#shannon ill give you a point for this one.

[camelspit]

alright I know I talk shit about stellarlune quite a bit, but one thing I unironically liked was the ending bit with the dagger. not only did keefe try to stab his mom with it, but fitz trusted keefe's plan enough to steal it from sophie and give it to him. fitz checked on keefe telepathically first, before anyone else. he was the one who payed attention and offered him help, instead of acting like it was a shitty plan. something something he understands keefes urge to try to end it. he knows what it feels like. he watched alvar (almost) drown in that tank and did nothing. he put aside all their recent drama with sophie to help his friend with something only he can truly understand. this is like. the first time in a while that they've acted like actual best friends. agh.

[littlespoonevan]

Hey idk if you are aware of this, but there is an Eddie/buddie fic from a few years ago called Eddie Diaz vs The Feelings and it’s about Eddie figuring out romantic love and demisexuality and that he’s in love with Buck. It’s kind of weird that you are calling your fic basically the same thing when it’s such a similar idea? Did you talk to the author or think about plagiarizing it because I know some people don’t care about ripping off other people’s fanfic but it’s pretty not cool to do that to anyone

First of all, anon, no. I wasn’t aware of that.

Second of all, it is incredibly rude to automatically assume ill intention when the fic concept I’ve written is?????? Something many, many authors have written before and will continue to write????? There are multiple fics exploring Eddie’s relationship with romantic love, multiple fics exploring Eddie being demisexual, and literally thousands of fics where Eddie realises he’s in love with Buck. As mentioned in the author’s notes this idea is something I’ve thought about since 5x09 and only finally decided to write it now because of the events of season 7. Eddie being demi is also something that is only examined in one scene, the main focus is his grieving Shannon and examining what their relationship was so he can move forward. Further to that, the fic is not called Eddie vs Romance. The series is. Because that was the shorthand name I was using when talking about the fic on tumblr. (Which if you’re following me, I don’t know why you wouldn’t have pointed that out weeks ago)

I’ve looked up the fic and I have it bookmarked which makes sense because I adore that author’s work and their interpretation of Buck and Eddie. But given that it’s 2 and a half years old I’m sorry I didn’t remember the fic title, I don’t generally remember any fic titles. But any similarity is purely coincidental. I’ve had people use the same fic title as me before, it happens sometimes when we’re all writing similar tropes/listening to similar songs.

You could’ve messaged me privately or even just said ‘hey a quick heads up, there’s a fic with a similar name to yours that already exists.’ but instead you immediately jumped to plagiarism and while I understand wanting to defend an author, I’m extremely offended by the way you’ve gone about it. I’ve been writing fic for 12 years. I literally reblogged a post the other day about giving credit/asking permission when lifting from other people’s headcanons. I would never, ever intentionally take anything from someone else’s story and try to claim it as my own and I can’t believe you think I would.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Ok so I’m gonna go easy on TWATYTK and the BuddieShannon fic since we just got updates ⚡️⚡️⚡️🔼🔼🔼

But!!!! OMG can’t wait for the continuation of the Buddie scene in zombie fic so 😅!! 🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟🧟

AND CRANBERRY MY BELOVED 🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮🦮

Girl dad Buck is starting to grow on me 🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞

Aaaaand some horny Eddie as a ✨treat✨ 💪💪💪💪💪 😉

Thank you! (epicbuddieficrecs)

BEE! How did I forget this blog was you.

Ah hell yeah I love this.

9 for ⚡️:

---

Regardless, once they all get the email detailing the new coverage - in the middle of a shift in February - it’s sort of hard not to think about it in regards to them.

“This is ridiculous,” Hen grumbles, sipping her coffee and reading the email. “Why couldn’t this have happened while we were paying for IVF?”

“I thought Karen’s benefits paid for most of that?” Chim asks.

“Well, they did. But still. It’s the principle.”

Fair enough.

---

9 for 🔼:

---

“I think that’s reason enough to do it,” Shannon says, before thinking better of it.

“What?” Eddie asks, an amused tint to his voice. 

“Come on. We both agreed we’d never be hard on him the way they were hard on you,” Shannon says.

“Oh, I know.” 

“So if Ramon is anti-therapy, I say we send Chris,” Shannon says. “At least then he’ll never feel like we weren’t willing.”

“That’s a very good point.”

---

30 for 🧟:

---

“She’s alive,” Buck reminds him. “She’s alive and she’s here. You can take her to see Chris again. Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”

Well, yes. That is true. 

“This isn’t how I wanted her to find out about me,” Eddie admits quietly. 

Buck gives him a sympathetic look. 

“I’m sorry. Kind of ripped the bandaid though, huh?”

“No kidding,” Eddie grumbles. He sighs. “You know the other one?” 

“My ex,” Buck says. “And the librarian back in Sunport. Or she was…”

Jesus Chris. What are the chances?

“This is a weird fucking day,” Eddie exhales. 

“Yep. Now come on,” Buck says. “We’ve gotta get dressed. I fully believe that woman will come back to shoot us."

▪️▪️▪️

It’s somehow just as awkward when Eddie and Buck leave the bedroom, clothed. He’s never done a walk of shame, per se, but if he had, he bets it would feel like this. Which is strange. Because he’s not actually ashamed of what they did. Or who he did it with. Being with Buck felt right. Really good and right. 

---

30 for 🦮:

---

"Not the doctors’. Just random, horrible luck.”

Buck nods. Of course it’s not their fault Daniel died. It sounds like they really did try to save him. But parents only have so much power when it comes to forces of nature, like illness. 

“I think it just fucked them up,” Eddie says. “I think it would fuck any parent up, honestly. I mean, think of all Bobby went through.”

Buck feels a twinge of guilt for saying they didn’t care if he died. He can see how that would have been salt in a never-healing wound. 

“But it’s their fault for letting that hurt you, too,” Eddie says. “They let it hurt you and continue to hurt you and that’s the problem here.”

Buck twists a little in bed to look at him. He wants Eddie to continue. Tell Buck how to feel. He trusts him. He’ll feel it. 

“I know I made mistakes after Shannon left and after she died,” Eddie says. “I let my pain dictate the choices I made. I know that.”

“Not for three decades,” Buck points out.

“No,” Eddie concedes. “But the point is, I’m sure I did things that weren’t best for Chris in the moment. But I tried. I tried like hell to do right by him. Even when it made it harder for me.”

“They did the opposite,” Buck follows.

Eddie nods. “I think they used their pain as a reason not to try.”

---

15 for 🪞:

---

“Mhm,” Buck confirms. “But we gotta ask, though. Look, he’s coming down the stairs.”

Bobby walks down towards them. Buck sets Dove back on the ground. 

“That’s my captain, Bobby.” He tells her. “Should we ask?”

Dove wipes her eyes and nods. 

“Okay, let’s do it,” Buck says. He takes her hand and walks her towards Bobby. 

“You must be Dove,” Bobby says to her, warm smile on his face. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” she says, in a very tiny voice. Lacking her newfound confidence.

---

15 for 💪:

---

“I don’t know what you mean,” he says. Full of faux-innocence. He takes a step towards Eddie. “I’m just trying to make conversation.”

“Not sure I’m in the mood to talk,” Eddie replies. His voice is tighter than expected. 

“Oh?” Buck presses. “And what mood are you in?”

Buck is the most infuriating man alive. Eddie is never going on a date with him. He will date any other guy in Los Angeles. They’d all be better behaved. 

“I…” Eddie rasps. “You’re being very bad right now.”

[missmagooglie]

Thinking about Buck and Eddie's relationship history, and it is making me insane because of how many parallels there are, particularly around what went wrong:

Pre-Canon Shannon and Abby: She made a unilateral decision to leave because she was under stress from her mother's terminal illness. The end of that relationship was a catalyst for intense personal growth for him, causing him to carefully examine his priorities and what he wants from life (Eddie working to become a good father, "Buck 2.0").

S2 Shannon and Ali: The relationship is colored by absence and estrangement (Eddie and Shannon's separation, Ali's job keeping her and Buck in different cities for most of their relationship). She ended it because she couldn't handle the pressure of being in a relationship with him (for the purposes of this parallel, I am considering Shannon asking for a divorce to be the end of that relationship rather than her death). The end of relationship is entangled with a deeply traumatic event (Shannon dying, the truck bombing), and marks the beginning of a low period full of anger, frustration, and resentment for both Buck and Eddie.

Ana and Taylor: Someone he knew casually/briefly a while ago re-enters his life, and he chooses to pursue a romantic connection. They aren't a good fit, but he tries to make it work for longer than he should because of the way his sense of self is caught up in the idea of being able to maintain a "successful" relationship. Both people in the relationship seem caught up in the idea of "making it work" rather than honestly evaluating if they are a good fit. He chooses to end the relationship despite her willingness to hang on and keep trying.

Natalia and Marisol: it feels too early to parallel these relationships because technically, Eddie and Marisol are not dating by the end of S6 (he asked her out, but they haven't gone on a date yet). I also think that between the network change and the strike, there's a strong possibility of one or both of these relationships concluding off-screen over the break to give the writers a clean slate for S7. But I WILL point out that, despite Eddie outright stating that dating people you meet on calls never works, both Natalia and Marisol were people they met on a call. 🤔

And on top of all these parallels, we have the timing and a very clear pattern for how romantic relationships start for Buck and Eddie. The pattern goes like this: Eddie gets into a situation where there is some sort of external (real or perceived) expectation that he pursue a particular relationship. In the very next episode, Buck decides independently that he's ready to be in a relationship and begins pursuing romance with a convenient partner.

