#so I can't really believe you until I see some sort of proof

[chipistrate]

Sadly I can't link anything, since Twitch automatically deletes live-streams after a while. I saw a clip of it shared once in the r/Fnaftheories Discord so maybe you could ask those people for it if you're curious. I think the Technical FNAF Discord also has it.

Sorry for the late response- meant to respond sooner but got distracted lmao

I couldn't find the clip or any trace of a live stream with the social media manager, so I'm sorry but for now I can't really take your word on this ^^;

[sooluving]

hey hey!!! may i please request a smut w perv!soobin and chubby reader? like in a friend group party sort of situation?

omgg yess i love it, i hope you like it anonn<33 and thanks bcs you're my first rq😽

i can see you

w: not much plot, smut, semi-public sex, strangers to ???, breast play, oral(both receiving), pulling out, unprotected sex, pervdom!soobin, sub!femreader, non-idol au, panty stealing(? not proof reading

i didn't know how to name it so it's just a taylor song with this vibes😆

he knew who you were before the party at beomgyu's house started. yeonjun always said that he would introduce you, his new friend from college, to them but never did and he wouldn't really care about that until he saw you walk towards them to say hello to yeonjun.

you smiled to yeonjun and you hugged him, then turned to soobin to introduce yourself. he gave you a little smile and did the same, when you turned your attention to yeonjun again he took his time to check you out and was so delighted with the view; you were so beautiful and that dress allowed him to appreciate your body. he was going to get hard when stared at your tummy and then your breasts, he swears they fit perfectly in his hands and his mouth. he had to fuck you that same night.

"hey, wanna dance?" he asked interrupting whatever yeonjun was saying, "yes please, i need to" you smiled and said to yeonjun that you'll see him later, you only went to parties to dance honestly and this guy soobin also called your attention, the glances he gave you while talking to yeonjun were making you a little wet. you couldn't resist to such a tall and handsome man.

"soobin" you moaned while he had you pinned against the door of one of the rooms you found empty upstairs after some minutes dancing when his hands never stopped touching you shameless.

"you're so hot, can't believe yeonjun never showed you to me" soobin grabbed your ass and squeezed hard, you sighed and kissed him deeply, saliva running down your chin. " but we met now and i want you to fuck me, please" he took your your face and loved how you seemed so needy biting your pretty lips. they'd look prettier around his cock.

he kissed you and slowly brought you to your knees, "why don't you show me first how much you want my cock inside you?" you felt your jaw already hurt when you saw his dick, the biggest you had and your cunt was dripping. "open up, pretty" he put his cock in front of your lips and you kissed it before taking all in your mouth, trying so hard to make it fit, you took the rest with your hands and relaxed your throat. you wanted to feel him all inside. you looked up to him just to feel even more wet, he was looking at you so hungrily and growling, soobin laid his hand on the door and put the other in your hair to ram in your mouth hardly making you gag and moan around his cock. he stopped and kept you with his cock in your throat a few seconds before cumming. you swallowed and coughed when he released you,

"you're so good for me," soobin grabbed you and put you on the sink and pull up your dress "now let me do the same for you, baby", he leaned to kiss you and spread your legs apart. "i want to taste your pussy so much" he went down to your cunt and moved your panties to the side. he licked his lips "the prettiest I've ever seen and all for me" soobin was like a starved man, devouring you, tongue fucking you and sucking your clit, almost making out too. you couldn't stop moaning, trying to be more silent but was so hard with soobin treating your cunt like his last meal.

he raised his hand to your chest and reached your dress neckline and lowered it to squeeze your tit and play with your nipple, "soobin, please," soobin knew you were ready to cum and he wanted to drink all of you, his thumb started to stimulate you and that was all to the poor you; he licked and kissed your clit one last times "fuck I'm going to make you feel so good again, you look more beautiful when you cum"

soobin took your panties off and without you noticing he put it in his pocket, he'll probably jerk off with them thinking of this.

he brought you closer to him and just pounded into you, your moans were almost screams and you loved it, didn't even care about who was knocking the door. you could only think about soobin's cock going hard and deep inside you, feeling ready to cum again.

soobin was delighted with your breasts bouncing, your nipples were calling him and he couldn't say no, he kissed and sucked your tits, tried to bury his face between them and he felt about to cum. he went harder and started to kiss you and stimulate your sensitive nipples, "soobin im gonna cum" you cried "yes pretty, cum in my cock, i want to feel you" he moaned too and you reached your high with your legs trembling

"let me cum on your tits baby, please" he said and you were already on your knees in front of him when he pulled out, soobin took was amazed with that image of you, ready to take his load on your beautiful tits and he couldn't keep it anymore, he jerked off a few times more and your chest was all white with his cum. you smiled and cleaned his dick with your tongue, "we need to repeat this in a better place, baby" soobin mumbled watching you stand up

"at my place would be awesome next time, love" you said with a grin and he kissed you. God it was so addictive.

bye I'm nervous, i didn't know how to end this soo😭 i feel soobin loves to kiss and make out a lottt

[finniestoncrane]

2.5k Event Request - General!Penguin x GN!Reader word count: 750 a/n: oswald cobblepot is 100% the kind of freaky wee guy who would make you bite him so he could show off his wounds as proof that he has a partner u-u cw: biting, marking, begging, lil bit of an ownership theme 🔞minors dni🔞 • masterlist • kofi link • tag: finnie2.5k (to follow or to block)

Oswald's grip around our arm was firm, but not controlling. If you'd struggled, if you'd really wanted to break loose, you could have, and he would have let you. But this was just a playful display of affection, a little glimpse at the truth, of his desperate need to be close to you always.

"No, come on, don't go. Stay here with me, I'll order food to the warehouse. We'll make a date of it."

As you broke free from his grasp, you laughed.

"Not very covert to have some poor delivery driver show up to your hideout, Ozzie."

You offered him a smile, the good-natured teasing having the opposite effect you wanted it to as his own smile faded. Some might have found his desire to be with you all of the time quite needy, perhaps clingy, or irritating. You, however, found it flattering. It felt nice to be wanted, to be desired on such an intense level. And you'd be lying if the feeling wasn't mutual.

But where Oswald ran his own empire and commanded others, you were still one of the many people in Gotham still at the beck and call of someone else. Despite Oswald offering to rid you of that problem, you'd been determined to make your own way, and not let him spend any more of his time or money making you comfortable.

"I can't believe you're still going to leave me."

His exaggerated petted lip and sniffling warmed your heart, making you giggle as you rushed back over to him to give him yet another goodbye kiss.

Catching you in a romantic embrace, he held you close until you were out of breath, letting you go as you panted, cheeks flushed, heart pounding.

"Well, if you're going to leave... could you do me one favour before you go?"

"Anything for you, Oz."

He smiled, a grin that widened the more the sentiment of your words settled in his chest.

"Could you... It sounds very juvenile, the kind of thing that loved up teenagers might do... but would you maybe... bite me?"

The request surprised you. It wasn't too shocking for Oswald to suggest something a little kinky, but the way he asked made it seem less about the sexual merit and more emotional.

"Like... a love bite?"

"Yes! Exactly. Right here on my neck. Something that will leave a mark."

You raised an eyebrow, still wondering what the meaning behind his wish was. It did mean you'd have to stay a little while longer, but only seconds, maybe minutes. There had to be something else to it.

"Don't you have an important meeting this afternoon? Shouldn't I do it somewhere a little less visible?"

He blushed, looking away from you as he answered your question.

"Ah, well, you see, that's exactly the point. I'd like you to mark me. Make it known that I belong to someone. That I'm theirs. Yours. And having that on display is sort of... exciting."

In fairness, he was completely correct. The idea of having Oswald marred by your teeth marks, his flesh bruised and reddened by your mouth in a way he couldn't deny if someone were to ask him was definitely a turn on. And the accompanying sentiment that he belonged to you was the cherry on top.

So you moved back to him, kicking your leg over his and settling yourself in his lap. With your palms against his cheeks, you held his rough, round face tight and leaned your forehead to his. Your kisses peppered his skin, moving from his lips to his chin to his neck as you found the perfect place to sink your teeth into him. All while he gratefully moaned, delighting in being lavished with affection.

Once you had it, you closed your teeth around the spot, visible to anyone above where his shirt collar lay, and began to suck the flesh into your mouth. Your tongue swirled over him, the scent of his cologne filling your nose as you leaned closer, hands on his chest as you balanced yourself, his own hands curving around your waist and to your rear.

When you broke away, you took a moment to wipe your face free of saliva, easing yourself off his lap and admiring the bright red patch on his skin, attention drawn to the tent forming at the front of his pants.

"Ok, now I really have to go, Ozzie. But at least you have something to remember me by."

His eyes were still glazed over, his fingers touching at the warm mark as he smiled and waved goodbye.

[missheavenfield1215]

I think taking the relationship between Beetlejuice and Lydia for granted in the new film is too hasty to say.

I know it's hard to tell them not to be hopeful when they've already released this kind of official material. I mean, have you seen this?!

Or the certainty that Lydia accepted without hesitation Beetlejuice's proposal to look for her daughter. (although it is more than obvious why she accepted it) min: 3:57

Or even this video... Are you really saying that a relationship is very difficult when you talk about his "relationship" with Lydia??

And let's also talk about this face... Jesus... It seems that Beetlejuice has found the love of his life when he sees Lydia. (Personally I think in the second GIF Beetlejuice is looking at his wedding cake or something else, because it seems that he is still with his back to her)

But I think there's something they're forgetting.

