#seriously so many questions about what's missing are answered with one ep had to get cut

[sweaterkittensahoy]

So, I wanted to cover Big Week in the RosieLemmons fic even though it's mentioned (using the bombers as bait), and then we skip ahead in the next ep.

And, yeah, that's what got cut to cover safety costs for Covid. It has to be. All the bits and pieces I've seen people wishing there were would have been in that episode. And it likely would have been longer than a regular episode.

Think about it. What's Big Week get us? Huge air battle. Introduction of the Tuskegee Airmen as the fighter pilots going one-on-one with the Germans while the bombers took out the airplane factories. 300 missions in a week, not all from Thorpe's Abbot, but more than usual. Enough to show us more ground crew, more stress from those boys. Rosie leading the whole fucking thing just after he's re-upped with a group of rookies. More from the Red Cross girls who are watching these men go up and come down and go up and come down. With the acceptable causality rate of 75%.

And the whole goal was to get the air superiority to get into Europe.

So Rosie's poetic moment of being alone up in the air over Normandy? That's because of the immense effort of Big Week. Crosby working himself three days straight and then MISSING Normandy? He'd just recently (February) gotten through Big Week and probably felt every fort that went down was his fault (because that's how he always feels).

I think what happened was Apple saw the cost of safety for Covid and rather than go, "This is a fucking WW2 epic with Speilberg&Hanks as producers; it will do fucking gangbusters," they shit themselves and said, "no, no, the answer isn't letting these two people who have a history of great WW2 stories have some more money (60 million is nothing to Apple) to make the 10-parter. We're gonna bean-count this shit to a 9-parter."

Anyway, that's my long-form way of saying Apple may have chickenshit their way out of a Big Week episode, but my ass works for FREE. And when I say you're gonna see how fucking smart Ken Lemmons is, oh baby, you have no fucking idea.

[fatum679]

Hi. I have a few questions and would like to hear your opinion.

What do you think of Aemond's actions at Rook's Rest? Do you see it as him intentionally wanting to get rid of Aegon or him simply not caring and primarily aiming at Meleys and Rhaenys, while also seeing Aegon as a collateral victim ? He sure gets a lot of hate for it now, especially from green fandom. Do you think he can be justified at all? Personally, I'm not happy with how the show depicted Aegon/Aemond dynamic cause it could have been very interesting and complex, but the way they resolved it in the show did seriously disappoint me, ngl.

Also, do you think that Helaena will know what happened? We know that Hel and Aemond share a scene in ep 5 in the throne room and I was wondering what her reaction could be (anger, indiferrence, sadness, another vague prophecy... )? I'm curios to see how are they going to depict their dynamic since it will be the first time they actually interact (I still can't believe that the showrunners missed the opportunity when Jaehaerys was killed).

Thanks in advance for your answers!

Hello!

I'll be clear, I don't like Aegon and I have no problem with Aegon and Aemond not having a loving brotherly relationship. Aegon is a terrible big brother, he taunted and bullied Aemond his whole life and wouldn't stop. "He's a twat." Aegon took the 13-year-old child for his birthday to a brothel. Aemond did not want this, he was brought there by force.

In season two he treated Aemond like his own weapon "My brother, at least, knows his plase. He's as loyal as a hound. I can set him ans his dragon on my foes at will".

I see that Aemond wants revenge and he wants justice.

But I am absolutely against what happened in Rook's Rest. I see that this was specifically written by the writers to take the blame off Rhaenys. Rhaenys killed a large number of people at the coronation and tg stans used this argument against tb stans. So I believe this was done intentionally. Rhaenys' crime was given to Aemond. We are sold the idea that there is a "good side" and a "bad side", a "Mary Sue" side and a "villainous villain" side.

That is why in episode 5 the residents of the capital are not happy about the victory over the Meleys. But why? This dragon has killed many innocents, it has left many children without parents and it has crippled many. This is propaganda. They are promoting to us that TB is concerned about people, but this is not true.

Rhaenys's crime was deliberately given to Aemond. Aegon was deliberately made stupider. I don’t believe that when he saw Meleys he didn’t think that “This dragon is bigger than mine, maybe it’s not worth attacking directly.” This battle was meant to unite Aegon and Aemond. This does not mean that they will respect and love each other, but for the same purpose they had to unite. “You may cuff him about as you wish at home, but in the world, we must defend our own”.

I was also expecting more fire in this battle.

I see Helaena's reaction as Aemond becoming something he never was. It's sadness I see. Helaena is the voice of conscience for Aemond.

Aemond really supported Aegon "I only wish to serve my king and my house" "We can't risk losing you" But AEGON DIDN'T CHANGE "My brother, at least, knows his plase. He's as loyal as a hound. I can set him ans his dragon on my foes at will" "What a fine, sweet thing, did you fuck her like a hound?" I doubt you would support a person who puts you down.

I understand Aemond's "betrayal", but it shouldn't have been the way it was portrayed on the show. Aemond would not deprive his party of a dragon. Perhaps we will be told more in other episodes.

I'll just describe Aemond with this quote, but I think he had a lot of bad days in his life: «All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day»

Unfortunately, in episode 5 we were only given crumbs, but in episodes 6-8 there should be more Helaemond scenes and according to the leaks, Aemond should realize that Helaemond is a dreamer and ask her for advice. The actors also talked a lot in interviews about their relationship and that they played Helaemond. I'm just waiting and hoping.

[storiesofsvu]

Okay, so last week my sleep schedule was beyond fucked up and I had a friend staying with me so I didn’t get to watch the new CM until WAY too late and my reactions were barely existent and I almost fell asleep before it ended cause it was almost 6am by then. So I’m rewatching last week rn (while working on other stuff) before watching the new ep. Expect some notes from last week but not a lot I guess lol!

We love a good female unsub.

I STILL do not understand how Emily got full ass arrested over this shit, like yeah brian accused her, but they don’t really have any grounds for arrest, esp her being fbi?? She should have been asked to come down for questioning but that was it. She never should have actually been booked. (though this DOES play into the whole conspiracy thing. Like get her arrested/out of the way/a reason for the upper people to get rid of her or have something to hold over her head. Like, her getting arrested would be part of the whole gold star thing). WITHOUT that though, make it make sense.  GOD to be a lawyer in the CM universe must be THE most annoying thing in the entire world LOL.

This red coat will forever and always be one of my top fave wardrobe items of em’s

Okay but like, the coke “conspiracy theory” seems pretty legit LOL. But em is like.. losing it. She’s tunnel visioned on this gold star case and isn’t sleeping and like, my girl just needs rest and peace for ONCE please.

Jj wanting to talk but not having the courage to bring it up just hurts me man.

“contracted to kill gold star” I thought gold star was an operation? Or a team? Or was that found out later in this episode….LOL

Honestly… Emily breaking the rules/law is not OOC at all. and her asking Garcia to help her (and Garcia complying) isn’t either, it’s happened before in canon. And like.. when em’s getting shoved to the utmost bottom, she’s never above breaking protocol, even if she is in charge. Look at the lauren arc, look at her battle with barnes, her standing up to strauss, she’s always done whatever she thinks is right, it’ll get her answers, even if they can’t be used in court.

Voit looks SO much like someone I work with and that weirds me out LOL.

Mega points for Sydney for standing up for herself. I’m super glad she’s been given some time to shine this season.

Okay either Emily has had some sense knocked into her w saying “this case isn’t gold star until we prove it” or she thinks its an utter waste of time…

You’re SERIOUSLY telling me Penelope Garcia of all people didn’t see “star light star bright” and think of the nursery rhyme? That she wasted how ever many of her guesses and didn’t come up with something along the lines of “wish tonight”?!!!? that shit’s TOO easy…

If last season gave Emily a migraine, dealing with all of this and esp brian should be giving her an aneurysm lol.

The girl playing holly is incredible, I hope she gets the career she deserves. Also.. she deserved to attack voit, like her sister is young enough she’s still living in a weird confused/delusional point where she doesn’t really get what’s going on. holly’s old enough she knows her entire life is completely fucked up by her dad being a killer. That her family’s torn apart, she’s watching her mom barely keep it together, they have to move, again and again, new school, new friends, over and over all in a feeble attempt to try and stay safe from their dad who’s supposed to stay in prison?

Yeah this girl’s absolutely going through it. She loves her dad and misses what they had before everyone found out what he was actually doing.

Not voit getting TWO fucks in one sentence! He is right though about holly being in trouble and needing help now. Maybe he’s self reflecting a little bit, I can’t remember if his past was discussed last season LO, I’m remembering something but I might be fucking up plot lines… EITHER WAY, he sees a bit of himself in holly and doesn’t want her to turn out like him, which could be considered remorse…

JJ asking about Emily and how she’s doing after em asks about Sydney and the girls… just absolutely proves what everyone online was BITCHING hardcore about, with em “not caring about jj” they’re both going through hell, they’re both exhausted, I bet jj didn’t sleep the night before either. JJ wants to know about em and is checking in with her, she knows everyone’s going through it and when asked about her shit, she brushes it off cause she knows both of them are under stress, that she can bring it up later rather than dump everything on em when she’s struggling to hold herself and the team together. Sometimes you have to wait on things like that.. it’s just life.

If tyler and Penelope had met under ANY different circumstance I would be here for it, but I refuse to be the way it was done.

Emily v Voit is giving me so much life. Why didn’t they just send her in first? Lol. Like yeah voit ends up getting what he wants, but also, she’s so fucking cocky about the way it  happens and she can read him like no tomorrow and that’s after no sleep and all that shit? Tell me your powerful without telling me your powerful.

Okay, imma check if the new ep is up yet, if it is, I’ll be back right away, if not, I’ll see ya in a couple of hours…

Alright, I decided to finish writing some headcanons and got distracted and opened twitter to a gif of Emily smoking from the new ep and it was the hottest thing ive ever seen so let’s pray the new ep is up…

HERE WE GOOOOO

Oh we’re starting WAY back with last season flashbacks? Oh GOD this is gonna be a rough episode isn’t it??

Emily needs a hug, a nap and an orgasm.

Jfc this got creepy right off the bat… like voit was slightly okay in the past eps and now he’s just playing into the psycho

Im sorry, the fbi assassinated WHO? I cannot function without my subtitles and there are TOO many names/people in this season over the total season arc that I keep losing track….

Okay so at least it’s not just em’s ID they haven’t updated, rossi’s is old as fuck too..

“its not the first time I’ve crossed ethical and legal boundaries for this case” Rebecca: “and I didn’t hear that…” LOOOOLL

 AND THIS IS WHY  I SAID ID NEVER WANT TO BE A LAWYER IN THIS UNIVERSE

I understand that they said any previous deal would be off the table if voit fucked around with them but are you SERIOUSLY trusting him to provide the message and it not be something to alert them?

Okay but shout out to voit for being the first person to refer to tara as “Dr Lewis” in like.. forever

“you neglected to ask me that” dude’s right… you didn’t ask. That’s on you.

I really like the way they’re profiling this situation from both points and jumping back and fourth,

LOOOOLLL the morse code. Fucking called it.

ANND LUKE GETS A FUCK! YES

“can you do that? without fingerprints?” homegirl is about to get herself fired, isn’t she? (she don’t care either so…)

I know Rebecca being close to voit is like, a legal thing and the jurisdiction and shit but it worries me. Imma be surprised if she makes it through this season.

Jfc Emily is SO hot. I adore they keep putting her in blue!

Voit being the comedic relief was not on my bingo card.

YEESS JJ WITH THE “SO SHUT THE FUCK UP”

Not fuckin voit giving the ship a name.. my dude.. stop.

Lmao, Rebecca, he’s not actually gonna confess a crime babe…

“youre not under arrest, you’re here as a person of interest on a 24 hr hold” WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT SHOULDVE HAPPENED TO EMILY

“useful idiot” IM TELLING YOU EM TO BRIAN IS FRANKIE TO THE DEAN

Not him gaslighting her!

I know part of it is tv, but part of it is reality that plain clothed officers look EXACTLY like cops. Like, everyone can tell that you’re looking over your shoulder and being suspicious. Someone watching for cops isn’t gonna be that dumb.

Wow that team really had ONE good shooter? You serious?? Jj could have got that in a second.

The way Penelope knows about bombs?? That definitely came from derek.

UGH NOO BUT YESS the look on rebecca’s face when tara said she was staying with the bomb. There’s still love there and I swear to fuck if there’s some dying confession of love that’s my 13th reason

Not jade literally being in the same fucking park…

Ive been saying it for years but without Garcia… the team wouldn’t solve a single fucking case.

Okay I GET THAT THERE’S A FUCKING BOMB but like.. both tara and luke and ALL the surrounding officers are SO focused o that and are COMPLETELY ignoring voit.. that bitch could and would have been completely gone if it wasn’t for rossi and the sniper with him…

“this piece of shit” YES. Listen, I know we’re all feral for swearing, but as someone with a potty mouth who works in an industry when we’re always swearing, it’s so natural to me, and it makes things seem more real.

OH FUCK NO

HOW WAS THAT DUDE SO FUCKING DUMB?!?!? WHY WASN’T THERE LIKE 50 OFFICERS AROUND TO MAKE SURE SHIT LIKE THIS DIDN’T HAPPEN. MY GODDDD

But now voits back in his cell…

Ugghhh rebeccccaaaaaa

“im not at my best right now” “pfft. LOOK AROUND”

How DARE THEY end the ep like that. like the smoking part and her not giving a FUCK about it being inside and in her office was one thing, but the dire attempt to keep her composure and keep it together until she got out of the building only to utterly break down in dave’s arms?!?! Im sobbing. I honestly don’t think we’ve seen her cry *like that* since she was abducted by scratch…. They really turned to paget and said “hope you’re ready to act this season…”

Fuck.

I.. what an episode.. part of me feels the intense need to write some form of fix it fic… woof.

[canonicallysoulmates]

J2 Gold Panel Dallascon 2023

The boys today are in full swing, they're joking around making each other laugh, they're a little flirty, they are just in such a good mood and you can tell from the moment they get on the stage.

Jared does a little kick which is so cute and after Jared asks Jensen if it feels like they're twice as high as they usually are Jensen jokes that yeah but he did have some edibles that morning, and then he turns towards the big screen they have behind them that has a big banner with two pictures of them and he asks what's up with Jared's photo because he looks high....and Jared replies that what happened was that the picture got cropped so you don't see Jensen's left hand...I have no words.

And then there's Jared trying to recreate his stare in the photo and Jensen's left hand- just click on the link and watch: 😂

The first question is not a question it’s a fan thanking them, the show has a very special meaning to them because it's something that they watched with their grandad; Jared says that hearing stories from people about how the show helped them connect with their loved ones is one of the things that kept them going for so many years and when they were missing their families. x

The actual first question comes from an English teacher who sometimes uses SPN episodes in her drama units, like she used French Mistake to teach about breaking the fourth wall, and wants to know if they have episode recommendations that she could use for lessons. Jared recommends showing the movie Groundhog Day, and the ep Mystery Spot. The reason he brings up Groundhog Day is because he watched it this past week with their kids while they were all home because of icepocalypse. !!!!!!!!! Y'all already know I listened to this part multiple times, at different speeds, at different volume levels. This man said: "I just watched this movie last week with our kids when we were all home cause of icepocalypse". To me it sounds like Jensen and his three kiddos spend the ice storm with Jared and the other three kids.

But as I always say, don't take my word for it, here's the timestamp. Listen for yourself and form your own opinion.

Getting back to the answer Jensen asks him what the lesson would be for Mystery Spot and Jared replies the lesson is probably: you get another chance tomorrow, and try to make everyday count cause you never know when it’s your last or when you get to do it again the next day.

Jensen says that for a lesson in overcoming your fears, Yellow Fever. x

What’s their favorite quote? Jared jokes "leave the gun, take the cannoli." That's a line from the Godfather film. His real answer is: "pain is mandatory suffering is optional". And for Jensen one he likes a lot is: "taking care of yourself takes care of more than yourself."

Then Jared brings up another movie quote, "dude you got a fucking dart in your neck" which is from the movie Old School. This man spend the time he was stuck in the house watching old movies, I can tell. He also says people don’t have feelings, feelings have people. Which Jensen is confused by and doesn’t think it makes sense, but Jared explains that what he gathers from it is feelings are not pathological you can be angry or jealous but that's not who you are. x

When are Sam and Dean going to come back down to Earth? Jensen jokingly says season 16. Then says seriously, that that’s hopefully something that gets addressed when they get the call asking if they want to put their boots back on. x

What was their favorite kill? Some in the crowd call out Ruby, and Jensen laughs saying that technically he killed her, and Jared smiles and says to the crowd "are you reading my mind?"

Jensen's answer is Chuck. It wasnt some random monster of the week kind of thing it was somebody they had many years of work together and a friendship so whenever they get to work with people they have a great history and relationship with it makes it a little bit elevated, but he’ll take a good vampire nest killing everyday.

Jared says he didn't like killing this character but as a storyteller he's going to go with Rowena because it was so difficult. Says Ruthie is the most wonderful person on the planet, and she was fantastic as Rowena but that dynamic between her and Sam- it was so tragic to him to think of Sam having to kill her, it was so difficult he remembers the day vividly, it was truly emotional. He mentions that when the character of Bobby died they talked to the producers and the writers, and they said they didn't like it either but it’s great television and the boys were like fair enough so that was kind of an initial lesson; and when the Rowena and Sam storyline came to its conclusion that was really powerful for him. x

The next fan wants to know something cool about the boys that you wouldn't be able to find online. Jared says he’s done a questionnaire a few times, and guessing about Jensen, and it's turned out they're both introverts. They'd much rather stay home than go to a red carpet; extroverts feel energized being in front of the cameras but they much rather chill. x

Next fan has two questions, the first is that they want to know if the mic stand that Jared has is the one that Jensen threw down at the SNS concert the previous night because Jared keeps adjusting it. Jensen says he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, then he asks if he really did break a stand last night, the crowd replies yes and he goes 'listen, when i come on stage and there's music I black out'. And he, once again, asks if he really did break that stand, crowd continues to say yes, he says 'well, shouldn’t have been there'. 😆

The second question is, did Jensen think about how much his recognition would grow after appearing on The Boys? He answers that he doesn’t think he and Jared go into any of these jobs, roles,or stories thinking about the impact it'll have externally. They get hired to do a job and they take it seriously, even thought it might not look like it all the time, but they have a lot of fun doing the job because they truly enjoy doing what they do that being said they're not thinking about doing things because they want the effect it's going to have on a greater scale. They're just doing their job and hopefully it resonates to people and someone out there is entertained, and if that's the case they have done their job.

Jared mentions that 5 or 6 years ago the powerball prize was like 2 billion dollars, and they bought like 20 bucks of tickets. The draw was on Saturday, on Friday they’re on set filming, it's 4am, they’re tired, they’re miserable, they're flying soon and they look at each other and ask "if you win tomorrow are you coming into work on Monday?" And the answer for both of them was yes. If somebody went up to them and said they were filming a movie for the next month and it was going to be long hours but it would make a billion dollars in the box office, or long hours but they were never going to release it, it would make no difference they would still do everyday just as hard. He just does the hardest work he can and it's therapeutic for him as well to explore different lives and lifestyles and relationships so wether you tell him it’s an independent film that will never get released or Avatar he will work just as hard. And so will Jensen. x

Last question! The fan tells Jensen that he owes her sister 24 beers because last year she asked him to go out for her birthday beer and this fan had said that because she was turning 24 it should be 24 beers, and he had said she (fan asking the question) could go with them but she wasn't 21 at the time but she just turned 21 so now she can go and that would be 21 beers. I'm mentioning all this for only two reasons cause it has nothing to do with her question, reason number 1 is that when the fan tells Jensen about him owing her sister a beer, Jared grabs Jensen's coffee out of his hand and acts like he's going to give it to her and Jensen has no reaction, he just lets him take it and waits for him to put it back in his hand, like Jared taking his coffee is the most normal thing in the world. Which it probably is because they 100% do seem like the type of couple that shares coffee.

