in return.

“She deserves both of us,” you whispered. “As long as we can find a way to make this work.”

Tag List: @mattmurdocksstarlight @just-going-through-the-motions @paracosmic-murdock @yeonalie @auroraslibrary @1988-fiend @will-delete-this-later-probably @two-unbeatable-beaters @danzer8705 @ragamuffin285 @callmebrooklynbabes @spookyboogyuniverse @peachy-aisha @stevenknightmarc @nerdytreeflower @fucktthisworld @remuslupinwifee @kmc1989 @thychuvaluswife @mywellspringoflife @thornbushrose @yarrystyleeza @shiorimakibawrites @marvelcinematiquniverse @vallovesthedilfs @scoliobean @this-is-music @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @ashlynhasmanyhyperfixations @swissy23 @babygorewhore @that-girl-named-alex @warsaur @lareinaisabelle @pazii @senjoritanana @mischiefmanaged71511-blog @xxdrixx @jess-rye @hannahbohen @theclassicvinyldragon @karolamurdock @theoraekenslover @mr-underhills-things @jennifer0305 @capswife @amazexng @blackhawkfanatic @ladywholikesreading @powellssaturn @sunflower-tia @indestructeible  @allllium @gamingfeline @kezibear @vallovesthedilfs @the-skys-musical-echo @justanerd1 @better305 @n3versatisfied @scriptedmoon @loves0phelia @roxytheimmortal

[yanderes-galore]

Could you make Yandere Platonic Arven vs Nemona?

I'll try my best! If anything is wrong, it's because I haven't played the Main Game's story in a long time and never bought the DLC. Sorry for the wait and that it's short! I ran out of ideas :(

Thank you to those who helped me remember their dynamic! This is lighter than the usual rivalries I write since I can't see them hurting each other.

Yandere! Platonic Arven vs Nemona

Pairing: Platonic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Jealousy, Friend rivalry, Manipulation, Clingy behavior, Stalking, Dubious companionship.

The two are way different in personality.

Arven was more isolated and is jealous easily.

Meanwhile Nemona is easily excited and always looking for a challenge.

Honestly, the two of them are easily attached to you/the player in the games.

Well... Arven takes longer due to personal reasons but he certainly gets there.

I imagine Arven is the one more invested in the rivalry as Nemona seems oblivious to Arven's irritated mood at times.

Nemona often takes up your time as a guide, friend, and rival.

She's energetic and just wants to have fun with you.

She lives by your home and already tends to clash with Arven and Penny in game since she seems to be in her own world.

Nemona tends to just focus on you.

She often follows you around and wants to battle with you in all ways.

Then there's Arven... who while he gets used to Nemona in the game, he seems to still dislike her at times.

They have clashing personalities and Arven is more grounded than Nemona.

He's known to cherish those he cares about, in this case that's you... His dearest "Buddy".

The two are good friends to have, even if they seem to have some tension between one another.

One of my followers had a good point in saying their rivalry is mostly one-sided.

Arven is definitely the more serious one while Nemona is more... aloof?

They wouldn't hurt one another but there would be subtle competition.

In this rivalry I feel Nemona would be a bit more aware.

She's very focused on you, so when she sees Arven take your attention and get snappy over you... She has a feeling she knows what's going on.

Nemona's more light-hearted with the rivalry than Arven... but she can't turn down a good competition.

The two definitely care a whole lot about you.

Arven teaches you new recipes, Nemona drags you off to battle.

However they both want to be around you and it often conflicts with one another.

As I said before, to you things are subtle.

That's because Nemona isn't as invested as Arven, but they are definitely still getting into small fights.

It may actually irk Arven when Nemona brushes him off.

Nemona acts like Arven's jealousy isn't a big deal.

Although Arven usually gets her back by distracting you.

The most I can see them hurting each other is like... feeling-wise.

They'd sabotage one another, get into verbal fights, but they wouldn't like... physically hurt one another.

Both are quite clingy with you, Nemona is already following you around often and Arven is doing his best to convince you to stay beside him.

They probably both emotionally manipulate you, although Nemona is more accidental.

While Nemona primarily ignores Arven, I can see her occasionally rubbing it in his face that she spends so much time with you.

Arven sees himself as your best buddy, Nemona sees herself as your true rival.

They usually hide their rivalry and I can see Nemona trying to solve arguments with Pokemon battles.

I don't doubt that they'd both stalk you.

They want to compete to see who's your true friend.

To see who deserves to be your only friend.

They could compromise, but you'd have to hope one of them gives up first.

If you're lucky, their rivalry will fizzle out.

That may actually happen since it's not fully mutual.

However, until then (if it ever happens), you're stuck between the two.

They both want the best for you...

Yet they can't seem to agree on sharing you without clashing with one another.

"Nemona, I think you spend way too much time with them! They had something planned with me today."

"I spend too much time with them? No way! They're meant to battle me today! If anything, YOU spend too much time with them cooking!"

[system-community-corner]

support people with DID!!!! but not people with DID who think endos are real!!!

take that shit out of ur bio

Check your entitlement towards another person's blog.

I will always support people with my disorder, even if they support people who make a mockery of it. Do you know what DNI stands for, Anon? it stands for Do Not Interact. It's exceedingly simple.

I doubt you'd care enough about the reason as to why I have such a simple, easy to follow rule for my blogs. Yet I'll always be willing to repeat myself. Pro endos and the endogenic community heavily traumatized me and my system.

We were avidly groomed by multiple people who either identified or supported endos. We were told point blank our trauma would never be enough, that the abuse we went through as a child and young teenager wasn't actual abuse in any way and that we should be thankful to have it so good compared to others.

We were manipulated into believing that our trauma was point blank - not real. The symptoms we showed meant we were endogenic and that we deserved much worse treatment if we ever disagreed with that. We were manipulated into sending adults sexualized photos of ourselves to prove that we supported endos against those bigoted anti-endo sysmeds!!

We were threatened with being doxxed, among other things, if we talked about our experiences publicly. It sounds so stupid as an adult who Knows Better - but I need to be kind to our younger self. We just wanted to fit in, we craved approval, and we didn't care how we got it or from who just so long as we were liked and valued.

Got to the point where we eventually met our ex partner system, one that over time convinced us that alter death was a real thing and that they were able to system hop and kill our alters for stepping out of line.

Multiple people routinely used our trauma against us (after they couldn't claim it wasn't real anymore) to cause us to forcibly split new parts to mold into however they wanted. Oftentimes, they'd attempt to mold the alters into a new efuck buddy <3 our in our ex partner systems case yet another fictive to roleplay with and date <3<3

It took us far too long to recognize that as harmful and abusive behavior because it was heavily normalized in the spaces we were in. We are WELL aware that not every single pro endo or endogenic person is like that.