This has also come out and is behind the scenes.

You can use the ending of the musical (although I doubt it very much, Tim and Michael refuse to see the musical). Here I believe that Beetlejuice will choose Astrid or she herself will offer to marry him to save her mother and so they would kill Beetlejuice, staining her dress with his blood.

I'm not a person who gets excited when I see some romantic approach, I expect it to really happen.

Have they forgotten the unfinished ship ReyLo?? Zutara's discarded idea?? The bland romance between Lucy and Raoul? The main couple of Wish with Asha and Starboy who they discarded because #feminism?

I think this could be the same...

I feel like they're not really going to pair Lydia and Beetlejuice. Because even though their deal is transactional, (he helps her find her daughter and she marries him to bring him back to life and get him away from his ex-wife, Delores).

I feel like all these "shows of affection" are a farce... This comes across as:

-"Like why do you say you can't marry me?" "You say it's because you don't love me and I don't either?" "So here, take (literally) my heart and shut up."

I don't like to be so pessimistic, I really wish they stayed together, because for God's sake, they are an iconic couple in gothic horror and black comedy movies even though they have never really been a couple (plus ALL if not most Tim Burton movies have romance or proof that there was going to be a romance (like an unfinished pairing). As in Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride etc).

If the Beetlebabes is canonized, Tim Burton risks waves and a HUGE amount of hate for "pairing a girl with a disgusting adult" (even though in the movie Lydia is already an adult).

Beetlejuice has a picture of Lydia when she was a teenager, which means that he fell in love with her when she was an underage girl...

Even if he says that Beetlejuice and Lydia were created to be together (as some sort of "soulmates") and that at some point in a sequel they would make that a reality, there will be a lot of people who will be very angry about this.

I really don't think Tim Burton would risk all the criticism and hate...

Unless he makes the decision to defend this Ship openly, he will not do so without at least giving as an example the musical, whose directors ignored that detail (of the "soulmates", Perhaps because of the pressure to be politically correct by Broadway standards) because they did it at his expense and not with his help...

Let's remember that the musical and everything in it, is not from Tim Burton's own mind, but they did do what they wanted with his characters without consulting him first.

But I still thinking that claiming victory so hastily would be very bad for the whole Fandom.

I ask you not to celebrate such an abrupt "triumph"... The film has not yet been released.

I ask you to wait at least until the premiere of the film.

I ask you to wait until it is 100% confirmed.

[aurora-veil]

So I was digging through some asset files and there's a slightly wider crop of the gallery portraits, and I found some REALLY interesting information on a few characters that you can't see in the theater images.

so for my proof before I get into the other Sinners' pictures, Yi Sang's picture is clearly in the outfit he was wearing before he was recruited (the same outfit he was wearing at N Corp). Through this I'm arguing that their outfits in these profile pictures are relevant to the characters' immediate backstories.

It's slightly visible in the regular portrait but I thought I'd mention that Don is actually in armor in her picture. The thing is I actually don't think it's the same armor in La Sangre de Sancho? The pauldrons on her shoulder are shaped totally different and the chest plate isn't nearly as curved as in the sprites I can find. so yeah. not sure what to make of this, just pointing it out.

not as interesting as Don but still neat imo, Sinclair is absolutely still in his school uniform when he was recruited. The badge looks like some tree. It isn't on the school uniform he, damien, and kromer wear so I'm presuming it's some sort of college badge? Not really sure I looked through story files and couldn't find any relevance

The one I'm most interested in tbh (and you definitely cannot see it in his profile believe me I checked) Meursault was still wearing a pin of a Nagel und Hammer when he was recruited by LCB! His relation to N Corp is something I don't see discussed very often and I think it's very interesting since, to me, this shows that it was something he was doing until VERY recently. I feel like N Corp is going to be very relevant in his story.

Not the most interesting theorization post or anything but I just thought I should share these findings of mine since finding this in the files was a very interesting little treat. I'll post the files these are from in a reblog but I'm at the image cap rn lmao

[starboyjun]

batboys as brothers in a isekai manhwa

my first post, please be nice lol.

i have given a lot of thought into bruce and the robins and what type of brother they would be in a isekai family manhwa.

you are the youngest daughter in the family and recently have trasmigrated into the body of the youngest princess of wayne. you had a reputation of being a "wicked" and "brat" in the family. you decided to make sure your family loves you to avoid being killed and having a cushion if something goes wrong in the future.

so... you change and here is how i think the bruce and the robins would treat you.

included in this post: bruce wayne, dick grayson, jason todd, timothy drake, and damian wayne.

ft. a short snippet of alfred pennyworth, cassandra cain, & stephanie brown

bruce wayne - the overprotective father similar to: regis adri floyen (father i don't want to get married)

i think bruce would be suspicious of you at first. like all horrible manhwa dads, he neglected you a lot but he has his reasons. personally, i dont think he's one to hate you if you "killed" your mother during childbirth. i think he would just distance himself. he would give you money and all the support but never be there for you. which is why you think he hates you. there is a lot of misunderstandings, but after seeing that you're making an effort to change he'll be a tsundere and be very clingy and overprotective of you. especially when it comes to potential suitors.

richard "dick" grayson - the one who always supported you similar to: raymond millainare (the tyrant wants to be good)

dick has always been a kind brother, in both lives. though when he actually found proof of you being a horrible person he sort of distanced himself from you. he wants to think you're a good person but you find ways to prove him wrong. he tries to talk to you but you hated him. so when you changed, he had a optimistic view and tried to see if you really changed. you showed how you changed and now he's back to being the brother you once had. he's overall very supportive over you and loves to spend time with you. he's not as protective as some brothers but, he has that brotherly protection. he's the person that knows you best, even knows you more than you do.

jason todd - the one who hates you the most similar to: reynold eckhart (villains are destined to die)

jason hated you, he hates everyone in the family but thats besides the point. jason is known to hate you but he actually doesn't. he secretly just hates his father for how he treated you. he knows how it feels for bruce to treat his children like mere guests at the estate. up to a point, jason never truly hated you. he just wanted to make you into a better person but you proved him wrong. he was the last to believe that you are a brat until a incident happened. then jason just ignored you. he couldn't believe it, his little sister was a brat. when you changed, jason was suspicious, he didn't know what to believe. you showed him time after time that you weren't the person you were, this took jason a long time to believe. he would probably be the last one. jason now loves you dearly and is probably the most protective over you, nobody touches his sister. jason likes to teach you self defense (against bruce's will) to make sure you know how to "kick those evil suitors ass" and protect yourself from his enemies.

timothy "tim" drake - the one who didn't know you existed similar to: cassis pedelian (a way to protect the female lead's older brother)

tim is undoubtedly the most loyal to bruce (imo) so much so that he forgot you existed (he can't forget damian bc he actively causes trouble). you don't make a big scene other than inside the castle, i feel like he helps bruce so much that he forgets about what happens outside of the office. if he's not in the office, alfred is forcing him to eat, sleep, and bath so he has no time to think of you. once you changed, he caught a wind of it from the chattering of the servants and so he decided (be honored he went outside his office for you) to investigate. he watched you in secret and even joined mealtimes to see you and observe you. tim found that he enjoys your presence and often asks for you to hangout in the office (to bruces excitement) just for your company. tim is very loyal to you too now, and would do anything to keep you safe. that includes secretly burning marriage proposals.

damian wayne - the problem child who also thinks youre a problem similar to: ixion (lord baby runs a romance fantasy with cash)

damian views everyone (with the slight exeption of bruce) as a peasant. he has a hard exterior with a inside of just wanting to prove his worth in the family. when you were born damian pretended he didnt care for you but secretly escaped his room (he was under room arrest for his last incident) to go see you while you were sleeping. as you grew up, he noticed how similar you were to him (though he grew up with his mom for most of his life) he wanted to protect you and shield you but he was afraid his "dirty" hands would taint your innocence. so he watched you from afar, watched you grow into a person too much like him, too arrogant, too reckless, too much like a brat. damian was the only person to not hate you. he just pretended to hate you. so when you changed overnight, he was suspicious, who was this person? how did my sister change overnight? so he tested you, test after test. you passed all of them with flying colors. he wanted to know more about you, instead of just staying in your shadows (plus he was jealous of his other brothers spoiling you) so "insists that you go play with him" or "insists that you hug him." he's also a very overprotective one, he's the one that dick has to tie down when you get a marriage proposal. he steals the flowers and gifts you receive and burns them (or sells them to selina for a hefty price) bonus: alfred, cass, and steph

when cass and steph visited for the weekend, they were surprised about the change in the atmosphere, no maid was sobbing or bruised up. they knew of your reputation in the castle. so they decided to not avoid you but hangout since they heard of your change by alfred. alfred sung of your praises and that you stopped damian from cutting down the bushes in the garden. once they hung out with you (besides the annoying visits of the brothers) they decided to stay for the weekend to get to know you more. after all, you're a unique child, one who will be known for generations. part two: batfam as types of isekai romance tropes

[moon-thething]

Yo it's me Kevin Anon again—you can answer this if ya feel like it and what not

But I had a more light-hearted ides for a Kevin x Reader lmao

Kevin with a reader who admires him on an almost child-like level and praises him a lot despite him obviously finding them annoying and not really wanting them around, and reader usually doesn't get that he doesn't like them because they're too stuck finding him "cool" to really comprehend that. But despite how annoying they can be, Kevin begins to slowly fall for them (because he's moron-sexual /j) and when he realizes it, he goes into denial because he can't believe he might like them of all people.