The second reason is that when the fan mentions that he owes her 21 beers on top of her sisters 24, Jared says that's 45 beers and Jensen stops, looks at him and goes "you do math fast!" all impressed. It's quite cute cause Jensen's all 😍 and you can tell Jared's proud of himself.

Anyways the last question is, what is their version of self care? Jared says that he’s been watching Limitless with Chris Hemsworth on Clif’s recommendation that it’s really meaningful, and fun, and interesting and a lot of the stuff that's talked about on the show really resonates with him. He is very similar, he has a though time winding down, and goes back to monkey brain, which is apparently what a doctor said, that's where one panics about stuff and is always worried so certain breathing excercises have helped. Also, the endurance training they did when they ran the marathon in Seattle kinda helped cause you put your shoes on, your music, your watch to check your heartrate and then you're on the road for an hour or hour and a half so you have to put everything else away, and he blames Jensen for turning him to this cause this was the training they did together. So find somewhere you can get past that really uncomfortable point of thinking you have to be doing something. Box breathing also seems to help him cause he sweats a lot, and he's anxious and nervous.

Jensen likes playing music, he’ll just sit down with a guitar and a lot of whiskey. x

J2 Gold Panel Dallascon

[angelsndragons]

fjord’s feelings for caduceus changed in episodes 98-99

by which i mean, fjord finally realized how special and important he is to caduceus, which in turn set the tone of their relationship for the rest of the campaign. buckle up, this is a long one.

not when fjord threw away his sword and went to caduceus instead of jester. or when caduceus presented him with the star razor. or after the citadel fight when caduceus gave him his holy symbol. i think things changed for fjord in episode 98-99, when caduceus saved his life and removed the orb.

this is going to require some context.

because here’s the thing: fjord’s always looking for the price, waiting for the catch or other shoe to drop. people caring for him because of him with no strings attached is unprecedented. vandren and the world taught fjord that love is conditional, that only if you hide what others would find ugly and make yourself useful to them will they deign to give you a scrap of affection. i don’t think vandren did this maliciously, mind you, it was just part of his worldview and fjord’s life up to and beyond that point supported it. we can see that right up to the end of the show, where fjord is terrified that vandren didn’t remember him or that he didn’t mean nearly as much to the man as vandren did to him.

so we have fjord, who learned to don masks and hide his truest self, including his best and worst aspects. while fjord made the nein into a coherent group, into a force, a crew, a family, even, he still waited for that other shoe to drop. waited for the day that they would reject him because he was no longer useful or because he pushed them too far. you can see this waiting all over the early campaign; he’s not looking for an excuse like caleb to cut and run but he anticipates nearly all the moments that almost fractured the nein, in spite of that low wisdom score. while jester carried the guilt of not being able to save molly, fjord carried the guilt of not protecting the group in that crucial moment. travis confirmed on talks that fjord’s biggest fear when he lost his powers the first time was that he would no longer be useful and be kicked out of the group. 

that’s why fjord damn near broke down at the end of 72. the nein, no questions asked, with their standard level of snark, accepted that he was going to be a liability and kept him around anyway. armed him anyway. declared that he was no liability and that they would help him along until he could help himself and them again. this unconditional acceptance caught fjord completely off guard. it always does, really. because caduceus had said for months, an out of game half a year, that he was looking to reforge the sword as a gift for fjord. he said this to fjord’s face. he did not change course when he learned that the sword was a legendary blade forged by acolytes of the wildmother and moonweaver. the blade was still meant for fjord, even if fjord was still chained to uk’otoa. fjord extends his love and protection to the nein but is still not convinced the reverse is true. he was starting to believe it but he wasn’t quite there yet.

caduceus has a high enough wisdom to understand that’s fjord’s hang up even if he doesn’t quite understand the reasoning behind it. that’s why he pulls fjord aside in ep 75 and tells him that he doesn’t have to choose the wildmother, that there are other gods and other ideas out there looking for a champion. fjord, who at this point considers wildmom his only option (travis says she’s the only one who’s shown the slightest interest in fjord and that’s why he’s gunning for her), is befuddled by caduceus and this whole talk, so much so the pair end up talking past each other for the next several episodes.

after fjord officially becomes a paladin, things between him and caduceus become fairly...unsettled compared to their previous interactions. they talk past each other more, they aren’t in sync enough to double team those social interactions they were just starting to get good at. things are just weird for a while. to me, that’s fjord waiting for the catch, waiting for caduceus to call in some favor or something like it. and he keeps getting confused when caduceus doesn’t. so he tries once or twice to follow in caduceus’ footsteps and do as he would instead. and it just makes things weirder. these two don’t have a moment together that doesn’t leave one of them confused or unsatisfied until ep 87, when caduceus gives fjord the holy symbol and inadvertently kicks off the next phase of their relationship. because here, caduceus tries to put them back on equal footing and fjord recognizes it. caduceus rejects framing their relationship as mentor/student and tells fjord he doesn’t need caduceus to give him answers. fjord is “well on his way.”

by defining what they aren’t, mentor/student, our two boys inadvertently ask the question, “so what are we?” honestly, it’s a question that the entire group grapples with in the 90s as they reintegrate yasha, as veth struggles with the question of changing back and whether she can stay with the nein, as beau tries to sacrifice herself for veth, as jester learns some uncomfortable truths about the traveler, as caduceus finds his family again. fjord and caduceus can easily define what they aren’t - not mentor/student, not brothers or cousins- but what they actually are stumps both of them.

their relationship doesn't look like any of their relationships with the others: beau is fjord's bro and first mate, caleb is fjord's complicated mirror and admiree, jester his crush and first person he learned to be vulnerable with, veth his antagonistic sibling. on caduceus' side, caleb is the one he looks to for a fellow project nerd and clear, unvarnished goals, beau and jester are the sisters caduceus misses, yasha the quiet beloved barbarian he understands better than the rest, and veth a mess he wants to help but can't. but fjord and caduceus' relationship is highly undefined at this point. notably undefined, beyond their newly shared connection to melora. at the dinner with essek, we get the stone bomb. and travis and fjord panic. like no, seriously, they spend the next four episodes low key panicking over this revelation. this ties back to fjord waiting for those other shoes to drop but it’s also more than that.

when it comes to destiny, fjord has always been the answer, the self made man, to both caduceus and caleb’s questions about destiny. he makes choices about who he is, who he wants to be, and takes actions towards those goals. he is one of those rare people who can wear many different masks, take on many different roles, while still maintaining his sense of self and becoming a fuller version of who he is. when I say fjord is the answer to destiny, what i mean is that he is what ioun said way back in c1 about Fate: mortals make choices and through those choices, destiny is fulfilled. he is the answer to caduceus' own growth from passive instrument waiting for someone to play him to active communicator in this conversation between gods and mortals. in this sense, fjord is what caduceus learns to be (this is exactly why caduceus rejects a mentor role; he has as much to learn from fjord as vice versa).

so for this coincidence to pop up, this idea that maybe fjord only had the illusion of choice to extend his service to the wildmother, that maybe somehow he was manipulated again, that there was some grand destiny pushing things and fjord had no say in it, yeah, i can see why fjord was low-key terrified. so is this what fjord and caduceus are: just some predestined grand fairy tale partnership neither of them have that much say in? episode 96 resoundingly rejects that label too. for one thing, none of the stones or clays treat fjord's last name as anything amazing or spectacular. for another, this string of episodes gives us caduceus at his most human. the terror of not knowing what happened to his family, the uncertainty of his homecoming, the relief of saving his family and home, the irritation at the way the chaos crew treats the temple, the playful attitude caduceus cultivates after, it's all on display. caduceus drops much of his placid exterior and willingly allows the nein to see sheer depth of emotion he has.

which leads me back to episode 98-99. uk’otoa’s agents come for fjord. and caduceus is pissed. travis and ashley both said on talks that they hadn’t really seen taliesin that pissed, that it was like someone had threatened an actual loved one of his. fjord dies. and comes back to an exhausted, still pissed off firbolg who is five seconds away from snapping archmage vess derogna’s head off for interrupting his prayer of healing. taliesin doesn’t even begin to relax until they start interrogating the dead fish people the next day. once caduceus confirms the ball is still in fjord, notably caduceus and caleb were the two who remembered, fjord starts asking for a way to remove it. he asks caduceus to start a commune with wildmom in tandem with jester’s commune with the traveler. caleb tells fjord that caduceus fought “very hard for you while you were down, i don’t know if he’s up to it.” having heard that, caduceus still tries, with his first divine intervention attempt of the campaign. and when jester figures out that greater restoration will work, caduceus pushes through his exhaustion, takes charge, and goes through a truly terrifying greater restoration with fjord to remove the ball. convulsing, seizing, shuddering, collapsing, etc.

in those moments, and in the quiet after when fjord confirms that he still has his powers, it finally hits him that yes, people can protect, fight, and love him for who he is alone. there is no chain or other shoe waiting to be dropped here. the wildmother is no uk’otoa, to punish or take power at a whim. caduceus will fight with everything he has and then some for fjord because he loves him (not for nothing does fjord only realizes the depths of jester’s feelings when she uses heal on him). who are caduceus and fjord to each other? they are people who will fight for one another and the others as far as they can. fjord says over and over again that he wants to protect the nein and look out for them because he cares for them. he demonstrates it over and over again as well. caduceus says basically the same thing; he wants everyone safe and happily on their way and will stay until they are. he demonstrates this all the time as well. this is, i think, the first time that he demonstrates his dedication so unequivocally, free of the artifice of duty, fully committed through love. fjord recognizes this in caduceus and caduceus does in fjord.

i say this is a turning point because, while they don’t really have another super in depth conversation alone together, these two start clocking each other and openly help and look out for each other. there’s an ease and intimacy to the relationship after this. fjord watching caduceus swim near vokodo’s lair, fjord being ready to hand over his armor to caduceus when it looks like his won’t be ready, fjord, caduceus, and beau plotting behind jester’s back to keep her safe from the traveler, the absolute offense fjord takes to eadwulf after he spoke to caduceus like that, fjord levels up in paladin after caduceus tells him he’s proud to know him, all the way to the end of the show when fjord shelters the clerics and tells them to finish lucien, we get little moments like these from both of them. hell, caduceus is the first person in the campaign to tell fjord directly that he loves him.

[crisp-sweet-pink-lady]

General Thoughts on the rest of Berry in the Big City Season Two

Netflix put the entirety of season two up today (I figured they would, but since not even half the season has gone up on the youtube channel, there was the chance that they would hold off on the whole thing), and I managed to watch all the episodes that haven't gone up yet, despite having my long day at work. Overall, I enjoyed it! There were some things I suspected would happen, and some I definitely didn't. And of course, we got some good songs along the way (so seriously, where's that official soundtrack?).

Individual episode thoughts under the cut:

Scaryoke - Like last year, this year's Fright Fall episode is also a song episode, courtesy of Huck. While the song isn't nearly as catchy as last year's song, it does get points for including Bread Pudding this time (he even does a small duet with Huck). And I love everyone's costumes!

Save the Pumpkins - I feel like someone should have mentioned that the pumpkins they had were already picked and thus probably had no preference over being carved or not at that point, but I'll admit, I did like the message (just because something is tradition doesn't mean you have to do it if it makes someone uncomfortable) and the punchline at the end.

Traffic Jam - aka the Money Blueberry/Huck ep. Since I already saw the majority of this one from that preview clip, I don't have too many thoughts on it. It plays out about how you think it will, but Blueberry and Huck's interactions are fun.

Berry Bounty Bolt - the return of the families, and this time Lime's other dad, Dr. Pops, gets actual dialogue. There's a lot of fun dialogue and interactions in this one, and an outcome I did not see coming at all.

Snow-Aisis - Another fun one, but not one that I really have anything to say about.

Mission Unfrostable - The holiday heist from the trailer! As one might assume from that description, this was a lot of fun, with some especially good animation and lots of good expressions. I particularly like Blueberry's SSC ice creams and how petulant the Pieman got when his ruse was found out.

The Magic's In You - Another song ep, but we also get some lore about the Winterswirl holiday, whose Santa analog is Cinnamon Swirl (and thus probably the girl from the concept art on WildBrain's productions page) with Berrykins instead of elves. Which means, once the winter special comes out next year, there will have been Berrykins in all four versions of SSC.

Best New Year's EVER - Out of all the characters who could have returned in this show, Sherry Bobbleberry is not one I would have expected. Granted, in this version she's a pop star with a fairy motif, not an actual fairy, but still. The actual episode is just okay, getting points for the other girls being all "Go, live your dream, we're happy for you" and for some Strawberry/Raspberry bonding time.

All in the Palm - Another just okay one.

Granola Crunch - the titular character is voiced by another BBA alum, Shannon Chan Kent. We learn a little bit more about Aunt Praline's job, and there's a good message. It's an enjoyable watch, but not one that needs a lot of commentary.

Strawberry Nightmare - I suspect that the "advice" the Pieman gives Strawberry is what happened to him in the past, leading to his cutthroat nature in the present. The dream business was predictable, but Strawberry does wear ruthless very well.

LemonLime Back in Time - This episode is the best of this batch, as it's not only incredibly fun, but it also answers a question most of us have had since the beginning of the show, namely Why do Lemon Meringue and Lime Chiffon share a cart when they don't seem to have anything in common? I loved all the 80s fashions, and Lemon and Lime's more extreme counterparts. The only thing that would have made this ep better was an 80s Bread Pudding in the background.

The Case of the Missing Spoon - Good on Strawberry for never doubting her friends. A lesser episode (or maybe just a longer one) would have had some seeds of doubt, but she never waivered on who was the actual culprit, just the how. Also, Captain Cackle is canon to BitBC! Even though he wasn't called by that name, and the ending implied he's going to be Sour Grapes' pet, it still counts.

Strawberry Bake Fail - While I've never tried to make my own macarons, I understand they're really hard to get right, so I feel Strawberry's pain. Best joke of the episode, an image of Huck appearing when Strawberry mentions, in the context of making cakes, density.

Berry Competitive - the Orange/Lemon episode I didn't know I needed, plus Plum Pudding returned! Not sure we needed to see Lime Tart and Lemon Tort again, but they served their purpose. And Strawberry being roped into giving Lemon Meringue's invention validity was amusing, too.

Music in Our Hearts - Most a song ep, but the intro shows a side of Huck we don't usually get to see.

Parking Problems - I've stated before that I'm not crazy about eps with one joke that it follows for the whole run time, and that is still the case here, as Strawberry struggles to find the perfect place to park her food truck at the Poachella festival. The addition of Lime Tart and Lemon Tort helps elevate it, but that's about it.

Find Your Voice - I was right about that singer in the trailer being Cherry Jam! But there are some other returning characters in the band: Peppermint Fizz and Raisin Cane! Who would have guessed?

Fashion Forward - I've been waiting for an episode of Bread Pudding and Lime Chiffon hanging out, and this one did not disappoint, though it was mostly a Bread Pudding ep. But I love when my boy is a huge dork, and this episode fulfills that to a tee. We also get another returning character, Crepes Suzette, who, like her 2003 counterpart, is a fashion designer, though here she's only aspiring.

Slumber Party - Everyone in pajamas! Raspberry being part of the friend group again! A BitBC version of Pride and Prejudice! (Pride and Pomegranates?) Suffice to say, I enjoyed this one.

Legend of the Crystal Cupcake - Slightly misleading title, as that makes you think they're specifically seeking it out, when they find it by accident at the end. I like that this ep shows the Purple Pieman is still a legitimate threat, but after that it's just all right.

Sweet and Sour Grapes - Ever since the first episode, I knew that eventually there was going to be an episode that addressed Raspberry getting added to the main friends group but not Sour Grapes, and while it took most of the season to get there, it was worth it. I liked that the misunderstanding between Sour Grapes, Raspberry Tart, and Bread Pudding was a subtle and understandable one (she felt pushed out by them joining the main friends group, they thought she didn't have time for them because of working for her uncle). And Lemon being the one to relate to Sour Grapes felt very satisfying. A solid ep.

Peculiar Purple Partner, Parts 1 & 2 - The climax of season two's story arc. The Purple Pieman gets a jazzy villain song to seduce Strawberry into joining him, all as a ruse to claim her foodtruck as his own by firing her for flimsy, but contract-bound, reasons. And just like Strawberry, I did not see that coming. I knew he had something up his sleeve, obviously, just not that particular plan. Strawberry's friends rallying around her in the aftermath was super touching, but none more so than Bread doing a meaningful echo of his first words to her back in episode one of season one. As soon as Lemon said she puts mics in everything, I knew that's how the Pieman would get his comeuppance, and while he may not be part of the Berryworks any more, time will tell if he'll be around to cause trouble in season three.

Let's Go to the Movies - While I know it's for the sake of the episode, I kind of have to wonder why so many people got to the movie so early. Episodes about the little annoyances in places like this aren't my thing either, so I'm just glad that the movie itself was good.

Let the Good Times Roll - I 100% appreciate the roller rink being called Starfruit Express, which is no doubt a nod to the musical Starlight Express (where the cast perform on roller skates to portray anthropomorphic trains). As the season ender, I liked that we got to see most of the characters we met over the season, and the song itself was pretty good, too.

Well, it took way longer to write all this up than I expected, so I'm going to close it there.

[blessednereid]

First Line Tryouts

Series Masterlist

Masterlist

Mentions/Warnings: Implied Smut, making out, cursing, eating/food mentions, mentions dead bodies, slasher film mention, dementia mention, slight domesticality(?)

Word Count: <4,200

A/N: This took so long im so sorry, tried to sum up the events of ep 1, while adding some isaac moments! Enjoy! LMK If I need to add anymore tw’s or cw’s.

Taglist: @rogershoe Dm me to be added to the taglist. 

~---~---~---~---~

There was a week left until your second semester began. Isaac was determined to thank you for everything you had done for him since he told you about his dad. 

He enlisted Stiles and a reluctant Lydia to help him with the planning. Isaac was going to make a picnic basket with your favorite foods. After that, Stiles would drive him to Lookout Point, and Lydia would take you there right after he gave her the go-ahead to let her know it was ok to leave. 

Lydia would take you to the mall so that Isaac could prepare the picnic basket. He had bought assorted fruits, a platter of ham and cheese pinwheels, passion-fruit fruit champagne, your favorite desserts, and your favorite chips. He packed a picnic blanket as well as two smaller ones so that you both could lay under the stars and watch them dance. 

After everything was packed, Stiles drove him to the point in the woods, and two miles away from his destination, he called Lydia and gave her the signal. 

When he reached the peak, before he could do anything, Stiles scolded him.

"Hey scarf," he barked. Isaac turned his head.

"Don't try anything with my sister tonight, alright? You may not be in the house, but I will still be watching everything?"

Isaac paused. "Aren't you going back to Scott's house?" 

