#putting this guy through the wringer. as a treat

[houndfaker]

woooorking on something…

[loremaster]

i went crazy (as i am known to do) and drew BOTH of each daily prompt for @raincodeshipweek! nothing past PG-13 here. double check the tags for ships below - or if you want to be surprised, jump in and see them all here:

Hurt/Comfort - Clockmare - I remember a while ago @pixelatedraindrops did a poll over which of the two to draw sick in bed… Halara's cat allergies won out, but I thought the opposite scenario of Fubuki needing recovery from overusing her rewind powers was cute too! This is a very cute ship that needs more love!

Healing - Kokolight - This is *THE* ship that's all about healing. (Emotional healing at least.) Yuma learns a lot from Vivia about how to embrace the uncomfortable parts of life… and Vivia learns a lot from Yuma about how not to let that diminish your spark. Plus, by the end, they understand what each other’s been through more than any other characters... almost. Also, dat height difference. Good shit.

Dancing - Aetheria trio - Similar bonding over shared grief here! But this time there's three of them! Big 3 of Cups energy. It's a shame we never really got to see much genuine interaction between Yoshiko, Waruna, and Kurane during the game's story… but sometimes the most fun parts are what we get to imagine for ourselves, hmm? Anyway, yeah. These three are bonded for life. (Too bad it wasn't a very long one...)

Domesticity - Viviakou - There's nothing funnier than two guys with opposite behaviors. Vivia wedges himself into the crack between the bed and the wall as far as he can. Yakou spreads out and takes up more room than the bed even has. Plus, he snores. Disasters, both of them. …I was going to try and come up with another ship for this prompt, since - spoilers - there'll be more Viviakou later on... but I thought of this image and laughed hard enough I couldn't not draw it!

Sun/Rain - Yakou/Amaterasu Researcher. - One of the happiest moments of Yakou's life was when his wife got him a boat for his birthday. A whole boat!!! A portable office! Never had he felt so loved before. …Never has the sun shone that brightly again. He hates the rain.

Stars - Clockbolt - Fubuki is staring out wistfully at the rain clouds, lamenting that she cannot see her star - the one her parents bought for her. But luckily - “Don't worry, Princess, I'll be your star…!” says Desuhiko. Bolder, brighter, and much, much closer than her faraway prize…Yeah, I think Fubuki would eat that up. This is a fun ship. I like that Desuhiko - against all odds - treats Fubuki like a person. And ironically I think that would make her like him more!!

Flowers - Furroughs - What else could I have drawn for 'flowers,' honestly? It's a cheap bouquet of Black-Eyed Susans! I can't see this as a healthy relationship, honestly, but that's what makes it fun! Imagining them as childhood friends who used to be really close but grew apart in adulthood strikes just the right chord of melancholy with me. Even more heartbreaking if you see them both as trans - imagine Yakou's so excited to have a friend like him, and then as soon as Seth transitions he's like "you don't know me. never speak to me again." Mmm, I do so love to put Yakou through the wringer.

Memories - Yumagami - Sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone. I imagine Yuma goes through phantom pains after their pact gets broken, not knowing whose laughter keeps ringing through his ears, what's up with that tingly spot on his cheek, or why he can't look at a barrel without his face feeling hot. (Though, he's probably astute enough to put together the clues...)

First Times - Viviakou - The first time Yakou heard Vivia say that catchphrase, it didn't feel very good.

Final Moments - Viviakou - ...The last time didn't feel very good either.

Swap - Vivia/Amaterasu Researcher - Okay, hear me out. If Yakou had managed to run up that hill, make a deal with Kodaka, and get him to swap their places - that is, he dies while his wife survives and becomes Chief of the Nocturnal Detective Agency - I think Vivia would think the same of Mrs. Furio that he did of Mr. Furio (that is, helplessly smitten). EXTREMELY underrated. Please ship this with me.

Alternate Universe - Zilara - My personal pet rarepair!!! Alas, our two confident creature-lovers have been kept from each other by the cruel hands of fate. So, I cope by drawing them getting fancy little drinks together. This is an homage to Boba AU, of course, but honestly, while drawing this, I was picturing them as students at the local prestigious college campus. Maybe they're members of frat Alpha Beta Omega or something.

Past/Future - Makoyuma - This one's more of a concept/pitch than a fully explored scene, but hear me out: time travel AU. What if Yuma meets a mysterious masked stranger who turns out to be a tech-savvy time traveler from a destroyed future... but then also turns out to be himself, somehow? How is there someone who looks exactly like him, 5000 years from now? What's the connection between Yuma and Makoto? And why are they so drawn to each other?

...The last prompt for the official Ship Week is a free day - so I'm going to take the day off! Though, there are a lot of other ships I lament not shouting out here - Kokobolt, Kokomare, Twimare, Fubugami, just to name a few!!! But I'm gonna give myself a break for now. Don't worry, you'll see more art from me soon - maybe even print versions of this, and some of my other Rain Code fanart. And if there's a specific ship or scenario you really can't wait to see... my commissions are open! ;D

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

Helluva Boss's Failed Attempt Of "It's You"

If Helluva Boss last episode was the Anti-Telescope, this is their failed attempt at "It's You" from Bojack Horseman. The message is that the main character should stop making excuses for his behavior and realize how much he hurts people when even their bigger supporter turns on them. However, it doesn't work because of the fact someone who also needs to learn that lesson but is being given the biggest amount of excuses and never apologizes himself for what he's done.

Overall, it feels the message is hypocritical if one person has to learn this lesson and it's to the same guy who is probably a bigger example of someone who never apologizes fully for his actions and put others through the wringer for it. Sorry, no matter how these stans say it Stolas is babied while Blitzo is the one who gets the bashing. He gets to have excuses for why he cheated on his wife, why he treats Blitzo like shit, and even why he should have his feelings returned (even though he never earned it by being a condescending pos).

While the moral is good for Blitzo to learn so that he needs to change, it comes off as tone deaf treating Stolas as the person he harmed because he himself has bigger sins against Blitzo. If Stolas wasn't here and it was just Blitzo going on apology for everyone he harmed that would be different. However, Stolas isn't given an ounce to reflect why Blitzo wouldn't be apologetic over his treatment. Despite how defenders say it will come later, they always say that and as it turns out Stolas is still given baby hand treatments and not getting to the root of what he did wrong.

The bigger person who needs "It's You" treatment isn't Blitzo but Stolas who goes throughout this series not reflecting and growing. And the narrative's attempt to act like he does is gaslighting when he still feels entitled, condescending, and obnoxious to Blitzo. And again guy still is self-centered that he cares about what he wants over what Blitzo really wants. The guy is more like Bojack than Blitzo is and the show needs to realize it.

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Okay this isn't exactly a thirst but it's been months since I read your Hanma kinktober and it's still living rent free in my head, it's already part of my veins. Which made me think that in my opinion, after a really shitty day, Hanma would cry if you treated him with such a care (sex or not) he would try to hide it ofc, he's too prideful but still. I just want to kiss and caress every part of his body whispering sweet-nothings against his skin. And once he starts to cry and let everything out, dry his tears away while also kissing his pretty lips.

I just love him to death, my boy deserves a break (they all do frfr)

(That's so flattering waahh!! 😭💕)

I completely agree! In the back of his mind Hanma's probably thinking "Oh- They care about me? Wh- huh?! Wtf they're being so... gentle-"

His mind would be racing, might even cause the poor guy to blue screen for a minute while he processes the fact that someone genuinely cares about him and wants to treat him well. The tears would flow without Hanma even registering it, and when he does he's embarrassed and trying to hide his face.

The whole damn cast has been put through the wringer and I also just want them all to be happy 🥹

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hey! I've written a first full outline and a few scenes (YAY) and I'm kinda worried that the readers will catch on that I actually have a favourite character. I'm attached to all of them, but this guy is Special - he has traits I really like, an arc I'm excited to write, he's bit of a self-insert, bit of a wish fulfillment, the whole thing. How can I hide my fondness from the reader? If I let it shine through too much, it'll kill any charm this character is supposed to have :(

Hiding Character Fondness from Reader

Here are some things to be aware of:

1 - Keep the Plot on Track - One of the biggest tells that the author has a thing for a character is when the plot seems to shift in favor of the character. Not only does this character slowly elbow their way to center stage, but the plot seems to completely shift course in order to highlight their conflict/adventures. So, make sure you stick to the plot you had in mind and keep the character's role as you originally envisioned it.

2 - Avoid "Author's Pet" Armor - Another giveaway that the author favors a character is when the character has immunity to every bad thing that happens in the story, even when it makes no sense. They're the one character who emerges from battle completely unscathed (or with superficial injuries), they always draw the long straw and luck is always on their side; and if something bad has to happen to a character, it's never this one.

3 - Avoid "Author's Punching Bag" - Conversely, sometimes author favoritism plays out by treating the character like a punching bag. I guess this results from a hurt/comfort perspective, where the author enjoys putting the character through the wringer because it creates an opportunity for them to be comforted by another character. But when it's the same character who's hurt over and over again, with the rest of the cast seeming to be armored against trouble, it has the same effect as being the one character that's never hurt.

4 - Avoid Special Snowflake Syndrome - Consider all the characters in your story. If your favorite character is always the one with the skills, knowledge, experience, connections, to solve the story's problem and/or save the day, that's a problem. Not only does it make them overpowered, but it means the spotlight will always be on them because they're the one everyone else has to rely on all the time.

