#the perspective here is busted i know but ah well i like how this looks anyway

[ollylotl]

Dakota? Cole!

[pancake-breakfast]

Well, it's a good thing I tried to get ahead earlier in the week because it took this long for me to get to the last part.

Stream-of-consciousness thoughts for TriMax Vol. 4, Chapters 6-7 below.

Chapter 6: The Bystanders

Falling ships and giant worms. Looks like we're off to a great start here.

Ok, I really hope we get a worms-eye view of The Fall in Stampede. I'm not gonna hold my breath given that they've kinda already covered it and they just don't have a ton of episodes to work with, but I love love love the idea that we get this backstory from the perspective of the planet's native, sentient, and very inhuman inhabitants.

You know what, Zazie? I dunno what this face is supposed to be, either.

Ah, the Japanese inclination to apologize for everything.

Oh, gods. Nightow's gonna intersperse this backstory with the boys fighting, isn't he? *SIGH* I wouldn't normally complain, but Nightow's fights are, far more often than not, hard enough to follow to begin with.

For as twisted as his body is, Hoppered's hands look very normal. I don't know what I was expecting.

Ohhh, Hoppered's beef is about July. Shoot, I saw someone make a comment about one of the cops in Stampede during July, and now that makes sense. Like, at the very least, that cop's line was a callback to this scene.

Ah, the innate trouble with translating the two-syllable Japanese "待って" (ma'tay) to the monosyllabic English word "wait." Personally, I would have gone with "W-- Wait!" but I'm not the one doing translations here.

Vash is denying it because he can't imagine wanting to destroy a city, but Hoppered is right; he just doesn't know.

Is... is Hoppered crying?

Eyyyy, old-school Hoppered! Looks like he was a bit of an odd one even before he joined up with the Gung-Ho Guns.

Ah, there's that term "independent." But the way Zazie's presenting it is making me think about it in whole new ways. Stampede brought it up in a way that made me think of them as having a freedom other Plants don't, but this interpretation has me thinking of the innate alone-ness of both Vash and Knives, what that means to them, how they deal with it and how they make it a part of their being. Knives revels in it and lets it feed his sense of superiority (much to Legato's dismay, I'm sure). Meanwhile, Vash... I wouldn't say he resents it, but he finds it very lonely, and it doesn't make him feel superior so much as it makes him feel very Other.

And here's the first place we have it straight-up said that they're Plants.

Ah, so the Bystanders referred to in this chapter title are Vash and Knives. I thought it might end up being the worms. But hey, no reason the title can't work both ways.

And then ANGEL ARM?!?! Ohhhh, Zazie's story's being interwoven with Hoppered's. This is July. How was I supposed to know that without metagame knowledge??

Ok, this panel is great, 'cause it was only a few pages back that Zazie noted they have the innate ability to sense others' emotions. It just adds a level of intimidation on the whole thing.

Hahahaha, Midvalley. I guess I shouldn't laugh at his suffering, but he tried to kill Wolfwood, so eh.

There's something innately ridiculous with him being like, "Time to pull out the BIG GUNS!!!" and then immediately being like, "Aw, man! My instrument's busted or something...."

"He's almost too pathetic to kill at this point." Rude.

Black-suited moron? Wolfwood?

Yeah, it's Wolfwood.

Milly to the rescue! Again!

LOL, he's doing better than he looks.

But not as good as he thinks he's doing.

The Adventures of Big Girl and Short Woman by Nicholas D. Wolfwood

Uhhhh, who's the person with the light?

Hahahaha, Zazie looks sooooo unimpressed with Midvalley right now.

Zazie has a point, but I think he's preaching to the choir here.

Where tf did Midvalley get alcohol from all of a sudden? Also, is the alcohol called "Drifter"? If so, that's kinda cool. Something something meaningful names for alcohol in this series.

Oop, Zazie's worm sense is tingling!

Chapter 7: Hopeless Sinner

CW: Suicidal ideation

Oh, Vash. This look has me really worried for you.

"Sinner" is generally the word Knives uses for humans in this series. I wonder, though, if it might be being used to apply to Vash here.

Ohhh, babygirl looks soooo troubled. And then looking up and seeing the hole in the moon.... That's not gonna improve his mood.

Ah. He remembers. And... you know... in this shot, he looks amazingly like Knives.

Heh. Hoppered just... sort of peering over him. Like he's checking on his wellbeing. It's the opposite, but the casualness of it is deceptively calm.

I'm... honestly not quite sure what Hoppered did to silence Vash here. Slap him, I guess?

Ooooof. Vash just straight up embraces the killing urge inside him. He looks it straight in the face and says, "Yeah. This is a part of me." But in the same breath he rejects it, says it's not something he wants because he doesn't want to go down that path. He doesn't want it so bad he'd take his own life to keep it from taking over.

Gods, he's sooooo sad. Even Hoppered feels bad for him.

Hoppered still wants him dead, and still wants to die, as well. TBH, this feels more like he empathizes with Vash to some degree. Something something double suicide.

Uhhhhh, sudden light??

Yeah, I dunno what happened here, either. Vash got knocked somewhere?

*sigh* Wheeeerrrrre does Wolfwood think he's going???

Did... he just gut-punch Milly????