"I have eyes everywhere, Lahey," he stated simply before waltzing away.

~---~---~---~---~

When you arrived, Isaac had everything set up, the picnic cloth was laid down on a flat chunk, the colorful plastic champagne glasses he had bought were carefully placed down on top of the plates, 

When you arrived, Isaac had already laid everything out. The picnic blanket was spread out on a flat chunk of land, and the ceramic plates sat on top of it. There was a bundle of spoons and forks, knives, and colorful plastic champagne glasses for the both of you. 

"I-saac, haha," you chuckled.

He bowed. "Good evening, madame. How can I serve you today?" He walked over to you and led you to the setting. 

"Isaac, you didn't have to do all this, you know?" 

"I know, but you've done so much for me recently, and I wanted to thank you."

You looked at him fondly, and he stared back at you before breaking away to grab the fruit. He fed you a strawberry, and after that, you both took turns tossing berries into the air and trying to catch them. 

~---~---~---~---~

After you both were done eating, Isaac packed all the remaining food (which was a lot) into the basket and tossed you a cover. He pulled you closer to him once you were wrapped in the blanket and laid down to watch the stars with his favorite person in the world. 

"That's Orion's belt, right there," you thought out loud. 

"That's the big dipper then," 

"How do you know so many constellations?" Isaac questioned, and you frowned. 

"I- uh…" 

"What's wrong?" He looked at you with worry.

"It was something me and my mom did before she died. She would go out to the woods with me—" you paused."—and she would show me where all the stars were. Stiles was never interested. My obsession with finding the stars became so big she decided to get me a telescope and a big book of all the constellations." 

"Oh, so I'm guessing it's a touchy subject?" 

You laughed. "It's a subject that brings up memories. To be honest, I haven't tried stargazing since my mom's death. This was nice." 

"You never told me much about your mom…" 

"And you never told me about yours," you hit back. 

"Touché." 

You went first. "Before everything, my mom was…in all aspects… perfect. Every day when we came home from school, she would have lunch ready, even if we already ate, just some chips and cookies on the table for Stiles and me." 

You smiled. "Mom would take us outside to the backyard and play soccer with us, us two against her. I think she would go easy on us." 

"When she got diagnosed, she started becoming less… tolerant of us. She would yell for the tiniest things,  and they didn't hurt me as much because Dad would always remind us that she didn't mean it, but I guess it always hurt Stiles more—"

"How do you mean?" Isaac asked.

"He was always a mommy's boy. One night we went to visit her at the hospital, I went to the vending machine to get snacks for Stiles and me, and he was gone. When he came back, he was crying nonstop. I kept trying to get him to tell me what was wrong, but he wouldn't tell me.  The next day it was like he just forgot about it." 

You both sat there in silence for a while longer. 

"My mom…. My mom was always working. She had her own business making soaps and perfumes and stuff like that." 

"She would always ask—" he gulped. "—she would ask my brother and me to help her with her orders. We would always make a mess, so after we were done, she made bubble baths for us." He giggled at the memory. "When she died, I guess we all changed a bit." 

"I got a little shier, Camden got more impulsive, Dad just lost his filter. He put more effort into making sure we were disciplined." He saw your eyes squint. "He didn't hit us back then. He just had stricter rules." 

You pulled him closer to your chest, and you guys just stayed there, looking at the stars, and feeling, even more, closer to each other than before.

You broke the silence.

"Isaac…" 

"Yes, Y/N?"

"I love you…" 

He leaned down to your face and pecked your lips.

"I love you too," he smiled.

~---~---~---~---~

"Y/n!" Isaac was trying to wake you up. You had fallen asleep watching Nightmare on Elm Street. You had been desensitized to all the blood and gore because you and stiles would always stay up late and watch slasher films. This was when your dad worked extra shifts at the Sheriff's station, and your mom was at the hospital.

"N/n, Wake up!" 

He grabbed your ringing phone and pulled it up to your ear, despite knowing he would face your wrath for doing that later on. Stiles had just called you for the 4th time that night, and you weren't waking up.

When you still wouldn't wake up, he did the only thing he could think of, as illogical as it was. He laid down flat on his back and rolled over, pushing you off the bed. You woke with a start. 

"ISAAC, WHAT THE HELL!!"

"Stiles has called you 4 times in 5 minutes, and you told me to wake you up whenever someone calls you…" He fake-pouted. 

Your expression softened because you couldn't resist his cobalt eyes, but you were still angry. You answered the phone and shouted at Stiles to release your frustration. 

"Stiles, what the hell, you're across the hall. Did you really have to call?"

"Hurry up and get ready, Dad just went out, and we need to go get Scott."

"Why do we have to follow dad? It's his job."

"Someone found a dead body, but half of it is missing,"

"Ok, I'm coming," You said while putting on your jeans. 

"Oh, and leave the golden retriever."

"His name is Isaac, not 'golden retriever,' Stiles!" you scolded. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, hurry up!"

You finished putting on Isaac's hoodie and turned to face him. 

"I gotta go, love."

He pouted. "Why can't I go with you?"

You went to give him a hug. "We should go with the least amount of people possible., so we don't get caught…" you lied. 

"Is Scott going?" He was always able to tell when you were lying. He knew all your tells and your poker face before you were even dating. 

"Fine, It's Stiles."

"So, I realized. Do I really look like a golden retriever?"

You shrugged and said in a pitchy voice, "An adorable golden retriever?" 

He sighed. 

"Be safe, and come back before midnight, please? I don't wanna go to sleep without you…"

"Nervous for tomorrow?"

"It's the start of first-line tryouts. I really wanna make it this year,"

"I'm sure that you'll make it Isaac, you are one of the most hand-eye coordinated people I know, and at every game, I will be there to cheer you guys on!"

 He smiled at your statement and kissed you. 

"Be sa—"

"Y/N, Hurry up!" Stiles shouted from downstairs. 

~---~---~---~---~

You stayed in the car while Stiles was getting Scott, silently cursing him for not allowing Isaac to come but going to get Scott. 

Scott and Stiles got out of the house and piled into the car. 

"Next time you wanna leave the 'golden retriever,' Stiles, we're also leaving the poodle," you angrily intoned.

Scott took up an offended expression. "Poodle?"

"Would you rather chihuahua?"

"Nevermind..."

"No, we're not leaving Scott. He's my best friend," Stiles said defensively.

"Oh yeah? Isaac is my boyfriend, yet he couldn't come!" 

"My car, my choice of guests."

"Fuck off, Miechyvslaw!"

~---~---~---~---~

"We're seriously doing this?"

"Obviously," you stated simply.

He started driving the car, and they headed to the woods where the search party for the body and the other half of it would be located. 

"You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town," Stiles said.

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow."

"Right, cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort," Stiles sassed.

"No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making the first line."

"Hey, that's the spirit. Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."

You interrupted their bickering. "Just out of curiosity, do either of you know what half of the body we're even looking for?"

"Uhhh-" Stiles stuttered.

"And uh- what if whoever killed the body is still out there," Scott questioned.

"Also, something I did not think about."

"It's comforting to know that you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail," Scott stated. 

Stiles and Scott continued bickering, but soon, you saw a flashlight.

"Shit! Hide!" you warned, but Stiles kept going. You leaped forward, trying to grab his shirt and pull him back, but your dad caught you.

"Hang on. Hang on. These two delinquents belong to me."

Stiles sighed. 

"I told you to hide, you brat!" you whispered to him.

"Daaaaad!" He enunciated. "How are you doing?"

"So, do you, uh, listen into all my phone calls?"

"Not the boring ones," Stiles said. 

"So, where's your usual partner in crime?"

"Wh-who Scott? Scott's home, he said before continuing to ramble.

Your dad had called out for Scott, and when he didn't respond, dragged you and Stiles back to the Jeep. 

~---~---~---~---~

You went back to your room once you got to the house and found Isaac asleep on the bed.

"Izzie!" You grabbed a plush pillow from beside him and whacked him softly with it. 

You went home that night, not knowing where Scott was or what had happened to him while worrying about what Melissa would do to you if Scott got bitten by a coyote and she found out you lured him out there.

He stirred but didn't wake. You groaned and moved beside him.

"Isaac?" you shrilled. "Isaac, you were supposed to wait for me to come back!!"

You shook his body left and right until he woke up groggily.

"N/n?"

He fully opened his eyes and groaned at the comfort that it was you.

"You scared me!" he complained.

You began shuffling towards him and running your hands down his covered pectorals. "Aww… what can I do to make you feel better?"

"Anything?" he said before sucking in a breath.

"Anything, baby," You nodded. 

He pulled you onto his lap and started kissing you passionately, your lips meshing together. He trailed his lips from yours to your cheekbones, then to your jawline, nibbling slightly. You moved your hips forcefully against his, and he brought one hand down to your waist.

"Hey, is this ok?"

You nodded vehemently. 

He pushed your hips back and forth along his while leaving dark red marks towards the base of your neck and your collarbone. He sucked a hickey onto a pulse point, making you let out a moan, which you tried muffling by pressing your lips together. 

He brought his hands to the hem of your shirt and tugged slightly before looking up at you. You replaced his hands and pulled your shirt off of your torso. 

He placed open-mouthed kisses onto the tops of your breasts, causing you to throw your head back in delight. He brought his hand back to the small of your back and shuffled you forwards on his lap. 

He turned you over onto your back and continued to kiss from your chest up. He stood on his knees in front of you and pulled his shirt off of his body. He placed one more brief kiss on your lips before gripping your thighs and lowering down your body.

~---~---~---~---~

Stiles drove you, Isaac, and Scott to school the next day. When you got out of the car, Scott and Stiles were talking about a bite that Scott had gotten when he went to the woods, but he assured you that you wouldn't face Melissa's wrath. 

When you saw Lydia amongst the crowd, you dragged Isaac all the way to her. Lydia had never liked Isaac, feeling like her best friend could do much better than someone who wouldn't even talk to her(you) for extensive periods of time. 

"Hey Lyds!" you said with Isaac's face buried in your neck. He was not fond of Lydia either, not that she had done anything, but he had picked up on her apathy towards him and just decided he would do the same. 

"Hey Y/N! Isaac." You all walked into the building and headed for your respective classes. 

~---~---~---~---~

You had English first, and the teacher was rambling about the dead body found in the woods. 

A familiar faced walked into the room, and you almost squealed. It was your godsister, Allison Argent. You knew that her family was moving to  Beacon Hills, but you hadn't known when they would be arriving. 

Chris Argent, Allison's dad, was your mother's best friend in high school. When she gave birth to you and Stiles, she made Chris your godfather.

You quietly clapped your hands at her appearance. She smiled at you before taking the seat diagonally across from you and right behind Scott. You noticed how when he turned around to give her a pencil, he looked highly flustered. 

Before you could point this out and tease him about it, your teacher began to talk about the novel you were reading as a class.

~---~---~---~---~

When you got out of class, you decided to introduce Lydia to Allison. 

When you both approached Allison, she squealed and ran to give you a hug, almost causing you to stumble. You hugged her back for a good five seconds before letting her go. 

"That jacket is absolutely killer! Where'd you get it?" Lydia asked the brunette.

"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."

"And, you are my new best friend!" Lydia said before greeting her boyfriend, Jackson, who had come up behind her. 

"Hey? What about me? Already replacing me with my godsister?" you asked before you felt two slender arms wrap around your waist.

"Never!" Lydia smiled. "We can all be friends." 

You could hear a girl talking about Lydia or Allison or both, and you decided you would defend your friends. 

You walked over to where she was talking to Stiles and Scott.

"Hey, what's going on over here?"

"Oh, Audrey here was asking what Allison did to already be hanging out with your exclusive clique."

"Uh, nothing? She's just Allison." You said, looking at Scott and Stiles but directing it towards Aubrey. You then turned on your heels and walked away.

You had found that your friends had told Allison about the upcoming party and were just about to head to the lacrosse practice for the day.

~---~---~---~---~

You gave Isaac a good luck kiss before he went out to the field, and Lydia looked at you weirdly.

"What is it?" you asked, rolling your eyes.

"Nothing, Nothing."

"Why do you have such a problem with my boyfriend?"

She turned to look at you. "I don't know, maybe it's because you caught feelings when he hadn't said a single word to you for a week and didn't for another week after you first kissed him"

"It could be that when you asked him out and actually confessed your feelings, he waited a week to give you a response and made you think that he was rejecting you, which made you cry?"  

You rubbed your temples. "Lydia, I explained all this to you. He's a shy guy. He just doesn't talk much to people, and he thought I was playing a joke on him."

She shook her head. "Mark my words, Y/N, he's going to end up breaking your heart, and when he does, I'll be left to pick up the pieces."

You groaned. "Allison, does Isaac look like someone who would hurt me?"

"No? He looks like… He looks like a golden retriever!"

The three of you burst out laughing, and Lydia promised to try and be tolerant of Isaac.

Suddenly, it was Scott's turn to try guarding the goal. He allowed the first shot through before finding his footing and blocking the rest of the throws. 

"Who is that?" Your godsister asked. 

"Hmm… I'm not sure who he is," Lydia said questioningly.

You scoffed. "That is Scott McCall. Stiles' best friend. Why?"

"He's in our English class. He seems like he's pretty good," she said sagely.

She changed the subject. "Speaking of Stiles, how is he? I haven't talked to him since I got back."

"He's-" you tried answering but stopped short. "Wooh! Go, Isaac!"

He smiled at you before going to shoot lacrosse balls at the goalie.

On the final day of tryouts, you and Isaac had done stretches, though he didn't know why, and they had run laps around the field before practice had started.

The coach started talking to the players, and you, Lydia, and Allison sat in the stands. By the time practice was over, Scott had made the first line, but Stiles and Isaac didn't. To cheer them up, you had taken them to their favorite to-go restaurant and bought dessert for them.

~---~---~---~---~

It was a Friday night. You were particularly sad, not only because Isaac couldn't go with you, but because Isaac had his weekly dinner with his dad today. So, he wouldn't even be there when you fell asleep. 

Scott and Stiles had gotten into a fight earlier, so he wasn't going to the party. This left Jackson to drive you, who was taking Lydia to the party. This didn't make you too happy, seeing as how Jackson was a self-entitled bastard who got his status from his family and isn't grateful for any of it. 

You didn't understand how Lydia had decided it would be a good idea to date him. But, you knew that the same way she couldn't change your mind about Isaac, she wouldn't change your mind about Jackson. 

You wore a pink satin body-con dress that reached your mid-thigh. Isaac had picked it out for you when he realized he wouldn't have been able to attend the party. He was ok with it being as short because he knew all the guys there would remember what happened to Garrett Ferrero after he started hitting on you at a party. He had to get nose surgery because Isaac had broken it, and his nose swelled up so large, he didn't come to school until it shrunk.

You paired it with opaque tights with fishnets on top and a pair of red, 3-inch, cut-out heels. As for makeup, you had outlined your lips with a black lip liner and smeared a cherry red lipstick over it. You applied minimal foundation and went for a nude eyeshadow look. 

When you stepped out of the bathroom in your outfit, Isaac nearly went feral. He lightly kissed the expanse of your neck, knowing you would kill him if he messed up your makeup, and he ended up backing you both into a wall. 

You had to swat him away after a few seconds of this affair because you had to leave soon, and so did he, albeit reluctantly. You put a black jean jacket on top of your outfit before heading downstairs. 

He left your house a few minutes before you did, but just before you left, Stiles pulled you aside.

"Hey, Y/N, just watch out for Scott today, and especially Allison." Stiles was overprotective of both of you. Before Allison and her family began moving around, she was like a sister to both of you. You three did almost everything together. 

"Stiles, what's going on?"

He sighed. "Ok, this is going to be hard to explain, but you have to go. So I'm going to give you the brief version right now and explain later."

You nodded, beckoning him to continue. 

"The night Scott got bit by that 'coyote'... it wasn't a coyote. It was a wolf, and wolf hairs were reported on the autopsy of the dead body. Scott has been experiencing heightened senses, and he's been stronger. Y/N, he hasn't needed his inhaler all week."

Your eyes widened. You didn't know what to say.

"So… you think he's a werewolf."

"Better to be safe and absurd than sorry and sad. Tonight's a full moon, and he just wouldn't cancel that date. Just look out for them, you know?"

You bobbed your head up and down vigorously. 

You left the house, and outside were Jackson and Lydia, in the front seat of his Porsche. It was a nice ride but a bit overly embellished for someone who only just got his license.

 ~---~---~---~---~

Later at the party, you had last seen Allison and Scott as they were dancing. You were dancing with your friend, Marya Cullen. She was a freshman, so she didn't really know most of your other friends. You had met her through your job at Forever 21, and you instantly clicked. 

She was really drunk, so you called another one of her friends and asked them to take her home. Marya had given her friends a list of the people allowed to drive her home if this happened. 

It was just as you were putting Marya in the backseat, you saw Scott walking away from her, dazed. While that happened, a mysterious guy who looked much older than you were approaching Allison. 

"Hey, I'm her friend. I got it, thanks!" 

You walked with Allison back to her house after grabbing all your belongings and immersed in conversation, mostly about how weird Stiles was being. Stiles was driving in his Jeep when he saw you coming from Allison's house. You got into the Jeep, and you both went home. 

When you got there, you changed into your pajamas and laid down onto the surface of a cold bed. You grabbed your thickest pillow and pulled it into your arms, trying to create some semblance of a feeling of Isaac laying down with you.

~---~---~---~---~

You awoke to bright sunlight and a buzzing phone by your head. Isaac had been calling you to ask you to let him in the house. You realized it was high time that he gets a key to the front door. 

You went downstairs to greet your boyfriend, and you noticed that he had brought Starbucks. You almost caused him to fall to the floor had he not caught you in time. He set you on the floor and kissed your lips before heading to the kitchen.

He had gotten your regular order, as well as your favorite drink, and he had gotten his order as well. 

You guys say down to just eat and relax.

He took a sip of his iced coffee before saying anything.

"My dad wants me to work at the graveyard," he said, pensive.

You choked on your food. "What?" 

"Well, he said he's cutting off my allowance." 

"So he said I can either earn it by working at the graveyard or stay broke." 

"That's fine, darling?" 

"I know, but I still want to get a job to save so once I turn 18, I can move out. And, he is willing to let me choose my own hours, or really just give me hours that don't interfere with lacrosse practice."

You gave him a solemn look and whined. "But that means we won't have as much cuddle time?" 

"He shouldn't even be in your room," your dad said, approaching you from behind.

"Hi, dad."

"Good morning, Mr. Stilinsk—"

"Isaac," your dad interjected. "It's fine. You can call me Noah." 

Isaac smiled. 

-------fin--------

[sirenprincess15]

Please Don't Leave Me Chapter 15

Title: Please Don’t Leave Me

Author: SirenPrincess

Description: What if Aleksander hadn’t answered the door when Ivan interrupted the war room kissing? What if Aleksander and Alina had a bit more time to get to know each other before Baghra told her his true identity? Alina is the only one who can comfort Aleksander through his nightmares. Will she leave once she knows who he is?

This story is based on the show version and features a soft on the inside, hard on the outside Aleksander with an emphasis on emotional hurt/comfort and angst. If you are looking for lots of hurt!Aleksander thoughts, then this story is for you. Mal exists but pretty much solely to cause Aleksander some angst. Don’t worry. It will be a Darklina ending.