5 - Avoid Complete Lovability - This is a big one... there are few people who walk the planet who are genuinely without flaws and are universally loved by everyone who knows them. Real people, most of the time, have flaws. Someone can be the nicest, most generous person in the world, but they could have bad breath or be chronically late, or really stubborn about trying new things. Flaws don't make a person bad, they just make them real. But we all have our pet peeves, too, so if you know someone who is chronically late, they might get on your nerves and not be your favorite person in the world. We want that for our characters, too. They should have believable flaws and not give everyone they know heart eyes every time they walk in the room.

Happy writing!

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I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[aceofwhump]

Hi Ace! Did you like the new season? I didn't like the new season of TUA but it had whump!

Ooooh boy. Okay. Well I have THOUGHTS. And I'm going to put them under a read more because of massive spoilers.

Overall I'm really annoyed by the final season. Really annoyed. But let's talk about the things I enjoyed first

1. Klaus whump!!!

Okay how could I not put this one first. I love Klaus. I love whump. Klaus was really out through the wringer and I loved it. He got shot, was bleeding out and dying, picked up by Diego and carried to the van, worried about and saved by his family, several emotional outbursts which I loved, relapses, gets kidnapped, held captive, buried alive, gets rescued, finally gets a good damn hug! I loved it. I ate that shit up.

2. Klaus, Allison, and Claire

This sibling dynamic was always my favorite from the moment Allison caught Klaus stealing shit from their dad's office in episode 1. I wanted more of these two for ages and I got them living together and taking care of each other and Klaus being the weird protective uncle to Claire. I want 10 more seasons of them being domestic. And Uncle Klaus and Claire was so cute!!! Highlight of the season! I was so happy when the two of them not only noticed Klaus was gone and in trouble but that Claire tried to help him AND the two of them tracked him down to save him and bring him home!

3. The family actually showing that the care about Klaus.

Is it obvious that Klaus is my favorite yet? It wasn't a lot but when they freaked out when he got shot and the happy reaction and head patting when he came back to life was beautiful and I needed it. I also LOVED the hug between Klaus, Claire and Allison when they dug him out of the grave. I needed that so badly. There should be more Klaus hugs

4. Dad!Diego

Diego was so lovely as a father!!! His three kids were always on his mind and I love that. I love how he used his powers at the axe throwing just to get 3 stuffed reindeers for his kids. Freaking adorable.

5. Luther

The king of background reactions. He had me rolling on the floor in laughter this season. I loved his energy. Pure sunshine. And him at the antique was so funny cause that's how I am at antique shops and now I want to go antique shopping with him lol. He was adorable and I feel so bad that he got him monkey body back cause he was so happy to have his body back.

6. Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally as the bad guys.

Jene and Gene were so fun. Loved that.

Now let's talk about the rest.

1. Luther

But wait Ace you put Luther in the likes category! Yes. Yes I did. And I stand by that. But WHERE WAS SLOANE! Why was he so fine with Sloane just being gone! Why was Sloane gone at all!!!

2. Five and Lila

Seriously I fucking hated this story line and I hated that the writers thought Five needed a love story. WHY. He really really didn't need one at all. He loved Delores why did they feel the need to give him another love story? Could they not think of any other plot for him? I sure could have! This was boring and trite. And even if they did go with the love story plot still WHY PUT HIM WITH LILA!!!!! After two seasons firmly establishing the love that Lila and Diego have for one another and how perfect they are together. You're gonna do THAT? I hated it. I mean "you hate bracelets." NO SHE DOESN'T! SHE KEPT THE ONE YOU MADE IN THE ASYLUM FOR TWO SEASONS! IT WAS KINDA A BIG DEAL! Why would they then give this plot point to Five!

3. Klaus getting more powers like finally being able to levitate and the show acting like it is literally nothing

I have nothing to elaborate on this. I just hated that we finally got levitating Klaus and not only was it not utilized at all but they treated it like a throwaway thing.

4. No Ray. No Sparrows

Seriously!? Ray left? Bullshit. Sloane and the other Sparrows never come back? Dumb.

5. NO DANCE NUMBER

Every season had a silly dance number and we got NONE. It's a little thing but I was disappointed.

And I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!! AND WE GOT NO ANSWERS!!!

Why did Luther get his monkey body back if it was never a part of marigold in the first place? That was done via a Reginald serum.

Why did Diego have no coordination without his powers when he should have at least retained some muscle memories from the many years of training?

Why did Klaus say his years of sobriety was down the toilet as soon as marigold was put in him again? He could have stayed sober. He had control of his powers from s3 so it's not like he was gonna be haunted like before which is why he took drugs in the first place.

What about the other kids who had marigold? Are they in this timeline? Did they also die? Why didn't Reginald ever look for all of the kids? What happened with them?

Why is the marigold they take this season janky? Like why do they get sick? Did Reginald’s wife spike it or something? Or was it simply that they consumed it as fully grown adults instead of being born with it?

WHY WAS JENNIFER IN A FUCKING SQUID AS A CHILD?!

Who was the Ben we saw in the subway at the end of season 3? Cause it wasn't our Ben or Sparrow Ben!

Does Klaus know how Ben died? DOES HE!?!

How did the kids survive without Alison, Diego, or Lila having existed!? I don’t think that’s how genetics work!

What the fuck was the Cleanse!?!?! No seriously! What the fuck was that?! Why is durango in Jennifer? Are there more super kids with durango in them? Why does durango in Jennifer only interact with marigold in Ben? Why no the others? Why does the combination of Ben and Jennifer make the Cleanse??? If they had continued to interact before Reg killed Ben would the Cleanse have happened then? Did Abigail create the Cleanse? Did durango kill their world? How? What does it actually DO! I'm so confused!

If all the marigold has to be destroyed waht about all the other marigold made babies? What about all those alternate Fives in the subway? Why just these 7 people?

Where the fuck did Reginald and Abigail come from?! Why did we learn absolutely fucking NOTHING about them other than the tiny tidbits we've seen already?

Why the hell would Five just peace out in the middle of a fucking battle for his families lives? THAT'S THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT FIVE WOULD DO! Everything Five has ever done was to save his family!

Why was them being born via marigold shatter the timeline? What the fuck do those two things have to do with the other???? That makes no SENSE! It would have made more sense to say that Five disappearing into the future shattered the timeline and send them back to before then or something.

Viktor can get rid of the marigold in people so WHY DIDN'T THEY TRY THAT! WHY DID THE BENJEN CLEANSE CREATURE NEED TO TAKE THEM ALL AND ERASE THEIR EXISTENCE! Couldn't Viktor have extracted the marigold and they get rid of it that way?

(some of that may have had answers in the show and i'm just dumb and missed it but still. i have many questions)

This season was so disjointed and dissatisfying. I was actually bored by episode 4. The plots were all over the place and none connected very well. I'm still so confused about what the fuck was happening all season. None of it makes any sense.

I was hoping this season would be more of a Umbrella Academy vs big bad Reginald and Abigail villain type of plot. I was hoping OG Ben would like start merging with Sparrow Ben or something. I thought the ending would be them returning to their original timeline finally all together and be able to just live the rest of their lives apocalypse free. Happy and together. BUT NO!

Ugh. I'm sure there's more to say but I'm out of steam now. Mostly i'm just disappointed.

[constantcrisis19]

Loose Lips Sink Ships - Part 1

Dean Winchester x GN S/O

AN: Hey guys! I know that I disappeared for a bit, but I promise that I'm still alive and kicking! I've just been really consumed by the SoapGhost fics that I've been writing/planning for ao3 and that made it hard for me to find time to write for Tumblr in between irl things when all of my free time seemed to be dedicated to COD. But I finally decided to just sit down and work on one of my numerous WIP's which led to me cranking this bad boy out! Hope you like it!

Word Count: 2,118

You moved your hands out of your jacket pocket, revealing your well-loved wallet that you’d had for years, and pulled the card with your current alias printed onto it out of its assigned slot in a practiced motion. 

You tapped the chip against the screen of the card reader in order to pay for the obscenely greasy food that you’d ordered for yourself and Dean –who you had left fast asleep in your shared motel room– watching with a keen eye as the payment processed and then was accepted with a little innocuous green check mark, the receipt printing with a soft whir.

You startled a little as a phone suddenly began to ring, the tune echoing loudly in the store, and it took you an embarrassing amount of time to realize that it was actually your cell that was going off, your free hand –which wasn’t currently juggling both your card and wallet– darted down to the back pocket of your jeans in order to collect the device with a sheepish smile.

You swiped your thumb across the screen and answered the phone without looking at the caller ID, quickly wedging the device between your ear and shoulder in order to take the receipt that the bored looking cashier was impatiently holding out toward you with your newly freed hand.

“Hey, where the hell did you run off to?” Dean was already talking before you could even manage to get a greeting out, his voice rough in a way that it only was immediately after waking up, which told you that he most likely called after rousing from sleep and noticing that you were no longer in the motel with him.

“Just figured that I’d treat your lazy ass to some breakfast since you didn’t look like you were getting up anytime soon.” You said as you took the long strip of paper from the cashier with a small nod of thanks before stepping off to the side in order to make way for the next customer to step forward and be assisted, folding up the receipt and carelessly cramming it into your wallet before shoving it back into your jeans.

You had wanted to let Dean sleep in for once since it was technically your fault that you were both up so late last night, the two of you having been all wound up after running around all day asking anyone and everyone about the suspicious deaths that had been happening around town only to come up with fuck all, so you and Dean had decided to dispel all that pent up energy and frustration by testing Dean’s so-called ‘endless stamina’ that he constantly bragged about.

Needless to say, you had put him through the wringer and managed to come out the other side a little less worse for wear than Dean had.

You settled in with your phone now comfortably resting against the side of your head as you waited for your order to be called, and you bit your lip in an attempt to repress the love-sick smile that wanted to overtake your neutral expression when you heard the telltale shift of blankets over the line. 