Of course, our season 6 version of this pattern had a fun double-reverse twist to it, because while Eddie is pressured to go on a date right before Buck meets Natalia and basically throws himself at her, Eddie is adamantly not ready/looking for a relationship until Buck connects with Natalia. It's only after Buck starts pursuing a relationship that Eddie decides actually, you know what, he does want to meet someone and proceeds with the most cringefail looking-for-a-date montage of all time.

Anyway, I love these two idiots and can't wait for them to get their act together and date each other. But also, I am endlessly fascinated by the writing choices for these two characters.

[batbeato]

The more I think about ikuko and tohya the more frustrated I get. The implications of tohya's living situation is so dark but it feels like (to me as someone who only read the vn and none of the side content) ryukishi didn't really consider those implications. I understand we only met tohya at the very end, so there wasn't very much time to explore his character and how the decades post massacre has affected him, but it still bugs me.

I often joke that umineko would be peak media if tohya was trans (and ikuko didnt pick him up to be her roommate/pet but thats not the point i will be focusing on since thats removing an aspect of the story rather than adding onto it). I understand why some are against this idea, battler is shown behaving in ways that are seen as stereotypically feminine (like his crying) and making tohya trans might come across as saying because of battlers behaviour he can't be a man. But to me personally, battler and tohya are distinctly different people, so tohya being trans isn't a statement about battler's manhood.

(Also trans tohya doesn't need to be trans fem, tho I did lean on that idea initially, I have been in recent times thinking of a more masc enby tohya)

This is completely my own lil au idea that is very self indulgent so ill try to keep it brief but:

The concept of this freshly traumatised 18 being forced to build a life for themselves with no family or support, finding people who care for them and then also maybe discovering something about themselves along the way is incredibly compelling to me. I just like the idea of showcasing what it would be like to separate oneself from one's family to living as ones authentic self and the pain and new trauma that comes with leaving one's family.

I also like this idea for tohya because it would have shown that sayo wasn't doomed, that someone like her could have lived, not easily, but she could have. It would have shown that sayo's tragedy was a preventable one (I know lion already exists but I feel like their existence makes it seem like sayo could have only found happiness within the family and I feel like this idea could have shown that she could have also found happiness outside of it too. I also just adore the idea of having tohya and sayo mirroring each other).

Since ikuko isn't a part of my lil au concept when ange meets featherine she'd be meeting tohya, but wouldn't reconise them as battler in a similar way to how battler doesn't reconise kanon amd shannon as the same person, the parallels!!

Again this idea is very tailored to me and me specifically so I understand if this au idea isn't anyone else's cup of tea.

I just wish that since ryukishi had ikuko taking tohya in that he would have explored the darker implications of that (since i feel like battler's dissappearance post massacre is a mystery in itself, but the answer of that mystery only has its pieces fit together because they needed too (how did battler/ tohya find time and resources to write and publish the forgeries? Idk he had a rich benefactor) with no care for the implications of the whole thing) unfortunately as far as I know ryukishi didn't have any interest in exploring these matters, so I'm glad that other people have taken these ideas into their hands and explored them.

Ultimately its not something I hold against umineko too hard and I hope I didn't sound too negative in all this, but it's something I always come back to. Oh well it just gives me ideas on how to explore such topics in my own stories.

Hopefully this is coherent, I tend to be rather terrible at explaining my thoughts, sorry for ranting in your inbox. Feel free to ignore this if its too much.

Hmm, I see what you mean about trans Tohya. ...I feel like there's some latent exorsexism in the queer community that the base assumption of "trans character" is "transitioning to the 'opposite' gender they were born as" such that you have to clarify. I haven't really thought about trans Tohya but it could be interesting, fun way to take the text that heaps on even more Tohya-Sayo parallels like you mention. Also the "leaves the family, explores identity, comes out as trans" narrative is fun and, like you said, would definitively showcase how Sayo could have lived.

(Also, I agree with you that Tohya's gender doesn't have to correlate to Battler's at all. People's identities can change greatly after incredibly traumatic events, let alone amnesia on top of that.)

I think the general problem of Tohya is that while I love him and you can infer a lot about Tohya if you stare closely enough at the works he wrote, we also just don't see him enough, and he also isn't foreshadowed enough. Yes, you can guess that he's going to be a thing, especially if you're savvy and know about the Divine Comedy (Dante writing about the past from the future). But even when Ikuko as "Hachijo Tohya" first appears, and Featherine appears, there isn't really any foreshadowing about Tohya.

Even if Ryukishi had gone ahead and made Tohya trans, if he kept Tohya to the surprise end twist, it would still feel like it needed a lot of fleshing-out the way Ikuko and Tohya do now. So making Tohya trans would add a lot, but it's also only a fix if Tohya is actually given the spotlight for it? Like, properly putting in hints about his existence with Featherine/Hachijo's appearances. Maybe in this AU, Hachijo is Tohya with a wig and some vocal training, so Ange notices some odd looks from Hachijo, or maybe Hachijo's voice sounds vaguely familiar like she had heard it long ago, etc. etc.

Ikuko and Tohya, on paper, have the most fucked up relationship. They are also the only confirmed human characters to form a witch-character as a combination of two people, which seems relatively unexplored with Featherine excepting the tidbit about her memory device perhaps relating to Tohya's own memory issues. And yet, they don't really get explored, and the potentially-toxic elements to their relationship don't ever get explored. Yukari doesn't even ask about them, instead asking Tohya why he didn't want to see her, instead of why this much older woman didn't, say, inform the authorities of a missing person.

Oh, and this isn't discussed as often, but Tohya is canonically disabled (wheelchair user), and is, as far as I'm aware, the only visibly disabled character in Umineko, or at least the only one with any prominence. It's... sort of implied that Tohya can't walk, but really I think you're just supposed to assume this because he's in a wheelchair? He also never wheels himself around, instead relying entirely on Ikuko. Which, yes, some wheelchair users are not able to walk/stand, and some do not have arm strength to be able to move themselves around. But the assumptions the text asks you to make, the deliberate contrast it makes between Battler standing and Tohya sitting, come off a bit odd given that it never explicitly confirms the extent of Tohya's disability. The reader is meant to assume "in wheelchair = cannot walk/stand or move himself around", I guess.

...Sorry, tangent. Point is, Tohya and Ikuko seem very surface-level and maybe even half-baked in some respects. It's this thing Ryukishi does sometimes, especially with his commissioned works, where he clearly has a lot of things and cool concepts for a story/character, but just doesn't have the time to fit it all in, and instead implies it.

I think this is one of Umineko's big flaws, because it could have had the space to do a lot more with Tohya and Ikuko. But, perhaps Ryukishi hadn't settled on precisely what was going on with Battler's survival when working on earlier episodes, or he thought he would put it into later episodes and then ran out of time, etc. In the end, they just ended up with Ikuko being mostly author-insert and Tohya not really having his own voice, which lends well to a lot of fun speculation and fleshing-out as well as to the potentially abusive nature of their relationship, but not as well to the text having actually fleshed them out beyond interpreting their forgeries as Tohya's internal struggles somehow... which can be very subjective.

For me Umineko is peak media anyway. I used to be a Fate fan. At this point I can survive any number of bullshit writing decisions so long as the concepts are insanely cool enough that I can gnaw on them for a few years, with good enough characters/story that there's some flesh to keep me actually fed. But it would be interesting to see a Tohya that doesn't exist in Ikuko's shadow, or that has more room to exist in the story at all. Whether with your idea of trans Tohya or something else.

(Ryukishi please give us Umineko GouSotsu I promise you no amount of obtuse/clumsy writing or reused animation will keep us from loving it. Please revisit Umineko please give us more did you know I think about Umineko scrapped content and Ikuko/Tohya toxicity every day plea -)

[hippolotamus]

Thanks for the tag @spotsandsocks 💖

More from the Bridgerton AU. Directly follows this snippet (some things might look familiar since I shifted some words around).

“Surely you can’t count Sophia like that? She’s happily married with her second child on the way.” He reaches for a slice of lemon cake from the silver tray set between them. It’s Christopher’s favorite. Eddie doesn’t like to keep many overly sweet things in their kitchen, but he does always swipe a little something when he’s forced to visit the family home.

“Right,” he continues when no one answers. “So, other than being invited under the ruse of tea and good company, what is this about?”

With the tea finally set out, Sophia takes her place on a sofa closest to Eddie and Adri, opposite their mother.

“Have you received your invitation to the Grant-Nash ball?” Helena asks, as though wondering if he’s seen the latest opera.

“Have I- really? You wanted me here to find out whether I got an invitation to the first ball of the season? This could have been a correspondence. A note. A meeting between staff.”

Even with all he knows of his mother’s meddling, her questioning him face to face seems a bit of a stretch, only serving to set him further on edge.

“You would have ignored it. You often do. Am I wrong?”

She does have a point.

“Mother, why don’t we skip the games and roundabout talk? Just tell me which ladies you have in mind for me to marry, and will make the perfect wife and maternal figure, so I may avoid them and choose anyone else.”

“Edmundo, if your father—“

“Don’t,” he warns. “Do not even think of bringing him into this. Do not pretend either of you cared for Shannon or that you never blamed her for Christopher’s illness. For any problems she and I had, she was still my wife, and mother to my son. My beautiful, brilliant, perfect son. Christopher and I are thriving despite whatever you may think. Am I clear?”