That said, I don't think its unreasonable for not wanting them to interact with the damage a certain subset of the community has caused me. Even still with how the majority of the community continuously harms people with severe disorders with the blatant misinformation they push - willingly.

[piracytheorist]

Episode 31 reactions!

Okay, first off, mind. blown. There's some VERY good action in this one!

Yor's coworkers are at the "Well, we're still better off!" jealousy stage. It's a small thing but something I can definitely see people like them do. Sharon seems to be the most passive-aggressive one, so it was a bit revealing that she was the first one to go like "Hey I got beer and sausage, I'm not jealous at all!" Our truest selves come out in the hardest times...

A very beautiful shot of the ship!

By the way, if Yor's coworkers knew what she was going through, they'd definitely stop being jealous.

Yor appears a little too nervous, if you ask me. Granted, we only saw her once before working, and when she was imagining what she'd tell Anya she sounded quite secure in her abilities. But now that she's been living in a family, her way of work has indeed changed, if anything else because she's worried they may find out the truth about her.

At first I thought McMahon had kicked her in the shin, but upon rewatching I realized he kicked the leg of the chair. I'm sure if it were the Shopkeeper he'd probably kick her leg, if not stomp down on her foot just to get her to focus.

Gram was sneezing again? Should I pay attention to this or is it just a baby being a baby?

Yor is smart to try and think how the enemy would think in order to be prepared for their plan, but she doesn't take into account the fact that some of the assassins are actual psychopaths who don't care about taking innocent people's lives in their effort to do their job. That's what being too kind of an assassin will do to you XD

And it's driven to the point even more with Yor being cute like that - and probably remembering the times she played with Yuri when he was little - and Olka saying she doesn't look like a criminal. She really doesn't. Sweetest assassin ever <3

The "mmm" Yor made at the end was the exact same "mmm" Anya made while stuffing up her face with food XD

Loid is not impressed, and this is only the beginning.

It's so fun having the actual, physical copy of the manga in front of me as I watch the episode! I notice here that when Anya talked about Yor missing, she also told Loid "You miss dinner all the time", but the anime omitted that. STOP DENYING US THINGS!

Anyway, Anya calls him out for catching feelings, and Loid is quick to drop his voice a couple octaves to show how secure he is.

I AM NOT LONELY I AM NOT.

Sure buddy, sure.

The office guys are on the opposite side of relaxing and actually enjoying themselves on this trip, going out and drinking a little too much, while the "Greys", Yor and McMahon are walking on eggshells.

The anime team obviously had enough time available for this chapter, as they have a couple of added lines from the office guys, so I doubt they omitted Anya's line about Loid missing dinner due to time issues. I wonder what might be the reason - it's not like they're trying to make us think he doesn't miss dinner? We know the guy's schedule is tight as a drum.

Anyway. Assassin-ing time and holy shit.

I'm pretty sure I gasped at this.

And the rest of the scene, of course!

Obligatory mention that it's been proven time and again that torture is not an effective means of interrogation. People can and do lie while being tortured for information, so the things they say may or may not be accurate. Torture may make them speak, but whether they speak the truth or not is another issue, unrelated to torture itself. So while there can be various goals of torturing someone (illegitimate, of course, like punishment, making an example out of a "traitor", or in very few real-life cases, gratification), obtaining information has proven to not be a feasible one. I understand the point of the scene was to show McMahon's abilities and to establish that there are multiple people on board after Olka, I just needed to say that.

I've been certain they'd go the "dumping bodies into the ocean" route. A cruise is a great setting for that!

The knock on the door was intense! Especially since it's put right after the scene of McMahon and Furseal walking back to the room, but just those few seconds of slowed down tension make you think "Oh no. It's not them. It's them".

I expected the "Oh, it's just room service!" and of course, I expected the "I didn't order any" reply.

Great animation of the attack and Yor protecting Olka and Gram though I'm begging the animators to look a bit into trigger discipline, at this point whenever I see a gun my eyes go immediately on the trigger and I go D: whenever there's a finger on it that shouldn't be

But oh, McMahon is good, and resourceful!

The assassin points his gun at them, Furseal freaks out while McMahon marches on.

We also finally see one (1) eye under the reflection of his glasses. I get that the reflection makes it easier in animation and such, but still I appreciate this detail, especially in such a moment.

And more action! Yor being a badass and at the same time caring for the baby!

"I can excuse murder in self-defense but I draw the line at scaring a baby"

THE GUY WAS STILL WIGGLING. WHILE HE HAD A DAGGER THROUGH HIS SKULL.

(probably last uncontrollable movements from his dying nervous system but still. it was fucking chilling and I love it)

Also, I can understand Yor being strong enough to break the door. But I think it takes a different kind of strength to throw an object, even a sharp one, and make the object break through the door, a human skull, and then latch onto a wall. Absolute unit.

Seeing the body was freaky, too! If I'm correct, I think this is the very first time we see a person being murdered on screen in the story.

Ah no wait we do see a guy in the second episode getting a dagger to the back and falling down. But it was much more palatable than seeing a dagger go through someone's skull and practically nailing him to the wall.

I'm gonna think about this for a long time, lmao. It was brutal!

I just noticed this on my rewatch! McMahon is wearing a ring in the shape and place of a wedding ring! He then goes on to tell the ship's services that the "mister and missus had a fight" though in the manga he says "me and my wife" so is his cover that he's on board with his wife?

And here's the same thing that shows Yor's side. She sees assassins as people doing their job and "cleaning out trash" especially in her case, not people who do this job just because they have no issue killing.

I mean, I don't want turtleneck guy to defeat Yor, but he's got my respect for now.

He also says there are other members from the gangster family on board? Just how many people did manage to get on this ship XD

The eavesdropping guy tells turtleneck guy that he sells his information equally and practically tells him good luck getting ahead, so now I'm thinking, there's another eavesdropping guy, or is he selling all his intel to other assassins that weren't there in that scene?

Also, good luck getting them to work together without getting greedy and/or paranoid, lol

Furseal was actually blushing while wearing the mask XD and the plague doctor mask on the baby!

The poison guy thinks he's some dude. He has no idea who he's dealing with.

This arc will be perfect for creepy shots of Yor, won't it XD

Furseal asks for his button back and dude! Priorities much? This button saved all your lives XD

Blonde mask guy tries to go for Olka right in the middle of the crowd like wtf and the moment Yor grabbed his hands I went like "BREAK THEM. BREAK HIS FINGERS." And then she did <3 We stan <3

That's it. That's their dynamic in one shot.