You could see Dean carelessly sprawl his limbs out across the bed in your mind's eye, your fingers twitching with the urge to brush your fingers through his –no doubt– adorable bedhead, the impulse always bubbling up without fail when you saw his hair sticking up at all sorts of odd angles.

“Rough night?” You asked, your voice practically dripping with faux-concern as you idly watched the people milling about the pop fountain, and Dean let loose a distinctly unattractive snort that had a smug grin spreading across your lips, your salacious smile earning you a dirty look from a woman who had just finished filling a large cup with cola that you unfortunately just so happened to make eye contact with.

“You’d know.” Dean groused, the sound of him moving about restlessly nearly drowning out his petulant response as he heaved himself upright with a groan that had him sounding like he was an old man rather than a spry twenty-six year old, and you winced in sympathy.

As hunters, your line of work was unforgiving and you yourself were subject to the various aches and pains that came from such a physically demanding job on more than one occasion.

“You order yet?” Dean asked suddenly and you blinked rapidly, his voice abruptly pulling you from the aimless staring that you’d been unknowingly doing as you recalled how stiff and sore you were when you woke up this morning. Though, if you were being honest with yourself, that was definitely a byproduct of last night's rigorous activities rather than having to fight for your life against some bloodthirsty creature or another for once, which was admittedly a nice change of pace.

“Yup. Got you a bacon breakfast burrito, hash browns, and a slice of cherry pie.” You replied with a wide grin, a bark of laughter erupting from your chest and startling the few people standing near you when Dean let out a truly sinful moan of appreciation.

“I love you so fucking much.” Dean declared, the mattress springs creaking as he pushed to his feet and walked across the small room before clicking on a lightswitch, his voice taking on a distinct echo as he entered the borderline claustrophobic motel bathroom.

“I know.” You said smugly before suddenly remembering the woman that you had run into on your way to the restaurant, causing you to be out longer than you’d originally intended, which was the whole reason why you were back with breakfast before Dean woke up. 

“Also, while I was out, I happened to run into a friend of the ex-wife of the last victim and I may have found a lead on this case.” You stated after briefly glancing around and taking a couple of steps back in order to make sure that no one would be overhearing your conversation.

The most that you’d been able to get out of the shell-shocked woman when you and Dean had went to interrogate her the previous day was that her ex-husband had broken into the house while she was home alone and, after saying some shit that made no sense at all whatsoever, had dropped dead right there in the dining room before she could even process what had happened.

And that wasn’t even the weirdest thing that had happened, the person before that had slumped over dead in a church confessional booth after saying about three words to the priest and the one before that had just randomly collapsed to the ground in the middle of a crosswalk after angrily yelling at a reckless driver that had almost ran her over.

“Alright, hit me.” Dean said, sounding much more awake now but, before you could say a word, one of the employees called out your order number over the general chatter of the restaurant. You snapped to attention, muttering a quick warning to Dean that the food was done and you were gonna go grab it, before moving forward and maneuvering your way through the small crowd that had accumulated between you and the front desk.

You took the grease-stained brown paper bag with a grateful smile and a polite nod before turning on your heel in order to make your way over to the exit. You shamelessly used your foot to bully the door open –since your hands were full– before stepping outside and squinting when the sun made your eyes ache, unused to the intense brightness after having spent so much time under the fluorescent lights that they had installed indoors.

“As I was saying, apparently there’s an old legend–” You began as you trotted over to the nearby sidewalk in order to begin the long walk back to the motel, only to be almost immediately interrupted by Dean.

“There always is.” Dean muttered to himself through a muffled yawn, but you expertly ignored him –a talent that had been born from being around the older Winchester for several years– and continued on as if he had never even uttered a word.

“–that a witch used to terrorize the area way back when this place used to be just a tiny trading town and, considering that there is definitely some kind of curse involved here, I figured that a witch –if not the very same witch from the story– is most likely our culprit rather than a cursed object, like we initially suspected.” You continued explaining your findings, lifting a hand to wave at the driver of a pick up that had slowed to a stop and motioned to the street in front of them, allowing you to quickly jog across the crosswalk.

“Fucking witches man.” Dean growled, the deep sound sending the wrong kind of signals to your brain and making your core heat up in anticipation as images of last night came to the forefront of your mind, an overwhelming sense of smug satisfaction blooming in your chest when you recalled the plethora of possessive marks that you’d shamelessly left all over his body.

The deafening blare of a car horn unceremoniously yanked you from your internal musings and you gave Dean a noncommital hum as your gaze scanned over the street in an effort to find the origin of the noise, pausing your search and freezing mid step when you noticed a man and a woman standing stock still on the other side of the busy road, both of them just staring at you as passersby gave them a wide berth.

“Hello? You still there?” You heard Dean’s voice as he called out over the phone, but your attention was firmly locked onto the pair on the opposite sidewalk who were very openly watching you with an intensity that made your gut churn, your eyes widening when you made the mistake of making eye contact with the woman and she shot you a mean grin.

“Uh, yeah. It’s just– There’s a man and a woman staring at me… and I have a feeling that they’re not coming over here for a friendly chat.” You relayed warily as the two finally moved, the woman taking the lead as they stepped off the curb and began making their way across the road toward you. 

And, no sooner than the words had left your mouth, you heard the telltale sound of Dean grabbing his keys and jacket before the rhythmic thump of rapid footsteps and the heavy slam of a door signaled his rushed exit from the motel room, the relative silence of the room being replaced by the whistle of the wind and general bustle of the city as Dean climbed into the Impala.

“Don’t hang up and don’t move, I’m coming to you.” Dean snapped furiously –though you didn’t take his harsh tone to heart since you knew that he was just worried– and you winced when you heard the deafening squeal of tires on asphalt from Dean’s end of the line, the commotion promptly being followed by a flurry of irritated honking as he drove like a mad man.

“The not moving thing probably won’t be an option, but you can access my location from your own phone and use that to track my movements. I’ll keep the call connected if I can.” You said quickly before acting as if you dropped the call and stashing your cell into the right pocket of your jacket moments before the woman came to a halt about a foot away from you, her companion not too far behind.

“Hello. You’ll have to forgive my rudeness, it’s been awhile since I’ve come across a hunter. Especially one who is brave or stupid enough to travel with someone as infamous and recognizable as a Winchester.” The woman –who you assumed was in charge– greeted with faux-remorse, and you swallowed nervously as her red lips stretched into a wide smile that showed off too many teeth to be strictly friendly.

You scrambled for something to focus on as you began to panic at the realization that the mystery woman –who you strongly suspected was the very witch that you’d been looking for– not only knew who you were but also why you were there, your brain stupidly choosing to latch onto the fact that the pair were going to cause you to be delayed even longer, which meant that it was becoming more than likely that your food was going to be stone cold by the time you made it back to the motel.

If you managed to come out of the confrontation alive, that is.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Popping in to say hello again. :)

Classes are supposed to start on September 4th here, so I've mostly been hanging out at home. One of my roommates is teaching me how to play Spider-Man on the PS4 while we have time to kill. I've also been working on my writing projects, which has been me putting the blorbos through the wringer, but they're okay! Mostly.

I haven't learned anything useful from my appointments, so I'm stuck waiting for phone calls and follow-ups again. There's one more roommate who's supposed to move in soon, but she's been exposed to COVID, so I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen. Things have been a bit tense about that because the others are worried about me getting sick, but I think we can figure something out.

Hi Gryphon! ❤️

Dang, school starts late for you! That’s nice that you get that reprieve after taking classes all summer.

I remember playing Spider-Man on the PS2 all the time when I was a kid. I liked throwing people into the Hudson. And tossing bad guys on buildings and watching them run off 🤣 they weren’t programmed to be very bright lol

I see you treat your blorbos about as well as I do 🤣🙃 Sorry you haven’t got much from your appointments, though, that’s annoying. 😩 Also hope your roommate is ok!

[mandos-mind-trick]

Here’s To The Future - Part 2: Cut and Run

Summary: The war’s over. That should be cause for celebration, except the wrong side won. Things begin to change quickly, and it doesn’t take long for Midnight to realize something’s not right among the clone army. She should be glad the war is over, but the threat of her losing her boys is all too real. She did swear she would do everything she could to keep them from being separated when the war ended.

She’s not going to give up on that promise. Even if it kills her.

Pairing: The Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest)

Warnings: Lots of emotions in this one, some PTSD, canon-typical violence, arguing, grief and mourning, injuries, a little bit of medical stuff. 

A/N: This one took me longer than expected, but it’s a pretty emotionally heavy chapter. Midnight really goes through the wringer in this one. No smut, just lots of pain. 

Sorry my Hunter girlies, I promise it won’t last forever. 

Also I am still looking for a beta reader for this one, so if you’re interested…

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Midnight stares out the viewport, watching the stars pass. Tech had put the ship on autopilot before heading back to check on Wrecker. He had also been shot, and was being a big baby about being treated. It was likely none of them even knew she’d been shot. She’s okay with that for the moment. She needs to collect herself. 

She can’t fall apart. 

Not yet. 

Midnight turns her head as she hears quiet footsteps, Omega entering the cockpit. She steps up towards the viewport, looking out at the stars as well. Midnight watches her quietly, knowing exactly what she’s thinking. 

“Your first time in space?” Hunter asks, entering the cockpit as well. He pauses next to her seat, leaning his arm against it. He’d notice soon. He always notices. 

“First time anywhere.” Omega says. 

Midnight feels something stir in her chest. She knew what that was like. She remembered her first time seeing the sky, her first time seeing space. The first planet she’d visited. 

“Impressive shot back there.” Hunter says. “Where’d you learn to do that?” 

“I don’t know.” Omega shakes her head. “I never fired a blaster before. I guess I got lucky.” 