Helena visibly stiffens on her cushion, taking a lengthy sip from her tea before she answers. “Yes, Edmundo. Quite. The fact remains that you and that—”

“Carla,” he interjects.

“Carla, of course. That you and her are not enough for your son’s proper upbringing. This will not go away and you will find a match this season. Now, am I clear?”

“Crystal,” Eddie grits out between clenched teeth, standing so quickly he feels dizzy from it. Still he manages to give each of his sisters a kiss goodbye and take the slice of cake. “Good day, Sophia. Adri.” After a moment he bows his head and curtly adds “Mother.”

No pressure tagging @shortsighted-owl @alyxmastershipper @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @buddierights @911onabc @littlebitofdiaz @monsterrae1 @jesuisici33 @heartbeatdiaz @chaosandwolves @rose-buddie @the-likesofus if you wanna 😘💖🥰

[whenthechickencry]

Umineko EP7. Replay Tea Party and ???

Lion and Ange discuss the situation a bit and eventually figure out they are from different worlds and Lion kind of explains, Ange realizes some witch is fucking with her yet again and she sounds extremely tired of all this bullshit. Yeah.... you totally have.

Lion convinces themselves that the reason they are there is to teach Ange about the truth, Ange starts asking about the Game Master but obviously, there's no author for this tale.... Words Eva will probably regret for the rest of her life, aaa.... The fact they discussed how to split the gold if found is unfortunate too, since that means they had more incentive to work together....

Everytime George and Shannon talk about the future with children and what not Shannon always just gives this... extreme like. yeah that would be cool hahah but... vibe. And George doesn't seem interested about following up on that. I hate you Battler I hate you.

Shannon's words hitting like a stab in the back haha.... I mean she wishes that were true. Would have been fully true if Battler came back just a year later....

Everyone finds the gold and gets blinded by it, they look so giddy and happy about how all their problems will be fixed. Lion believes in the miracle but Ange knows stuff is going to happen. She sounds so dead inside and ready to die here.... really drives the point home this whole plan was more the last stand of a suicidal person with a bomb more than anything else....

"We wouldn't be surprised if Dad just wanted to blow us up, yeah."

The solution to Battler being very confused about the epitaph meaning nothing and yet everything to Beatrice... Once the epitaph is solved Sayo kills Beatrice and any hope of being understood with her.

The family starts arguing with each other about the gold... Eva starts arguing the money should be split evenly, Krauss argues back.... it's so stupid to argue this. Any split in the money amount would make them richer than they ever thought possible. But if you told a bunch of people who hate and don't trust each other that they should split the money evenly and give them a bunch of guns this isn't really a farfetched result.... "This tale is clearly filled with ill will towards us." Hahahah I wish that were the case Lion...

The murder doesn't really start as an intentional murder between siblings... they start getting physical in their fight and when there are guns around it's really easy for the fight to escalate, and once Natsuhi and Krauss are dead... Rudolf and Rosa don't really gaf that Natsuhi and Krauss are deadm they are just giddy about being able to use it against Eva, Rosa pushes on blackmailing Eva and Kyrie starts deciding that leaving anyone alive is a liability, which, she isn't really wrong at this point... if more than one person survived I'm sure things would end up extremely fucked up at this point, anyways.

Kyrie and Rudolf realized right away after Natsuhi died the only way for this to end was by killing everyone. They were the only ones who had the mindset to think this through like this, but I don't think there was any other way for it to end than with a bunch of deaths even if Kyrie and Rudolf didn't think about it. The particular desensitization to violence Kyrie has due to having Yakuza background was indeed it ended in *this* massacre specifically but I have no doubt a scuffle would have happened after finding the gold either way. Blaming Kyrie for being especially evil and especially bad is a little pointless, the feuds and animosity run deeper than her. I have always assumed the point of bringing up the test here is hinting at Kyrie being especially involved in Episode 4 - that episode is the one filled with the most blind spots on how everything was going on, other than the general gist of everyone being on it to some extent. This is really weird, but it's not like your uncle would call you out to murder you, is it? Jessica probably thinks this is weird too, since I imagine she at least suspects of Kinzo, but again, even if they don't believe the story told it's not like their minds would jump to murder.

It makes sense when you think about how Eva was missed, she was already alerted of the danger and was probably moving a lot when the shooting happened. There was already so much blood in the room it'd be hard to tell who exactly was shot. They constantly mention how Rudolf's gun shoots low, which explains how both Eva and Sayo were missed. Ange can handle this because she thinks it's just a game, so she's just disgusted by it.

I am going to cry, god damn it, Ange....

Rudolf is saying it in a much more mocking and insincere tone, of course, but he's also saying what Sayo thought to some extent.... if everyone died then she would be forever close with Jessica and George and Battler, and she wouldn't have had to deal with disappointing them, she wouldn't have had to deal with them finding out about her body, about being cousins. She gets to rewrite harsh reality with the Golden Land and everyone is happier that way, it was all just a fantasy that no one would know about a day later. Also, this scene actually makes me feel really bad about George...

The reminder Rudolf is like this because he's already used to using dirty tactics that ruin others for their benefit, and that he's like this in the first place because that's how he got away from Rudolf and Eva's abuse when he was younger is an interesting way to remind us that Rudolf isn't just evil because he's evil, the very environment they all grew up in was evil. "I regret dragging you back into the family..." haha....

Rudolf thinks to himself about how Eva is dumb and going to fall for his tricks and get shot in the head, Eva goes to sob about George's death.... we move to Kyrie and the fact that reality is the one game where Maria can have a really gruesome death makes me sad.... I guess it's not much better than strangulation in ep3, but, it's certainly implied here she was stabbed to death. I can't imagine that Kyrie isn't self-demonizing for Ange's sake here, she isn't stupid, she knows chances are she will die here. If Ange goes back to the Sumadera family she's probably going to be in a bad spot, and her best bet is to have Eva take care of her and the only way that's going to happen is if she deletes the Ange Kyrie relation from her brain. I can't imagine she'd just rattle all this backstory for no reason otherwise.

She even starts grinning once she realizes it worked.

Fuck, Ange....

Ange disappears, being unable to handle the truth and Lion starts arguing with Bernkasteal about how she's Clair's hope and she argues back by showing them Kyrie killing them... We then flashback to all the truths that were hidden by the funeral otherwise. Sayo's cries here are so awful... she's forced to confront she will never have a proper body, and how all her dreams are destroyed, those cries are so hard to hear. It's not hard to think about why Bernkastel hates those that try to hide reality with illusions, consider that's what Takano was also doing in order to keep her grandfather's dreams alive...

Don't give up on being Sayo's one hope, as she has already given up on her own hope entirely....

Will will never stop believing that a happy ending was possible for Beatrice, while also understanding her heart. It's easy for people to say oh why didn't they just do this, they would have been happy. But the reality is a lot harsher, and her struggles weren't that easy. Will believes that her reality is harsh while ALSO thinking there is hope for her.

Featherine starts bragging about how Bernkastel is never going to be free from her.

Bernkastel and Lambdadelta guarantee that she won't give a happy ending, and at the same time Battler is opening the book in order to guarantee Ange's happy ending.

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 1/25

Happy Lunar New Year, Fantom Fam! 

Saga #61 -  Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Y’all know what this is. 

This picks up right after Volume 10, so a perfect time to pick up the series on a monthly basis!

Polar Bear Café Collector’s Edition GN Vol 1 -  Aloha Higa

Polar Bear has a penchant for puns and runs a serene café frequented by humans and animals alike. Regulars include a panda who has a part-time job being a panda at the local zoo, his keeper (who has a crush on the café's waitress), and a pretentious penguin. Join the colorful clientele through the seasons in this comforting and humorous manga about daily specials, romantic complications, and quirky workplaces, a tale that inspired a 50-episode anime adaptation. This 4-volume edition of the complete manga series, in English for the first time, will include bonus color content!

Night Walkers #1 (of 5) -  Cullen Bunn, Joe Bocardo, & Colin Johnson 

Seren is an addict in recovery at a rehabilitation center secluded in the mountains, COMPLETELY ISOLATED from the outside world. When Seren and the other patients wake to find themselves locked inside and abandoned by the center's staff, they must decide whether to wait or break out. The decision is made for them when a blood thirsty monster enters the center, and begins to tear through them to satiate its lust for blood. In a collaboration with Hustle & Heart Films and Vertigo Entertainment (IT, DOCTOR SLEEP), Source Point Press is proud to bring you Cullen Bunn's Night Walkers, a new comic book series with a terrifying, fresh take on a timeless horror sub-genre.

Grim TP Vol 1 -  Stephanie Phillips & Flaviano

Jessica Harrow's untimely death is a mystery... but her journey as one of many Reapers in the afterlife has only begun! Join Jessica as she discovers the secrets of the beyond, and finds out what happened to the Grim Reaper himself! Acclaimed writer Stephanie Phillips (Harley Quinn) and fan-favorite artist Flaviano (New Mutants) present the first collection of this widely sold-out smash hit that fans haven't been able to get enough of-a bold new vision of what comes after, and the nature of death itself!