While Anya is having an overdramatic tantrum, we see how even when Twilight is trying to not be on the lookout - he even says he just has to stay away from suspicious people - his skills are so fine that they kinda work subconsciously. He spots the listening devices (I mean, there are a ton of them) and notices all the suspicious people even if he doesn't make a conscious list of all of them.

Then Twilight has a fucking breakdown over one (1) silly keychain. I mean it is a skeleton keychain so his mind immediately went "IT'S EITHER THAT OR MY OWN DEATH" is anyone even surprised

Anya is still learning how easily Twilight overreacts. And like the scene with the sandbox in the hospital, she realizes she caused him a little too much anxiety and tries to take some burden off.

This entire tension is going on and Twilight is still stuck on whether he should buy a stupid keychain. This man is incapable of relaxing, you tell him to relax and he goes like "Okay spy mode on standby, parent with anxiety mode is on".

I love how this reads a bit like "Papa considers hating frogs as much of a dealbreaker as being an assassin!"

It's so weird - though fitting - to think that Anya believes she can keep this up indefinitely. She has no idea how easily they could discover each other's identities and believes she can stop that from eventually happening. It makes sense for her age, though.

It's also a bit sad, how quick she is to think that she would be abandoned if they found out about each other. It's probably what makes her go "I have to keep this up as long as possible". Her young mind can't comprehend an alternative.

And oop! Taking part of the next chapter too, I see!

I might have lost it during these shots.

"You go around having battles" is definitely something Anya would come up with. It's why she's so hard to write and why Endo should receive an applause for how accurate to her age and experience he writes her.

Next, Twilight's biggest foe; the unreadable expression of a five six year old who is trying to take responsibility for her actions.

I love how when Twilight is facing actual danger and difficult missions he's all cool and collected. Meeting Desmond? Piece of cake. Taking down entire groups of people aiming guns at him? No problem. Anya acting unpredictable? THE WORLD IS ENDING.

However funny the scene is, it slowly drifts into a sadder territory. Twilight actually worries over Anya's mental state, and though he has no idea Anya is having the time of her life, there must be a part of his understanding of her trauma that is true. Now why he undermines completely his own trauma... It's projecting, isn't it?

Anyway, he concludes that the Handler knew from the beginning that Anya needs some vacation in order to recover from her trauma, and for some reason, instead of going like "Yo give her a break" she conjured up this entire idea for a vacation... But in reality, the Handler was only saying that in order to justify his time off in paper.

Like, the man can be so off sometimes that I want to shake him and then hug him because god I cannot imagine going your entire life like this and not even comprehending the idea of actual time off.

Anya: Have fun! Twilight: Cannot compute!

Like yeah it's funny but how am I supposed to not feel just a little bit sad with how he's completely unfamiliar with the concept of relaxing and having fun 😭😭

This is going to be a disaster XD

Anya prepares to run for it, realizes he can change and wear everything within seconds, and freezes... But then Overanalyzing TwilightTM takes control and he starts spending long minutes in front of the mirror freaking out about how his weird ensemble will manage to fix Anya's mood.

This truly is his most difficult mission. Anya is the perfect age to teach him about how sometimes he cannot control how people will react to his manipulations... and then there's the mind-reading, too.

Anyway. I love how Anya goes like "That's not how I expected to win some time but it works" and just steps back into the corridor XD

OH MY GOD

I love me a good fight choreography! Here Yor pushed Olka down from the shoulders, and at the same time pushed Furseal's knees to the front so they'd bend and he'd go down just enough to miss the sickle. Awesome!

The guy just starts a fight right in the middle of the crowd. And Yor has no choice but to stop him, Anya has to hide and also keep Loid from coming out of the store...

That IS a very interesting cliffhanger! I nearly screamed when it ended there, lol. It even ends in the middle of the page! I had to cover it with my hand to avoid spoilers XD The things I go through in this crazy experience XD

Overall, awesome episode! Though I felt that the Twilight panicking scene dragged on a bit. I don't know why. Maybe it's just that I'm an angst ho and I wanted a bit more angsty vibes from that scene. It's not bad, but maybe I still haven't realized just how much on comedy the show belongs in. It has a peculiar but for some reason very efficient balance on everything.

[lovevalley45]

#fictober24 - day nine

"Is this normal?"

fandom: dc's legends of tomorrow

word count: 815

a/n: just in case it wasn't clear, zee is zari 1.0 and zari is zari 2.0... having characters who are literally the same person from different timelines is so confusing for modern AUs!!

Astra had heard enough about the Tarazis to know she would be in over her head when they invited her to dinner. 

"You'll love them," Behrad told her. "Nate and Zee are great." 

"Right. I'm sure I will." She'd grown up an only child, and certainly not with a pair of twin older sisters who were different in every way - aside from looking eerily identical, that was. Astra had met Zari Tarazi - the Zari Tarazi, influencer and surprisingly easy to get along with - a few times, since she also lived in California. 

But Zee and Nate lived in Seattle, doing whatever a white-hat hacker and historian did to keep themselves busy. Visits from them could be rare, which meant she hadn't yet met the third Tarazi sibling.

That changed tonight. 

As they walked up the steps of Zari's mansion, Astra was more worried than she thought she'd be. What if they hated her on principle? What if Zari had made too many jokes about her being Behrad's sugar mama and they'd think he deserved better?

Behrad knocked on the door before she had too much time to spiral. They barely had to wait before the door swung open to reveal a buff white man with too much hair gel and a giant smile. '

"Nate, buddy!" Behrad opened his arms wide for Nate to give him a hug. 

Astra raised her eyebrows. "Should I be jealous?" 

"Maybe," he admitted, pulling away. "Nate, this is Astra. My girlfriend." The way he grinned, both wide yet sheepish, made her feel all warm inside. "Astra, this is Nate." 

"Hey." Nate held out a hand - thankfully not going in for the hug. "B's told me all about you." 

Astra had also heard a lot about Nate: he had a PhD in history and the random facts up his sleeve to prove it, that he used to be Behrad’s stoner buddy before he moved to be closer to Zee, but most importantly, that he was a giant sweetheart. She didn't doubt that last point as she shook his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you." 

“Ooh, strong handshake,” he said. “Come on in, Zee and Zari are in the kitchen reportedly getting together some snacks for us to munch on while we let B do the real cooking.” 

“Tell me; why didn’t we just host this at my apartment again?” Astra asked, following him inside.  

“Because you hate having company,” Behrad said. 