- Kevin Anon

I got so happy when I saw you left a request ngl

And yes, I absolutely love this

Also, sorry this took so long! I totally forgot I had this in my drafts!

Romantic or platonic?: Romantic

Readers gender: Neutral

Type: Fluff

¡Warning!: Not proof read, also probably cringe

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

Kevin

Let's set the scene first, aka explain how you two actually met

You met through a close friend (Streber)

It was just a normal day for you and Kevin, but you both received a text from Streber saying he wanted to introduce all his friends to each other

He told you all to meet up at some place that isn't that important to the plot rn

You, being sort of weirded out by his actions since you already knew everyone, just decided to go along with his evil scheme

It doesn't matter if you arrived first or if you arrived last, your first interaction with Kevin was pretty chill

I imagine that Kevin must have done something cool to impress you and to make you start drooling over him (hypothetically that is)

It probably wasn't that impressive, but hey, it's what got your attention 🤷‍♀️

You were just walking around town with the group + Kevin. You didn't really have a destination you wanted to go to, just walking, nothing wrong with that (you got kicked out of a cafe for being too loud)

It was so sudden. A cat had landed in front of you, causing you to stop. But, since you were going at a quick-ish pace, you lost balance. You were trying to just grab onto something, but it lead to your phone falling from your grasp

Kevin was the first one to take notice and he was quick to grab you and your phone. He tumbled back a little, the noise finally seemed to catch the groups attention and they turned around only to see you and Kevin

"What happened?!" Streber yelled before anyone else could

"I think Y/n tripped on something." Kevin sighed, pulling you up to stand instead of him holding you, "You have to be more careful." He muttered in annoyance

You were too awestruck to even catch his annoyed tone, only nodding as you let out a hum of agreement

You focused more on Kevin for the rest of the hangout. Just chatting with him and asking him questions

It was weird, to Kevin at least. But he shrugged it off, thinking you just wanted to get closer after he saved your ass from spending who knows how much money on fixing your phone

But what really got him confused was when you continued talking to him after that day

I mean- he just saved your phone! It's not like he stopped world hunger or something

But that little action he did seemed to really stick with you, thinking it was sweet of him to save you from falling (delulu)

Kevin could've swore he lost braincells whenever you were around, it only got worse when you found out where he worked at

Each interaction you had with him just seemed to make him more and more sick of you

Until one day, where one little thing made his heart flutter a little

The candy clubs doors opened with a familiar ring, signifying that a customer has walked in

"Kevin!" Kevin scrunched up his face in annoyance, letting in a deep breath before turning towards you

"What do you want, Y/n?" He asks, his gaze catching a bax in your hands. What were you planning now?

"Oh, well I remember you mentioning that you were getting annoyed with the uncomfortable textures of clothes. And Streber mentioned that your birthday is in a couple of weeks. So I decided to give you an early birthday present, since it's kind of depressing to see you wearing the same hoodie over and over again." You laughed lightly, setting the box on the counter

Kevin raised a brow before opening the box. His eyes widened slightly as he saw two sweaters in the box, including what looks like to be... A bracelet?

"I added the bracelet for extra flare." You spoke up, laughing as you read the words on the bracelet, it was a little nickname that the group collectively have Kevin, "I made it myself.. If that means anything." You laugh awkwardly

Kevin only stared at the sweater in the box in awe, picking one up to get a better look. It was a plain one colored sweater, you remember hearing Kevin complain that he couldnt find a single non-tacky sweater, and the extra hour of you seeing the printed logo was totally wort it. Also, the sweater felt like heaven underneath Kevin's hands, the more he held it the more relaxed he felt

He put down the sweater looking at you with awe, the anger he previously felt suddenly dissapearing

"Thank you, Y/n" He said, giving you a kind, genuine smile. You smiled back

"It was nothing really, it just took a while to find everything..." The next words that came out of your mouth seemed muffled to Kevin. The only thing he was focused on was the perfect curvature of you face, how your lips moved as the voice that he previously viewed as annoying sounded more angelic to him. His heart fluttering as he felt like he was going to puke with all of the thoughts running through his head

He was definitely in denile for a while before he finally accepted his feelings for you

He could not look you in the eye, all of the emotions hitting him at once when he even glanced over at you. Don't even get me started when he accidentally brushes hands with you, or god forbid you hug him

He is totally embarrassed of his newfound feeling since he ranted to Streber how annoying you were

With all of his complaining it lead to Streber keeping the two of you away. Which was a relief on his behalf, he didn't have to be so tense anymore

But the relief quickly turned into fear, fear that Streber was gonna say that you annoyed Kevin and that you would stop with your acts

My mans was stressed

He was on a late night call with Streber, not being able to sleep and knowing Streber barely ever slept as well

And on that call was when Kevin finally accepted his feelings for you and told Streber

Streber was overjoyed, already planning in his head on how you two were going to interact more and how those interactions were going to lead to your guyses first date

And, with that information, whenever he started calling group hangouts he made sure both of you would be as close to each other as possible. Leading to Kevin giving him death glares

But hey! It all turned out great in the end!

Your childish behavior only led to Kevin falling harder of you and eventually blurting out that he has a crush on you

And it was so random too! You were just gossiping with him, as Streber had led you to Kevin to tell him all of the gossip, and he just blurted out how beautiful/handsome/amazing you are

You stopped mid talking to look at him, pure shock on your face. It took Kevin a few moments to realize when he said, and he was apologizing for it

You told him it was okay and after his embarrassment has faded he confessed. He was 100% ready to shrivle away, that's until you told him you liked him too

Overal, very wholesome. Also he felt really bad about hating y97 and didn't want to tell you when you two started dating 👍

[grounded-gryphon]

I'd Die (Again) for Y'all (Part 11)

wc: ~525 Masterlist

Whatever the GIW was looking for it, Bats had it in spades. Cyborg himself didn't. Which, he wasn't going to lie, was a relief. He had enough trouble without government agencies looking to cut him open to see how he ticked.

"You holding onto the guns?" he asked, taking another look-see at the scanner.

"Hn."

"Right. I'll get to work on this, you watch your back."

It was a simple process of gathering and sorting data. He couldn't the thing up to the Watchtower's systems until he understood it better, so Cyborg went about it the old fashioned way == he used the scanner on every League member and staff personnel on the station.

It took a while, but once he started comparing his positive results, something jumped out fairly quickly. Everyone the scanner alerted on had died and come back to life at least once.

There were a few false negatives -- folks who had died and didn't set off the scanner. Wonder Woman was one of them. Like her, the others all had some connection with some variety of gods. Which raised a ton of questions, but for now Cyborg had what he needed: proof the GIW was targeting folks who had died and a clue as to how they were doing it. The scanner was clearly picking up on /something/ after all. And those laws Oracle turned up talked a lot about ectoplasm, so assume ghosts and ectoplasm actually exist…

---

Wonder Woman was a princess of Themyscira and any princess was, by definition, a diplomat. She reminded herself of that, very firmly, as Agent D tried, again, to get her to return their guns.

"I'm sorry," she said firmly, "But only authorized personnel are allowed weapons here. You are lucky I was able to clear you to come up at all. Now, you were going to tell me how we can defend against infiltration by these…"

"Ecto-entities," the other agent jumped in. "You have at least one here already--"

"And we are keeping him under observation until this can be resolved," Wonder Woman said smoothly. She didn't need to explain that everything on the Watchtower was under constant observation. Let them think that she actually believed their ridiculous claim.

Really, she was starting to wonder if these 'ecto-entities' weren't all a figment of the agents imagination.

Poor Phantom. If they'd been hunting him as long as she suspected it was no wonder he reacted badly to the Justice League. They were, as she had said more than once, too closely tied to the US government.

Hopefully when this was 'resolved' they'd have a chance to apologize and help him feel safe again.

"Now, you have said that these entities can fly and do not need to breath. Would they be able to enter space?"

The dumbfounded look on the two agents faces was all the answer she needed. They answered anyway. "Oh my god, we never thought of that."

"We'll need to begin testing on all returning astronauts immediately to make sure they aren't overshadowed. That would be horrible. And dangerous."

Wonder Woman nodded as if she understood what they were talking about. "That is indeed concerning."

-------

AN: another short one, but the words are finally flowing. Still can't promise a set schedule, but hopefully the next piece will be out soon-ish. Our main trio are fighting me on the next scene, so we may hangout with the Justice League a bit longer before getting back to them. See what happens.

[i-cantbelieve-you-lied]

to billy / cringetopia music

i really thought you were my soulmate. words can't fully express the shock, sadness and emptiness i feel now. a whole month of dating someone who i (22) believed to be turning 20 years old. we had everything in common, we had so much chemistry, you said you were going to propose to me... you lied about everything. your age, the supposed abuse from your family, the "adult guardianship court order" never existed - you were simply a minor, and you lied at every corner.

we were going to meet. i was going to "rescue you" from your "abusive household" by letting you move in with me. there's GPS tracking on your phone because you have tried to run away before. the police tracked you down and before you could get to me they took you to the station for questioning. the entire time you would say to me, "im a full grown man, im almost 20, i just want freedom!"