Chapter 1 is a missing scene at the end of Ep 4, and Chapter 2 takes place alongside Ep 5 and then diverges from canon there.

Pairings: Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov, bits of Ivan/Fedyor

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Grisha are oppressed in this universe, and I don’t shy away from showing the horrors of that. There may eventually be mentions of canon-typical torture (Fjerdan pyres), death of family members, and cruelty to Grisha children. It’s not the focus, but that backdrop is definitely there and comes up as characters discuss their past.

In this chapter: Aleksander struggles to share his secrets with Alina until he finds her upset and needing him.

Recommended listening: Lady A "Need You Now"

Chapter 15

They went on that way for a couple of days. Alina spent most of her time with the tracker. It tore Aleksander up but he permitted it for her. Most of Aleksander’s time was spent handling details of the war, receiving intelligence reports, and managing Ravka. Keeping everyone alive kept him focused.

It was the evenings he spent alone that were driving him mad. He kept thinking of Alina’s desire to be fully honest with each other and Fedyor’s words of the importance of knowing and accepting a partner wholly, even with flaws. He had always been a strategist, always played through all scenarios in his head a thousand times until he arrived at one he liked. No matter what scenario he envisioned with Alina, none of them ever turned out as he desired. He desperately longed for the kind of love and acceptance that Alina called for. There had been so many years alone where he had yearned for someone to share things with. However, every time he tried to plan the discussion of one of his secrets, it all went to hell quickly. He had even spent one evening writing it all out for her in the hopes that would help him solidify his thoughts. It hadn’t, and he’d burned it all as he realized how beyond stupid it would be to give her such information in writing.

The problem, he realized, was that he could eloquently justify every decision he had made, but no matter how he poured his heart out into explaining it all, none of that would make the truth any less horrible. Marie was dead--that knowledge would hurt Alina, and he just couldn’t stand the idea of her experiencing all that pain. Genya was his spy--without the centuries of seeing Grisha persecuted to understand what it meant if they lost this war, without seeing the king’s ineptness firsthand, seeing the battalions they had lost because of inadequate supplies and wasted funds, she would never be able to understand this decision. It was unforgivable to leave Genya in that situation. He knew it was, even if Genya had agreed to stay in it herself. That didn’t mean it wasn’t the necessary decision, too. They weren’t mutually exclusive, but Alina would never be able to grasp that. He had a way to potentially take control of her power and use it against her will--would she ever believe he didn’t intend to use it? Was that even really true? He had always hated the idea and told everyone they would not be using it, but deep down he had always known it was the back-up plan. Could he even say he didn’t intend to use it if he knew there were circumstances where he would? All the thoughts swirled in his head and threatened to take him past his breaking point. And then she would be there to help him sleep and somehow it was enough to get him through the next day.

He was stuck, and he didn’t see a way out of this pattern. He couldn’t stop thinking of ways to try to explain things to her. He needed her. His desire for her to actually accept him was overwhelming. But how could she? As he imagined trying to explain things to her, he saw things through her eyes. It was a fresh perspective, and what he saw was horrifying. It all caused him horrible guilt, and, yet, he knew he would make the same decisions again. Over the centuries, he had become numb to accepting the small pains to prevent the true horrors. Alina had reignited emotion inside him, and suddenly everything was raw again.

Aleksander looked at the clock and groaned. It would still be several hours before Alina would visit his chambers to help him sleep. He could not take another night of tearing himself apart while trying to come up with words to help Alina understand how the murder and torture of Grisha over the centuries had forced him to make harder and harder choices. He should get up and do something productive, something, anything to keep his mind active. The library might be a good idea. He thought he had most of the good sources on the Stag in his chambers, but there could still be some good books with more information on relics in general that he and David had not yet read that could at least keep his mind engaged. There was the added bonus that the library reminded him of happier times with Alina. He had never seen someone smile so broadly at books. The memory of stolen kisses between the shelves brought a smile to his face.

Decision made, Aleksander strode to the library. He froze when he saw Ivan hovering near an alcove. Ivan was supposed to be guarding Alina. Aleksander raised an eyebrow, and Ivan gestured with his chin toward the alcove. Years of working together made a silent exchange possible. Alina was in the alcove, and Ivan thought Aleksander should go in there.

“Alina,” Aleksander gasped as he took in her appearance. In her nightgown and robe, she was disheveled, hair a mess, with tears in her eyes.

She desperately tried to wipe the tears away when she saw him. “Aleksander.”

“You’re crying,” he whispered as he closed the distance between them.

“It’s nothing. I’m just tired.”

He reached out and tilted her chin until she met his eyes. “You never let me get away with that line.”

The tears started to fall again. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. To his surprise, she started sobbing. He tentatively sent his power through to her. It caressed against hers and begged for a response. This time, she let the connection flow between them. Emotions echoed back and forth with the familiar comfort of each other. She was sad, confused, scared. He was concerned. He made sure to let her feel his love for her, whether she wanted it or not.

“I missed this,” she whispered after a long while.

He blinked. Didn’t she know she was in control of that? He constantly longed for the connection with her. She was the one who decided when they were allowed to have this. “I missed you.”

She sighed and finally let go of the stress in her. In their bond, she pulled for his comfort.

“Did he hurt you?” It was a quiet question, but there was a clear threat in his tone. If the tracker had harmed her, there was nothing that would stop him from enjoying that man’s death.

“No,” she responded quickly. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Are things not going the way you want with the tracker?” He tried not to enjoy that idea. Alina was hurting. That was bad even if it would result in the tracker being out of the picture.

“You’ll be relieved to know that we’ve realized what we are to each other and it’s family. I tried to kiss him. It was awful. So awful, Aleksander.” She made a face and then gave a soft little laugh. “I do love him, but that felt so wrong, and I realized it’s because he’s like my brother.”

“That is not why you are crying, though.” He could tell. He couldn’t let himself become distracted by the jealousy he felt at the idea of the tracker’s lips on hers, even if it was awful as she said. She was comfortable with the decision that the relationship with the tracker was not romantic. He might take more joy in that, but he could not because something else was devastating her. “Whatever it is, you know you can tell me.”

“I’m afraid it will upset you.”

Because the tracker had actually hurt her? Because she was going to say something against Aleksander? Something to break his heart? “I can take it.” He kissed the top of her forehead. “If I somehow found a way to talk to you about the Fold, you can share this with me.”

She looked up at him with uncertainty in her eyes. “I can’t. You’ll hurt him or ... lock him in the dungeons.”

So this was about the tracker. He might very much like to kill, mame, or at least imprison the tracker for whatever she was about to say next, but he knew she wouldn’t tell him unless he agreed not to hurt that idiot and she could feel that he meant it. He took her hand in his so she could get a strong read of his emotions. “I promise I won’t hurt him without your permission.” That, at least, he could agree to. He’d just convince her to let him kill the tracker if that was called for.

Unable to look him in the eye as she spoke, she focused her gaze on the floor and whispered. “He wants us to run away and hide. He has a whole plan. I tried to explain how I can’t do that. I can’t hide my power. I told him how sick it used to make me. I didn’t understand what was causing it at the time, but now I do and I can’t go back to not being able to eat or sleep, to feeling so exhausted constantly. Nadia told me some stories of Grisha who tried to suppress their powers and got seriously ill. But he just keeps saying it will be fine just for a little while.”

Aleksander tried not to react to the news that the tracker was trying to escape with her, but Alina could probably feel his response. Anger was there, of course, but more than anything it triggered his protective instincts. He swallowed as he tried to push away any concerns of the tracker stealing her out of his safe space in the Little Palace. That wasn’t why Alina had told him or what she was asking for his help with. “He doesn’t accept you as you are, but it’s only because he doesn’t understand you. What we are is impossible for him to comprehend.”

She leaned against his chest so he could wrap his arms back around her. “He keeps saying things against Grisha. Not against me, he says not me, but … I don’t even think he realizes he’s doing it half the time. ‘We can’t trust her, she’s Grisha.’ ‘Those people always have tricks up their sleeves.’ Please don’t be mad at him. He isn’t trying to hurt me, but it does.”

“Prejudice against our kind is something learned at an early age. It’s so ingrained in Ravkan society, worse so in other countries, he probably does not realize that it is hate he is speaking.” He took a deep breath. “I’m not trying to defend or slander him. It’s the truth you need to hear, Alina. He is otkazat’sya. You are Grisha. They have always hated our kind. Fight as we may to be accepted, we never are.”

“I’m tired of feeling so … foreign … other.” She sighed.

“Do you feel like that here at the Little Palace? When you are with me?”

“No, and when he says things like that … I … It’s stupid. I’m so stupid.”

She knew he couldn’t stand for her to put herself down, but he was trying to get her to open up and let all her feelings out, so he didn’t correct her. “Tell me. All of it.”

“I’m a mess, Aleksander. I’m such a mess.”

“You hold me together when I am a mess. I can do the same for you.”

“When he says things that hurt me, all I want is you. I miss you. I miss our connection. I find I can’t breathe when I’m not with you. There’s just this tightness in my chest that won’t go away. I long to reach out to our bond.”

“And that’s a bad thing? Maybe when he puts you down, you subconsciously reach for the only person who has ever made you feel like you are enough and worthy of being loved. I wanted to give that to you, Alina.”

“I’m so scared, Aleksander. I’m in here crying because I need you and I’m so scared to need you!”

“You have taught me it’s okay to need you. It’s okay to need acceptance and love, Alina. I offer those.”

“How can I need you if I don’t even know if I trust you?” Her voice cracked.

Aleksander sucked in a breath at the pain those words caused. “Because of what Baghra said?”

She nodded into his chest. “And the manipulation. If I didn’t know about the letters, what else don’t I know? What else are you doing to manipulate me? At times I think I am strong enough and I can tell when you are lying to me, so that will be enough for me to be able to stay in control of things with you. Other times I’m terrified that I’m still falling for you and I will end up your slave. I realize I’m not in control of anything. I don’t feel whole unless I’m with you! When I’m with Mal, I am constantly thinking of you. I thought that if I gave myself some space, I could separate from that and sort things out, but it’s only worse. It takes all my strength not to run to your rooms because I need you.”

He wanted to reassure her that he was worthy of her trust, but he wasn’t sure that was even true. Wasn’t he just a bit earlier going through the list of all the secrets he had kept from her? He hadn’t managed to confide any of them to her or even come up with a plan of how he could. “There’s so much you don’t know,” he admitted. “It terrifies me, too. Trying to find a way to share it all with you is destroying me.” It was the full truth for once. There were horrible secrets there. He did not want to be manipulating her. He truly did want her to know all of it now, but he wanted her to understand it all too. Figuring out how to make that happen was eating him alive. He focused on those feelings and opened their bond fully so she can know the truth of that. “I need you. I fear if I use the wrong words, you will leave me, and I will not survive.”

“So … we both are driving ourselves mad with self doubt and worry and the pain of being apart. What do we even do with that?”

“If I had come up with a solution, I would not still be tearing myself apart trying to figure it out.” He sighed at the familiar ache in his chest. “Do you … Do you want to just take a break from … trying to figure everything out? My only solace in life is you. If I am your only respite, can we not just give ourselves a night to have that?” He needed a break, and she needed his comfort. They both were in so much pain from trying to survive alone.

“I’d like that,” she admitted, finally looking up into his eyes.

Aleksander reached out his hand and cupped her cheek. She leaned into his touch, and the clenching in his chest finally relaxed. She wanted his comfort. He wasn’t quite sure what a break would look like to her. Would she just want to sit and read in the library? Hold each other perhaps?

Tentatively, he leaned forward to kiss her. Her lips parted, and her body arched into him as if she could not get enough of his touch. He was shocked at the flood of desire that she released through their bond. There was no doubt that she wanted more.

As much as he longed to make mad love to her right there in the bookshelves even with Ivan only an aisle away, it didn’t feel quite right to dive straight into ripping off her clothes. Their relationship was awkward and uncertain at the moment. They needed cuddles and contact and warmth before he reminded her what it felt like to have her body worshipped. An idea occurred to him. “Do you want to take a bath together?”

She smiled. “Yes, please.”

=========

Author Notes: I wrote this chapter a dozen times and deleted them all. Every attempt at writing Aleksander come clean was ridiculously bad. So I started writing about him feeling that way, and Lady A's "Need You Now" came on my station and inspired me. Aleksander was a mess of guilt, self-doubt, and fear until Alina needed him, and then the story just clicked and was so easy to write. All of the emotions felt right once he realized she needed him. He doesn't need to be perfect for her. He needs to be what she needs, and he can be that, even with the dark past. This version felt genuine to the characters, including Alina and Mal. Alina's future with Mal was miserable. I wanted to let her realize 'hey, I don't like this' and choose something else for herself.

[itsclydebitches]

Hey Clyde, did you check out Wonder Egg Priority at all? The first ep is super promising, but the series as a whole is one of those real fascinating disasters from a story and a production standpoint that might be up your alley as a thing to pick apart haha.

I’d warn that it’s also reeeeal offensive and this generally gets worse as it goes though.

Hi, Phoenix! How are you and Cube doing?

Okay, I hadn't watched Wonder Egg Priority when I received your ask this morning. Now I have. In a fit of intense curiosity I settled down for a rare binge session and tore through all twelve episodes + OVA in a single sitting. It is now nearly 3:00am as I write this because I, oh so clearly, make fantastic life choices.

A question for you: what did I just watch?

The rest is going under a read more partly for spoilers, but more-so because WEP—and the summary I'm about to give, because I feel like I need to try and explain this to tumblr's faceless void for my own, dwindling sanity—comes with about every trigger warning under the sun. Seriously, if you are triggered by anything that we might think of as a "standard" trigger (meaning, not unique to you and your own experiences), best to proceed with caution.

Right! What the ever loving fuck happened in this show? Well, let's work through this chronologically. Two genius, frat boy brothers (I get their names mixed up so I'm not even gonna bother) are locked in their apartment and closely monitored because of Super Secret Science Research. Even though, I think, they're the ones who created this company. Not important! What is important is that they're bored enough to create an AI for funsies, thinking of her as their daughter and letting her name herself Frill. Frill is the perfect, cutesy, also genius child who has a habit of popping her lips — which the camera focuses on in an incredibly creepy fashion. One day Brother #1 (the hot one) falls in love with a random woman we know nothing about and Frill gets jealous.

"Jealous in a general sense?" you ask, thinking this show is in any way normal. "Like, just of her Dad giving attention to someone else?"

"No," I respond, patting your hand. "Jealous because she's in love with him." Which, beyond the subject matter itself, comes completely out of nowhere. Frill has a line about what you'd do if some woman stole your husband away. I, fool that I was, briefly considered that these two guys were lovers, not brothers. Oh no. They're brothers. Frill just considers Dad #1 to be her "husband."

So, in true evil AI fashion, she murders the wife, leaving only her newly born child behind. Who is a daughter.

Uh oh.

Dad #1 locks Frill in a coffin-esque hole in the basement and goes on with his life. Things are great! Until years later when the daughter reveals that she has fallen in love with her uncle (Dad #2 to Frill). She knows (somehow??) that both her dad and her uncle loved her mom, so if the loser uncle will just wait a few years he can marry her instead! He brushes her off, but the next day she’s found dead of an apparent suicide.

Realizing that this was somehow Frill’s doing, he marches down to the basement and confronts the murderous child they’ve had locked up for years. She’s now surrounded by screens in, again, true creep AI fashion. How did she get all this while she was locked up? Oh, just the three bug girls she created as friends prior to killing the wife. They’re devoted slaves, I guess. So the uncle says enough of this insanity and seemingly sets Frill on fire.

OH and Frill’s subtitled dialogue also puts “uncle” in quotation marks, implying that the daughter was always Dad #2’s??

Anyway, both brothers are now super obsessed with death and claim that they think Frill has had a hand in lots of girls’ suicides, even now after her own death. This is brought into question later when it’s revealed that they might have just concocted this scheme to try and bring back their daughter. I’m really not sure. Regardless, they use hand-wavey science to create eggs that I guess contain the souls of young girls who have committed suicide, then they sucker in other young girls who have lost people to suicide to try and rescue their loved ones in a dream world, saving others along the way. A tomboyish girl, Momoe, lost a classmate who admitted to loving her, but who Momoe rejected. Rika, a former junior idol, used and rejected an overweight fan only to learn later that she’d starved herself to death. Neiru, the 14yo president of some science company (yup) was attacked by her sister before she jumped off a bridge. Finally Ai, our protagonist, is a victim of bullying who managed to make friends with a single girl, Koito, who then jumped from their school building for unknown reasons. They’re all given the chance to bring these individuals back to life, provided they protect other victims of suicide by defeating the monstrous traumas that drove them to that act in the first place.

And you know what? That concept was great. However, the execution ranges from “Okay, that was pretty good for an anime. Kudos there” to “That’s the most offensive thing I’ve seen in my life.” Needless to say, unpacking all the battles they fight would take a lot more than this already absurd summary. Basically, if you can think of something horrible to happen to young girls (and one trans guy whose existence in that egg undermines the whole message of the episode), there’s an attempt to tackle it here.

During all this the four girls become friends and Ai works through her suspicions about Mr. Sawaki, a teacher at her school. What’s going on with Mr. Sawaki? Uh… everything! He’s somehow connected to Koito’s death, he’s dating Ai’s mom, and Ai apparently loves him too because her friends say so, even though this is never actually addressed and she barely interacts with him. It’s all quite the complication.

In time though the girls complete their “mission” of bringing their loved ones back to life. Rika and Momoe manage it first, only to find that Frill’s bug-girl lackeys have arrived to kill them. Why? Because that’s what Frill does, I guess. Momoe’s crocodile familiar (cute animals the girls were gifted to help them fight) takes a killing blow for her and the bug-lady then proceeds to carve up his corpse and force feed it to Momoe. Fantastic!! Building off of that, the next bug-lady who Rika encounters kills her turtle too, following in the footsteps of her bug-sister by, presumably, forcing her to eat parts of its head. Ai refuses to sacrifice her familiar to stay alive, but luckily the suicide she was protecting turns out to be herself from a parallel universe (that's a thing now!) and she takes the killing blow herself, which is done by pulling out the eye she’s sensitive about (she has heterochromia.) So parallel Ai passes on (again?) and the three girls don’t work through this trauma at all, instead becoming more traumatized through the realization that the loved ones they brought back no longer remember them. They’re alive, but the relationship they all had with them is dead.

It’s about this point that the main storyline wraps up and I’m relieved that there’s an OVA to finish things off. Surely they can somehow bring this all together in 45 minutes.

…25 minutes of that OVA is recap.

So with only about 20 minutes left, we learn that Neiru, the only one to not complete her mission yet, has mysteriously gone missing. It turns out she was an AI/clone/something all along, made to replace her sister and, presumably, that’s what caused the whole stabbing-suicide incident. She successfully brings her sister back, but stays behind in the dream world because Frill promises her she can become human. How is Frill here when she’s dead? How will Neiru become human? Isn’t Frill the “temptation of death” or whatever? There are no answers. A flashback finally reveals that Koito was having a relationship with a teacher at another school, he committed suicide, she transferred, she tried the same thing with Mr. Sawaki, he kept refusing her advances, and finally while threatening suicide to get his attention, she accidentally fell.

(So why was she in the suicide egg if it was an accident??)

Except, all this information comes through Mr. Sawaki himself, there’s a whole subplot about whether he’s really a villain, or if Ai is just making him into one, and this show might as well be titled How Much Pedophilia Can We Put into One Anime? So make of that what you will.