That was true. It wasn’t that she hated having people in her space, it was - actually, it was exactly that. 

“Better than your place,” Nate teased, with a shrug. 

“Hey, I clean,” he said. “My kitchen is spotless.”

“And your bathroom?” Astra asked. 

Behrad spun on his heel towards the kitchen. “Let’s see how Zee and Zari are doing, shall we?” 

Nate turned to Astra with a conspiratorial grin. “Been that way since we were roommates.” 

She shuddered. “I hope you’ve improved your quality of living since then?” 

“Yeah. Helps when I’m living with the Tarazi sibling who sheds the least.” 

Behrad had beat them to the kitchen by the time they came in, right at the heart of… whatever siblings got up. Zee was sitting on the counter, taking nuts from the snack tray Zari was trying to assemble as their brother puttered around the kitchen. The three of them were too busy to notice Nate and Astra approaching the doorway.

“Seriously, how am I supposed to prep dinner when you’re both all in my space?” Behrad was asking. 

“Don’t mind B, he’s just nervous about us making a good impression on his little girlfriend,” Zari told Zee. “Stop stealing my almonds.” 

“No one else is gonna eat them,” she said. “It’s gonna be fine. We won’t scare her off.” 

Zari pulled the snack tray out of Zee’s reach. “You sure you aren’t going to hit her with the ‘if you hurt my brother, I’ll kill you’ routine?”

She stretched over to try and snag another almond. “I thought you had that covered.” 

Behrad turned from where he had looped an apron over his nice clothes. Astra was momentarily distracted by how hot and domestic he looked in an apron to miss what he was saying, only catching, “...so embarrassing, oh my God.” 

Zee jumped off the counter. “We’re your older sisters. That’s what we do.” 

Zari turned to face him, pinching his cheek. “Yeah, B.” 

“Seriously, guys-” He tried to push Zari away gently, but soon found himself dogpiled by the twins. 

“Is this normal?” Astra whispered to Nate. 

“Totally.” He sized her up. “You an only child?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Me too. It takes some getting used to.” Nate patted her shoulder. “Welcome to the family.” 

As he stepped forward to join in the joshing, Astra smiled to herself. She was definitely in over her head with this bunch. But she found she didn’t mind it too much.

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S04E10 - Blood and Diamonds - Part B

That was your best behavior? You were goading Tennant half of that time.

Dama mention! I like dama.

Hey, we just got everyone to trust Rex, we don't need outsiders to come and doubt us.

It's about the sense of self-preservation. Which, of course, goes out the window the minute Charlie asks something.

His nose is doing all the job, ma'am.

"Otto Hart is your nephew." Dum-dum-dum.

I believe that. Otherwise Tennant would have heard all about Charlie kissing Eva already. Not very fan of "my team", though.

"I needed to make sure Major Crimes took my opinion on this case seriously." Joke's on you because they'd do what they always do anyway.

That's a good line.

You pushover! Yeah, it's that bad. The higher up the ladder you are, the worse you can influence a case. Not to mention (because they don't know yet) that the fact that Tennant has now said the whole truth doesn't mean her nephew did.

The thing is that cases like these with familial attachments shouldn't happen often but in crime shows there's a 10% possibility you'll hit a family member in each case. So, this scenario, which realistically should be totally non-relatable, is in fact totally relatable for most. That's why Joe doesn't have a rebuttal.

More unnecessary touching.

Some undercover work for Sarah too.

The fucking seagull on the camera lol

Jesse was not ready to improvise at all. And we see Charlie rushing to cover for him, then he realizes he's got his badge strapped on his belt and he covers it with his jacket.

They look like a couple of gay PIs on a show I just made up.

Not Terry! Come on, Jesse.

She just wanted to pull out her badge so bad. But I kinda wanted her to as well.

Adele: "Well, from where I'm standing, you were made." Charlie: "To a point." No, like, completely. Let's be honest. The cover is supposed to get someone to either trust or ignore you. The target thinking you're a PI does the exact opposite.

"This is why you don't bring a dog to a stakeout." What? Rex didn't blow our cover.

We're the only ones in the inner circle of trust.

Get him!

You've got a lot of nerve, buddy. You just made a fool of her in front of her subordinates. Aside from the whole murder and diamond smuggling thing.

We got intruders in our bar. Just kidding.

Not that I didn't know that Rex was calling the shots all along.

All their faces are like, "Charlie why?" lmao

Rex: "I don't believe you. Grovel a bit more."

"An apology with food? How can I say no?"

I mean, they totally humiliated her, so no, I wasn't a fan of that. We see every time that this team, and especially Rex, are better than literally any other cop or agent or whatever, they didn't need to do that. But the episode is enjoyable even like that. There's a lot of comedy which helps. It's just that I don't think we needed to be introduced to a character of a female deputy chief who from the first interaction to almost the last needed to be taken down a peg. And that's made abundantly clear throughout the two episodes that we have of her. Not to mention all the gossiping everyone does behind her back. I'm not a fan of these elements.

[senblades]

To follow up on my comment about Fftsr + pq2

would futaba go behind everyone’s back to form her own “revenge squad” alongside ryuji and makoto, maybe including Ken, who would definitely sympathize with her

what if sumi and haru pop out of one of the labyrinths with kotone in tow, and now futaba’s revenge squad have blocked off the door to that screening room, and now Fuuka and Ann are trying to talk everyone down

oh ho ho I love fucking around with pq2 au's- there's just so much potential for fuckery! (and judgement from the other persona teams HA)

(this is also a good opportunity to analyse everyone's behaviour in the latest chapters of fftsr lmao)

Hm... Ken is an interesting one, since I think Akechi has a lot of similarities with both Shinjiro AND Ken, and I think they'd both recognise that. Additionally, it's not an exact 1-to-1 situation, so I think that if Futaba stayed in a state of "FUCK THIS" long enough to try and get revenge, I think a solid chunk of the p3 squad would want to stay solidly out of it (or, damage control- I think you're right that Fuuka would be with Ann on this one)

Ultimately, though, Futaba in the most recent chapters of fftsr is being impulsive. She's angry, hurt, and most of all: confused. She doesn't have the full situation. She made an irrational and impulsive descision in the midst of her panic, and the rest of the thieves are either feeling too betrayed (Ryuji, Makoto), or too panicked/confused (Yusuke, Morgana, Ann) to not enable her. Point is, that getting q2'd is a GREAT opportunity for Futaba to calm down lmao. In saying that, though, I think that "calming down" is more synonomous to "crashing", in this case. Even if Futaba gets her answers, she isn't going to be happy about them. I think Taba in this pq2 scenario wouldn't be a super effective Navi for a while

As for Sumi and Haru- I think that once everyone gets forcibly thrown together, the misunderstanding would clear up pretty quick. In saying that, though, that just brings on a whole lot of OTHER questions- main one being "time travel???" second one being "Why are you buddies with an assassin, again?"

