#that said any character i am not interested in is a blessing on my pulls so i can’t be too angry

[zieroses]

Getting underway with HSR 3.1 again (a little belatedly) and not to be a Hater but boy am I glad I have no interest in Tribbie or Hyacine design wise (or kit wise so far) because I can’t stand them ;A;

What possessed hoyo to make two separate characters who refer to other characters by weird cutesy nicknames? “Grayie” doesn’t even roll off the tongue like you couldn’t think of ANYTHING else?

The other chrysos heirs are so interesting and I’m hardcore saving for Castorice and Anaxa (and eventually Phainon!!!) but I have zero interest in childlike characters (meaning specifically the childlike body type) and I’ll be happy if i never hear “Aggie” or “Grayie” again it feels SO out of place!!!

[pleasureable]

Pink Goes Well with Purple

Summary - After entering in a series of death games, a popstar fallen from grace finds comfort in a certain purple haired stranger.

Warnings - mentions of reader having pink hair (hence the title lol), ooc Thanos?, bad writing, please excuse any grammatical errors, this is pretty short

A/N - this is my first ever attempt at writing fanfiction for a character so I know this story might be hot ass, I just really wanted to jump on the Thanos bandwagon since he's one of my favs from this season and there's not enough fics on here for him to quench my thirst lol

Once a universally loved popstar, the emotional distress caused by the separation from your ex-boyfriend caused you to fall down a rabbit hole of sex and drugs, not to mention the $70,000,000 lawsuit you were slapped with after punching a paparazzi for putting his camera just a tad bit too close to your face. The heavy fallout from the legal battle was enough to make the whole world turn its back on you. Essentially blacklisted from the industry as a whole, you were desperate to rebuild your image (or at least get your money back) in any way you possibly could.

That's when you were approached by a man in a suit offering you $100,000 if you beat him in a game of ddakji. Managing to win 2 out of the 3 games played, you were given your $200,000 as promised by the suit-clad man standing before you.

"You know, I have a simple solution to your debts." he said. You were confused as to how he knew you had debts, you didn't recall mentioning your financial situation to him, at all. You tried to brush his comment off, maybe he had seen your name in a tabloid mentioning your lawsuit somewhere and he recognized you.

"How do you know I'm in debt?"

No answer, he just pulled a card out of the inside pocket in his suit and handed it to you. "We don't have many spots left so if you're interested, please call us as soon as possible." Then, he was gone.

You spent the rest of the day looking at the brown business card given to you, you took notice of the shapes that were on the front of it. The simplistic design of the card was weirdly intriguing. On the back, a phone number. On one hand, you didn't want to be wasting your time. On the other hand, you needed money in order to rebuild your life. So, this could either be the biggest scam or the biggest blessing of your entire life.

Fuck it, you dialed.

You didn't really know it at the time, but that phone call would unleash a chain of events that would change your life, forever.

That's how you winded up in the situation you were in now. Transported to a room designed to simulate a courtyard, a giant doll on the other side of the room.

Suddenly, you heard a voice come up from behind you, "Hey señorita" the deep voice spoke. Turning your head around, your eyes were met with the sight of a tall, purple haired man. "Knew I recognized that pretty pink hair from somewhere. You're that singer that socked that paparazzi guy in the face; Y/N, right?"

"Yes, Y/N. Who are you?" I said back. "You don't know who I am?" He said, a twinge of pretend hurt in his voice. "Am I supposed to?" You always had a slight dislike for people who expected everyone to know who they were. Clearly, this guy was one of those people.

"No, but we can get to know each other. Tell me about yourself, beautiful."

"Are you flirting with me?" a slight smirk began to form on your face. While his attitude was a bit off-putting, he was pretty cute.

"Yo, pink hair, you're so fine

like a bouquet of flowers, all intertwined

You're the rose to my thorn, the petal to my stem

Red, orange, yellow, green

I'm a legend, Thanos"

You giggled at his comically bad attempt at freestyling. "Thanos, huh? I guess that would explain the purple hair. Although, you're not as hideous as the titan."

"I'll take that as a compliment, petal."

Masked men wearing pink jumpsuits began to round up every other person who was dressed in the same blue-green sweatsuit as you and Thanos; you did a quick head count, confirming the amount of people to be about 400. Once a female voice on the intercom explained that you were all going to participate in a game of Red Light Green Light, the big robotic doll began to recite the games' chant.

Red light, a bee had landed on the neck of the girl standing in front of Thanos while the doll was scanning the room for movement. ''There's a bee on you, don't freakout." Instantly, the girl began to swat at her neck in an attempt to get the insect off. While the scene unfolding was slightly amusing to watch, your heart felt like it had stopped once a single bullet pierced her forehead. Her blood had splattered onto Thanos's face, and you watched as his face dropped once her body hit the ground.

Green light, Thanos picked up his cross-shaped necklace and opened it, revealing an array of colorful, circular pills. "Want one, petal? They'll help you relax." Red light, you stood still while staring at the pills in his hands; you had been clean for a little over 3 months now, but pill popping had never sounded better. "Fuck it, give me one."

Green light, he quickly placed a blue colored pill in your hand then grabbed an orange pill for himself. He grabbed your hand and started to lead you both further across the courtyard. Immediately, you began to feel the effects of the mysterious pill you had just ingested. As you continued to advance through the game, your vision became nothing but a colorful kaleidoscopic blur. The sudden energy burst allowed you and Thanos to quickly cross the red finish line, jumping, dancing, and twirling together on the way there.

After the game was over, the remaining players were all taken back to the room where your bunk beds were. You and Thanos were standing against a wall together, giggling at seemingly nothing. "Stick with me from now on, petal. I'll protect you." He said, finishing his statement off with a playful wink. "THE Thanos wants to protect me? Wow, I'm so fucking lucky" you chuckled. "I'm serious! I wouldn't want anything to happen to my flower now, would I?"

You just looked at him with a slight smile. His nickname for you made you blush, your cheeks taking on a subtle hue that matched your hair. He had such a way with words, you couldn't help but be totally charmed by him. "Fine then, let's team up. Thanos the Mad Titan and Y/N, Popstar Fallen from Grace; world's greatest duo." Your words made him smile like an idiot. He loved your company already.

"Of course we're the world's greatest duo. Pink goes well with purple, petal."

[alieinthemorning]

Deep Sea Love [Rafayel]

Content: Character Death, Angst, Hurt No Comfort, POV Second Person, Bond: Nightly Stroll Spoilers

Pronouns: None

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

If Rafayel had to choose between the sea and land, one boring place over another. He’d probably pick the sea. As boring as it was, it hasn’t hurt him as bad as the land has. Yeah, there were things that he found interesting and amusing, but…

“Rafayel, when are you going to clean this place?” You asked him with a frown, a clear sign of your displeasure

“Haven’t you heard the saying: ‘Beauty in chaos.’”

You nodded, but there was still that pesky frown on your face. “Yes, but—”

“No buts! This is how it’s supposed to be.” He grabbed your hand, pulling you further into his chaos.

“You can’t keep checking yourself into the hospital just because you want to see me, Rafayel.”

He looked away from your sharp gaze. “It works, doesn’t it?”

“At the cost of the nurses’ precious time.”

“Then what should I do?”

You smiled at him warmly. “Just be honest. Say that you just want to see me, and I'll come.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to come and find me, Rafayel…” You didn’t look at him, your eyes were glued to the floor. Hell, you didn’t even open the door all the way, just enough that you could address him.

But that didn’t matter, because he had seen enough. “You’re hurt.” Your arms were wrapped in bandages, and with how bad the news said the battle was, he was sure other parts of you were covered in gauze.

“It’s not too bad, not the worse I’ve had.”

“You’ve had worse?!”

You shrugged, gaze finally reaching his.“…Well, of course, I’m a Hunter, after all.”

He sighed as he slumped further against the boulder. Why was he thinking about you now. It had been years since…

“I’m not gonna lie to you, Rafayel. I’m not going to make it.”

He didn’t say anything, however, the hand holding yours gripped it a little tighter.

“So, you’re going to have to take care of yourself from now on, okay? No more all-nighters, and make sure to eat something—”

“You’re dying, and all you can do is nag me. That’s so like you.”

It was quiet for a moment after that, then you placed your other hand on, telling him to look up at you. Once you had his attention, you spoke softly.

“I love you, Rafayel. So, even after I’m gone, please keep my love for you safe, okay?”

“…I will keep your love for me safe”

He didn’t need to look down to know that the vow had been blessed, and he’s glad he didn’t because he would have missed the warmest, brightest smile you had ever given him.

“Thank you, my love.

I’ll be going first.”

He angrily scrubbed his hands over his wet face, then let them rest on his chest.

“I love you, too, you know. And I swear…that I won’t let anything tarnish our love.”

Blue light peeked from in between his fingers, and from that light was birthed another blessing from the ocean.

Another vow of your love.

I am not immune to any of these men.

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s6 episode 6 thoughts

a christmas episode!! and i shall be watching it exactly one month after christmas. this does make me a little sad; i wish i could travel back in time with what i know now and watch it then. and then maybe i’d feel all festive. but! what can you do? i shall embrace it even though there stands between me and christmas 11 months.

i haven’t watched an episode in a week-ish, so i’m excited to get back into the swing of things. let’s gooo!!

post-episode thoughts: oh my god, this episode was incredible. what if we (platonically) went to the house where two lovers famously kill other lovers each christmas? and then those ghosts tormented us with our deepest insecurities? and when they tried to trick us into killing each other, our love was simply too strong and we wouldn't fall for it? would that be festive? would you hold my hand when we walked across the rickety floorboards and found our own bodies beneath them?

love... it's alive, and well. or, in some cases, dead and well <3

PLEASE tell me what you thought of this episode. i want to go into depth on each line and do intense character analysis.

but back to past me:

well, why are they in a haunted house in maryland on christmas eve?? is kersh punishing them with a christmas assignment?

(the answer is no. it was all mulder. honestly, i should have expected that by now)

let us open with some spoooooky organ music. while mulder has christmas songs on in the car!

scully pulls in late!! she was in the checkout line, buying gifts!! “if i heard silent night one more time, i was going to start taking hostages” <- lmaoooo, i love her!!!!! she is so real for that. she truly has endured so much.

he brought her here for a stakeout?! “on christmas eve.” “it’s an important date” “no kidding” <- BAHAHA, i love when she’s a smartass. now, why are they doing this!!!

she has wrapping to do!!! he looks in her car and sees she has gifts. and he sadly says "oh...." but she acquiesces and gets in his car to hear this spooky story

SHE’S GOT HOLIDAY CHEER TO SPREAD, DAMNIT!! 

(this line KILLED me. seems she does NOT play when it comes to the holiday season!)

she has FAMILY ROLL CALL at 6 am?!?! oh. god bless her poor soul.

he locks the car before she can get out and says he’ll make it fast, bahaha (loud scully sigh)

he starts talking about christmas 1917, and did he mention it was a time of “dark, dark despair?” well, it was.

oh, now she’s hooked on this story of star-crossed lovers. i heard the interest in that “go on”.

maurice was “brooding” and “heroic”, and he loved lyda, who had a “light that seemed to follow her wherever she went”; they ended their lives together so they would never be apart. and now, each christmas eve, they come back to haunt this spooky house in maryland.

AWWW, she compliments how he told the story, and says it’s a good one, but she does not believe it. 

“you don’t believe in ghosts?!” “that surprises you?” <- STOP, SHE IS SO FUNNY, LMAOOOO

“well, yeah! i thought everybody believed in ghosts” ohhhh… okay. yeah, he would think that.

she has to go now, and he starts to enter the spooky house. she asks “don’t you have somewhere to be?” and to that i ask, oh, my poor, sweet scully, where would he go? to the vineyard? last time we saw his mom, he was tripping on K, accused her of having an affair, and then she slapped him and he left scully at her house. i hope they made up for that. but i haven’t seen or heard any indication either way.

she does not want to follow his ass in: “i’m not gonna do it. my new year’s resolution” <- bahaha, but where are her keys??? 

oooo, spooky thunder!! clocks chiming eerily!!! she just wants her keys, and he claims that he does not have them!! do we believe him?? hmm… jury’s still out on that one.

scully knows the weather said there is an 80% chance of rain!! maybe even a white christmas!! oh, but instead of letting her enjoy such a thing, the doors crash and lock them both inside!!!

(something about her wanting a white christmas made me emotional in a way i cannot quite articulate. she's kind of a romantic. and i love that for her <3)

(intro time) ooooo, sooo spOoOOoky!

oh, so just when i think we’ll never see it again, they DO hit us with the full intro!!!! chris carter, i am onto your tricks. but i much prefer the full intro. it feels so right.

back to this spooky mansion.