A dead character randomly shows up, but it's fine because she's actually just a version from a parallel world. How did she get here? Why is she here? Lol, it's cute that you think these are answered.

Rika, the character who cuts and almost committed suicide halfway through the show, breaks down saying how much she misses her dead loved ones, right after her friends refused to let her go on another mission that would surely end in her death and… that’s it. That’s all we get about her.

Momoe too, though she’s hopefully just vibing somewhere with that longed-for boyfriend.

Ai transfers schools and then one day randomly remembers that she loves Neiru and rushes back to start cracking eggs again because that will? Somehow?? Let her see Neiru???

When I say there are too many unanswered questions to possibly list here I really, really mean it.

Finally, in a personal attack on me, the protagonist with a name that is literally AI is not in any way an artificial intelligence.

And that’s it! Congratulations, you now “understand” WEP. And see, the funny thing is that the off-the-rails, bat-shit crazy aspects kind of catch you off guard? Yeah, the first episode is fantastic. In fact, I think I got through about six episodes thinking that this was a solid, if at times really messed up anime, but I was willing to shrug off a lot of stuff due solely to the amount of sensitive material they were attempting to cover (which is always quite difficult to do). Probably the only reason I was able to binge so fast was because the first half of the series was so engaging. The characters are charming. The animation is GORGEOUS. There's actually a ton of good here that is also worth yelling about. But then the plot comes in like a freight train and I was left staring dumbfounded at my screen as more and more insanity kept happening. Having watched the "explanations" I am now more confused about the show I just saw.

Phoenix, if you’ve bothered to read this rambling, 3:00am rant: thank you. I think? Idk if I should actually be thanking you or cursing you for tuning me into this, but it was definitely an experience, that’s for sure lol.

I'm off to bed now RIP the chance of having normal dreams ✌️

[leftonraed]

The Night We Met - Episode 7

pairing : Taehyung x OC  genre : bodyguard!au, singleparent!au, idol!au   word count : 5.9 k summary — Everything seems set fair for Taehyung and his niece, except you’re not in the picture much to their dismay. Warnings – smut scenes ahead, nothing too extreme I promise ;] Prologue | ep.1 | ep.2 | ep.3 | ep.4 | ep.5 | ep.6 | ep.7 

It must have been the tenth time Taehyung’s skimming his completed adoption request. His parents who arrived a little while ago let him have some peace and quiet in the short minutes they’ve got left before the hearing.  

His arms are resting on his knees and his hair hides his face from anyone walking down the large hallway. He relaxes his wrists, forcing himself to stare at anything else but the paper in his hands and calm his nerves.

He closes his eyes and tries to think of anything to disconnect from the noise of people buzzing around.

His mind takes him away for a moment, far enough to make his parents’ conversation nothing but a string of indistinct words. He’s being taken back to this morning, back to his earliest thought of the day – you.

He’d instantly conjured up a picture of you as soon as he had felt your arms wrapping around his body beneath the covers. His lips had stretched in a lazy smile while his hands slid down above yours. The feeling of your lips kissing the skin of his nape had thieved a soft groan of pleasure.

He’d turned around, taken his place between your legs, rubbing against their softness in slow moves before seeking your mouth blindly. You’d hugged him tight, answering his kiss just as zealously.

Taehyung isn’t sure how but he can still smell the scent your neck was giving off. It’s like you’re with him all over again.

The needy moan you had let escape once you had felt him pushing deeper within, had had him rolling his hips against yours for the first time, silently requesting more of those.  

The notion of your presence in his embrace was overwhelming. He couldn’t get enough of you.

He’d offered you some respite and buried his face in your neck and hair, thrusting harder, squeezing tighter, inhaling deeply as much as possible.

He could hear you, gasping by his ear while stifling you with his love. Your nails had dug in his back as his name had escaped you in a tired pant. He’d smothered you in a possessive and comforting hold as he had helped you ride out the sudden burst.

He’d followed closely, trapping his throaty grunts in your mouth with a demanding kiss while he was filling you up with more of himself.

Taehyung had never opened his eyes the whole time, he didn’t want to, he wanted to keep you here, underneath and stuck to him simply because it felt right.

Once the pleasurable feeling had worn off, he eventually blinked himself awake, only to be surrounded by a deafening silence and the absence of you.

He felt hot, exhausted and wet. The pillow was sticking to his face uncomfortably when he pulled himself up on his arms to glance down where you were supposed to be. He was left to discover himself in the mess you had driven him to make.

“Taehyung!”

He opens his eyes and looks up in surprise at the loud call from his father.

“You left the poor girl calling for you for a whole minute.”

He recognizes and finally acknowledges Hina’s teacher bent towards him. She had graciously accepted to take part in the hearing in his favor.

“Oh- Hum, I’m- I’m so sorry. I-”

“Don’t worry. I was telling your parents that I’d probably be elsewhere if I was in your shoes.”

“Right,” he trails, smiling awkwardly.

“Your face… It’s hum- a little red, are you okay?”

He shakes his hair in front of his eyes, hiding away in embarrassment, ineluctably forced to remember the last image he had of himself from this morning.

“You sure? You’re getting redder.”

Luckily, she’s cut off by Hina’s sudden burst of joy at his sight, who comes running their way under the smiles of his parents. Her grandparents are walking behind along with Choi Seoyoung.

Just as everyone is done greeting each other, the door leading to the adoption court judge opens welcoming everyone in.

********************************

Now reunited for good, it feels like the past three months away from each other never happened. Taehyung learns to cherish even more the moments in Hina’s company, indirectly ensuring himself he’s still a special place in her heart.

He makes time for her, from now on family will always come first. It took a couple of weeks for Hina to feel safe in his absence again and stop feeling like being him was going to be ephemeral.

On the other hand, Taehyung’s insecurities were directed towards his career, he struggled to make sense of his desires and priorities. Should I take a break? Should I quit? He still very much liked singing and writing music but one thing he was certain of, he’d need to make some changes in their interest.

One day Hina asked where you had gone and he realized all this questioning made him almost forget about you for the longest time ever.

After she had been taken away from him, he’d become aware he had no means to get in touch with you. He’d never needed your phone number because you had always been around. He’d never seen you use one when he came to think about it. He remembered the gym place you worked at but his touring abroad and busy schedule prevented him from visiting it right after you’d left.

He questioned one of the staff members in charge of human resources but the equipment had been improved and the data with any reference to you had been lost.

He just couldn’t believe it. In this day and age, he couldn’t find you. Just like this, you had vanished.

Hina was just as disheartened when he told her. She made him hate his helplessness all the more.  

*********************************

It’s the end of the year.

Parents and children are huddled in front of the school doors, talking animatedly. Taehyung keeps his distance as he ends his chat on the phone with his mother.

“I think I got it the first fifteen times you said it,” he whines. “I’ll give you 4K HD Hina, the singer. Don’t worry. I won’t miss a thing from it. No, still nothing. I don’t think I’ll- we’ll ever see her again. Hm… She tries her best, you know, to not be sad about it but- yeah… It sucks. You should’ve come with dad. It could’ve helped her cheer up a little... I know. Make sure he waits three hours before he takes those pills again.”

The afternoon sunlight is harsh on his eyes when he takes a look and he has to turn around. He’s on his own, save the two or three people lingering outside, on their phones as well.

“You know, your brother must be very thankful to have you.”

Taehyung smiles awkwardly at his feet, shifting his weight.

“I hope she’s not disappointed because it’s just me. I hope he’s watching too, she rehearsed very seriously.” He makes his mother giggle. “I listened to her so many times… I just might as well go and sing with them.”

“You’d look cute.”

“I hope you really don’t plan on doing that. That’s not what I came here for.”

Taehyung turns around instinctively when he hears the sudden voice behind him but the sun hits his face barely letting him see anything even with his eyes covered.

He frowns, blinking as his eyes adjust and freezes.

That dress, he wonders.

The stranger gets closer until the sun is fully hidden behind and Taehyung feels blessed with an even more dazzling view when he recognizes you.

“Mom, I- I’ll call you later.” He trails, locking his phone as he can’t look away.

“Hi,” you say.

You’re here. You came.

You stare back, breaking into a lopsided smile when he’s still not replying.

His mouth opens but nothing comes out.

You wait, the time needed for you to take him in after all those months away and appreciate how he’s changed.

It’s your first time seeing him looking this elegant and formal and it suits him. His hair looks a little shorter. You’re glad to find him doing much better than when you’d left.

Your name is the first thing that he eventually lets out. “You’re here.”

“Of course,” fixing your eyes on him with a soft smile. “I made a promise, remember?”

******************

Taehyung lets you lead the march after you’ve scolded him for making you two late. He finds himself glancing down at your hand holding his and at your back, staring shamelessly at the way the fabric hugs your flawless figure.

“It’s packed.” Your voice snaps him back in reality.

“Shit,” he mutters while looking around. “I promised her I’d sit in the front row.”

“This way,” you say but he doesn’t have time to react as you pull him strongly.

You find a bench on a high level.

“What are you doing? We’re all the way back now.”

“Stop whining and take my hand.” You say after climbing up the bench.

He listens and pulls himself up next to you. From this position, you can see the stage with no hindrance but it’s still quite distant.

The curtains are drawn and a group of toddlers is seen waiting behind. A few of them seem not to have moved away from their assigned position but most are either fooling around or look distressed, seeking their teachers and own parents.

Taehyung and you immediately find Hina, right in the center, standing tall and quiet as she skims the crowd. She slightly frowns when she still can’t see him after a third try until–

“Hina!”

She looks up and gazes further away where she’s heard the sudden call coming from. Her eyes widen at your sight.

You wave energetically ignoring the curious looks you’re drawing to yourself and Taehyung. He is staring as well, surprised. He looks back and feels warmth spreading in his entire being at her happiness.

“You can do this!”

Hina lifts her small arm to wave back, fighting the urge to run to you two.

“Yes, Hina! You can do this! Papa is so proud of you!”

“Thank you dad for your supporting words.” A voice suddenly announces in a microphone and laughter rises in the room making Taehyung turn a bright red while you stifle a chortle.

The voice continues, establishing silence, claiming the beginning of the show as the lights are dimmed.

He remembers to get his phone camera ready before the first notes echo. You never lose sight of Hina.

The children’s voices mingle in a surprisingly good harmony when the first lyrics are heard. You feel your heart thumping loudly in your chest as you listen to them, recognizing the lullaby you used to whisper to Hina so she’d fall asleep back during the trip.

Taehyung falters a quick second when you suddenly clasp your finger around his wrist. Making sure Hina’s still in the frame, he turns his head to look at you, noticing how emotional you’re getting.

***************

Less than an hour later, the show ends to thunderous applause. Taehyung guides you to the side where children come out to join their family. You don't have a chance to think of something to say to each other when you suddenly feel small arms wrapping around your knees in a tight embrace.

You instantly smile at Hina when you see her looking up delighted and crouch down to pick her up.

“Did you miss me?” You feel her nodding against your shoulder while she hugs your neck tight. “I missed you too. So much. You did so well back there. I really loved your singing.”

She leans back to look at you and holds your face to crash kisses all over your cheek under Taehyung’s jubilant gaze.

You put her down but she quickly catches your hand in hers and hugs one of his legs.

He pats the crown of her head and looks up at you. “I’m really glad you made it.”

You share a smile but get interrupted again as a small group of children comes surrounding you three.

“You’we Hina mommy?” asks a little girl, her neat ponytail swinging behind her.

Five pairs of eyes stare up at you in total amazement as small ‘ahhs’ and ‘ohhs’ are heard.

“Hina mommy is so beautiful!” Cheers a little boy, more excited than he should be.

“I’m not-” You begin, a little taken aback, looking for help from Taehyung but he only keeps smiling. He’s taking too much pleasure in seeing you flustered.

“I know.” Hina boasts with closed eyes.

A couple of looks lingers before one of them suddenly suggests playing elsewhere.

You decide to get out of the school when Hina complains about being hungry.

She peeks over his shoulder to ask, “you coming home with daddy and Hina?”

You meet Taehyung’s expectant eyes and your chest squeezes at their seemingly hopeful looks.

“I can’t, I’m sorry. I’ve somewhere to go.”

“I could drive you if you want,” he starts, tilting his head in the direction you guess his car is parked.

“Don’t bother, I-... You remember Shownu? I told him to come get me.”

They pout at the same time and it makes you chuckle lightly at their likeness though Taehyung tries not to look too affected. He’s hesitating and not so sure anymore about what he initially wanted to say.

Hina suddenly turns away from you to frown in his neck.

“What’s that?” He asks when he doesn’t understand her the first time. “You want _____ to come home with us?”

You gaze at the back of her head with a sad smile and meet his gaze in silence.

I’d like that too.  

“Seems like I was right, huh,” he snaps you out of your thoughts. “That dress looks really good on you.”

You look down, blushing a little and nod in agreement. Silence falls again between you. You don’t show any intention to go yet as Taehyung gets lost in his thought.

What are you waiting for?

“CanIgetyournumber?”

“What?” You cock your head.

“Your number? So we can see each other. I mean with Hina too.”

You nod, seemingly accepting his suggestion because the reason he mentioned is a self-evident fact. “Sure.”

You exchange your contact information and you eventually walk away much to his dismay. Hina finally decides to look back when you’re already so far away.

She frowns at your silhouette. “Hina sad.”

“Don’t be, baby,” he cups her cheek to kiss her other one. “We’ll see her again.”

**************************

You’re the one texting first and Taehyung’s glad you do when he’s too upset with himself for not finding the courage to do so. You agree to meet one night and make sure either of you doesn’t do anything the following day because Taehyung wants to invite you to his concert he’s currently holding in the biggest stadium of the country for the whole weekend.

When you arrive half an hour before the beginning, you’re taken to a corridor left inaccessible to fans that leads to a platform positioned in front of the stage and in the middle of the pit above the fans gathered around. You notice some curious look thrown your way.

There you get to meet the CEO of the company Taehyung works for along with some of his employees.

The show is a big hit.

You’ve felt it the first seconds after Taehyung was revealed and the audience roared impressively.

It all feels a little overwhelming but seeing him in this new light makes you feel all kinds of way. You recognize the man you’ve worked for but he seems so foreign. The aura coming from him is nothing you’ve seen before yet has you enticed through his moves, his looks, his voice.

The crowd leaves bit by bit. You remember him telling you to wait for him right where your seat was assigned to you, saying your goodbyes to his boss.

The venue is now empty, you go down the stairs and notice Taehyung down the corridor chatting with someone on his way up.

You exchange a smile.

You shorten the space between you, you watch him eye you from head to toe as his thumb grazes his bottom lip. You look away. He stops before he gets a whiff of your fragrance, eyelids heavy. You take his hand when he stretches it to you.

“I took some time cause I was showering.” He explains pulling you to the parking lot.

You climb in his car.

“You okay with eating out? We can always order something and eat at home if you’re too tired.”

He swivels the wheel with one hand, running the car out of the premises and making the powerful engine roar while looking at you. “Don’t worry about me.”

The silence between you is comfortable but the atmosphere feels heavy with secret intentions.

“I really liked the show by the way,” you say softly while keeping your eyes on the scenery passing by.

“Yeah?”

“Hm,” you turn your head towards him with a playful look. “But I still prefer Hina’s singing.”

“I have to admit, she rehearsed that song more than I ever did my whole discography.”

Dinner is nice and quiet. Taehyung isn’t fond of talking while eating and you're thankful, it allows you to enjoy the food and himself in a comfortable way.

*************************

You’re back in the car and driving away after you’ve agreed to go to his home and see Hina.

“I got my diploma. Last week.” You share, “I’m finally able to work as a personal trainer.”

“Really? Congratulations,” he genuinely exclaims while checking the rearview mirror. “That’s awesome.”

“Yeah, but for some reasons I’ve also managed to get a contract with a model agency? I don’t know where this is coming from.”

“Well, they simply saw potential in you. I mean your body is perfect- I-I- I mean you work hard to stay fit so… They’d miss out if they didn’t take you..” He trails, mentally slapping himself.

You simply smile to yourself.

************************

The door unlocks and you both see Hina and the babysitter he got for the night sitting in the living-room. As soon as Hina notices you, she darts your way to crash against your legs.

“________!!”

“You’re still awake?” Wonders Taehyung, looking down not to step on her toes.

You hug and lift her in your arms after getting rid of your shoes. You greet the young girl as Taehyung takes care of paying her. You hear her letting him know she tried everything in her power to get the little girl to bed as you sit down and cover Hina with kisses and sweet words.

The door closes a little after.

“Come here. Brush your teeth, go pee and right to bed.”

“No!” She challenges with a frown at him. “I staying with ________.”

He calls her name with a strict tone making her pout and you can’t help but hug her protectively.

“Let me take care of it,” you suggest softly to him.

You carry out her nighttime routine like you used to, noticing how independent she has become which makes you yearn younger Hina.

You let her lead the march to her room, meeting Taehyung on the way and chuckles when she closes the door to prevent him from interrupting your time together.

“Do you want me to read you a book?” You smile once she settles under her covers.

She shakes her head and reaches for your hand. You understand she wants you to lie next to her. You indulge without a word.

“_______,” her voice is already filled with sleep some time after you’ve started running your fingers through her silky hair. “You staying with Hina foweve’?”

You hum back.

“Daddy likes ______.”

You look down at her, smiling faintly.

“He says it a lot. Hina likes _______ mowe.”

You squeeze her gently against you.

“________?” She’s speaking more slowly now. “Pwomise... mommy staying with Hina... and daddy... foweve’.”

***************

“Sleeping?”

You noticed Taehyung’s already changed in his sleepwear. You nod while closing her door as quietly as possible. “Like a log.”

He stands up before you get the chance to get close to one of the couches and leads the way to his bedroom.

You wait at the doorstep, watching him browsing clothes inside his wardrobe while in the dark. He shuffles towards you, holding what looks like to be a silky pyjamas.

“I think this will do,” he trails. You take it, thanking him. “You can change here. I was going to open a bottle of wine. You want some?”

You shake your head.

Taehyung walks back in his room when you don't come out, holding one glass and minds turning off the lights on his way.

It takes him a couple of seconds to remark your silhouette on the other side of the curtains, standing in the balcony where you’re enjoying the weak, gentle breeze of this summer night.

He draws one curtain and immediately notices you’ve decided to do without the pants which pulls a knowing smile from him. It shouldn't surprise him. The shirt is long enough to work as a mini dress on you.

You look over your shoulder when you hear the door sliding. He’s staring longer than he’s meaning to but you find it adorable.

He comes to stand right by your side and takes a sip, looking for something to say.

“It’s so quiet.”

“You don’t like it.”

“You should put on some music.” You suggest, tilting your chin towards his phone in his pocket.

“What do you want to listen to?”

“I’m sure you got some exclusive sounds, I could brag about. It’s your chance to upgrade your raking.” You smile when you see him grin too as he goes through files. “You’re not working on anything?”

“I actually am. But it’s a secret for now. I’ve made... thirteen songs. But they’re still very rough. I don’t think we should listen to them.”

“Come on, you know I won’t judge you.”

He looks down with an embarrassed smile, frowning a little. “They’re really not good.”

“I’m not pressuring you. It’s just the two of us now.” You say softly, not breaking eye contact. “We can always find something else.”

He can’t hold your gaze long enough without feeling his face heat up. “Okay, I’ll share one or two.”