Oh ho ho the wildcards...

Ren! is fucked! HA- getting q2'd directly after chapter 45 would really just leave him disoriented to hell and back, and it would probably take some time to convince him that what's happening is actually real. I also doubt he'd be in an emotional state to lead... anything. So that's a solid 7-ish persona users without anyone to direct them.

Akechi! :D he's also fucked! HA yeah Sumi and Haru aren't getting any direction outta that one- so that brings our "unattended persona user" count up to 10

So Minato, Yu, and Kotone need to pick up the slack. great! I actually think that Kotone in this situation is best choice for "full group leader". Why? Well, I don't know when exactly the p4 squad gets q2'd, but it definitely takes a while for the "moral greyness of it all" to actually sink into the plot for them- so when confronted with the shitshow that is the p5 squad at the moment, I think Yu would be at a loss.

p3, on the other hand, is very used to morality soup! In saying that, Minato is on that whole "2000's emo boy" bullshit, and doesn't have the assertive force to get everyone under control- considering it's pre-October-4. Kotone meanwhile, though still in "pre-October-4" land, definitely has more of that "Aight! Shut up! Everyone get your shit together!" energy, that the p5 squad would really benefit from HA (and, enough compassion to balance both sides of the equation)

I think at first, everything would be a shitshow of pointing fingers though LMAO

Sorry for the very long answer... I have a lot of thoughts, and I didn't even cover half of them LMAO. I pity the pq2 writers

[monards]

i personally think the "And when the cataclysm occurred, not one of them stood up in defense of their nation, not one came forward to prevent the tragedy… And for that, they shall never have my forgiveness." line from dain is so insane because. what the fuck were they meant to do. like i dont MEAN to be apart of the woke liberal left but when you live your life under the impression of the gods being pretty damn powerful it is in fact human survival instinct to RUN when aforementioned gods are trying to exterminate you like an ant. like im not judging dain too much because i know that boy was indoctrinated to hell and back as a knight. but 1.) dain where the fuck were YOU. and 2.) as far as we can see through just rhine. there was stuff done???? you could not POSSIBLY expect 5 people to save an entire underground nation from 5(?) gods + the heavenly principles;; but its clear they did stuff. above ground. at least?? rhine sent two whole ass dragons on the overworld & archon's asses. NOT TO MENTION THE RIFTWOLVES?? maybe it wasnt wholly for 'avenging' khaneri'ah but it was. definitely more than whatever dain did !!!! this isnt even mentioning the fact dain doesn't clarify they all had their "otherworldly powers" at that point-- they'd, in the case they were there, would HAVE to had been new to them ;; and i doubt any person grappling with powers beyond their world would be all too eager to go fight the gods ( WHO HAVE LIVED HUNDEREDS OF YEARS !!!!!!!!!!!!) with their minimal experience. i promise i do not normally shit on dainsleif. but oh mygod. buddy. please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

Some of these are interesting! How about Archen?

(Thank you!) Well, it's a bit of a tricky hypothetical since archens are, sadly, extinct. I've heard there may be some wild ones living out in the Crown Tundra of the Galar Region, but I'm not sure if it's a hoax or not. But let's say you got your hands on an archen somehow, either by revolving a fossil or finding one still living out there somewhere. Would they be a good pet? In most cases, yes!

Archens were tiny and lightweight, just the right size to be a house pet. We don't have a lot of information about how friendly or personable they may have been, unfortunately. It's been recently reconsidered, but it was once believed that they were the ancestors of modern-day bird pokémon (Ultra Sun). Since modern bird pokémon are often pretty friendly to humans, I say its probably a safe bet to assume that an archen could get along with you as well. It has been observed from fossils that archens' diets were made up both berries and small bug pokémon (Shield). I'm not sure how similar these were to modern species, so you would want to investigate appropriate alternatives for your archen's diet if needed.

Archens, despite their appearance, couldn't really fly. Rather, they got around by hopping from tree to tree (Black) and gliding down to the ground with their wing-like limbs (Moon). If you were to adopt an archen into your home, you would need to be aware that they'd be great at climbing around wherever they wished (and may scratch up furniture and walls with their sharp claws!) It would be important to archen-proff your home, to make sure your prehistoric buddy doesn't get into anything or go somewhere they aren't supposed to!

No doubt due to the wild prehistoric world they found themselves in, archens could be really dangerous if they wanted to be. Their move set included a lot of pretty dangerous moves, using their claws and affinity for rocks to deal out brutal attacks. Since we don't have a lot of data about their behavior, we don't know how likely they may be to use these moves on people. We must heavily consider how dangerous these extinct creatures may be when we calculate the likelihood of them making a good pet.

Sadly, it is unlikely that anyone could adopt a archen as a pet. But if they could, they could make a pretty good pet! They may be a handful, but their small size and simple way of life would make them adaptable to the modern day if cared for well by a loving owner. They may be a bit dangerous, but it's hard to say how aggressive they may have been. I say (hypothetically) go for it!

[mortul]

literanis asked: “did you know? the human body has 300 bones when we’re born! as adults, there’s only 206…” she has a huge grin. “that’s a difference of nearly 100! have any idea?” — from raziel!

@literanis: raziel ／ unprompted ／ always accepting.

From the sheer amount of times Christoph's responded, intermittently, with a mumbled, "Uh-huh," there might've been a misconception. Said misconception might've revolved around... perhaps... that he hadn't been listening to her in the first place. It wouldn't have been the first time (not for her, bear in mind. he's not sure if he could handle her big, old puppy-dog eyes in such a case.) he's gotten away with such a rude gesture-- he's rather proud of his current "body count", truth be told.

Him nodding along to her little "infodump", too, could've given way to a far more... well, let's just say: disrespectful outlook. He had occasionally glanced over her way, lips stuck together in a subtle smile with the occasional twitching of corners. Eyebrows remained lax, not bothering in voicing his contemplation with a furrow.

Why would he? It's not like she was asking him anything that was particularly difficult... Okay, well, she kind of was... but. But! That's why he was letting it sink in; she was going all in, asking the hard questions-- the questions that the people needed answers for!

Christoph halfway contemplated, imagining her for a brief moment in politics... then stopped shortly after. Genuine people like Raziel? Nah. Naaah. They'd eat her alive out there. He better not.

