#only broken up because i don’t want stans to come for me

[mapsareforbraindeads]

just saw someone call jeemin an unknown flop?????? she placed second in a show that was far less rigged than RUn stfu

[ramp-it-up]

Knock You Down: IV

Photo credit to @thebluemage. Edit mine.

Summary: James Bucky Barnes is an avowed bachelor and one night stand artist. But when he meets you, he finds out that sometimes love comes around, and it knocks you down. Finally! Date Number Threeeeee!

This is a follow up to Part III

Word count: 3.5 K

Pairing: Art Dealer (mob boss) Bucky Barnes x Reader

A/N: This is the final part! (For now) I think that this is one that I will definitely write in answer to asks. I just love these two so so much! Thank all of you for rocking with me on this one. This was in part inspired by Seb Stan's latest pics and this press run 🫠, and partially inspired by an old song by some problematic people, lol. This is the result. As usual, I am Basil Exposition, so this is broken into parts.

Warnings: 18+ Only, Minors DNI. Read at your own risk. SMUT!!!! The end of the Slow burn, now it's burning very fast 😅. Cursing, flirting, jealousy, apologies, Bucky cooking (a warning!), kissing, dry humping, dirty talk in both English and Romanian, voice kink, oral sex (m and f receiving), protected sex (yay Bucky!) And these two are so fucking fluffy. I'm scared, y'all. I want it to be good enough for the build up.

I no longer have a taglist. Please follow @rampitupandread and turn on notifications to learn when I post! 😘

I Do NOT Consent to my work being reposted, translated or presented on any other blog or site other than by myself.

-----

As soon as he entered the Brownsville Arts and Culture Center, James Bucky Barnes was hot. Blood was rushing to his ears and he needed a drink. He wasn’t sick; his symptoms were all due to you.

The black dress that adorned your body contained all of his hopes and dreams, but you seemed to be flirting with another man, twirling for him and then giving him a hug. To add insult to injury, you had the nerve to laugh and smile with the punk. 

You in that black dress was everything in the world that Bucky could want, except maybe you out of that black dress. As his eyes traced down your form, he noticed the 5 inch red bottoms that you had on. Yes. You, out of that dress with just the red bottoms. That was what he needed in his life.

But first, he had to take care of that other man.

—-

“Benson’s work emphasizes the subjects’ spiritual essence over their physical appearance, don’t you think?”

You turned around at the sound of the deep baritone. 

“Well hello, Mr. Rogers. How are you today? Delivering an art analysis given to you by AI? Oh. I forgot. You are an ‘art dealer.’ An art dealer who goes to Soul Cycle in Brownsville all of a sudden?”

Steve clutched his heart.

“Ah. I’m hurt, Y/N. I thought we were cool. But I guess I deserved the air quotes.  I do actually love art. I took some art classes when I was a kid and I still love to sketch.”

“Hmmmph. Okay. I’ll give you that. But how is it that you popped up in my Soul Cycle class? Don’t play me, Steven.”

Steve raised his eyebrow at you and grinned. He understood why Buckiy was so drawn to you. Not only were you gorgeous, you were a spitfire. That was hot.

“I would never try to play you, Y/N. I also actually love Soul Cycle. Used to teach a class in Park Slope.”

“I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover, can you?”

Steve’s eyes slid over you appraisingly.

“Speaking of. You look very, very nice today.”

You twirled for him, feeling as safe as you would your brother.

“Nice. Okay, listen. I’m sorry about the other day. I was just trying to protect my friend. And you.”

Steve sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’ve never seen Bucky like this. He’s never been this smitten with someone before and let them into his life. But I get it now.”

Steve’s blue eyes were almost as beautiful as Bucky’s.

“Bucky is my family. Since we were kids. He’s always taken care of me. And I will do anything for him.”

He raised his eyebrow at you.

“I can see now that means that I will do anything for you, because I have a feeling that you’re gonna be around a lot. So do you forgive me?”

You considered Steve. He was not too different from his best friend, and you couldn’t hold a grudge. Not after Bucky laid it all out to you last night You opened your arms.

“Let’s hug it out.”

Steve chuckled and gathered you into his warm embrace. You pulled back and giggled, grinning at him.

“So what makes you think I’m gonna be hanging around?”

“Well, judging from the look on Bucky’s face, he’s serious about you.”

Steve nodded behind you, toward the door. You looked that way and saw James Bucky Barnes headed straight for you. 

And he didn’t look happy.

—--

“Good morning, Frumoasă. You look stunning today. The exhibit is amazing, the space looks great and it seems that the right people are in the building.”

Bucky came up and placed his hand on the small of your back as he spoke to you, ignoring Steve. His blue eyes were storm clouds at the moment, and his touch was electric.

“Thank you, James. You’re so observant, I appreciate that. And you look very handsome today.”

You looked him up and down and bit your lip, meeting his gaze and the way he kept eye contact as he inclined his head in response. 

Bucky was attractive as hell in his black on black shirt, blazer and slacks. You noticed that his collar was unbuttoned; the medallion hanging on his chest made you want to take it between your teeth. You stared at it for a moment, imagining such a scenario where that could happen and then met his eyes again, prompting desire to roll through you as Bucky licked his lips. He was right there with you.

You smiled at him in a way that you didn’t smile at Steve. Who was Steve Rogers, anyway? You could hardly remember meeting him as your mind went to the feel of being in Bucky Barnes’ arms.

You sensed an air of proprietariness as Bucky took your hand and kissed it, causing a shiver to run down your spine. Possessive Bucky Barnes felt like a sin you wanted to indulge in. You cleared your throat and looked at Steve, as if surprised to find him still standing there, watching the show.

“Well, I see some board members over there, I’m going to go do my job. Talk to you later, boys.”

You walked away and gave them a wink over your shoulder, and you caught both of them looking at your ass. You shook your head and chuckled as you went on your way.

“You trying to steal my girl?”

Everyone stopped when Steve laughed, his deep boom a distraction. Bucky still wasn’t amused.

“Oh. So you’re in love.”

“What?”

“You’ve never worried about me taking your leftovers or vice versa before. Hell, we’ve even shared–”

“Shut your fucking mouth.”

Bucky snapped at Steve who put his hands up.

“Whoa, there. Just yanking your chain, buddy; I know she’s special. I wouldn’t dream of making a move on her. Not that she knows I’m alive. When you walked up, I thought I was going to have to take off my jacket so you two could fuck on the floor.”

Bucky was barely listening to Steve as his eyes followed you around the room. One thing Steve said was echoing in his mind: “So you’re in love.”

—-

You floated through the rest of the day on a cloud. The exhibit was a smashing success with the 

Board of Directors in attendance. Securing Howard Benson’s penultimate work from Rebirth was the feather in your cap. 

And you had Bucky to thank for it.

Bucky’s visit was also a hit; he and Steve charmed the board members with the help of Sam and Nat, who arrived later. They all made amends for what occurred that week and you were left very impressed with James Barnes.

After a couple of hours at the event, Bucky came over to let you know he was leaving.

“I will see you later, Frumoasă. I have much to prepare for tonight. Nico will pick you up at 7:30.”

“See you soon, James.”

He kissed your hand again.

“See you soon, Y/N.”

—---

“It is actually insanely attractive how you handled yourself in the kitchen.”

You were seated with Bucky on his couch in his living room, looking over the New York skyline from his Brooklyn penthouse. The dessert had been delicious and the wine in your hand was spectacular. 

“I was sure you’d order something in and just play it off. But I watched you create a meal in front of me, and I should have known that if you said you were going to cook, that you would do just that.”

Bucky’s heart beat double time at what you were saying. He wanted so much for tonight, but most of all, he wanted it to flow naturally. He saw that you were relaxed and open to him, which pleased him immensely.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Frumoasă. I enjoy cooking for my friends and family. Cooking for a beautiful woman is a treat.”

Bucky’s eyes slid over your form. You had changed to jeans and a color block sweater that just put your cleavage out there for the world, which was Bucky Barnes, to see. You also wore the same red bottoms from that day, and Bucky was beginning to think he had a foot fetish as you took them off at his entryway.

You took a sip of wine.

“How often do you do that? Cook for a woman?”

You barely hid your curiosity.

Bucky smiled and drained his glass, reaching over to refill it.

“Not as often as you’d think. Never had any other woman over here. Food is not usually the top priority with them.”

You pouted, which was so cute. Your spark of jealousy inspired Bucky.

“But I don’t want to talk about anyone else. Tonight is about me and you.”

Any uncertainty that arose was quelled by his assertion. You grew warm, so you finished your wine and rose to go to the window. 

“This is the most gorgeous view I’ve ever seen.”

“Absolutely agree.”

You looked behind you and Bucky was still sitting on the couch, hands spread out on the back of it, checking you out. You gave him one of your adorable smiles and he came to stand behind you, and took you in his arms. 

“I want you to know that you deserve everything, Y/N. To be cheered on and protected every day. And thoroughly ruined every night.”

You turned around and his hands went to your hips. It was the perfect moment.

“James?”

“Can I have a kiss?”

Bucky’s eyes dilated, and he moved his hand to your cheek. He licked his lips as he looked deep into your eyes.

“Ah, Frumoasă. I thought you’d never ask.”

His first movement was a subtle brush of your lips. He pulled back to assess the situation, and you didn’t know why, but that made your nipples tighten into stiff peaks. You gasped as Bucky watched you hungrily. 

The air seemed to change around you, and you shivered. He lowered his head so his lips could meet yours again, and this time his mouth was gentle but demanding. You gasped at the spike of electricity that flared between you and Bucky took the opportunity to dip his tongue into your mouth, scorching your lips and soul. With a low groan, he shifted your angle, bending you backward a little to kiss you deeper and ripping a moan from you as you melted against him. 

Good lord, could the man kiss. 

At that point, he was holding you up, one hand on your hip and one hand on the back of your head as you molded yourself against him. Bucky’s fingers dug into you, sure to leave bruises the next day. You relished the thought as you moaned into his mouth again, giving him the opportunity to continue destroying your soul. 

Bucky dragged his lips from yours reluctantly and stared at you, eyes almost black with desire. He brought his thumb up and wiped the moisture from your bottom lip. Motivated, you captured his digit, drawing it into the hot wetness of your mouth. He stared at you, mouth open, as you looked him straight in the eye and started sucking.

Bucky moaned as he pushed his thumb deeper into your mouth, and walked you back to the couch. He extracted his finger, watching the show your lips put on as he pulled it out, leaving them in a delectable pout. 

“More,” Bucky demanded as he crouched down and took your head in both hands as he kissed you again. 

His hands wound up in your hair, tugging gently, then on your back, then your ass as you arched your back to fill his palms. Bucky picked you up, then deposited you on his lap as he sat down on the couch, and you felt how aroused he was. His thick length was where you needed him most.

“Fuck! That feels good.”

Bucky was watching you grind on him like it was the best show on earth. Then he looked up at you.

“Yes, yes it does.”

He leaned forward and captured your bottom lip between his teeth, a preview of how rough he wanted to be with you. Then, he went in for another kiss. That continued for a good five minutes until he pulled away to stare at your swollen lips, and down to your cleavage, which was practically in his face.

When his eyes met yours, you were entranced.

“You good? You want this to happen?”

You nodded and took his hands in yours, guiding them up to your breasts, squeezing yourself with his hands. You rolled your hips, causing his breath to hitch in his throat.

“Like you said, James. More.”

You continued to grind on him, causing him to just gape at your body moving on his.

“I’ve dreamed of this so many times…”

“Yes? Tell me about your dreams, Baby.”

His hands moved to find your nipples through the lace of your bra and the wool of your sweater. He found them in no time, and pinched them lightly, then more roughly when you moaned.

“Mmmmnnnn. So fucking hot.”

Bucky kissed you again and then pulled away as he stared you down and tortured you. 

“I dream about marking you up,” he kissed your neck under your chin, “to your clavicle,” a kiss there, “and all over this beautiful flesh until I get to your nipples.” 

He looked at you for any signs of discomfort as he slipped his hands under your sweater to find the thin lace there. He found your hard peaks again and started rolling them both in his fingers.

“Then I want to kiss and suck them until you come in my arms.”

“Holy god, Jamie….”

Bucky’s eyes rolled at the second pet name you called him and continued.

“Wake up so fucking hard every morning since I met you. Then, I daydream about how wet and tight you will be after I made you cum, and how good it would feel to… to give you my cock. Do y’like that idea, Frumoasă?”

“Y-yesssss!”

“O să te fac să vii pe penisul meu iar și iar, Frumoasă.”

You almost came right then.

“D-don’t know what you said, but yes to whatever you just suggested.”

Bucky pulled you to him, and then chuckled into your ear.

“It means that I want to make you cum over and over again on my cock.”

You were already making a mess in your jeans, but you knew he could feel you soaking them at the moment.

“Please. Give it to me?”

Bucky groaned and kissed you again, this time encircling your waist in his grip and pressing you down on his bulge. 

“You know I can’t deny you anything. Are you certain?”

“Yes, James. Please…”

He lifted you easily, kissing you as he walked you down the hall to his bedroom, depositing you on his bed. 

“Y’look so fucking good.”

He crawled toward you on the bed and settled between your thighs as you hitched your leg over his. You pressed your core against his bulge and it had you muttering.

“Too many clothes.”

Bucky leaned up and you were fumbling with his button and he with yours. You looked up and laughed. 

“Maybe faster the other way.”

“Agreed.”

You two made quick work of your own garments, flinging them around the room between frenzied kisses. The way your eyes widened when Bucky got naked made his chest swell. He wanted you to always look at him like that.

“Wow…,” you said as your eyes roamed his physique.

His cock seemed massive as it slapped him on the abs.

“Wow, indeed,” replied Bucky as he took you in hungrily.

Your white lace underwear looked amazing against your skin and against your cunt it served to make him hungry.

He moved toward you again, kissing up your leg until he got to the edge of your panties and nudged his nose there, making you squirm.

“Smell so good, look so good…”

Bucky kissed at the edge of your underwear,

“I just know you’re gonna taste good too..”

He moved to the center of you, placing a kiss over your lace-covered sodden slit. Then, he looked up at you and smirked before he leaned down and licked you over your panties. 

“Fuck.”

He pulled your panties to the side and gazed at you there. 

Those blue eyes threatened to steal your soul as he gazed at you and confessed, “This is the most gorgeous pussy I’ve ever seen,” and proceeded to lick a rude stripe up the center of you after he tore your panties away.

“Oh my god, James.”

You rolled your hips again and reached down to feel Bucky’s soft hair. He pulled your hips closer and his lips suckled you with more pressure, adding one finger, then two to stretch you out. 

“Gotta get you ready for me, my love.” 

Your eyes rolled back into your head as you moaned through Bucky thrusting his tongue inside you, then pulling back to focus on your clit.

“I c-can’t.. I–”

“Give me my cum, Frumoasă!”

You locked eyes with him as he buried his face in your cunt and shook against him as you came embarrassingly fast, pulling on his messed up curls.

“So fucking delicious. Taste.”

He took your head in both hands and kissed you deeply, and you responded by sucking your essence off of his tongue. You reached down and started stroking his cock, overjoyed and a little bit scared that your fingers didn’t meet around him as he unclasped your bra.

Bucky whimpered as your thumb came up and stroked his sensitive head, spreading his precum over the wide, mushroom cap.

“You’re so fucking huge, Bucky…”

Bucky pulled you toward him as he reached into his bedside drawer for a condom and a bottle.

“And you’re so wet, Furmoasa. We will make this work. Believe me…”

You continued to stroke and watched him as he brought the wrapper to his teeth and him tearing it open was about the hottest act of sexual protection you’d ever seen. Somehow, your mouth ended up sucking his tip as you watched his eyes roll back into his skull.

“That beautiful mouth…”

Bucky put his hand on your head as you tasted him experimentally, wondering if you’d ever be able to take it all. He seemed to read your mind as he spoke next.

“Don’t worry, I plan on us having a lot of practice with this later, but if you don’t let me put this condom on, I’m gonna cum all over your face, Frumoasă…”

You looked up at him and grinned as his cock jumped in your mouth, but you finally pulled off of him with a pop.

“I need to feel you around me when I cum love. S’all I’ve been dreaming of all week.”

Now his chest was heaving as he rolled the condom on, and he pushed you back onto the bed as his hand went to your core once again. You were even wetter than before and Bucky smiled at you, lining up and kissing you on the forehead as he began to breach your folds.

When he slid inside, your fingernails curled into his shoulders and your eyes grew wide. Bucky stopped, concentrating while his cock pumped, barely inside you.

“There is nothing. In the world. Like being inside your soft, wet, cunt.”

“Fuckkkkk!” 

You became even wetter and he slid fully inside you. There, Bucky waited for you to get adjusted around him.

“So fucking tight. And hot. Just like I knew you would be.”

“More, Jamie!”

Smiling, Bucky started moving and you gripped him as he stroked in and out.

“Please don’t stop. Harder!”

Bucky grabbed the headboard and gave you what you wanted. His other hand pulled your hair and his strokes became more intense.

“Wanted to last longer, but I can’t, Baby. So beautiful. Pussy made for me. Cuming soon, but later… O să te fac să vii pe penisul meu iar și iar, Frumoasă. I never make a promise I can’t keep.”

You orgasm whited out your vision and your throat burned as you screamed. Bucky roared, filling the condom with copious amounts of cum. Your cunt was milking him and he hoped it would hold. He stayed sunk into you as long as he could before he had to get up and rid himself of the prophylactic.