You look down at the streets when the first notes are heard, knowing he won’t want to meet your eyes.

“So where’s your manager?” You ask to ease his anxiety. You’re too aware of yourself trying not to sound too interested while keeping your gaze on the cars driving by. “I thought I’d see her at the concert.”

“Uh oh, we’re not working together anymore.” You hum in response. He explains,“conflicts of interests.”

You’re now hearing lyrics sung very softly, setting a comfortable atmosphere. “Does that mean…”

“Yeah, I’m basically managing myself.” He chuckles to himself, smiling a little at you. “I think there’s no other way if I want to live life the way I have in mind.”

You agree silently, not really knowing what to say back.

“I think she liked me. Too much.”

“You didn’t?”

“Of course I enjoyed being with her but not exactly for the same reason I think.”

The song is the only thing heard for a couple of seconds but Taehyung doesn’t seem to be minding it anymore.

“Are you and Shownu…?”

You instantly look up at him when you hear him mentioning his name and rephrase his question when he’s not finishing. “Are we a thing?” He nods slowly once. ”No. No, no, no. I mean he’s nice but... He’s not really… my type.”

He looks away, humming a quick acknowledgement. He finishes his glass. “What’s your type?”

You tilt your head away from him, smiling to yourself. His phone plays the second song.

“I wouldn't know how to describe it. I just know when I meet the person, you know?”

“Yeah, I- Me too.”

You hesitate a little before you speak again.

“Apparently,” you wait for him to look at you to show your innocent eyes. “You like me. A lot.”  

He smiles but doesn’t flee your gaze, “who told you that?”

“I can’t reveal my source,” you turn your head away, closing your eyes. You open one to see him looking at you, amused. “I can only say it has the figure of a…  little snoring cutiekins.”

He shakes his head to himself. “Of course.”

You find yourself staring at his gorgeous-looking profile, admiring the way his perfect hair falls around his face. “So… You like spending time with me?”

“It wasn’t obvious enough?” He gets shy again.

“Honestly, I can’t recall.”

“What?” He asks with surprise. “Are you being serious?”

“I mean, I was working for you. And we weren’t always on our own. Making assumptions about these things would have been wrong on my behalf. Especially with you. I didn’t want to risk my job.”

“I see.”

He looks down at his empty glass then back up at you when he hears you take in a deep breath.

“I also didn’t want to risk never seeing you or Hina ever again.”

You can see something kindle in his dark eyes, rendering you quiet and captivated. He doesn’t seem like he’s moving but you can definitely tell you’re both getting closer and closer.

“And now?” His voice sounds hopeful.

Your eyes gaze up and down, noticing his lips barely agape. “Now?”

You almost freeze when you feel his breath fanning you delicately. You both remain stagnant for a while which seems to last indefinitely, keeping yourselves apart from each other and foreign from what is to come if you were to give in to those tacit, forbidden desires.

Taehyung can feel his heart beating so vividly at the prospect of tasting your lips. You’re right there. Why is he suddenly feeling so bold? Why is he hesitating?

“_____-”

You don’t allow him to finish and choose to be the one to take the plunge.

The kiss is timorous at first, gentle, barely touching, yet ignites, as intimacy settles, a submerging feeling that diffuses into your two beings.

He’s the first to moan, you to grab onto him, each demanding more of that taste you can’t do without now that you’ve quickly come to like it.

You force yourself out of rapture with reluctance, testing the waters and it only draws him back in like a magnet, quietly surrendering to what you started.

His skin is soft against your face but his arms are strong around your back as they secure you against his chest. His scent overwhelms you, almost in a smothering way but it doesn’t feel wrong. It’s simply foreign. You’ve never got to smell so much of him this long, this strongly. You eventually moan in response.

Taehyung pushes his face harder against yours as a result, tilting your heads. He’s euphoric and he can feel it in his stomach, in his heart, in yours the longer he keeps you rooted against his body, sensing them pulsate in unison, frenzied.

You push back, blindly guiding him to one of the two reclining chairs he got settled for whenever good weather presents itself. He lets himself fall down but not too quickly, not if it means he’d have to break apart from you. You can feel him grip the back of your thighs and have your body straddling his.

You notice his mouth reaching again for yours when you eventually pull away for air. He allows you some respite, watching dazed as you rest your forehead against his, smiling to yourself a little.

When you open your eyes, you stare down at your hand beneath which his chest is heaving with desire.

You feel one of his hands reaching for your hip, under his borrowed shirt. Your eyes fall close again and your breath gets caught in your throat once spasms begin taking over your lower region because of the closeness of his touch.

“You okay?” His voice is barely above a whisper and you yearn for more of that intimacy.

You let out a shaky breath you weren’t aware of holding. “It felt good.”

His fingers squeeze you comfortingly. You meet his eyes and your core tightens on its own, hard. It’s dark out here and in spite of that you can see he’s craving you. So badly.

He drags his bottom lip between his teeth, impatiently.

Fuck.

“Kiss me, _______... Please.”

You stare back, fascinated by so much beauty and yearning. Your mouth falls agape and his eyes instantly glance down.

You chuckle lightly, “if someone saw us right now. You’d be in so much trouble.”

“I don’t fucking care.” He replies immediately, grabbing onto the nape of your neck. Your lips remain at a hair breadth from his now.

You never thought your self-control to be that easily challenged, you want to laugh at yourself. Who would’ve thought?

You poke your tongue to lick his bottom lip looking so inviting, leading him to capture your mouth in a deep kiss. You weave your fingers into his smooth locks, tugging them at the first caress of his tongue around yours.

Yes, you instantly think, fuck them all. This is what matters.

Your other hand takes his off your neck to have it latch on one of your breasts. He’s closing it gently around at the touch of it.

You break the sloppy kiss to trail wet pecks along his jaw and beneath his ear. You hastily unbutton the shirt. “Put your hands on me, Tae.”

He slides an arm around the small of your back at the sight of your bare torso for him to feast on and guides your crotch to push down against his.

Your heart suffers another sudden fit of palpitation at the feeling of his arousal pressing promisingly where you need it the most. His mouth is unsparing against your skin, kissing, licking, sucking it until it has you yielding to your own needs.

Taehyung stops and pants icy, hot air where his tongue wetted you at the feeling of your hips rocking with lustful urges.

He leans back on the chair, head thrown back with his eyes closed, relishing the delightful motions of your body.

“Oh… Fuck…” His nails dig in your ass the more you keep easing tension out of his hard shaft.

You tilt forward, closer, never stopping your sensual dance and he feels it. He gazes up at you under heavy lids, admiring the beautiful view of his shirt open on your naked chest, skin still moist with his saliva, nipples pointing enticingly.

He feels lightheaded.

You comb your hair back to allow yourself a view of the splendor that is Taehyung turned on.

You let out a small groan at the unexpected twitch of his cock. By now, you’re sure you’ve made an embarrassing mess of your panties and you’re also certain he can smell it.

You watch him reach for one of your breasts to suck on the sensitive nipple. You frown down at him, moaning as quiet as you can. He cranes his neck to lick his way up yours to your ear.

“You look great in my clothes.” You smile at his whisper.

“I want to see you too.”

He fulfills your wishes quickly, pulling the back of his tee-shirt above his head, serving you the tantalizing image of his muscular arms and shoulders. You bite your lip, sharing a smile and your hips pick up in pace.

You wrap your arms around his neck, cradling his head to your chest, while he hugs you to him tightly, looking into each other’s eyes. You’re both growing desperate.

“I want you so bad,” he can hear the hopelessness in your voice and it has him oozing more in his briefs. He never thought he’d ever hear you say those words to him. However, he hates how it reminds him of his neglect in equipping himself for the occasion. He never planned any of it.

He’s certain he doesn’t want to put an end to your bliss, not when you’re on top of him, ready to give yourself, not never.

Taehyung mouths at your cleavage, listening to the plethora of pleading escaping you the longer you keep rubbing yourselves together and struggles not to give in already.

The fresh breeze is long forgotten now, it feels hot and sweaty against his body but you’ve passed your point of no return. He’s felt your body becoming tense, seeking the peak of pleasure.

You manage to grunt in between gasps. “... Close…”

“Yeah?” He wonders quietly, trying to keep you on your stimulus.

You furrow your brow, seeing him gazing back with so much adoration it catches you unawares, triggering intense pleasure washing over you in waves. He helps muffling you, comforting your shaking body.

The forceful press of his erection overstimulates you in good pain. Your arms are tight around his shoulders, helping you root yourself while the final tremors wear off.

You don’t want to move away. He doesn’t want to let go either.

He reluctantly moves his arms only when he feels you trying to lean back. He breaks into a shy chuckle but you capture his lips in a needing kiss. You’re quickly out of breath.

“You’re shaking,” he trails softly. You weren’t even aware of it, lost again in his mesmerizing looks. “Was it okay?”

You nod subtly, cupping the back of his head to bring your faces closer. “Yeah… You?”

“Don’t worry about it.” You answer his gentle kiss. “Let’s go inside.”

***********************

You wake up alone in the gigantic bed, almost engulfed in the mess of sheets and thick covers. Yes, even in summer they’re of use, if you get to spend a night in his bedroom.

Your mind is fuddled, partly because of the short night you had but it’s also quick to remember flashes of it, having you musing on them with a blushing face.

You sit up and locate his tee-shirt, his borrowed shirt, your panties, his briefs thrown across the floor and your abashed smile comes again.

You’re walking down the corridor and can’t shake away the strangeness of it now that you’re seeing his home in broad daylight many months after, not as his bodyguard but as you. You stop before either Taehyung or Hina can notice your presence and take your time watching them be around each other, the way it was meant this whole time.

Your gaze travels from Hina’s back facing you to him and you mindlessly begin biting your lips, gawking at him working in the kitchen, attending to her needs and just being the best person for her. His messy hair and bare chest are a bonus.

He’s a natural. Your chest tightens at the sight of him and at the thought of it.

A heavy sigh escapes you.

“Mind joining us?”

You get startled by his voice and find them looking at you with big smiles. You shake your head to yourself.

Hina is elated raising her arms in the air from her seat for you to indulge into a tight hug. You don’t forget to kiss her cheek, unable to keep yourself from grinning from ear to ear at her sudden burst.

You sit on the stool across her where a bowl of rice and a full glass of orange juice have been placed. She can’t take her eyes off of you. You mind the frying pan he’s holding as he shakes a fried egg on top of the rice.

“‘Morning you,” he trails in a deep voice. He swiftly steals a kiss and walks away naturally.

You remain stunned a couple of seconds, processing the sudden gesture until you find Hina stifling a titter in her small hands.

[mythiccheroacademia]

Hi!! I don’t know if you’re doing requests rn but can you do a scenario with Kirishima, midoriya, Bakugou and todoroki learning dance moves with their s/o?? (The woah, milly rock, driving the boat, etc.)

 GIRRLLLLLLL 

my first ask!!!! ayyeeeeee, what it do babyyyyy

k, i’m done but thank you sm for asking! and for future reference, i’m open for scenarios/imagines/anything lmao

i hope you like it! 

Characters: Kirishima, Midoryia, Bakugo, and Todorkoki

Warnings: a serious case of fucking it up (ass throwing as well??)

PG-13 

y’all, i couldn’t help myself hehe

A/N: the gag is, i was literally just turning up to my good sis Megan Thee Stallion and Rico Nasty so this should be fun

Kirishima Eijrou:

the best hype man and dont @ me on it

It was after hours and, outside of U.A., the night was quite peaceful, for the most part. Most were tucked in their bed, fast asleep, but some of the young future heroes of Japan were wide awake. That included you and Kirishima. 

You spent the night showing him some of your favorite Western music videos. He recognized some of the long-time globally famous ones like Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna (who you both had a crush on). You had tried showing him the moves to Single Ladies and Super Bass, but he couldn’t quite get. 

“C’monnn, just jut your hip out more,” he laughed.

Kirishima made a face before dramatically sticking his hind up. You punched his arm to which he broke out in laughter. 

“Ahh, I’m just hopeless,” he shrugged.

You rolled your eyes. “No, no! You got the shoot, but you have to know more. There’s gotta be something.”

“What about him?”

You looked at the video suggestion he motioned towards, and your brows shot up in excitement.

“DaBaby! Of course!”

“DaBaby?”

“I’m about to change your life.”

It only took one watch for Kirishima to pick up on the DaBaby shoulder, BOP dance, and fist pound. He was a natural and went hard on it. 

*and his muscles looked real nice all flexed like that but that’s besides the point~* 

You two spent the late hours running through all his Albums and EPs, dancing and hyping one another up. It was so fun that you two ended up having to take a shower because of how sweaty y’all were. 

The fist to thigh pound was now you two’s celebratory dance each time one of you made an accomplishment.

You both passed a test?

DaBaby.

Won a team competition?

DaBaby.

Made it through a battle alive?

DaBaby.

Midoryia Izuku:

i’m sorry but it’s like cannon this boi cant dance, but bless his heart, he really tries

You should’ve just sat down and ate your food, but, of course, you didn’t care about priorities when it came to tiktok. (just bear with me y’all)

It was an unhealthy obsession you wouldn’t admit to. You spent hours on it. Ochako had gotten you hooked on after she kept sending you tiktok dances to learn with the girls. It was fun though, especially since dancing was something you loved to do. You still kept up with your grades, so there wasn’t much harm in it.

But then, you made a mistake.

You were eating lunch with your boyfriend and watching a tiktok Momo had sent in your groupchat. The two girls in the video were dancing before they hit the woah on the beat drop. 

Izuku heard the music and looked over at what you were watching. 

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s these two girls dancing. They’re really good!”

You showed him the video and it was like he’s found his life’s purpose.

“W-what was that? At the end!?” 

“Uhh, it’s called the woah?”

“Do you know how to do it?”

“Yeah–”

“Teach me!”

So you spent the lunch period teaching him the move. It wasn’t very complicated, but you found that he had no sense of rhythm and flow. It took a couple YouTube tutorials and then some for him to decently grasp the concept. When lunch was over, he kissed and hugged you like you were his savior.

“Thank you for showing me! I must show the others!”

You were so confused.

But you didn’t know you created a monster.

That is ALL this man does now!

You’ll see him in the mornings. “Hey Izuku!”

“Hey y/n!” 

Hits the woah.

He answers a question correctly?

Hits the woah.

He answers a question incorrectly?

Hits the woah.

Beats Bakugo in a competiton.

Hits the woah.

Bakugo did not appreciate that. 

He downloaded tiktok and 80% of the videos are of him and/or someone else hitting the woah.

All Might has asked you if your boyfriend is going through something. You just pinch your nose. 

Bakugo Katsuki:

won’t outwardly admit to knowing how to dance, but when the time comes, he’s ready for anything

also! i’m inlcuding african moves in this one, hope you dont mind

Sometimes, when you two aren’t doing anything in particular, you’ll try and teach him some moves. He’ll usually sneer about not wanting to learn and how dumb it was. You fake cry and he begrudgingly does it (bc when you cry he panics)

There are multiple snapchat videos of you putting on Shatte Wale or EL (Lomi) and you two doing the shaku shaku or azonto. You were surprised when he picked up other moves like dougie, lean back, and jerkin. 

The music was blasting in his room and you two were following the Walk It Out music video, dancing, copying what you could and just having fun with one another. At first, Bakugo was a bit stiff, embarrassed that he was even indulging in something like this, but he saw the happy look on your face and set a tiny bit of his pride aside.

Plus, you were actually kinda good and he wasn’t gonna let you show him up on something he knew he was good at. 

“Ayyee, okay Bakugo! You kinda lit!” you cheered.

The genuine praise made him blush. “I don’t know what you thought this was, but of course I can dance, idiot!” he exclaimed, trying to fight his sudden embarrassment with how into it he was getting. 

You laughed at him and he was about to cuss you out until you gasped.

Suddenly, your favorite song by Saweetie came on and your face fell into all seriousness as you broke out in dance. He sputtered when you sensually moved your body over to him, taking his hand and turning so your body so your back was to him. 

“Well if you’re so good, why don’t you prove it,” you challenged. 

He was confused until you circled your hips and he automatically followed your lead. Bakugo’s prior bashfulness left him and a proud grin spread across his lips, eyes half-lidded with desire. 

“Oh, bet.”

You bent forwards, hands on your knees as you threw it back on him–and he caught it just fine. This was his kind of dancing. He was a beast in clubs. (ofc you’re 18+). 

It wasn’t like it was anything new to him. You two have had many many opportunities to practice. 

When “Red Nose” came on, it was over. 

Well, the dancing was over~

Todoroki Shoto:

hits the meanest milly rock and you cant convince me otherwise

*youre in an American club for this one and you all are most certainly 21+*

You two were overseas for a vacation. Well, it was supposed to be a trip for a business convention, and he was going as the next heir to his father’s company, but who wouldn’t use this as a getaway?

Plus, a chance to show your boyfriend where you come from?

And on Endeavor’s dime? Say less. 

You were going out to a club downtown with your Shoto and your friends and their partners. It would be a nice de-stressor for the long day you and Todoroki had handling business. 

At first, Todoroki was a bit hesitant. You offered to have a dance practice, but he softly declined. He wasn’t one to go out and you didn’t push it.

But then he saw you in that tight outfit, the one that makes your ass pop, and he grabbed the keys before you could. 

The sooner you went, the sooner y’all could get back home for the real party.

Anyway–

At first, you two are just standing and talking, enjoying one another’s company. You’re a bit tipsy when you’re friends drag you onto the dance floor and you let loose. Todoroki’s watching you with a soft smile and then talking to your friends’ partners before they prompt him to take a couple shots. 

He might be one of the fiercest heroes in Japan, but mans can’t hold his liquor.

He sees you dancing and can’t help but miss the way your body feels in his hands. You both make eye contact and he’s suddenly making a b-line for you.

*Big Ole’ Freak by Megan Thee Stallion begins*

Todoroki is working his hardest to catch all the ass you’re throwing, using his hands and the support from the people behind him. He won’t let his good sis Todoroki Tina down. 

He’s pretty damn good at catching.

Y’all are sin on the floor. So much so that your friends are HOLLERING. 

“FUCK IT UP Y/N!!!”

“LET’S GOOOO SHOTO”

“CATCH THAT ASS, BRO!!”

“BITTTCHHH!!!”

*Cue Pour It Up by Rihanna*

The music changes, and suddenly, both of you are facing each other, hittin’ the folks and slowing down the nae nae. Nasty Freestyle by T-Wayne comes on, and you guys are the center of attention.

Let me tell you…it was perfection.

The City Girls came on and Todoroki amps it up—you rapping the lyrics as he dances. (He loves the City Girls as much as he does Meg and hopes a woman scams his dad like that)

But you even lose your shit when Shoto starts to milly rock. He’s got the entire club hyping him up. 

The next day, you both are watching videos from last night. Your brows shot up in surprise at how natural he was. You both were kinda shook.

“I’ve never seen you dance a day in your life. Where did this come from?” you asked, a genuine pitch in your tone.

Shoto was just as clueless as you. 

“I have no idea.”

[sunshine304]

On to eps 25 + 26, my friends! It’s heating up!

Yang Jin was concerned because he saw Yu Wenzhi’s troups – but he definitely, absolutely was NOT concerned for Li Yan, no no! XD They keep on going together, but only... for 5 min or so? Until Li Yan tells him to go help A-Fei in town, since she can make the rest of the way herself (that worked so well before...). It’s cute how Yang Jin doesn’t want to go, but she makes puppy eyes at him and so he leaves.