It's better for him to have not brought that energy into this world in the first place.

"A hundo, huh?" he asked after a few seconds, turning his head to her with a certain, newfound mirth upon his visage. "Now, where'd you hear such a cornball thing like that, eh? Not sayin' I doubt ya, 'cause... well, shoot, darlin'-- th'human body is fuckin' cuh-raaaazy. It's just that, weeeell..."

Trust him on that, too; he has experience-- buckets of the stuff! Debatably a little too much, depending on who you're talking to.

"...that's edgin' a bit too close t'uhh... body horror territory, y'know?"

"But, hey, fuck it... We ball. Since ya asked," came the long-awaited sequel of his quip, with the pause in-between allowing for him to lean ever so carefully toward her, "here's my theory-- a, eh, "gamer theory", if you'll humor me... yer bestest buddy, that is."

Tilting his head, he squinted his eyes for dramatic effect emphasis. Surely, with that in mind, she'll know he means business... because, honestly, who wouldn't take this mean old mug seriously? Dumbasses, that's who.

Lowering his voice a few octaves, what should've been a whisper comes out a bit more croaky (sometimes he regrets smoking as much as he did... er, does, but too late for that one.) than expected, Christoph delivers the bombshell of the century.

"I think we shit 'em out."

[extrasweetcoffee]

Riddle and Cater's Friendship is Being Slept On and I Want to Ramble About Them

This has been sitting in my drafts for a bit, so I'm just gonna post it to get it off my chest since why not. This is gonna get mega TL;DR, so more under the cut. Also spoilers for TWST JP content and several personal stories.

Basically, a few ideas that almost exclusively happens in fan content with Cater angst at the forefront has been sitting at the back of my mind for a while now. Usually (but not always) it'll have: Riddle being portrayed as a mega asshole towards Cater, Riddle stealing Trey from Cater, or portray Trey as a bad/neglectful friend towards Cater when none of that very accurate, if at all.

Okay. First off, it's not impossible to have multiple best friends. Trey was already friends with Chenya before meeting Riddle, and the two are still buddies despite attending different colleges. My guy is 18; he can handle a social circle just fine.

Second, Cater is practically the second vice housewarden if you think about it. Riddle trusted him to lead a group with the unbirthday setup and management in Cater's dorm vignette, Riddle acknowledges Cater's importance as the mood-uplifter of the dorm during Halloween II, and we learn in Masquerade that Riddle trusted Cater's advice to get a better haircut (Riddle was really out there with the Rollo cut lol). There's more instances I could name, but you get the jist - Riddle isn't the kind of character to go putting this kind of faith onto some randy.

I get the feeling that people see that one line in Cater's gym story and roll with it without thinking more about the context behind the dialogue. In that story, Cater knew he was breaking school rules by using his magic in class to cheat. Trey probably would have told him to do his exercises normally, since it's kinda his job as a vice dorm leader to make sure his boys aren't fucking around. If it were Rook, Jamil or Lilia, I have no doubt they'd do the same with their own dorm members. Plus, Riddle already knows Cater is a habitual bullshitter, so it's not like Cater had any chance of lying to his face and getting off scot-free if even if Trey wasn't there. (I wanna say this is a problem caused with the EN's translation being a bit blunt at times, but honestly I think people would still misinterpret this scene regardless).

Yes, Trey and Riddle have the more familiar relationship so Trey may prioritize Riddle over Cater if the option arises which would hurt the latter boy's feelings. But truth be told, Cater already had attachment issues LONG before NRC; I doubt Trey being Riddle's second in command or him trying to tide over Riddle's tyranny during his tenure as housewarden was changing much of anything between them. Cater couldn't muster the courage to break his facade long enough to give his (possibly) closest friend a non-superficial wish for the Starsending, even after Trey called him out for using the same one three years in a row. Cater purposely keeps people at an arm's length, and I wouldn't call Trey a bad friend in this case for respecting Cater's boundaries. Also Trey is possibly the only person in NRC who's aware of Cater's tastes and often makes him spicy food (or uses Doodle Suit on sugary foods so Cater can stand them).

Like shit, if you think about it Riddle's friendship with Trey is probably the main reason why Riddle likes Cater and is willing to tolerate his quirks in the first place. Riddle knows Trey Clover of all people would never squad up with absolute fuckbois such as the faceless NPCs who always start shit. Trey trusting you at all is one of the strongest forms of friendship clout there is, which is probably why Rook isn't on Sage Island's sex offender registry (as far as we can tell).

While Riddle does get annoyed with Cater's easygoing habits and tendency to cut corners, it's not a behavior he exhibits exclusively towards Cater. Riddle is a man of high standards, especially when it concerns Heartslabyul's integrity. He isn't singling out Cater for shirking his responsibilities any more than he would Ace or Deuce. And like I said before, Riddle does give credit to Cater when it's due. Riddle was even willing to help Cater with his test via utilizing Cater's social media addiction (and they're probably still mutuals on MagiCam, which is a cute thought).

I'm not saying people should stop doing this exact trope. After all I'm just some rando on the internet and I certainly don't have any more right to police what people do in their own time more than anyone else. Also the ex-dorm leader Cater headcanon, which is a favorite of mine, pretty much thrives off these tropes. Really this is me airing my thoughts about this as someone who likes Riddle and Cater's companionship and eats any crumbs the game and supplemental content gives me. I guess my thesis for all this would be some characters have better relationships than is read at face value.

Anyway that's my TED talk, I hope you have a good day :)

[matan4il]

Good morning Alice! I was gonna wait to send this till after the finale, but then said duck it I'm not predicting anything. I'm just curious about your feelings.

So I always felt like if the network was to cowardly to make Buddie Canon it would only end 2 ways, them maybe dating women or just ambiguity single as a family. Basically I never expected to see an actual fleshed out love story written for either.

And well, S1 Buck is single, S2 Shannon is dead, Ali leaves, and we get good montage hug, S3 single and great party montage. OK S4, if that was the series finale we got Buddie walking into a party, Buck not fullying entering, Eddie uncomfortable and the will reveal. As shippers, we would have never bought it. The general audience would have just shrugged. Again, they weren't left in love with women but did leave with a crazy strong bond. S5 single, and now we approach S6. I have no clue what will happen with Marisol and Natalia, but I think we can all guess it would resemble the S4 ending if anything. So again, if they were unsure about renewing and left it open-ended, the GA would shrug, and we would be like "well then here is what really happened".