He was only in the en suite for a few minutes as you floated in and out of sleep, lust drunk and exhausted.

Bucky climbed back into bed and got both of you situated under the covers, whispering in your ear.

“Stay tonight.”

“Of course. That was the plan, wasn’t it?”

Both of you chuckled, because you knew it was true. Bucky kissed your ear and waited for your breath to even out. When he thought you were asleep, he whispered again.

“I’m going to be a better man for you, Frumoasă.”

“You are exactly who you need to be, James Barnes. Just keep moving forward. Tomorrow is another day to do that.”

After a few more minutes, you spoke again.

“Tomorrow will only be a week that we’ve known each other. Imagine that.” 

Bucky buried his nose in your hair, inhaling your scent.

“Guess I better wait until tomorrow to ask you to marry me.”

You laughed a sleepy laugh.

“You got jokes.”

“You know me, Frumoasă. A professional comedian.”

But somewhere in the dark of Bucky Barnes’ closet, a diamond found some light and sparkled.

——

The next morning is here ;)

Please, please! Let me know!

[nuttersincorporated]

Gravity Falls fanfic I’m too lazy to write

Bill Cipher has been in the Theraprism a LONG time. It’s a good thing the Theraprism is in the neutral zone, outside of time because – if clocks worked there – he would have been there for 42 lifetimes of the universe.

It’s been slow work but Bill has made some progress. He’s at a point where he’s confronted the horrible things he’s done. He’s no longer living in denial and hiding behind a cheery façade. Unfortunately, he’s now deep in self-loathing and he’s been there for a long time, unable to move forward and grow.

Then the unthinkable happens. Something happens to the Theraprism and Bill takes his chance. He ends up back in our universe.

Half dead, glitchy and weak, Bill starts traveling backwards through his own timeline. Everywhere and when he finds himself, he desperately trying to change how things turned out and thwart his past self’s plans.

Bill arrives the day before ‘Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future’ and enters Mabel’s dream.

“Mable! Tomorrow you’re going to have a really bad day. I know you don’t want summer to end but when the Time Traveller turns up and offers you more time, don’t give him anything!

It’s a trap. I’ll be… he’ll be…

Look I’m from the future and past me possessed him. Just ask him to take off his goggles so you can see his eyes.”

He jumps further back. Dipper has been trying to guess the password to the laptop for two days and he’s getting nowhere. Bill’s past self is going offer to give Dipper a ‘clue’ in a few days time but current Bill gets there first.

“Dipper! Don’t scream! Everything’s fine! … or it will be. Just shut up and listen! This is important!

The password is ‘Stanford’ and the laptop was made by McGucket. The Journals were written by your Grunkle Ford. He fell through a portal 30 years ago and your Grunkle Stan’s been secretly trying trying to get him back ever since. He’s going to succeed.

Don’t ever make a deal with me. I can’t be trusted and the price is always too high.”

Bill jumps back again and again and again. The thing is, he’s been chased. Time Baby wants the Time Anomaly Removal Crew to catch him because his actions are causing new timelines to splinter off from what Time Baby sees as the ‘canon’ one. Bill’s old guards/therapists want to catch him and drag him back to the Theraprism for more treatment.

However, the worst danger Bill is in, is from his past self. He’s traveling back down his own timeline after all and his past self is always nearby.

Past Bill hates what he sees as a pathetic, broken version of himself. If he ever catches himself, first he’ll find out what happened to make a future version of himself turn out this way so he can avoid making the same mistakes. Then, he’ll kill this miserable excuse of a Bill Cipher. There’s only room for one of them and past Bill is going to make sure he comes out on top.

Current Bill never actually planned any of this out. He’s doing the best he can. If he has any sort of aim, it’s to make it back to before he killed his home universe. Hurt and weaken as he is, Bill still thinks if he makes it back that far, he can probably kill his younger self. Either way, he doesn’t plan to ask the Axolotl for another chance this time around.

[corporatefrog]

꒦‧₊ ꒷ HEADCANNONS: team stan reacting to yn being in the hospital✧.*

✧.* tags: superhero au, college au

✧.* Characters: stan marsh, kyle broflovski, kenny mccromick, butters stotch

a/n: i ran into a bit of a wall with team craig but i'm going to give it another go tomorrow!

masterlist

Stan:

You send him a text saying you won’t be at the next dnd session because your in the hospital with a broken rib 

Straight up just says “I’m sorry”

Nothing else. He doesn’t know how to talk to people. 

You saw him dealing with kenny dying, he does NOT know what to say

He’s freaking the fuck out though irl. Are you okay? What if you aren’t okay? What is he going to do if you aren’t okay?

He comes to visit you when you tell Kenny and Kyle and they DRAG him into the room

He got you a giant fucking basket of random stuff that doesn’t really apply to you but you appreciate it nonetheless

“Are there any broken rib vitamins in here?”

“Those are a thing? I didn’t realize they made those. I can go grab some right now-”

“I fucking with you, dude. Thank you for the basket :)”

Kenny: 

You’re talking to him normally, chatting about your day

Then he asks if you want to get pizza, smoke, and watch Rango

“Oh sorry, I’m in the hospital rn so probably not tonight"

"WHAT???"

"yeah my bus was hit by the stampede of cows from the villain attack yesterday"

You get no response

But that’s because 5 minutes later, kenny is standing in the doorway of your hospital room with a slushie from 7/11 in hand

It was the only thing he thought to get you (because who doesn’t love a slushie?)

You’ve got a few bruises and a hairline fracture on your ankle but Kenny acts like you are on death’s door

“Just don’t go towards the light” 

“If you really thought I was dying, you should’ve brought me more than slushie.”

“Should I have brought 2 slushies?”

Becomes your personal errand boy until you’ve recovered. 

Hungry? He’s got your grocery list and a recipe printed out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Bored? Time for a movie marathon.

Need help with class? He’s dragging kyle down the hall for whatever you may need. 

Butters:

He was there when you got hurt because you were trying to film a fight and the coon miscalculated his landing spot, landing on a bunch of trash cans and sending a lid hurtling towards you

Obviously as butters, he’d rush over and help you 

But he was PROFESSOR CHAOS

And what is more chaotic than a civilian being included in the battle? 

But this wasn’t any civilian, it was YOU 

And he’ll ground HIMSELF if he lets someone get away with hurting you >:(

He’d shout out a “TIME OUT” which mainly just confuses everyone (as any agent of chaos would do)

But it’s enough time for him to grab you and run away from the fight to his LAIR OF CHAOS where general disarray is able to give you a check up

After working with chaos for a few years, general disarray realized there needed to be someone with medical training so he took a few courses at the community center and now he’s on his way to being a registered nurse! 

Doesn’t stop apologizing even though you tell him it wasn’t his fault. 

Takes all of his stuffed animals from his bed and brings them over to you so you’re not alone while you wait for Disarray to give you the go ahead to go home 

Kyle

Probably asking why you weren’t in class and you tell him you’re in the hospital

Thinks it’s a joke at first 

But you send him a picture of you hooked up to the heart monitor

The coon had used you as a human shield during a fight with a villain and you ended up getting hit with an energy blast by Solar Flare (bebe’s supervillain persona hehe)

He calls you instantly

“I’m going to kill him.”

“Don’t kill him, kyle”

“Too late. I'm killing him. This is too fucking far.”

“Aw you care 🙂”

“No i just needed a reason to finally put that fucker in the ground.”

“Oh sure, just be mean to the person hooked up to fucking life support”

“YOU'RE ON LIFE SUPPORT?!”

“No, I just wanted to see how you’d react.”

“When i’m done killing cartman, you’re next.”

Spoiler alert: he was joking. 

He brings you flowers and a sudoku probably 

And the notes from the class you missed like the absolute king he is

Talks to the doctor when you get discharged and basically becomes a live-in nurse

“The doctor said you need to limit your screen time while you recover. Do your crossword instead” 

Okay fucking MOM

Just kidding it’s sweet

[1moreff-creator]

Trying to figure out the DRDT chapter 2 murder method, with evidence! (Theory)

CW: Murder, mentions of suicide, hanging, general brutality.

So, I’ve noticed a lot of people have given their predictions for the second case murderer, the motives and all that. This is obviously what most people care about, and I love reading predictions for it!

However, I am not most people. I also am really curious about the exact murder method.

You see, DRDT has consumed my brain mercilessly, and thus I have decided I can’t wait for the hiatus to end, and want to see if I can figure out the murder mystery with the clues we have. As a warning, this doesn’t actually help much with the culprit, but I will give my thoughts on that at the end.

I think a decent job! It’s not perfect, and I’m fully expecting to get a lot if not most of this wrong. I will be happy regardless of whether I’m right or wrong, so what matters is that I had fun thinking about it! Right? :D

This took me hours.

Spoilers up until Chapter 2 ep 11, and… further? Maybe? It’s just a prediction, but with evidence, so, you decide if you wanna read it.

Where we left off

The cliffhanger currently consuming me, as you may recall, happened just after David started his Tumblr sexyman arc, with Charles cutting in with just a fantastic line (“You’re out of your element!”). He says that, while trying to prove David’s innocence, he realized something bigger, before proclaiming he and Teruko fucked up.

As many have pointed out, Charles cuts in when David mentions the time of death, meaning he’s likely realized something about that.

What Charles has probably noticed is that the note Arei received never mentioned if she was supposed to go to the playground at 7:30 PM, as the characters had assumed because of the fish and the nighttime rule for the Relaxation Room, or AM. The fish could have easily been kept in the water jugs found outside in a trash can, so it’s pretty feasible that the murder actually happened at 7:30 AM. Unfortunately, Nico, the only one keeping track of the fish, likely fed them before David went there, and thus before 7:30 PM, so we can’t tell for sure when they were taken.

(This is because Nico mentions they fed the fish after dinner, and they likely ate before David. Whit mentions having a ‘late dinner’ when he and the gang meet with Suspenders Man in the kitchen and send him to the fish, David even mentioning he wasn’t expecting anyone else to be there. Assuming Nico ate dinner with most of the class, they would have eaten before David went to the Relaxation Room, which we know was around 7:30 PM)

However, if Charles is only bringing the possibility up now, it’s likely the right answer. Also, as you’re gonna see, the murder method I believe was used requires quite a bit of setup that would have been easier to do at nighttime, without potential witnesses showing up out of nowhere.

Now, this is where I’ve seen most people stop. Content with knowing what the cliffhanger itself is about, they don’t think further into the murder method. But I will, because my life is extremely empty.

Let’s get to the evidence!

“Truth Bullets” (let’s pretend)

-First, the layout of the scene.

(Ultimate Artist coming through-)

The exact position of things doesn’t matter, but it helps to visualize. The seesaw, to the dismay of Korekiyo stans, is unimportant and can be disregarded. Here are the takeaways:

•The ground near the entrance is scuffed. This heavily implies something went down in the playground, and we probably aren’t dealing with a crime scene switch.

•The fish, you should be acquainted with.

•The spinny thing will be important.

•Not pictured is a sand pit without sand. This isn’t important, but I do find it funny.

•Then, the swing set. I’d like to point out that the rope attached on one end to Arei has nothing on the other end, and rather remains there via a knot at the top of the swing set. This is important because of:

-Broken Neck: Arei’s neck is broken, alongside:

-Veronika’s Account: Although a hanging can cause someone’s neck to break, it wouldn’t happen to Arei if she were to be hung from that height. She would either need to weigh more, or fall from higher. Because the rope Arei’s corpse hangs from is tied with a knot, it can’t extend further than what we see, meaning she was likely hung from somewhere else (if that’s even her cause of death).

-Bound Wrists: Arei’s wrists were bound with duct tape at some point.

-Duct Tape on Spinny Thing: There is duct tape covering every handlebar the spinny thing has.

-Longer Rope: There was a longer piece of rope bundled up below the spinny thing. Teruko claims it’s a couple yards long. I don’t use that unit of measurement, but it sounds like it’s large.

-Flickering Lights: According to MonoTV, one of the lights in the playground was flickering. The way he acts when inquired implies this had something to do with the murder.

Going away from the playground now, we have the trash can.

-The note: You know this one.

-Eating utensils, food, painting tools. Unimportant.

-Water Jugs: Likely where the fish were kept overnight. Notably, the handles are snapped in the middle.

-Needle and thread?: I’ve seen some people mention there’s a needle with a bit of black thread that none of the characters address when dealing with the trash. Personally, I think this isn’t going to be important, but I do have a place for it if it ends up coming up. That is:

-Ball of clothes: Charles takes this from the dress-up room. It’s apparently held together with starch (not an adhesive, just sticky, but sure), though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually created with the needle and thread. Again, I don’t think it’s important, but you can choose to believe it was used here if you want. It’ll make sense later.

-The gym. I’ll be honest, this is the one thing I don’t know how to fit in. During the investigation, Teruko makes memory to how the gym looked before and after the Nico incident. I’m not great at Spot the Difference, but for the life of me the only thing I could see change was the missing fan and the missing ‘grippy thing’ on the pull-up bar. I don’t know how that would fit with the mystery, so I’ll be glad if anyone can figure something out.

-The motives: Not important for the method, obviously important for other reasons.

So, with the evidence laid out, what can we figure out?

Theory Time

When I said I spent hours thinking about this, I mostly meant running through several theories at once, trying to see which one made the most sense. I went to some weird places: from a crime of passion disguised as a suicide, to drowning her in the Relaxation Room, to somehow getting from the Movie Screening Room to the Playground (MonoTV had mentioned punching through the wall would get you there), to Arei herself being the one originally trying to murder…

But in the end, it was simpler. There are three important facts which help narrow down the options.

-Arei’s neck was broken. This eliminates simpler killing methods such as strangulation. Something happened which broke her neck, yet:

-Her wrists were bound. A broken neck is instant death, but Arei’s bound wrists imply the killer feared she would struggle. This eliminates a crime of passion. This thing was premeditated.

-The murder happened in the playground. The scuffed floor, broken light, duct tape on spinny thing and the other rope all make it clear. There’s no crime scene switching here. This eliminates stuff like the drowning in the Relaxation Room I mentioned.

All of this makes me believe that Arei was hung from somewhere in the playground, likely after the killer bound her wrists to stop her from struggling. The scuffed ground serves as evidence of an initial struggle. It doesn’t quite look like that, but frankly I just don’t know what could have caused the exact shape in the ground, so a struggle it is.

However, how? If Arei’s neck broke from her hanging, as per Veronika’s Account, she would need to be hung from somewhere else first, in a way that she either weighed more or fell from higher. Now, at first, you might assume that she had to be simply hung from higher, since it’s impossible to make Arei weigh more than she does. But what if I told you, there is a way to achieve that?

Enter: the water jugs.

I don’t know about you, but the way those handles are broken looks to me like they were snapped too cleanly for human hands. It almost looks… like someone tied a knot around them, then exerted a bunch of force on the rope.

(WARNING: Geometric depiction of a hanging a bit below)

We know for a fact there are at least two pieces of rope: one longer, one shorter. It would be possible to tie the two ends of the shorter one around the handles of the water jugs, then tie the middle around Arei. Water’s pretty heavy, so the extra pull of the water jugs would exert an additional force to her body once she stopped falling, one which could serve as one of the reasons her neck broke.

…Now’s probably a good time to mention, I have no idea why the killer did half the shit they did. I cannot explain to you why they would do this with water jugs. I’m just telling you how my brain’s interpreting this evidence.

However, this doesn’t exactly solve the height problem. You still can’t hang Arei from the swing set directly, as the jugs would hit the ground. It’s still necessary to hang her from higher up, although thankfully it’s easy to see where that would happen.

Yeah, the railings of the playground. The problem, naturally, is how to get there. Or rather, how to get the rope there.

Well, here’s a question. How would you do something like that if it was lower down, but still unreachable? One answer is to try to throw the rope over the railing, so that one end stays near you, and the other, on the other side of the railing. Of course, that’s impossible with a rope of this length and a railing of this height, but the concept can still be used in conjunction with something else. Thinking about the other pieces of evidence we have, there is one that stands out as particularly strange, doesn’t it?

Exactly. The ball of clothes. Because throwing a ball, especially one as light as this one would be, is much easier than throwing a rope, you can set up the hanging spot by tying one end of the rope to the ball, and throwing that over the railing.

You might think it’s still too far up, but think of it like this. How far can you throw a basketball straight up? Probably enough to clear two floors, at least given enough attempts. The ball of clothes would have more drag, yes, but it would be lighter. Keep in mind the killer had all night to get this right, and they could have even climbed on the swing set if they needed a bit more height. It’d be awkward, but possible.

There is one more piece of evidence that makes me think this is the case. That is, the flickering lights.

The lights weren’t broken, but they did get fucked up. This is by far the clue which gave me the most trouble when thinking about this, since it just seemed so impossible to achieve. However, this ‘ball of clothes’ theory gives us a solid answer. On the way up, the ball of clothes may have hit the lights:

This wouldn’t break the light, but it could displace it, causing it to flicker… or something like that. I’m sorta banking on J giving a proper explanation with her pre-established expertise, since I’m no electrical engineer. However, I see no other way this could have happened, so it’s the answer I’m giving for now.

So now we have the long rope on both ends, all that’s left is actually pulling Arei up. Except, that’s still quite complicated, isn’t it? Already pulling her up would take quite a bit of strength, but the main problem is the ‘going down’ part.