Yes. Yes, he did.

He deserves booing. But I love how he just... caves. I bet he didn't really want to leave and was only gonna do so to get Milly out of there. But Milly didn't want to go peacefully and so here we are.

I really feel like Midvalley should get a strap for his sax. It seems like that would be useful. And this series can't have too many straps, belts, etc.

If five seconds is all it takes, why isn't Vash dead yet? Hmmmmm???

Uhhhhh, what's with this crazy airship??

Ohhhhh, shit. I have enough spoilers to know who that is.

This chair, though. It looks like a musical instrument.

Author Bonus Chapter

I have no idea what Nightow is rambling about here with this Barbarian Bonehead All-Stars nonsense.

Ohhh, so this isn't Kuroneko. This is Nya-Kun. My bad, I got them confused.

"My emotions are overflowing into rambling!!!" Hahahahahaha, I know we all do this from time to time, but it just feels very Nightow.

Ohhhh, something got lost in translation here. I've watched enough Attack on Titan to know that apparently Nightow replaced a word here with the pronunciation for "heart," but there's no corelary on the page.

I had heard about Nightow's love of action figures.

"They gather at the ocean with pleasant feeling." This sounds like something that was translated too literally from Japan. The phrase doesn't quite work in English.

"The meaning of their name in Japanese is 'omocha buzoku.'" This tells me nothing about the meaning of their name in Japanese. I am very confused.

Ah, he addressed the difference in the planet name from the manga to the anime. Sort of.

Haaaahahahahaha, ok, Story Time. A couple weeks ago I was at Anime Expo with @sweetpotoooooooos, and she went to a panel by Studio Bones (one of the old-timers as studios go) on one of the days when I couldn't attend. She said that during the panel, Bones mentioned that when they first got word of just how popular Fullmetal Alchemist (the original) was in the U.S., they thought they were being lied to. The numbers seemed too high. (As someone who was into anime at that time, I can verify that four of their five titles preceding FMA were talked about in the community, but only Wolf's Rain actually aired on Adult Swim where it could reach a broad audience... and... well, let's just say Wolf's Rain is not as good as FMA. (It does have an excellent Yoko Kanno soundtrack, though.)) FMA was first broadcast on Adult Swim in 2004. Trigun was first broadcast on Adult Swim in '03. The idea that anything anime would be popular enough to warrant action figures in the West would have absolutely been mind-blowing to any mangaka, and much more so one as in love with figures as Nightow.

Mata nee, minna-san!

Archive

Trigun Volume 1: Covers + 1-3, 3 Detailed Thoughts, 4, 4 DT, 5-6, 5-6 + DT, 6 DT, 7-8, 9-10 || Volume 2: Covers + Extras, 1, 1 Supplemental Research, 2-4, 5-6, 7-8

TriMax Volume 1: Covers + 1-2, 2 DT, 3-4, 3 DT, 5-6 || Volume 2: Covers + 1, 2-4, 5, 6-7 || Volume 3: Covers + 1-3, 4-5, 6-7 || Volume 4: Covers + 1-2, 3-5

[undercoverangell]

thinking about pok lives and goes on spring break au heres everything in my brain atm

Pok gets enough money working for the government to get a new house so they no longer live in an apartment and instead are in like a nice lil 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house and the bad kids come over freshman year bc riz is like "oh my dad should know something about these palimpsets i feel like he'd know about them" and he's not of much use but like. to give yall some perspective on how i imagine pok in this au he's like this goblin w huge scars covering him who is like?? kinda athletic?? and he is also still a spy and still goes on missions so when they first meet him hes in this fairly nice house in like a button up and cardigan w plaid pants and has his hair like tied back (bc i think he would grow it out) in a low ponytail drinking coffee. and they've never met Riz's dad but suddenly just everything about Riz makes sense this guy is his fucking dad?? and he works for the government as an accountant?? dude this guy is cool as hell wtf.

He's just very eloquently spoken and seems to know a lot about things accountants shouldn't care about (why did riz send us to his accountant dad to look at a palimpsest why would his dad know anything about this?) and so thus begins the convincing riz who knows what his dad does that his dad is in the mafia.

also doesnt help that they do have a thing in the gukgak household about bringing new people directly to the house bc obviously pok does have a bunch of like secret rooms and drawers in the home and so the very first thing he says around them is "Kid you know how i feel about strangers in the home" and riz just goes "yeah yeah sorry i know we can meet at Basrar's or something next time-" "okay well im assuming its an emergency or something important if you brought 5 people over that i've never even met so what's up?" and its immediately weird bc... wtf.. hi ig??

"dude like why is he so like ..... that. like?? dude hes not an accountant i know that at least." "guys my dad is just some dude who works in accounting hes not a member of the mafia" "the ball im so sorry your dad has been lying to you he is a member of the mafia. does your mom know?" "i dont know?? probably??" "poor woman..." "oh my god"

theyre all so confused as to why he is so casual not knowing that like since he was 13 riz has known his dad is a spy and does missions and stuff and everytime they see pok literally just getting a coffee they confront him immediately even if riz is there

"so mr.ball....whats in that coffee???"

"vanilla. some cream and milk."

"theres no mafia secrets????"