I guess in the long run that isn’t such a bad decision to send him to A-Fei’s aid. 

Poor Li Yan of course meets an outpost that’s already infiltrated by Disha. At least the man helps her instead of selling her out. And then it turns out that Li Sheng didn’t even include a message, just sending her away from where the attack will happen. Oh Li Sheng... He could have thought about how the outpost might be in Disha’s pockets, though, since it wouldn’t be the first time. Anyway, Li Yan steals a horse and goes to find help.

So much stuff is happening at the same time! Yang Jin asks after the Intinerary Gang who surely will help him (good idea), while Chuchu listens in on the Elders talking about how Li Sheng is very likely dead. She is devastated. T_T

Yu Wenzhi starts distrusting Kou Dan, because she now mentions a rumoured hidden path to the 48 Strongholds. She’s all like, “What, it’s just a rumour.“ and even I side-eye her for that. He wants to set a trap for A-Fei and leaves.

Meanwhile, Xie Yun has already strongly hinted to A-Fei that it would be an advantage if they could get YWZ to distrust at least Kou Dan. A-Fei uses YWZ’s ruse for just that, basically telling Gu Tianxian that this was an assassination attempt lead by Mingfeng Sect. 

OMG the kiss by proxy!! I flailed!! Give me moooore! ♥

XY is off to distract GTX while A-Fei looks for YWZ's new hiding spot. But before that she stares into space, thrown by XY's proxy kiss. I swoon along with her. XD

Li Yan meets Li Jinrong, who was on her way back anyway since she missed her husband yet again. The army seems to have some problems, though General Wen is… perhaps downplaying? Anyway, LJR now knows that 48 Strongholds is under attack and hurries home.

Shen Tianshu has waited out the fire, it seems, and is now in front of the main gate to the 48 Strongholds. Also, YWZ’s private army has arrived. All in all, this huge combined army consists of about 30 people; 6 of them leave to find the secret path. I can’t get over the fact that the mean villains only have so few people! You really didn’t have a budget, huh? XD I mean srsly, there are definitely more people hiding at the 48 SH! XD

Look at his smug face! He always squints smugly at everyone, he’s so weird! XD

Love how XY is leading Disha around. Also happy that Wang Yibo could do lots of wirework in that scene, since he likes to do that stuff. XD Meanwhile, YWZ feels super threatened. Rightly so, asshole.

Aww the Elders Zhao and Zhang at the 48 SH want to go fighting! I actually enjoy that this show has many older characters as well.

Aaaand A-Fei has found YWZ! And she fights! And then there’s Yang Jin and the IG to the rescue! I love how they’re all fighting, while YWZ just stands there and watches with Kou Dan protecting him. Kinda. I cheered for the IG just fighting with big sticks and whatever else was at hand against that trained (? I assume) private army with swords – and they win by brute force. XD

A-Fei is all confused and Yang Jin explains, “I met Li Yan on the road and she started crying. She’s so annoying, I can’t say no to her!” He is so whipped. XD

YWZ really is a totally useless fighter. A-Fei reaches him and overpowers him easily. What kind of position does that guy have in the government? Doesn’t seem to be an army position… Since they won they want to get Disha to stop the attack on the 48 SH.

Meanwhile I fucking knew it that Ma Jili would betray them! Did he actually kill that one Elder? Or did they really encounter Disha and the Elder got killed there? Hm.

Anyway, look at Chuchu grabbing a sword! That was cool, you go queen! Though she didn’t get to use it, I’m sure there will be another chance for her to fuck some shit up!

A-Fei is so devastated that Uncle Ma betrayed her. I feel you, A-Fei. And then Uncle Ma feels guilty (or… was also misled by Kou Dan?) and fights KD, which doesn’t end good for him. 

That fight between A-Fei and KD was really cool. Loved how they used the end credits song! I’m a sucker for that song! A-Fei gets her revenge and doesn’t even watch KD die.

Seriously, those poor kids will all be so traumatised. Yeah in CQL they all went to war at 19 or so, but they at least all had fighting experience in a real life situation against monsters, fierce corpses and whatnot. The kids from 48 SH grew up sheltered with this kind of fighting just a theoretical exercise. 

OH nooo Xie Yun uses the super power needle! O_O He sees that 48 SH will likely lose (how, against only 20 Disha ppl, IDK…) and decides on that, because he can’t lose A-Fei.

Look at his conflicted face!!!

He also throws some exposition in there, that Chuchu’s necklace is the main key for the HTYS which he is looking for. Okay. Whatever, now pls fuck Shen Tianshu up, my man.

He does. He also tells A-Fei that he wants to enjoy himself here. (Meaning he doesn’t have long afterwards anyway and wants to go out with a bang I guess. T_T) STS is shocked because it seems that Xie Yun has some SERIOUS FIGHTING SKILLZ.

This is getting really long... XD

Xie Yun fights and it's pretty cool! A-Fei also keeps fighting, but she gets weaker, and also seems overwhlemed by the situation. I can’t blame her.

And then Li Jinrong signals her arrival and Shen Tianshu kinda panics while A-Fei decides that this is a good moment to faint. She does a lot of fainting in this show.

Have this gif for the drama of it all. XD

Yay, Chuchu has found Li Sheng! She had to wade through some corpses for that at the river bank, but she is a badass and doesn’t care. MVP Chuchu! ♥

Excuuuse me!? STS punches (!!) Li Jinrong's horse. Seriously, asshole?! WTF?! LJR fucks him up anyway, destroys his metal hand (he later has a new one so I guess he just... has a lot of these things lying around?). Disha + YWZ’s troups finally retreat, and Chuchu immediately tells them where Li Sheng is. He is now safe, yay!

Okay this shot of LJR is really cool.

There LJR goes again with her tough mother routine. XD A-Fei is awake and happy to see her; she also aks after Xie Yun, and her mother is like, “Do you know who he is?” and A-Fei conveniently does not mention that she knows he's royalty and just tells her the important stuff like, “He does poetry and songs to make a living.” LJR just dismisses her with, “We'll talk about him later.” Oh oh.

Cute scene with A-Fei and Li Sheng, who tease each other good-naturedly. Li Sheng now can admit that A-Fei is better than him at martial arts, but he doesn't want to give up – perhaps he'll manage to be better than her one day anyway? ;D I like his growth so far.

Xie Yun comes over to flirt and invite himself into A-Fei's bedroom. XD But this time A-Fei flirts back! It's the, “I know I'm good looking, but you have to pay money to stare at me,” and A-Fei answers, “You can stare at me too and we'll call it even,” scene. XY is surprised and delighted. XD

That whole conversation between these two. ♥ T_T A-Fei knows XY so well by know that she sees through his act of putting on a happy face whenever he's worried. She wants to ask so many questions but doesn't because she thinks he won't answer them honestly anyway. T_T And she sincerely asks him if he's alright. T_T He's obviously thrown by all of this, and he talks around some things and yep, he isn't really honest. And then she asks too many questions anyway and he uses her accupoints to knock her out. My God, just talk to her!!

And there's the other ship that's shyly circling each other! Chuchu and Li Sheng have an awkward conversation, because now that it's not live or death they don't know how to act. XD He wants to look for Chuchu's brother and they perhaps could live at the 48 SH? *puppyeyes* I mean seriously, where is that kid?!

Shen Tianshu is pissed, Yu Wenzhi is too. He's going on about how Xie Yun (=Xiao Chuan) should be dead, damnit, since he was poisoned 10 years ago with that super rare and deadly Bone Piercing Blue poison (we remember, the one that 9th Madam Duan also suffered from until Li Zheng helped her). We get STS exposition that a master must've helped XY so that he survived (and the master should've died of it), but now that XY used the power needle his meridians are no longer blocked and the poison is free to circulate again = He only has a few months to live. OH NO! T_T They don't know if he's also looking for the HYTS but want to keep looking anyway; Disha masters are sent out after the two men yet again bitch at each other. XD

Sometimes it's nice to actually get some exposition here...

There's a funeral scene at 48 SH with cool music and all of them swearing their oath again to do their best with a clear conscience before Heaven, Earth, and themselves. That “clear conscience” idiom is really popular I think?

A talk between Xie Yun and Li Jinrong. She thanks him and seems sincere enough, but she also seems wary/distrustful of him (well, he fetched her ill husband to go to war again, sooo...). He yet again circumvents actually answering her questions about his former master (although I assume she at least has a hunch who he is), and he tells her she should perhaps be nicer to her daughter and compliment her from time to time. Well, I guess he's dying anyway and hasn't anything to lose. XD

She comments on his pale complexion, is he perhaps ill? Wow the passive-aggressiveness in this scene from LJR. XD Then she hands him a sigil to pass the guards and basically throws him out. Charming. Good start into that in-laws situation. XD

OMG Li Sheng sends pastries to Chuchu! ♥ And Li Yan is all excited, like, “Yes please fetch your little brother, I always wanted a little brother, that would be awesome!” XD

Xie Yun and A-Fei have a romantic stroll under the not-moonlight. ♥ They are holding hands, be still my heart! ♥  While they are hand holding we also get a MV of their best moments so far.

She tells him she's working on a gift for him, and she wants to help him look for the HYTS since it seems to be a shitty thing and she doesn't want it to fall into Disha's hands. Xie Yun would like to stay at 48 SH and of course doesn't tell A-Fei about his talk wit LRJ nor that he's, you know, dying. It's obvious that he will leave without her because he doesn't want to drag her into this (the trope of “I know what's best for you without giving you a real chance to make a decision yourself” ugh) and also because he's fucking dying. OMG. T_T

We end with A-Fei knocking on his door the next morning (where he very obviously isn't anymore) to give him her gift. Before she can actually see that he isn't there Chuchu intercepts her, so A-Fei tries to give her back the necklace. Chuchu is all like, “Nooo you keep it, it's far saver with you!” so there's that. This will surely be important later. The two girls leave for town to fetch medicine, while Xie Yun sits near the river and sadly plays his flute. T_T

[timerainseternal]

Who’s your favorite character of tua and why

I enjoy most of the characters in Umbrella Academy, but my favorite is Five! As for why, there are a lot of reasons, but I think, writing-wise it's because I don't know what he will do at any given moment, but I trust where he's going. This is a difficult balance to pull off, but I'll try to explain exactly what I mean and why I feel that way.

Firstly, I don't know what he'll do, which makes him interesting to watch. He's full of contradictions in many ways, he's very resourceful, and he's written as someone who is extremely smart. (Though another thing I find interesting is that unlike with many other "genius" characters, intelligence--as in knowledge or ability like with his scribbling-on-the-walls math--isn't his primary trait, at least not to me. Before that I would say that he is at least determined, as well as resourceful in a way that isn't linked strictly to book smarts. Instead, he's driven on sustained desperation that "geniuses" never seem to get in media, and even though he's so smart and generally competent, his plans often or always fail, which I actually made a whole post about. Even further, we know he's 58, so his knowledge is based not only on natural ability, but also a lot of work and time, which is also not the general presentation. We know he's smart, but figuring out time travel took him a whole lifetime.) Anyway, even his power set is...fluidly defined. I don't know what plans he will make, or what side effects will follow--only that, based on past experience, side effects will follow. As such, I'm very entertained watching him constantly pivoting and coming up with new ideas and plans, especially since I think he gets more plot turns than anyone else in the series, or at least is a more active force in those turns.

His choices also showcase the desperation that is at the core of him, and the moral greyness that comes from it. He's not bound by normal considerations like most of the others are; often, he doesn't even consider them. What might be off-limits to others isn't off-limits to him (which is like his powers in a funny kind of way). But really, it all stems from the fact of having lost everything with his 45-year stint in the apocalypse and the loneliness that comes from that. It's an interesting philosophical thought experiment. What are morals in a dead world? What are a few thousand people compared to the end of humanity? What are we if everything else gets stripped away?

And for Five, the answer is not in the violence we've seen him commit, but instead the love he shows. He was presented as a prickly genius who is smarter than everyone and knows everything (like he says to Allison in ep 1) and who is also a time-travelling assassin hardened by decades in a wasteland. We expect competence, cold calculation, and a near-complete lack of empathy. But then we meet Dolores, and we learn that he's doing everything for his family, and we see that everything he does is for love of other people. Specific other people, sure, but love nonetheless. And he isn't cool about it, isn't aloof; he's lost it all before, and he's desperate, and nothing he does--despite what most shows tell you about geniuses--really fixes any problem completely, and especially not the relationships that got broken when he left.

Yet even despite all that, he's also predictable in a way that lets me trust him. Obviously, as an audience, we see how pressing and devastating the apocalypse is. It's the end. Yet none of the other characters understand that the way we do, or the way Five does. His ultimate goal is to stop that from happening and protect his family, and given his life experience, I know that there is nothing that will stop him as long as he's around. I trust that his character will make decisions towards an end goal that I agree with as the audience, and that as long as that remains true, I know that even if I don't know where he's going with a plan, I can at least trust his intent. Even with the Commission, where he worked as an assassin and presumably murdered innocents, the end goal is great enough that it makes sense. Moreover, though, is that once we see that his motivation is for love and to protect, not from a place of sadism or superiority, and that he will even listen to others to find a less violent workaround (as with Luther in s1), I trust his intentions even more.

That's part of what makes the murder of the Board, and then the aftermath, so interesting: it's a study in contradiction, the urge to be violent and feel seen and effective and successful, contrasted with a sense of guilt and remorse and an understanding that it's not the best version of himself. He's warring with those instincts, but the writers have portrayed him in a way that allows for understanding and sympathy.

For another thing, as I think @the-aro-ace-arrow-ace mentioned, given his unique standing as both 13 and 58, he can't really have a romantic relationship to pull him away like the others can, nor do I think he would if he could, considering the timespan the show tends to give him. He's not really in the mindset for romance at all, and especially not a romance that would distract him from his goals. Not only was Dolores an extension of his own mind for a long time, but also was one he was willing to abandon, first going with the Handler, then again towards the end of season 1. Not only does this make his goals less likely to be swayed from what I, as an audience member, consider to be important, but also romance as the sort of "love at first sight, I will prioritize you over everyone else without any real merit behind it" is always a bit flimsy to me. Maybe I'm a little too aromantic to get it, but I generally find it a bit distracting at best unless done really well. (I did like Raymond and Allison as a couple. I thought that was done really well, where they had time and chemistry and respect for each other, and I enjoyed the time they spent together. It doesn't hurt that Allison is my second favorite, but it stands well even besides that. It's just a good relationship.)

Finally, all of that plays into Five's relationships with others. He isn't good at being a social creature (understandable), yet that's what he values most: his family. He wants to be empathetic--and in many cases he can be--but he's battling his own inability to be understood. He doesn't even fully understand himself in the world he left when he was a child. In a very real sense, he can't do what has become most important to him--not that his siblings are the best role models for communication. It makes sense, then, that he was able to seemingly connect with Reginald. Five wants to connect with the people he missed and felt like he wronged, no matter if he actually was in the wrong or not. He so often gets ignored/misunderstood/considered crazy that even as someone just watching that conversation, it felt cathartic for him to be listened to and taken seriously, even if I think Reginald is the absolute worst and that the best thing for him to do would be to stay dead. Five thought he was being the most rational of his siblings in that supper, but he didn't realize that his biases were as strong or stronger, and just had a different root. His relationships with others are his strongest desire/goal/motivator, but he has such a distorted perception of the way the world works on a daily, interpersonal level and also who he is in that world, that he can't really make it work right, and that's really neat to watch.

In my mind, also, what Five is looking for isn't actually his family from 2019. It isn't even his family from 2002, or at least not just them. I think that what he wants is to be who he was when he left, before he got stuck in the apocalypse. He wants his family because he loves them--I don't doubt that, and I don't want to discredit it--but also because I think in some sense he believes that if he can just be with them again, he can make things the way they used to be, the way he used to be. He's kind of like Luther in that regard, except that Luther is beginning to move on, and Five is stuck in it. The tragedy in this, of course, is that he's the time traveller here, and no matter what time he goes to, his only choice is forwards for himself. He can't go back, even if he reaches the exact moment he left. This, of course, is speculation--or analysis, if we use the kinder term--but I think it shows how much can be read into his character based on his choices and narrative arc, and that in itself is interesting whether it was intended or not.

So, that's an overly long answer to your question! It's Five because I think he's interesting, and I think he's interesting because the writers have backed themselves into a corner where he kind of has to be. I hope that was what you were looking for!

[fictionisfact]

I got this little part from The Schuyler Vidders on YT so credits to them. ❤️

A/N: I had so many ideas for this one so it was kinda tricky picking which one. I hope you enjoy! 💞

Part 1

Here for you | Part 2

Based on S1 Ep. 9

You hated being ignored. But that’s what has been happening ever since that night. The night Ty had decided to kiss you and then run off. He hasn’t texted you back and he definitely hasn’t tried to return your numerous phone calls either.

“And my mom’s letting me look at drama camps for the summer.” Kyle said, knocking you out of your own thoughts. You were currently walking with him and Annie, alongside the baseball field that Ty currently occupied with his teammates.

“Kyle, that sounds amazing! Don’t have too much fun without me.” You responded lightly elbowing his arm. Your frown turned into a smile when he looked over at you and stuck out his tongue.

“Well, I’m thinking about spending the summer with my dad in Atlanta.” Annie spat out before she was interrupted by the one and only CeCe.

“Bottom of the eighth, CeCe Matney is at the plate.” CeCe started with a megaphone as you all three stopped in your tracks to see what was happening, “The crowd’s hushed. The whole game lies on this one pitch. Will ty Townsend go to prom with her?”

Your jaw dropped at the scene unfolding in front of you. Of course she asked him to prom. You guys walked a little closer to the fence.

“She’s funny if she thinks he’s going to say yes.” You stated with venom, more to yourself than anyone else. Annie looked over at you knowing how you felt about Ty ever since the kiss, she frowned upon her inspection seeing that you stared coldly at what was happening.

“And here comes the pitch. Is it a homer or is it a strike? Here comes the swing!” CeCe continued as she walked forward until she was right in front of Ty. She put down the megaphone and waited for his answer. “Well?” She said as she chuckled.

“Yeah. Yeah.” You heard Ty respond. She jumped into his arms and he picked her up and off the ground. When he placed her down, they kissed. You wish you could say it didn’t hurt, but it did. You scoffed and right when Ty looked over to see you looking, you took off with Annie and Kyle hot on your tail.

It was Saturday. The day you and Ty usually hung out together. You tried to put Ty in the back of your mind so your day wouldn’t be completely ruined. You jumped out of bed and headed for your door.

You came out of your room to see Dana Sue and Annie already in the kitchen getting ready to make smoothies. Dana Sue’s phone rang and Annie was first to pick it up.

Annie looked at you with an ‘uh oh’ look. You gave her a questioning face and she showed you the phone. You saw a text from Aunt Helen reading, ‘Can you pour it out right now?’ You covered your mouth in surprise. Annie handed the phone to her mom and she responded with, “Oh dear.”

“You can go. Take care of Helen. We’ll be okay!” You told Dana Sue with a smile. You hoped she would go for Helen’s sake.

“Fine, you girls be safe while I’m gone.” She responded in a hurry to get her bag and keys. She finally shut the front door when she had everything.