So I watched that Love in the Air montage like it was approaching a series finale and felt exactly like I thought I would. I was laughing at how vapid these relationships look on Buddie vs the others. 911 love stories are built on adversity. Couples that don't get a lot of representation because maybe some don't think they are sexy enough. That's what makes me love them is how strong their foundations are. They are not built on meet cutes, you know. You can't write a love story for these 2 that approaches touching the bonds and experiences they have already experienced together. I will use the word again. it seems almost vapid!

So no clue what will happen in the finale with these girls. My gut instinct is not a lot of focus. But I'm already excited to move to ABC, where I think they will actually be invested in.

As always, I loved your meta!! Stay safe, and I hope you are feeling OK and made headway with your new treatment!!!

Hi sweetheart, thank you so much for this lovely ask! And for the kind words about my 617 meta! *HUGS*

I agree with you, if Buddie doesn't go canon, the show would never be able to develop a fully fleshed out and satisfying love story with any other Love Interest, so the show would either use really lame LIs (where it's easy to see that they'd go in the way of Ana and Taylor a short while after the cut off point of the show's finale) or Buddie would be chronically single (and each other's life partners). I admit, I prefer the latter. The former just means a break up to get to the latter, and then in both cases I'd just headcanon that Buddie finally had a feelings realization and confession, getting together at some point in the future that we don't get to see. It's inevitable with their love story.

But without a doubt, when we know that the whole (or at least majority of the) finale is the one call during which the 118 will be going down, that means there won't be much room to develop anything with either Natalia or Marisol. And I feel like that's exactly how 4a left off with Ana, and 4b did the same with Taylor. They exist, something has started there, but it's built on such shaky ground (they really did give us less than nothing for why Marisol or Natalia would work out with Eddie and Buck), we KNOW that this ground would collapse under these new LIs after a short while.

I do think the move to ABC has a lot of potential. I'm thinking ABC bought the show from Fox knowing that things are a bit rocky, so they KNOW they need to bring in more viewers, and I'm sure they understand that letting Buddie go canon has the potential to do just that, make TV history, create buzz and bring in more viewers.

On a personal note, I'm just still blown away that my HMO actually approved this treatment, but it's gonna take another week (exactly) until I get my first treatment. Which sucks, I have to cancel guiding students from Harvard in order to make this appointment, but yeah. Health before anything else, right? If I kept the Harvard tour, the next appointment is mid June.

Thank you, darling! I hope you're having a great day, too! Love you tons. As always, here's my ask tag. xoxox

[mickimomo]

Lunch Time - Oni (OC) x Namora

Attoye and Namshuri are sprinkled in. Along with just Namora, Namor, and Attuma being goofy together. This is extremely short. So don't raise any pitchforks.

Author Notes:

I might write something for the other couples later. This was just a very strong thought I needed to pen down somewhere.

Also, later down the road in Storm, Oni will gain an opportunity to revoke her vow. We aren't there yet... so relax and enjoy the food.

Attuma, Namora, and K'uk'ulkan often get together for lunch and eat the meals their Wakandan partners pack for them.

Attuma is always eating something hearty, whether it's leftovers of something he cooked (because he enjoys cooking for Okoye) or something Okoye cooked (because he loves eating food she's prepared).

This only started because Aneka had brought Ayo lunch, and Attuma wouldn't stop begging Okoye to pack him one, too.

After many days of pouting, the midnight angel finally caved for her shark man.

In the beginning, Shuri refused to cook K'uk'ulkan anything. And he looked so pitiful. She eventually caved when she realized he was refusing to eat lunch because she wouldn't make it for him. It was never as extravagant as Attuma's, but he would always brag to everyone that the Queen had cooked him something.

Even if it was just a small little sandwich, a juice box, and a fruit snack.

Namora, on the other hand, typically packed her own lunch. Being companionless and all... that is until Oni started bringing her food a few minutes before lunch.

The first time she did it, Namora was shocked and flustered. She had asked around if Oni had ever given anyone lunch before and struggled to interpret what the act of kindness meant.

They'd gone from sparring buddies to friends... and now this?

Wasn't this a tradition for couples?

Was this an act of courting?

It didn't help that Attuma and her cousin were merciless with their teasing as well.

Making kissy faces and wild comments.

"Congratulations." Attuma grinned as he squeezed her feathered shoulder. "You have found yourself a mighty woman."

K'uk'ulkan chuckled as Namora smacked his hand away.

"A warrior that could actually kill you, no less." The king grinned. "How fitting."

Namora scowled. "You cannot tease me. You two are worse than me."

"Yes, but you will be just as bad, eventually."

And the god king was right.

Within a span of a few weeks, Namora was down bad for the Vessel of Bast.

Everyone would always whisper and watch the priestess as she'd journey down to the river with a basket of goods.

There would always be a bundle of flowers, something cold and refreshing to drink, and a hot meal that was always ready to eat.

Some days, it would be something she purchased and repackaged.

Other days it would be some arrangement of chicken, rice, and plantain.

Namora preferred the latter because she knew it was homemade.

She could tell by the bandaids the priestess would dawn when delivering the meal and how she would always toss in a few plums in case the meal wasn't "good enough".

It was always delicious and far more appreciated than Namora wished to let on publicly.

Oni wasn't an awful cook, but her skills were very limited in the kitchen. She only knew how to cook five things.

Chicken.

Rice.

Plantain.

Eggs.

and Tea.

Anything else would somehow go up in flames. The warrior had witnessed this first hand after doubting her ability to only be skilled enough to make five things.

Oni had tried to make her hot chocolate and nearly burned down the house.

Then she had managed to turn a knob of corn into a piece of charcoal.

Her last attempt, in which she had attempted to grill fish, almost landed them a one way ticket to the ancestral plane.

How had she cultivated such a small and specific culinary skill?

Namora wasn't sure, but she didn't want to experience the terrors of fire and smoke again.

Today was a homemade meal kind of day, and Namora was practically glowing when the priestess made her way down to the river bank.

Attuma chuckled as he watched the feathered woman make her way out of the water before stopping in front of the priestess.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting. I tried to get here sooner, but I slipped up with the knife while cleaning the chicken."

"You cooked for me again?" Namora's face slowly began to purple.

"Yeah. You said you really liked the stewed chicken I made for you the other day, so I figured I'd make it for you again." The priestess looked down at the basket. "Hopefully, you're not tired of eating the same three ingredients. I try to buy stuff to keep things interesting."

"I will love whatever you give me." Namora looked up at her. "I will not care if it's the same thing."

Oni held out the basket, dawning a series of bandaid. "Then I hope you really enjoy it. I worked really hard on it, but in case it isn't great, I added a few plums."

"It will be enjoyed because it is great." Namora frowned. "Do not diminish your effort."