"no. i got it with two shots of espresso."

"....weird....."

"if you want me to buy you a coffee you can just ask like a normal person."

"i dont need your MAFIA COFFEE....."

"okay, the coffee here is really good though."

".....maybe i would like just a small coffee with two shots of vanilla."

**hands them 10 bucks** "go ahead."

obv pok cant just tell his sons friends he barely knows that hes a spy so he just continually insists that he "works for the department of foreign affairs as an accountant. i work in accounting kids. thats it." and they all get it HORRIBLY WRONG and are like "oh yeah kalvaxis rlly wanted to eat an accountant JUST SAY UR A MEMBER OF THE MAFIA AND GO KINDA SUSPICIOUS THATS UR WIFES A COP ARE U TRYING TO MANAGE THE POWER SYSTEM SO U CAN GET AWAY W UR CRIMES???" and he just straight up "....YEAH IM A MEMBER OF THE MAFIA! YEAH U GOT IT RIGHT. IM A MEMBER OF THE MAFIA." and riz finds it fucking hilarious bc as hes busting out laughing his dad is going "riz the mafia is serious business u know this idk why ur laughing about it : (" and the bad kids think theyve cracked the case!! theyve done it!! (they have not!)

pok and garthy know eachother very well bc pok has been sent on numerous missions to Leviathan and so there's like little hints as to what pok does "oh you're still working for the department of foreign affairs! you been moved out of accounting yet?" and the bad kids are like "garthy he works for the mafia. sorry we had to break it to you...." and garthy who knows for a fact pok is not in the mafia just goes "....oh?? the mafia?? that's new! i cant imagine the wife likes that very much!"

Pok and Riz have a little moment in Leviathan where they just sit and talk and Pok assures Riz that he's cool and his friends like him and that he wouldve kill to be as cool as riz is when he was his age. Riz falls asleep on Pok and his dad is just glad hes getting some rest. he also sees the tattoos and goes "if your mom asks you got those when i was asleep and i didnt know."

He absolutely hates fallinel but hes been there on so many missions he is just used to high elves and their bs. "Ah.... Pook GikGuk..." "Mhmm. you got it right buddy." While there he just constantly looks so done with just about everything bc he has seen this place so many times there is like no "ooo new place!" value in it is literally just "yep. high elves and their high elven shit." he tells riz if he ever becomes a spy (which he definitely would btw i will die on the secret agent riz hill) to just. get used to this bc he is going to have to deal with this a lot.

In the nightmare forest he finally is like "guys im not apart of the mafia im a spy. i dont work in accounting lol u think my wife would marry some fucking accountant when shes as cool as she is??" and they're like "???? but... u admitted... u were in the mafia.. why would u lie..." "im a spy i literally lie for a living also i barely knew you guys except when you would come over to our house sometimes and stare at me suspiciously while I scrolled through twitter on my laptop" "MAYBE U WERE LOOKING AT UR MAFIA MEMBERS TWITTER" "WHY ON EARTH WOULD MAFIA MEMBERS HAVE TWITTER" "I DONT KNOW?? THEY WANNA LOOK AT MEMES!"

everything for this au is under the "pok lives au" tag bc i have. so many ideas. i am more than willing to take drawing ideas for this please ask me about this au (srs)

[thesleepysphinx]

Tokoyami x (fem)Reader - Agoraphobic pt. 2: Quoth the raven

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Quoth the raven, nevermore

- Edgar Allan Poe

You stood at the door of Tokoyami’s room, clutching the book in your hands in anxiety. You remembered the day everyone looked at each other’s rooms and how Tokoyami was greatly embarrassed about his. Is it okay for me to knock on his door? But if I don’t, how do I return the book? Will he be upset that someone’s at his door?

Your mind raced with questions, but you pushed them down with a deep breath. You knocked on Tokoyami’s door and waited for all of two seconds before it cracked open. You could see only a sliver of Tokoyami, as he opened the door just enough for you to see most of his face. For a moment, you forgot why you were there, that is until Tokoyami glanced down to see his book in your hands.

“Oh, thank you, (y/n), I didn’t realize I’d forgotten it,” he spoke as he moved his eyes back up to face you. There was a certain softness to his expression that you couldn’t quite pick out because of the feathers.

You held the book out with both hands. “It’s no problem! I forgot I was still holding it to be honest.”

He reached for the book and brushed your fingers with his as he grabbed it. You quickly let go and clasped your hands behind your back, trying not the blush at the accidental contact. His fingers were warm and somewhat rough, but not too rough. You didn’t know why you were so embarrassed deep inside about the contact. You hadn’t really spoken to Tokoyami much until today, so why were you so damn nervous around him now?

Tokoyami’s eyes stayed trained on the book as he kept it in front of him. His eyes still didn’t move as he began to speak again. “I apologize for leaving so abruptly. I hope I didn’t offend you.”

You were taken aback by his apology, as you didn’t really expect one in the first place. You felt heat rise to your cheeks as you responded, “Oh, no, it’s fine! I know you don’t really like being around a lot of noisy people. I promise I didn’t take it personally!” You beamed a smile at him as reassurance.