...of course they dragged you home, not because of any "court order" but because you are LITERALLY 14 !!! you're turning 15, not 20! you sent ILLEGAL images and videos to me and other adults in the 18+ discord server we met in! you clearly don't have any sort of fucking grip on reality if you can't see how you have endangered others and yourself. stop lying about your age, kevin/billy. im hoping your mother continues to be a good parent and never returns your devices. you should NOT be allowed on the internet AT ALL until you turn 18, you have proven time and time again that being online is making you worse and now you're actually endangering people with your web of lies.

the utter shock and disbelief i felt when i contacted your mother for clarity and she told me everything. all the proof of your real age, it shattered me. and shes so nice too, she was totally understanding of everything. the entire time we were together you made me believe she was a villain... you are a compulsive liar and manipulator.

i don't know if anything can soothe the dull pain i feel. i truly believed everything you told me, i cared about you so so much. i genuinely loved you, the person you pretended to be. i would have done anything for you billy. i spent SO much time and money on you, like more than £200 total which is a lot for someone like me who is disabled and on disability income. you exploited me and my generosity and love for you. im traumatised.

why did you do it? do you not understand the pain and grief you have caused me and your parents? all because you lied about your age and family life. if you were honest i would have never spoken to you at all. if a 14 year old tried to message me, i would block them instantly. i feel sick remembering the messages we sent eachother, many of them romantic and some of them very explicit in nature. i have unwillingly and unknowingly committed a crime because of you, billy. i feel disgusting, i hate myself and my trust issues are even worse. im usually really good at telling when people are lying about their age but you managed to fool me, especially since your interests aligned so well with someone born in the early 2000s. i genuinely can't believe someone could lie so much. i haven't been this shocked and horrified since my dad suddenly died years ago. i want you to know how much you hurt me and the damage you have done. i can't bear to look at the art and animations you made for me, or listen to your music or voice messages. you are incredibly talented for your age indeed. it hurts so bad... i had been single for 2 years and truly believed i had finally found "the one". im so fucking sad and disappointed.

please never come back to the internet again. if you do, i know who to contact to get your devices taken away. please get better. i still care about you, i want you to be happy and healthy but i cannot love you and i never want to be in contact with you again.

goodbye... 😭

[mdhwrites]

Would you consider explaining here, in your opinion, the decline of the Emperor's Coven as an antagonistic force or even broadly as a concept within TOH's world? And - if you don't mind me asking - do you think it had that much of an adverse effect on the series?

So I'm going to break this up into two sections to answer the two questions here. The first is going to be their decline and then why that had an actually pretty big adverse effect though not one you'll immediately feel. I'll do bold text and what not to help clarify in case you want to go to each.

The Decline of the Emperor's Coven

So it is important to recognize that there is a decline at all because it is important, regardless of how quickly it happens. The first time we see an EC guard is during the Covention demonstration in episode 5. Before then, we only have the bumbling guards of the Conformatorium as the protectors of the Isles. They have all magics, Lilith beats Eda in a witch's duel implying that she is even stronger than her, bare minimum due to not having the curse, and in general is treated with reverence. They fill out an entire stadium of people wanting to join them. Amity's biggest motivation and desire for the future is to join them. They're a BIG deal and implied to be real threats. Enough so that Eda will actually hide from them unlike in episode 1 where the regular guards made her not worry about needing a disguise of any sort. She isn't reckless with the guard but they are definitely less than the EC, even if not absolutely stated.

But... The decline starts almost immediately as the next time we see them is episode 8, Upon a Swap. Not only do they struggle with keeping Luz entirely under control while in Eda's body but they have a humiliating loss at the end of the episode when Eda swaps everyone's bodies around. I believe we still see some Conformatorium guards, something that effectively stops by S2 but this is the origin of Steve. Still, they lost Luz from other madness going on and the joke at the end is followed up by Lilith's resolve. It could be brushed off.

Unfortunately they don't really ever get another big moment. They turn into the name drop for turning in Eda but otherwise, until Agony of a Witch, we don't see any EC members besides Lilith. Unfortunately, Lilith just lets Eda go once, loses a Grugby match a different time and that's it for TEN. EPISODES. Mostly just jokes as Lilith refuses to actually do her job.

Until in Agony of a Witch, Lilith and an entire squad of scouts are beaten... By Hooty. As a joke. Yes, at the end of the episode, Lilith gets a big fight against Eda but this isn't an even fight like before. They use all the same spells they did in the previous fight but Lilith has to cheat in order to not be immediately obliterated by the power gap between her and Eda. It's not an intelligence thing either as Eda isn't using tactics besides BLOW THE FUCK UP ALREADY. Lilith has to be saved effectively by the timer running out on Eda's magic because she never had a chance. Even if she's acting high and mighty... It still leaves a worse impression for how good her magic and her ability to fight are and she is the COVEN HEAD.

Hunter does not fix this in S2 either. His accomplishments are: Bullies a couple people without magic.

Steals defenseless palisman before losing them.

Beats up Kikimora while she's under sleeping drugs.

Kind of a step down from Lilith getting to claim to have beaten the most powerful wild witch in the Isles, isn't it? On the influence on the Isles side, we don't get a lot but Amity forsakes them kind of just because. No argument or debate about this still being her world and her needing proof that Belos and the EC are evil or can't be changed from the inside. No, she's just now a wild witch because her girlfriend is because otherwise we don't get a reason. Worse, Sport in a Storm... exists? An episode where multiclassing students have less than zero interest in joining the Emperor's Coven despite that being the only way for them to legally practice the type of magic they want. Also, just by concept, it requires that people are so disinterested in the EC that they now have to actually try to recruit people versus 20 years ago when people would curse each other just for a chance into the limited positions available.

Hell, by the end, it seems like most EC guards are honestly one bad day away from quitting, with no repercussions, because of Steve and the guard Dana voices who goes to the cute cat coven which isn't even one of the big nine.

Also means that the cute coven joke, which happened three episodes before The Day of Unity where everyone needed specifically one of then sigils (though why EC coven members were affected without a representative in the ritual is unknown) had to go past Dana so many times she VOICED IT.

Sorry, got off track. On the power side, we only had Lilith before Hunter and Hunter doesn't have magic so the members have to keep up the slack. They are then immediately replaced with Abomatons and the Abomatons lose to... Everyone. They are literally never a credible threat except to Luz who had the worst chances of beating one when that came up because she already been worn down by the rest of the demonstration. Otherwise, the only moments the scouts or the abomatons are treated as real threats are when the Emerald Entrails are captured because they don't actually have a reason to fight them and cause problems for the school and when Amity tries to pretend Willow should be worried about them. Not all of them, only Willow and it's pointedly to make sure the audience knows that Amity is an idiot when it comes to Willow. That she is blatantly wrong about how much of a threat these guys are. That's still worse somehow than in Once Upon a Swap where they at least recognized these people could kick their asses without a distraction of some sort.

But that's how it falls. With how few times it shows up though, it raises a question:

2. Why Does the EC's Fall from Grace Matter?

It's actually pretty reasonable to wonder about this. Besides Hunter, they don't get a lot of appearances so why does it matter that they're inconsistent? Well... For one big reason:

They our only sign of Belos being a bad ruler. Of him being a dictator. Of him... At all. They exert his force more than even Hunter does because Hunter is constantly questioning him and not doing his job. For a villain like Belos, who is effectively not in the series for 90% of it since he doesn't take an active role until the Hollow Mind effectively, before then it's always just sweet words to people that are all lies, THAT'S A PROBLEM.

If we can't take his coven seriously... Why should take him seriously? Worse yet, why should we take Luz's opinion of him seriously? When she yells about him lying to people and she claims he's hurting people, you're left asking how? The guards are bumbling fools without direction or ability. Most of them, Hunter included, are just one push away from not doing their job. That's not what happens with a dictator and it's not what you should be thinking abut when EC members become the primary threat to our protagonists.

Instead, the show has no tension for its second half except against Belos effectively. Whenever EC members are around, victory or loss is just entirely plot dependent and we know that. That's how Willow can effortlessly bury a person and their abomaton and then they just... show up, covered in vines once we're actually pretending these people are threats. It's why they during the entirety of Labyrinth Runners, its only Gus and Hunter we're following because their lack of magic makes them able to be threatened while Amity and Willow getting in each other's way is the far larger threat than the trained soldiers. An abomaton and captain of the guard is just one not that fancy combo move away from being beaten because they're that little of a threat.

For an adventure show, that's just explicitly bad. From a thematic standpoint, it actually gets worse the more times WILLOW specifically beats them. After all, Willow is the poster child of the regime. She practiced the wrong type of magic at first before finding the one that the Titan blessed her to be able to be a master of. The more times she specifically beats the EC handedly, despite them using multiple magic types like Luz and Eda preach you should be able to... It makes you question if Belos isn't right. The evidence amongst the main characters, Gus included, is that he is and them conquering his forces better than Luz, Eda, Lilith, Barkus, Jerbo or Viney just reinforces that they're better.

Even Amity, who still only practices one type of magic, eventually beats the poster boy of the Emperor's Coven, something Luz never does in a fair fight. So is Belos wrong in thinking witches should only be using one coven?

Yes, him lying makes that the case but the show supports his arguments far more while also discrediting him as some grand tyrant who is a force that needs to be opposed. Hell, Terra tried to poison kids and its his guards, and his laws, that protect Eda and Raine during Them's the Breaks because why not? The EC scouts don't like doing evil. Steve and the cute cat coven members make that clear.

It discredits the final villain and ruins the themes while also just making the show worse at its genre. So yeah, it's a real problem... But only a problem if you think about it. If you care about the worldbuilding. Otherwise, the lack of stakes is the main one that will dig at the back of your brain because you'll want to be invested in what's happening but everytime a fight scene breaks out, it's nothing. Because you know the result.