For Arei’s neck to break, she needs to enter free fall, then abruptly stop halfway. That would mean you need to stop the rope from moving on the way down, but how? Just using your hands is impossible, because you’d get burnt.

Enter: spinny thing.

The duct tape tipped me off that this thing was important, and once the use of rope is factored in, my first instinct was to use it for a sort of pulley system.

Weave the rope through a few of the handlebars, then tie a knot around one of them. That way, if you make the thing spin, it will drag the rope with it, sort of like a roll of film in reverse.

Then, once Arei reaches an appropriate height, you spin the thing the other way, letting her fall at full speed for a bit. When you want to stop her, you would just need to stop the carousel from spinning, which may take a bit of strength, but it’s perfectly doable.

Now, this explains how the murder could have been done, but where does the duct tape come into play?

…

Yeah, good question. My best answer is that the rope somehow burnt a friction mark into the spinny thing, which the killer feared would give away their trick. After all, even if the duct tape is more noticeable, it’s harder to make a connection between that and the murder than a friction burn, which while harder to notice, would point more directly to the pulley idea.

Yeah, it’s not a great answer, and it’s frankly the part which still puzzles me the most, but it’s an answer, so I’m going with it for now. Open to change, though.

Notably, this is also the part of the crime where I feel the gym may come into play. Again, I have no idea what the relevance is, but if it has something to do with this crime and not just the Ace - Nico incident, perhaps the grippy strap of the pull up bar was somehow used to better grip the spinny thing’s handlebars for the pulley trick? Again, this is one piece of evidence where I could use the help.

And so, we’re done! Practically all of the important evidence was used, and I can’t find any contradictions in the reasoning!

Closing Argument

The killer first put water from the Relaxation Room, fish and all, in some water jugs before nighttime.

At nighttime, they stuck together Teruko’s and Hu’s old clothes with either starch or the black string. Going to the playground, they tied a long rope they got from storage around the ball of clothes. They repeatedly threw it up, until they managed to get the rope over one of the railings in the playground. However, on the way up, the ball of clothes hit a light and displaced it, causing it to flicker. MonoTV would later remove this light.

After that, they tied one of the ends of the rope to one of the carousel’s handlebars, possibly looping it around some of the other handlebars to make sure it would work as a pulley. The killer left the water jugs in the room, first tying a shorter piece of rope around their handles, and took the ball of clothes back to the dressing room.

After that, the killer wrote a note. They had overheard the Eden-Arturo-Arei situation, and used that to lure Arei out to the playground at 7:30 AM. She potentially arrived just before the killer, based on the scuffed ground being a bit far from the door, but the killer got there just a moment after, before Arei could understand the situation.

The killer overpowered Arei, scuffing the ground near the seesaw in the process. They eventually bound her wrists together, and wrapped the middle of the rope attached to the water jugs to Arei’s lower body. Possibly around her waist, as to prevent rope burn injuries from giving the trick away.

After that, they tied the unused end of the longer rope around Arei’s neck, and moved to the spinny thing. Using the grippy strap they got from the gym (maybe), they grabbed one of the handlebars and spun the spinny thing so that the rope was pulled in and around its handlebars. This also had the effect of pulling Arei up towards the ceiling.

Once Arei was high enough, the killer quickly spun the carousel the opposite way, then abruptly stopped it just a few moments later. This caused Arei to free fall shortly, before suddenly stopping. The force of that stopping broke both Arei’s neck and the handles of the water jugs. Arei died here, if she hadn’t already asphyxiated beforehand.

All that was left for the killer to do was cleanup. Retrieve the longer rope and hide it under the spinny thing; set up Arei’s body to look vaguely like a suicide; empty the water jugs on the ground; throw them away, alongside the duct tape and the note. The killer’s trick had also left marks on the carousel, which they decided to cover up with duct tape. Finally, the killer reconvened with everyone at around 8 AM for the motive announcement.

And with that, all questions are answered. Well, except for:

What the fuck

Like, why would the killer do this? It’s so unnecessary cruel, when they could have just hung her. I was honestly worried, as I thought about the method, that the killer would end up being Veronika, just because it’s so fucked I genuinely can’t see anyone else doing this. But Veronika doesn’t have a motive to do this: she’s talked about wanting to enjoy the trials for as long as possible, and it’s been set up if she murders, it would be of boredom. Doing that before a motive announcement which would make things interesting doesn’t fit her at all. Or maybe I’m coping.

The answer to the question of why the killer chose this method is only part of a larger question, though. So, knowing the method, how does that change the final question?

Who did it?

EDIT: DISCLAIMER: The following part of this blog is outdated. Go here to read a revised version of the method, with a different culprit. It's a reblog of thebadjoe's reblog of this post, as they pointed out a lot of flaws in my original theory (adult content warning for Arei's corpse). I'm leaving the rest of my original post up, but just know I now believe the killer to be Eden, with an accomplice.

Let me start by saying that I can’t definitively say anything about anyone, even knowing the murder method. However, this *does* paint some of the theories in a different light.

Smaller theories

I’ve seen a few people suggest everyone from Charles to J or even Arturo. A lot of these theories are decent, but some rely too much on certain assumptions which may or may not be disproven if this method is accurate.

Charles is ruled out. The murder required moving the corpse around postmortem, and while there wasn’t any blood around, Charles’ necrophobia would make it impossible for him.

A theory I saw was that J may have used her remote to open secret trapdoors and move around rooms, taking advantage of the placement of the playground in relation to the Movie Screening Room. However, while that theory is interesting, the murder is perfectly possible without these trapdoors, so the main argument kinda goes out the window. Although I guess it’s possible her remote could be used to make the carousel go spin, but that’s kinda ridiculous if you ask me.

Arturo was ruled out from the beginning because the handwriting in the note is too pretty to be a doctor’s. That’s a joke, and Arturo would actually be quite capable of the crime. In fact, he’s sort of become my second most likely culprit, even if he was accused early in the trial.

Hu / David manipulation, in shambles

A popular theory states that the killer was manipulated by David to do the deed. The most common victim of this manipulation theory seems to be Hu Jing. However, in my opinion, the sheer brutality of the method pretty much rules this out. David may be a good enough manipulator to get somehow to kill Arei, but I really doubt he’d be able to convince them to do… all this.

Especially since he has no reason to order the specific method, which would imply it was born from the killer’s own mind. So, even if David actually told them to kill Arei, they decided to use this insanely elaborate method all on their own. And, listen, I don’t care how you feel about Hu, she wouldn’t do this.

Is it still possible? Sure, I guess. Does it look a lot weaker under this method? Absolutely.

The surprisingly strong Whit/Eden allegations

I didn’t make this theory considering these two the killer, I really didn’t. I still don’t think they are. And yet, they are the only ones who could benefit from this method. How? The BDA.

You see that loophole, right? I noticed the moment I saw the rule. The way it’s written seems to imply the BDA only plays when three ‘spotless’ see the body, ruling them out as the murderer. Except, that’s not how it’s worded. It doesn’t say ‘three non-murderers’, it says ‘three people who didn’t witness the murder’.

So, pray tell, what happens if the culprit has their back to the victim when they die? Simple; they didn’t witness the murder, so their eyes count for the BDA.

How does this help? Well, imagine if Teruko had been the one to kill Arei. By making a contraption where she can be sure Arei dies instantly upon something happening (in this case, abruptly stopping the spin of the carousel), she can make sure her back is turned the moment Arei dies. Of course, the moment she turns around, the count for the BDA goes up to one, but it doesn’t trigger, since you need three.

Then, when Teruko ‘discovers’ the body alongside Eden and Whit, the BDA plays; one person (Teruko) had already ‘discovered the body’, so Eden and Whit seeing it would increase the BDA count by two. That makes three, BDA plays.

And yet, during the trial, if the murder method hasn’t been found out, Teruko could claim she isn’t the murderer because of the trickily worded BDA rule.

Now, we obviously know Teruko didn’t do it, but Eden and especially Whit are common theories. This could be used as evidence, except…

There’s a pretty obvious problem there. It’s not them, but Teruko who asks to team up in a group of three for the BDA, and it’s also her who suggests going to the second floor. Then, the playground is the last place they check, and Whit even questions Teruko when she suggests going there (the infamous ‘hanging out there’ line).

I wouldn’t rule out Teruko’s bad luck making her pick the absolute worst possible partner possible, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that neither Eden nor Whit were proactive in the search method, which goes against this potential ‘BDA alibi’ plan.

As for the rest of the theories, I don’t quite believe them. Yes, Whit definitely has more issues than he lets on, but he has no motive to do this (remember; he asked an entire group of people to reveal his secret if they had it, so the only reason his secret lasted until the trial was Rose throwing it away). Eden even less so.

And in the end, it really is the motives which points us to what I believe to be the killer.

Yeah, it’s Levi

As does what I believe is most of the fandom by this point, I think Levi is probably the killer.

Many have already theorized about the remaining motives, so I’ll spare you the ordeal and tell you: Just with the information all the characters have access to, it’s possible to narrow down Levi’s secret to ‘murdered someone’, ‘poisoned competition’ and ‘dead family’ (I know the last one’s Xander’s, but the characters don’t really have access to the Bonus Episode).

However, Eden can eliminate the ‘dead family’ one, as Levi has talked about his family with her, and they’re not dead (He also mentioned having brothers in the present tense during the trial, but just in case).

Min’s Bonus Episode makes it likely her secret is the ‘poison competition’ one, though how the characters are gonna figure that one out is beyond me. The point is, Levi’s secret is the ‘murdered someone’ one, the one Arei had. And, listen, in-game logic aside, you don’t just give that secret to the victim of the case and then have it mean nothing for the murder.

Other suspicious behavior has been noted, such as him wanting to start voting time quickly when David did his thing, him quickly checking the motives when they became public (keep in mind, as some characters mentioned, it’s possible the killer thought just killing someone before the motive reveal would be enough to prevent it), etc. Also possible foreshadowing such as Ace claiming Levi could ‘snap [his] neck with his bare hands’ and Levi promising to protect Eden in the trial, which is exactly what Arei did before dying.

However, something I feel people overlook is that not only did Arei get Levi’s secret, but it was also Levi who got Arei’s secret. A secret which, keep in mind, wasn’t public knowledge until the trial, when Levi finally revealed it. Sure, David and Teruko knew, maybe Eden at best, but other than that, only Levi knew of that secret.

And this is where the murder method may come in. I’m still unsure. Because the only reason I can find for this amount of elaborate planning and brutality, beyond the BDA thing which I mentioned likely isn’t important, is the killer having a deep grudge against Arei.

Levi is a guy who cares about his family. Sure, he was disowned, but he claims it was good, because he and his family were ‘bad influences on each other’. He seems like he genuinely wants the best for his brothers, it just so happened that the best thing was going their separate ways.

So, how do you think he feels when he learns that Arei, someone who had already insulted and belittled him, calling him a pushover and stuff, did horrible things to her sisters? If he doesn’t have the full picture, it’s not impossible to see how that may make him angry at her, especially with his already established anger issues.

Not to mention, keep in mind the setup for the crime was done one night after the Nico - Ace incident, one which ends with Levi grumbling ‘why do I even bother?’ as he locks himself in his room. This could imply a complete loss of faith in the group in general, which could lead to him deciding to kill.

Of course, that theory has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. Levi’s outbursts of anger don’t really last long enough for it to explain such a long and elaborate murder scheme. Not to mention, if he really did react negatively to the motive, he’d have done it the moment he received it, not several days later. He has murdered without remorse before, if his secret is to be believed, but until we get the specifics, we can’t know for sure how okay he’d be doing something like this.

However, the important question Levi as the culprit answers isn’t the ‘why?’, but the ‘how?’.

I’ve sorta glossed over it until now, but it would take quite a bit of strength to stop the spinny thing in the trick. I don’t think Levi’s the only one capable of it, but he’s certainly the most capable, if that makes sense. Not to mention, actually overpowering Arei in the first place wouldn’t exactly be easy. Plus, the ball of clothes being involved implicates him in a meta-sense, as it could technically count as his talent being involved in the murder.

The problem, of course, is that I have no definitive evidence. His custom weapon, brass knuckles, wasn’t involved at all, and there’s no way to place him at any of the important scenes. No one has an alibi for nighttime, no one has an alibi for 7:30 AM, and pretty much no one has an alibi for the Eden - Arturo - Arei incident (afternoon of the day of Nico’s attempted murder, when for now we only know Hu, David, Nico and Teruko where talking in the Relaxation Room. Though of course, the exact time is impossible to know).

I suspect he’s going to be suspected for the motive and the strength thing, and either someone will come up with something incriminating, or he’ll make a slip-up a la Mondo. I have no idea.

So… what did we learn?

Kinda nothing. As you can see, the murder method doesn’t really point to a killer in any definitive way, so we’re just back where we started, basically. But hey! It was fun! I guess.

Now, back to crying over the hiatus. See you!

[ranbling]

Sending this anonymously bc i don’t wanna get the b/t stans attacking me for saying my observation, but this is in regards to your post about tommy not being enthusiastic about buck

for starters i completely agree w everything you said so this is just my own blurb i wanted to add

this plays into my theory of tommy paralleling abby in s1 who was never looking for anything serious w buck, but saw him as a younger man who could be used as a play-thing meanwhile buck jumps in head first only to learn a lesson about what love actually is along the way after being hurt…. and ik a bunch of people are like “i don’t want buck to get hurt by another relationship” but i genuinely think he needs to be burned a few more times because he obviously still doesn’t realize that his own interests should be celebrated by his partner and not put down— buck hasn’t had something BIG happen to him since the coming out arc and that was a mostly positive arc, aside from the gaslighting from tommy but whatever… it’s time for him to go through another hurdle, not as a side player in someone else’s arc [bobby’s injury/eddie’s breakdown] but as his own arc in which he realizes he is worth more than just being a pretty boy who is only valuable when he’s being kissed. I hope that bobby and eddie’s storylines will show him that in the finale and we can end this whole buck/tommy fiasco before s8, but im scared they will drag it out further into s8 and we will get either retconning from the writers, or we will get the fandom backlashing against tommy being used for his original intended purpose which was to be a PLOT DEVICE…..

we also have seen buck’s interests and excited demeanor subdued and looked down on by taylor often during their relationship. i already have iffy feelings on how the writers handled her character and her relationship arc with buck but aside from the treasure hunt, we never really saw her propping up buck’s interests and often tried to subdue his “golden retriever” personality (something the buckley parents also did)

(this is also interesting bc Taylor Kelly and Tommy Kinard…. T-K and T-K, idk it feels very hmmm to me on top of Tommy kind of repping all of Buck’s past major relationships into s ball)

and i feel like the diaz parents and possibly whatever happens with the will could be that catalyst for him to finally be like “oh… i am worth more thsn just being a side piece” which would hopefully lead to a b/t breakup

bc think about it, who IS the only one (besides bobby/maddie) who is always trying to tell buck he is worth more than just what he is at face value? DING DING DING it’s eddie… and if we get that feelings realization of “oh this is what i need from a relationship and i get that from eddie” we can open the door to buck facing the “im in love with my straight best friend who is going through shit” crisis while eddie could have his own “i am projecting my feelings towards buck onto my dead wife because he is what i want and she is who i thought i was supposed to want”

also for eddie’s side of things, it could also be a sense of realizing that he’s projecting and this further idea of “i’m broken” and then realizing who has been there to help him patch things up in the past as he realizes that everything he has looked for in a partner (mainly someone to be a second parental unit for chris) he already has with buck.

anyway i am so sorry for the long ask i just wanted to put this out there and say that i fully agree w you and share my thoughts that coincide with yours

Hi anon!

I love long asks and I agree with every point you made! Buck is still very obviously stuck in the hamster wheel (but only this time with a guy) and the whole "I don't want him to get hurt" is such a weird thing to say. Like except for Abby, Buck wasn't really upset by his breakups and rn his relationship with Tommy is not deep with a lots of buildup, it's just some dates (one of them failed) and two kiss so not a situation that will cause him a lots of heartache

And Eddie is the one who really matches Buck's energy and not only always hypes him up, but he's just as ready to get into the those situations

The pining arc for them is gonna be soo good, but I really hope they won't make it too long, I think a half season for it is more than enough (but I am an impatient girlie and we had enough slowburn now), I just want them to be domestic

I honestly believe we'll either have bt breakup in the next episode or in the first episode of s8. They did nothing to develop their relationship past e6, but introduced many points that could he grounds for a breakup (all coming back to Tommy's behaviour).

[agentstarkid]

This little story turns one year old this July 31st!

We hopped with Girlie on a rollercoaster of finding (true) love, being quarantined in a foreign country, lots of internet meanies, making new friends, angst, heartbreak, depresh sesh, finding love again and so much more to come -- What a wild journey it's been, and I'm so proud I took the leap!

Looking back a year ago, I can't believe how far this story and I have come. I remember being so full of uncertainty and nerves to post that first chapter, and now, a whole year later, I'm writing little blurbs and one-shots in a whole different language to my main one.

And to celebrate this milestone with you guys, the DAN-Y/N stans out there, and as a thank you for all these 365 days of support and love to Danielito & Girlie's love story—a.k.a. my baby—, I put together a list of dialogue prompts from where you can pick one—or as many as you'd like—and send it to me so I can write a little blurb to go with it!

You can request a specific moment on the fic you'd like to see more (c'mooooon, they were together for 2 whole years! Let's see if you've been paying attention hehe), or just make a general request with a quote of your choice (or you can suggest one! Can't promise much on this, but I'd try my best to bring it to life, unless it is smut. I can't write smut for shitzels yet soz).