Tokoyami in all honesty didn’t know how to respond. Just like you, he was taken aback, but he was taken aback by your understanding and sincerity. In his experience, most people would tell him to go back downstairs because socializing would be “good for him.” He tended to disagree with them. But here you were, agreeing with him before he even got a chance to tell you his perspective. It was more than refreshing.

Tokoyami raised his eyes to look at you again. “Thank you… Both for returning the book and for your understanding.” He felt an intense admiration for you that was not there before that morning.

You rubbed the back of your neck in embarrassment. “Yeah, like I said, no problem!” You left your hand to linger on the back of your neck as a sudden silence overcame the both of you. As the silence persisted, you could not shake the feeling that you needed to spend more time with Tokoyami. You had an idea, but you didn’t know if it would be too uncomfortable for Tokoyami. But, you thought it was worth a shot.

“Y’know, I’m having a movie marathon with Hagakure and Ojiro later today. If you want, it’d be nice if you came too!”

Tokoyami’s feathers started ruffling as you spoke while you started to feel more embarrassed. But it was too late to back out now.

“It’s just that they get super flirty, and I’d rather not third-wheel.” You started to feel like you were pressuring him. “But don’t feel obligated! I just thought you might enjoy it. We could maybe critique the movies afterwards, like we did with Pride and Prejudice!” You rubbed the crook of your arm in embarrassment, hoping he wasn’t picking up too much on the blood rushing to your face.

Tokoyami’s grip on the book tightened as he watched you. He prayed to whatever god was listening that the ruffling of his feathers was not too noticeable. He, of all people, was being invited to marathon movies? With you? Yes, you said it was because you didn’t want to third-wheel, but at this point, Tokoyami would accept any time he could spend with you. He was becoming infatuated.

You didn’t quite expect Tokoyami’s answer. “That sounds like quite a good time, actually.” His grip tightened even more. “I hope I would not be intruding.”

You laughed at his last comment. “I don’t think it’s intruding if you’re invited, Tokoyami-kun!”

Tokoyami’s feathers ruffled once again at how you called him. He felt his breath hitch in his throat as he struggled to respond, but he didn’t have to as you kept talking.

“We won’t start for a bit, so I could text you when we’re about to start if that’s okay with you!” You beamed your smile at him, feeling a bit more confident and comfortable.

But now, it was Tokoyami’s turn to be bold.

“Actually… If you don’t mind, I would like to continue our conversation from before…” He started feeling flustered as he continued. “But, I understand if you have other engagements.”

Your cheeks heated up at his suggestion, but again, his last sentence made you giggle. “I don’t have any engagements before the movie marathon.” You let out another giggle.

Tokoyami adored the giggle as it escaped your lips. It was almost as mesmerizing as your humming earlier.

Heat continued to rush to your cheeks as you kept talking. “I’m assuming you don’t want to go back downstairs for the conversation, so…”

Tokoyami understood what you were trying to say, or rather ask, as he responds, “We can sit in my room, if you’re alright with that, that is.”

You felt your heart beat faster at his suggestion. You were just worrying about him being embarrassed by his room, but here he was inviting you in!

“Are you sure? I know last time we all saw your room you weren’t really comfortable with it…”

Tokoyami opened his door all the way to show the entirety of himself and his room. “It’s much more comfortable if it’s just one person…” He looked off to the side a bit as he considered what he wanted to say. And you’re one person I feel very comfortable with. But, he didn’t want to be too forward with you. He retreated into the room, tinted purple by his mood lighting. He took a seat on his bed as he busied himself with the cover of his book, too anxious about looking back in your direction.

You took a step into the room, getting a better look at it than you did when you first moved in. Back then, Tokoyami had stood in front of the door, trying to block anyone from seeing it. But now, he left the door open. For you.

You find your voice as you ask, “Would you like the door closed?” You asked out of respect for his privacy, but the thought of being alone with him behind closed doors was flustering.

Tokoyami glanced up at you, his eyes shining despite the minimal light. “Ah, yes, please. If you don’t mind.”

You gently closed the door behind you as you kept surveying the aesthetic of the room. “I’m surprised you don’t have a bust in here for the sake of irony.” You laughed at your comment.

“I’m not sure I follow…”

You walked towards an arrangement of books, surveying the titles, as you explained, “The Raven by Poe. I just felt you’d be the kind to find irony in it, since… you know.” You gestured towards his head.

Tokoyami felt his eyes widen and his feathers ruffle once more, hoping the darkness hid the ruffling enough. You knew Poe? He was so pleasantly surprised that he couldn’t comment on your suggestion of a bust.

“I was not aware that you knew Poe.” He took a moment to think. “Though, I probably shouldn’t be surprised. His works are classics themselves.”

“I’d like to think I’m well-read anyways…” You took a seat in Tokoyami’s desk chair that seemed more like a throne than anything else. “Favorite work from him?”

Tokoyami was caught off guard by the question. He didn’t expect you to be so interested in his own interests. He took a hand from his book and held a finger under his beak in thought. No one had ever asked his favorite work by Poe, so he had never had to consider it before. But after a few moments to mull it over, he responds, “The Masque of the Red Death.”

You were surprised by this, but didn’t know why. Maybe you just expected something different. You pulled your feet up onto the chair to hug your knees. “Any particular reason?”