LET HER OUT!! he is not helping her escape and is instead telling her there is nothing to be afraid of because “ghosts are benevolent entities…. mostly”

hey man. that's not super reassuring.

she tries to check the time- and the clock strangely matches her watch, which is super weird for an abandoned old house- and then declares that she REALLY HAS TO GET HOME, when some sort of figure in white appears in a crack of thunder!!!

LMAOOOO, SHE IS JUST MONOLOGUING ABOUT HOW RIDICULOUS SOCIETY IS FOR EXPECTING GHOSTS TO BE REAL. i would have copied it down, but it just KEPT going and i kept laughing.

she admits to being afraid. and i love that. i love that her method for dealing with fear is to infodump. yeah. you tell ‘em, girl! tell them about the essence of humanity and the unconscious yearnings to live forever!! 

but it’s an IRRATIONAL fear, she points out! i would be afraid, too! of spooky ghosts AND rabid bats, rotting wood, lead paint, and other dangers of creepy abandoned buildings!

she goes ahead to investigate this other room, and he says “i’ve got your back” bahaha 

she asks if maybe someone lives here, because look!! the light is on in the library!! they have a LIBRARY?? woah, i don’t even know what this room is- it's got bookshelves on the walls, but almost looks like a ballroom on the floor- but it sure is cool!!

so the clock downstairs is somehow still keeping time which is super weird for an abandoned old building, and something is… smoking, it looks like? yeah, maybe it isn’t abandoned. hmm… 

it’s the fireplace- it was just put out! “why would anyone want to live in a cursed house?” “mulder, it’s not enough for it to be haunted? it has to be cursed?” LMAOOO 

oh, he just now CASUALLY drops that there have been 3 double murders (all of couples) in the last 80 years, and all of them were on christmas eve. GET TF OUT OF THERE!!! this seems like RELEVANT INFORMATION THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MENTIONED BEFORE YOU BROUGHT YOUR PARTNER INTO THIS DEATH TRAP!!

and then the lights go out!! and a door slams!!! and there is some weird sound and creaking floorboards…. they’re locked in!!

he’s trying to listen to the floor….

AWWW, HE SCARED HER!!!! he held the flashlight under his face and she yelled “that’s NOT funny!” <- you tell him!!

he wants to free someone from beneath the floor boards? how did he hear someone beneath the floor? but it’s just a dead body. so i guess he was half right, as he declares. looks super dead. as in dead for a very long time. oh, and there’s another!!

a man and a woman!! shot to death. and she has bright red hair. coincidence….?

well, must be not, because scully points out that the dead woman is WEARING HER OUTFIT.

(he laughs) “how embarrassing” <- LMAOOO, NOW YOU STFUUUU!!!!!

(i'm so used to his dumbass one liners, but this one really killed me for some reason)

and at first i didn’t notice, because the dead guy had a winter coat on and mulder just had a leather jacket, but he is wearing his outfit!! they put together that it is somehow them, and they RUN!!

at first i thought it was the original couple that died, but how would they get under the floor? so maybe it actually is mulder and scully in some cosmic way. don’t question it too hard.

they ran into the same room!!! well, maybe if you have one stylish room, you just make it again. and again. 

nooo!! the rooms are looping!! and they get separated somehow!! 

i wish the lighting was better; i want to stare at these paintings on the walls. they look so pretty. i wonder if they built this creepy house just for this episode and decorated it all spooky, or if there’s a stock studio haunted mansion set that gets used for lots of shows and movies. the frames are so pretty!

but back to the problem at hand. where is scully?? he’s yelling, but she’s not responding!!

he shoots th,e handle of the door and opens it to a brick wall???

A MAN APPEARS!! “who are you?” “that’s a question i should be asking you, being this is my house you’re standing in” <- GET HIS ASS!!

perhaps they shall finally face consequences for breaking and entering.

mysterious man flicks on the lights. 

mysterious man seems to be unable to tell that the door leads straight to a brick wall, or perhaps mulder is somehow seeing that. mulder says “we”, tipping off the man that there is someone else here. but mulder goes straight to accusing him of being a ghost! a bold move…

mystery guy laughs and asks mulder if he’s a ghost hunter, saying a lot of strange folks come around. he tries to deflect with a “strange folks? like those under the floor-“ but when he turns around, there is nothing there apart from some furniture!!

you know shit is going down when the mystery old man says “why don’t you have a seat, son”

oh plot twist, mystery man reveals he is in the field of mental health and specializes in “disorders and manias related to pathological behavior as it pertains to the paranormal”. okay, yeah, now i definitely believe that this dude is a real ghost and he is just doing all this to personally torture mulder.

the type of ghost hunter this mystery man encounters, and therefore he also he believes mulder to be, is as follows: a “narcissistic, overzealous, self-righteous egomaniac”; “you kindly think of yourself as single-minded, but you’re prone to obsessive compulsiveness, workaholism, antisocialism- fertile fields for the descent into total wacko breakdown” BAHAHAHA

well. yes! 

while i do support generally roasting mulder for his various qualities, i also need to know where scully is. 

“you know why you think you’ve seen the things you do?” “because… i have seen them?”  okay, sassy!

“‘cause you’re a lonely man” <- OH DAMN. that shut him up.

mystery man is really being mean now… OH SHIT, did mulder steal scully's car keys to get her to stick around with him??? i hope that isn't true, but knowing him, it probably is, and that behavior seems to match some of those adjectives that were tossed about moments before

“you know why you do it- listen endlessly to her droning rationalizations. ‘cause you’re afraid. afraid of the loneliness” <- oh man. now you’ve got him sad and pondering. he looks like he’s gonna cry, but he’s gonna try and be tough about it and smile. and say politely that he would like to find his partner.

(and i would like to contemplate these lines- do we think they are true? or do we think mystery man just wanted to hit him where it hurts? "droning rationalizations" is pretty harsh; seeing scully as nothing more than a beacon against being alone doesn't seem to capture their dynamic accurately, unless you interpret it in the most selfish light possible, which is probably what that mean inner voice of mulder's head does. hmm...)

and now the brick wall behind the door is gone and mystery man can just walk through…. but mulder cannot!!! it is just a real brick wall!! and he slams his beautiful nose!!!

so... did he imagine all of that???

scully is still yelling for him!!

NOOOOO, SCULLY GETS SO SCARED AND SCREAMS AND PULLS OUT HER GUN WHEN THIS LADY APPEARS LMAOOOOO she’s absolutely SHAKING “please, i’m a little on edge” <- yeah queen, we can tell 💜

ohhh, poor sweet scully, apologizing for scaring this lady; it’s just that they found bodies! and when she tries to show her where the bodies are… there is only furniture!!

she very rarely gets scared. must have been the combo of spookiness on a night she associated with being cozy and warm. and also seeing what she does not believe in. AND being separated from mulder. truly multiple things factoring into her fear here.

scully has her gun aimed at this mystery woman, and her hands are shaking as she asks “where’s my partner?” - and when she goes to open the door, there is also! just! a! brick! wall!

how can this keep happening?!

she circling the mystery woman, holding her gun, and i guess we’re getting some psychoanalysis on both ends of this brick wall:

“oh, you poor child. you must have an awful small life. spending your christmas eve with him, running around chasing things you don’t even believe in” oh, wow... that is so mean.........

LMAO, mystery woman is going on about the “subconscious desire to find fulfillment through another” and “intimacy through co-dependency” (which. okay. yeah, that one is accurate) and scully's dirty little secret that “your only joy in life is proving him wrong”.

but unlike mulder, who was taking this analysis sitting down, she seems scared, but still spits out “you don’t know me!" i LOVE that about her!! truly!!!

“and this isn’t your house” “you wouldn’t think so, the way i’m being treated” DAMN! these ghosts are gagging them 💀💀💀

“well, then, why is all of the furniture covered?” “we’re having the house painted” “well, then where’s your christmas tree?” “we’re jewish” LMAOOO

enter mystery man!!!! scully is telling him to NOT MOVE or she WILL SHOOT HIM!!!! she needs to know WHERE MULDER IS!! and these ghosts better MOVE OVER THERE!!!!!!!

“this violates our civil rights!! i have friends at the ACLU!!” LMAOOOO

well, she makes them put their hands up, and mystery woman has a hole blown completely through her belly. so. not great. and his hat is hiding the bullet hole through his head!!!

i mean, it was pretty obvious that these here ghosts were lyda and maurice, but i wanted to go along with the mystery bit until the big reveal. and now i shall use their government names.

SCULLY!!! SHE PASSED OUT!!!! OHHHHH, POOR BABY

the ghosts are lamenting that they used to get years to drive the visitors mad, but now they get just ONE NIGHT!!! i would be pissed, too!!! 

BAHAHA, WHAT? “look, if we let our reputations slip, they’re going to take us off the tourist literature” <- BAHAHAHA OH MY GOD. wait, hold on, that’s so fucking funny.

she picked christmas as their one night a year because that is when people have no HOPE LMAOOOO and maurice looks down and says “these two do seem pretty miserable”

they smooch over poor scully’s fainted body as they declare they must show them how lonely christmas can be!!

mulder is climbing up the bookshelves, trying to get tf out of this trap room, when lyda arrives!! she calls him a “masher” (i don’t know what this means, so i hope it is not offensive) and he fires back with “frump”, only to be met by ANOTHER brick wall

(dictionary.com says that a masher is "a man who makes advances, especially to women he does not know, with a view to physical intimacy". so now we know! she accused him of hitting on her!)

“what happened to the star crossed lovers?” “oh, let me tell you, the romance is the first thing to go” <- that is a CRAZY thing to say about the guy you ended your life with 💀💀

he realizes that she is lyda, and the man is maurice!! 

she summons books from the shelves!! and says she was young and beautiful once, just like your partner. she hands him a book telling their story. so i guess you can still age in the afterlife. who knew?

she’s sitting down and he’s standing in front of her, but the focus gets all fuzzy and weird when the camera turns to him. i can’t tell if this came from reshoots or what, but lyda is crisp and clear and he is not 💀

she assumes they came here “to be together for eternity”, which gets him giggling 

“you knew this house was haunted, maybe you two should have discussed your real feelings before you came out here” OHH! SHE IS GOING THERE!!

taunt him. he just confessed his love a few episodes ago!!! do not think i forgot!!

and lyda shows him the hole in her CHEST??? i swear it was just in her belly with scully. “i don’t show my hole to just anyone” is INSANE, LMAOOO

“oh, you’re trying to tell me that scully’s going to shoot me. scully is NOT going to shoot me” AWWW, i love the certainty with which he said that

“maybe she shoots herself” “i wouldn’t let her” ohhhh…. he is so confident… but trickery is afoot, so who knows??

(also, i think lyda's line, “if you shoot first, for her, the rest is an act of faith” is a very fascinating one. one i want to unpack for years to come. but i do not have the capacity to do it now, so i am simply noting it)

OH MY GOD??? she’s trying to tell him to end their lives together???

(he sighs) “we’re not lovers”

“and this isn’t a pure science. but you’re both so attractive, and there will be a lot of time to work that out.” (she hands him the gun) “think of it as the last christmas you’ll spend alone” 

she drops the gun and disappears

so, do lyda and maurice need people (couples, specifically) to either kill themselves or be killed in order to maintain their spooky reputation? and maybe their spooky power? maybe since they haven’t had a couple’s death in a long time, that is why they can only haunt people on christmas? like, they only have enough spectral energy from the blood sacrifices to show up one day a year? i’m trying to flesh this out here.

scully wakes up!!! she’s alone with her gun and flashlight, and she still can’t get the door open!! when maurice reappears!!

“i am quite capable of pulling this trigger”, she warns him, and we know that to be very true!!

OH NO!!! i see where this is going… maurice is going to try and convince her that mulder wants to kill her… so she will shoot him first, and then they can be together forever or something…

she says that it is all just a bad dream, and it’s in her head, but. well. here she is. interesting rationalization on her part. i would have expected her to pull the folie a deux card.

maurice hands her the car keys, saying that mulder is acting out "an unconscious yearning from the deep-seated terror of being alone” <- so would that make him a threat? does he genuinely want to convince her that mulder is going to kill her so they can always be together?

mulder’s pounding on the door and yelling for her. she takes the keys and tells maurice to open the door. she has her gun trained on him….

she doesn’t believe him that mulder wants to kill her!!!!

mulder opens the door… and asks where scully is… AND HE SHOOTS???????