I'll be accepting resquests for the next 2 weeks!

✧. ┊ Series Masterlist

P.S. Fingers crossed next month I can—finally—post a new chapter! Adult life has been kicking my ass these past months so please be patient with me! — But my inbox is always open to talk! :)

— All the dialogue sources are linked!

“These are way too many, omg, I’m being squeezed by these pillows, love!” “Well I just, you know, thought that since you like to hold on to me while you sleep but we can’t do that right now, I decided to bring you all these.” “Aww, I appreciate it, baby, but would you mind moving some? And even though I do have these, I will miss your warmth beside me.” 

“You weren’t uncomfortable back there, right? I just wanted to make sure you were all right.” “No, no, I wasn’t. Thank you for doing that.”

"You had no business looking that good back there."

"Those could be our kids one day." "What...?" 

“They don’t know you, love. They don’t know how much we love each other. Let them think what they want to. It doesn’t matter, you know why? Because you are enough. We are enough.”

“I don’t want you to be perfect, sweetheart. I want you to be who you are.”

“I…I wasn’t sure if you’d like this, so I just bought all the colors they had there.”

“Stoooop. Stop making me all…” “All… what?”

“Sorry. I just... like seeing that I have an effect on you, I guess.”

“Life would suck complete testicles if it weren’t for you.” 

“I like seeing you this way. so… at ease. makes me wonder how anyone could ever purposely put you under stress and live with themselves afterwards.”

"I know you're struggling right now, and it's okay, okay? We'll get through this."

“With you, I see a forever I’ve never envisioned before. Not that I didn’t want to, it’s more because I wasn’t able to… At least until I met you.”

“God, I really don’t want to leave”.

“I’m so deftly terrified of falling in love. Because what if I end up with a broken heart? That thought itself is just so scary to me. I want to, but I can’t get over that fear.” “Then how about you let me be that first step you take into falling in love? I can help you get over that fear, if you’d let me.” 

“People say they fall in love like they fall asleep — slowly, then all at once. But the way I fell for you can only be described as that feeling when you’re drifting off to sleep, only to feel like you’re falling, oh-so-suddenly. So suddenly that it ends up startling you awake; heart racing in your chest because it feels like you fell off the precipice of a cliff. It’s quick and sudden, and there’s no slowness to it. It’s a crash and burn type of love that I feel.”

“They say the second time’s the charm.” “Was the first time not charming enough for you?” “No, but the second time’s going to be even better, I promise.” 

“If people can hate for no reason,  then I can love for no reason too.”

“I dunno who taught you that love comes with conditions and limitations, but mine doesn’t. Not when it’s you.”

“I don’t know how to ask for help i just— I’ve never had anyone to ask for help from before.  so…this is me trying i guess.  I need it and i’m afraid to ask for it.  That's the best I can do.”

“You really think a relationship should be that hard?” “No one writes songs about the ones that come easy.”

“If you don’t kiss me, right now…” “Then what?” “Then I will have to do it myself.”

"I think destiny wants us to be together, and you should never argue with destiny.”

“What do you think is our song?”

“I can’t concentrate, when you look at me like that.” “Well, you should be concentrating on me instead, so…”

“Sing for me.” “What would you like to hear?”

“I feel like I can breathe better with you around.”

“You’re much better off without me.” “You’re not the judge of that.”

“I love you, okay?! And I can’t stay in your life when I’m just ruining it.” “You can’t just say that and don’t wait for me to answer.”

“Your mom is coming over today.” “Tell her to bring fried rice or she’s not invited.” “You tell her, she’s your mom.” “But she likes you more!”

“Wait, you can’t swim?” “I was always more into sports on land where, you know, I can’t drown.” “I will teach you!”

“Every night before bed I write three good things that happened to me. And every night I find myself writing down your name.”

“God, don’t do that. You’re going to make me go on Santa’s naughty list tonight.”

“This heart belongs to you, and only you. And I’d hope you want to keep it for a very, very long time.”

“What matters isn’t the place, but the person you’re with at that place. So this is to say, being with you is enough for me. So long as you are there, then all is well.”

“If you don’t wanna spend the night in a empty house, you could always come over to mine.” 

"Hey, i think i can fit over here in this corner." "What are you, a plant?" "Maybe. you shine on me every day, after all."

“I don’t know what the future holds. all i know is that i hope you’re in it. “

“Annoying you is what I’m best at.”

“You get to curl up in my lap, and I get to watch a cinematic masterpiece in peace and quiet. i think this is a pretty sweet deal.”

“This is your home, just as it is mine.”

“That was your master plan? Really?” “No, my master plan was having no plan actually.”

“When life gives you lemons, squirt the juice into your enemies’ eyes and watch them whimper.”

“Maybe i'm too late to be your first, but right now, i'm preparing myself to be your last.”

“Over everything, I choose you.”

“You’ve given me so many memories, I'd hate it if you become one”

“I hope you heal from the things you dont wanna talk about”

“I was gonna marry her…”

“Because you always been my ticket home…”

“Have you ever gone stargazing?” “yeah, i’ve seen your eyes a few times.”

"Oh God- why are you half-naked?" "nothing you haven't seen before, love" "it's freezing, go put on a shirt-" "Nah, you can warm me up." 

“You never have to fear that you’re losing me.”

“Aw, you brought out the smile.” “Which smile?” “The one reserved for the people you love.” “How could you even tell?” “Because that’s how you smile at me.”

“No, you’re not allowed to smile at me like that.”

“This is not some predestined soulmate shit or fate or whatever. I love you all on my own. Because you’re awesome and because I want to.”

“You know, I prefer you naked, but that dress also looks breathtaking on you.”

“Believe in the me that believes in you”

“Work can wait. You need rest.”

“I got the recipe from your mom, i hope i did it justice.”

“I think i deserve a cuddle for letting you stick your icy little feet on me all night.”

“Ok…so, umm I made this playlist for our first month anniversary. I hope it’s not too bad!” “Omg, this is- I can’t believe it! I always wanted someone to make me a playlist!” 

“You already are a handful. Together, you guys are insufferable.”

“I’m right here.”

“Careful, or I will fall for you.” “You’ll be fine. I’ll buy you some knee pads.” “Knee pads but no helmet?” “If you’re falling for me, you’ve already taken a hit to the head.”

“Uh-oh.” “What’s wrong?” “That’s their ‘oh, you messed with the wrong bitch, bitch’ face.”

“You look like an idiot.” “You know, other people would say it’s nice to see me so happy. Or that I have a beautiful smile.”

“I’ve never seen you this happy before.”

“(Congrats.) You’re one of us now.”

“Please, never apologise for wanting to be loved.”

“Come on. I’ll show you how to dance”

"Are you still mad at me? I mean, it's okay if you are. I'm mad at myself, too."

"Put your head on my lap and sleep a little."

 “I don’t want to go to bed angry…can we please talk about this?” 

“Your cheeks are really soft.” “Stop squishing them!”

“You didn’t have to do anything…” “But i wanted to.”

[venusin-aries]

Anti’s coming into the Gwyneth Berdara tag and accusing Gwynriel’s of the mischaracterization of Gwyn or only liking Gwyn because of Gwynriel is fucking LAUGHABLE. 

All I've seen are posts singing praises about Gwyn (just Gwyn!) and I have NOT ONCE seen a Gwynriel shipper characterize Gwyn wrongly.

What are we mischaracterizing her for? 

Being brave as fuck for choosing to train to be a Valkyrie? Nesta’s admiration and fondness of her? For saying she’s resilient for being able to enjoy herself and laugh with her friends after experiencing some fucked up shit? THAT SHE'S LIKABLE?? Being strategic and patient FOR DAYS and spying on the Illaryian males before sending the beasts after them ruthlessly? Being smart and witty? Her interests in sex and smut and stating she doesn’t want to be coddled? Her willingness to sacrifice herself on the bridge? Her determination to finish the blood rite even though she was injured as fuck? Her unwavering loyalty toward Nesta and Emerie? That Nesta thinks her beauty is comparable to Mor and Merrill?

The fact that she’s not judgemental and she immediately accepted Nesta when they were sharing their stories? Her own struggle with guilt and self hate? Her immediately witnessing what Azriel is capable of when they first met? Azriel’s shadows reacting POSITIVELY towards her and yeah, the thought of her joy glowing in his chest? That she teases him and challenges him? That she hasn't seen him torture someone yet but she's seen worse shit soooo why would she be fazed??

She's canonly more suitable for Azriel than anybody else in the series and THAT'S why people dislike her as a character even though on her own she's a great character.

Those are only SOME of her positives we got in ONE book. Notice, some of those positives include Azriel, but most don’t 🤷🏻‍♀️. 

Allllllll of those points have textual evidence to support them. And these are allllllll the points Gwynriel shippers love to make about her. 

The only charactization of her anti’s will accept is if she goes back to the library, stays there and is never seen or heard of in canon again. Or if she’s evil which she’s likely not going to be. Stop being so petty. If anything SJM has her set up for a HEALING journey. 

However some people obviously like to see a female character STAY broken and let her trauma define her.

Getting mad when she's so obviously such a fun character? She has fun and laughs and teases her friends and Cassian and Azriel and enjoys herself but there's something wrong with that and you think its annoying????

Fanon Gwyn and Canon Gwyn are basically the same. If you don’t like fanon Gwyn, you probably don’t like canon Gwyn and that’s fine, whatever, I think you have totally shit taste but whatever just STAY OUT OF THE GWYNETH BERDARA TAG.

I see the shit ya'll tag and then delete.

I’m a Gwyn stan first and foremost but I have not seen one single other Gwynriel shipper mischaracterize her. 

Fanon is fun until it melts your brain and you start believing ONLY fanon and wrongly remembering canon and then attacking others for using canon to support their points. 

It’s crazy to me that anti’s can dislike a fictional character so much that the idea of potentially seeing more of said character in the canon universe and getting more fandom love honestly upsets them.

Like holy shit, I don’t like E/riel, but I have enough tact not to take that out on either Elain OR Azriel. And I don’t go looking to start shit with shippers because I'm not pathetic. Too bad some people can’t extend that same class to Gwyn. 

Also, I feel like some people forget about this fucking scene. 

Gwyn studied Ramiel's craggy, unforgiving slope. Not much snow graced its sides. Like the wind had whipped it all away. Or the storms had avoided its peak entirely. “Is it living, though? To take the safe road?”

“You’re the one who's been living in a library for two years,” Emerie said.

Gwyn didn't flinch. “I have. And I am tired of it.” She surveyed the blood-soaked leather along her thigh. “I don't want to take the safe road.” She pointed to the mountain, to the slender path upward. “I want to take that road.” Her voice thickened. “I want to take the road that no one dares travel, and I want to travel it with you two. No matter what may befall us. Not as Illyrians, not for their titles, but as something new. To prove to them, to everyone, that something new and different might triumph over their rules and restrictions.”

A cold wind blew off Ramiel's sides. 

Whispering, murmuring.

“They call this climb the Breaking for a reason,”Emerie countered gravely.

Nesta added, “Wehaven't eaten in days. We're down to the last of our water. To climb that mountain-“

“I have been broken once before,” Gwyn said, her voice clear. “I survived it. And I will not be broken again- not even by this mountain.”

Look at me and tell me this is a character we’ll never hear from again. Go right a fucking head. 

You can't come into the Gwyneth Berdara tag claiming we mischaracterize her. We take her as is. No need to pick her apart or give her little unnecessary traits to fit her better with any one.

It's not possible to make her out to be something she's not when every little thing we love about her is canon.

You can be salty over us comparing Bryce/Hunt and Azriel/Gwyn but oh wait! SJM uses similar language to describe them ON PURPOSE in canon as fucking well!!!

On purpose.

In fucking canon.

But we’re reaching.

Do not come into the Gwyneth Berdara tag and say Gwynriel’s make it hard to like her but oh, you do like her you do! And then go on to say she’s nothing more special than a Valkyrie or Nesta’s friend. Yeah, I fucking saw that shit.

People are weirdly jealous over a ship/inspiring character a lot of people relate to.

Gwyn is not stealing Azriel from any one because there’s NO ONE to steal him from.

These character's are fake but the hate and vitriol ya'll are spewing at people who like her are very real.

Just stay out of the Gwyneth Berdara tag if you don't like her.

[chiyuuchu]

Hello!!! Your account layout reminded me so much of this song called Virtual Angel by ARTMS… I was wondering if u could do a story based off the song! It can be either todoroki or bakugou (leaning more on todoroki) but it’s fine, whatever u think will fit!!! The song is in Korean (bc it’s kpop…) so u can search up Virtual Angel English lyrics and there will be a ton of results! Love ur account!!! 🪽🪽🪽💕💕💕

Virtual Angel <3 (9th August 2024)

Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Prompt! She’s there when no one else is, guiding him through his struggles and helping him thaw his frozen emotions.

a/n i’ll continue to write for everyone’s request! this song has inspired more plots for my future writing and speaking of kpop, stan kiss of life!

The sun was setting over U.A. High, casting long shadows across the school grounds. Shoto Todoroki walked silently through the empty courtyard, his mind as distant as the horizon. He had always been alone, even in a crowd, his heart wrapped in layers of ice that kept everyone at bay.

But lately, something strange had been happening. He had begun to see her—a girl with soft eyes and delicate wings that flickered and glitched as if they were part of a broken hologram. She appeared when he least expected it, standing just out of reach, her presence both comforting and unsettling.

“Who are you?” he asked one day, his voice low and cautious as he stopped in his tracks to look at her.

“I’m Y/N,” she replied with a gentle smile, her wings fluttering slightly before flickering out for a moment, then reappearing. “I’m here to watch over you, Shoto.”

He blinked, confused. “Watch over me? Why?”

She stepped closer, her expression soft but unreadable. “Because you need someone to. I’m here to help you, to guide you. But... you’re the only one who can see me.”

Shoto frowned, his heart beating a little faster. He didn’t want to admit it, but there was something about her that felt familiar, like she had always been there, just beyond the edges of his vision. But the more he tried to focus on her, the more her wings seemed to glitch, fading in and out of existence.

“I don’t understand,” he murmured, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Is there something wrong with me?”

Y/N’s smile grew sad, and she reached out, her hand passing through his like a whisper. “Because you’re special, Shoto. But it’s not time for you to understand yet.”

As the days passed, Shoto found himself increasingly distracted by Y/N’s presence. She was always there, watching him, guiding him through his training and offering quiet words of encouragement when he needed them most. But no one else could see her, and that was beginning to worry him.

In the quiet solitude of the training room, Shoto stood in front of a line of dummies, his breath steady but his heart racing. He had been struggling with controlling both his fire and ice in harmony—every time he tried, one would overpower the other, leaving him frustrated and drained.

“You can do this, Shoto,” Y/N’s soft voice echoed around him, though no one else could hear it. She stood beside him, her glitchy wings fluttering faintly. “Remember what I told you—balance comes from within, not from force.”

Shoto clenched his fists, his mind torn between his two halves. “It’s not that easy,” he muttered, the cold creeping up his right side as the heat flared on his left. “I’ve tried everything.”

Y/N stepped closer, her presence soothing. “You’ve been fighting against yourself, trying to control the elements instead of embracing them. You’re not just fire or ice—you’re both. Let them coexist, like two parts of a whole.”

He looked at her, her figure flickering slightly, but her eyes steady and full of belief. For a moment, the doubts that had always plagued him—the fear of becoming like his father, the resentment of using his fire—began to fade. In their place, a new resolve took root.

Closing his eyes, Shoto took a deep breath, letting go of the tension in his body. He visualized the two elements not as enemies, but as partners. The cold was his calm, his clarity; the heat was his passion, his drive. Together, they were his strength.

Slowly, he extended both hands, letting the ice and fire flow naturally, meeting at the center. Instead of fighting for dominance, they intertwined, swirling in harmony. The air around him crackled with energy, but it was controlled, purposeful.

When he opened his eyes, the training dummies in front of him were frozen solid, with delicate patterns of frost etched into their surfaces. At the same time, a thin line of fire traced through the ice, splitting them in two with precision.

He exhaled, a sense of relief and accomplishment washing over him. For the first time, he felt at peace with his powers—not as separate entities, but as parts of who he was.

Y/N smiled, her wings shimmering brighter for a moment. “See? I knew you could do it.”

Shoto turned to her, his heart swelling with gratitude. “I wouldn’t have done it without you, Y/N. You’ve helped me more than you know.”

Her smile turned wistful, and she reached out, her hand brushing his, though he couldn’t feel the touch. “I’m just here to remind you of what you already have inside, Shoto. You’ve always had this strength—you just needed to believe in it.”

As she began to fade once more, Shoto felt a pang of loss, but also a deep sense of connection. She might not always be visible, but her influence, her belief in him, would remain.

“Thank you,” he whispered, watching as she disappeared into the air, leaving behind a warmth that lingered in his heart.

And as he stood there, alone but not lonely, Shoto knew he would carry her guidance with him, wherever he went.

One afternoon during a class sparring session, Shoto paused mid-battle, his gaze flickering to where Y/N stood by the wall, her wings glitching and shimmering. He hesitated, just long enough for his opponent to land a hit that sent him sprawling.

“Erm.. Todoroki, what’s been going on with you?” Midoriya asked as he helped him up, concern etched on his face.