Tokoyami took a breath, keeping his eyes trained on the book in his hands before explaining. “Many that Poe loved were taken by disease. I think he wrote it based on his own experience.” He paused and met your gaze. “Money cannot save you from something that has no use for it.”

You smiled at the philosophical statement. “Quoth the raven.”

Tokoyami closed his eyes and smiled lightly back at you. “It seems you’re not letting go of The Raven. Is that your favorite?”

You took a moment to ponder yourself, but came up with an answer quicker than Tokoyami did. “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

“Ah, yes, that one is brilliant. What is your reasoning for it?”

“Well, I think it has a pretty cool message. No matter how hard you try to hide something, you have to tell the truth eventually.” You felt this message sink into your skin as you spoke it. It sank into Tokoyami’s as well.

Tokoyami pondered the message. “He was trying to hide a murder. Do you think that applies in the real world?”

“If it didn’t apply in the real world, then how would Poe have written about it?”

That question gripped Tokoyami’s heart fiercely. He had never really had anyone to discuss literature with, but here you were, not only discussing it, but analyzing it. Applying it. He had never felt a connection stronger. It took much will power for Tokoyami to calm his heart and come back down to earth. But once he did, he came up with another idea.

“Have you ever read The Black Cat?” Tokoyami questioned you.

You tilted your head in interest. “I don’t think so, but it sounds familiar!” You beamed a smile at him again.

Tokoyami smiled back as he got up from his bed and strode over to his row of books beside you. He replaced Pride and Prejudice in its spot then reached for a book that appeared to be an anthology of all of Poe’s works. He would be the one to have all of his works on hand you thought to yourself. How cute…

He leaned back against his desk, and you got the opportunity to fully observe his side profile. Even under his baggy hoodie, you could tell his body was lean. But you also knew from training that he had toned muscle to go with it. You knew only from the few times Tokoyami pulled back his cloak. He didn’t show off his physique as many of the other boys did. He was much more… reserved.

Tokoyami leafed through the book after a quick glance at the table of contents before landing on a precise page. Upon finding it, he held the book out for you to take. Once you did, he placed his hands behind him on the surface of the desk and asked, “Does the prose look familiar to you?”

You read the first few sentences just to be sure. “It doesn’t, I must have missed this one…” You read a couple more sentences, your curiosity piquing. You looked up from the page back at him. “Now I really have to read it… Would you mind if I borrowed the book?”

Tokoyami felt his heartbeat quicken at the proposition. You wanted to borrow a book from him? He was overjoyed, feeling a smile creep onto his face. The happiness fueled another suggestion of his. “I could read it out loud, if you don’t mind. It’s my second favorite and I would like to read it again.”

A blush formed on your cheeks at his counter-proposal, though he couldn’t see it in the darkness. No one had ever read anything to you except your parents when you were a toddler. The only person who really read to you was you. But now here was Tokoyami with his soft smile, deep voice, and intellectual perspective offering to read to you. You couldn’t say no.

“I don’t mind at all!” you said almost too eagerly. You covered it up with, “You probably have the best voice for reading Poe.” You felt more embarrassed by the addition than the original agreement.

Tokoyami’s smile merely increased with the compliment. Sure, that wouldn’t be considered a compliment to most, but it meant the world to Tokoyami. It meant the world that someone else he knew shared his interests. And because of this, because of you, his anxieties were melting away.

He gently took the book back from your hands, though this time his fingers didn’t brush yours. Oh, how you wish they had. But instead, you hugged your knees closer to your chest as Tokoyami began to read. You had been right in thinking he had the best voice for reading Poe, for as he began, you felt drawn in by his voice as it mixed with the light patter of the rain. The intricate words rolled off his tongue as if they were meant to. Gradually, he lowered himself to sit on the ground to be more comfortable as he read. In turn, you closed your eyes and tilted your head to the side so that you could focus on his words. You had never felt so comfortable with someone else before. With your eyes closed, you started to pick up the aroma of the room. The air smelled of burnt and burning candles and faintly of apple pie. They made you sink further into the chair you sat upon, enveloping you just as Tokoyami’s voice was. But as Tokoyami got halfway through the short story, a ding sounded from your phone.

Hagakure 11:23am

Where'd you go? We’re starting soon!! Get over here!!

Masterlist ⁘ Next

Let me know what you guys are thinking so far! I'm gonna keep it really slow-burn, probably to the point where everyone will get frustrated! Stay tuned :)

[vaguely-concerned]

X-men Evolution; the great 2021 rewatch liveblog

exactly what it says on the tin, about halfway through the show I had TOO MANY FEELINGS and had to start writing some of them out haha (gets quite gambit & rogue/gambit heavy in the latter half, Because of Who I Am as a Person)

- this is my childhood’s x-men, my formative experience with them, and I’m happy to report that still seems like a good thing. the little eleven year old within me gets to geek out and have a good time with the characters and the surprisingly good animation and writing, adult me gets to CACKLE at regular intervals at the fashion/technology/absolute bonkers hot garbage comic book nonsense they use to justify a storyline every now and then, it’s been a good time 

- I was like ‘ah well it is super dated it probably won’t be quite the same now’ and then rogue’s HAIR did the THING in the opening and ‘it’s all coming back to me now’ started playing in the background... the little baby queer in me swooning across time and space