WHAT!!!!

okay, but he’s not shooting HER!!! he's shooting nearby though, so please be careful. she’s scared!!!

why is he being crazy!!! look at that physical acting!! he's deranged!! he says all that is out there is loneliness!!! AND THEN HE SHOOTS HER FOR REAL????

she falls over as she bleeds into her white blouse…. he stands over her, saying “merry christmas, scully”

but!!! it was really lyda that took his shape to shoot her!!!!

so he didn’t REALLY do any of that???? but scully thinks he did!

he runs in, finds her bleeding out on the floor!!! “i didn’t believe that you’d do it”

OHHHH, but then it must not really be scully either, because as she is bleeding out, she shoots HIM!!!

but it was really just lyda and maurice playing around???

SO IS SCULLY HURT OR NOT????? JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!

scully is crawling away dying as "have yourself a merry little christmas" plays, and mulder is also crawling with a gaping stomach wound- or are they really the ghosts taking their forms? i don’t KNOW!!

they’re crawling toward each other, their blood and gore all over the floor, and here i ask: what the fuck is happening? mulder’s yelling after her, and they both have their guns pointed at each other.

she asks if he’s afraid, and she says she is, and he admits he is too; “i didn’t shoot you, you shot me!” so their stories diverge...

they’re rolling around in their blood and dying. hey guys. merry christmas.

but then he gets up, and says she’s not been shot, and neither has he!!! it was all a trick!!!!

they run outside, and there is no blood on them at all!!! they get into their cars and drive away!!!!

so, were they in pain like they WERE shot? did they feel like they were dying? or did mulder realize that it was weird he was in no pain despite being shot and then got up and defeated their ghostly tricks?

lyda and maurice lament how they almost had those two, and how christmas is another joyless day of the year- but not for them. “no, we haven’t forgotten the meaning of christmas”; they hold hands and then fade away

STOP! they’re making me sad!!!!

mulder’s at home, watching a christmas carol alone. and it seems to be his usual couch he has back, so i wonder if he managed to restore all of his things after the morris redecorating incident!!! he looks so sad, though!!!

there’s a knocking at his door…. he is suspicious…. it’s scully!!! she couldn’t sleep!!! oh, she asks to come in- she must be so nervous!! she never asks to come in!!! he grabs her by the shoulder

he poses a great question: “aren’t you supposed to be opening christmas gifts with your family?” (she did mention it around a billion times)

“mulder… none of that really happened out there tonight. that was all in our heads, right?” <- ohhh… what do you say to this… a proposed collective hallucination??

he waits a second. “it-it must have been”

(this, too, is FASCINATING. he never agrees with her rationalizations! why does he do it now? does he want her to have some peace for the holidays? i suppose a collective hallucination is less concerning than upending your entire belief system, but not by much!)

they’re both sleep deprived and mumbling about the ghosts poking at their biggest insecurities:

“not that, uh, my only joy in life is proving you wrong”

“when have you proved me wrong?”

“well, why else would you want me out there with you?”

“you didn’t want to be there? oh, that’s um, that’s self-righteous and… narcissistic of me to say, isn’t it?”

“no… maybe i did want to be out there with you”

AWWW, they have no idea wtf is going on, but look at the way he is LOOKING at her as she nearly falls asleep standing up, OH!!! i could cry!!!

they said they wouldn’t exchange gifts, but he has something for her!!! when did they say they wouldn’t do that?!! and he broke that promise anyway!!! look at his big stupid smile!!! look at her face when she sees it!!!! 

and she has something for him too!!! and they run to the couch and open each other's gifts! but we don’t get to see what they are!!! 

and as the camera pulls away, we see snow falling out of the window!!!

OHHH, MY HEART!!!!

man… 

lyda and maurice might actually be the ideal relationship. because i want to haunt people romantically forever. that is so beautiful.

oh, how did we manage to get such excellent character analysis AND silly fluff in one episode??? i feel like i’m going crazy!!!

okay, my biggest question: did he really take her keys??? no one says it outright or not!! it’s implied, but not confirmed either way!! if he did take her keys, that is not a point in his favor. but it would speak to the character flaws maurice accused him of having, in a drastically oversimplified sense. did he steal her keys and make her come out there so he wouldn't be alone on christmas? how can someone be so selfless and selfish?

hold on, i need to watch them open the gifts again… he’s shaking it around, trying to figure out what it is!!! and she’s laughing as she tries to pop it open!!!

ohhh my GOD. i need to go take a nap…….

they’re not lonely!!! they have each other!!! and even the ghosts tease them about having feelings they aren't admitting!!! 

scully was completely ready to just die on that floor, LMAO 

oh, she was so scared!! but she still meant business! she was going to have those ghosts stand against the wall and lift their hands, even if that meant she was going to faint!!

(when faced with people with holes in their body, usually she would not faint, but alas. she is used to this on dead people and dead people alone)

there are definitely some thing in this episode i am still trying to work out logic-wise (was lyda shot in her stomach or her chest? did she change where she was shot to mess with each of them? was lyda pretending to be scully for like, the whole thing after they first met? so how much did they actually experience in their own bodies? and therefore, it was the ghosts that were shooting them, not scully and mulder shooting at each other- but they both ended up fake shot in the end, and then the ghosts hoped that if they have them real guns, they would finish the job- right? how can we analyze the different strategies the ghosts used on each of them to convince them to shoot the other- telling scully that mulder is a danger to her, and telling mulder that if he does this, he will never be alone? is that a foreplay thing for lyda and maurice?)

but overall, i got the gist of it and enjoyed it very much. i think there will be plenty to turn around in my head and analyze for many moons to come. 

and i might sound like a rabid MSR truther, but i would very much like to think that they fell asleep on his stupid little couch after exchanging presents and felt each other breathe for a bit to make up for their exhausting evening before scully left to go deal with her family.

she needed to talk to him first before she did all of that family stuff… she was so bothered by it… and the way he just agreed with her that it was probably all in their heads… is he doing that to try and reassure her everything is okay, or is he agreeing because he doesn’t want to think there is any meaning to it??? 

GOD! i need to turn this one around in my brain for a bit.

the set was also super cool. i wanted to pause and look at stuff!!!

i am very pleased. i would have been likely even more so pleased had i watched this a month ago, but now i can go back and watch it every christmas as i desire! definitely a nice change of pace from the previous christmas episodes that shall not be spoken of in this post. 

but it was a very good episode, even if i am trying to crack the specific character implications (which will continue at length in the tags). some of y'all have had 25 years to do a deep dive into every line, reflect on how the characters see themselves vs who they truly are, and so on, but given that i have had 1 day, i have a lot of catching up to do!

(i would be interested in reading an analysis on this episode, or many other episodes, but those analysis posts tend to always have spoilers in them for things that happen down the road. so i shan't)

oh, scared, shaking scully, starting out apologizing for spooking lyda, then waving her gun around until they did what she said so she could find her mulder…. lifting up maurice’s hat and then passing tf out… rambling all about human nature and irrational fears as she was spooked by the scary old house… refusing to believe mulder would hurt her, and then having to confront the vision of him doing so... UGH!!!!! i just cannot TAKE IT!!! i hope they had the merriest christmas ever after this!!

it looked like she got him a video tape?? maybe a book? but it looked more like a tape to me. and what did he get her in that tube!! a poster of some sort, maybe?? i can’t think of many things that come in tubes. maybe he got her a nice print for her apartment walls. she loves her prints. 

tonight, i shall dream beautiful dreams of being a ghost with the one you love forever and making sure that you keep your scary reputation, lest the tourists stop visiting you. 

[lifesizehysteria]

A Mother's Blessings | A Bridgerton Fic

Part 2: Hyacinth

Fandom: Bridgerton (TV) Rating: Gen Pairing: Violet Bridgerton/Marcus Anderson Characters: Violet Bridgerton, Marcus Anderson, Hyacinth Bridgerton, Kate Bridgerton, Benedict Bridgerton, Gregory Bridgerton Summary: A collection of moments through Violet and Marcus’ courtship in which Violet seeks the blessings of her children. AO3 Part 1

Violet fanned her face, still desperate to cool herself from the oppressive summer heat, despite having moved inside. It seemed they had chosen the worst day possible for a family game of pall-mall; the sun was relentless and there was not a breath of wind nor a single cloud in the sky. The shade provided by the covered seating by the lawn offered little relief from the stifling temperatures, so they had sought refuge inside, filling the hallway with their usual raucous joy as they did so, before settling into a quieter cacophony in the drawing room.

“It is a shame Lord Bridgerton was unable to join us,” Marcus said.

“Yes, well…” Violet began, but found herself unable to provide any further excuse as to why her son had, once again, found a reason to avoid Lord Anderson’s company.

“He is quite busy preparing for our departure to India, I am afraid,” Kate supplied without missing a beat, though Violet caught the quick glance her daughter-in-law sent her direction. She offered her own smile in gratitude, patting the perspiration from her brow with the back of her hand.

“It is probably for the best,” Benedict said. “Our brother has a competitive streak unlike any other. He would have died of heat stroke before ending the game early.”

Marcus laughed. “Is that so?”

“It is true. I do not know where he gets it.” Violet shook her head, secretly grateful Anthony had not been there to insist the game continue. While the weather had been the excuse, Violet was sure it was really mercy that ended the game early. When Hyacinth had suggested they play, Marcus had agreed to join on the condition that Violet play, too. Despite her efforts otherwise, she had not been able to resist him or the children’s insistence. With reluctance, she joined the game, only to thoroughly humiliate herself, despite Marcus’ attempt to throw the game in her favor. They were all laughing so hard by the time they called it off, no one could have continued playing anyway.

“Ah, yes,” Marcus said, the richness of his voice sending a shiver down Violet’s spine. “I believe it is a trait shared by all eldest children. You have met my sister.” He flashed her a dazzling grin, his eyebrows arched knowingly.

“Indeed, I have,” she conceded with a laugh, fanning a new wave of heat from her cheeks and averting her gaze from his shining black eyes.

“Well, I think you could beat Anthony, Lord Anderson,” Hyacinth declared.

“Thank you for your vote of confidence, Miss Hyacinth. Though, if he is anywhere near as formidable an opponent as the Viscountess, I would not stand a chance.”

“I assure you, he is not,” Kate said, making everyone laugh. 

“Anthony certainly did meet his match in you, Sister,” Benedict said. 

“As we should all hope to do,” Marcus said, his eyes finding their way to Violet, who bit back a smile while her stomach did a somersault. 

Conversation continued to flow, but Violet grew quiet, watching. Marcus looked completely at ease among her brood, the portion of it that was present, at least. There was a noticeable camaraderie between him, Benedict, and Kate, their playfulness rather enjoyable to witness. And with the younger two, he was attentive and kind, including them in conversation and listening to them with genuine interest. Hyacinth was clearly enamored, and although he was a bit subdued, Gregory was receptive to him as well. 

“Lord Anderson, are you staying for lunch?” Hyacinth asked, pulling Violet back into the moment. 

“Hyacinth!” she chastised, though her daughter did not show an ounce of embarrassment at being so forward. “Please forgive my daughter’s lack of manners.”

Marcus held up a staying hand. “It is quite alright,” he assured her, then turned towards Hyacinth. “Thank you for the invitation. Unfortunately, I have already committed to lunch with my sister, so I cannot join you today. It is my sincerest hope that the offer may be extended for another day.”

Beaming, Hyacinth opened her mouth, but Violet cut her off before she could speak. “I am sure we can arrange something soon.”

“A picnic, perhaps!” Hyacinth jumped in, ignoring the wide-eyed look of warning from her mother. 

“Oh, a picnic would be lovely,” Kate agreed, barely concealing a smirk as Violet’s mouth dropped open.  

Marcus leaned closer to Hyacinth, dropping the volume of his voice to a whisper that was more than audible throughout the room. “I do love a picnic.”

When he grinned at Violet over his shoulder, she was caught between wanting to throw her arms around him and wishing a hole would open up beneath her feet and swallow her alive. If he and her children were already conspiring against her, she was not sure she would stand a chance at winning anything ever again. She stubbornly pursed her lips against a persistent smile and cleared her throat. 

“Well then, I suppose we’ll see what can be arranged. As long as the weather cooperates,” she added, if for no other reason than to feel as though she had not lost complete control. 

“Oh, goodie!” Hyacinth cheered, clapping her hands together as her curls bounced around her shoulders. Behind her, Benedict silently clapped as well, a teasing smirk directed at his mother. She narrowed her eyes at him, which he returned with a wink. He was bordering on impertinence and if she didn’t love him so much, she thought she could have killed him. 

“Until then,” Marcus said, standing up and addressing the room, “I am afraid I must take my leave. Anyone who knows what’s good for them does not make Agatha Danbury wait for her food.”

After a chorus of goodbyes, Violet sat back down on the settee, nestling into the corner. Kate came over from her spot by the window, managing to look as graceful as ever lowering herself onto the settee across from Violet, despite her ever growing belly. At the same time, Benedict wandered off without a word to anyone, leaving Gregory alone at the table. Hyacinth appeared beside her mother, kneeling on the cushion, her large green eyes bright with enthusiasm.