Shoto shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “It’s nothing. I just... got distracted.”

But it wasn’t nothing, and it wasn’t just distraction. His classmates had started to notice how often he seemed to be talking to himself, how his gaze would drift to empty spaces as if someone was there. The whispers began—quiet, anxious murmurs about whether Todoroki Shoto, the stoic and powerful student, was losing his mind.

One evening, as Shoto sat alone in the common room, Y/N appeared beside him, her wings flickering more than usual. She looked concerned, her brows furrowing as she studied him.

“They’re worried about you,” she said softly, her voice almost a whisper.

He sighed, leaning back against the couch. “They think I’m crazy. That I’m talking to myself.”

Y/N’s expression grew pained, and she knelt beside him, her hand hovering just above his. “You’re not crazy, Shoto. You’re just... different. They don’t understand because they can’t see what you see.”

He turned to look at her, his heart heavy with confusion. “But why can’t they see you? Why am I the only one?”

Y/N hesitated, her wings glitching wildly for a moment before settling down. “Because you’re special,” she repeated, her voice barely audible. “But the reason... it’s something you have to discover on your own.”

Shoto’s life became a strange balance between the reality his classmates lived in and the world he shared with Y/N. He spent more time alone, retreating into the quiet places of the school where he could talk to her without worrying about the stares and whispers.

The common room buzzed with the usual after-school chatter, but Shoto sat apart from the others, seemingly engrossed in his own world. Y/N was sitting beside him on the couch, her glitchy wings softly flickering in and out of view. They were deep in conversation, her voice a soothing presence amid the noise.

“You’re making great progress,” Y/N said with a gentle smile, her wings briefly flickering out before reappearing. “But remember, don’t push yourself too hard.”

Shoto nodded, his expression thoughtful. “I know. It’s just... there’s still so much I need to work on.”

“Who are you talking to?”

The sudden question pulled Shoto out of his conversation. He looked up to find Midoriya and Iida standing in front of him, both wearing identical expressions of concern.

Shoto blinked, momentarily disoriented. “What?”

“You’ve been sitting here, talking to... someone,” Midoriya said, glancing around the empty space beside Shoto. “But there’s no one here.”

Iida adjusted his glasses, his tone serious. “We’ve noticed this happening a lot recently, Todoroki. You seem to be having conversations with thin air. Is everything alright?”

Shoto hesitated, glancing at Y/N, who watched the exchange with a sad, knowing smile. He knew they couldn’t see her, couldn’t understand the connection he had with the angel that only he could perceive. But how could he explain it to them without sounding crazy?

“I... it’s nothing,” Shoto finally said, his voice quiet but firm. “Just... thinking out loud.”

Midoriya exchanged a worried look with Iida. “Todoroki, we’re your friends. If something’s bothering you, you can tell us.”

Shoto appreciated their concern, but he knew they wouldn’t understand. How could they? Y/N was a part of his reality that was invisible to everyone else, and he wasn’t ready to let go of the comfort she brought him.

“I’m fine,” Shoto insisted, a little more forcefully this time. “Really.”

Midoriya frowned but nodded slowly. “Okay. But if you ever need to talk, we’re here for you.”

With that, the two walked away, leaving Shoto alone once more. He let out a quiet sigh, turning back to Y/N, who was now watching him with a soft, almost apologetic expression.

“They’re worried about you,” she said gently.

“I know,” Shoto replied, his voice tinged with frustration. “But they wouldn’t understand.”

Y/N’s wings flickered as she leaned closer, her presence a comforting weight against the confusion swirling in his mind. “You’re not alone, Shoto. As long as you believe in me, I’ll be here, even if no one else can see me.”

Shoto nodded, feeling a sense of calm return. No matter what his classmates thought, as long as he had Y/N by his side, he knew he could face whatever challenges lay ahead.

But the more time they spent together, the more Y/N’s wings glitched, and the more fragmented her presence became. Sometimes she would fade entirely, only to reappear moments later, her form flickering like a faulty video feed.

“Something’s wrong,” Shoto said one day as they sat together on the roof of the school, the sky darkening into twilight. “Your wings... they’re not supposed to do that, are they?”

Y/N looked at him, her eyes filled with a sadness he couldn’t quite understand. “No, they’re not,” she admitted. “But it’s because... I’m not meant to be here. Not like this.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his heart tightening at the thought of losing her.

She sighed, her wings fluttering weakly. “I was sent to guide you, Shoto. But the more time I spend here, the more unstable I become. It’s because... I’m not supposed to get too close.”

Shoto’s breath caught in his throat. “Too close?”

Y/N nodded, looking away as if ashamed. “I’m not supposed to feel the way I do. Angels aren’t meant to emotionally attach themselves with the people they watch over. It makes us... vulnerable.”

Shoto stared at her, the weight of her words sinking in. “But what if I feel the same way? What if... I don’t want you to leave?”

She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. “Shoto, if I stay, I might disappear completely. But if I go, you’ll be alone again.”

“I don’t care,” he said, his voice firm. “I’d rather have you with me, even if it’s just for a little while longer.”

Y/N’s wings flickered, the light from them dimming slightly as she leaned closer to him. “Then I’ll stay,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “For as long as I can.”

As the days turned into weeks, Y/N’s presence became more fragile. Her wings, once vibrant and full of light, now glitched constantly, sometimes fading entirely for moments at a time. But despite this, she stayed by Shoto’s side, guiding him, comforting him, and helping him find strength in himself that he never knew he had.

But the price for her closeness was becoming too much to bear. Her energy was fading, and every day, she grew weaker. Shoto could see it, but he didn’t know how to stop it.

One night, as they stood together under the stars, Y/N’s wings began to glitch so badly that they flickered out entirely, leaving her looking almost human. She gasped, clutching at her chest as if in pain.

“Y/N!” Shoto reached out to her, his heart pounding with fear. “What’s happening?”

“I’m losing my connection,” she said, her voice strained. “If I stay any longer... I might disappear forever.”

He shook his head, panic rising in his chest. “No, you can’t. I need you, Y/N. Please, don’t leave me.”

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at him, her heart breaking. “Shoto, I love you. But if I stay, I’ll be gone forever. I need to go back, to regain my strength. But I promise... I’ll always be with you, even if you can’t see me.”

He stared at her, desperation in his eyes. “But how will I know you’re still there?”

She smiled through her tears, her form flickering like a dying flame. “You’ll feel it, Shoto. In your heart. I’ll always be with you, guiding you from afar. You just have to believe.”

And with that, she began to fade, her body dissolving into the night air, leaving only a soft, glowing light where she had been.

Shoto reached out, trying to grasp the light, but it slipped through his fingers, leaving him alone in the darkness.

Shoto Todoroki stood on the roof of U.A. High, gazing out at the horizon as the first rays of dawn broke through the darkness. It had been weeks since Y/N had disappeared, but he could still feel her presence, a gentle warmth in his heart that hadn’t been there before.

His classmates had stopped whispering, and the rumors about his sanity had faded away. But Shoto knew that Y/N had been real, that her love had been real. And though she was gone, she had left him with a gift—the strength to believe in himself, and the hope that one day, they would be together again.

As he closed his eyes, he felt a soft breeze brush against his cheek, he felt a soft breeze brush against his cheek, as if Y/N's presence was lingering in the air around him. He looked up at the sky, the dawn breaking with hues of pink and gold. The world seemed brighter, more vibrant, and he knew it was because of her.

Shoto had changed. The ice that once encased his heart had thawed, replaced by a warmth he hadn’t felt before. He no longer felt alone, even when he was by himself. Y/N's love had left an imprint on him, one that would guide him through the rest of his life.

As he turned to head back inside, a familiar glimmer caught his eye—a soft, fluttering light that seemed to be dancing on the edge of his vision. He smiled, feeling a sense of peace wash over him.

“I’ll keep believing,” he whispered to the wind. “I’ll keep our promise.”

And so, with Y/N’s love and guidance forever etched into his heart, Shoto Todoroki continued his journey, stronger and more hopeful than ever before. Though the world might never see her, he knew that she would always be with him, a silent guardian in the shadows of his life.

The classroom was quiet, the afternoon light streaming through the windows as the students settled into their seats. Shoto sat at his desk, his gaze distant as he replayed the conversation he’d had with Midoriya the day before.

“Midoriya,” Shoto had asked, his voice low and hesitant. “Have you ever wanted something so badly, but you know it can’t happen? Like… it’s impossible?”

Midoriya had looked up from his notebook, his expression thoughtful. “Yeah, I think everyone’s felt that way at some point. But… have you ever heard of manifestation?”

Shoto frowned. “Manifestation?”

“It’s the idea that if you focus on something hard enough, if you really believe in it, you can bring it into reality. I know it sounds strange, but sometimes, what we think is impossible can become possible if we put enough energy into it.”

Shoto had nodded, filing the idea away in the back of his mind. That night, as he lay in bed, he tried to concentrate on Y/N, her smile, her voice, the way her wings flickered in and out. He willed her to come back, to be real again, with every fiber of his being.

But now, a week later, there had been no sign of her. He was beginning to lose hope, wondering if he’d just imagined everything—if Y/N was truly gone.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden, loud entrance of Kaminari, who burst through the classroom door with his phone in hand, grinning from ear to ear.

“Guys, you’ve gotta check this out!” Kaminari exclaimed, waving his phone around as he approached the group gathered near the front of the room. “There’s this new VR game that just came out, and it’s insane! You can actually talk to angels in it—like, full-on conversations and everything!”

Shoto’s heart skipped a beat. He turned in his seat, watching as Kaminari pulled up the game on his phone, showing the others. On the screen, an angel with glitchy wings floated, her face eerily familiar to Shoto, though he knew it wasn’t exactly her.

“It’s so realistic,” Mina said, leaning in to get a better look. “You can customize everything—their voice, their appearance… It’s like they’re really there with you.”

Kaminari nodded excitedly. “Yeah, and it’s not just that. The angels remember things, like conversations you’ve had before, and they even give advice based on what you tell them. It’s wild!”

As his classmates crowded around Kaminari’s phone, laughing and talking about the game, Shoto felt a strange mix of emotions. Was this the result of his attempts at manifestation? Had he somehow brought Y/N back, but only in a digital form that anyone could access?

The idea left him feeling both hopeful and hollow. She wasn’t truly back, but a part of her seemed to linger in this new, unexpected way. Maybe this was the universe’s answer to his longing, a reminder that even though some things couldn’t happen exactly as he wanted, they could still find a way to exist.

He wasn’t sure what to do with this realization, but as he watched his classmates interact with the virtual angel, Shoto couldn’t help but feel a bittersweet comfort. Perhaps, in some small way, Y/N was still with him—just not in the way he had hoped.

Late that night, Shoto sat in his dimly lit room, the quiet hum of the VR console filling the space. The headset felt heavy in his hands as he hesitated, staring at the screen that prompted him to begin. He knew it wouldn’t truly be her, but the thought of seeing Y/N’s face again, even in a digital form, was enough to make his heart ache with anticipation.

With a deep breath, he slipped the headset over his eyes and powered on the game. The world around him dissolved into a soft glow, and slowly, the environment began to take shape—a serene, ethereal garden, bathed in the light of a setting sun. The colors were warm, golden hues blending with soft greens, and in the center of it all stood the figure he had longed to see.

Y/N was there, her glitchy wings gently fluttering, casting a shimmering light that reflected off the virtual petals around her. She turned to face him, a familiar smile gracing her lips.

“Hello, Shoto,” she greeted, her voice exactly as he remembered—soft, soothing, and filled with warmth. “It’s been a while.”

Shoto’s breath caught in his throat. Even though he knew she wasn’t real, the sight of her, so vivid and alive, made it difficult to hold back his emotions. He took a step closer, his heart pounding in his chest.

“I… I wasn’t sure if this would work,” he confessed, his voice trembling slightly. “But I needed to see you again. Even if it’s just like this.”

Y/N’s smile remained gentle as she tilted her head slightly, her eyes filled with a kindness that seemed to pierce through the digital façade. “I’m here now, Shoto. And I’m glad you found me.”

Shoto swallowed hard, trying to keep his composure. “It’s not the same,” he whispered. “But… it’s better than nothing.”

The angel in front of him nodded, her wings flickering slightly as she moved closer. “I may not be exactly as you remember,” she said, her tone understanding, “but I’m here to help you, just like before.”

Shoto reached out a hand, hesitating just before his fingers could touch her. He knew it would feel cold, artificial—nothing like the warmth he associated with her—but the gesture alone gave him some comfort.

“Can you still… guide me?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Y/N’s expression softened, her wings fluttering with a faint glow. “Of course,” she replied, her voice reassuring. “I’ll always be here for you, Shoto. Just like before.”

And as Shoto stood there, bathed in the gentle light of the virtual garden, he allowed himself to believe, just for a moment, that this was real—that she was real. In this world, she could exist again, even if only in pixels and code.

It wasn’t the same as having her by his side in reality, but it was a connection nonetheless—a way to hold onto the part of her that had helped him through his darkest times. And for now, that was enough.

[deliciouskeys]

Hot takes, roughly in order of how much I care…

Homelander and Ryan

I liked the what felt like 2 minutes of Ryan and Homelander that we got in this episode. I know where they’re going with this, but I expected so much worse from the slapping scene that was mentioned in spoilers. Is the Boys writers’ room going on record that corporal punishment may not be justified in the face of sexual harassment? Because I think that’s a controversial stance, especially if there’s a clear work power dynamic at play lol. Anyway, I’m glad they chose this gray scenario, because it’s really hard to be sympathetic with a guy like Adam.

When Homelander says “that’s… amazing”, I think that’s being interpreted as incredulous and dismissive in online circles. I think he’s genuinely surprised that’s what first comes to mind to his son, but I don’t think he’s disdainful per se. In Homelander’s mind “saving people” is very much synonymous with “putting wrongdoers in their place”. And since he sees society (‘in America’) as wrong, his grand plan of supes becoming more of a despotic pantheon over the normies isn’t necessarily in contradiction with Ryan’s desire to ‘save people.’ TL;DR I don’t think HL is dismissing Ryan’s aspirations out of hand.

(Hearkening back to “You people should be thanking christ that I am who I am, because you need me. You need me to save you, you do. I am the only one who possibly can.”)

ETA: ok I need to clarify this part since what I wrote here sounds like HL and Ryan are going to get along great and that’s not what I meant to convey. I cannot field all the DMs! This is a hot take! I just meant that I didn’t expect HL to realize he might not know what Ryan wants because he’s been fucked by Vought. My expectations bar is perpetually low, please keep this in mind. I also despise the oversaturation of portrayals of bratty kids in media so please know that’s just my personal aesthetic bias.

Other Vought peeps

I wish Sage got more screen time. I appreciated ATrain’s taking initiative to escape notice. I do wonder what Ashley would have done if Cameron Coleman hadn’t just broken up with her.

I’m glad Stan Edgar gets to say Homelander is a “Freudian cesspool of random impulse and deep insecurity” right on the heels of e4. “Glad” lol.

Virus farm section

I’m getting a little tired of characters saying “we’re at an impasse” when… they’re clearly not at any real impasse. Victoria could have exploded the Boys’ heads and brought in other redshirts to help find Sameer if she really wanted to. And she paid the price for not doing that. Is the implication that she is afraid of Annie and Kimiko?

As for the virus… well. I’m strangely fine with what Billy is doing. If this virus isn’t even that contagious supe-to-supe, then his plan to keep trying to kill HL with it makes a lot of sense. As for Sameer? Well, if they hadn’t wasted the “last dose” (see below for why that’s stupid) of the virus on sheep, and Victoria didn’t just shrug and say ‘guess that’s that’, and also let the Boys live in the first place, Sameer would still have his leg.

I did cringe when the sheep was vomiting its guts out and Victoria, Kimiko, and Annie were all within Ebola-body-fluid-droplet range of it. Because this thing does sound more contagious than HIV, at least.

If Billy Butcher really needed some more virus I hope he grabbed the carnivorous sheep carcasses. Presumably there’s a gallon of replicated virus right there. Not only does it kill supes, it’s also a virus that replicates orders of magnitude faster than any living thing on earth lol. There are many things that are funny about how they’re researching this virus. Not a single biohazard tissue culture hood in sight. No cell based assays. AAAAANYWAY, it really doesn’t matter. Big fast compound V targeting(?) virus doesn’t need logic.

Overall just not a fan of big loud sequences with ultimately low stakes, so the flying sheep were a lot less fun to me than the e2 fight scene action.

What I think isn’t working

This is minor but after Gen V, I cringe at Sam’s acting. Just that one line they gave him sounded bad to me, and I know it’s probably just PTSD from how much I disliked the end of Gen V but there it is. I’m sorry to those of you who like him, this is clearly personal opinion. Cate is fine, she can stay.

Hughie’s storyline… I don’t even know what to say. Nothing about his parents’ shitty behavior was resolved. And then Hughie was forced to say his dad is his hero to save his mom’s life. And also be the one to euthanize him. What a weird, weird arc.

I’m saying absolutely nothing about Frenchie’s storyline because it is even more inexplicable. @kosmochlor covered it all.

[firstknightvulion]

Now, there is some discourse regarding Minthara and her romance. Specifically, that it feels out of character for her to romance a Masculine presenting Tav. I respectfully disagree.

Minthara is all about power. Ya gotta prove yourself to her. Be vicious and direct. She don’t give a hoot about your gender identity, she’s looking at your kill streak.