And as Belos' only manifestation for absolutely the first season and arguably the second... That should be the last thing you feel when one a squad of these guys steps up.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[saltsicklover]

Part Four

Title: Once an Asshole, Always an Asshole

Pairing: Robert "Bob" Floyd x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3100+

Rating: R

Warnings: Swearing, drunken Nat, brief mention of explosives, a little bit of unspecific body description, brief mention of vomit, country music, probably too many italics, Hangman is a whole entire warning- I'm so sorry.

Second Chance Romance!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bob Floyd, or anything related to Top Gun Maverick within this piece. Not Proof Read or BETA'd. All mistakes are my own.

I do not consent for my work to be edited, reposted, or translated.

You are responsible for your own media consumption. This is a work of fiction that may contain mature themes. If you are sensitive to those subjects, please do not read.

---

"You just left her there?" Phoenix's words come out heated and slurred and Bob just sits there and takes it, chancing glances her way, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Bob?!" 

He can't look at her, not because he is the one parking the car on the curb in front of their house, but because he knows that if he does, he won't be able to stop the flood of tears that he is keeping in. 

"I feel so bad for her! I don't even know this poor girl but my heart aches. Did you really torment her for four years?!" She implores him, and he is stuck thinking her inflection was used on the wrong word. It's like she can believe he tormented her, but not for as long as he did. 

He doesn't answer her, instead opting to tell her that they should go inside and get some rest. He can't tear his gaze away from the glow of the dashboard. With a mumble, something that sounds like 'unbelievable', Natasha is unbuckling her seatbelt and crawling out of the truck. Bob hopes the booze is enough to keep her from remembering the whole conversation, he can't bare to see at bewildered and crushing look on her face she gets when someone has really fucked up, and Bob has really fucked up. 

After she slams the truck door, he kills the engine. The glow of the dashboard no longer illuminates his face, the light from the headlights no longer reflecting off of the ground and into the cab of the truck. Still, he white knuckles the steering wheel, emotions finally wracking through him in the comfort of the darkness. 

---

It wasn't long after Sunny said she was coming to visit that she and Natasha traded phone numbers. Texting to make arrangements seemed to be the easiest way to go about planning their adventure. Natasha had promised to be the one to make the commute to the hotel to pick Sunny up. 

Nat didn't mind playing driver if her best friend was at the end of the almost hour trip. That was, until she got notice of a training mission she couldn't get out of, which lead her to making the big step of calling Sunny. 

The line tolled, making Nat's already nervous energy vibrate through her. She bounced her leg u and down with the hopes of directing all that nervous energy elsewhere. It didn't help in the slightest. 

Bob had always teased Natasha for that little habit of hers. The fact that she can fly a multi-million dollar jet, armed with enough explosives to level a small city, without getting sweaty around the collar but couldn't make a phone call without almost crawling out of her skin seemed to make Bob chuckle. 

"Nash? Honey, is everything okay?" Sunny's voice rang out over the line, wavering a bit. Natasha's heart swelled at hearing her best friend's voice for the first time. 

Sunny's voice was smooth, if not full of worry. The sound of it warmed Natasha from the inside out, even if her friend did sound like she was ready to crawl right through the phone. Nat being the opportunist she is, throws a joke out instead of any sort of comfort- after all, this is the first ever phone conversation they're ever going to have and there was no way she was going to waste it. 

"What, I don't even get a hello?" Nat couldn't help but giggle. She plays with the pen in her hand, letting is swing between her fingers. Another nervous habit. 

"Oh I'm sorry, hello. " Her voice drips with too much sarcasm, "You call me out of the blue and expect me to just be calm enough to say hello?! We've never spoken on the phone and you want me to treat it like it's a normal thing?" Sunny is laughing now, the teasing from Natasha easing her worries. With each word Sunny spoke, the pen between Natasha's fingertips slowed, her leg no longer bouncing. 

"Everything is fine, Sunny. It's just that a work thing came up and I don't think I am going to be able to pick you up on Wednesday night," She tries not to sound too disappointed, though she doesn't like the plan she is going to have to propose. 

"That's okay! I'll just get an Uber or something!" Sunny is quick to try and ease the tension she hears in Nat's voice. If there was something Sunny hated being, it was an inconvenience. She was already pulling the phone away from her ear to look up how long it would take to get across town in a ride share. 

"You absolutely will not be doing that. I am going to send one of my teammates." The last word comes out pinched, like Natasha isn't sure she is using the right word. 

"If it were up to me to send someone, ideally I'd pick Bob, but since he is my back seater, he is going to be stuck with me." Phoenix takes a deep breath, pinching her nose with her forefinger and thumb, "By the looks of it, I'm going to have to send Hangman," 

Nat grimaces a bit at the thought, knowing exactly that Hangman is the last person she wants to send to pick up her best friend. Hangman is the last person she wants to ask to do anything. Bradley would be better, he can at least be trusted around women. Everyone else is stuck on off shore duty, leaving Phoenix severely out of options. 

"I can handle Hangman," Sunny retorts as a matter-of-fact. She has heard the stories, and Hangman doesn't scare her one bit. She can handle a bit of harmless flirting, and knows how to put a man in his place. Nothing was going to get in between Sunny and Natasha, especially not a guy like Hangman. 

"I know you can, I just hate that you are going to have to deal with him alone for that long. I've told you the stories and unfortunately he still thinks he's God's gift to women. Plus, I hate that he is going to get to meet you before I do!" Nat slumps down in her chair, a hand running through her well gelled hair. 

"I know, I hate it too. You know what else I hate?" Sunny giggles.

"What's that?" Natasha fights a smile. 

"That you gave all of these people cool nicknames like Hangman and Rooster and Coyote but you named your freaking back seater, the one who helps keep you safe, Bob!" They are both laughing now, full, hearty laughs. 

Rooster's voice breaks through the laughing, his head coming into view from the around the door frame, catching Natasha's attention. He waves at her, then motions to the watch on his wrist before disappearing out of sight. With a huff, she speaks, pulling herself together as she goes,  "I love you, stupid. I've gotta go, duty calls!" 

"I love you too, go kick some ass!" The line goes dead, both women smiling wide, knowing their first in person meeting is quickly upon them. 

"Hey, really quick, before you hang up!" Natasha rushes the words out, "It's good to hear your voice, Sunny,"

"It's good to hear yours too, Nash, really good," 

---

When Wednesday finally rolls around, Sunny is standing outside of the hotel, the late afternoon sun beating down on her face. Her duffle bag is thrown on the ground next to her, one boot on top of the bag, the other firmly planted on the pavement. She leans against a pillar, one hand coming up to shade her eyes. Hangman is supposed to be pulling up any minute- at least, that's what his text said. She checks her watch; 17:15. The bastard is already fifteen minutes late. 

Sunny is dressed the agreed upon attire, the red sundress she had packed. The color would be easy to spot and the women didn't have the upmost confidence in Hangman. 

A truck comes barreling around the corner, loud and unapologetic. Sunny can't help but laugh a bit, the sun glimmering off of the dark gray paintjob. The truck pulls up to the curb in front of her, the window rolling down as the truck rolls to a stop. 

"Darlin' please tell me you are the one Natasha sent me to pick up. Hell, even if you aren't, please climb up and put me outta my misery," The blond man behind the wheel smirks, his emerald eyes bright with mischief. His words are dripping with a southern drawl, no shame behind his smile. 

His eyes trail over her body, up from her boots, over the exposed skin of her legs, passed where her long skirt exposes her legs through the slit in the fabric, then up to the bodice of her dress. His gaze lingers at her chest, not only on her cleavage but on the small sliver chain she wears, before coming up to meet her face. Her hair is styled back and out of the way, her face on full display. The lipstick she wears compliments the dress perfectly, and Jake is having a hard time pulling his eyes away from her lacquered lips. 

"Hangman, I presume?" Sunny crosses her arms over her chest, a smirk of her own plastered to her face. The tan uniform he wears and the smirk, the one that Natasha had warned her about, present on his face give him away. 

"Baby, you can call me whatever you want as long as you say it like that," His Texan accent peaks through at the end of the sentence, drawl curling over the words. His eyes finally meet hers for a moment before he is trailing his gaze back down. 

The nicknames should bother Sunny, but she is too busy to give it a second thought, already moving to yank her duffle bag from the ground, "Okay then, Hanged Man, let's get a move on," She tosses the large bag into the bed of his truck with ease. 

Her necklace catches the sun, glinting in the direct light. Hangman's eyes catch the shimmer of metal, eyes flicking from her lips, down to the chain, and back again. He half attempts to get a look at the charm but can't keep focus long enough to make out the tiny shape. 

"It's Hangman," He corrects her, leaning over the bench seat to push open her door. 

"It's Hanged Man now," Sunny speaks, sliding into the passenger side, "Since you just hung any chance of getting with me with the second sentence you let fall from your pretty mouth. You really should think before you speak, it might get you further," 

Sunny slams the door and secures her seatbelt, motioning Hangman to get a move on with the wave of her wrist. The whole motion is meant to be playful, the glint in her eye says as much. 

"So you do think I'm pretty?" He wiggles his brows at her as he pulls away from the curb. 

She grazed over the question with the roll of her eyes. She knew from Natasha's stories that Hangman could be trouble when he wanted, and likely insufferable most of the time, but she held out hope that he wasn't going to be shooting his shot at first sight. Sunny can't help but giggle at how wrong she was. 