“She’s not the only one.” Tech says, walking back into the cockpit. 

“I’m fine.” Wrecker says, being helped in by Echo. “It’ll take more than a blaster shot to take me down.” 

“You were down.” Echo says. 

“Well not for long!” Wrecker laughs, squeezing Echo’s shoulder but quickly groans in pain as it strains his own injured shoulder. 

“What’s the plan, Hunter?” Tech asks from the pilot’s seat. 

“I thought we could go off on our own. Lay low.” Hunter answers. “But with Crosshair gunning for us, I’m not so sure.” 

“What about your friends? Could any of them help us?” Omega asks. 

“That would be a short list.” Tech says. 

“I can think of one.” Hunter says. “Plot a course for J-19.” 

“J-19?” Echo asks, obviously as confused as her. 

“We know a guy.” Hunter says. 

“Yeah!” Wrecker cheers excitedly. 

“Strap in kid,” He says to Omega. “You’re not gonna want to miss this view.” 

Omega takes a seat in the co-pilot’s chair as Tech begins their jump into hyperspace. Midnight rests her head in her hand, taking deep breaths. She’s glad no one’s noticed anything yet, Hunter preoccupied with Omega, and the others with Wrecker. She wishes she could go to her room, lock herself inside for a while, but her obvious limp would give her away. 

She lets out a long breath, the tears pooling in her eyes again. Crosshair would have noticed. He would have known just by looking at her. Not that the others wouldn’t notice eventually, but Crosshair always noticed. He always saw. He would have been calling her names, telling her she was stupid for getting shot. 

If Crosshair were here, she wouldn’t have gotten shot in the first place. 

Midnight squeezes her eyes shut, holding her breath to keep her sobs in. 

****

“Easy.” 

Midnight jumps as hands touch her. She hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep. She hasn’t been out long, her face still wet with tears and her leg is throbbing. She hisses as fingers press against the blaster wound, her body being shifted to the side in the chair. 

“Echo, we’re gonna need another shot.” Hunter says, holding her leg still. 

“Hunter-” Her voice cuts off in a whimper as he tugs her boot off.

“That doesn’t look too good.” Omega says. 

Midnight winces as Hunter presses against the wound again. “It wouldn’t be so bad if someone stopped touching it.” 

“Just making sure it’s not worse than it looks.” Hunter says, releasing her leg. 

Another hand takes it, this one just as rough as Hunter’s had been. Midnight winces as a shot is injected, fingers prodding again. The pain quickly begins to numb, Midnight letting out a sigh of relief. 

“Omega, why don’t you and Wrecker start searching the ship. Look for any tracking device or any sort of recording device. Make sure they didn’t plant anything.” Hunter says. 

“Sir, yes sir.” Omega says, heading off with Wrecker to search through the rest of the ship. 

Midnight yelps as something jabs into the bottom of her foot, yanking it out of the hands of whoever was holding it. “What was that?” 

“Just checking you can still feel your foot.” Tech says. 

“Yes, I can feel it, thank you.” She says, pulling her leg up to her chest. 

“I need to be sure there’s no serious internal damage.” Tech argues, grabbing for her leg again. 

He pulls it a little too hard, nearly sending her from the chair. She barely manages to catch herself, fingers holding tightly onto the side of the chair. 

“Would you quit manhandling me?” She demands, yanking her leg free of his hold. 

“Midnight.” Hunter says sternly, causing more tears to brim in her eyes. 

She’s so tired of crying already. She sobs, righting herself in the chair. “He told them.” She turns on Hunter, unable to stop everything from spilling over. “He told them about us. He told them everything. He betrayed us. Tarkin tried to use it against me.” 

“Hey,” He kneels down beside the chair, pulling her into his chest. “I know. This isn’t easy for any of us. He was our brother, and I know how much you loved him.” His arms tighten around her just a bit more at her quiet whimper. “The best we can do is try to find somewhere safe so we can make a plan right now.” 

“Your leg will be fine, once it heals.” Tech says as Hunter pulls away from her. “Your irritable mood is likely due to your extreme exhaustion. We were designed to go long periods without rest.” He pushes her back into the chair, running a thumb under one of her eyes. “You need as much rest as you can get right now.” 

She scoffs. “It would help if I could sleep.” 

“Right.” Tech says, tilting her head slightly. “You can yell at me later.” 

Something sharp pierces her neck, and the sound of an injector hissing reaches her ears.  She frowns at Tech, anger bubbling inside her once more. “What did you just-” 

“A mild sedative. Just enough to get you to sleep for a couple hours.” 

Midnight can already feel herself beginning to drift off, the world around her starting to move in slow motion. “I’m gonna hit you,” She slurs, fighting her drooping eyes. “When I can move my hands again.” 

Tech smiling softly is the last thing she sees before she drifts off. 

***

Midnight startles awake as a hand shakes her. She hastily wipes the drool from her face, blinking the bleariness away. “Huh? What?” 

“We’ve landed.” Echo says. 

“Where?” She asks, rubbing her eyes. 

“Saleucami.” Echo says. “Apparently they know someone here that might be able to help us.” 

Right. She remembers that conversation. They must have come to know this contact before her time, and also before Echo’s. 

She accepts his offered hand, letting him pull her up. She puts weight on her injured leg, testing it. 

“How does it feel?” Echo asks. 

“Sore.” She says, putting more of her weight on it. “Better than it did.” 

“You’re lucky.” He says as they make their way into the hull. “Any lower and you might have lost a foot.” 

Midnight stays quiet, thinking over Echo’s words. It was lucky, she won’t deny that, but it’s also a bit suspicious. 

Midnight blinks against the bright sun as she makes her way down the ramp. She pauses for a moment, taking in the dirt under her feet, and the sun on her skin. It feels nice after so long in space, and the aggressive sterile bleakness of Kamino. 

She begins following the others, pausing when Hunter turns back. Midnight turns too, spotting Omega on the steps of the Marauder. The girl pauses, taking a big breath in before making her way off the steps. She drops to her knees in the dirt, taking a handful of it. 

“Whoa. What is this?” She asks, looking at the dirt in fascination. 

“That would be dirt.” Tech says simply. 

“It’s amazing.” She stands up, dragging her foot through the dirt and kicking it, laughing happily. 

Midnight feels a tightening in her chest watching Omega. She knows what that’s like. She remembers her first time on a planet that had actual dirt and plants. She had been equally amazed by it, after spending her entire life on an ecumenopolis where the only dirt you saw was either toxic or particles falling from the many stories above. Oh to be able to be amazed by the simplest things again. 

War had ruined that for her. 

“Come on. Let’s get moving.” Hunter says as thunder rumbles in the distance. 

They make their way through a field of strange, tall fruit. Midnight feels on edge, like she’s expecting something to pop out at her. Droids, or maybe other troopers. She clenches her fists at her sides, ready to draw her blaster if she needs it. She’s got Echo in front of her and Wrecker at her back, but that doesn’t make her feel any more comforted. She blames it on the sedative Tech had snuck her still wearing off. 

That, and her sore ankle. 

“So this friend of yours, what’s he doing all the way out here?” Echo asks. 

“Hiding.” Tech answers simply. “That’s what deserters do.” 

“Staying off the radar’s not our specialty, but he’s been doing it for years.” Hunter says. 

“And you trust a deserter?” Echo asks carefully. 

“Why not? We’re all deserters now.” Tech says.

Echo stays silent, obviously not having thought of that yet. They’re all deserters. They’re all on the run now. Midnight knows it won’t just be Crosshair after them. After all, she had signed a contract and then immediately broken it. She hadn’t had much of a choice, though. She couldn’t have broken the guys out of the brig if she’d been in there too. It would have only complicated things if she’d refused to sign that contract. 

At least that’s what she tells herself. 

Hunter motions for them to stop, looking down at a tripwire. Omega continues forward, unfamiliar with Hunter’s silent signals. He puts a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from setting the booby trap off. 

“What are we looking at?” She asks curiously. 

“A booby trap.” Hunter answers simply. 

“Single trip wire.” Wrecker says, stepping over it, obviously not seeing the second laser trap further ahead. “That’s cute.” 

Several dummy droids pop up as Wrecker springs the trap, and he begins shooting at them. 

“Easy, Wrecker.” Hunter commands. 

“Was that me?” Wrecker asks, confused. 

Their attention is drawn away from Wrecker as two figures approach, blasters drawn. It’s a female Twi’lek and a...clone? 

“What do we have here?” The Twi’lek asks. “More clones who have lost their way.” 

“It’s been a while, fellas.” The clone says, both of them lowering their weapons. 

***

Midnight finds herself in a farmhouse, leaning against the wall. It’s run down and patched together, but it’s sweet, she thinks. There was once a time she had dreamed of a life like this, in a farmhouse on some secluded planet with no worries and no war. The five boys all working on the farm, building them a life. 

She swallows the emotions, steeling herself. She won’t cry again. She’s not going to. 

“I see a few new faces.” The female Twi’lek says as she places a couple bowls of food on the table. Midnight is hungry, but she doesn’t have much of an appetite. 

“Midnight, Echo, and Omega,” Hunter motions to each of them as he introduces them, Omega exploring the small farmhouse. “Cut and Suu.” 

“Hello.” Midnight nods, giving her best smile. 

“Pleased to meet you.” Suu says. 

“Ma’am.” Echo nods in greeting. 

“Where’s Crosshair?” Cut asks. 

Midnight’s stomach clenches painfully at the mention of his name. She hates it, that she has to feel this way. There’s nothing she can do, though. She had tried her best, and it wasn’t enough. 

“It’s complicated.” Hunter sighs, his shoulders sinking just a bit. 

“Sounds familiar.” Cut says. “Rex told us about the clone troopers turning against the Jedi.” 