But it did give me an idea. Minthara has spoken about going back to Menzoberranzan and burning that fucker to the ground to spite Lolth (paraphrasing). My Seladrine Drow Tav (half Drow/half moon elf) would join her because he’s got a hate boner for the religion of Lolth that’s been turgent since his family and friends were killed by a Lolth Warband’s attack on his Eilistraeen compound.

Now, I imagine her first target would be her house. Minthara would want to twist the knife. Make them suffer.

Minthara’s Mother stands in the great hall of her house. Two of her daughters stand by her side. They are the last of their house. Hours before a shadow descended into their home and started systematically killing every living thing inside.

The great doors to the hall fly open with an explosion. Shrapnel and smoke fill the space. A heart beat later, two arrows fly through the air with deadly intent. They find their marks in the two daughters. One is hit through the eye, she drops instantly. The other is struck in the throat. She does not die quickly. She gurgles and grasps at her throat, feebly trying to stop the escaping blood. Her hands fall limp as the sound of deliberate footsteps fill the hall.

Minthara’s Mother looks away from her daughters’ corpses and up at the dark figure walking towards her. It is dressed in Drow leathers, a hood and mask covering the face. Two green eyes stare at her from shadow of the hood.

Minthara’s Mother: What pit spawned you!?

A chuckle is heard from behind the figure, a deep and dangerous sound. Minthara walks in, blood and a wicked smile painting her face.

Minthara: Hello, mother.

MM: Minthara?! You heretical traitor! Why haven’t you had the decency to die?!

Minthara: The Spider Bitch’s webs will burn, mother. The house Baenre will be the first of the kindling.

MM: You would have us become ash for the sake of such blasphemy?! Deeper and deeper you fall into a pit of shame!

Minthara: To feel shame, I would need to feel remorse. I assure you, mother, I feel only joy. The fact that you were cast down by one so low shall keep warm and smiling for many decades to come.

Minthara pulls back the figures hood. The scared face of Drow male greets her. His eyes a green and while sporting the dark skin of a Drow, it is very pale, almost ashen.

Minthara: This male is of the traitors that stole away to the surface to follow Eilistraee!

MM: How?! How were we defeated by such an inferior being?!

Minthara: Stealth is very broken in this game, mother.

Tav: Minthara! The fourth wall!

Minthara: He was conceived by a loving union that bridged the gap between Drow and our surface kin! In the missionary position!

MM: *gasps*

Tav: *giving Minthara a very confused look*

Minthara: He is not only a third son, he is a sixth son! You were beaten by a third son times two!

MM: *clutches her metaphorically pearls*

Tav: *is an only child but knows enough of Menzoberranzan culture to be slightly offended*

Minthara: He is my romantic partner! I treat him as an equal!

Tav, somehow, feels the sensation of someone vomiting in his thoughts.

MM: You disgust the Spider Queen! Next you’ll tell me you don’t even peg him!

Tav: No, she does.

Minthara: Mother, please. I’m a genocidal conqueror, I’m not debased.

Suddenly, Minthara pulls the sword out of the scabbard hanging from Tav’s back. Within a blink of an eye, it is driven through her mother’s chest. Minthara leaves it embedded in her mother’s body half the blade sticking out of her back. With a gasp, she falls over.

Minthara: *kneeling down to whisper in her mother’s ear* The blade is of Eilistraee. Fitting, don’t you think, mother?

Minthara stands, throwing her head back and raising her arms, as if soaking up sunlight. She begins to laugh.

Minthara: The first conquest is done.

She walks over to the Matriarch’s throne and sits down.

Minthara: Come, fuck me.

Tav: Now?

Minthara: What better time and place than this? My former house is ended, my mother dead-

Tav: She’s not dead.

Minthara: What?

Tav: Still gurgling.

Minthara: Oh, for the love of-she can’t be long for this world.

Tav: Do you want to wait? I don’t want to pull out the blade in case that kills her. I’ll be hearing about taking the honor of killing the mother for years after.

Minthara: No, I don’t want to wait!

Minthara quickly jogs over and pulls the sword out of her mother’s chest. She plunges it in again, hitting the ground underneath. With pure malice in her eyes, her mother reaches up to clutch Minthara’s leg.

Tav: Wow, she is resilient.

Minthara: Enough of this!

Ripping the sword out of her mother’s chest, Minthara makes a wild swing and cut the Drow’s head clean off. The pair watch it roll down the length of the hall. Before another snarky comment can leave his lips, Minthara’s mouth collides with his. They stand, kissing, amongst the skeleton of Minthara’s old home for several moments.

Minthara: Come, there is a duty to which you must attend.

Tav: You have a thing for thrones, don’t you?

Honestly, I should get an Ao3 account cause my posts are looking like fanfiction chapters.

This post was all to get to that line Minthara says about the sixth son. That and the 4th wall break.

[robo-milky]

NEW YEAR CLOCHE AND ROOK ARE SOOO CUTE TGT!!!!! I LOVE HER QI PAO ACTUALLY WIWMWMWKWKKWKW-

Chris hear me out…. Cloche restocking the shelves, and struggling to reach the top most one…. And Rook just sweeping in, gingerly plucking whatever goods are in Cloche’s hands. Ah, allow him to assist you, Cloche darling. With his back slotted against hers, stretching over her head to place the goods where they should be….

Maybe even grazing her chin with his fingers, tilting her face upwards to face him… the ghost of a smirk dancing across his cheek…

The brainrot ok- also randomly you know the beckoning cat? The 发财猫 (?) the little guy you see waving outside stores? Rook just holding cloche up outside the store like the lion king meme💀

New Year cards give me so much brainrot tbh including cater’s stupid fucking card I want to chew him so bad

WE STAN NEW YEAR CLOCHE DRIP!!!!! (Please give me a discount I am going broke)

Happy New Years, Ceru! I’m wishing all the best for you too <3 TYSM for popping by and I’m glad you liked her qipao 😭 (Girlie will not culturally appropriate… until she does- /j)

[Response]

• First of all… whAT THE HELL IS THIS NEW YEARS FIRECRACKER—?????!?!!?!

• C-C-Cloche is gonna do her best to be the best volunteer she can be and goddamn it, Rook! Don’t make it seem like she only took the job just for him- (she prolly did let’s admit it-). C’mon Rook, where’s your fighting spirit to have the best team and get the special bonus?!?!? No distractions !!!!1!1!1!1!1! I stg one of them will be “grounded” cause of this-

• …you’re not even ghost marriageable, rook… trying to show off and reach whatever shelf you can… waiting for him to be humbled when there’s a shelf even he can’t reach I’m- 😭

• Rolling on the hills and screaming at the top of my lungs you just had to infect me with more brainrot for this man… I’m gonna get you for this someday…

• Ah, the maneki neko ✨Love those lil guys fr. Imagine Sam having a broken one and then the Rook&Jade team swooping in all like “I have an idea for a replacement, if you’d let us” *cue scheme*

• Rook would most definitely hold up Cloche like that at one point- Only Rook cause… A) Cloche would have scratched Jade B) Rook may or may not want others touching what’s his in such a vulnerable state- I’m sorry I’m being so delulu rn I cant cry sobbing this is fanon event rn-

• …I’d also like to envision that Rook burst into tears whenever he comes in contact with Cat! Cloche because she’s just so tiny and weak/deformed???

• Cater wants to play hagoita with you so bad. …The 50 thaumarks will be worth it! Once the whole New Years sale is wrapped up, you may or may not have a surprise gift or two waiting for you. Cater just wanted to earn back the cash he’s blown, and he did, and what else was he to do with the special bonus?

• You’ll always have a discount, Ceru <3 Cater may or may not have passed on a little message to the third year part timers ;)

[miraculouscriticismshub]

My thoughts on Felix - anti hero gone wrong

Introduction - SEASON 5 SPOILERS AHEAD

Felix Fathom - the show's anti hero. Easily one of the smartest characters of the show and has gained quite a large fanbase. However , his Character took a drastic turn in Season 5 , with the transition from anti-hero to a hero. He joins the team in the season 5 finale - which has raised a few eyebrows. This post will explain my thoughts on Felix and why I dislike how his character has been written this season . Don’t get me wrong , I don’t hate Felix but it annoys me how he does awful things and doesn’t face any consequences. This is not a hate post on Felix but simply me sharing my opinion on him.

His Character explained up until Emotion

Felix seemingly had a rough childhood. Due to Amelie being infertile , Colt created Felix from the peacock miraculous , which caused him to be a senti.

Due to Colt using the broken miraculous , he got sick and seemingly blamed , abused and controlled Felix.

When Felix was 13 , due to frustration , Colt punched the wall , breaking the ring which is where Felix’s amok is. This nearly killed Felix and made him realize his life was tied to his father’s ring. Soon his father died and he took his ring , securing his freedom. However he was forever paranoid of the idea of disappearing and when he found out about the peacock miraculous, he made it his goal to steal it from his uncle to ensure his survival. We see him first in the episode Felix , where he steals Gabriel's ring. We see him come back in Gabriel Agreste , finding out his uncle is a Shadow Moth , confirming his suspicions that he had the peacock miraculous.

The trauma from his interaction with Gabriel , thinking he was about to be snapped out of existence, triggers him to complete his mission. In the Season 4 finale , he steals most of the miraculous and trades all of them and Gabriel's ring for the peacock miraculous.

The rings from my understanding were a safety net in case anything went wrong. He knew Gabriel would never trade the peacock miraculous for his wife's ring because of how powerful the miraculous was so he stole most of the miraculouses because he knew about Gabriels plan. He laid low for a few months then in the episode Emotion , he committed mass genocide by snapping every human to the red moon and leaving only the senti-trio and Marinette on Earth. 

His motive - freeing his cousin and Kagami ( who he recently found out was a senti) from their parents. He however realized he lost control and brought everyone back. Felix is an anti-hero in the sense that he had good intentions but goes about it in the wrong way. He had a good reason to trade the jewelry for the peacock in order to be free , to never be under the mercy of the peacock miraculous holder , who can snap him out of existence anytime. However he achieved his goal in an unethical way , by betraying ladybug and stealing the miraculous. This also applies in Emotion , he felt empathy for Kagami and felt bad about Adrien because he was in the same situation as them which is not being able to be in control of themselves. He wanted to help them experience the same freedom he has so he snapped Gabriel and Tomoe to the red moon.  However he went way too far by snapping away literally everyone committing genocide. He had a sympathetic motive - helping Adrien and Kagami but how he conducted his methods in a questionable way portrays him as a morally gray character.

This is what makes his Character compelling . You sympathize with his character and understand why he does the things he does but at the same time disagree with his methods and resent him for helping the main villain. 

Why Feligami doesn’t work

Pretension is the episode where Felix’s character went wrong for me. This is mainly because of Feligami (sorry Feligami stans😔😔). He seemingly falls in love with Kagami after one episode and from my understanding - stalks and kidnaps her from her mom . Now Tomoe is awful but there really was no need to kidnap her - she was only shouting at her - not beating her up. He kidnapped Kagami not because she was in any danger but wanted to confess his love towards her and make her fall in love with him . Kagami was not having any of it however when he seemingly saves her and tells her about his tragic backstory , she instantly gains feelings.

The problem with this is that Kagami barely knows Felix . From her POV , he could easily be lying in order to gain sympathy from her. They got together during one episode which caused the ship to feel rushed. Another reason why this ship doesn't work is how they fell in love. Sure Kagami saw Felix differently after Felix saved her from Tomoe and gave her the ring but you don’t fall in love after three interactions.

Kagami chooses to be with Felix because he looks exactly like Adrien which causes the ship to be unhealthy because she still has unresolved feelings for her ex. She doesn’t love Felix for who he is , she loves him because he looks like Adrien. If she started dating Felix after knowing him for a few weeks/months then it would’ve made more sense that she fell in love with Felix because of his personality , not his appearance.

Felix only like Kagami because she was a senti , he barely cared for up until Emotion. He only spent a couple of hours with her before snapping everyone away and then decided he loved her.  If Kagami wasn’t a senti , he wouldn’t have taken interest in her and snapped her away without caring. The last reason why I dislike Feligami is that it feels forced . The sole reason why the writers gave Felix a love interest is to make him look more redeemable. Kagami is one of the show's more loved characters ( from season 4 at least) and making her and Felix get together was for the purpose of making Felix more likable. To conclude , Feligami is a cute idea but the execution of their storyline was done badly. They fall in love despite barely knowing each other and Kagami forgives Felix way too easily after knowing his story. If you like Feligami though , that's perfectly fine. 

Representation mess

This episode made me lose most of my respect for Felix as a character (I can hear the Felix stans typing 😂😂). The first reason why this episode wasn’t well written is how Felix approached Ladybug. When performing his cringy play (which turned out to be pointless) he asked for Ladybug help without uttering a single apology for everything you’ve done to her. He SA’ed Ladybug and gave her trauma by stealing the miraculous but still had the audacity to request assistance without saying sorry. Isn’t he ashamed of himself or feel any guilt ?

He also sought Ladybug's aid not because he wanted to free Adrien from Gabriel , not because he felt bad about what he did in Strike Back and wanted to seek forgiveness by teaming up with Ladybug to help her defeat Monarch but because he wanted to love his girlfriend freely. He only helped Marinette , gave her the information she needed because it benefited him . This isn’t a bad storyline for an anti-hero. An anti-hero only works for himself but the reason why this storyline failed is because the narrative pushed Felix to be some sort of hero. His moments with Kagami make him look like a good guy and the backstory made Felix sympathetic.

The moment  where Felix explains why he stole the miraculous felt more of a justification portraying Felix as someone who is innocent and hasn’t done anything wrong. He is sympathetic and tragic but isn't exactly a good person either so the part where he justifies what he did and the narrative portraying him as a hero felt like bad writing.

Another thing that bothers me is the inconsistency of Felix creating a sentimonster which is a projector. He said in Pretension he refused to create another senti just for him to abuse them , control them and snap them out of existence when he’s done with them.

However , after Mari wakes up , she sees a feather which we could assume means Felix has snapped it out of existence when he was done with it. The annoying thing is that this could’ve been avoided if Felix wasn’t a coward and went up to Ladybug , APOLOGIZE for what he did , says he wants to help her defeat Monarch and tell him everything he knows. Man up Felix ! The least he could’ve done was give the senti its freedom instead of killing it. However in defense of Felix , he did tell Ladybug about Adrien being a senti which redeemed him somewhat , but the info on Monarch's identity was pointless and the information Felix revealed was barely used in the finale until the Adrienette kiss scene.  Overall this Episode made me lose most of my respect for Felix's character because the writers try so hard to portray Felix as a hero or a good guy when clearly he still is the same as before. He still has villain like tendencies that are never addressed and this episode really swept all of his bad deeds under the rug. 

Why his redemption doesn’t make sense

During the epilogue of the finale - he seemingly is chilling at the Agreste mansion and spends time with Kagami - eyeing her cutely. However the most insulting thing about the finale is when Felix seemingly joins the team confirming a redemption arc (pls don't kill me Felix stans🙏🙏). He is pretty much forgiven for his crimes and faces no real consequences. Well to be fair , he did face a small consequence for mass genocide , he lost control of his power and realized he is no better than Monarch. This is shown when  he cries after snapping the red moon out of existence.

However that was the only consequence he faced out of many crimes he committed and he never redeemed himself to Ladybug for killing everyone. Instead he got rewarded with a girlfriend and ownership of his Miraculous despite his identity being known. The reason why his redemption makes no sense is that he never apologized to Ladybug or proved himself that he is a good person. Sure he had good motives and felt remorse a few times but he never said sorry to Ladybug or felt any guilt about helping Gabriel. His abuse under Colt explains his actions but does not excuse them so him seemingly being forgiven by everyone  without proving himself just felt wrong. The season 5 finale was a missed opportunity to redeem Felix the right way with him saving Adrien and Kagami from their prisons or him fighting alongside Ladybug against Monarch. Instead he was absent and only showed up in the epilogue. Another problem is that his redemption was rushed , only a few weeks ago he committed mass genocide but now he’s besties with Ladybug and already part of the team , the same team he ruined by stealing all the miraculouses. Did she also forget he forced himself on her ? Felix can do whatever he wants without ever being held accountable or face any punishment. I’m not against a Felix redemption arc if it’s written correctly. His character would’ve been better if he continued to be an anti-hero and is redeemed in later seasons.   Therefore , his redemption felt ruined because he basically got away with most of his crimes and was forgiven easily without ever apologizing or feeling much regret. He basically faced no consequences for SA, assisted terrorism , mass genocide , stalking , kidnapping and instead got rewarded .

Final thoughts

To conclude ,  Felix started off as a great character with layers and complexity but unfortunately got ruined as the story progressed. I don’t hate Felix , his character is fascinating because of his character status as morally gray but like most characters in this show , was a victim of bad writing. His redemption felt disappointing and his relationship with Kagami felt unnatural. I understand his motives (he was doing it for his own survival) but they way he conducted his methods was immoral. He got away with most of his crimes and faced no punishment. Hot take but Felix is one of those characters who’s better off as an anti-hero. He still has so much villain potential which shouldn't go to waste. However I will end this post on a positive note and say not all hope is lost and Felix’s character can be saved in season 6. Going forward , I hope Ladybug and Cat Noir (especially Cat Noir)  still are a bit suspicious of Argos and don’t fully trust him despite letting him into the team.  Another Unpopular Opinion is that I want Felix to turn on the hero team in future seasons and work with the villains. It’s logical because he never was held accountable or faced real consequences so what is stopping him from betraying the team again ? His character has so much potential and he is unique solely because he is an anti-hero. I hope in Season 6 , his character improves. However these are just my opinions , if you love Felix and agree with how the writers are handling his character , that is perfectly fine .  Please stay respectful 😊😊😊 .