- such a good beast, both his design and the writing, my heart aches for him all the time. he’s just so passionate! about being a teacher! helping young humans learn the stuff they’ll need in life! the most wonderful nerd man, just let good things happen for him

- I’m going to go ahead and assume that rogue’s ‘crush’ on scott is more of a deeply complex psychological process about desiring normalcy and intimacy and trying to figure out if she’s queer and dealing with her emerging sexuality and latching on to the first and best safely unavailable and nonthreatening older boy to project these issues onto rather than actually being a real thing, because I respect her so much as a person and I cannot bring myself to imagine she’s honestly attracted to a man who has POSTERS OF CARS on his bedroom wall. (I’ll give jean a break just because she seems to have a longer deeper history with him that might counteract some of that libido-kill, and also she’s a jock so lol)

like I am very sorry but can u imagine being a teenage girl with any interest in a boy with model cars in his bedroom when gambit’s swanning around being a much, much, much worse choice on almost every possible level but in a teen girl kryptonite kind of way? inconceivable  

(I drag scott quite a few times in this and it’s not because I don’t love him, it’s just his tragedy to be the most draggable man in the world)

to be fair by the time gambit shows up that whole Situation has mostly played itself out I suppose but still  

- toad’s design is so ineffably brilliant, I can’t quite tell you why but that ugly cute charm has really stuck with me, he’s one of the characters I remembered the best to this day just visually

- poor evan... he truly never had a chance, did he, they just saddled him with the most 90s teen bullshit they could come up with like he’s some kind of ‘what adult writers think teens like’ frankenstein’s monster ;______; it’s not your fault honey

- poor poor POOR storm, she gets one focus episode and they were like ‘we’re going to make an episode so racist -- ‘

I’m still STUNNED at how bad it was, but undeniably I laughed hysterically to the point that my neighbours were probably worried when that dude was earnestly like ‘He [stunningly breathlessly racist caricature of a ‘witch doctor’ guy] has stolen her powers, and he’s going to use them to take over Africa!!!’ fhajsdlfhsakjldfh oh really? tell me more, like how the fUCK this could be on television within my life time fasdlfhsdkjfhsad f  just... fahjksdfh

- it’s a testament to gambit’s appeal as a character that his charm can survive what they’ve done with his hair and beard choices in this one fajskfhs regrettable but true I still fuckn LOVE him and in my highly biased yet Correct opinion he should have been around much more. get you a man who manages to stay hot through sheer Vibes even with a bowl cut

- aw scott/jean is kind of sweet in this show even if it’s taking them forEVER to get there, I like it 

- it’s very nice of rogue to not mention magneto’s romantic daydreams and nostalgic memories about charles xavier after touching his face that one time... or maybe her brain did her a service and repressed it, there’s some stuff you shouldn’t have to know about your father figure   

- the danger room is the very definition of ‘why do we even have that lever’ and I wonder what the fuck prof x does to have enough money to replace everything that gets busted all the time

- I’d say that a lot of the writing holds up surprisingly well! (but some of it is also incredibly inexcusably racist in ways that beggar belief, so... not full marks here) the characters have distinct voices and their arcs are set up and delivered on solidly for the most part, and there’s a lot of love showing through in small moments that are just there to have a funny/interesting thing to say about the characters and how their powers work separately and in combination. listen, sometimes I get so thirsty for like. basic goddamn competency in storytelling, let me have this

- ugggggh why is there captain america in my x-men have I not suffered enough... very very funny when prof x goes ‘sounds like you knew rogers personally’ and logan is like ‘I did ;)’ *all the students ganging up on steve rogers* “did you fuck our teacher, captain america?!”

- fskadfhas WHY are you showing me hot young-ified magneto’s ass fksjahfskj charles is not even here to see it, what a tragic waste erik 

- ...I was sort of kidding before but uh I think logan genuinely did fuck captain america (or at least wishes very much that he did lol)

- wanda can have a little watching the world burn. as a treat for the way every single adult in her life has fucking failed her (’aren’t they treating you well here’ professor x she’s in a straightjacket)  

- poor rogue tho can you imagine finding out after your biggest crush on a girl yet that she’s your fucking MOM in disguise... I would break out in cold sweat every time I thought about a boob forever after

- well seems like they really just had all that homoerotic rivalry stuff between quicksilver and spyke in their first ep only to never do anything with that again ever?? I mean even without the gay undertone that seems like a dynamic you spent most of an episode setting up writers what the hell haha

- dslhfkasjlh GAMBIT THERE HE IS MY BOY IS ON THE SCENE THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! I don’t even care about his awful hair situation or the fact that his eyes are wrong here (coloured contact lenses, maybe, for a watsonian explanation? though he’d probably have to get them made special, considering he needs the sclera and the iris covered up in different ways, I’ve seen some comic panels indicating he has been known to?)