“You talked to Rex? When?” Echo asks. 

“Well, he passed through yesterday.” 

“Where’d he go?” 

“Didn’t ask.” Cut shrugs. “He was going on about some behavioral implant.” 

“He must mean the inhibitor chip.” Omega says, stepping up to the table next to Hunter. 

“The what?” Hunter asks.

“Inhibitor chips. The Kaminoans implanted them in the clones to modify their behavior.” Omega explains. 

“Tech, you said the regs were programmed but you never mentioned a chip.” Hunter says, drawing Tech from whatever he was doing on his datapad. 

“How else did you think it worked?” Tech asks. 

The door flies open, two Twi’lek children running in. 

“Mom, Dad! There’s a ship outside!” 

“Shaeeah, Jek! Remember me?” Wrecker says excitedly. 

“Uncle Wrecker!” They both exclaim, running up to greet him. 

“Who are you?” The oldest of the two asks, spotting Omega. 

“Omega.” She says nervously, stepping around Hunter’s chair. 

“We never see kids around here. Come with us.” They lead Omega out of the house, Hunter giving his nod of approval as Omega looks back for permission. 

Midnight watches the exchange, letting her gaze drift back to Cut and Suu as Omega disappears out the door. They both have fond, knowing looks on their faces as they stare at Hunter. 

As squad leader, it was Hunter’s natural instinct to lead, to worry about the wellbeing of everyone on his team, even non clones. Midnight remembers when she first joined the team, how unnerving it had been. It was almost like some switch flipped in Hunter’s mind, some automatic update to his hardware that included her on his team. How easily he had adjusted to her there, how easily he had included her, thought about her. Worried about her. 

She knows it’s happening again. It’s not quite the same now, given they’re not fighting a war anymore, and Omega is a child. 

Midnight can’t help but wonder if it’s becoming more this time too. 

****

“How is your leg?” Tech asks, adjusting his goggles. 

Midnight glances up from the table. She’d been staring at it, lost in thought. She’d stolen Hunter’s seat after he’d gotten up, and helped herself to some of the food Suu had set out. She hadn’t felt like eating, but she knew she had to eat eventually. 

“Fine,” She answers, leaning back in the chair. “A little sore, but nothing like it was.” 

“You can hit me now.” He says, going back to his data pad. 

Midnight blinks at him. “What?” 

“When I sedated you, you said you would ‘hit me when you can move your hands again.’” 

Midnight shakes her head. “I’m not gonna hit you. I know you were just trying to help me.” 

“Yes, your nap had a drastic improvement on your mood, as I said it would.” 

Midnight gives him a look. “Now you’re just tempting me.” 

Suu steps up to them, a bundle of clothes in her arms. “I thought you might want to change.” 

Midnight stares at the clothes for a moment. “Actually, that would be great.” She stands, taking the clothes. “Thank you.” 

Suu directs her to the fresher, and she shuts herself inside. Suu’s a bit taller than she is, but the clothes fit, and they feel better than her armor. It’s been a while since she’s worn civilian clothes. She can’t help but wonder if there will ever come a time she’ll be able to retire the armor for good.

She stares at herself in the mirror for a moment. There’s still dark circles under her eyes, and she looks absolutely miserable. At least the outside matches what she’s feeling inside.

She splashes some water on her face, patting her cheeks to try and make herself seem more alive. She leaves the fresher, heading outside where the others are. 

Hunter has changed his clothes, obviously having borrowed some of Cut’s. It’s odd to see him wearing something that isn’t his armor. Midnight doesn’t think she’s seen any of them in anything but their armor, or their blacks, or nothing at all. Wrecker’s ditched at least the top half of his armor, donning a hat and poncho. It’s a good look for him too, Midnight’s brain doing all sorts of somersaults. 

“Here,” Hunter holds out a hand. “I’ll drop that off at the ship.” 

“Thanks.” She murmurs, handing off the pile of armor to him. 

“You, uh, look good.” He says, giving her a once over. “I forget how good you look in civvies.” 

Midnight forces a smile, nodding. “It feels good to wear them again.” 

Hunter’s face drops into a serious look, Midnight already dreading what’s coming next. “Are you...alright?” 

Midnight grimaces. “You don’t want to go there. Not right now.” 

She turns to leave, but he puts a hand on her shoulder. “Night, you should have said something.” 

Midnight clenches her jaw, fists clenching at her sides for a moment. “We had bigger things to worry about.” She shrugs his hand off. “Save the lecture for later.” 

She walks away, heading back into the house. 

****

“Can I help?” Midnight asks, approaching Suu who was working on packing. “I-I need to do something with my hands.” 

Suu nods knowingly. “Sure. You can finish packing those in that bag.” She nods at a stack of clothes.

Midnight starts placing the clothes in the bag, glad to be doing something. She feels bad for how she acted towards Hunter, but the last thing she wants is to dredge up her feelings right now. 

“So, how long have you been in love with them?” Suu asks, breaking the silence. 

Midnight freezes, looking up at her with wide eyes. “What?” 

Suu chuckles. “I can tell just by looking at you.” 

Midnight stares down at the clothes in her hands. If anyone would understand, it would be Suu. “I’m not sure when it became love.” She shrugs. “The whole...arrangement started about three months after I joined their squad. Hunter and I had too much to drink and...made some impulsive decisions. It just...evolved from there. When I fell in love with them...” Midnight shakes her head. “I’m not convinced I haven’t always been.” 

“And Crosshair?” Suu asks. 

Midnight tenses, letting out a shaky breath before nodding. “And him. He was...resistant at first. Then he had to...out of necessity. I was in love with him before that, but he’s...guarded.” She feels tears brim her eyes. “I knew the risks. I told myself after the war ended, I wouldn’t let anything separate us. I’d do everything I could to keep us together.” Midnight hastily wipes a tear. “I feel like I failed.” 

Suu puts a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. “You still have four men who clearly love you. I know it’s not easy losing someone you love, but don’t forget about them too. As one of the few in this galaxy that can understand, you need to consider what’s best for all of you. Take advantage of the time you do have. If Crosshair truly does love you, he will realize it. There’s no amount of mind control that can wipe away emotions like that forever.” 

Suu is right. Midnight had failed in keeping the six of them together, but she hadn’t failed in keeping most of them together. With their accelerated aging, she can’t even begin to guess how much time she’ll have with them. She’ll outlive them by a long shot. 

The thought only makes losing Crosshair hurt more. 

***

“It appears all public transport is now restricted without chain codes.” Tech says, looking at his datapad. 

“Which Cut can’t sign up for.” Suu says. “He’ll be arrested when they discover he’s a deserter.” 

They were all gathered in the house once more, Cut and Hunter having returned from town with some disparaging news. Apparently the new Galactic Empire was requiring citizens to get chain codes in order to travel. 

“The next shuttle leaves in a few hours.” Cut says. “Codes or no codes, we need to be on it.” 

“Mom!” A panicked cry from outside draws their attention. “Mom, it’s Omega!” Shaeeah runs into the house, pointing outside. “She went out past the fence!” 

Suu is the first out the door, grabbing the slug thrower leaning against the wall on her way out. Cut and Hunter are quick on her heels, hurrying towards the fence. Omega is right on the edge of the farm, a rather nasty looking creature stalking towards her. 

Hunter ducks under the fence, running towards Omega. She turns and runs, the creature lunging after her, but it’s slowed by a shot from Suu on the roof of the farmhouse. Omega ducks behind Hunter, Hunter slicing at the creature with his knife. 

Suu shoots it a second time, deterring it from attacking again as it turns and runs. Hunter guides Omega back through the fence, the poor girl looking upset and guilty. 

“What were you doing out there? Do you realize you could've been killed?” Hunter asks, his tone sharp and biting. 

Midnight winces, having been on the receiving end of that tone more than once. It’s not fair to Omega, though. She is just a kid. 

“Easy.” Cut says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She’s not a soldier.” Cut squats down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder, looking her over for any injuries. “Are you hurt? Now, let’s take a look here.” 

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to get the ball.” Omega says, tucking her face into Cut’s shoulder. “I didn’t know.” 

“You’re safe.” Cut says, patting her shoulder. “That’s all that matters.” Cut stands, picking her up. “Come on.” They start towards the house. 

“Hey, kid. You all right?” Wrecker asks. 

“She’ll be fine.” Cut says, walking back into the house. 

The five of them stand there, watching them go. 

Midnight replays the entire thing in her head once more. Omega’s lucky. Whatever that creature is, it’s fierce and would have torn her to shreds easily. Midnight doesn’t really know Omega, and she’s still adjusting to the thought of having a child around, but that’s what she is. She’s a child who has never seen the galaxy, never experienced the danger, the fear, the unknown. 

Midnight remembers when she was in the same position, leaving Coruscant for the first time, experiencing things so different from what she’d been raised in. Midnight had the advantage of knowing the dangers, though. She was an adult, well adjusted to living in danger. 

“All in all, I would say that could’ve gone much worse.” Tech says. 

Midnight rolls her eyes, shaking her head. Of course he’s right, but this didn’t feel like the time to say something like that. 

“Tech, you think you could forge some chain codes?” Hunter asks. 

“I only learned of them moments ago, but yes.” 

“Do it. We’re getting Cut, Suu and the kids on that shuttle.” 

****

Midnight sits on the porch of the farmhouse, swinging her legs back and forth. She had offered to stand watch, to make sure the Nexu didn’t return or try any bright ideas. It probably wasn’t that necessary, but she’s glad for the fresh air, and the chance to think. Tech and Echo had returned to the ship to try and learn as much as they could about chain codes and how to make them. Cut and Omega have gone on a walk as well, Omega still upset about the whole incident. 