Archie Vs The World One-Shot -  Aubrey Sitterson & Jed Dougherty

In a post-apocalyptic future, our hero Archie Andrews is cursed to walk the world alone-well, alone with his souped-up jalopy. But Archie can defend himself-in fact, he's the master of a brutal, deadly form of martial arts and must use his skills when he comes face-to-face with his rival and evil mirror image, Reggie. This action-packed one-shot is equal parts Mad Max: Fury Road and The Fist of the North Star, and reunites the Jughead the Burgarian team from 2022's smash-hit comic THE BEST ARCHIE COMIC EVER!

The Music Box: Welcome To Pandorient GN Vol 1 -  Carbone & Gije

When Nola turns eight, her father gives her a wonderful present-a music box that belonged to her late mother. As the young girl studies her new gift, she is shocked to find someone living inside it! That's when Nola shrinks down and enters the music box too. There she discovers the magical world of Pandorient and a pair of siblings named Andrea and Igor. But time is short: Andrea and Igor's mother, Mathilda, has fallen seriously ill. What's wrong with her? Could she have been poisoned? Find out in the first volume of this enchanting graphic novel series that will leave fantasy fans spellbound.

Green Hornet: One Night In Bangkok One-Shot -  Shannon Denton, Jethro Morales & Dan Panosian

The Green Hornet returns in the all-new epic "One Night in Bangkok"! The son of a criminal the Green Hornet once sent to prison has grown up vowing vengeance on the costumed crime-fighter - and with the training of the world's foremost assassin, the man now known only as Snake will at last have his revenge! Descending on Century City, Snake sets out on a bloody campaign to decimate the criminal population - all in the name of the Green Hornet. It's up to the Green Hornet to leap into action, salvage his reputation, and confront Snake before more lives are lost. 

Bulls Of Beacon Hill #1 -  Steve Orlando & Andy MacDonald

Doctor Christopher Boldt has everything he ever wanted: A successful career as a surgeon, a supportive and loving boyfriend, and an overload of hype on his rumored run for Boston City Council. But there's one problem - it's all held up by a lie. For years, Chris has been hiding in plain sight, desperate not to be connected to his father, Orin Paige, one of Boston's most notorious gangsters. Until now, Chris has been able to live with the secret. And Chris's father has been just as happy to deny any connection to his queer son, who he sees as a liability in the mob world. Now, Chris's political aspirations have put father and son on a collision course. A collision course bathed in blood.

From Eisner and GLAAD Award-Nominated writer Steve Orlando (Extreme Carnage, Midnighter, Darkhold, KILL A MAN) and artist Andy MacDonald (Rogue Planet, Loki, MY DATE WITH MONSTERS, I BREATHED A BODY), comes BULLS OF BEACON HILL, a story of family secrets and violent retribution.

Darkwing Duck #1 -  Amanda Deibert, Carlo Lauro & David Nakayama

He is the terror that flaps in the night...He is the ferocious fowl who plucks the evil eye from the face of foul play...He is Darkwing Duck! Alongside his trusty sidekick Lauchpad McQuack, Darkwing hyper-vigilantly defends St. Canard from the dastardly, devilish demons who would wage wanton war! By night, our caped defender lurks in the shadows, striking fear (and maybe confusion?) in the heart of the criminal underworld...but by day, no one suspects that Darkwing is also mild-mannered Drake Mallard, a well-meaning father to his adorable adopted daughter, Gosalyn! Can Darkwing successfully navigate his two separate lives, all while looking incredibly cool and impossibly handsome? (Hint: Probably not, but...) You'll have to read to find out!

Dragon Age: The Missing #1 (of 4) -  George Mann, Kieron McKeown & Matthew Taylor

A new story leading directly into BioWare's upcoming game Dragon Age: Dreadwolf! Varric Tethras and Lace Harding descend into the abandoned Deep Roads beneath Marnas Pell in pursuit of a former friend. But the corruption of the blight has infected the walls, and the threat of darkspawn looms heavy in the air . . .

Season Of The Bruja GN Vol 1 -  Aaron Duran & Sara Soler

Season of the Bruja follows a young woman as she comes into her magical abilities and faces reemergent threats from the past.

From a young age, Althalia knew she would someday be the last of her kind-a bruja, tasked with keeping the power and stories of the ancient ways from fading fully into history. Never alone, Althalia works in a paranormal museum with her friends, a real-life Chupacabra and a were-coyote, while living with and caring for her beloved abuela. Through these powerful connections, her skills and knowledge grow.

But the prejudice her people have always faced continues, and after a seemingly random encounter with a priest, Althalia feels the weight of hundreds of years of religious oppression coming down upon her and her abuela. She must realize her destiny and grow into it quickly if she is to prevent the church from achieving its ultimate goal-destroying the last bruja.

Whatcha scooping up this week, Fantom Fam?

[leagueofleaguesff]

Johnny🥃Taurean

Shannon: Let me welcome everyone to Club Shay Shay League of Leagues Recap edition. Hope you all.enjoyed the NFL Smackdown pre-show recaps. Without further a do, let's welcome our guest...the ever popular Katt Williams *gives a golf clap as Katt walks in*

Katt:

Shannon: *Sniffs the air* Damn Katt you got that ganja! Let me partake.

Shannon:

<Shannon grabs a box of blunts from behind the couch and lights one up>

<Shannon & Katt dap up and have a seat>

Shannon: How you doing playa?

Katt: *takes a hit* Quite well Shannon how are you? Got your only fans page up yet?

Shannon:

Shannon: HEY. *gives disapproved look at Katt* We ain't going there aite?

<Katt takes a sip of the Le Portier & glances>

Shannon: *disheveled* You ready? Let's get into these recaps. We are first covering the ILL-FL NFL app League. The commish is Taurean. Can someone put up the first scorecard?

Shannon: Alright he we go. First up we see fellow commish Johnny versus Taurean.

<Katt begins to suddenly & miraculously bring out a box of wings from his jacket pocket>

Shannon:

Shannon: How da hell and where da hell *looks around stupefied*

Katt: (click video for Katts response)⬇️⬇️⬇️

Shannon: *Points at the wings jokingly* May i have some?

Katt: Hell yea *licking fingers*

Shannon:

Shannon: I'm sorry we totally got off track. Let me give a congratulations to Taurean *stuffs mouth with wings* Lets skip ahead to the next recap (mumbles mouthful)

Scroll onto the next ILL-FL recap below⬇️

[livecharliereaction]

manga ep2 big post part 2/?

this art style is kind of crazy ANYWAY. Ughhhhh. Somehow this too is about yasuda gender. Its so. Endless gender for the endless witch

Made jessica cry. Jessica im so sorry

completely forgot this is like A Rosa Episode lowkey ouhhhhh In the end. I love her too. But thats just because i can see...

COLOREEEED PRETTYYY oh shannon kanon counter but its just them and genji too

she said witch beatrice shes so fun i love her another fave-since-ep1 for sure

Keeping an eye on her and genji as well. Ugh. And nanjo too.

Hardest two in all of life <- i typed this sentence then looked away from the puter to talk to family for 2 secs and looked back and realised it doesnt make any fucking sense but i agree

Whys this art style making him look crazy cool well hes cool in ryukishi too but its like lame-cool this is like well i dont know

most normal girl ever

thank god for the love that i can see with because she is so evil. maybe its pretty privilege too Oh but rosas pretty and yet i hated her at one point. Idk something about eva is just. Ughhh

NOT sure about her btw im interpreting it as yasuda playing with her and marias fun and kanon here is kinda just hoping to get a perspective But also could be a lot of her doing play-pretend based on like A few interactions. I have to take a big look at mariage sorciere when its more relevant i mean itll be talked here but other eps too

BADDIE. Why i kinda like this style so much?!!!? Anyway easy to explain why rosa can see her (yasuda felt bad for little maria and dressing up. ill have to look but that might be the distinction between the two outfits)

Study door handle burned her hand i guess its because kinzo shouldnt be seen right now

SHES MENTIONING HOW KANON DOESNT HAVE TO BE FURNITURE ANYMORE I FORGOT ABOUT ALL OF THAT SHE KEPT PROMISING IT BUT I NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD. OH MAN

Exact same rank...

Lol gohda is so. Such an inoffensive character all in all? He does NOTHING for us. Or maybe i just dont have the love to see it. Like what his role is in the big picture. Hes just there. I dont think thats a bad thing though

Its so fucking good. Makes you wonder though. About genji kumasawa and even nanjos motivation to let her do her thing... Because kinzos supposedly already dead, are they really so loyal to give him his "redemption" despite that...

He says he never met her though and he doesnt think they had a child. Ugh.

maria keeps saying crazy things shes so funny light of the party

sayo. Ohmmmmm. I think the translation team changed cos the other one had her tell him her name is kiyo no? yeah i checked she definitely told him that. thats interesting

shes so funny i love her sense of humor its so great. Anyway one of the most iconic scenes in this ep commence

shes sleeping guys no shes meditating

girlslove

u crazy

I FORGOT ABOUT THIS BEING HERE OH MY GODDDDDD OK OK OK OK

i remember being a little confused when i first read on why tf they were focusing so much on the locked rooms but thats the thing now. and besides how else would u approach it well i dont know

its all about the closed rooms and the closed (cat)boxes etc

i need her . When her demeanor and appearance are partially specifically tailored for battler to like her Well call me battler cos it works. It does make u feel a bit bad though doesnt it

he doesnt like the rule though hes all zen zen dame da about it

shes got the gun and shit shes taking chargeeeeee.... queen

oh hell show UP ALRIGHT seriously one of my fav scenes to this day and this is like what ep 2

eughhhhhhh ughhhhh uhghhhhghghh well Yyeah To be fair with the truth and all im still not sure how it was done something something kumasawa or whatever its conceivable

they draw her so strange (good)

Omg its just like ep6

GIRLSLOVE

battler asked rosa how she can prove shes not a wolf Ohhhh girl. Hey maria. Im going to be the father that stepped up

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

You know what's going to be fun? Watching forced birthers realize they don't get an automatic exception when it's their lives on the line.