“I know you’re feeling down today, but that’s why we’re going to make today amazing!” Annie said as happiness sparkled in her eyes. You gave her a big hug and thanked her. That day was filled with amazing activities and your mind only wandered to Tyler only once.

“And the whole team was standing there chanting as if Ty had just won the World Series instead of agreeing to go to prom. So stupid.” Annie said informing Issac of why you were in a mood.

You had church this morning and of course Ty didn’t even dare to look at you. You were now sulking at Sullivan’s while working with Annie and Issac.

“Very stupid.” You hummed while listening in on what she was saying right next to you.

“Yeah, I didn’t go to my prom. My mom said I’d regret missing it, but I don’t.” Issac said plainly while you were shocked.

“I don’t think my mom went to hers either.” Annie responded causing your jaw to drop. Prom was so special to you.

You tuned out the rest of their conversation thinking about your ideal prom night. What you had been envisioning since you learned what prom was. To go with your best friend, which was off the table completely.

Your thoughts were interrupted by Micah walking in with gifts. Your smile grew as he asked to see the chef. As they reunited you continued to serve tables, finishing up after a long day.

It was finally prom week. You woke up and jumped off the bed and immediately threw on an orange t-shirt with blue ripped jeans. You tied on some white converse and waited for Annie to get done dressing so you could walk together.

As you neared the school, Simon suddenly called out to Annie making her turn around. You knew he was going to ask her to prom cause he texted you about it earlier.

“I’ll see you inside.” You said to Annie lightly touching her arm. You walked away with a big smirk waiting close by. You heard her say yes and you started whooping loudly. You regretted it once she gave you a death glare.

You both walked inside and got to your locker. You took out a few books before you were interrupted by someone calling your name, trying to get your attention.

You turn around to see Jackson with a poster that read, “I might strikeout asking, but will you take a swing at...Prom with me?” He had one of his baseballs in another hand as well. You gave him a smile and turned your head to see Ty looking at him with anger.

“Sure!” You gave him an answer and hugged him. You knew you shouldn’t have, Jackson was his biggest enemy. But you had to get back at Ty somehow for ignoring you. You looked over Jackson’s shoulder to see Ty walking away down the hall.

“You can just wait out here while I go tell Kyle.” Annie told you solemnly. You responded with a nod, waiting outside of the Townsends home. You weren’t waiting long until suddenly, the door opened hastily and revealed Ty.

“Uh, Ty I wasn’t expect-“ you started to talk before he cut you off.

“How could you do this to me?” He asked with sadness and anger mixed in his eyes. Knowing what he was referring to, you rolled your own eyes.

“What do you mean?! You have been ignoring me for days after YOU kissed ME.” You whisper-yelled at him, becoming angry at his attitude.

“That doesn’t mean you can go and get close to my greatest enemy!” He responded angrily. You wiped your face and looked him dead in the eye.

“I’m sorry, but you hurt ME first. You kiss me leaving me wondering if there was a chance you had feelings for me too, but then you go and accept CeCe’s promposal while I watch you kiss her. How is that fair to me?” You said with a single tear rolling down your cheek.

“You like me?” He asked dumbfounded and confused. You both were interrupted by Annie walking out of the front door. She realized what was happening and started feeling awkward.

“Uh, did I inturupt something?” She asked you both with a confused face.

“No.” You answered her before Tyler could. You grab her hand and start walking back home before Ty could say anything else. She knew better than to ask what happened.

You were currently taking prom pictures with Annie, Simon, and Jackson. You were wearing a crimson red dress with black heels to match Jackson’s suit. You put your H/C in cute bun.

Jackson ordered a limo for the 4 of you, as he is the Mayor’s son. Although he protested about going to prom with Annie and Simon, you forced him to due to the fact he has always had a crush on you. But you never took interest in him.

When you arrived Jackson left you to go hang out with the baseball boys. Throughout the whole night, many of your boy friends asked you to dance, causing dismay to Ty and probably to Jackson as well. You had a nice time, as you blatantly ignored Ty, trying not to ruin your night.

A slow song suddenly came on and Jackson asked to dance. You of course said yes. As you danced closely to Jackson, you couldn’t help but look over to see Ty and CeCe dancing as well. You felt yourself roll your eyes and look away once Ty locked eyes with you.

Prom was over but the night was not even close to being done. Your group went to Jackson’s house for the after party and of course Ty came with CeCe.

When you arrived, everyone was forced to put their phones in a bowl. Meanwhile Jackson was tending to his guests. You sat on the couch with Kyle and on of his friends, catching up with him. You looked over the couch to see Ty and CeCe, once again dancing.

You were overwhelmed with anger and jealousy. You interrupted Kyle mid-sentence telling him you were going to get some air on the balcony.

After a few minutes of laying your arms on the railing, you heard the sliding door open.

“Sorry Jackson, I just wante-“ you cut off noticing who it was when you turned around. It was Ty. You immediately tried to push past him to get inside but he held your arm.

“Please. I need to talk to you.” He begged you with his puppy eyes. You couldn’t resist and ended up listening to him. He closed the door and leaned on the railing next to you.

“You probably hate me.” He chuckled dryly. You frowned at his sudden realization. You grab his hand.

“Yes, you have been a total jerk this past week, but you know I could never hate you.” You said with a small smile.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry, for everything. When I kissed you, I got scared, scared that you didn’t feel the same way. I ignored you because I didn’t want to feel rejection. Not with everything going on with my family anyways.” He expressed with an apologetic tone.

“What about CeCe?” You said quietly, almost inaudible, looking away. He smiled at your jealousy and shook his head.

“Honestly, she’s great, but she’s not the one I want. Not talking to you everyday made me realize something. I don’t know if I could live without you. I tried to replace you with CeCe and well...that didn’t work out at all.” He laughed causing you to laugh and smile as well.

“I broke it off with CeCe, so you know.” He stated seriously after you were done laughing. You turned to him with a smirk.

“What are you implying?” You said teasingly. He smiled wide and tilted your head up with his finger.

“This.” He said simply as he leaned down to kiss you. You kissed him back with passion. You never knew how bad you wanted him until this moment. The world faded away and your problems were shoved to the back of your head.

You pulled away slowly not wanting it to end as soon as it started.

“We need to tell Annie.” You smiled softly at him.

“Ugh. Can’t it wait, I want to spend more time with you.” He said selfishly as he hugged you.

“Hmm nope.” You said getting out of his arms and bopping him on the nose. He looked at you with puppy eyes. ‘This is the boy I love,’ you thought to yourself, smiling happily.

A/N: I hope you guys don’t mind it was kinda long...Sorry! I wanted to stick to the episode and had to throw a few different scenes in there. At first I wasn’t happy with this, but I re-read it and I was more confident. Thanks for reading 🥺❤️🥰

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing (January 10-16, 2021)

Hey everyone!  Here’s your weekly roll-up.  Be sure to give your creators some love!

--Mod LAM

Fanfiction

December on the Outside by @lemontrash​ for @2pcbart

Characters: Duo and Wufei

Pairings: N/A

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags / Warnings: friendship fic, Post-EW, Preventer AU, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Friendship, Local man attempts emotions for sake of best friend, Gift Giving

Summary:  Christmas. Wufei understands the concept, in theory. It’s a Christian festival now mainly about shopping, with some guff about finding the true spirit of family and happiness tacked on. It’s something both sentimental and aspirational, which to Wufei summarises Duo in a nutshell. Duo is famously a people person in the exact way that Wufei is not, and Christmas is very much a people occasion. An occasion that Duo's not getting this year unless Wufei does something about it. Armed with 24 hours and an awful list of suggestions from the Internet, Wufei's on a mission to deliver a last-minute holiday.

Strangers (Ch.15 and 16/16) by @chronicwhimsy​

Characters:  pilots + OC Oliver McGann

Pairings:  Duo x Wufei, background Quatre x Relena, background Heero x Trowa

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings:  long lost twins, pining, post-Endless Waltz

Summary:  In which Duo and Wufei finally use their grown up words, and then do some grown up activities. Followed by an epilogue. 

Without Prompting by @doctormegalomania​ for @antarespromise​

Characters: Trowa, Quatre

Pairings: Trowa x Quatre

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags / Warnings: fluff, post-wars

Summary:  It's been so long since we last saw each other. I wonder, do you think he remembers me?

Just a Thought by @expewrites​ for @lemontrash​

Characters: Duo, Trowa, Wufei

Pairings: Duo x Wufei

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags / Warnings: friendship/love, partners to lovers, developing relationship, reunions, reconciliation, companionable snark, romantic gestures

Summary: They do say it's what counts.But Wufei would like to know just what Duo was thinking, meeting him at the spaceport with a big bouquet of flowers.

Champagne and Cider by @noirangetrois​ for @seitou​

Characters: 5 pilots

Pairings: Heero x Trowa x Quatre

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags / Warnings: crossdressing, MPREG, nonbinary character, fluff, cuteness, happy beginning, happy ending, good natured teasing

Summary:  Heero, Trowa and Quatre have a happy surprise for Duo and Wufei.

Winter Wonders by @lifeaftermeteor​ for @noirangetrois

Characters: Mariemaia, Une

Pairings: N/A

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: family fluff, holiday fluff, domestic fluff, post-canon, post-EW, ice skating, holidays, Christmas

Summary:  Mariemaia and her guardian, Cordelia Une, enjoy a night out in Brussels’ Christmas Market.

Once Upon a Time in Mars by @tziganecaffiends and @zaganthi​

Characters: Wufei, Treize, Sally, Kathy Po, Mariemaia, Une, Zechs

Pairings: Wufei x Treize

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings: major character death, body swap, identity swap, PTSD, memory alteration, grumpy old men

Summary:  He held the device in his hands, turning the helmet over and over again as he thought about it. He had been quite adept at ZERO even before they had modified it. It had never been difficult for him. He could choose so many ways to go, if only he wanted. He already knew what he was going to do, though.

Thin Ice by @seitou​ for @lokineko​

Characters: 5 pilots + Relena, Hilde, Cathy, Iria, Sally

Pairings: N/A

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: trans character, trans Sally, unintentional deadnaming, mostly fluff, let them be children

Summary:  Sally believes there are things everyone should experience at least once.

LAM!verse Snippet by @lifeaftermeteor​

Characters: Trowa, Quatre

Pairings: Trowa x Quatre

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: slice of life, post-canon, post-Endless Waltz

Summary:  This was not the first time Trowa’s next photography excursion had come up during their video calls, but it was the first time Quatre had seriously pressed him about financing the trip. In full this time.

Looking for Yourself Out There by @amberlyinviolet

Characters: Duo, Wufei

Pairings: Duo x Wufei

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: PTSD, guilt, self-recrimination

Summary:  The story teases out of Duo in bits and pieces. He scatters it into conversation over coffee, sprinkles it like salt over dinner. Talks around it in the living room. It’s not that he doesn’t want to tell Wufei, it’s that he doesn’t know if Wufei wants to know.

Stone Soup by @2pcbart for @original-kakabel​

Characters: 5 pilots 

Pairings: N/A

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: fluff, softness, loosely Ep Zero compliant

Summary:  The pilots are stuck spending the new year in a safe house post-Endless Waltz and decide to make it a special night for themselves by cooking some of their favorite dishes from their memories.

Fanart

Cheesy Mistletoe Shenanigans (13x6x11) by @trickzill-art for @simulacraryn

Heero and Duo celebrating the New Year by @manybeary for @duointherain

Hot Mess x 6 x 3 by @lokineko for @2pcbart

Trowa and Quatre by @antarespromise for @expewrites

Trowa and Quatre by @antarespromise for @expewrites

Several by @idrawprettyboys

Duo with his hair down 

Relena Darlian 

Heero Yuy

Heero Yuy (tw: self-harm, cutting)

Duo Maxwell in a kilt

Duo Maxwell 90s fashion

Duo Maxwell (cw: non-explicit masturbation) 

Heero and Zechs

Zechs and Noin

Heero, Trowa, and Apples by @seitou​

Noin on Mars by @theboringbluecrayon​

Trowa Barton by @sabisbastelkiste​

Quatre x Dorothy by @alphaikaros​

Relena Darlian by @alphaikaros​

Trowa and Quatre (WIP) by @keiko1183​

Other Fanwork

Headcanons and Discussions

Duo is the only normal one by @cynthiaandsamus​

GW Critical Analysis by Students, shared by @ikuzeminna​

Other Fun Stuff

Duo and Relena’s first meeting by @incorrectgundamwingquotes​

@incorrectgundamwingquotes​ continues to make us laugh (example)

Calendar Events

Cocktail Fridays with @gwcocktailfriday

Post your response on Fridays between 3-5PM EST

This week’s prompt is over here.

The Holiday Exchange just wrapped up yesterday with @thisweekingundamevents

I’ve tried to catch as many as possible that were posted here, but in case you (or I) missed one, @thisweekingundamevents will be posting a roll-up of all of htem on January 22, so stay tuned!

Month of Heero as advertised by @thisweekingundamevents​ is still going strong. 

The current prompt (Training) wraps up on January 18. The next one (Technology) will run January 19-25.

Valentine’s Event by @thisweekingundamevents​

No formal sign-ups, but be sure to check out the link to vote for this year’s prompts.

Lemony Shenanigans Event hosted by @gwlemonyshenanigans​

Sign ups to participate in the NSFW event run January 6-March 1.

Posting will run May 1-31.

2021 Rhythm Generation Zine with @gundamzine 

Theme will be announced on February 1, 2021

Mods are answering questions from the interest check so be sure to follow the zine account for info and updates!

[bridgyrose]

referring to suns involvement as just being a bit is bs sun was a big part of blakes arc since v1 ( and blacksun had actual buildup since v1 and never got sunk there was never a moment which sunk the blacksun ship the v6 ep 1 goodbye was just that a romantic goodbye we will resume when we meet again ( if bb shippers can ship bb and say it wasnt sunk after separated why not blacksun ) while bb didnt get any hints or buildup that portrayed them as more then friends or hinting at them getting together while blacksun did from the introduction with the slow motion camera focus when sun ran past blake and focusing on their faces with sun winking at blake and which is why if someone were to show that scene with burning the candles scene remove names and genders people would say the blacksun scene was romantic over bb scene which gave no reason to think it was anything more then a friend reaching out to another friend ( heck trying to use wink as evidence is dubious at best) while nothing for bb got hinted at being more then friends you have to do a lot of reaching like going well adam said he would destroy everything blake loved starting with her ( when to be blunt no that is not romantic saying someone loves someone else doesnt equal romantic love ( it includes friends and family who adam also tried to kill ) yang was just there and needed to be given a reason to be separated from yang . ( heck nothing in v6which bb shippers tried to claim was canon after the finale was inherently romantic moment for blake and yang ) if your best argument for bb is its lgbt rep / an f/f pairing first of all good writing is more important then whether a ships rep or not ( bb only has popularity over blacksun the direction change only happened because of popularity and certain people on crew shipping it ) second of all its not like bb was the only possible same sex ship for a member of team rwby there was freezerburn if its focused on two members of team rwby together or a lot of possibilities if you remove that restriction people saying bb was forced isnt misogyny its fact bb had no buildup from v1-v6 while blacksun did many would not have a problem with bb if they didnt buildup blacksun for so long calling bb forced isnt homophobia or bigotry ( seriously claiming misogyny for saying bb is forced is a new stupid take an example of insulting people over criticism ( the argument isnt about same sex ship vs het ship its good writing over bad writing and good writing is more important then the genders involved in a pairing if you ship a pairing just because of genders involved its a shallow reason

This is going to be a long post, so... everything will be under the cut.

You know what, I originally wasnt going to answer this, but I'm going to humor you since your whole ask is just.... amusing to me to read. First, I'm not sure why you're sending this to me. I'm a multishipper at heart and Bmblby isnt exactly a ship I like to ship, just happy to see that something is going to be canon in RWBY (and complain all you like, BB will become canon. There is and has been too much build up for it.) Secondly, I think you need to re organize your thoughts because I have a lot of issues with this ask. We'll take this part "which is why if someone were to show that scene with burning the candles scene remove names and genders people would say the blacksun scene was romantic over bb scene which gave no reason to think it was anything more then a friend reaching out to another friend" which honestly, I'm not sure what you're trying to say. What it sounds like you're trying to say is that if you remove names and gender of Blake and Yang and replaced them with anything else, then it would be just as romantic. Which is the point of that scene. It's meant to be taken romantically. A good romance scene is one that you can replace anyone from, put other characters, and still have it give that same vibe. Which it does. So I'm going to start tracking score here and set point 0 for anon and point 1 for... whatever it is you're trying to prove.

This next point throws me off though: "heck trying to use wink as evidence is dubious at best" because, you say, and I quote "while blacksun did from the introduction with the slow motion camera focus when sun ran past blake and focusing on their faces with sun winking at blake" which means somewhere along the line, which means you're already contradicting yourself. So, now the score is anon 0/ 2 for whatever it is you're trying to argue against.

Now, as far as Adam goes, you quote "you have to do a lot of reaching like going well adam said he would destroy everything blake loved starting with her ( when to be blunt no that is not romantic saying someone loves someone else doesnt equal romantic love ( it includes friends and family who adam also tried to kill ) yang was just there and needed to be given a reason to be separated from yang" I do have one solid question for you: why do you think there needed to be a reason for Yang and Blake to be separated? And if this was meant to not be romantic, then why even bother with Yang if she was just there? Because, I'll be honest, I think there's one part of that whole episode you missed:

This, is not the face you make if its just a friend that comes around to find you when your crazy ex is trying to hurt you. The only reason that Adam continues to say "starting with her" is because he recognized the sheer fear that Blake had that someone she cared about was going to get hurt. The only other parallel we have to that is Adam's line about Sun asking why Blake keeps having her friends fight for her. He didnt care about Sun as much as he did about Yang at that point. So, 0 for anon/ 3 for whatever it is you're against.

Now, lastly, you say that all you care about is good writing for the ships and that BB is not good writing. And while BS had some build up, where it officially died is Vol 4, not 6. Vol 4 and 5 reiterated over and over that Yang and Blake had been thinking about each other. Also, there's the fact that our reintroduction to Sun in vol 4 was basically him acting like a creepy stalker which anyone can admit is poor writing to have him and Blake get together after that. So... final tally is 0/4 meaning you, anon, lose.

And while I do agree that there is opportunity for other f/f ships between team rwby, me being a hardcore ladybug shipper, even I can see where the build up has come in between Blake and Yang. Contrary to your belief, it didnt come out of no where, you just ignored everything in favor for Sun. Blake is bisexual, there's no way around that. She can have feelings for both guys and girls. I have no doubt that she had a slight crush on Sun during the Beacon arc, but ultimately, she still had feelings for Yang too. You dont just seek someone out during initiation off a whim. You dont just say your first dance is already spoken for with another girl if you're planning on going with a guy. That coupled with the look of terror when she heard Yang just before Adam threatened her and then laying next to her and holding her hand after the fact isnt something you do as just friends

TL;DR: I dont ship bb, but I can see exactly where the build up has been. And since vol 1, bb has not only had fantastic, slowburn writing, its one of those relationships that is evolving from just friends to more than friends as each volume goes on. I'm sorry you're too blind to see it, but if even a ladybug shipper can see where bb is going, then I think you need a bit more help than just having everything explained to you.

and ps...

if you send another ask like this again

have someone proofread it to make sure you're not contradicting yourself. That's embarrassing on your part anon.