Midnight can’t blame her. She remembers how upset she’d been the first time Hunter had reprimanded her like that. Of course, they’d been in the middle of war and he was reprimanding her stupid decision on the battlefield. She had deserved it. Omega hadn’t. 

She knows Hunter can’t discern the difference, though. None of them can. They’d been designed for war, for fighting battles. Not for things like child rearing and domestic life. 

They could learn it, though. Cut was proof of that. 

He had chosen to desert though. The rest of them hadn’t had a choice. 

The door of the farmhouse opens. Midnight doesn’t need to look to know who it is. He walks down the steps, approaching her slowly. She keeps her gaze facing forward, even as he moves to stand next to her. 

“It’s uh...beautiful here.” Hunter says, crossing his arms. 

Midnight nods. “It is.” 

He’s quiet for a moment, the tension beginning to rise between them. She knows it's her fault, but she can’t help it. She feels like she needs to fight. Maybe she should have accepted Tech’s willing invitation earlier.  

“I’m...going to send Omega with Cut and Suu.”

Midnight nods. He sounds unsure, but she knows that might be the best option. “It’s a good idea.” 

“They won’t let us go that easily. Things are going to be dangerous.” Hunter is staring at her. She can feel his gaze burning into the side of her face. “Would you-” 

“Don’t.” She cuts him off, hands curling around the edge of the porch. “Don’t even ask me that.” 

“You need to consider-” 

Midnight jumps down from the porch, facing him. “I made a promise when we made this whole arrangement that I wasn’t going to let anything separate us. Not the Republic, not the end of the war. I told myself no matter what, I was going to keep us together. I’ve already failed that, and now you want me to leave?” 

“That’s not what I want.” He says, eyes narrowing at her. She knows she’s pushing into dangerous territory, but she can’t stop. 

“That’s what you were going to ask me.” Her hands are starting to shake, adrenaline coursing through her. 

“I don’t want you to leave, but I think some distance for a while is a good idea for your own safety.” 

The door to the house opens, but neither of them pay it any mind. “What are you going to do, force me? The war’s over, Hunter. You’re not my Sergeant anymore.” She turns on her heel, walking away from him. 

Hunter moves to follow, but Suu puts a hand on his shoulder, keeping him in place. “Don’t. Give her some space.” She says. 

“I don’t know what’s gotten into her.” He says, staring at Midnight’s back where she’s standing close to the fence. 

Suu glances in that direction as well. “You shouldn’t take it personally. She’s grieving.” 

Hunter looks down at Suu, his brows furrowing. He hadn’t even thought of that. He had felt the sting of Crosshair’s betrayal, but he had moved past it in order to ensure the rest of his squad was safe and taken care of. It wasn’t fair of him to expect the same of Midnight. That’s why he had thought sending her away might be the best idea. 

“People do and say strange things when they’re grieving. I know it’s your nature to look out for your squad, but you have to let her do what she needs.” Suu gives him a smile. “She doesn’t need a squad leader right now, or her team. She needs the men she loves.” 

***

Hunter, Wrecker and Midnight escort Cut, Suu and the kids to the spaceport. Midnight can tell Hunter is still seething a bit after Tech’s brilliant idea backfired a bit. 

They had been enjoying what was likely to be one of their last good meals for a while, while helping Cut, Suu, and the kids pack when Tech had commed in, saying he had a brilliant plan. Naturally, he had decided to enact it without waiting for any permission, or even telling anyone else besides Echo. 

The brilliant plan? 

Get the ship impounded so they can sneak into the spaceport and steal the disks to make the chain codes. 

The only problem? 

Omega was on the ship. 

Midnight knows they wouldn’t let anything happen to Omega, but it doesn’t make this situation any less stressful, nor their jobs any easier. 

Midnight walks beside Wrecker, at the back of their group, holding his hand. It was partly to steady her nerves, and also to try and seem more inconspicuous. Hunter is leading the group, at the front where she knows he’s most comfortable. 

“Tech, we’re in the spaceport. What is your status?” Hunter says through his comm. 

“In progress. The encryption shouldn’t be a problem.” Tech answers. 

They walk towards the shuttles, keeping their heads down. There’s troopers crawling the area. There’s far more troopers than she thought there’d be. Midnight hasn’t been this nervous since she’d broken the boys out of the brig on Kamino. She holds Wrecker’s hand just a little tighter, moving closer to him. She knows it’s more dangerous for them. If a trooper looked too long at one of the boys’ faces, it would be a dead giveaway. 

“Hurry up. We need those chain codes to get them on the shuttle, or we’re going to have to blast our way out of here.” Hunter says. 

“Don’t worry. I can slip through security unnoticed and deliver the disks to you momentarily.” 

They get into the line at the shuttle, all anxiously awaiting Tech’s arrival. 

“Have your chain codes out and ready for inspection.” A trooper says as he passes them, thankfully not looking too hard as they turn their faces to avoid detection. 

“The chain codes are in route...with Omega.” Tech says. 

“By herself? You let her go by herself?” Hunter hisses into the comm. 

“Well, we didn’t let her go.” Tech tries to defend himself. 

“I’m on it.” Wrecker says, handing off the crate he was holding to Cut before running off towards the impound lot. She knows this is going to end in a firefight, most likely. She’s glad she kept her blaster in the back of her pants. 

She passes the bag she was carrying off to Suu, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Good luck.” 

She follows behind Wrecker, slipping into the impound lot. Thankfully most of them have been drawn to Wrecker, giving her ample space to slip towards the Marauder unnoticed. 

She slides up to Tech behind a stack of crates, drawing her blaster. “Kriffing hell,” She says, ducking from blaster fire. “Just once I’d like to end a mission without getting fired at.” 

“Then perhaps you should consider joining another squad.” Tech quips. 

Midnight rolls her eyes, firing at the troopers. They’re coming in waves, and she knows even more will be coming following. 

“Hunter, we have worn out our welcome. We need to go right now.” Tech says through the comms. 

“On my way.” Hunter replies. 

Hunter arrives quickly, easily taking out three of the troopers before ducking behind the crates. 

“Glad you could make it.” Tech says. 

“What are we waiting for?” Hunter asks. 

“The clamp’s still magnetized. The system’s not responding.” Echo says, still working on getting the Marauder free. 

Wrecker runs over, using brute force to get the clamps to release. 

“Let’s go.” Hunter says, Midnight running for the ramp of the ship, following Tech up inside. 

“Wait for me!” Omega’s voice calls through the spaceport, drawing the attention of some troopers. 

Hunter tries to keep them at bay as she runs over, but one of the troopers grabs her leg. Hunter makes quick work of him, getting Omega to the ship safely. Tech takes off as they continue to fire on the ship, successfully flying their way out of the spaceport and away from Saleucami.

***

Midnight sits in the fresher with her head in her hands. She feels sick to her stomach. Her hands are shaking despite them being balled into fists so tight it hurts. The motion of the ship doesn’t help any, only stirring her nausea more. 

She doesn't know what’s wrong with her. She’s felt like this the last two missions they’d had before the war had ended. She’d felt like this on Kamino, and she’d felt like this after their narrow escape. She knows it’s not just her roiling emotions. It’s like every time she has a blaster in her hands, it makes her sick. She can’t take much more of it. 

She forces herself to stand, splashing cold water on her face until her legs stop shaking. She looks like death, more so than she had on Saleucami. She’d love nothing more than to crawl into bed and hide, but she knows she can’t. 

She exits the fresher, stepping out into the hallway. 

“Well, where is Omega gonna sleep?” Wrecker asks. 

“She can have my bunk.” Midnight says, drawing all eyes to her. “For now. I-I’ll sleep in Crosshair’s bunk.” 

“Night-” Hunter starts but Midnight cuts him off. 

“It’s fine.” She moves forward, putting a hand on Omega’s shoulder. “Come on. I’ll give you the tour.” 

She leads Omega to her room, opening the door. It’s still a bit messy from their search of the ship not too long ago. Midnight’s glad she changed the sheets, though. 

“Make yourself at home.” She says, shoving clothes back into their crates. Hunter had at least been decent enough to place her armor in its spot. 

“Are you sure I’m not taking your bed?” Omega asks as she sits on the edge. 

“Truth is,” Midnight says, squatting down so they’re the same height. “I don’t think I’ll be doing much sleeping in here. I don’t think I’ll be doing much sleeping at all, actually. I’d rather you be comfortable, at least until we can get something more permanent set up.” 

Midnight gets up to leave, but Omega’s next words stop her. “You were close with him, weren’t you. Crosshair, I mean.” 

Midnight sighs, her shoulders drooping a bit. “Yeah. I was.” 

“I’m really sorry about what happened.” She says. “I know what it’s like. To feel lonely even with people around you.” 

Midnight hastily blinks the tears away, turning to face Omega. “I’ll be okay. Get some sleep. It’s been a long day.” 

Midnight leaves her room, the door hissing shut behind her. She makes her way to the bunks, pausing in front of Tech and Crosshair’s. They’re all empty, Tech in the cockpit with Echo and Hunter. Wrecker was in the hull, probably benching Gonky or something. 

She pulls the privacy curtain back, half expecting to be met with a scowl, but of course it’s empty. She climbs up, tucking herself into the bunk. The hooks are still on the wall where he’d hang the firepuncher. Midnight lays her head on the pillow, squeezing her eyes shut. 

It still smells like him.