“Mama?” she asked, taking hold of Violet’s forearm in both her hands.

“Yes, dearest?” Violet patted her daughter’s hand, the affection in her voice unwavering despite a hint of weariness sneaking in. 

“When are we going to have our picnic with Lord Anderson?”

Violet let out a little laugh of surprise. “I do not know. I will arrange it and send him an invitation soon.”

Hyacinth beamed at her, turning to sit properly and leaning into her mother’s side. Violet wrapped her arm around her, pulling her in against her. 

“I do hope it is very soon. It will be such fun!”

“You seem to hold a great affection for Lord Anderson,” Kate pointed out. 

“Why shouldn’t I? He is kind and funny. He does not treat Gregory and me like small children who should not be allowed to speak. And most importantly, he makes Mama smile in a way I have never seen before.”

Violet’s eyes grew wide, her face suddenly hot again. 

“Are you going to marry him, Mama?”

Her eyes, widening even further, flew to Hyacinth, finding herself at a loss for words. After sputtering for a moment, she finally managed to ask, “Why ever would you ask such a question?”

Hyacinth straightened and tilted her head to one side. “Is that not the purpose of courting?”

A flutter of panic began to rise up the back of Violet’s throat. “Who told you we are courting?”

“It is quite obvious, Mama.” She looked at her mother, then over at Kate, then back again, doubt causing her face to fall. “You are courting, are you not?”

“I don’t…” Violet huffed, waving one hand in the air as if it would conjure the words she could not find. “To be quite honest, I do not know,” she finally said, her face twisting with unease.

Hyacinth’s brows knitted together. “It seems like you are courting,” she said.

Violet blinked and tipped her head to one side, acquiescing. “Yes, I… I suppose it does.”

“Do you want to be courted?”

Diverting her eyes again, Violet fidgeted with her skirt and offered a tight-lipped smile, wishing for the second time that the Earth could somehow swallow her whole.

“I, uh… I am, not sure,” a strained laugh escaped her throat. Part of her felt that this was not an appropriate subject for her daughter of just twelve, but she also understood that her decisions would ultimately affect Hyacinth’s life as much as they did her own, so she felt obliged to answer. She just wished she had had a bit more time to sort it out privately first. She cleared her throat and blinked hard before making herself meet her daughter’s eyes.

“I enjoy Lord Anderson’s company very much. You are right; he is kind and humorous, and I greatly appreciate how well he seems to get along with all of you. And even more so, there is a… companionship I feel with him that I have not had since your father died. It has been an unexpected joy to feel that again.” A small, unconscious smile turned up the corners of her mouth.

“And yet you have reservations?” Kate inquired gently.

“Yes.”

“What sort of reservations?” Hyacinth asked. 

“Well, dearest,” Violet spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. There were so many layers to her feelings, and not only were they not all appropriate for her young daughter to hear, but she also wanted to avoid becoming too emotional. Hyacinth was rightfully curious, and while Violet wanted to answer her questions, she did not want to burden her with problems that were Violet’s alone to resolve. “The purpose of courting, as you are clearly aware, is to marry. And I had not ever imagined marrying anyone but your father. I am not sure that I want to marry again, even someone with whom I share… affection.” She looked down at her daughter, picking nervously at the lace on the cuff of Hyacinth’s sleeve and took in a deep, slightly shaky breath. “It feels a bit like a betrayal. To him, and to the love that we shared, that I still feel to this day.”

Hyacinth studied her mother’s face, noting the worry lines that appeared between her brows. She wrapped her arm around Violet’s waist and laid her head against her chest, hugging her tightly for a moment while Violet returned the gesture by pulling her in closer. “I do not believe Papa would think it a betrayal,” Hyacinth said, sounding confident. 

Curious and a bit surprised, Violet’s eyebrows lifted. “Why not?”

“Because to think so would be selfish. I may not have known Papa, but I know that everyone says the two of you shared a true love. And if you have taught me anything, it is that love is not selfish.”

Violet felt tears prickle behind her eyes and she blinked them back with great effort. How could a child who had never even met Edmund sound so very much like him? With a lump in her throat, she pressed a kiss into her daughter’s hair and whispered, as much to Edmund as to Hyacinth, “You are right about that, my love.”

[us3rnam3-r3dact3d]

What the fuck.

Just finished reading as I had to finish hw first.

Ans I know I try to keep in order, but

TANKS FUCKING GOVERNMENT NAME

And sh not wanting to tell them bc it would kill them is so crazy and so understandable. Bc if I was Darlin and I found that shit out I'm doing whatever I can to make it stop.

Now Im order ish,

Colm and milo lowley fighting but both caring about SH means so much to me. And knowing that the entire Greer family loves them is so nice to know.

William, first time meeting him holy fuck. He's so much calmer and not what I was expecting. That being said wasn't expecting SH to get fucking Mutilated.

I know it seems like porter will be one that helps with the scaring at leat that's sorta his job is this how Treaser will get brought into the main twibtm? Just curious.

And David god bless this man who worries about everyone he cares about bc while yes Quuin didn't kill SH it was definitely a warning and holy shut.

And I need to talk about SH not wanting rank to know again bc it hurts so much but mame so much sense.

Any ways, I gotta go pick up my younger brother.

Anyways,

Lover your writing as always,

-River

River my friend!! So glad you enjoyed the chapter!!

And yes indeed, their Government Name. Fucked up world, right?

Yeah, that's Sweetheart's line of thinking. Darlin' has a reputation as a runner, but SH can see through that. They know the real core of Darlin's issues is the desperate need to protect the people around them. They feel like a burden and a danger to the people they love and will do what it takes to protect them, even to their own detriment.

Colm and Milo!! I love complex parental relationships and Colm really hits the spot for me. Having a parent who has been abusive or neglectful but still really loves their kid is just... it's so INTERESTING!! And I think writing abusive parents as fully evil people is only one way to write them. I enjoy complexifying their characters a little, especially when it gives characters like Milo a chance to really explore how they interact with their parents.

Bro the Greers love Sweetheart so much. Marie jokes that she likes Sweetheart more than Milo.

William!! I really pulled from his audio with Lovely for his vibes. I wanted his bedside manner to be all sweet and loving. He can be a much more complex man, but to his patients, he's that calming father figure. And Yeah no Quinn was definitely going for mutilation that's a great word for it.

Porter will definitely be the one to deal with the scarring, although I'm not sure that will appear in the direct text of the story, probably just mentioned in the background. I don't believe Treasure will appear in the main TWIBTM story, but will probably feature in a POSSIBLE sequel that I AM NOT COMMITTING TO WRITING AT THE MOMENT But it would focus on the hospital staff and sort of be the vibes of Grey's Anatomy.

SH KNOWS their friends and they want to protect them from everything they can, even to their own detriment. Oh hey, look, that's a trait they share with Darlin'!!

As always, thank you for reading and writing! I love hearing your thoughts!!!

[pettyprocrastination]

Abby x reader head canons?

I will say may not be the best representation for her character because I've only watched (many) play troughs and not played the game yet cause I no longer have my play station :( but I am absolutely horrendously down bad for her ngl so here we go (also abby is closeted wlw in this sorry guys)

warnings: repressed sapphic feelings, gets a little sexual at the ending but nothing major, jealousy, mostly just fluff here cause im easing myself into her character

I feel like she's not particularly into pda? not anything egregious but she'll have an arm around you is enough, maybe a hand in the back pocket to give you a lil bum squeeze but even that's pushing it. She doesn't want to be obnoxious like *those* couples (she does actually) but she wants people to know your hers.

connecting to this I feel like she gets jealous pretty easily. Not from a place of seeing you as property but from her own insecurities and worrying that you'll find somebody "better" which means sometimes she'll give a snide little comment when you've been hanging out with somebody else that makes you pull back and go "excuse me?" often leading to her either talking herself into a corner or going silent and passive aggressive until your able to pull the truth out of her, often times after the anger has fizzled out hours later and she slips into your room with a soft mumbled apology when you tell you that you love her and only her but that doesn't mean she gets to be an asshole to you for it. (she makes it up to you though. all night long in fact)

braid her hair. please braid her hair. It's a small sign of love that makes her go absolutely crazy. The feeling of your nails gently scritching her scalp has her stretching out like a cat in a sunbeam on a lazy sunday afternoon. She'll set her head in your lap while you undo the braid and run your fingers through her soft locks until she slowly drifts off to sleep because she just feels so at peace with you that she's comfortable letting her guard down and falling asleep

even if you have very short hair, you probably end up wearing one of her hair ties on your wrists because she tends to lose them + its a little part of her to keep by your side :') (i will say its interesting that in the show, it seems like ellie keeps her hair tied back with a hairtie that seems to have been cut, so she has to wrap it around and then tie a knot which makes sense because i'd gather that elastic isn't that easy to come across post apocalypse yknow. I think it'd be cute if you like. found a scrunchie or smthn for her that even though its not her style she's still wear it cause its a gift from you :'))

that being said? i imagine after everything she's been through she's a pretty light/paranoid sleeper so if you slip from the bed for any reason be ready to see her padding after you, squinted eyes and grumbling with sleep still in her voice as she mumbles 'where you goin'?' because babygirl woke up without you by her side and it caused her to panic :(

confident in her body. She's worked hard on her physique and she knows you enjoy it, so don't be surprised to see her not-so-subtlety flex if she catches you eyeing her up. You'll roll your eyes at her peacocking but it doesn't stop that lovesick smile from growing on your face that makes her feel all giddy. Bunch of goofballs in love right here <3

idk why but she gives me a bit closeted energy growing up. I feel like she probably got plenty of shit for being a tomboy and she gives me the energy of those girls who are like "women can be masculine and straight you know >:(" but so incredibly gay lmao (knew countless gals like this god bless them all) but yeah she'll huff and puff because just because she's not girly doesn't mean she's gay but also likes it when you sleep in her bed and you guys tell stories and fall asleep in eachothers arms, sometimes she'll stay awake so she can watch how peaceful you are and maybe maybe think about kissing you and how soft your body would feel in her hands and the little noises you'd make and that makes her feel something owen never did. but yknow. she's still super straight

[theplotdemandsit]

I not sure what was the show first idea when they show that version of Ben on the Subway in season 3 finale, they say it was the sparrow one traveling, but man that hair and the book? There's a lot of scenes with kid Ben and ghost Ben reading books, it's inevitable not to think about the deleted possibilities.

How do you think would be the interaction between og Ben and sparrow Ben if they met in season 4?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.

Man, I miss Umbrella Ben.

See, Ben was the only one who, ironically, seemed to have a head on his shoulders. Sure, Five is smart, but he is also emotionally constipated like the rest of the family. Ben was not only smart, observant, and witty, but he also showed that he cared deeply about others. His emotional quotient (EQ) is much higher than the rest.

So for Umbrella Ben to meet Sparrow Ben would be a laugh. I get the feeling they would bond over books since—you know—that's what books do.

What you read next is mostly just me projecting my nerdiness onto Ben. So basically it's not great but hopefully answers your question!

Somewhere, in some AU that may or may not exist….

Ben claps his mug on the table, and the amber liquid sloshes off the sides. “Who’re you?”

“Ha! Hear that, Klaus? He’s asking me who I am.” The look-a-like in front of him suddenly turns serious. “I’m asking the questions here, Bub.” The kid crosses his arms over the chest—a look which might have been menacing had the corners of his mouth not been twitching and his glare a little less star-eyed. 

“Come on, Wolverine!” Klaus says, slapping one hand on Ben and the other on…Not Ben. “Let’s all get along, now. You’re both beautiful.”

Not Ben laughs, and Ben finds himself blinking at the sight. Did he ever look like that when he laughed? It was like a completely different person.

It is a completely different person.

Ben growls and takes another sip from his mug. Klaus and Pseudo Ben are on the other side of the bar, pouring themselves drinks and clinking their glasses together like children having a tea party.

And he was not jealous.

What was the purpose of Klaus inviting him over? To brag about how their Ben was back? To show off the much nicer, better version of himself? Well Klaus could go—

“You idiot!” Their Ben suddenly shouted, smacking Klaus over the head. “You know you can’t take medication with alcohol! Give me that.”

“Back off! I always get all sniffly after getting wasted, so I’m taking my vitamins now rather than later.

From what Ben could see, Klaus had only had a sip of whatever cocktail he’d made for himself. Plus he was pretty sure there were lots of vitamins that didn’t have an interaction with alcohol. “Actually,” he starts, “if you—“

Umbrella Ben snatches the pills away despite Klaus’ lament about it only being Vitamin C and leans over near Ben to whisper in his ear. 

“But we don’t tell him that. Get me?” Then he winks. Like it’s some sort of inside joke.