(cute little detail: when he shuffles the cards the first time we see him he ends with removing the top card to show the ace of hearts beneath <3 foreshadowing baBEY he’s a... good-ish boy deep down. hey he tries okay shit gets complicated sometimes lol) 

- cracking UP at gambit perched cheerily on the edge of a crate dispensing cards in the middle of the battle... he’s like ‘eh it’s a livin’ sfsajkhf remy stop working for supervillains just because you had nothing to do on a thursday afternoon and they said they’d pay you

- I’m guessing magneto must have imposed a strict order of silence on these guys or something because I cannot imagine any other reason for him to shut up, especially once he notices rogue is a QTE (or, far more likely, they hadn’t settled on any voice actors for the new characters until next season haha. it is kind of odd that they’re all keeping up near monastic silence, though, even sabertooth lol) 

- WHAT an epic first meeting for us rogue/gambit fans here... first his shadow like there’s fireworks going off behind him lighting him up and then he gives her the fuckn king of hearts and she’s so enchanted by his dumb handsome face she doesn’t even notice it’s about to blow up in her hands and it all happens in heavily meaningful silence afjsdfjashjk no wonder this ship ingrained itself in my hindbrain  

yeah look smug while you can remy she’s gonna have you on your knees one day and you’ll be happy about it lol

- god storm is so COOL, everything just fading out of focus when she really gets going... give her more screen time, show!!

- mystique is every person... this person... that person... that bird... that cat... that wolf... I’m not even sure she’s not also me... are you sure she’s not you? 

- holy fuck I respect the hell out of the decision to just... blow up the entire status quo in a season ender, I only vaguely remembered that (actually in general I appreciate how good the continuity is -- buildings and places that get damaged in battles need to be repaired or rebuilt, it makes the consequences feel more real even when no one gets seriously hurt. where they get the money to restore scott’s car and logan’s motorbikes every time they go cablooie is still an open question tho lol is it credit card fraud, professor? is it telepathically acquired blackmail???) 

- I first watched this when I was nine or so, so it’s a real experience to go from my starry eyed intrigued ‘oh my god... they’re teenagers’ to my horrified adult perspective of ‘oh my god... they’re TEENAGERS D:’

that goes double for the brotherhood boys honestly, I’m here with tears in my eyes like ‘I’m sorry the system has failed you so badly you’re all just a bunch of dumb kids whose caretakers clearly fucked up spectacularly’  

like lance is always waiting for mystique to come back because she’s the closest thing he has to a safe parental figure, may we speak about how crushingly depressing that is 

- rogue is so ready to throw hands at literally any moment and for that I love and treasure her immensely (I think getting to see her be so surly and unreasonable and sometimes difficult and jealous, like any teenager, meant a lot to me as a kid who was not really allowed to be any of these things, this version of the character has stayed with me so deeply. she holds on so fiercely to her right to feel what she feels and be what she is even when it’s ‘ugly’ or unreasonable, which I think plays in really interestingly with how her powers involve getting invaded by other people’s thoughts and memories to the point of overwhelming her own sense of self and the fact that she clearly has a lot of self-loathing and self-consciousness and confusion about her identity as well. I love her so much)  

- oooof this is the ‘the gang experience a microaggression’ episode huh (well more like macroagressions really)

hits a bit different with adult eyes and perspective huh

- hearing jean sound almost like a child when she says ‘that’s so unfair!’ somehow has me like ;______; -- she has to be so adult and responsible all the time, and having her be reduced to the kid she still is and should get to be in front of this awful awful man she could squash like a bug with the flick of a thought... ugh I’m Big Sad (it is funny that jean seemingly plays Every Sport tho djfhaskj)

- MY BOY IS BACK!!! this time with the duster coat and his eyes the right colour, im so happy (too bad about the subdued colour scheme tho; I adore his dumb bright pink getup with my whole heart)

it’s kind of adorable that he takes the time to take the bullies aside and go ‘I know these guys can’t wreck you without getting expelled, but I think you’ll find no law set down by god or man would stop me from doing so whenever I wanted to. so piss off and leave them alone’ lol he’s looking out for them, in his own way

- in this episode: remy lebeau wrangles some kids while looking bored yet mildly amused the whole time. what the fuck does magneto have on you for you to agree to this level of babysitting duty buddy

- fun detail I noticed b/c when I get a fave I hyperfixate: he gave rogue the king of hearts before, but he ‘introduces’ himself to the brotherhood here (lol) with the jack of hearts, probably to symbolize he’s here as someone who works for magneto in this setting and not as his own man? it’s a demotion he’s given himself there, anyway, might be he’s not very pleased about his current position huh 

- I like it when rogue and kitty team up, they’re not very effective together but their squabbling is so cute and non-aggressive 

- pietro is what draco malfoy would be if I ever found malfoy interesting to watch for even one moment, every time quicksilver talks I’m like ‘what wonderfully insufferable thing is going to come out of your mouth this time you little shit :’)’

- a) why are scott and logan shirtless for this scene? I am not complaining on the logan side of things at least but why and b) I laughed so hard I almost fell off my couch when scott asked logan if he’d ever been in love and he was like ‘once. she was the most beautiful bike I ever saw’ falsdfhaskjfhsakjlfhasklhjfd THE BEST VERSION OF WOLVERINE EVER, ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES 

- mystique’s sheer dedication to being a petty bitch is kind of inspirational tbh, almost makes me want to go on a completely bonkers and extra crusade of personal revenge myself  