"Tell me somethin'" Sunny starts, lifting one foot to rest on the dash. She adjusts her skirt to keep from flashing him, but she definitely seeing Hangman try to sneak a peak out of the corner of his eye. He can't help but admire her boots, from the smooth, square toed leather and the embroidery that wound its way up the throat. He couldn't help but think of how much he missed seeing girls in boots. It takes everything in him to move his eyes back to the road instead of up the plush skin of her exposed leg. "Is everybody aware of the nicknames that Nash has given everyone, or am I missing something?"

"Oh, they aren't nicknames, Darlin'," He chuckles, "They are call signs. The names we use for each other while in the air. We got them in flight school, Phoenix didn't choose 'em" 

"Phoenix? Is that Nash?" Sunny questions, turning a bit more to face Hangman. 

"Yeah, that's Nat. Why do you call her Nash?" He fires a question right back. They merge onto the interstate with ease. Hangman is a surprisingly good driver. Sunny never doubted that he knew how to control a vehicle, especially because he flies jets for a living. Yet, she expected him to be more reckless, possibly more cocky. 

"That's how she signed her name in the first email I ever got from her!" Sunny laughs a full laugh, the sound filling the cab of the truck, "She was totally drunk and I guess she must have missed a few letters,"

"I'm Jake, by the way, Jake Seresin," He holds out a hand to her, his elbow awkwardly close to his ribs. She shakes his hand, her grip firm, just like her Uncle taught her. His large hand envelopes hers, the rough skin of his calloused palms rubbing against her own. 

"I'm Y/N Hannigan, but you can call me Sunny," Her real name rolls off her tongue and Jake just smiles at her. Sunny knows she should have introduced herself sooner, but doesn't apologize for the laps. 

"Pretty name," He comments, keeping his eyes forward. 

"Thanks," She smiles. Maybe he isn't so bad, Sunny thinks to herself, settling further into her seat. She is ready for him to ask about the nickname, or for him to make a remark about the cliché of it, but he doesn't.

The two sit in comfortable silence for a while, country radio crackling through Jake's stereo. She hums the words and he smiles, liking the company of someone else who doesn't automatically rip into him for listening to country music. The city passes them by as they get closer and closer to their exit. 

Then a thought hits her, pulling her straight back into reality. 

"Oh my god," Sunny mumbles.

"What's up, Darlin'? Jake asks, quirking an eyebrow at her. His hands tighten around the steering wheel, tension pulling his forearms taught. Neither of them notice. He is ready to pull the truck over, stop everything just to help her out. He half worries she might puke in his truck- grimacing at the thought of the time he had to drive a very sick Bob home after he got food poisoning. 

"If these are all your callsigns, there is really some poor bastard stuck being called Bob?" Jake laughs, big and loud, a wide smile stretched across his features. He is relieved that there isn't anything actually wrong. 

"Everyone got these cool names, making y'all sound larger than life, like superheroes or something, and that poor bastard is stuck with Bob! I can't believe it! Bob!" She holds a hand over her chest, palm pressed down against her skin, another bubble of giggles threatening to come out. 

Jake can't help but smile to himself, the laughter evening out into a warmth in his chest. Up until that moment, he thought 'Bob' was a silly callsign, but not in an all out laughing kind of way, more in a 'poor bastard' kind of way. Now, he is laughing too. 

"Oh yeah! I call him 'Baby on Board' but it's really just'a nickname. His name is Robert," Jake explains as he pulls off the highway. Traffic is getting thicker now that they've pulled off the highway, Jake's large truck sticking out amongst the sea of electric and hybrid sedans.  

"That's really a shame. I'm gonna have to give him a better nickname than that. Can't leave anyone out of the fun," Sunny is dead serious, already thinking up possible names for this famous Bob she has heard so much about. 

"Well, you will get to meet him in less than an hour, and I'm gunna warn you, he's a quiet one. Spooks easy, so don't go chargin' in there if you don't want him takin' off runnin'!" Jake jokes, checking the well worn watch on his wrist. Right on schedule. Not Phoenix's schedule, but on schedule none the less. 

"I am so excited to meet everyone! I feel like I already know you guys, but putting faces to the stories is really going to be a treat," Sunny speaks, running a hand down her thigh. Her skirt shifts, revealing more of her upper thigh, dangerously close to slipping to reveal the skin all the way up to her hip. Hangman tries not to look, he really does, but his eyes drift back to her bare skin as they slow to a stop for a red light. 

"Well, I guess I should break the news to you that half of the squad is stuck on off shore rotation for the next few weeks, not sure when they'll be back exactly. I guess Phoenix, Rooster, Bob and I will have to be enough for you for the time bein'," Jake jokes, his eyes slowly crawling up her body. A loud honk from the vehicle behind them snaps his mind back to reality. Sunny just giggles in the seat next to him at nothing in particular. 

"Nash already told me, but thanks for the heads up! And don't worry, you guys are going to be great company. I just hope you guys won't be itching to send me home, if I'm bad company or something," Sunny shrugs, a tad bit of insecurity sneaking it's way into the conversation. 

"If anything, Phoenix is going to do everything in her power to get you to stay," Jake begins, trying to ease the bit of tension in the air, "Plus, if the rest of your visit is anything like this ride has been, we will be sorry to see you go, I promise," 

They pull into the quiet parking lot of the Hard Deck a little while later, the sun slowly setting over the ocean behind the bar. Sunny can't fight the smile that pulls across her lips at the sight. Hangman glances at her, his eyes running slowly over her profile, well lit by the dusty sun.

Sunny watches the sunset for a moment, letting the reality of the situation sink into her. She is in California, she is going to meet her oldest friend for the very first time tonight, and she has just had a very pleasant ride with a man she had already pegged to be insufferable. Maybe Hangman is right, if the ride across the city is any sign as to how the rest of her trip is going to play out, she is in for the best trip of her life. 

[castlebyersafterdark]

while you guys discuss perceived letterboxed disses, my brain is stuck on the fact that noah and finn had dinner together at a reservation only expensive steakhouse, the kind of place a lot of people use for special events like proposals and anniversaries, with a dress code and how Finn would have probably had to go buy something appropriate to wear for this alone since he owns maybe six casual shirts down there in ATL and im like….. how was that just a bros dinner?!? no wonder why twitter reacted the way we did here too… ITS SUS

anyways noah would never diss a man who went to those lengths hahaha they are both doing things they normally wouldn’t for each other—finn going to pop concerts, noah watching comedies about the history of snl lol

Love all the tiny bits of fuel and how for some it's a never ending need for more more more and other times it's like, this crumb will sustain for months!!!! Hahaha that's how I kinda am with any little info for the show itself - I don't need spoilers and leaks when I'm still kinda reeling from the existing show itself, I have enough to sustain me until season 5 but anything extra is a whole feast. So I enjoy whatever content appears outta nowhere, but I'm already happy 😁 It takes so little to amuse me!

But the restaurant thing is kinda the pinnacle of the concept of FN being real at all and while it's harmless overall to my brain to believe it being real - there's no actual proof of it, to be a realist. It's soooo fun and if true, I think clearly speaks volumes as to the legitimacy of their potential relationship. Because - it's so beyond casual friends if that sort of hang-out is going on. It's so much more. Despite what anyone trying to break it down says, that's not casual behavior. But. Did it happen? It's all words and posts and "secrets" shared but there is no verifiable data. So - tons of fun!! Emotional investment, minimum. Do I believe it? I'm chilling, I'm vibing, yes and no. I can't prove it. Hurts nothing to choose yes, but I'm also not gonna be devastated if no?

What I can prove? Noah specifically logging onto the letterboxd app or website, typing in the SNL movie, clicking the movie log page, clicking on those stars, and telling the world that he only saw that movie for Finn. Whether a close and supportive friend or being cheeky about a secret partner - oh, it's so sweet and really entertaining and lovely to have happened. And we can actually see the context. It's real and indisputable. The meaning is the speculation, where sometimes with other crumbs of content the speculation is the speculation.

I'm just here to have fun!!! Love these guys...

[feathers-second-face]

I'm beginning to believe the 'Lilith told Alastor to go to the hotel' theory, so here are my ever-so-important-you-can't-live-without-needed thoughts on it.

Spoilers I think?

Okay uh- I don't buy into a lot of the stuff people say about it, but I do think she's the one who owns his soul. The 7 year disappearance is a bit specific to point out if it meant nothing.

SO! First thing, her intentions with sending him to the hotel. It could have been three things. To get him to screw it over (which I don't believe since he hasn't done anything to accomplish that), to ensure it succeeds (which I also doubt because although he's apparently been helpful, he hasn't done anything to actively help with the redemption stuff), or to protect Charlie (which I think is the most likely. Lilith can't be there for her daughter because she's busy with something.

Which leads me to point two, the reason the deal was made. We don't know for sure why it happened, but I heavily doubt Alastor could be tricked into making a deal, and (please correct me if I'm wrong) I'm pretty sure Viv mentioned somewhere that he wasn't really interested in power. This leads me to believe that he HAD to. As for what put him in such a vulnerable position, I have no idea. Maybe he got an angelic stabbing during his last fight with Vox or smth and agreed to give her his soul in exchange for help? Who knows. Anyway, I'm still completely clueless on the 7 year absense. What was bro doing?

Anyway, point three! I don't believe the deal would have been made upon Alastor's arrival to hell. No one knew or cared who he was until the radio broadcasts, there'd be no reason for Lilith to bother with him, and again, I doubt he'd be stupid enough to sell his soul unless he had to. So the deal was likely made AFTER his rise to power. I'm also inclined to believe it happened during the his 7 year absense somewhere. I don't have evidence for this I just think it makes sense.