Ben frowns. “Right.” Though he’s not exactly sure what he agreed to. Or what Lookalike Ben thinks he was even going to say. 

Up close, Imitation Ben notices the book Ben kept in his satchel. “Anna Karenina?” He asks. 

Ben’s frown deepens. “Yeah. What’s it to you?”

Fake Ben shrugs and pulls away. “Nothing. I was just thinking that Karenina is kind of sad.”

“Yeah, well, the characters are interesting and the writing is flawless. So to each their own.” Trying to forget the cringe of what he just said, he reaches for his mug again, ready for the other him to retreat.

Instead, a goofy grin appears on AU Ben’s face. “Have you ever read Crime and Punishment? Now those are some solid characters. Plus a happy ending.”

Now Ben’s interest is piqued. He narrows his eyes. “Happy ending, huh?”

“He’s working towards redemption. I’d say any ending with hope is a happy ending.”

“Who?” Klaus asks, pouring himself another drink.

“Raskolnikov.”

“Bless you,” Klaus says.

It was a happy ending, Ben thought. Despite the crimes Raskolnikov committed, there was someone who loved him and believed in him even when he didn’t believe in himself. For some reason, Ben always found himself drawn to the story, relating too much to Raskolnikov at times and trying not to hope too much for a Sonia he was sure would never come.

Looking into his own eyes across from himself, he sees that this Other Ben understands that. But, unlike him, he’s somehow smiling.

Ben twirls his mug around on the counter. After a moment, he turns to Ben 1.0 and asks with a smirk, “Ever read Faust?”

[nerdieforpedro]

Hello dear!

This year is a leap year, and as 29th February is not technically a real day, I'm giving you the chance to spend 28th February with a Pedro character that you love and 29th February with a Pedro character that you don't. Which are they, and how are you spending your days?

Love, El

I’m going to answer for the Pedro character I do not love: Maxwell Lord. I will pull that man by his hair, dye it back to its beautiful chocolate brown and kick him to go spend quality time with his son. 😤 I’ve only watched WW 1984 once, will not watch it again. No thank you. Keep Max over there. 👀 Ewww…

Now picking a Pedro character I like, there’s so many! (Besides Maxwell thank goodness!) This is hard because I would like to make a schedule for at least four of them, that’s not too greedy right? 😂

My top three: Din Djarin, Javi G and Tim Rockford. Maybe not what you were expecting but this is Nerdie so, meh. 🫤 Which one of these three would I choose for the 28th…. This is a very difficult choice, but it’s gonna be Javier Gutierrez 🧸

My heart will always be fond of our dogged, holster wearing, no those white shirts fit just right Detective 🕵️ Rockford and our bounty hunter with a heart as big as his pulse rifle Din Djarin.

But Javi G though 🥰

He’d be fine with me being loud, snorting a bit when I laugh and requesting that after we watch three Nic Cage movies, we watch The Lion King, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Harlem Nights. All excellent movies and if he for some reason hasn’t see these, he will with me. We will laugh, cry, sing along and debate the importance of pinkie toes so long I will forget that I have to see Maxwell (bless you Javi G for making me forget that man. He’s a stain on my brain.) 🧠

I know that after having difficult cases or hunts, Tim and Din aren’t going to be too happy about my volume. I have only one - loud. Not really calming. Like they may need.

Javi G might find my volume endearing and love when I exclaim at different things during “Gone in 60 seconds” maybe. 🤔 Also people forget that Javi is an excellent shot just like Tim and Din (maybe not Din but who else has a pulse rifle?) And that touches me deeply (insert whatever dirty joke suits your fancy, I’ll accept all of them). Plus I can floof his hair during the movie or Javi might agree because I said I wanted to. I wouldn’t have to explain why.

Tim would want me to explain why he needs to swear his holsters despite being home to tease me which would work - I would feel like my face is on fire but that’s fine. Din would not understand my fascination with his beskar or extreme interest in it outside of him being a Mandalorian. I would melt into the floor when Din would ask (because he’s our inquisitive non-judgmental big metal bean) why am I so focused on it. I can’t lie, he’s got sensors and has been a bounty hunter long enough to that I’m lying and I just can’t tell him why to his T-visor. My why would be best described in my Sardi’ka Sessions and I cannot say any of that to his helmet. 😭

Anyway, that’s my spiel. Javi G is below because that’s who I’m spending the 28th with. I would leave Max waiting for me very sad and spend the 29th with Javi as well.

[bylightofdawn]

I am dealing with some interesting cognitive dissonance in this chapter and the struggle is REAL. Regarding how Rufus exhibits in canon itself some pretty big red flags for possessiveness and unhealthy attachments.

Not to go all armchair psychologists but from what we know of his childhood, it was awful. His father constantly berated him and put him down. We know he had a mother who died at some point but not real information into their relationship. So I think it's safe to assume he faced a lot of isolation, a lack of a caring support system and the only example of adult behavior he had to model after was his father who is a fucking monster.

So yeah, when he gloms onto someone they are his and you are not allowed to take what is his away from him and god help you if you get between him and what he views as his. Note how visibly peeved he was at Hojo getting his claws into Tseng post Tseng getting impaled by Sephiroth in Rebirth.

There's also an argument to be made about how Rufus prolly has some issues with potentially viewing people as individual people.

He straight up tells Cloud he is HIS/Shinra property on like...two occasions I think? I need to replay Remake to be honest. (also bless you delightful Rufus/Cloud shippers taking that and running with it, I <3 you)

So yeah, Rufus Shinra is a whole ass buttload of red flags and an sane person would run screaming into the night.

Which brings me to my dilemma of writing and acknowledging he's a garbage fire of a person and still trying to write a fucking romance pairing.

Example, he just found out Reeve and Tseng used to be closer when they were younger being of relatively the same age, came up in Shinra together and Tseng used to be bb!Reeve's bodyguard back in the day.

And here's Rufus being possessive and jealous of BOTH OF THEM at the same time. Because he views both of them as his in a way and he's being torn in two different directions because they have this hereunto unknown relationship.

Which again, huge red flag territory. And somehow I gotta be true to the character and find a way of pulling this bullshit out of a magic hat and not making myself and the reader want to crawl out of their skin and run away from said garbage fire of a man.

But not everyone has the same viewpoints and experience as myself. I grew up watching my mother go through a series of steadily more terrible boyfriends who were abusive to her and to us in a lesser extent so this sort of thing definitely makes my skin crawl while a different reader might find that jealousy akin to ardent passion and awww he really loves xyz. Because it's fanfiction and it's a safe space where you can indulge yourself without any real-life repercussions.

SO YEAH, suffice it to say I am all over the place emotionally in this chapter.

I'm going to step off my soapbox now, thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Pfffft.

[silicon-tmblr]

what are your thoughts on maki?

Interesting that you would ask that! I've talked about this on stream before, but never on here.

Before I continue, though... Maki likers, I know you're here. Scatter. Avert your eyes. Because although I am writing an ENTIRE AU where Maki is the protagonist and modding said AU into the game...

I really, really detest Maki Harukawa.

Canon Maki, to be precise. Obviously, I adore my own iteration of Maki. In fact, Resolute Rebellion's initial concept was actually "make Maki an actually good character". It honestly exists because I really wanted to like her!

I've always liked Maki's concept and design. Her no-nonsense attitude and hyper-athleticism are really cool! When I first came to know her in V3, I thought I'd really like her and she'd be one of my favourites.

(Last chance for the Maki likers out there to turn away, 'cause I'm taking my jabs now. And for anyone, really, please don't subject yourself to character hate if it just makes you mad!)

Unfortunately, I found she only got worse as the game goes on. Her writing does her no favours; it tells you she's supposed to be warming up to you while in reality... she really hasn't changed. Nor did I really want her to change, to be honest. It's a rather cliché character arc to have a female character in particular slowly open her heart to you, and I rather liked her distant and distrusting.

And on that note, Maki's character arc really does go full "cliché story arc for female character", because the supposed end of it is her falling in love with Kaito. Quite frankly, I find it annoying and sexist—since women are disproportionately associated with love and romance. The most infuriating thing is that Maki hasn't even changed the most central issues she has. She's still an assassin, and while I will admit she does state once in Chapter 6 that she won't try to kill the mastermind, we never hear her actually renounce killing others, which is especially bad when the entirety of Chapter 5 occurred because she'd decided she just had to kill Kokichi (I'm very bitter towards her about that, too, but that's biased nonsense)

And this stubbornness of hers which gets her into trouble and makes her uncooperative isn't really shown to change either—mostly because we get thrown into the endgame immediately after she pulls her most idiotic stunts ever, called Chapter 5. The game basically ends after we see her at her worst, without a countermeasure in sight. None of her "friends" even point out that she seriously messed up!! Sure, she helps you with the Chapter 6 investigation, but... well, she's been helping you for a while already. Things progress forward in Chapter 6 as if Maki hasn't just caused the biggest screw up in the entirety of the killing game (tied only with whatever the hell Kokichi thought he was doing in Chapter 4. seriously, Kokichi haters get my blessing because of that. I may be a Kokichi liker but you are 100% right to hate him for doing that, no argument.)

Really though, Maki's character arc was thrown onto her like a bandaid over a deep cut. It's precisely the type of stereotypical character arc a distant distrusting female character would receive in media, and it really didn't resolve any of her actual issues or problems. Plus, her takeaway from Chapter 5 was apparently "for once, I killed someone out of love!" which. um. Ma'am, you're still killing somebody. That's a problem.

Another thing which affects my judgement of Maki (and also Kaito, as a matter of fact, so I'll warn the Kaito likers now): I'll spare you the details why (though I think it's simple enough to figure some of it out if you've seen me on stream), but I'm really rather sensitive to sexism. I say this and not that I simply hate sexism like a normal person because, well. There are people who are able to like Kaito when I am really not capable of it, and I'd assume this is the difference between us. (There's other reasons I don't like Kaito, too, but this is about Maki)

So since I've established already that I think Maki's character arc is sexist nonsense, I'd hope you can see why I'd be pretty put off of her.

To summarize, her character arc doesn't suit her, is sexist, she doesn't ever apologize and none of her friends call her out when she messes up... Her whole background/backstory is kinda weird, too. As in "why do you keep working for the assassin cult in hopes that they keep your orphanage running when your orphanage is literally a scouting grounds for young assassins who will be abused in the same way as you??????????" Plus her whole "I had the emotions trained out of me" dips into what I consider melodramatic territory and is also shown to be. false. because Maki has many emotions throughout the game. Which is also something that fails my good ol' sexist test, because women are disproportionately associated with emotionality!!!!!!

Yeah that's basically it. Obviously these are my own thoughts on Maki, which are biased, as any thoughts will be. If any Maki likers are still here, I'm sorry, but I also respect you to some degree! (unless you're about to go throw a public hissy fit at me on social media. I mean do it if you need to but at least do it in private?) I also especially respect the Maki likers who clicked/scrolled away—really, just do what's best for y'all.

For everyone who decided to read all this, I hope you're all good. Have a chat with a friend or otherwise trustworthy folks if this gets you in a twist! Bash me for my wrong opinions (...but in private please)! Not everyone knows what gets them angry before they read it, so if you sat through and read this and hated it to the end... you may not want to hear it from me, but I do hope you can get those feelings out in a good way!

And at the end of the day, I do really like Maki—just not the one we see in canon.

[milarqui]

Scarlet Lady: Animan

Directory | Intermission

From his vantage point, he could see Marinette and Alya animatedly talking about something that (apparently) required the former to wave her hands around while showing something.

“Hmm...” This plan he had come up with would require some work to put into practice, particularly –

“Uh, Nino? Any particular reason you've been ogling Marinette so much lately?”

“AH!” he shouted: Adrien had not only come up from behind him, but was also giving him a rather unhealthy (for him) glower. Well, maybe he could have a bit of fun. “Ah, man, you caught me. Truth is I'm totally crushing on Marinette.”

Adrien's made a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a whimper, as his face became pale and he began to tremble.

“O-Oh, awesome, I hope you'll be h-happy–” Adrien somehow managed to say through clenched teeth.

“Dude, I was kidding,” he replied, thinking that maybe he had underestimated how bad Adrien had it for Marinette, before noticing something red coming out of his friend's mouth. “Is that blood?”

Adrien shook his head and pulled a handkerchief from a pocket to wipe out the blood. While still worried for him, it looked like it wasn't serious, so he turned to his plan.

“I've been thinking of ways to hook you up, dude. Like, maybe you can ask her to the new panther exhibit at the zoo!”

“Nino,” Adrien replied. “I can't ask Marinette out. I have no time or energy thanks to my... job.”

“No way!” he exclaimed. “You've been way livelier lately! Even your Pops has let you have more fun! You should at least try!”