An antiabortion center told a woman her pregnancy was normal. It was ectopic, and it ruptured.

Kierstan Hogan's water broke early. The hospital wouldn't give her an abortion, despite the fact that the fetus wasn't viable. She was threatened with legal action if she left to get care elsewhere. As she lay there, trapped, religious leaders came to visit her even though she had already stated she didn't want pastoral care. I guess you guys don't see the point in forcing people to give birth if you can't witness their pain.

Finally, she gave birth to a stillborn fetus.

I hope forced birthers go through what they forced on these people:

Marlena Stell had an incomplete miscarriage. That’s when the fetus starts to miscarry but doesn’t exit the body. She was forced to wait 2 weeks with a dead fetus inside her before she got treatment.

Amanda Zurawski had premature dilation. The pregnancy was previability, and the fetus would not survive. But it still had a heartbeat, so she had to wait before getting an abortion. She went into septic shock.

Mylissa Farmer’s water broke early. Too early for the baby to survive. The hospital said it couldn’t treat her. She reached out to her senator…who referred her to an antiabortion crisis pregnancy. She reached out to her state attorney general…who simply never got back to her. She had to travel out of state for an abortion.

The 10-year-old from Ohio was fucking raped. She had to go out of state for an abortion. “Prolifers” said she should have been forced to give birth.

The 16-year-old from Florida was sentenced to parenthood by a judge who thought her grades showed she was too irresponsible for an abortion…but clearly responsible enough to raise a child…with no job or parents to support her.

The 15-year-old from Florida was raped and had to leave the state for an abortion.

Nancy Davis was pregnant with a headless fetus. She had to travel out of state for an abortion.

Elizabeth Weller’s water broke early. Previability. But the fetus had a heartbeat, so Elizabeth had to wait for infection to set in before she got an abortion.

Anya Cook had her water break early. But she had to lose almost half her blood before getting treated.

Kelly Shannon had a fetus with multiple health defects. Even if it survived to 9 months, it likely wouldn’t survive labor. She had to travel out of state for an abortion.

Jessica Bernardo’s fetus would have either died before birth or lived a few hours or days after birth. Jessica became very ill…but not ill enough to qualify for an abortion. So she had to travel out of state for one.

Kierstan Hogan’s water broke early. 19 weeks. The doctors couldn’t perform an abortion. She was told that if she left the hospital to seek treatment in another state, it could be used as evidence against her in a court of law. She had to give birth to her stillborn son in a bathroom.

Taylor Edwards had to leave the state to get an abortion for a nonviable fetus that was risking her health.

Kylie Beaton’s fetus had a fatal brain condition, but she was denied an abortion.

Samantha Casiano had a fetus missing most of the brain and skull. She couldn’t afford to travel out of state, so she was forced to give birth.

Lauren Van Vleet had to leave the state to get an abortion for a nonviable fetus that was risking her health.

Austin Dennard had a fetus with ancephaly. She had to travel out of state for an abortion.

Lauren Miller was pregnant with twins, but one twin had a condition that endangered her life and the life of the other twin. She had to leave the state to have fetal reduction surgery.

Jaci Statton had a molar pregnancy. That’s cancerous. She was told to wait in the parking lot until she was sick enough to get an abortion.

Kristina Cruickshank had blood-filled cysts. She had to wait 5 days to get an abortion for a nonviable pregnancy.

Tara George’s fetus would not survive outside the womb. Giving birth would risk Tara’s life. She was forced to travel out of state for an abortion.

Kailee DeSpain’s fetus would be stillborn or die shortly after birth. Continuing the pregnancy would endanger Kailee’s life. She had to travel out of state for an abortion.

Deborah Dorbert’s fetus was nonviable. They knew that if he was born, he would live a short, painful life. Deborah wanted an abortion to prevent his pain, but she was denied one. So she gave birth to Milo. He lived 99 minutes. As his parents watched him die, he made hiccupping sounds. They soon realized that was him struggling to breathe. May every forced birther hear that sound in their dreams.

Mayron Hollis had to get a fucking hysterectomy because doctors didn’t give her an abortion.

Gabriella Gonzalez had to travel out of state to abort her abusive boyfriend’s fetus. When she returned, he murdered her. Forced birthers commented on a video showing her mother and sister sobbing that fathers had rights too, that it was her fault for being with the man, that she should have just swallowed.

Kristen Anya’s water broke early. She had to go into sepsis before being treated.

Heather Maberry was forced to travel out of state to abort a headless fetus.

Melissa Novak was miscarrying. She should have been given both mifepristone and misoprostol. But she was only given misoprostol. You know because how much litigation is going on around mifepristone. She went into septic shock.

Kayla Smith had to leave the state to get an abortion for a nonviable fetus that was risking her health.

Lauren Christensen’s fetus had organ failure, which would likely lead to Lauren’a organs failing. She had to leave the state for an abortion.

Beth Long’s fetus’ organs were outside its body. But her insurance doesn’t cover abortions that aren’t to save the life of the mother. Good old Hyde amendment! So she had to find an out of state hospital that gave them a discounted rate. When her husband wrote to DeWine, the same DeWine that once thought ectopic pregnancies could be saved, DeWine took months to reply, and never bothered to learn Beth’s name.

Anabely Lopes had to leave the state to abort a fetus with a fatal birth defect.

Christina Zielke was miscarrying. Despite filling diapers with blood, she was sent home. She passed the fuck out and needed to call paramedics.

Kaitlyn Joshua was miscarrying. Her jeans were soaked with blood. But the fetus had a heart beat. No D&C for Kaitlyn, she had to miscarry at home.

Lauren Hall had to leave the state to get an abortion for a nonviable fetus that was risking her health.

Carmen Broesder had to experience a 19-day miscarriage because of delays in treatment. She documented it on tiktok. You should watch it. You could use a good nightmare.

Jill Hartle had to leave the state to get an abortion for a nonviable fetus.

Brittany Vidrine had to leave the state to abort a headless fetus.

The Jane Doe had an ectopic pregnancy rupture after an anti-abortion pregnancy center told her she had a normal pregnancy

Praise God for this victory for Christian Pro-Life doctors across the nation.

“Doctors take a solemn oath to ‘do no harm,’ and they cannot uphold that oath if the federal government forces them to perform harmful, irreversible procedures against their conscience and medical expertise.”

[northern-passage]

Do you have any book recommendations?

oh boy... i'm probably not the best person to ask because i haven't finished a book in over a year (lol) but i can give you some that i remember fondly (but take it with a grain of salt since i haven't read them in years)

sharp objects by gillian flynn

annihilation / southern reach trilogy by jeff vandermeer

not my father's son by alan cumming

universal harvester by john darnielle

on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong

wishful drinking, the princess diarist, shockaholic & postcards from the edge by carrie fisher

the luminous dead by caitlin starling

the night circus by erin morgenstern

the revenant by michael punke (there is something about the way this story ends that keeps me up at night)

umm now for more recent books, aka books i have bought and may have started but have not finished 😶 but to give you an idea of my ever growing stack of books lmao....

i'm actually currently reading a cloak of red by brenna gawain and really enjoying it (it's what i've been reading over the holidays during travel) i haven't read any of the other books of the underrealm but i can definitely recommend this one and if you're into fantasy (i'm assuming if you're here... you are lol) then definitely check out the publisher and the other books, they focus on diverse fantasy and i'll definitely look to them in the future whenever i get another fantasy itch.

crying wolf by barbara truelove (this is next on my to-read list and if you've read blood moon it's by the same author :-))

sharks in the time of saviors by kawai strong washburn

the left hand of darkness by ursula k le guin (sorry i'm showing up late with starbucks to le guin's work but i cannot recommend her stuff enough)

the last duel by eric jager

the only good indians by stephen graham jones

the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon

elatsoe by darcie little badger

three parts dead / the craft sequence by max gladstone (coincidentally this is a CoG author though i did not know it at the time of purchasing this book which has been on my bookshelf for years... but he also wrote choice of the deathless)

the girls by emma cline

the way through the woods: of mushrooms and mourning by long litt woon

h is for hawk by helen macdonald

pachinko by min jin lee

umm now are these recommendations... idk i haven't read them yet LOL but idk maybe you'll see something you like. the last time i was actually consistently reading i read a Lot of non-fiction, i like memoirs and i like historical non-fiction but i know not a lot of people vibe with that (the last duel i expect most people to not care for but i saw the movie trailer and was curious about the story behind it bc that stuff interests me)

i read alan cumming's not my father's son in college but it really stuck with me and again all of carrie fisher's books.. she is a great storyteller and really fucking funny. i've read a lot of books on environmental history ie the national parks and the forest service in the US because i worked for them for a few years, and i've tried to read a lot of indigenous authors as well - braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer is essential reading at this point.

anyways sorry if you were coming here for fantasy recs i don't really read fantasy surprisingly :-( and i've read a lot of horror but not a lot of GOOD horror lmfao. stephen graham jones i definitely recommend tho he has quite a few other horror books as well, the last final girls by him is also on my to-read list. when i was younger i read all of danielle vega's books as well but for the life of me i cannot remember if they were like... good. lmao. a lot of times i start reading a horror book and it becomes very clear they are going to go down the "scary mentally ill person stops taking their medication" route and so i have a lot of half-read and abandoned horror books... if you all have any horror recs i will GLADLY take them pls

[secretobsessionstuff]

the one recent anon about gentle caretaking is so so right, can you actually write something with that as a prompt for micah and alexi? both holding by the waist while the sickee is sick in the sink AND then by the forehead when it gets too intense in front of the toilet again. no scat please

I love this prompt so much and I had so much writing it! I hope you love it!! Thank you to the other anon who got this prompt started ❤

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

When Alexi went to bed at midnight, he was surprised to find the light on in the bedroom.