Taglist: 

@amyroswell, @dangraccoon, @hunnythebee​, @lokigirlszendaya, @kriffingmeshla, @storm-breaker7  

[dairy-farmer]

Okay but a magical toy that pulls a green lantern "needs it most" routine? BRILLIANT. The chaos! The secrets! The PINING. And you KNOW I am, as always, trying to convert people to my Civilian!Tim Stan club~! It always causes so much more CHAOS when he's off the Bat Leash! So IMAGINE it:

Some uppity magic user. Trying to Make It In Gotham(tm). Realizing the HARD way that Bat-boot to the face is how Batman says hello. Panic flailing and shooting off every spell he knows. Landing none.

Throws THAT spell. The one he learned for his girlfriend but then she dumped him and he never got to use it. (Look he's PANICKING, okay?!) But he ALSO smashes it together with... something? He's not sure. He's trying and failing to dodge.

It HITS something.

Tim, on a roof. Trips over a bit of piping he doesn't see and gets hit. Oh no! But? Huh. He's fine? Sweet. Back to pictures then. The night concludes. But WAIT! This is an AU! Tim is a civilian! So who's ROBIN? Jason! Stressed as hell. B is being unreasonable and Damian's a Lil [redacted]. But what is THIS? Upon his bed? A fleshlight?

Real cute guys. Probably Dick's way of telling him to calm down. Or some creepy olive branch from B. Who knows. But he checks it out. And it feels AMAZING. Life like. He honestly gets engrossed, playing with it, exploring it. Wondering how it works. It even gets WET! It's a tight fit but he works it down onto to himself. Works loose and squelching. Oozing with he's lost COUNT of how many loads. It's the BEST.

It's the first night of Timmy's new night issues. Sometimes even DAY issues. Every night it's someone different. Some are super human fast. Some are so big he feels impaled. Sometimes they clearly aren't human. They slide in to him like they have every right to use him for their pleasure. To take and ram and fill him up then LEAVE. Oozing seed and twitching on the floor or on his bed or at school. Whenever THEY decide. And he has to hide it. Be the respectable Drake heir.

And the Cape community? Losing their damn minds! There is a toy. SOMEWHERE. THEIR toy, as far as they're concerned, and they CANT FIND IT. They NEED it back. It's the best stress relief of their LIFE. Someone TOOK it.

And of course, after the pounding of a life time by a Kryptonian. That poor stuffed hole flickers away to the next horny soul. Constantine. Who's like. "The fuck. This is attached to someone." He respectfully, caps it up, and brings it in. Cue mass glaring and cold sweating. What'cha got there john?

Well, some poor soul is LITERALLY getting fucked over... *continues reporting*

*dots connect in various heads*

Hysteria. What would their mother's say. Not even a drink first! They have SO many make up orgasms to give somebody. They have to find them! Before anyone ELSE! They are the ONLY one who would treat that pus- I mean, PERSON right!

And Tim? Prayers answered. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, man. You think he can keep up with Earth's Finest? Let him die a little, okay?? Just... just pass out for a bit. Festive little coma. Oww his puss. Brutes. All of them brutes. When he finds out, he gonna demand to be ROMANCED. Get the GUCCI fan merch. Seduced! THE MOST pillow of pillow princesses! D:< Justice for Tim puss!

tim's poor pussy 🥺🥺🥺 tim's little baby no-longer-a-virgin puss has been put through the wringer, always getting fondled, fingered, licked, or fucked. he hasn't gotten a break longer than a few hours since it began. sometimes the cocks inside him keep going even after tim can feel their thick cum sitting inside him. the worst part about the toy (or rather the best part of it for people using it) is that all the cum released into it is absolutely pressed into tim.

tim spends most of his days getting sloppily wet and having cum pumped into him. by the time that it reaches constantine and they're able to reverse engineer both the magician and find the "victim" in all of this- tim is already several weeks pregnant 😱. all the heroes who have been fucking tim all have to come to terms with the fact that they MAY have knocked up this civilian👀👀👀

[hawkinsgirlnextdoor]

Being An Older Sister Figure to the Party

Headcanons for being an older sister to the party from seasons 1 to 3 (for now, I'll probably add more ideas that pop into my head, especially for season 4). I might even do a part two if someone requests it.

You’ve been babysitting Will since he was nine and as a result you’ve become very protective of him and his friends. 

You and Jonathan have always worked as a team to make Will feel accepted. You started coming over every weekend to watch movies or listen to music with the two of them, making sure that it was stuff that he liked. 

You listen carefully when Will tries to explain D&D to and you smile at the way he talks about “Will the Wise” and the adventures he goes on with his friends. Eventually Will’s party gives you a rundown of how to play and you participate sometimes (usually reading lines for an NPC Mike wrote beforehand).

Dustin and Lucas really like having you around. They always try to impress you with random references and facts that are pretty cringe-worthy but you find them charming. 

Even when Joyce couldn’t afford to pay you after Lonnie left you still stick around because you care about Will so much. It kills you to see how he and his friends get bullied and you try to help any way you can but it doesn’t always work. 

You and Joyce have always been really close and she treats you like a daughter. 

After Will came back from the upside down you visited him every day in the hospital and brought him a box full of his favorite things (art supplies, books, his favorite movies). 

You never really recover from what happened but you try to be a pillar of strength for him. 

When Max moves to Hawkins you quickly get wind of her home life. You make it your mission to make sure she has a place where she can feel comfortable, letting her stay over at your house whenever she needs a break from Billy or Niel. 

Max has never been traditionally “girly” but you help her feel comfortable in her femininity. Painting her nails, braiding her hair, taking her shopping for clothes because her mom is too overbearing, etc. 

She’s always struggled with finding positive female role models but you show her the strength in being vulnerable and tell her that she doesn’t have to act tough all the time.

When Steve Harrington enters the picture you’re a little skeptical. He never seemed like the kind of person who would spend his time worrying about anyone but himself and his asshole friends. You’re especially worried about Dustin trying to emulate him but soon enough you come around. He shows you that he cares about the kids just as much as you do even if its in a different way. You start to bond and anytime he worries about people still seeing him as “King Steve”, you assure him that he’s a great guy who’s doing his best. 

Eleven is your baby. After season two you make a point of treating her like a normal preteen girl. When she grows out her hair you buy her clips and look in every magazine to find hairstyles that she can wear. 

When Lucas and Max get together they break up constantly which leads to Lucas crying on your doorstep begging you to help him get her back. Lucas insists that he did it himself because he’s just that smooth (and he’s embarrassed about blubbering in your arms about missing Max). 

When Dustin comes back from camp you’re the only one who believes him about Suzie being his girlfriend. You even talk with her on Cerebro and quickly become pen pals. 

After season 3 you like to keep tabs on Erica. Mostly just to check if she’s having any problems sleeping after what happened on the Fourth of July, or sometimes just to hear her rant about her D&D character. 

You and Mike have an interesting relationship. He’s been Will’s best friend for as long as you remember and has been one of the only people who’s ever made him feel normal but at the same time he’s put that boy through the emotional wringer. 

He annoys you a lot of the time but at the end of the day you know he’s a good kid and who doesn’t have a lot of love in his life. 

Sometimes Mike comes to you about stuff he doesn’t tell anyone else. He sees you as one of the only older people in his life who won’t scold him for his mistakes. You always tease him or set him straight but at the end of the day you let him know you care.

You're the first person Will ever comes out to, and you make sure to guard that secret with your life.

At the end of the day all the kids love you and feel like they can come to you for anything, especially end-of-the-world stuff <3.

[amazing-spider-man-book-club]

The Amazing Spider-Man #4

Published: September 1963

Containing: "Nothing Can Stop...The Sandman!"

Introducing: The Sandman/Flint Marko, Betty Brant

Synopsis: Peter struggles to cope with the combined onslaught of character defamation in The Daily Bugle and the arrival of new supervillain The Sandman.

Read alongside us here:

https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/The-Amazing-Spider-Man-1963/Issue-4?id=4007

@frankendykes-monster : Something like our first "routine" Spider-Man issue, not much comes to us in the form of new developments, after six prior stories across four issues, we've settled into a formula it appears. As such there's not much to bring up beyond what's new.

If I recall (given the erratic scheduling of our posts so far), this is our first time hearing that J. Jonah Jameson is publisher of The Daily Bugle, given that NOW Magazine was introduced back in #2. It's fascinating to hear Peter talk about Jameson as if they hardly know each other when it's Peter that has to supply the photos of Spider-Man. The power of the press is at an all-time high as Peter can't seem to manage to get much done with this much bad publicity. One thing of note is that this is Spider-Man's first time trying out doing something good for other people, though in the reactionary world of superhero comics that translates to "trying to stop some guys from committing petty theft." The police of NYC seem to have come to terms with the fact that Spider-Man is a fact of life, though mostly because they also have to worry about whoever Spider-Man fights in a given issue.

The Sandman is, once again, not a psychologically-complex character by any means, but it's another opportunity for Ditko to flex his skills as character design; the opening splash page is probably my favorite piece of art from the entire run though that's mostly due to how it commands so much impression of three-dimensional space. Flint Marko doesn't even have a costume so much as just his clothes. The Sandman is probably the most far-fetched character we'll be introduced to across the entire run (not that I've done it myself but I feel like he'll stop making sense if you think about how his powers work for more than five seconds or so). Most people are content to just have Flint turn one of his hands into a giant sledgehammer to try and smash Spider-Man with so seeing all the unusual ways he contorts his body here is a treat.

We get our first glimpse at the fact that Liz Allen, finally named, will be one of Peter's love interests, though because this is a Spider-Man comic he completely botches that up. Betty Brant also makes her debut though not with much fanfare; she'll become more important later on.

What is probably most interesting about this issue is the fact that it's 1963 and Peter has a TV in his room er I mean the mental toll that not only being Spider-Man but the reaction of the world around him to his actions does to Peter. Much more so than last issue, Peter is put through the emotional wringer here trying desperately to plan ahead for situations only to forget about something else, staying in control just to lose his cool immediately, worried desperately about possibilities when he needs to be focused on the "now." It's what helps make Spider-Man the proverbial teenage superhero, not in the literal sense but more thematically with how everything is the biggest and most tragic and messed up deal ever when you're a teen.