So Alastor spawned, killed a bunch of powerful overloads, got into some sort of situation (likely one that would end his not-life), and was forced to make a deal with Lilith. From there we don't know but at the end of the 7 year poofing, Lilith begins getting voice messages of Charlie's plan with the hotel, and sends Alastor over (I don't think she sent him RIGHT after her last voicemail. It was just a bit too quick). He sees her on the picture box and figured he might as well see what she's doing if he's gonna have to put up with her.

And that's why he's there! Yay! Theories! None of this is actively confirmed, but my thoughts on it.

And now I'm gonna ramble about their dynamic because I'm an annoying nerd.

So this here. The scene from the pilot when he looks at the family portrait,

It's subtle but he does that narrow his eyes and bigger smile thing a number times for a number of reasons, but I don't think this one is hatred. In the comic with Vox, all it took was seeing his face on a screen and he started mumbling insults down the street until he got distracted by something else. And this does matter because if he wasn't on decent terms with Lilith, he'd probably hate her more just because of the soul thing. Now I know he hates the fact that she owns his soul (if I'm correct), but that doesn't mean he'd have to hate her.

Even if this wasn't much proof, he doesn't go into the hotel with any resentment towards Charlie. He already decided he hated Lucifer when they met but Charlie was fine. I also think he was interested in the entertainment as a side thing, since he'd have to make this tolerable somehow (and give himself some sense of control over what he's doing), hence why he insisted on helping rather than just watching. He doesn't glare at Charlie (and in referring to the pilot since that's where to met) and in fact seems to be alright with her. Given his habit of throwing Vaggie (leave her alone bro TmT) when he didn't even know her, I believe if he was on bad terms with Lilith, he would be trying to screw with Charlie in any way that doesn't put her at risk.

I'm guessing he was on decent terms with Lilith dispite it all, it was mentioned that he gets along with women better, and his interactions with Lucifer only solidify this with me.

Look, I love dad Alastor, but 1, they didn't have enough episodes to actually explore this and 2, even if he cared even the slightest bit for Charlie at this point (which I want to believe), that song was heavily exaggerating their relationship entirely to piss off her dad.

So Lucifer shows up and Al immediately tries to kill him through glaring. It's possible his own dad was crappy so he projected a bit on Lucifer, or that he just didn't like crappy parents, but I think it was because his absense was likely spend with Lilith, who Charlie confirmed had split up with her dad before her disappearance, and probably wasn't very happy with him, giving Al a bad impression before they even met.

And now for Mimzy. I love all of Alastor's friends, he's so good at finding them. Anyway, she shows up and although Alastor already knows what that means, he let's her. I think he knew she was going to bring people for him to kill and he was already in a bad mood so he needed someone to take that out on. However, when he saw the damage to the hotel, he realized he couldn't do that because it put Charlie in danger (now I don't know if this had anything to do with him actually caring at all, because if he'd get punished if Charlie was killed, there'd be no wonder as to why he sent her away even if he personally didn't care).

Then there's his random disappearances throughout the show. Mimzy said he hasn't 'done any if that in a while', in reference to killing people and broadcasting their screams, so although he's active again, he still isn't killing people quite yet. Despite this, there have been two episodes now where he was quite literally nowhere to be seen, with no indication of where he went. I'm guessing he has to go chat with Lilith every now and then to catch her up on what's going on in the hotel and with her daughter.

Also I couldn't find anywhere to fit this, but I'm guessing Lilith sent him over because she figured the hotel would attract terrible people and knew Charlie doesn't fight, so why not send the screams broadcasting radio demon over? No one fucks with him so why not?

So TLDR; Alastor became powerful boi in hell, got screwed over and had to make a deal with Lilith, she heard her daughter was running a hotel that would attract crappy people and sent him over to protect her. He randomly disappears to tell update her on what's going on. They're on decent terms but he hates the fact that she owns his soul.

[geekgirles]

i see NOTHING circus-themed in bee's design 😭 she just looks like a cluttered genero mess k can't believe we got her after asmodeus

Personally, I adore Bee's design, but I must admit it took me an embarrassing long amount of time to realise she was indeed the show's version of Beelzebub and not another character altogether. Seriously, until I first came to Tumblr after the episode's release and saw people saying she was the Lord of Gluttony herself (which I get she literally introduced herself as, it's just that Cotton Candy had way too much going on for me to lock onto that particular detail), I was convinced she was supposed to be like a "higher class" breed of Hellhound.

Like, I thought she was Beelzebub's pet and that somehow made her more powerful and different from other Hellhounds; I legit thought that was why her name was practically the same but with a hyphen. I was legitemately convinced she was some sort of "tailor-made" Hellhound made to resemble her master Beelzebub more closely to make her stand out from the regular Hellhounds. Though the reason behind this misundertanding is due to her mention of Belphegor not letting her use her party drugs. I misheard her, thinking she said Beelzebub, and immediately assumed she was subservient to her instead of, well, being her.

Having said that, I do think Bee's design is appropriate. It just represents and reflects so much behind-the-scenes stuff!

Firstly, we have, of course, the inlusion of Kesha. I'd say Vivziepop owes a huge chunk of her fame to her Die Young animatic featuring her werewolf character, Jay Jay, singing the song in what was essentially a tribute to the artist. So with that in mind, it's obvious Bee's more canine design is clearly the crew's way of saying they've finally come full circle now that they got Kesha herself to voice a character for them. Further proof of it is that obvious reference when Bee even ended looking like Jay Jay during Cotton Candy by getting Jay's blue fur and pink hair.

(Well, to be fair, Jay Jay began appearing more often with light blue fur and bright pink hair after she debuted in Die Young, but I remember a sneak peek of another animatic where she would have her later colour palette and be singing Kesha's C'mon. So the point still stands).

Secondly, I personally think she does embody the circus troop theme, deep down, just maybe not in the way you'd expect her to.

Just like Lucifer and Ozzie's are ringmasters and Mammon is a jester, Bee is supposed to represent confectionary stands (hence, her constantly conjuring up fast food and sweets) and animal acts. Now, if you ask me, I'd say the animal act side of her is both very subtle and incredibly on the nose, as much of an oxymoron as that is.

On the one hand, the only thing really reminiscent of animal acts are the hoops and loops she has around her house, which are very easy to overlook.

But on the other hand, there's also the fact that her subjects are Hellhounds, or at the very least they seem to feel the most at home with her. In fact, Loona's adoption papers have her signature, meaning she oversees the process to some degree.

In a way, the Deadly Sins resembling their subjects is another recurrent trait, though Asmodeus looking nothing like a succubus is a clear exception (and Mammon seems to be a literal money tree).

We have Lucifer, whose Ring is mostly inhabited by Sinners and his standard form is the most human-looking one...

There's Bee being essentially an alpha Hellhound (Fox)-Bee Hybrid...

And if his app is anything to go by, Satan might just as well end up being a more powerful kind of Imp.

For all we know, Belphegor might be a Baphomet too! Especially seeing as the Sloth Ring seems to be mostly populated by them.

(I know this one in particular works in the Lust Ring, but you know what I mean).

And there's also the fact that it seems to be a reference to the Divine Comedy, if my memory doesn't fail me, where the Gluttony Ring was inhabited by Cerberus. So in that respect, Bee being a Hellhound is very consistent, especially because going back to the act she's supposed to represent, her ruling over Hellhounds essentially turns her into a beast master!

And of course, we can't forget she's supposed to represent Gluttony, over-consumption, over-indulgence, excess... All things that can easily be found in wild, out-of-control parties. And what is Bee's character deep down? A literal party animal!

So yeah, in my humble opinion, Queen Bee-lzebub is both a very imaginative and faithful take on her character, as well as the character that best reflects how far Vivziepop and Spindlehorse have come. Though that might just me being biased by how much I love her design LOL.

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

if you don't mind me asking, what did you mean when you said "star warriors have a supernatural influence hinted"? i've watched the show twice (granted, i skipped a few eps both times) and i've never quite caught anything like that. maybe i'm misunderstanding, but the other stuff you mentioned is (much to my pleasure!) very popular theory/fanon and it really piqued my interest when you mentioned something i didn't quite recognize.

okay so I took so long to answer this because i really didnt feel like rewatching any of the anime. So the compromise is just me going over a few episodes of note, rather than combing through the whole anime. There is a few things that i definitely have not talked about in this post.

And for reference, I'm mainly using the new Operation HNK sub, not the old sub, nor the dub version, as my main point of reference--bar one notable exception!

So! Star Warriors are strongly hinted to be something with supernatural influence rather than warriors with a simple title.

What exactly do I mean by "something with supernatural influence"? There aren't any better words to really describe it with, as the anime itself is incredibly vague. The general idea is that Star Warrior is something inherent to a person, and that there are some things in the anime about them that can't exactly be explained without calling them "supernatural" to an extent.

The explanation that I see for what exactly a Star Warrior is outside of it being a supernatural thing, is that it is some sort of military rank (usually for the GSA) that is earned. With the possibility of Star Warrior being a earned rank in mind, I will occasionally compare some things against it.

I'm beginning with Ep. 1, with a simple observation.

There are several things that cement the fact that Kirby is a star warrior well before his time reaching Popstar. So, it was not Meta Knight who have him the title.

By a glance, both Meta Knight and the NME Salesman were able to recognize that Kirby was a "genuine star warrior", although Kirby has no symbolism or memorabilia with him that would suggest an affiliation with the army.