[starlightsweetheart]

Someone needs to write a thesis on this, please.

I honestly can’t understand the lack of…(sorry, I couldn’t stop myself) intelligence of Riley and Rucas (and Joshaya) fans and how they can possibly buy into the “Maya turned into Riley” and the “Maya never actually liked Lucas, she only liked him because she turned into Riley” bullshit? I guess it’s because they are stans of the character/couple, and they just don’t care about actual facts:

a) You can’t turn into someone else. It’s not frickin’ possible. People can change, but they can’t turn into someone else.

b) You either like someone or you don’t, it’s as simple as that (and again we’ll emphasize this point: you can’t use an excuse of liking someone because of “turning into someone”, see a)).

c) Trying to manipulate and convince someone to believe that they have changed their personality to become you and insisting that the only reason why they were interested in someone is because they turned into you… that is abuse.

This is exactly what Riley was doing to Maya. Insisting that Maya changed into her, insisting that Maya only liked Lucas because she became her, and that was also the reason why Maya was doing better in school.

Riley was doing that while also showing how low her opinion of Maya actually is: Maya will have 5 husbands, accusing Maya of pulling the fire alarm, accusing Maya of theft (if I was Maya, that would be the final nail in that friendship coffin).

Riley needs Maya to be inferior to her. Riley needs to be superior, it props her up. She can’t have someone from a broken home becoming better than her… and Riley’s absolutely can’t have Lucas pick some lowlife over her.

Also, I wonder if there’s something wrong with the Matthews family, period. Cory likes to take pot shots at Maya and her life… and then we have another gaslighter (and narcissist), Josh Matthews.

Josh loves the idea of Maya pining over him and waiting for him. Having someone fangirl-ing over him gives his ego a huge boost, and he’s not going to let that go. So, instead of using Riley’s gaslighting accusations, he comes up with another bullshit excuse: Maya only like Lucas because she was trying to protect Riley 🙄🤬. This way he kills two birds with one stone. He gets to keep having fawning over any scrap of attention he throws her way, while his niece gets the guy. Win-win for the Matthews.

It honestly makes me wonder the actual reasons of why GMW was cancelled. Was Disney getting complaints from parents over the way Maya was being treated? If I was a parent, I sure wouldn’t want my kid watching a show which was partly based on bullying and manipulating a character, never mind that it was the main character doing the bullying and manipulation.

Thoughts?

[aceofstars16]

Next chapter is up! It's the climax...hehehe

Ford takes a drastic measure to stop Bill…

You can read on AO3 or below the cut

Chapter 10 - Desperate

“This was no accident, Stan; you did this!

“And until you make us a fortune, you're not welcome in this household!”

“Stanford? Don't leave me hangin'. High six?”

Stan looked up at the window, looking desperately at his brother. Then the curtains closed and he was alone. For a moment, the word seemed to grow dark. Then he yelled up at the window.

“Fine, I don’t need you, I don’t need anyone!”

“So why should you help him now?”

The thought entered Stan’s mind, unbidden, but he couldn’t entirely reason away. Ford had pushed him away. He had left him to his own devices. And now he had called him here because he needed help. When Ford hadn’t helped him in his desperation. When he was just a kid…

“Would he do the same for you now?”

Once again, the thought felt disconnected to the scene, but it was something Stan had wondered. Had Ford changed? Had he realized he'd made a mistake in pushing Stan away? Or had he changed so much that none of the brother he remembered remained?

“Stanley?”

The voice echoed around the dream, then everything started to fade away. In a blink, the memory was gone and Stan was looking up at the ceiling. A hand shook his shoulder and he batted it away.

“I’m up, I’m up.” Truthfully, sleep still clung to him. The thoughts in his dream were still ringing in his head, planting seeds of doubt in his mind. Which only grew as he sat up and saw Ford looking at him, a frown etched on his face. The eyepatch he had been wearing was nowhere to be seen.

“Good, I...I need your help with something.” Ford looked at the ground as he spoke. There was an edge to his voice that made Stan uneasy.

“You want me to tie you up again so you can sleep?” It was the logical assumption. Ford still looked exhausted, and sleep could only be good for him. Even if it meant having another frustrating conversation with the stupid triangle guy.

“What?” Ford glanced at him and shook his head. “No, it’s…something else.”

“What is it?” Stan could practically hear Bill mocking him, telling him that Ford only wanted him to come to his house to send him away again. Was he finally going to learn the truth?

“I…” Ford let out a breath, still not looking at Stan. “Come on. I…I need to show you something first.”

So much for answers. Trying to push aside the disappointment, Stan stood up, shaking the remnants of drowsiness from his body. “Uh…lead the way I guess.”

Ford nodded and stood up, not even looking at Stan. Then he headed out of the room and lead Stan to a bookcase, with an elevator behind it.

“Woah…this is fancy…” Stan muttered. It was hard not to be a little jealous that Ford had a nice house with an elevator when he only had his car.

Ford hit a button in the elevator and it descended, the silence only broken by the rumbling of the mechanics. And as the seconds ticked by, Stan could feel a weight growing in his chest. The door opened and he was immediately met with a room full of a bunch of machines that he didn’t understand. It looked like a nerd’s paradise. So it made perfect sense for Ford.

“Hope you don’t expect me to work any of this stuff.” Stan placed a hand on one of the machines.

“Don’t touch-!” Ford snapped, and Stan quickly removed his hand, feeling a spark of annoyance as his brother’s aggravation. Why bring him here if he was worried about Stan messing something up?

“I…” Ford shook his head. “Sorry. I just…I need you to understand that this is dangerous.”

The heaviness in Stan’s chest grew. “Is this what the kids were talking about?”

Ford looked at Stan in confusion, then it cleared and he sighed. “Yes, it’s…one of my biggest mistakes.”

Stan swallowed down any resentment at knowing that Ford leaving him behind wasn’t his biggest mistake. However, the thought was quickly chased away as Ford pulled a switch, resulting in a cavern outside of the room lighting up.

“Woah…what’s…?”

“It's a trans-universal gateway, a punched hole through a weak spot in our dimension. It connects to…Bill’s domain.” Ford huffed. “I suppose I should tell you about Bill.”

“The weird triangle that wants to take over the universe?”

“What? How did you-?”

“Dipper told me while you were gone. Granted, it sounds like something out of a TV show or something, but…” Stan paused, not sure if he wanted to admit that he'd talked with Bill while Ford had been asleep.

“He’s real.” Ford said, glancing at the portal. “And I need your help to get rid of him.”

“Me? What do you want me to do? Punch you really hard or something?” Stan couldn’t imagine how he was supposed to stop something that lived in Ford’s mind.

Ford let out a strained laugh. “No…not…not exactly.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Stan…” Ford looked at him, maintaining eye contact for the first time since he had woken Stan up. “I need you to promise me that you will do what I ask of you. No matter what.”

The words hung in the air. Stan found himself frozen in place. There was something in Ford’s gaze that made him hesitate. He couldn’t pinpoint it at first. Then it hit him. Ford was scared. No, not scared. He was terrified.

“What…what are you wanting me to do?” Stan could barely get the words out. He had never seen Ford look so…shaken.

Ford’s gaze flicked away. “I…I need your word first, Stanley.”

“Ford, what’s going on? What are you thinking? Please, talk to me!” Anxiety was growing in Stan’s body with each second. He didn’t know what Ford was thinking, but everything in him was screaming that it wasn’t good.

Ford swallowed hard. “I…I have to get rid of Bill, Stan. But I can’t do it without you.” He glanced up, looking at Stan again. The terror was evident in every line of his face – he wasn’t trying to hide it any more. But there was something else lying underneath it. Desperation.

 “Please, Stanley. Promise me.”

Every bit of Stan’s common sense screamed at him to decline. There was something bad going down. This was not right. But the absolute desperation on Ford’s face stopped him from telling his brother that he was crazy and he’d never agree to do something until he knew what it was. Because Ford needed him. So, despite his better judgement, Stan found himself nodding.

“Alright…fine…I…” He swallowed and met Ford’s gaze. “I promise.”

Ford’s shoulder’s relaxed and he drooped in relief. “Thank you, Stanley…”

Stan tried his best to smile at his brother. “Yeah, so uh…what’s the plan?”

Swallowing, Ford dug into his coat and pulled out a gun of sorts. He fiddled with it for a bit, seeming to input something into it. “I need you to…take this and…” His fingers froze for a moment, panic crossing his face. Then he shook his head. “I need you to shoot me with it.”

“WHAT?!?” Stan stared at his brother in shock. “I’m not going to shoot you, Stanford!”

“It’s not a normal gun, Stanley. It’s…it’s just something that will get Bill out of my head. That’s all.” As he spoke, Ford held out the gun for Stan to see more clearly.

Trying to taper his dread, Stan looked at the gun. It definitely didn’t look like a regular gun, but still… “It won’t hurt you?”

Ford looked away for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before looking back at Stan. “No, it won’t hurt me.”

Stan found the words less than reassuring. But he trusted his brother. He had to. It would be okay.

“There is one more thing.”

The dread returned full force. “What?”

“To make sure that Bill is fully in my head, so he can’t survive, I need to let him take over my body.” Ford frowned. “And unfortunately, he knows what I’m thinking, so he will try to convince you not to do it. He will say anything, Stanley. But you can’t listen to him.” The desperation was back, creeping into Ford’s voice and covering his face as he spoke. “Do you understand?”

Despite the unease that had been haunting Stan since he came down here, he felt a resolve overwhelming him. This thing had been hurting his brother. And now he could get rid of it. “I understand.”

Ford nodded. “Good. Now…let me show you how this works…”

-----

Dipper woke with a start. Wind was battering against the windows, and as he sat up, a branch hit the house, resulting in a loud BANG. Which explained why he’d woken up.

Rubbing his eyes, Dipper looked around. It was fairly dark in the room, but there was a small lamp on, showing Fiddleford conked out on the table with the time machine. He vaguely remembered sitting down with Mabel and talking about Stan and Ford. She hadn’t seemed to learn much about what had happened between them, but Stan had told Dipper everything. Or at least, everything from his perspective. Mabel, of course, had been crushed, and Dipper himself couldn’t shake the uneasiness at how such a little mistake could tear twins apart.

Before they had had fallen asleep, they had promised not to let anything like that happen between them. Though there was one thing that Dipper found himself worrying about.

“We have to help them make up!”

“But, Mabel, we don’t know how that would affect the future!”

“But they need each other, Dipper!”

“I…I don’t know, Mabel. Maybe we should sleep on it.”

The hurt on Mabel’s face still haunted Dipper as he glanced at her. She was still fast asleep. It’s not that he didn’t want to help Stan and Ford, but he also didn’t want to do something that would destroy the timeline. For all he knew, if they did something drastic then they might cease to exist.

Sighing, Dipper slowly got up, careful not to move Mabel. He needed some water to help him clear his head. But as he walked by Ford’s room, he noticed that the door was open. And poking his head in, he saw that no one was inside. Where were Stan and Ford?

All thoughts of water forgotten, Dipper quickly made his way around the house, looking for the brothers. But they weren’t anywhere to be found. Which only left…the basement.

Memories of his last time down there played in his mind. He didn’t really want to go down there by himself again, even if Stan was down there too. Swallowing hard, Dipper made his way back to Mabel and gently shook her.

“Mabel. Hey, wake up.”

“No more Smile Dip.” Mabel muttered in her sleep and Dipper shook her again. This time she jolted awake.

“Huh? What? Dipper? What time is it?”

“I…I’m not sure. But I can’t find Stan or Ford. I think they might be…in the basement.” Dipper said, glancing in the direction of the bookshelf.

“Why would they be there?” Mabel muttered, sitting up.

“I don’t know but…with everything going on I…I think we should check it out.”

Mabel frowned. “Do you think Bill is doing something?”

“I don’t know…”

“Don’t mention that name.”

Dipper and Mabel both looked quickly towards the table.

Fiddleford was blinking hard, but frowning at them.

“You know about Bill?” Dipper couldn’t help but ask.

Not meeting his gaze, Fiddleford nodded. “A little. I don’t remember much but…” He shook his head. “Never mind. Bill can’t be trusted.”

“We know that.” Mabel said.

“Which is why I want to go down to the basement to make sure everything is…okay.” Dipper said, trying to ignore the goosebumps growing on his arms.

“I’m not going down there again it’s…” Fiddleford trailed off. “Wait a second. How long have I been asleep?”

Dipper shrugged as did Mabel. “I don’t know, you were still awake when we fell asleep.”

“I remember working…and then…Ford brought me some coco…I never could stay awake after drinking a cup…” Fiddleford sat up straight, then grabbed for the bag that he had brought with him and dug around in it. “No, no, no! Where is it?”

“Where’s what?” Dipper and Mabel asked at the same time.

“My memory gun, it’s…it’s gone!”

“Your what?!?” Dipper blurted out.

A shadow grew over Fiddleford’s face. “I don’t know what’s going on but…” He let out a huff. “We have to find Stan and Ford.”

-----

“So, it shoots light or something?”

Ford could hear the uncertainty in Stan’s voice, but he did his best to ignore it. Stan had already agreed to his request, all he had to do was make sure that it went according to plan.

“Not light exactly, it���s complicated. But it does look like light.”

“Right…” Stan said, and Ford could feel his eyes on him. Ford knew that Stan wasn’t a huge fan of this plan. After all, despite what had happened ten years ago, Ford knew he wouldn’t want to wipe Stan’s mind. Not that Stan knew what the gun would do but…Ford knew that if he told him, he wouldn’t do it. And Bill needed to be stopped. This was the only way.

“Right. And there are a few things I…need to make sure you do after Bill is gone.” Despite his exhaustion, Ford found himself pacing. After all. that would aid him in letting Bill take over.

“Woah woah, what do you mean? You can just make sure they get done, right?”

Ford made the mistake of looking at his brother. He caught the concern in his gaze and quickly looked away., blinking a few times to try to ease the discomfort in his eye. “Yes, well…I will probably need to rest afterwards. And these things should be done as soon as possible.” It wasn’t a full lie. Ford would need sleep afterwards. It just…wasn’t the full truth either.

“Ford…” Stan’s hand rested on his back and Ford skittered to a stop at the familiar gesture. “Is there something I should know?”

For a moment, Ford considered telling Stan the truth. But he couldn’t. Swallowing he shook his head. “No…I mean, yes. After everything is done, I need you to make sure that the portal gets dismantled. Fiddleford should be able to help with that. And he can use parts from the portal to fix the time machine as well.”

“Okay…I can do that I guess…” Stan glanced at the portal and Ford followed his gaze before quickly looking away.

“Good. Make sure the kids get back and…” Sighing, Ford pulled his journal out of his coat. “I need you to hide this somewhere too.”

“What? Hide it? Why?”

“It…it has too much dangerous information in it. No one should ever find it. I’ve already hidden the other two.” Ford held the book out and Stan hesitantly accepted it, frowning.

“Doesn’t Dipper have one of them?”

Ford let out a breath. “Well, yes, but…that’s in the future. I…maybe Fiddleford should check my hiding place and make sure it can’t be accessed….” He muttered to himself, his thoughts going faster than his mind could keep up with. Shaking his head, he brushed aside his mutterings. “But someone needs all of the journals to understand the portal anyway, so it…it should be fine.”

“You sure?” Stan was looking at Ford again, doubt clouding his gaze.

Quickly looking away, Ford nodded. “Yes. I…I think that’s everything. I’m…I’m going to meditate. Bill used to use me that way. And if not…”

“You’re tired enough you’ll probably fall asleep anyway?”

Ford quickly looked at Stan as he said exactly what he was thinking.

“You look dead on your feet, Sixer. It’s not that hard to put together.”

“Oh…right…” Ford sighed, then gestured to the journal in Stan’s hand. “You can put that away. Focus on the gun right now. And remember-”

“The creep is gonna try to convince me not to shoot you. I got it, Ford.”

For a moment, Ford looked at Stan. Not for the first time, anxiety grew in his chest. He didn’t want to lose his memory. He didn’t want to forget everything. Panic started growing in his chest. Then a hand rested on his shoulder and their eyes met.

“It’ll be okay, Stanford. I promised, remember?”

There was nothing in Stan’s voice that left any room for doubt. Ford could trust his brother. For a moment, he opened his mouth, wanting to tell Stan what would really happen. And how scared he was. Then Stan grinned and patted his shoulder.

“Now, you go on and meditate or whatever.” He held up the memory gun. “I’ll get rid of that jerk.”

Ford’s gaze grew blurry and it took him a moment to realize that his eyes were watering. No, not watering – tearing up. He quickly looked away and nodded. “Right.”

Then he sat down and crossed his legs. Looking up, he saw Stan giving him a thumbs up. That was the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes.

-----

Stan watched as Ford sat there. He had never meditated before so he didn’t really know what to expect. After a few minutes he started tapping his foot.

“Stan, I can’t focus when you do that.”

Letting out a breath, Stan stilled his foot. “Right. Sorry.” It wasn’t his fault that his anxiety was building. After all, he didn’t know exactly what to expect, and just the thought of pointing a gun – even one without bullets – at Ford just felt wrong.