"I'm just being honest."

"And I will not tolerate your acts of disrespect towards yourself."

Oni huffed but didn't contest her gentle scolding.

Namora gently grabbed the basket before grabbing her hand to examine it. "I will bring you salve when I bring you back your basket."

"You don't have to. I'll heal up eventually."

"It is rude to reject a gift, Yuum k’iino’."

"Then I look forward to receiving your generous gift, In ba'ate'el."

She offered a small bow before slipping her hand out of hers and walked back up the small hill.

When she was no longer visible, Namora turned around to see her cousin and Attuma grinning at her.

"Thank you for the food, Yuum k’iino’." K'uk'ulkan tried to imitate her voice as he turned to Attuma. "Yuum k’iino’, I love you."

"I love you too, In ba'ate'el." Attuma imitated Oni before making fake smooching sounds as he wrapped an arm around the god king. "Eat well. Enjoy." He cooed between chuckles.

Namora was burning dark purple as she glared at them and attempted to take their heads off with a few smooth pebbles.

Both men cackled and hid below the water as she stomped forward.

She huffed. "You are not safe below the water either."

They roared with laughter as the warrior bonked them over the head before settling down to eat her meal.

[purity-in-heart]

okay, this will be my last ask and then I'm moving on, I promise.

I just wanted to clarify something about the nature of commissions and why I don't think the drawing being a commission is an actual excuse (I'm speaking as someone who has friends that take nsfw commissions and has commissioned said friends and other artists in the past, so I'm familiar with the process).

Most artist will have specific rules for what they allow their clients/commissioners to ask of them, some stricter than others, but my point is that the vast majority of artists that take nsfw commissions will outright refuse to take a commission if their potential client asks for a sexual image of an underage character. Yes, if they take the commission they'd get paid for it and we all need to make money somehow, but the commissioner is not an employer, commissioning is freelance work and the artist is not obligated to draw anything that they would otherwise be unwilling to and have every right to drop a client that makes them uncomfortable.

And even if we give Dea the benefit of the doubt that she absolutely had to take the commission (as in she was running low on money and couldn't find another client in time) the artist is also not in any way obligated to post the commissioned work publicly online (in the vast majority of cases at least, I highly, highly doubt this would've been an exception). If she actually had any moral qualms about drawing an underage character in a sexual way but was in a tough spot that didn't give her another choice, she could have handed the drawing off to her client privately and tried to forget about it. Instead she posted the drawing publicly, didn't say the drawing was a commission(which, as far I can remember she usually does), and spoke in a way that implied she was a fan of the characters in question, expressed disappointment that she didn't have them in-game yet in the replies*, and, in her response to my first ask, she said it was a-okay to draw underage characters in a sexual way long at they're fictional (which...while it isn't nearly as bad to draw sexual art of an underage fictional character as it is to draw it of a real-life underage celebrity or something, it's not "a-okay," it's still bad).

Tl;dr: "the drawing was a commission" is not an excuse for drawing an underage character sexually, because A) artists usually have rules saying their clients can't ask for certain things, and B) Dea has demonstrated that she doesn't have any morals against doing so and possibly even had fun drawing the image in question.

*this a very silly and non-important thing to point out, I'm aware, but that's honestly a fair thing for Dea to be disappointed by. I was lucky enough to get Clara (and by extension Svarog) as my starter 5-star a few days after the game came out and they've been on my main team ever since, I can confirm that they're really fun to play and I feel bad for those that want them but don't have them...except for Dea because I'm kinda petty and I hope she gets E6 of her least favorite standard 5-star instead because I don't think she deserves to have the little girl and her robot dad :) (I'm partially joking btw, it doesn't really matter and at this point I don't give a shit)

Buddy, I understand. I think it's time we drop it for now

[just-your-average-cryptid]

Even before you took up the costume, it was your firm belief that it wasn't powers that made a hero. It was what you did with them, the kind of person that wielded them, that made all the difference.

Most powerless heroes barely lasted a month - they were the vigilante types that thought putting on a mask gave you authority to beat people within an inch of their life. Those people, if they didn't get some sense knocked into them by a more morally scrupulous hero, usually got a "visit" from someone's henchman.

A very bloody one.

From there it was usually regular mortal limits that got to them. Jumped across a rooftop and missed by an inch? That was Leapfrog. Parkour training wasn't enough for rooftop chases, and everyone in the city mourned for him. He was a good kid, too confident for his own good. Bit off more than you could chew and got pummeled? You still winced when someone brought up snakes. Poor Viper. Even a champion boxer couldn't match a damn superhuman. It was the ironclad rule of supers: you don't mess with the big guys if you don't have powers. Even the villains held up that code, knowing the supers would rain hell upon them if they bumped one of them off.

'Course, that didn't explain you. You were never one for fancy stuff. Your gimmick was fairly simple: The Shadow. You were very, very good at hiding. So unassuming that with enough confidence you could walk into practically anywhere, even an otherwise highly secured base. They prepared for laser eyes or super strength, not some new hench who forgot their ID card or where the security room was. You changed your appearance every so often, just to stay on the safe side. Your "work" look was never, ever the same as your natural one, but other than that, it was surprisingly easy to find the dirt you needed. Hidden pockets were a lifesaver. You'd recommended them to practically every young hero you'd met.

Hiding wasn't what kept you alive, though. Oddly enough, it was just... being nice.

You never hurt anyone that didn't deserve it. Never blew up a base, bashed through a building, derailed a train, unleashed a demon army. You just slipped in, slipped out, and left a nice anonymous package for the nearest super to respond to. You knew where they all were, of course, and who they were. Takes a hider to know a hider, you said. Never got caught to tell, though, and it wasn't like it was just the heroes you knew things about. The one chump who tried to sniff you out was quickly reined in by, of all people, The Maestro, who apparently considered you an "intellectual equal" and thus refused to let anyone else figure it out before he did. Weirdo. Decent musician, though, which is why you quietly paid for his kid's band camp every summer through a string of burner accounts. You're pretty sure he knew anyway, though.

It's been a good fifteen years since you first "donned the cape" - or in your case, a nice cloak. You won't be retiring anytime soon, though. There's a few years left in these bones, you think. Your buddy asks, only half joking, if they should throw a party. You answer, smiling, that with the number of people on both sides that'd show up you doubt it would take an hour to start a riot.

You knew they would come. After all, this wasn't the first time someone had asked.

They'd come, if only because you were the one person from the "other" side that had reached out a hand and said let me help.

You are the sole superhero without powers to have lived longer than ten years. An old friend with powers asks how.