“That's... true,” Adrien admitted, looking down at his hands. “Can... can I really? Is it possible? Am I allowed?!”

Man, he was sparkling like an animated character.

“Bro, it's just a date.”

Nonetheless, he pulled him towards the girls, who had just stopped their talk and started to leave the place.

“Hey Alya, Marinette!” Adrien greeted as they came close.

“Hey guys!” Marinette replied.

“Have you heard about the new panther exhibit at the zoo?”

“Oh, yeah, it's all my dad talks about since the panther's quarantine ended,” Alya said, smiling. “Did I tell you that's why we moved? Dad switched zoos with it.”

“Well, wanna check it out together?” he suggested.

“Sure, sounds fun!” Marinette agreed. Score!

“Fair warning, don't engage my dad in front of the animals. He gets so weird,” Alya warned them.

----

The girls agreed to meet them in a while, and the two of them quickly dropped their things at their homes before meeting again.

“A date with Marinette!” he said. It was the one thing he had been hoping for so long. He turned to his best friend. “Hey, should I get her flowers? Or a present!”

“Whoa, slow your roll!” Nino exclaimed, smiling. “We're testing the waters with a chill hangout, remember?”

“Yeah, you're right,” he agreed. He had to make sure that Marinette was interested in him, or at least willing to try, before he could begin.

“Don't worry, man, soon you'll be asking her out on a real date, and then you pull out the smooth moves.”

He laughed.

He had been blessed that day when he sat in the front row.

“You're awesome for setting this up, Nino.”

----

Up above the two boys, a blonde girl growled in anger.

----

She wasn't going to complain.

She had seen this too many times.

“This is hopeless! Nothing will disguise my beauty!”

It was going to be useless, but she was going to try anyway.

“Chloé, this is ridiculous,” she said as Chloé picked a pair of boots. “Adrien is free to date whoever he wants!”

“Of course he is!” Chloé replied. She just waited for – “As long as it's me!”

There it was.

“But why'd he choose the stinky, sweaty, gross zoo?! I'll have to talk to him about his lack of consideration for me.”

“Ugh.” What a wonder, this girl's mind was. Able to mold reality to fit her narrow-minded beliefs.

“The sacrifices I make for love.”

“You don't have to–”

“SACRIFICES!”

----

“I'm surprised you agreed to a date, Marinette,” Alya said as they waited at a picnic table, already inside the zoo.

“Huh? This isn't a date, we're just hanging out,” Marinette replied.

“Hm. I guess you could see it that way.”

“Wait...” Marinette said, and Alya could detect the tone was the kind she really didn't want to hear. “Alya, do you want this to be a date? With Nino?”

Alya felt her cheeks redden and tried to hide her face from her inquisitive friend's look.

“We've already established it's not a date, so why does it matter?”

A look aside to the widely grinning Marinette told her it was too late.

“Oh no.”

Fortunately for her, something interrupted Marinette before she could squee like one of Adrien's fangirls.

“Hey, Marinette, Alya!”

“Hm?” Alya mumbled, smiling upon the face of her saviors, one of whom was waving hello at them. “Hi Max! Hi Kim!”

“Not here with your girlfriend?” Marinette asked.

“Nah, we're having guy time!” Kim said, flexing his biceps. “We're gonna see the new panther to see how I measure up!”

“Measure up?” Alya asked.

“Yeah, like, speedwise.”

Max's face told pretty much what he thought of it.

“How do you plan to measure that?” Marinette asked.

----

As Max and Kim split off, Marinette looked in the distance and saw two familiar figures, one of them waving a hand.

“There they are!” she told Alya, standing up and waving at their friends. “OVER HERE!”

“M, I'm telling you right now, don't do anything weird,” Alya demanded.

“Whaaat? We're just having a nice, no pressure day out with the guys!” she replied, but Alya didn't look convinced.

“Mhmm.”

Looking away, she unconsciously slipped into what her father called her 'slasher movie special' (which was ironic, given her hatred of horror movies).

And if me and Adrien accidentally leave you two alone halfway through, that's just a coincidence, she gleefully thought.

“You have a terrible poker face,” Alya fired.

----

Ughhhh... the only good thing about today seemed to be that she'd be out.

“Grr, look at those gross idiots! I need to get closer!” Chloé said, 'hiding' behind a newspaper with holes at eye height.

Sometimes she pondered how she hadn't gone mad yet.

“Maybe you'd do better in the bushes. Where you can sit in shame.”

Oh, right. The chance to snark at her. And mess with her stuff. Even if she barely realized it.

“As if! My plan is so original and genius, just watch!”

And she sat on a chair and hid behind the newspaper again.

Should she feel pity over this? Because there was no way she could be this dumb.

Wait. She was this dumb.

There was even a man right next to her, doing the exact same thing – down to the newspaper.

Although, who was that man spying?

----

“STOP! YOU CAN'T COMPETE WITH MY PANTHER, KID!”

Marinette could hear Alya's father from the distance, which really didn't bide well for the next exhibit, the panther. Which already had Kim in front of it.

Which probably explained why Alya's father was shouting that.

“Whatever, it's clear I'm the hot one!”

Yeah, that did it.

“Whoa, Kim, you wanna race a panther? Do you like being lunch?” Adrien asked, amused, as she looked at the animal.

“Ha, I can take'em!”

“Go!” Otis ordered, angry. “My panther needs calm during her meal and you're stressing her out!”

“Then shouldn't you feed her in the back, away from the public?” Marinette asked, and from the way Alya's father's face went red, it was obvious that he hadn't considered that option.

“Get out or I'll have you banned from this zoo!”

“Dad, no,” Alya said, exhausted.

----

He had sensed the man's anger from his home, and, seeing how strong it was, and what kind of power it could play out, he decided he could make for a good chance.

“Animan,” he said, “I'm giving you the chance to get revenge.”

“Excellent! How dare those kids disrespect my panther, thinking they can outrun her?!”

He blinked. He had heard way too many dumb reasons for people to get angry about (some of them from the Enchanted Florist)... and somehow this was the worst of all.

“... really?”

Well, dumb reason or not, it was enough to get what he wanted out of him.

----

“Well, that was... interesting,” Nino said as he delivered the drinks, noting Alya's still embarrassed face. “Where to next?”

“I'd like to see the giraffes,” Adrien suggested as he and Marinette accepted their drinks.

“I'd rather go to the reptile house,” Alya replied. “Faaar away from panthers.”

“I'll go with you!” Nino offered, and Marinette realized this was the golden moment she had hoped for.

“Let's split and meet up later! I'll go with Adrien!”

“Yeah, okay!” Adrien agreed, smiling.

And then disaster struck.

“Oh, Adrichou! What a coincidence meeting you here!”

“C-Chloé?!” Adrien replied, dropping his drink from the impulse of being pushed by the irritant now hanging on his arm. Fortunately, he managed to make her let him loose and glared at her. “Wow, Chloé, wild that you're here, where I am, without me telling you.”

“Must be our deep connection,” Chloé replied. Marinette stuck her tongue at the stalking girl, irritated that she was (a) messing her plan to get her friends together and (b) disturbing Adrien.

Adrien, for his part, gave Chloé a glare.

“You weren't invited, Chloé, you can't just–”

“AHHHHH!”

Suddenly, Max and Kim were passing by them, running as if the devil was behind.

“GET TO SHELTER!”

“GET OUT OF HERE!”

Looking in the direction the duo had been running from, they realized why.

Somehow, all the animals had escaped their enclosures.

Again.

Come on, it took us hours to get you back here last month! Adrien and Marinette lamented.

“AH!”

“SCATTER!”

----

Adrien was a tad irritated. Chloé had prevented him from finally being alone with Marinette, and now this?

“We were so close to going off on our own, Plagg, CLAWS OUT!”

----

“Ha!” Chloé laughed. Her plan had worked perfectly! “Now their 'date' is ruined, I win! Tikki, SPOTS ON!”

----

She had been this close to finally giving her best friend the chance to be alone with Nino!

“This was Alya's big break, so annoying! Pollen, BUZZ ON!”

----

The heroes quickly entered the scene, and managed to protect the civilians, forcing the wild animals to stop and distracting them.

“Get OFF you overgrown handbags!” Scarlet Lady shouted as she smacked a panther with her yo-yo.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir was twirling his baton to keep a giraffe away, all while Kim looked at the event, transfixed.

“Get out of here, Kim!” Chat Noir ordered, and the boy shook himself off and ran away, thanking him for the help.

Marigold noticed two other people were still there, trying not to put their backs to any of the animals, and saw her chance.

She grabbed Alya.

“Ah!”

She grabbed Nino.

“Whoa!”

She pushed them both into the now empty panther enclosure and slammed the door.

“Stay safe!♥” she said with a smile, jumping back into the fight.

“HUH?!” both of them replied, still in shock.

----

It took Alya a while to realize what had just happened. And what it entailed.

“Nonononono!” she yelled.

“Alya?” Nino asked, worried.

“This can't be happening!”

“What's wrong?”

“My dad's an Akuma and I'm stuck in here instead of getting footage, which is the onlyreasonI'mrelevantbecauseScarletLadyonlyworkswithrealreporters–“

Alya's sudden panic spiral was cut short when a pair of headphones blocked all sound save for the ones it emitted, and she turned to Nino, who was smiling at her and saying something she didn't quite catch, but looked like... something about breathing?

“... I can't hear you,” she replied. Taking off one of the headphones, she was able to hear him.

“Missing one Akuma won't ruin you,” Nino suggested. “You can still make a blog post about it.”

“I guess,” she admitted.

“And maybe try interviewing the other heroes.”

“That's a good idea...”

And then she began to listen to the actual song. It had no lyrics, but it was really cool, full of rhythm and intensity.

“This is a good song,” she said, amazed.

“Really? I mixed it myself!” Nino replied, and Alya took off the headphones.

“What software do you use?! I can never get background noise out of my videos!”

Nino laughed gently.

Wow, I've never seen him so close, a part of Alya noted, as she got closer.

“Maybe listen to more of my stuff before deciding my advice is worth it,” Nino said, but Alya knew she wanted to know.

She laughed.

And she grabbed his DJ hand with her writer hand.

----

Unfortunately, the heroes weren't having as good a time as the lovebirds. Right now, they had had to jump to the higher point they could find to avoid the animals, and even then the giraffes and elephants weren't looking friendly.

“There's too many of them!” Marigold admitted.

“Then what do you suggest, Stinkbug?!” Scarlet Lady yelled.

“Back to roots: defeat the Akuma and the animals will be captured!” Chat Noir suggested.

With some effort, the three of them jumped at the roof of the nearest enclosure and made their way to one that offered a better vantage point.

“Where did you go...” Marigold mumbled, looking around.

“There!” Chat Noir shouted, pointing at a passage that only had two beings.

One was a panther that did not look like the one that had been freed earlier.

The other...

“KIM!” Marigold shouted.

“He's really going to eat him!” Chat Noir realized.

And all of them realized as well.

All because he said he was faster than a panther?!

Seriously, people needed to get some priorities in order...

Realizing that Kim was clearly tired from running away, Marigold and Chat Noir jumped between the Akuma and him. While Marigold twirled her spinning top to prevent the Akuma from advancing, Chat Noir allowed him to take a breath and gave him a pat in the back.

“Quick, hide in the first building you find!”

Kim nodded and started to run again. While he trusted the heroes, he knew they wouldn't be able to do this forever. And the less work they had to do protecting him, the better.

“You won't get away this time!” Marigold declared, trying to find the way to paralyze the Akuma.

“You will never catch me!” the Akuma declared, and suddenly its black skin turned into feathers as he became an eagle.

“He transformed!” Scarlet Lady pointed out.

“And is getting away,” Marinette lamented.

“No worries, I tagged Kim so we can beat him there!” Chat Noir told the girls, and Marigold smiled.

“Well played, kitty,” she complimented, starting to scratch his chin as he happily purred.

God, he was so adorable!

Scarlet Lady made a disgusted face.

“Be gross on your own time,” she complained.

----

Chat Noir eventually began to track down Kim, whom they ended up finding at Marinette's parents' boulangerie. And Marigold took point as they entered the delicious, delicious-smelling shop.

“Hello, Ma–uh, Ma'am,” Marigold greeted Sabine and Tom, who had helped an exhausted Kim into a chair.

“Oh, but you're–!” Sabine said.

“Ohoho! Yes, it is I, your hero–” Scar claimed, but was interrupted.

“Marigold!”

Seeing Scar silently thundering about being slighted was hilarious, and he had to cover his mouth to avoid being heard.

“It's so nice to meet you!” Sabine stated, picking Marigold's hand – making her look awkward for some reason.

“A-Ah, thanks!”