Time ticked on again. Stan tried to hold his tongue, but patience was never his strong suit. “How long does this normally take?”

A frustrated sigh escaped Ford. “Stanley, please this…this is hard enough as it is.”

Trying his best to swallow down his anxiety, Stan tapped his fingers on the gun. It wasn’t as loud as his foot, and Ford didn’t comment about it, so he figured it wasn’t too loud. As he did so, he glanced at the gun, his gaze resting on the screen at the end of it.

Wait. Why did it say…Stanford Pines? Wasn’t it supposed to get rid of Bill?

“You know, he doesn’t really trust you.”

Stan jumped at the voice, immediately pointing the gun at Ford. Because despite the voice being his brother, he knew that it wasn’t really him. His finger found the trigger, and he started to pull it.

“He didn’t tell you what that thing would actually do to him.” Ford looked up at him and smiled knowingly, which effectively stopped Stan’s finger.

“He told me it would get rid of you.” Swallowing, Stan started pulling on the trigger again.

“Ah, yes. But he didn’t tell you that it would get rid of him too.” Ford held up his hand and studied it. “Would be a shame for you to destroy your brother, wouldn’t it?”

The words made Stan’s skin crawl, and his finger stilled again. Then he shook his head, remembering that Ford had told him Bill would do this. He’d try anything to keep Stan from shooting him. “I know your game, triangle. You can’t fool me.”

Ford tapped his chin thoughtfully then grinned in a way that mad Stan’s skin crawl. “I’m not trying to fool you. I know what your brother didn’t tell you. He’s so desperate to get rid of me, that he asked his own brother to destroy his mind.”

 “I…he wouldn’t…”

“Wouldn’t he?” Ford grinned. “Why else do you think his name is on that gun?”

Against his will, Stan found his hand lowering. He knew this had to be a game, just Bill trying to get into his mind too. But…Ford hadn’t exactly explained how this gun worked…

“That’s right...” Ford slowly stood up. “You are only a tool for him. He doesn’t actually care about YOU!”

At the last word, Ford lunged for the gun. Stan tightened his grip on it too late. It went clattering to the ground, a slight chinking sound filling the air as it did so. Stan lunged for it but Ford slammed him into the ground sending the gun skittering further away.

Kicking hard, Stan tried his best to shove Ford off of him.

“Oof, you are a fighter, huh?” Ford growled, then bolted forward.

Stan quickly swung out his leg, tripping his brother. Lunging forward, he reached for the gun. Something grabbed his leg and he kicked without thinking and thrust his arm forward, grabbing the gun.

“Give me that!” Ford screamed and in that split second, instinct took over.

Stan rolled over and fired.

Light erupted from the gun, hitting Ford right in the head. The scream that escaped his brother chilled Stan to the bone, but he couldn’t force his finger to leave the trigger.

The whirring of the gun grew louder and higher pitched. Then the bulb shattered, cutting off the light. Stan quickly threw the gun to the side, grimacing as a few pieces of glass cut his hand.

For a moment, Stan just sat there, catching his breath as adrenaline continued to pulse through his body.

A groan shook him from his shock and he looked at Ford.

His brother was kneeling on the ground, holding his head. Panic overwhelmed Stan and he quickly scooted forward. “Ford, are…are you…?”

Ford slowly looked up, his hands falling from his head as he did so. He narrowed his eyes in confusion as he looked at Stan. “Wha-?”

Stan sagged with relief. Deep down he knew that Ford was himself again. Bill wasn’t in control. “Oh thank goodness.” Stan couldn’t stop himself from reaching forward and pulling Ford into a hug.

Ford didn’t return the hug, and Stan realized maybe he needed a little space after having Bill in his mind. Leaning back, he let out a breath and smiled reassuringly. “You’re okay. I thought that stupid triangle might actually be telling the truth.”

 “T-triangle? Wh-what?” Ford muttered, looking around in confusion.

“Don’t worry about him. He…I think he’s gone now. Come on.” Stan stood up and held out his hand, finding a real smile growing on his face. It was over. He had helped Ford, and Bill was gone.

“I…okay…but…” Ford looked at Stan’s hand then up at him, confusion etched on his face. “Who are you?”

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

WELCOME BACK!!! That’s right fellow humans, it’s the second episode of

Bedtime Stories With PCE

And man did I enjoy writing this one, my sweet boys, Stan with the broken ribs and struggling with being hurt for the first time since running dry, his super awesome sponsor, Kyle w the solutions, Moose being the best lil cat ever, just!!!!! And this one is really important to me, because it is SMACK DAB in the middle of Broken Bottles From Apartment 2 after our beloved vet tech Stan gets kicked by a scared horse at work, setting the ball rolling for the rest of that story. Essentially I wanted to address more of his mentality following that incident, and to have y’all meet his AA sponsor! Iconic. Here’s

•coconut yogurt•

“Jesus, dude, that looks bad.”

“I’m-“ Stan cut off with a sharp *schh* as Kyle helped him the rest of the way out of his scrub shirt. “Fuck, I’m okay.”

Breathing fucking hurt. More than that, he was seriously bummed that not only was he on bed rest for two weeks (something that his partner would no doubt enforce with an iron fist), but he was gonna be stuck to paperwork once he could finally go back to work. And it wasn’t like he could quell the boredom by slipping away to the clinic for a few hours while Kyle was at his own job, because Wendy ran the front office and would not hesitate to rat him out.

“Baby, they’re only a little cracked.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and carefully helped him ease to a more comfortable laying position on the couch, gently resting one of the big ice packs they always kept on hand over his side. “Where’s your discharge shit?”

“Front pocket,” he muttered.

Kyle grabbed the papers and scanned them quickly. “Hairline fractures… bone bruising, sweetheart, how on earth are you breathing?”

“Carefully?” His partner didn’t seem to like that response. “Ky, I’m okay. You know how much worse it could’ve been?”

“YES! Yes, I do, Stan! Don’t fucking-“ his face softened. “Don’t smile like that about broken ribs, dude.”

“I’m not smiling about that; I’m smiling about you.”

“You’re hopeless,” Kyle laughed. “The hell am I supposed to do with your hopeless romantic ass when you say sappy bullshit?”

Stan might’ve been a little foggy from the pain. Maybe. “Aww, babe, C’mere,” he struggled to open his arms, which was annoying, yeah, but he wanted to hold Kyle.

“Dude, I am SO not laying on you.”

“Just a little?”

“No.”

Kyle went to read the paperwork again, fully ignoring Stan’s efforts to get cuddled. “Babe…”

“Your prescription should be ready, dude.” Kyle knelt down to kiss him. “Gonna be good if I’m gone for a few?”

Stan pouted, knowing damn well he was being dramatic, but not caring. “I don’t want it.”

“We went over this, sweetheart. You had a problem with alcohol, not pills. Is it just because you don’t like taking stuff anyway?”

“…yeah.”

“Okay.” Kyle kissed him again. “You’re sure?”

Honestly, he wasn’t. There were a lot of feelings coming up right now. Kyle noticed, because of course he did. “Stan, I know that face.”

Against his will, tears started trailing from the corners of his eyes.

“Oh, dude, I know.” Kyle took Stan’s face in his hands. “Look, I really don’t want you to hurt, okay? I know you’re emotional right now. I’ll give you your meds when you need them, and you don’t need to think about it. I can ask the pharmacy about the info too. Hon, we’re gonna know exactly what you’re taking, and you’ll be just fine.”

“I- I always heal fast.”

“You do,” Kyle assured him. “And there’s nothing wrong with needing a little help, okay?”

“Uh huh.” Yeah, he would call his sponsor. He needed to talk this out, with someone who got it. Kyle understood for the most part; he literally had a degree in psychology and had been firsthand through an eating disorder, which was its own form of addiction, but, well, specifics. “I’m- *hic*- gonna text Mark, maybe zoom into tonight’s meeting.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Kyle rose and ran his hand through Stan’s hair. “Ten minutes, hopefully.” He glanced at the corner and laughed. “Oh, poor thing doesn’t know what to do! It’s okay, Moose, c’mere, keep your dad company.”

Their cat slowly crept up to the couch, perching on the arm like a sentinel and making a cute little “mrrmm”.

“Good boy.” Kyle spun his keys once around his finger, and put on a serious face, staring down at Stan with one eyebrow raised. “Now, don’t you move.”

“Just stay where I can see you douse the lights.”

Kyle laughed. “You’re incredibly lame. I’ll be right back.”

That laughter seriously helped so much. “Okay, dude, you know where to find me.”

Moose had started purring, asleep next to him by the time Stan worked up the motivation to get his phone and send Mark a “yo I got the fuck kicked out of me by a horse I won’t be there tonight”. The old man immediately called him.

“Hey,” Stan answered, trying not to laugh at how fast that call was, because he knew that would feel awful.

“The hell do you mean, “hey”, Superman? How’d you get kicked by a damn horse?”

“Oh, you know.” Just hearing his sponsor’s voice helped. Some of the older crowd at AA had taken to calling him “Superman” too, which was objectively funny, and also comforting to hear, especially right now, when he was feeling vulnerable. “Went to give him an antibiotic shot, he got scared and bucked around, broke my ribs.”

“Christ.” He could practically hear Mark rolling his eyes through the phone. “Leave it to you. How ya doin’ with all of that? Gonna be able to come chair tomorrow?”

Judging by how much he was hurting, definitely not, even if Kyle would let him leave the apartment. “I was thinking I’d Zoom in. Will you, uh, do you think that’d work?”

Mark chuckled. “Well, I don’t know much about the video callin’ you young folks do, but I’ll figure it out. Might need ta get Laura to help me. She’s good with technology.”

Laura was a woman even older than Mark, who was not good with technology. Oh yeah, this was gonna be fun.

“Seriously though, kid, are you okay?”

Stan sighed. “It’s- I’m nervous,” he admitted. “About the feelings this is gonna bring up. We’ve talked about my coping mechanisms before, like how I like to move, when I start feeling down, instead of drinking? But I…”

“You can’t go for a hike or work out with busted ribs,” Mark finished. “I know being injured, havin’ to stay put, that’s a trigger for you. Like the bender you told me about in high school, after you broke your arm.”

“Yeah…” Not even Kyle knew how bad he had spiraled that time. He knew it had been bad, but not to the extent that it had gotten to. Getting hurt because of something he loved, combined with the timing and completely changing his career path senior year, all of that had led to a full depressive episode, complete with binge drinking and attempting to cut his cast off with bolt cutters. “I still could’ve been scouted in the spring,” he muttered dejectedly.

“But you chose to quit football,” Mark reminded him. “You’ve said you don’t regret that. You remember why you don’t regret it?”

Reaching up to pet his cat, the little creature who had been the driving force to him actually applying his degree, Stan was reminded that he really did like how his life was turning out.

“Yeah. I’m where I’m supposed to be, right?”

“Not for me to say, Superman,” Mark said. “You’re a damn good vet, and gettin’ hurt because of your job happens.” The smile was clear in his voice. “You’re more worried about the horse, ain’t ya?”

Stan once again had to force himself not to laugh. “Dude, he was scared. I was literally coming at him with a needle.”

“And what would you do if you were in his horseshoes?”

“Mark, dude, please don’t make jokes, laughing hurts like a bitch.” He checked the time. Kyle would be back home any minute. “Same thing, though. Ky’s gonna be on my ass about painkillers. That’s… uh, kinda why I needed to talk.”

“Hmm. I gotcha. You’re worried about the addiction potential? Combined with being home alone until you go back to work?”

Hit the nail on the head. Stan nodded, then remembered that Mark couldn’t see him. “Pretty much. I’m just… I haven’t been hurt this bad, since running dry. I’m not sure what to do to distract myself, honestly.”

“Alright.” Mark could be pretty straightforward, when it came to a course of action, a lot like Kyle. “You like them video games, right? And reading your fantasy books? Bet you got one downloaded on your phone right now.”

As a matter of fact, he did. “Uh, yeah, Atherton, I think”

“I don’t know what the hell that is, but you catch my drift?”

Moose had moved down to drape over him like a scarf, warm and little and soft. Sweet little guy; he always took care of his dads. And Stan had a support system. He’d be okay. “I’m picking up what you’re putting down, dude,” he said into the phone. “Distractions that aren’t physical, but keep me engaged, right?”

“And bingo was his name-o,” Mark confirmed. “Good to think of some that you can do when you’re my age, anyway. You ain’t gonna be Superman forever, right?”

“Dude-“ Stan heard the security door open, finally. Kyle.

Mark interrupted. “I know you got that whole thing about age, kid, sorry. I know you’re strugglin’ so how’s about we just focus on today. That boyfriend of yours taking care of ya?”

“Mhm. I’m pretty sure he just got home.” Yeah, definitely, because Stan could hear the voice of Sheila Broflovski through the door, and Kyle probably didn’t even have her on speaker. “Yeah, he’s home, and on the phone with his mom.”

“Uh oh,” Mark laughed. He had heard many a tale. “She’s gonna give you an earful. I’ll let ya go, then. You can call me anytime, okay? It works if you work it.”

“It works if you work it,” Stan repeated. “Thanks, dude. I’ll probably skip tonight, but I’ll call into the meeting tomorrow, okay?”

“Gotcha. Tell Kyle and y’all’s critter I say hi.”

“Will do.”

Right as he ended the call, Kyle burst in, arms full of Walgreens bags and his phone sandwiched between his ear and shoulder, looking hilariously frazzled. “Oh my GOD, Ma, look okay, he is literally right here just- OKAY, Jesus, yes I’m putting him on-“ he gave Stan an expression that clearly was asking if he was up for this. Stan nodded and grabbed the phone so Kyle could get everything set down.

“I’m here.”

“STANLEY!!! Are you okay?! Oh my GOODNESS I can absolutely drive up- do you need anything?! Have you told Sharon?”

Kyle mouthed “don’t blame me”. Stan shifted a little. He’d been talking a lot for the past half hour and he was actually starting to have trouble catching his breath. “No ma’am, I- wait, how did you find out?”

“Your friend Bebe’s gossip list! She posted to Facebook and said “a certain vet got kicked by a horse” and I just KNEW IT WAS YOU! Kyle said he was picking up your medication?”

“Fuckin-“ Kyle took the phone back. “Ma, okay, I’ve got him. I’m going to take care of him and- Ma. I’m not putting Stan back on the phone. It hurts him to talk. Yes, I’ll tell his mom. No, he’s on bed rest. Do you seriously think I’m letting him out of my- okay, okay, sorry, no- oh my God, I’m not making chicken noodle soup, he’s been vegetarian for twenty years, Ma. Alright. We love you too. Christ, yes, I’m eating. Please don’t start right now. Alright. Yes. We got it. Okay. I’ll keep you updated. Yeah, love you. Bye.”

Kyle slumped over the kitchen island, groaning. “If you say anything about me being exactly like my mother, I’m gonna be super annoying and not run interference next time she calls.”

“Pretty sure you’re not beating the Sheila allegations, baby.”

“Ughhhhh.”

Stan reached his hand backwards, eyes closed, waiting for his partner to take it. “Talked to Mark.”

Kyle took his hand, kneeling by the couch and kissing his forehead. “Good, sweetheart. Do you think you’re okay to get some medicine in you? I know it hurts.”

He was always so thoughtful, so gentle with him, and not in a condescending way, either. No wonder Kyle was so good at his job. He could handle a grown ass man emotional over broken bones; angsty preteens were probably a cakewalk to him.

Stan bypassed the cat across his chest, lifting the ice pack from his lower torso. “How’s it looking?”

“Oh, honey.” Kyle sounded genuinely distressed, and Stan opened his eyes to see his partner actually genuinely distressed. “Stan, I can see the hoof print!”

“…damn.”

“Jesus, dude, you poor thing. ” He stood back up and grabbed the prescription bag from the counter, along with a snack sized yogurt from one of the bags. “Solution time.”

“I’m listening.” He’d take just about any idea. It hurt.

“Here’s what I’m thinking. I got a few things of that coconut yogurt you like. I checked with the pharmacist and she said we can crush up your painkillers into it if you want, if you’re not feeling the swallowing pills. I can keep up with your dosage schedule so you don’t need to think about it.” He tilted Stan’s face up to make sure they were seeing eye to eye. “But if you want to take them less often and stick to ice and over the counters, that’s okay. I’ll handle the thinking about shit, and you handle the taking it easy.”

Stan eyed the bottle. “Are they gonna make me sleepy?” The thought scared him.

“Oh, dude.” Kyle could strategize incredibly, though. “We can start with half, okay? It isn’t likely that they’ll knock you out, sweetheart. You’re not a small guy, and I asked. Dosage isn’t high. And you say the word; we work something else out. First priority is keeping you comfortable so you can heal, okay? Does that help?”

“I’m gonna be okay.”

“Yeah, you are,” Kyle assured him. “I’m right here, you know how to deal with this, and you’ll be better before you know it. Now, some meds and I’ll help you upstairs? We can take a nap? I’ll be right there, dude. Keep you from moving around too much.”

He knew damn well Kyle wouldn’t be sleeping a wink. But he nodded. “You’re for real gonna feed me my painkillers in yogurt like I’m a puppy?”

Kyle grinned. “Whatever works.” He reached over to pet Moose. “Whatcha think, young nastyman? Do I have good plans or what?”

Stan slowly sat up, an arm around his midsection and definitely not comfortable, but that was alright. Pretty soon he’d be able to breathe a little better. “What would I do without you, Ky?”