He had been looking forward to pulling Micah’s sleeping body closer to him as he himself fell asleep. Most nights he came to bed much later than Micah. It was their ritual. Alexi would wrap his arms around his boyfriend and fit himself perfectly into place. Half-awoken by the motion, Micah would make the cutest sound upon realizing that he was once again safe in the arms of someone who loved him.

Alexi was unusually eager for tonight’s ritual because he hardly saw his boyfriend all day. Micah was working on his manuscript non-stop to meet the upcoming deadline. The tight schedule meant that he needed to be alone. The boy was writing like he was running out of time…because he was. It was a particular exhausting stage in the process because his editor covered the document in red writing. As far as Micah was concerned, the red markups were nothing but blood—blood that marked the death of his favourite irrelevant scenes, the cleverest yet confusing lines, and the fun yet unnecessary side characters. Yes, killing your darlings is a taxing process that took all of Micah’s time and energy, and as Alexi would discover, his health.

There might as well have been an invisible Do Not Disturb sign on the bedroom door. The unyielding typing from inside the room also served as a reminder for Alexi that he couldn’t demand attention whenever he wanted it. He couldn’t just walk in and smother Micah in kisses until he did something with him. Now bedtime was Alexi’s only chance to be with Micah when he wasn’t distracted.

But the opening sentence still remains: the light was on in the bedroom.

Alexi stood confused on the other side of the door. This didn’t look like bedtime. Not hearing any typing from inside the room, he walked in to find that it looked a little bit more like bedtime. Micah was asleep, but at his desk. He wasn’t nicely tucked into bed. His head was resting on the desk next to his laptop. The screen was black.

“Micah? Alexi said quietly as he came over to his boyfriend. He clicked the space bar on the keyboard, making the screen come to life. So much red.

Micah never fully turned off the computer before falling asleep. His own sleep looked just as shallow as the computer’s. His back rose and fell sharply, and his breathing matched. He didn’t look restful at all.

“Micah, wake up, mon amour.” Alexi shook his boyfriend awake who shot up from the desk. Alexi was quick to grab hold of his shoulders. “Easy, you’re okay. You fell asleep while working.”

Micah squinted and put a hand up to the side of his head. His neck hurt from the awkward way in which he passed out. “What time is it?”

“Midnight…you never went to bed. Are you alright?” Alexi didn’t like the dazed look on his boyfriend’s face. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot, like they reflected what was on the computer screen.

“I wanted to finish the chapter,” Micah said while sinking back into the chair. His gaze sluggishly travelled to the screen. The late hour and the unfinished work made him groan and put his head in his hands. Like a slow-moving landslide, Micah dragged his hands down his face, rubbing his eyes deeply. It only irritated his already blotchy skin.

Alexi watched his over-worked boyfriend curiously. There was something romantic about a dishevelled writer. But this romanticized version did not belong on Micah. Alexi didn’t want a melancholic, candle-lit boyfriend who captured the essence of dark academia. He just wanted a boyfriend who slept well and who took care of himself.

The boy before him was not well. Alexi knew this even before touching Micah’s forehead. He knew it while he lightly traced his fingers over Micah’s cheek. He knew it for certain when he lifted Micah’s face with a hand under his chin. Micah’s laptop wasn’t the only thing overheating.

The boy’s eyelids drooped, forcing Alexi to crane his neck to make eye-contact. “Love, you need to go to bed. You’re burning up.”

“But I told Shannon I would have these chapters done by tonight.”

“Well Shannon is going to have to wait, isn’t she?” Alexi said as he grabbed Micah’s hands to help him up from the chair. Alexi quickly found himself supporting much of his weight as Micah’s head came crashing down onto Alexi’s chest. The boy let out a low moan. “I’ve got you. Are you still okay?”

“…’M dizzy.” Either Micah was having a stroke or was too tired to speak because the words came out in cursive. “…don’t feelgood.”

Micah proved his point (not that it needed more proof) by vomiting on the floor between their feet. The only reason he didn’t fall forward was that Alexi held onto his shoulders as he heaved.

“Oh gosh,” Alexi muttered under his breath. “Oh, you’re really sick, but that’s okay.” He said it so quietly that Micah wouldn’t even have heard it. He was telling himself that everything was okay.

Thankfully, Micah didn’t immediately heave up everything in his belly. The countless cups of coffee and handfuls of crackers were still nauseatingly churning in his gut. This gave him the chance to breathe and moan in pain.

He lifted his head slowly, making his tearful eyes look like pleading puppy-dog eyes. After wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he spoke with a voice so thickened by illness. “…my stomach hurts.”

Alexi allowed himself a second to feel broken-hearted by his boyfriend’s pain. Then that second was over, and he had to ease that pain just a little. “I would never have guessed it. Now, come on.”

The small intermission gave Alexi the chance to practically drag Micah to the bathroom. He could tell it wasn’t over by the way Micah kept a hand over his mouth. At least the toilet would be a better place to throw up than on the floor.

But Micah’s belly had other ideas. His sick and stubborn stomach couldn’t wait the two seconds that it would take to reach the toilet. As soon as Alexi got him to the bathroom, Micah made a sharp turn for the sink.

This round was much more productive than the last. A torrent of bitter black coffee and whatever other snacks Micah had for dinner filled the sink rather quick. Even the sight of it made Micah heave again.

As he continued to vomit, his vision blurred and blackened around the edges. Seeing the contents of his stomach was no longer the problem. The new problem was being unable to stand.

Alexi noticed the way his boyfriend leaned heavily on the counter and the way his legs wanted to give out. He switched from rubbing Micah’s back to holding him at the waist to keep him steady. It was oddly close to how he pulled Micah into his arms for their nightly ritual. This was not how he envision the night going.

“Don’t worry about holding yourself up, Micah,” Alexi said while spotting the white-knuckle grip that his boyfriend had on the edge of the sink. “I won’t let you go. I’m not leaving.”

Micah loosened his grip ever so slightly. He leaned back further against the body that kept him up.

After a few minutes of this, Alexi was startled by a change in sound. The heaving seemed to shift into choked sobs, each retch ending with a guttural moan. Eventually, Micah was left panting over the sink with saliva dripping from his lips. Actual sobs made his whole body shake. He tried not to look at himself in the mirror because he knew a dark-eyed stranger would stare back at him.

“Micah, are you…okay? Are you done?”

Micah shook his head to say no, shaking loose strings of bile that hung from his mouth. “I don’t want to do this anymore…I’m so tired, Lexi.”

Micah was tired. Tired of the stress he put upon himself. Tired of thinking that his worth came solely from his writing. He was tired of holding himself up when all he wanted was to let someone else carry the burden for a while. Alexi was so good to him. He carried the physical burden, that was Micah himself, so well. It was well past midnight now. Decades seemingly have gone by while Micah’s body broke down from the fatigue. Alexi knew that he was tired from heaving his guts up, but he was more than just physically tired. Unfortunately, Micah didn’t have the strength to tell him about the other kind. Fortunately he didn't have to.

“I know. I know, it’s exhausting.” Starting with his hands on Micah’s waist, Alexi gently trailed his fingers up the boy’s back. He felt as if there were a barrier between him and Micah. He couldn’t get as close as he wanted. All the gentle touches in the world couldn’t take away the pain. Still, Alexi didn’t take his hands away from his boyfriend, hoping that he was providing some comfort.

He also knew that touch was not the only way to offer comfort. “I know it’s exhausting to feel like you need to finish this project so that your life will have meaning. I see you everyday, working so hard to make your dreams come true. It’s tiring to do what you do. But you should know that taking a break does not mean that you’re giving up. You’re tired, I know, so sit down for a moment and lean on me.”

Micah listened. He exhaled slowly, letting the tension go from his shoulders. He let Alexi lower him to the ground, where they both sat in front of the toilet. Micah wanted to say so much, but…

He was breathing hard again. Alexi eased the pain in his mind, but the pain in his belly persisted. There was one last round before relief.

Micah’s head was heavy. Heavy with worries and pain. It was a struggle to hold his head up while another weak wave of watery vomit fell from his mouth.

Every muscle in his body wanted to betray him. His neck almost let go, but then something stopped his head from falling towards his chest. It was Alexi’s hand on his brow.

“Ugh…thank you,” Micah said breathlessly in between gags.

“I told you, I’m not leaving.” Alexi kept one hand on the boy’s forehead and the other on his back. “I’ve got you.”

And so, Micah’s stomach finally calmed down after his over-worked and under-fed body decided that was enough punishment for the mistreatment. An event like this certainly wouldn’t happen again because Alexi was going to make sure that Micah got enough sleep, and proper food, and down-time.