----

The embarrassment of her parents welcoming her to the boulangerie past, she had led Kim to the hall and realized something: if the Akuma was like an animal and could track Kim by smell, then there might be a way to trick him into a trap.

But they couldn't put Kim at risk, obviously.

There were other ways of doing it, though.

“Can we borrow that?” she asked, pointing at one of his wristbands.

“Sure,” Kim replied, trusting her, as he immediately took off the wristband. She was thankful that she was wearing gloves, because the band was kinda sweaty.

“Ew, newbee, what do you want that for?!” Scarlet Lady complained.

“We're gonna lure the beast into a cage, obviously!”

----

The plan was simple, really: put the wristband in one of the many empty buses nearby, wait for the Akuma to show up, and trap him.

The first part worked, as the Akuma – back in his panther form – pounced into the bus, only to find too late that the smell that had led him there was not that of Kim, but of one of his clothes.

“WHAT?!”

“He's in! Now, Chat Noir!” Marigold said, and Chat Noir jumped into the bus.

“Cataclysm!” he shouted, destroying the door controls, and he jumped back out just as the bus doors closed, with the panther only just crashing into the doors.

“Nice!” Marigold declared. “Now we just let him tire himself out!”

Suddenly, the panther transformed once more – but this time, he picked a rather larger form, large enough to break through the roof of the bus.

“Oh yeah, he looks real tired out!” Scarlet Lady yelled in annoyance as the Tyrannosaurus Rex climbed out of the bus.

Chat Noir quickly jumped at his head, intent on distracting him.

“Get the F–” the akuma said, but Chat Noir yelled over him.

“GET HIS LEGS!”

“DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” an annoyed Scarlet Lady shouted back, hitting the dinosaur's leg with nothing to show for it. Instead, it was the spinning top that tangled its legs together.

“I got him!” Marigold said, and picked up the top. “VENOM!”

Jumping at the Akuma's head, she stabbed him with the tip of the top, quickly paralyzing him and causing him to collapse on the ground, with Chat Noir jumping off just in time.

“That was easy,” he admitted. “Thank you Venom!”

“Right?” Marigold said, smiling. “No one even got to jump in his mouth!”

“Ew!”.

----

Tikki enjoyed a cookie, doing her best not to let her wielder annoy her too much with her attempts to claim success.

“I did such a good job today. Stopped Maribrat from being alone with Adrichou, ruined their date, defeated the Akuma without even using my Lucky Charm. I'm too good for Paris.”

Alright, mission failed.

I'm going to throw out her hairspray while she sleeps.

----

The two of them had been let out by the zoo workers, so they could also return the animals back to their enclosures, and now they were just waiting for their friends to show up again.

“Sorry, sorry!” one of them said, running into the scene.

“We're here, we're here!” the other added, huffing.

“Hey, glad you're okay!” she replied, waving at the two.

“Did you get chased far?” he asked, a bit worried.

“Yeah, I–”

Then, their friends noticed they were holding hands.

“Whooooa!”

“What is this?!”

“OOOOH!” both said in unison, pointing at said joined hands.

She turned to her boyfriend – her boyfriend! – and sighed.

“Told you they'd make it weird.”

“Wha– When– How?!” Adrien asked, surprised, while Marinette wiggled with a wide smile.

“Marigold locked us in the same cage all afternoon,” she replied.

“Turns out we have a lot in common: an interest in video editing...” he said.

“Really young siblings...” she added.

Then they gave smug glares at Adrien and Marinette.

“Best friends that ditch them.”

“Eheheh!” both awkwardly laughed.

----

Fortunately, since nothing bad (or too bad) had happened, Adrien and Marinette were forgiven, and they split off once again.

“Hey, man, congrats!” Adrien told Nino while giving him a one-arm hug, and Nino smiled.

“Thanks, dude!”

Adrien's eyes opened, and suddenly the cheerful atmosphere turned kinda oppressive.

“Pretty amazing you got a girlfriend when you're supposed to be wingmanning for me.”

“M-My bad.”

----

Meanwhile, Alya had a bone to pick with Marinette.

“Girl, I told you not to be weird but you totally tried to dip on purpose,” she complained, and Marinette tried to put a surprised face.

“Whaaat? I just wanted to see the elephants!”

Alya gave her an irritated gaze.

“It was giraffes.”

----

After being told what had happened, Otis felt quite embarrassed of his actions and how they had affected everyone. He had been lucky that he had only been sent home early and that this issue would be written down in his file: if it weren't for the fact that Akumatized people were not blamed for the actions taken under Hawkmoth's influence, he could have been fired.

“How embarrassing,” he complained, after the twins mobbed him and asked what had happened.

“I'm home!”

“Alya!” Ella exclaimed, as his second daughter entered the room. He had to apologize, fast!

“Listen Alya, Dad didn't mean to ruin your day out! You know how I get when people stress out my–”

But then Alya gently kissed him in the cheek and danced away, humming a song he had never heard.

While he was glad that she was fine now, he wondered what in the blazes had happened while he was possessed to make her so happy.

----

Puppeteer

@zoe-oneesama If only Animan could prey on Hawkmoth...

Alright, we're getting (slowly) closer to the end of Season 3!

BTW, not counting the 18 empty pages reserved to begin all the chapters I have yet to do, this story stands now at 321 pages in Times New Roman size 12.

[crystalrose36]

(This is a work of fanfiction. All of the characters belong to their rightful owners, I don’t own Star Wars universe or any of the characters in the franchise. However the the fanfiction characters in this belong to me.)

Lost child of the red thread

Chapter 1 Destiny

“OPEN FIRE!”

The hallways of the leftover star cruiser were covered in a red glow. Republic soldiers and imperials were pouring out of every hallway as they fired their weapons. Even though the ship had long since been grounded it continued to shake and moan.

A pipe let out a burst of steam into your room and filling it with the hot air. It seems the lieutenant failed in his promise to buy you time. The small backpack you had only contained a few data pads, a water filter bottle, yellow imperial biscuits and a stuffed animal from your mother. It seemed like fate was telling you your time was up, no more hiding. Covering your mouth you miraculously made your way to the door and clicked it open, giving a momentary break from the hot air that quickly filled your room.

Imperials rushed passed you as you stumbled into the hallway, everyone looked so scared. Gripping the straps of your backpack you followed them in a sprint, there was hidden exit on the way they were going. Maybe this was your chance to escape the rebels. Your mother always said “The battle isn’t over as long as you are alive.” And so you turned the corner only to be met with the imperials holding their blasters up at a hooded figure with two glowing swords.

You didn’t see the figure move as the two officers were flung to the side, their guns falling away from them. Your breath catches in your throat and your legs become frozen in place.

“Do not be afraid little one, I am not going to hurt you. You are safe alright?” The figure spoke to you in a calming voice as she deactivated her swords and clipped them onto her belt. As you listened, the voice sounded like a female. Lifting her hood, you could see the warrior was a Togruta and had interesting eyes. Not as cold as your mothers or mysterious as your fathers.

“Who said I am afraid? I am not!” Shaking your head at her, gritting your teeth. She took down two officers without even touching them…..could you really out run her?

She smirks at you trying to hold in her laugh. “Listen kid, the battle is over. You should come with me, as I said I’m not going to hurt you.” The warrior took a step towards you and knelt on the ground holding out her hand. Sounds of blaster fire began to get closer to you both, you heard someone scream “FOR THE EMPIRE!” A white light covered the walls of the ship and then darkness consumed your vision.

Ahsoka Tano POV

The droid did its final patch up as I flexed my hand. That really was a close one, taking a deep breath I let out a sigh. Looking over to my right the child was still asleep, it was a blessing considering her wounds. The burn marks didn’t look good on her side when i pulled us out of the rubble.

The door opened reveal Hera and she looked none too pleased about what had happened on that ship.

“Are you alright Ahsoka?” Hera said as she sat down next to me.

I nodded, “Yes I’ll be fine. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to-“

“It wasn’t your fault, the Imps were always crazy. I should have expected something like this.” Looking over at the medical reports of both me and the kid Hers paused.

“The child-she is a little older than my Jason….but……”

I folded my arms and pondered.

“Hera, she isn’t Thrawn. What will the council do?”

“Honestly, they don’t know. Considering who she is, the council might place her in a camp or-“ her sentence was interrupted as the young child woke up. I walked up slowly to her and placed a hand on hers.

“Hey kid, glad to see you back with us. Do you remember what happened.”

She jolted up and tried to move away, but her side made her fall back onto the bed. I guess my words weren’t helping.

“Whoa, take it easy. We are in a medical bay, treating your wounds. My name is Ahsoka Tano, and this is General Syndulla. What is your name?”

I saw her breathing slow as she looked around. Propping herself up on the pillows she looked at Hera and I.

“My name is Sev’eere’nuruodo, thank you for saving my life.”

(End of chapter 1)

Sev’eere’nuruodo: Chiss name meaning ‘Brave’, the core world name is ‘Veeren’.

[vennylavey]

Sorting out my Thoughts regarding Tolya and Inej

A few days ago, I finished watshing Shadow and Bone Season 2 and

what.

The.

FUCK.

Some background before you quote me on this!

I first fell in love with the crows on Season 1 of S&B. They, along with the sheer insanity of the fandom that I resonated with, encouraged me to buy the duology and read the hecc out of it. Out of all the grishaverse books, I've only ever read the six of crows duology, so I only know show!Tolya from S&B Season 2.

I am an avid Kanej shipper. I love Kaz. I'm in love with Inej. Love them together and as individual characters. (recently started rereading, and since mentally separating the show and the books, i've been really seeing them in a new lights from both angles! and both endear me.) I hold this ship sacred and very close to my heart, and nothing will ever change that.

-

Some spoilers from here on out!

-

Like any other fellow fan who followed the series primarily because of kanej, who learned to peck for crumbs in the briefest (longest) of gazes and the subtlest of interactions, I was on the edge of my seat anticipating every smidge of development between my favourite pair.

It wasn't a steady rise in progression, but it was the Kaz and Inej way, and I loved it. Ot's nice that they kept that sense of angsty realism from the books. (Can't say the impact and heaviness of Kaz's trauma and backstory was fully communicated, but Freddy did SO GREAT.) The sort-of push and pull kept me positively on my toes throughout the whole series, so I became laser-focused on their relationship the whole time.

Then came rolling Episode 8.

GLORIOUS 'and how would you have me?' MOMENT. the tension, the looking at each other, the miniscule changes in expression, the way you could see the monologue in the pause between responses - yes, im talking about kaz 'you, inej. you.' brekker (bless u freddy carter) - and the sheer fragility of the moment. it's everything i could have asked for in an adaptation of that scene

AND I WAS ABSOLUTELY FLOORED.

(and devastated. angst symptom, really. but mostly floored.)

Then we got a little moment with Nikolai and Mal, and damn, even after a break-up-but-not-really-a-break-up, INEJ LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL I SKDJFKDJ

She looked hopeful, which makes sense. For her, its a new beginning. Its a half equivalent of the ending she got in crooked kingdom. The best thing about it is that she just doesn't look like she has any regret. (Not that she doesn't care about Kaz, but that she doesn't regret not settling for less than she deserves.) AND INEJ - inej deserves that kind of weightless freedom.

AND THEN AND THEN

THAT SCENE

THAT SCENEEEEEE

TOLYA OFFERED A HAND FOR THE BAG. LIKE, NOT EVEN TO HELP HER UP YET, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE BAG, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. Inej is a bit estranged by the gesture (She's so used to mannerless crows lol) but gives it, anyway. Tolya offers his other hand. Inej, endeared, but confused, accepts the help, AND YOOO

THE HEAT.

THE HEAT IN TOLYA'S GAZE AS INEJ WALKS FURTHER ONTO THE SHIP.

THE LITTLE SMALL SMIRK AS HE LOOKED AT HER.

THAT. BROKE ME.

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

The tension was there. It's so obvious. THEY (production) MADE SURE IT WAS FELT. I'm balling because I got totally played by the pacing.

Most of what I felt throughout the scene mirrored Inej's. Did not consider AT ALL that Tolya was holding any interest for her, so the quiet and the emphasis in the nonverbal cues in the scene really built up the realization, and that expression Tolya had after Inej turns away hit me in the face like it was Kaz's cane.

Looked for images online, showed it to my friends, and REALLY had to ask their opinion if said expression was a look of interest or I'm just overthinking it. IT COULD VERH WELL BE HIM PLAYFULLY TEASING HER BEING UNUSED TO GENTLE FRIENDLINESS, RIGHT? Friends said that look is their exact look when looking at their love interest, and mhm. Admittedly, I was in denial.

Saw a reddit thread about it! I WAS SO GLAD I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO SAW IT. THEY EVEN LISTED SOME OTHER SCENES FROM OTHER EPISODES THAT POINTED TO TOLYA'S INTEREST, and oh, they were so right.