@duel1971 : Another great issue introducing another classic villain! Sandman is in theory extremely powerful and certainly gives Peter a run for his money initially but in the end is defeated by a simple vacuum cleaner. Not quite science hero stuff but it’s fun.

Loved all the little details of Peter’s personal life in this issue: sewing up his costume while watching the news, fumbling a date with a girl because of his secret identity, and playing a hilarious prank on J.J.J. (whose smear campaign has, if anything, gotten even worse in this issue).

The public hysteria around Spider-Man seems to be escalating, and the story ends on a bit of a downer note as a bunch of chatty pedestrians express their very mixed feelings on our hero. Peter resolves to continue his superhero career, but can’t help but have doubts.

It goes without saying that the art is great to look at but Sandman’s powers allow for some stunningly inventive visuals. Most if not all of these original designs by Ditko are hard to improve on and Sandman’s striking design is a great example because he’s still wearing that exact same shirt to this day.

[faeryfrogs]

damn kids, I've really been questioning my gender recently. Like... sometimes I wish I was a man-- but like, a very androgynous, femme man. Not really interested as being seen as a butch woman, and I've given that plenty of thought over the years as one of my close friends is a butch lesbian.

This is a weird feeling to admit to, because I thought I was pretty much done thinking about my gender and sexuality at my big age.

Overall, I wish my body shape lent itself to seeming more androgynous. I feel like my relationship with my body was fine until I hit puberty, and I've strongly disliked it ever since. I don't think I'd mind presenting as a woman so much if I were taller or skinny because it would perhaps lend itself to androgyny more than the hourglass stereotype. I've always envied, for example, women who cosplay as male characters. I don't think I can pull it off! At the same time, I have zero desire to be a 'guy's guy.' I've called myself nonbinary for a while, or I guess I'm genderfluid or genderqueer? I'll be honest, I'm not so familiar with the nuances of terminology in this case and infighting over labels in other areas of queer community (an unbelievably stupid thing to fight over imo) has me leery.

And then there's the thing slightly ironic thing where I'm hormonally intersex but stereotypically female-presenting in body type and fat distribution. I'm convinced that if I lost weight, I might appear more androgynous.

Also, I lurked on some transmasc forums and learned that more testosterone might actually help my intersex condition. Fucking crazy to learn that. If only I'd been born in a world with parents who didn't just decide that I should be a woman! I'm going to make myself sad here... but the truth is, most intersex conditions are 'corrected' by tossing the intersex person to whichever end of the gender binary they seem closer to. But let's not talk about my forced feminization, lol.

Yes, I kind of wish sometimes that I'd been born with male body parts and had gone through life that way. (Somehow, it seems easier to be androgynous as an amab person rather than an afab person. Perhaps that's a grievous misconception, if so, give me a little grace...) I also remember being envious of boys as a little kid. I do think it would have been a huge struggle in other areas though; I left the cult I was raised in partly because of how I was treated due to my assigned gender, and while I wish to believe that I always would have left no matter what, it may have been much a slower process without the catalyst of being woman-presenting in a hierarchical, violently sexist environment. And who knows, maybe I would have more deeply repressed my femininity and queer identity in a male body...

Anyways. Just something I've been thinking about a bit. I've mentioned it once to my best friend, and when meeting up with new queer folks I tend to use Max as my name instead of my more gendered birth name, but I'm not really in a place to be public about it until I'm more sure how I feel. This is honestly the first time I've put it to words at all.

Here's the other thing. I have no desire to put my body in the wringer especially with things like surgery, but I do want other people to see me as myself and not as a woman. I worry especially that without some form of external self-transformation, I will always be seen as a busty cis woman who's just quirky. Ugh.

[thegoldencontracts]

So. You know promise rings? Not exactly an engagement ring but a little more serious than boyfriend-girlfriend... merfolk wear promise shells. Shells that represent the person they're with... Azul's partner (It's Ri--💥) wearing a small spiral shell that's wide at the opening with bumps along it, its coloration a deep purple and black. You could almost confuse it for a tentacle from afar.

How many biographies and autobiographies do you think he'll have? Self-help books?

Annnd what do you think Azul's future mega corporation would be called? Because I've seen some iterations use the 'Mostro' name and I used 'Ashengrotto' because... come on. It's his name! People need to recognize him!

The more I think about it, the more I need to see Azul meet his future self. Would he love the guy or treat him like... Cece? Hehe.

OH MY GOD PROMISE RING JUST GIVES ME THE CUTEST IDEAAA (in my opinion at least)

Azul with ri- I mean, his totally anonymous partner... He gives them a promise she'll and he tries to act as nonchalant as he can but he's also so embarrassed about ITTTT and he's trying to be smug and everything but then rid- I MEAN his partner is like "wow, this truly is quite important to you I'm pleased to see you so greatly value our relationship" not even in a teasing way just genuinely trying to be good faith and appreciate Azul's efforts yk...

But of course Azul gets embarrassed T_T I-It isn't like that, he's just... Yeah he has no defense for himself and he gets so pouty and huffy "Not now, I'm losing" (This line is paraphrased from a tootally random fic that you toooootally didn't write and I toooooooooootally didn't reread 5 gorillion times lmao)

A bunch, Azul is all about that grind 💪💪💪 he will power through the writers block

Anndd if Azul has a restaurant chain I feel like he'd actually keep Mostro because despite him acting aloof and business-minded he actually truly cares for the Lounge (one of the funniest parts of twst imo is that fact that Azul in canon is basically... A FUCKING TSUNDERE OVER HIS LOVE FOR IT'S CRAFT IT'S THE FUNNIEST THIGN EVER Jade says it's clear he cares about the lounge, Azul says "Hah! Do you honestly believe me to be capable of an illogical sentiment such as 'attachment'?" And Floyd and Jade are like... Yeahh... Sure we totally believe you Mann he's literally a tsundere for his restaurant HOWEW-)

Anyways sorry the temptation to yap was there and I couldn't resist but back to what u were saying so I feel like he'd be attached to the name too and no matter how he tried he can't bring himself to change ittt

CECAELIA FAIRBANKS MENTION SPOTTED I WILL NOW RAMBLE Cecaelia is Azul's worstie she breaths within 1000000000 miles of him and he's immediately like "SHUT THE FUCK UP NO ONE ASKED YAP YAP YAP RIZZLESS BETA WHITE KNIGHT L + RATIO + I HAVE MORE CONTRACTS THAN U" nothing can compare to his hate /j

But actually though I feel like it depends on whether or not Azul knows this is his future self bc with cecaelia that's the conflict it's literally a better version of Azul bc... Azul from the future but Azul doesn't realize thatttt

But the version you're bringing up? Even better version of Azul. More successful and more skilled. If Azul doesn't know... Poor dude's gonna be put through the emotional wringer (and develop a strong hatred for what is quite literally himself) His hatred will be stronger than what he harbors for cecaelia lmaooo-

If he does tho I feel like he might have mild jealousy that's overshadowed by "HOLY SHIT THIS IS WHST I'LL BE IN A FEW YEARS" kind of thing...

Anyways that concludes my ramble thank you

[tma-thoughts]

Oh and another Tim take before i forget!

Tim should not be given Jason's trauma.

Fandom woobifying Tim and treating him like an innocent uwu baby who can do no wrong is already kind of annoying, but seeing both fandom and canon adaptations give Tim Jason's trauma, often while Jason is demonized for the effect those experiences have on him (while Tim has the glorified, pretty version of mental illness) is just,,,,,, no. Stop.

And its like,, i get why its happening. Fans and even canon creators see Tim's backstory where he grew up rich and privileged and decide that theres no way people will or should sympathize with him for it. And while Jason's busy being demonized by canon, his childhood is up for grabs. With Jason growing up poor, occasionally with absent or abusive parents, and living on the streets of crime alley, its easy to feel bad for him. And who doesnt want to feel bad for their blorbo?

The thing is, though, that doesn't work for Tim. It's not part of who he is. Tim's character arc has him going from an optimistic kid to a more cynical teenager, and he grows that way because he's shielded from the evil of Gotham until he becomes Robin. To put him on Gotham's streets makes him see it all before Robin, and that... doesn't really make sense for his character.

And you shouldn't have to feel bad for a character 24/7 for them to be likeable. Dont get me wrong, i love seeing Tim get put through the wringer as much as the next guy, but when people just dump sob story after sob story on him while giving him no negative/non-glorified effects it gets boring. I love seeing this kid who had it all risk all of it and lose so much of it!

Please tell me someone out there gets it

[nebulaleaf]

pictured me shaking the fuck out of akira like he's a raggedy doll. hes changed my brain chemistry fr ive never been so sick over a character. sorry guys i gotta normal post and get it out of my system.

hes so insect core hes like a little ladybug you can eat and stomp on and so so small like a pebble in a jar shes so shakeable i wanna rattle him and throw him at the wall and pour milk on him until he gets all soggy </3 he's a little meow meow that i simply have to put on the fastest spin cycle or through the wringer. take him to a metal washboard and scrub with a rock then ill pin him to a clothesline and let him blow in the wind and sundry for a good couple of hours or so because i forgot him out there. i need to tuck him into a cozy bed. and offer him a little biscuit treat because he's been good and then i need to let him into the woods and hunt him for sport with only a bear trap and a rifle. do you understand. ideally I'm hoping he gets caught in the bear trap but i am open to to seeing his face in my crosshairs like a startled deer. i lovbe him. hes so sgcrungly.