Additionally, this is just personal, but I genuinely find it difficult to believe that Kirby would have been granted some sort of military rank. If Star Warrior IS a rank, then it would be a high one because NME is so interested in targeting them specifically (to be covered). ESPECIALLY because he wasn't even supposed to be awake for another 200 years, Kirby can barely speak or focus yet, and because he knew no sword technique until Meta Knight taught him in Ep. 3.

Kabu also refers to Kirby as a warrior that exceeds spacetime, though that could possibly be chalked up to the stasis he was in.

Additionally, On two separate occasions when Meta Knight is looking at Kirby (once in the first ep and another in the 3rd) there seems to be some weird… Connection? Sense? Out of body experience? I'm hesitant to call this any definite proof however because the scene is vague and this has literally ZERO explanation. It could be a supernatural connection between star warriors, or simply Meta Knight Being Weird And Explaining Nothing.

In the racing episodes, there are two notable things

Again, this is no definite proof, but it is INTERESTING with the implications. If Star Warrior's have their own cradles, this heavily suggests that being a Star Warrior is something a person is born with, rather than something that happens later in life. And again, i find it genuinely hard to believe that the GSA would rank infants with that high of a title.

ALSO there is one episode where Meta Knight says that he has been waiting for a "new generation of Star Warriors" or something like that but i do NOT want to find that so. source: trust me bro.

In the second half of this special, there is a scene where Meta Knight has Kirby's brakes cut, Kirby's ship is out of control, and he sleeps. His ship is crashing and he is ASLEEP. However. Before he crashes, he wakes up and uh. Just knows how to pilot his spaceship. Literally, just knows how to do it like an instinct.

Kirby seems just as confused as Tokori about how he got the skip to fly, although Meta Knight seems like he knew this would happen. This is a Star Warrior thing, according to him.

And this isn't any copy ability, either. He just woke up knowing how to fly his spaceship. Furthermore, it seems like Star Warriors mastering control of spaceships is something notable enough that 1. NME is not surprised it happened, like it just happens every Tuesday and 2.Important enough for the Salesman to report to Nightmare.

Also, there is the matter of Kabu. Kabu is a multi-planetary being who is undeniably supernatural, being omnipresent to some degree and being able to fix Warp Stars and give people visions, etc... And Kabu is allied with Star Warrior's specifically, and acts like a hospital to them, as well as a protector, but for nobody else.

Do you get what I mean when I say it is heavily implied now?

And uh. there was one thing that I purposefully left out until now.

In the new version of the sub, Kabu says that there were multiple demon beasts who rebelled against Nightmare, and it is assumed that these rebels are Star Warriors.

I am hesitant to use this as the gatcha card, so I checked out the old sub AND the dub to see what is changed in this scene.

DUB: Said only one creation rebelled and it may or may not be Kirby, though kinda dodgy.

OLD SUB: Said only one creation rebelled and its strongly implied to be Meta Knight rather than Kirby

I have a transcript for all three versions of this specific scene, so you can read and decide for yourself.

THE IDEA OF ALL THE STAR WARRIORS BEING MONSTERS IS SO FUN BUT IT IS INCONSISTENT SO DO WITH IT WHAT YOU WILL. There is one thing I want to bring up though in relation to this.

Dakonyo talks like there are demon beasts who looked like Kirby specifically. And there is at least five other orbs in the anime who COULD have once been demon beasts. So. do with this what you will.

Overall, there's just too many instances for me to brush off and i think everything kinda adds up to make the explanation of "star warrior is a ranked title" seem unplausible.

TLDR: HEAVILY IMPLIED Star Warriors are kinda supernatural.

Also fun fact that I found out while searching for screenshots! Garlude (at least in the new sub) is never referred to as a Star Warrior, but rather a Galaxy Soldier!

[triflesandparsnips]

I've spent a couple days now trying to find the right words for this, and I still don't know if it's quite right, but-- well, fuck it. I need to tell it in three parts, because I'm not sure it breaks down more easily than that, so let's start with:

Stede knew.

...that is to say: The more I think about it, and in light of what we're seeing so far in season 2 (though hey, the new episode drops tonight, who knows, who knows, but--)

--but the more I think about it, the more sure I am that Stede has always known that he's attracted to men-- and he definitely knew, all along, that he was attracted to Ed in particular.

It's been a popular (and very entertaining) theory that maybe he didn't know. There was certainly a lot of static on the line whenever the topic came up in season 1. He seemed to need help identifying "love"; he didn't respond to Ed's flirting or half-attempted moonlight kiss; he didn't, in fact, try anything that wasn't obscured behind ten thousand layers of plausible deniability to the degree that it was reasonable to interpret him as naive or innocent or completely unaware of his own queerness.

But I think... I think that's what it was. Obfuscation. Hiding behind the relative safety of a presumed ignorance.

Because it all comes back, over and traumatically-over, to that queer need for the language of safety.

Listen: Stede Bonnet grew up keenly aware that being the kind of person he was-- being soft, being gay, being different, being queer-- was reason enough for the world to beat the shit out of him even when he was just a socially unacceptable level of queer (picking flowers as a boy, staying unmarried as a man). In Stede's time period, being any more obviously queer than that, and being subsequently found out, could lead to literal death.

So Stede would have been aware that that sort of attraction wasn't safe-- or, at least, that acting on it wasn't safe in any but the most plausibly deniable of ways... unless, and until, he could be absolutely sure.

And that's the thing, that right there, that's the next part of this:

Stede knew, but that doesn't mean he trusted himself-- or Ed.

It's like this:

When you're somebody who's been punished before (socially and physically) for just the appearance of queerness-- god forbid the acceptance or celebration of it-- then you're going to develop a whole lot of ways to protect yourself from anyone getting proof that you're as queer as they suspect.

So if you're caught looking-- no, no, you were just thinking about a book you wanted to read, silly Stede Bonnet, head in the clouds--

--and if your hand is caught lingering too long-- no, no, that can't be right, because you don't touch anyone at all, see? Oh that Stede Bonnet, awkward as anything, barely knows where his tea cup is--

--and no, absolutely not, you can't be fooled into believing a friend might be something more, no matter how flirtatious his body, no matter how much he seems to cherish your regard-- because either he's lying to you (and you learned that one well enough as a child, didn't you), or... or worse, that's just how some men feel friendship, and you're the one making it strange, making it queer, and he wouldn't be like that anymore if you just stopped bothering him quite so much, toddle on back to your wife, Stede Bonnet, and it'll all be fine again...

The tragedy of the first season might really be, out of all that happened, that a man could kiss Stede Bonnet on the mouth and say he made him happy and ask that they plan a life together--

And Stede still doubted that Ed really meant it.

Stede knew, and he doubted Ed... but he was on the road to trusting himself.

I think Stede went to sea to come out.

I think becoming a pirate was a deliberate queering of his previous life, the first step in him trying to actually allow himself an intentional queer identity in a world where the rules, boundaries, and kinds relationships that were expected and acceptable were broad enough for him to finally exist.

And he was right! Because, like-- jfc, of all the reasons the crew wanted to mutiny, it wasn't because Stede was kinda swish. Of all the reasons Spanish Jackie was going to de-nose him, it wasn't because he was swanning around camp af. Calico Jack did some damage, sure, but he dropped it once his overall aim was achieved-- making it less about social punishment and more another way to needle Stede into responding. Hell, even Izzy's initial interactions with him (regardless of what extra ammo he brought to bear later, which tbh may need separate examination entirely once we get more of season 2) were bound up in Stede interfering in his business and somehow succeeding rather than anything having to do with Stede's queerness.

And when you consider it from that angle... my god, the man was a one-man pride parade and his love of Edward Teach was the float at the front.

He used coded language with Ed in the first five minutes he was conscious enough to fuckin do so ("Do you fancy a fine fabric?" --christ, watch Stede's eyes before he asks that question, the way he clocks Ed turning away to test the cashmere, and when Ed gives a safe response that's when Stede shares more, just watch him)--

He took Ed's silk, touched Ed's chest, complimented his looks-- and even if you trust Stede's memory of it over Ed's, where there was no half-gasp, no aborted kiss-- Stede did all that, and Ed didn't punish him for it. My god, when they went their separate ways, Stede turned back to look-- and so did Ed--

He draped his lace cuffs over Ed's bare wrists as they stood together at tea. He let himself believe Ed was committing to a life together when they agreed to co-captaincy. When he thought Ed had left permanently with Calico Jack he was explicit with Lucius about what it meant ("I think it's over")--

Look: Stede has, in comparison and in opposition to his previous life, been a reckless bolt of rainbow glory almost the entire time we've see him in season 1. It just doesn't look like it from the outside because... he's really good at the language of safety.

So all this to say:

It makes sense, Stede having no concern for telling everybody in the entire pirate world apparently about his love for Ed.

It makes sense for Stede to say "I should have told him how I feel"-- because he knew, even then, he was just afraid he was wrong.

And so it would make sense, to me, if Stede, back in proximity with Ed and with definitive proof that Ed felt the same way as Stede (or had, at least, at one point), proceeds to get absolutely weird with how much gooey queer LOVE he throws at Ed from the moment they're both coherent enough to form words.

BECAUSE:

Stede couldn't trust the straight world to be safe? Well now he's dead there, time to be queer af

AND

Stede couldn't trust that Ed wanted him the same way? Well babe just went around making the world burn and then promptly died trying because he got his heart broken by Stede, so Stede is going to be 100% insufferable about showing this very special boy just how much he is absolutely adored.

And I cannot wait to see what bullshit he comes up now that he finally feels safe.