Having rewatched it, it was really obvious. The tension was there when I really looked at them. I EVEN MISSED HOW TOLYA WAS TELLING OVHAL TO TAKE HIM INSTEAD OF INEJ.

I felt like, from that, I really should have seen it coming.

But I understand that it was easy to get distracted by the other narratives! Such as wesper troubles in paradise, hyperfixated on the way tolya meditated(?) to withstand the poison longer, INEJ'S DELUSION????, Jesper's heartwarming and simultaneously heartbreaking dream, KAZ DENYING HOW MUCH INEJ MEANS TO HIM, Ohval's badassery (i did not think she could get any more badass, but she did), and that wonderful fight scene??? Oh, yeah. So much was happening.

After that scene in episodr 8, it was hard not to try following where his gaze led for the rest of the episode, and definitely found it briefly landing on the part of the boat that Inej was a few seconds later revealed to be hanging from.

Did I already love Tolya before the scene that dropped the bomb? Yes. Do I still love Tolya? Yes, I do. Do I love him so much more for it, regardless? Yes, yes, yes.

Tolya alone with his passion for poetry, family, adventhre, and his superstions was loveable enough. But anyone who treats Inej with the respect she so rightfully deserves also gets a great in my book.

BUT DID I IMMEDIATELY FEEL GUILTY FOR NOT REALLY BEING ADVERSE TO THE IDEA OF TOLYA BEING INTERESTED IN INEJ?

Honestly, a little bit.

But Kanej would always be endgame. And I do not see Tolya as a threat to that.

-

It's a little unnerving how I didn't see these details and made the connrctions in the series as I watched, but Inej and Tolya are plenty alike.

Both are passionately religious, both know their superstitions, both have an occupation or a way of life that somehow go against some principles of their beliefs, and they SUCKED AT FIGHTING OHVAL LMAO but their movements and actions in episode 6 were really in sync. Could probably inflict more damage together with more practice, but it's a nice detail that they didn't accidentally hit each other even once despite fighting side by side for the first time. (Or I may be overthinking it, and it's just all the characters' innate experiences in fighting because there also wasn't any problems when Inej fought alongside Zoya, someone she also met only recently.) Other than the fighting, it should also be noted that when the door closed, they kinda moved at the same time. could be for cinematic effect. but it can also be interpreted as both of them being right hands mans of a sort, inej to kaz, and tolya to nikolai, leading them to develop similar habits.

These similarities give them something to bond over. Gives Inej someone to learn from. And I don't know Tolya's story yet, but these common traits and interest is part of the main reason I like their dynamic. Doesn't need to be romantic. I feel they can be great friends and close allies, and if they get flirty, that would also be amusing.

I would love to see their on screen interactions in general.

-

Regarding Inej's trauma and Tolya's Aro-ace representation

If you think about it, these two facts kind of make them compatible. Self-explanatory. If you see this as a ship, Inej not wanting to be touched and Tolya's minimal need/no need for touch is the simplest way to go about things, I feel. Wouldn't fault you for taking that route.

But part of the reason why Kanej works so well is that they encourage and motivate each other to heal from their trauma.

And unless Inej comes out as Ace/Aro/Aro-Ace, it's healthy for book!inej to desire to touch another person in spite of her trauma. No matter how slow the progress.

In the show, Inej's trauma is never discussed at all. It even seems non existent. I could handle them not confronting it directly. It's possible they may be saving it for the spinoff. But the show of physical casual physical contact kind of negates that a bit, such as Jesper coming up to hug Inej and spin her around. But to fit in the narrative, I think Tolyacan help with that. More on that in a bit, but first

The headcanon that Tolya is Aro-Ace

This is really the only source I found regarding any book statements about the origins of Tolya being Aro-Ace. And I've read the fact that Tolya is the only one eith no clear partner through the books have been brought up!

And while I first interpreted this quote from the book as something like, he just doesn't particularly think about it or desire it, and is completely fine with taking his time,

I am also very much in love with the Aro-Ace representation. It's rare, and it feels right on Tolya, to be honest.

Like I said, I don't particularly want him and Inej to be a certain way. (TRYING SO HARD NOT TO PROJECT ON INEJ CAUSE IM ATTRACTED TO HIM) But i do want to see some semblance of closeness between them!

So Queer platonic relationships do exist. I think it's a valid path or ending fanfiction-wise for those who want them 'together' together! I think the exposure to it, and how such a relationship would work, still validates the representation. but I'm not Aro-Ace myself, so do correct me if I'm wrong, and my sincerest apologies if I've offended anyone.

Part of why I still find hope for the Aro-Ace HC is because Tolya doesn't seem to be operating on his interest for Inej based on physical attraction or emotional connection. His intetest truly started from the life debt, then gratitude, thst he'd developed concern for her. I also think Tolya could just be a bit reverent of Inej (hence the look in e08), or appreciate her as a person or someone he could resonate with, but that's my own headcanon.

-

For how whatever is between tolya and inej could be a significant narrative, please refer to this BCOS THEY SAID IT PERFECTLY AND THATS RLLY THE ONLY WAY I CAN ENVISION IT HAPPENING ROMANTICALLY, AND REALLY ITS SO TRUEEE, AND DOES WONDERS FOR THE KANEJ DEVELOPMENT, would make endgame kanej all the more gratifying. its a bit inej-centered tho, and we also need to talk about how its important to tolya

this one explains how it would be narratively significant for tolya, too. tolya's realization of identity happening in the show also kind of matches the kind of subtle changes the adaptation makes to characters (like how in the show, we are shown inej's first kill, but inej has long resorted to murder in the start of soc), so personally, i agree, and think it would fit.

-

Friendly reminder that I wrote this with consideration to the separation of the show and the book!

Just had to get this out so I can finally focus on my exams!

Remember to keep rewatching season 2 <3 WE NEED THAT SIX OF CROWS SPIN OFF. dont even think abt cancelling, netflix

[m1ckeyb3rry]

bored and don’t feel like writing so here’s a list of which bllk boys i think characters from my various fics would end up with and why 👍 (inspired by one of my mutuals mentioning a crossover between bllk and one of my aot fics hehe). this is such a silly unserious post pls don’t take it to heart HAHA

pomegranate ink:

y/n would probably go for yukimiya!! considering her relationship with yuta, she prefers a guy who is talented and can hold his own, but is also gentle and soft for the most part. out of everyone in bllk i think yuki fits the bill best so i would say him.

tullia would end up with isagi!! she mentions that her type is someone kind, patient, and calm, with a sense of humor and skill at their chosen profession. if we ignore isagi’s on-field shenanigans he mostly hits every point!! i was between him and nagi for her but idk how kind and patient nagi is exactly JDSKDJJZ i think pomegranate ink tullia would stress him out so we’re going to go w isagi here

elakshi pulls up in the fic for a chapter or two, leaves, gets with a clan heir, and then flees the country with said clan heir during the final battle. truly there is no one more suitable for her than loki!! they can make random guest appearances together #couplegoals

hurricanes / hummingbirds:

it’s super hard to imagine past y/n with anyone besides kashimo, but i think if there’s any bllk boy who can match her and kashimo’s 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴, it’s kaiser!! he’s got a traumatic backstory (like kashimo), thinks hurting other people is the same as loving them (like kashimo), is one of the most talented in his generation (like kashimo), doesn’t understand emotions well (like kashimo), and is a surprisingly poetic asshole (like kashimo). so i guess kaiser it is!!

present y/n doesn’t explicitly like anyone, but out of all of the guys she interacts with (besides kashimo), nanami is the closest to being her love interest (he would’ve been if she didn’t have the hummingbird’s blessing), so if we’re looking at a bllk man for her, the only choice is everyone’s favorite emotionally repressed blond king, noel noa!! not my type personally, but to each their own. he would teach her how to do her eyeliner better than even naoya zenin, which fixes something deep within her that has been broken since she realized the worst man she knows has cunty makeup. how sweet!!

a song for the drowned/in chase of a mourning dove:

principessa y/n is a bit basic i am afraid…one thing abt her she WILL go for the dark haired blue eyed sassy emo combo every time!! rin itoshi is the obvious option (as long as he guards her well and is willing to risk his life to be with her, ofc). he’d be a little more irreverent than megumi, but considering principessa y/n loved megumi’s rude ass moments she probably would enjoy that.

lady tullia would like isagi at first (much like how she liked yuta) but she would eventually end up with hiori (how she would’ve ended up with inumaki). hiori has that sweetness but also a bit of a sharp tongue, and he seems like he’d be politically savvy, so i can see this working out well

asftd/icoamd elakshi is lesbian so she’s not getting w any of these losers 🔥 ig anri is the only choice by process of elimination 😭

ship in the harbor:

well. okay so this y/n is a very special girl 💖 iykyk…i think she would probably go for karasu (NOT biased)!! he has a vibe of competency and stability that she would really appreciate, and he’s the perfect blend of friedrich and hadrian in that he’s an asshole and would have no qualms abt calling her out when needed/responding to her sarcasm with his own, but he’s also very mature and good at reading people, so he wouldn’t push her too far or anything. i think he, a supportive man without any traces of ptsd or codependency, would be a breath of fresh air for her and exactly what she needs after everything she’s been through

not romantically, but i can see friedrich and colt liking chigiri!! and honestly they (esp friedrich) would find bachira funny so he’d be part of the crew too. definitely a lethal combo overall!!

endure:

endure y/n is childhood-best-friend-sexual so being realistic she’d just marry whichever one she knew since she was a kid HAHAH. jokes aside she did have a crush on reiner so i think in a non life or death situation she would like kunigami!! he would make her feel very safe and protected, and he’d probably enjoy taking care of her, so they’d have a good relationship

tullia ral only ever dated/liked jean, so if she were to be paired w a bllk boy, it would be reo — a good leader who’s more talented than believes, has self confidence issues that he hides w cockiness, and is handsome/a people person. much like jean!! except reo would’ve been able to buy that candy for her from trost and he wouldn’t even have had to dress up like a clown to do it so this is actually an upgrade on her part

[corvase]

friends with benefits to lovers

EXCITED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. FEEL FREE TO USE & ENJOY!!!! <3

exes to friends w benefits to lovers …?? smirk smirk wink wink

^they’re up to their frisky business and one character just pauses and says “do you remember the one time we bought like ten packs of cookies from sobeys at one am that one time?” and the character is just taken aback

^^they’re making out on one’s bed and one character looks over to the side and sees one of their couple things and is like “what’s that doing over there !”

“you staying over?” “duh. i don’t only like your body, silly, i like your netflix, too.”

the heavy feeling in their gut when they realize they have to introduce the other person as “just a friend”

one character wakes up before the other and just lies down beside them watching their chest go up and down, thinking ‘i can’t believe i am blessed enough to know such an ineffable person’

not knowing how to respond or feel about the protective feeling they get when someone asks if theyre dating the other person

“i think meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. i sometimes think just sitting with you is better than any make out session we could have.” “i think so, too.”

one of them needs a date for a wedding or business event and so they have to fake date for a couple weeks/months

“i love your fingers. they’re so pretty.” “are you sure them being pretty is the thing you like about them?”

a character thinking to themselves “i love how they never make me feel like i’m something to finish with. they always cherish me.”

“if i make you uncomfortable, tell me.” “you don’t. you never have. its one of the things i love about you.”

“i think you’re one of my favorite people.”

“i love being around you.” “i love that you love being around me because i love being around you, too.”

the moment when the jealousy from the other character pulling away to pursue a possible different love interest kicks in

“we’re kinda like a married couple, aren’t we?”

“i’m so proud of you.” and a shocked and slow response like “oh. thank you.” because they’re surprised it means so much to them that the other character would be proud

“i figured out that i love you this weekend and i just wanted tell you. i understand if you don't feel the same but i want you to know that the time we spent together means a lot to me and i’m glad we met—" "WAITTT YOU LOVE ME TOO????" "…………………………. TOO???"

they pull up to grab breakfast and one character just knows the others order by heart, no questions asked

“why are you so mad i’m talking to name? i thought you said you wanted to end this. you did.”

^ having to explain (or not explaining but thinking) that they wanted to end it in a “i don’t wanna be fwb i wanna be DATING you” way

they realize they love the other person because as soon as anything big happens in their life their first reflex is to tell them

“stop, i’m ticklish.” “i know.”

“i love you. have i told you that?” “oh my God. no you haven’t.” “……………. oh.”

consider when writing it : what are the stakes? more than just “losing a good friendship”, what would be so wrong with one character confessing their love to another? who else is involved? any secondary love interests? when do your characters realize they love each other and why? is it requited at first, if at all?

also if you know any books with this trope tell me. for research purposes of course.