“Are you done?”

“Yes,” Micah said with a hint of a smile. He was already falling backwards into Alexi’s embrace.

[pan-de-queer]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON EP3

is it just me or are these episodes going MUCH faster??? it's probably the pacing and bc the first one was the pilot ep but eps 2 and 3 felt like they just zoomed by!

okay now for the actual thoughts:

circling back to the "maybe she wanted to die on the battlefield that day. maybe she thought she earned it" line. from the start when the sister at the orphanage refused to say how ava died, i was super sus that the sister killed her bc in my short twenty something years of living, i have physically heard a religious person saying any illness is caused by sin. and this sister, as i have learned throughout all the whopping 3 eps, was in charge of everything ava. bathing, feeding, wheeling, and, supposedly, meds. and judging from the way the sister talked about ava, i doubt she would've listened to any meds suggestion ava asked for. so if ava couldn't move and the sister fucking hated her then how could mother superion accuse her of suicide?? as if the orphanage sister cared enough to grant ava such a wish? as if the orphanage sister wouldn't think it blasphemous? so as this part was unfolding i was like, highkey that sister killed ava bc she believed she was ridding the world of "sin." and the thing is? i don't think ava completely blamed her. not that ava believed her disability made her sinful, but that her life was just so horrible at that point that she didn't really care. alive or dead, she was probably at a point where it was all the same to her. so the whole "maybe she thought she earned it" is, in my opinion, ava acknowledging that yeah, she didn't plan it, but death wasn't such a horrible option, after everything.

OKAY MOVING ON.

i definitely hated the ocs scenes with lilith and mother superion but also v much wouldn't change a single thing. it was needed. not only for the story but for mother superion and lilith's character development. but dear god did i fucking hate it. as a former teacher, that's like, the WORST way to go about introducing anyone to anything new but also??? highkey tracks for religious people lmao my christian teachers were p shite too

looovveed the set design of the ocs headquarters, esp the murals!!! the design team must've spent AGES on it and i hope they know i appreciate it so much i am giving them each a forehead kith

now for the thing that y'all been pushing me about: bea and ava properly meeting for the first time.

honest to god. i love bea so much. she's such a strict and serious character in the first two episodes but the way she's so soft and gentle with ava???? like even if her comfort-speech is blunt af, she's also sooooo caring. i love her. i love how WELL she can read a room. i love how she guides ava (introducing her to camila, letting her know mother superion is like that with everyone, lets her know about shannon, etc.) but doesn't baby her. this episode made her shine so much imo

my last thought on the episode is ava's not of "i want to live" like???? THAT'S HER WRITING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN A DECADE!!!! BABY GIRL!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

annnyyywwaaayyyss that's it for today mayhaps but thanks to everyone (YES i see y'alls comments and likes i love u all) who's invested in me experiencing this for the first time bc i am horrible at finishing shows but i'll try to finish this one for y'all

warrior nun ep 3 live blog

LET'S GO!!!!! I AM HOPPED UP ON M&M'S AND THE NEED TO SEE ALL Y'ALLS FAVE COUPLE LIKE I WANNA KNOW WTF IS UP!!

she floating like in those horror films I don't watch lmaooooo

Bea saying "you need to calm down" while she herself is very clearly confused af is hilarious actually

ooohhhh warrior lady!! i wonder if the areala actress auditioned on horseback like did she just ride in like "I would like the part"

OH THIS ADRIEL BITCH Y'ALL TALKING ABOUT IS AN ANGEL HUH

love how all the other crusaders just standing around when an angel arrives like I'm p sure the Bible made angels seem more winged and eyed up and blinding I think

why is the ocs named so long is it bc os is a computer term

ava's face!!!!!

DRAMATIC DOOR OPENING!!!

can the girls closing the gate even hear the father or was it just time to close the gate u CANNOT tell me that wasn't practiced

ava sees bitches fighting and smiles. she just like me for real

the merc's accent is so funny to me lmao SHOOT HIM MARY

YES BITCH!!! love u Mary

kristian and Jillian watching the tapes like "these bitches NOT subtle" lmaooo

did ava just- SMELL the baton??

ooohhhh THIS is mother superion

i love mother superion's vibes

ava is a giggly stressed baby and I love that for her

CAMILA BEFRIEND AVA!!!!

OH NO WAIT BEA IS SEATED NEXT TO HER!! GO GAYS GO!!

the way ava just slides closer alskslsklsks

the slow way Bea smiles as she starts talking about shannon 🥺😭

the way Bea is looking at ava like she understands!! this bitch patient af!!

"these are my girls" ookkkaayyy mother superion

"bit wordy isn't it" AVA BABE U GET ME!!!

"maybe she wanted to die on the battlefield that day. maybe she thought she earned it." OKAY I HAVE!!! THOUGHTS!!! but later

HOW IS FATHER VINCENT EVEN THE LEAST BIT FAMILIAR WITH AVA!! WHAT IS HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE ORPHANAGE!!!!

CAMILA ALKSLSKSLS WORST STALKER BUT I LOVE YOU BABYGIRL!!

oh it's the con kids again. OH IT'S JILLIAN

ALSKSLSKLSKSLS CHANEL 💀

oooooooohhhhhhhhhhh

NO AVA DON'T GO TO LILITH ALONE!! I AM SO SCARED FOR U!!!!!

AVA ALSLKJLSJSK PICK THE SWORD UP!!! NOT THE FOOT STICKING!!

idk like it doesn't seem fair to put all this responsibility on a child who was dead, was a former quadriplegic who JUST got control of her limbs again after more than a decade, who NEVER signed up or was even so much as TAUGHT any of the shit they're going thru, and then expecting TRUST when u all haven't even told her shit!!! ure preaching trust without giving her faith!!! tf!!!!!

OOOHHHHH SO SHE WAS KILLED!!!

also that is the WORST question to ask a depressed kid ma'am some us HAVE wanted to die actually!!!! and the fact that she can finally live and isn't hating herself as she does is magic in itself actually!!! WOW I AM HATING SO MANY OF THESE OCS SCENES ALSKSLSKSL (it'd only ep 3 tho I'll fight thru)

[stagefoureddiediaz]

having a minor breakdown over this;

Because WHY?? 

WHY ARE THEY DRESSED ALMOST THE SAME?? 

Like I know Eddie’s trousers are more camel/tan coloured, while Sheila’s are khaki, but I mean they’re basically dressed the same - down to the white undershirts and the rolled up sleeves!!! They could’ve put her in a black undershirt or a different coloured shirt or anything, but no they chose to basically dress her in the female version of Eddies outfit!

Actually now I’m sitting here typing this out, I’m starting to think this might actually be an insanely clever way of paralleling/ contrasting seasons 2 & 3 and foreshadowing whats been going on in season 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤯🤯🤯

lets do this in order

The only other time (I can think of off the top of my head) we’ve seen Eddie in that undershirt and shirt combo was 2x07 when Shannon came back, but he was wearing jeans then (don’t get me started on the whole double denim thing 😂) and Christopher wasn’t present - physically at least - but he was in the sense that Eddie only got in touch with Shannon for Christophers benefit - to get him into Durrand school - but he doesn’t intend to let her back into his life leading to that all important line when Shannon says

“Eddie always knows whats best for everyone”

Moving on to 3x03 and Eddie drops Christopher off with Buck (and reassures Buck in the process) - it is this moment that truly signifies and cements the bond between Buddifer - which grows into the will etc etc. Its another example of Eddie knowing whats best for everyone (Buddie Eddie/Shannon paralleling much!) only this time he actually is doing whats best for everyone - but the important thing here is that he communicates - yes he actually uses his words “there’s no one I trust more with my son than you” its also in that golden moment before everything starts to spiral out and Eddie closes back in on himself!

In 4x13 Sheila thinks she’s looking out for her son and providing for him (She is mentally ill - which is important) when the reality is that she isn’t looking out for her son - her actions are not in his best interests and are doing him harm - Charlie even tells Eddie he knows what Sheila has been doing to him “I see her put the eyedrops in my food, she thinks I don’t, but I do” 

Then we get to what Eddie is doing in season 5?? Eddie thinks what he’s doing is in Christophers best interests, but it’s not - his repression and refusal to face up to his trauma is the equivalent of Sheila putting eyedrops in Charlies food - Eddie is mentally ill and it is harming his son. I am not saying that what Eddie is doing is FIDA by any stretch, more that the parallel is the mental health side of things - the writers have deliberately created a parallel that highlights the need for parents to take care of their own mental health in order to look after their children - its genius writing!

Where falling through the balcony floor was the (literal) breaking point for Sheila (because it led to the discovery of what she was doing and I’m assuming meant she was taken off to get mental health treatment!) Christophers meltdown was the same moment for Eddie -almost like he had the rug pulled out from underneath him and discovered there was no floor beneath - so now he’s falling - which has led to his breaking point and him leaving the 118.

The thing is Eddie has reverted - he’s back to “always knowing whats best for everyone” without actually talking to them - god what I’d give to see what would’ve happened if Buck hadn’t filed that lawsuit - because Eddie was really starting to open up to Buck and communicate with him - and the lawsuit shut that down and its never been opened back up...

ok thats enough spiralling for tonight, but man on man is that some insanely clever storytelling through the contrasts and parallels of costumes - its making me feral!!!!! 

[weresilver]

40 (almost kiss) + 54 (secret relationship)? 🥰

Being in bed at 12:00 am will not stop me, I guess. Bonus Getting Together, I guess. Spent 3 or so hours at this. Ops.

Post S4. This is a disgusting amount of fluff. Unbeta'd (but self proof-read) as I wrote this from 12 am to 3:30 am.

On AO3

Years In The Making

Not that he believed it, but he was sure most people around him would say it was meant to be; something fated somewhere to happen somehow. Eddie didn't really believe that.

What he did believe was that they may have been too afraid (or maybe too repressed, in his case) to see what was going on, what had been growing for a long while. Years, maybe?

But getting shot (again) had given him a good shake, and he could say he'd been almost disappointed to see Ana by his bedside. No fault of her own, of course not, but...

He was pretty sure of what he wanted at that moment.

Breaking things off with her hadn't been that difficult, or painful, a couple of weeks after his return home. Ana's disappointment was clear, but she seemed to know as well as he did that they weren't going anywhere as a couple. With a promise to stay in touch, she walked out of his home one last time.

Now all he had to do was talk to Buck.

-

Buck had been cagey for the first few days when Eddie had asked him about Taylor. It took about a week and a couple of beers for him to blurt out, "She kissed me then ran out." He fidgeted for a couple of minutes. "Then she came back and we talked through it."

Eddie's heart sank, but he still put on a smile for the sake of his friend (if that was all that he would be for Buck, he'd make do). "And?"

"And we are at very different stages when it comes to romance." Buck shrugged, but the tiny frown was right there between his brows. "She became a good friend, but damn, we wouldn't have lasted as a couple."

Buck finished his beer and turned to Eddie, though not looking beyond the water bottle he was holding in his one good hand.

"She, uh... She isn't quite who I want." Buck cleared his throat, abruptly standing up and walking away from the dining table to place his empty bottle in the recyclable bin. "How is Ana, by the way?"

Eddie accepted the deflection well enough, watching as Buck stood by the doorway with his arms crossed, a stance that tried to project calm. Eddie doubted he was anywhere near it; he never enjoyed talking about failed relationships (including those that never took off).

"We broke up last week," he replied easily, standing up to refill his bottle in the kitchen. "Don't worry," he added, seeing the wide-eyed surprise (and dare he say, hope?) in Buck's expression. "It was pretty amicable and even. We both saw we weren't going to get anywhere and decided to split."

"Okay," Buck whispered, following him into the kitchen. "You okay?"

Eddie nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'm fine." Though he had to ask... "Who is it?" Buck's confused, scrunched-up expression was pretty damn cute, making him look a little bit more like the Golden Retriever pup Hen and Chimney often compared him to. "You said Taylor isn't who you want, so who is it?"

"Eddie," he said on a groan, though he simply leaned against the counter instead of answering.

"See," Eddie spoke with a new bout of confidence (maybe just as ill-placed as the excitement he was starting to feel), standing against the sink across from Buck. "I'm kind of hoping for a specific answer here."

Buck didn't reply. Eddie had barely even noticed a shift in Buck's expression before he moved into his space, pressing a hard kiss against his lips, a huge contrast to how softly his hands cradled his head and how careful he was to not press against the sling and his injured shoulder.

Eddie wasn't sure if the bottle ended up on the sink or on the floor by their feet. What mattered was that he managed to get his hand on Buck's neck, drawing him even closer.

(Not that Buck let either of them press too close, and god, he loved him.

And he was distantly aware that he should be at least a little freaked out over the thought after one kiss - their first kiss - but, well... Years in the making and all that.)

-

One kiss became two, became many, and Eddie could see the same feelings reflected in Buck's blue eyes. Belonging, a finally and a home.

There was no need to go beyond kissing and cuddling, both of them content to sit even closer together, hands intertwined whenever they could.

It was... Soft in a way Eddie hadn't had in so long, intimate in ways he thought he wouldn't experience.

-

And they weren't subtle, weren't actively trying to keep anything a secret. Eddie was still off work, doing his PT as he should and Buck had been staying at his house (their home, he couldn't help but think every time) since Eddie got out of the hospital anyway.

But two months passed and the only two people aware of the change in their relationship were Christopher and Carla because they found them cuddled up on the couch, Eddie knocked out by painkillers and then too out of it to deny anything when his son questioned him about it.

(Christopher had simply nodded with a mumbled "Good" and left it at that. They still had no idea what that was about.)

The sling had come off a few days ago, though he still couldn't do that much, and it was driving Eddie up a wall. Buck was at the station, and he didn't want to think about the conniption he'd have if he drove there.

He knocked on Christopher's bedroom door, opening it slowly to see his son smiling at him from where he sat with his book.

"Hey, buddy." It was impossible not to smile back, feeling the all-encompassing warmth at the fact that he was still here, could see his son growing up for a while longer. "What do you say we pay a visit to the station?"

The frown he got for that was so much like Shannon's that he didn't know what to do with the pang in his chest. There was no guilt, not then, over the fact he missed her. He just did, she should be able to see how much their kid was growing, how much like her he could be sometimes. And maybe she was, if the afterlife turned out to be a thing after all.

"You are not supposed to drive."

And that tone was way too much like Buck's, just this morning, for Eddie to hold back his laughter.

"I was thinking we could take an Uber." He shrugged with his left shoulder. He might have been desperate to get out of the house, but he wasn't stupid; he didn't want pain and he didn't want to end up lectured by the entire team once he got there. "What do you say?"

Christopher considered it for a moment, then placed his bookmark and got up. "Let's go!"

-

"You better not have come in your car, Eddie!"

He rolled his eyes at the very much expected exclamation as Christopher giggled beside him.

"Don't worry, Buck," the kid said, walking ahead as Buck came downstairs. "I didn't let him drive."

"Thank God for you, kid," Buck said, kneeling on one knee to give Chris a hug. "Your dad is stubborn, he probably would have driven here if it weren't for you."

"Hey!" There was no real annoyance in his protest, but Eddie still said, "I get enough sass from my kid, don't you start, too."

Buck, in such a show of maturity, stuck out his tongue at him before turning to Christopher once again.

"Come on, buddy, let's go see the fun people."

Chris' laughter echoed in the station, and Eddie let the light atmosphere carry him upstairs to the loft where he was greeted by the rest of the team with hugs, and some friendly pats on (thankfully) his uninjured shoulder.

Chimney and Hen immediately walked with Christopher to the pinball machine, and Bobby had given him a plate of leftover breakfast to carry wherever he ended up sitting.

He chose the couch, where Buck had already made himself comfortable again and was currently watching the trio at the machine. They could hear Hen encouraging Chris to beat Chim's high score.

"Hey you," Buck greeted softly, an arm going around his shoulders as Eddie adjusted himself.

"Hey yourself." Buck glanced at the other side of the loft, then pressed a quick peck to his lips. Apparently, everyone was sufficiently distracted. "How are you?"

"So far so good." He took one of the biscuits from Eddie's plate, quickly popping it into his mouth as if Eddie hadn't sat here to share them. "I'd ask how your day is going, but it's obvious you're bored out of your mind."

Eddie groaned, letting his head fall back against Buck's arm. He was beyond bored, at this point, and no amount of movies or video games had helped. Buck's chuckle beside him was another pretty good incentive to get out of the house.

He turned his head to face him, his own expression undoubtedly soft as he took in the man that had been by his side for so long and for so many things already.

Buck's expression softened even more, somehow, his smile bright as the sun and even warmer. He leaned closer and-

And what sounded like a very undignified squeak interrupted their almost-kiss, causing Eddie to huff in mild annoyance and turn around.

Chimney stood by the dining table, gaping at them. Bobby was still in the kitchen and turned to look at them at the sound of Chimney's squeak.

"What's wrong, Chim?" Hen asked, frowning all the way from the pinball machine (where Christopher continued to play).

"They..." He gestured between the two of them. "Since when are you two together?!" He ignored Hen's own surprised exclamation. "They were about to kiss!"

"Yeah," Eddie confirmed, nonchalantly making himself comfortable in Buck's arms in the new position so he could look at the rest of their team. "And you had to ruin the mood."

Buck hid his face in his hair, and Eddie could hear the quiet snickering. They really thought the others would have caught up after two months of visiting Eddie at least once every few days.

"What about Ana?"

"We broke up two months ago, man."

"And Taylor?"

"Dude, we never started dating in the first place." The exasperation was clear in Buck's voice. "She's really just a friend."

Chimney nodded, satisfied for the time being. They had no doubt that there would be more questions later.

"When did this even happen?" Hen asked this time, walking over with Christopher.

"Two months ago," Chris answered before either of them could, smiling a little too innocently. "A week or something after Dad broke up with Miss Flores."

Eddie had no idea Christopher knew that level of details, but he had definitely been out of it when he told him. Maybe he said more than he remembered.

"Well," Bobby finally spoke up, walking over to their little family unit on the couch, now that Christopher was tucked on Eddie's other side. "I'm happy for you two." Eddie could feel whatever tension had been on Buck's body (not that there was much in the first place) drain out of him at Bobby's words. "And we can deal with HR and paperwork once you're back at the station," he added, directed at Eddie. Bobby's smile was genuinely warm, putting him even further at ease.

Years in the making. Maybe it was obvious to everyone else, but Eddie wouldn't change a thing about the road they took to get here. It had been hard and full of hurt, but what they had was solid and them and it was definitely worth it all.

Including the cheering, clapping, and whistles of everyone else when Buck pressed a kiss to his lips right there and then simply because he could.