- oooh they’re doing some genuinely cool things with vision/lack of vision in this one (it’s the scott left on his own in the desert without glasses one btw) even visually, dang! I’m so sad this show didn’t get more seasons than it did, honestly, it deserved it

- hell yeah jean wreck her, go get your man with the suspiciously specific clothing damage normally done to female characters 

awww :’) okay yeah they’re super sweet, I love the tiny loving animation details like how he leans his head against her and her stroking his hair away from his eyes

- nooo don’t bully evan leave my t0tally r4dical sk8er boy alone :(

- I love the running joke of people fleeing in blind panic only to reveal that what they’re running from is kitty’s cheerful well meaning little face fskfaskh 

- scott and jean are already peak married after officially being together for one episode and it’s adorable, and they just stone cold threw logan under the bus, rip wolverine we hardly knew ya

fjasdlfasldfhslajdkfhsadkjlfhsdkjalfhsdakfh h jean establishing herself as the alphabitch of this relationship by throwing her man to the wolves right after dsjfhaskjfhaskjhfsakjdhfaskjhfaskdhfskjahfskdajhf get smarter or get volunteered scott 

- ...eyepatch lady is so hot ngl

oh evan went to the place hank used to go to calm down ;________; (honestly he’s kind of won a place in my heart just by being a pretty normal teenage boy haha)

- jesus fucking CHRIST can you imagine being storm having to look her sister in the eye as she tells her ‘I lost your only child, he’s *vague gesture* somewhere in the sewers we think’ this poor woman

- amanda the self admitted monster fucker you are so VALID (I love her and her family’s design so much tho!)

- it’s so cool that even in his human ‘disguise’ kurt’s fingers follow the shape of his actual hand beneath it rather than moving like a five fingered hand, it’s such a lovingly consistent little detail 

- magneto and mystique in a breathless race to see who can be the shittiest parent... tune in next week for yet another parental nadir (also some low-poly gambit appearances in this one, for those at home keeping score (me), he’s in the background looking like someone drew him with their eyes closed fakjldfhasd look how they massacred my boy)

- someone please teach the brotherhood boys about consent huh

- jean ‘soccer mom before her time’ grey and her SUV dfhakjlhds :’)

- im sobbing rogue baby girl i’m so sorryyyyyy, this voice actress is so good, my parental instincts suddenly kicked into overdrive hearing the crack in her voice :( (bb me was right tho rogue centric episodes ARE the best episodes. that tension between ‘do I identify witn this character or am I crushing on her?? both???’ now has the fun new addition of ‘oh god oh no you are a baby I want to shield you with my body from everything trying to hurt you’)

- mystique is like ‘so you see despite you telling me you never wanted to see me again I completely disrespected that and posed as a friend your age, manipulated you by offering you the mirage of direly needed emotional intimacy and belonging and added some sprinkles of homoerotic tension to it just to massively worsen your already existing grievous psychosexual trauma and identity issues... out of love’

god go jump in a black hole you fucking monster 

- there’s some very interesting and quite subtle subtext about the people she’s morphing into and what that says about her mental state/how it shows off some of her emotional baggage with the rest of the team. it’s like she’s switching between people/powers that fit the purpose as if she’s going through cycles of fight/flight (and then bursts of freeze where she’s herself, which is... so sad)

- this whole episode is hurting my heart but rogue at full power is undeniably epic  

 - ‘professor x get your goddamn act together and get this poor girl some fucking tHERAPY’ challenge

- SAFE PAPA LOGAN ;_____;

- EYYYYYY opening straight on My Lad, I cannot stop winning!!!!! 

fasdfhsad disintegrating the window with a smiley face... remy I do love you more than my heart can bear honestly, hello may we speak about the fact that his urge to be a little shit is so deep and strong it survives mind control (that little breathed out ‘hiah!’ as he vaults the fence too dsakfjsd)

hahaha and he does up the coat fhsalfdsaj 

- magneto dismissing other telepaths like ‘puh-lease, your Meaningful Looks have got nothing on my ex-husband’s’ 

- :’) rogue and kurt sibling timeees

- say what you want but this pyro guy’s got job satisfaction in being a creepy arsonist with a weird recurring horse theme (well at least twice but still weird)

- I love how beast is the kindest man to ever walk the earth but also straight up savage, this man drags people so hard their ancestors wince in their graves

- gambit taking the time to complete the guard’s game of solitaire -- this episode is giving me everything I want. u little disgrace mr lebeau

and THEN he takes the spider out in the most hilariously bonkers way my heart is so FULL

(I love that when magneto moves by he looks startled and has to quickly move his head out of the way to avoid getting kicked in the temple too that’s a fun detail)

I’m so INTO how this sequence shows off that his greatest strength isn’t even his powers (which are pretty straightforward, really, he makes go boom, longer time and bigger thing bigger boom) but that he’s clever and creative and always extremely ready to be the most harebrained-bananapants-extra-in-a-deceptively-laidback-sort-of-way person in the room (I actually have some genuinely Deep Thoughts about how his whole character does a really interesting thing with having the straightforwardly destructive nature of his powers yield to what his nature as a person is, and how using the playing cards play (heh) into it, maybe I’ll write it out some day. just the fact that he could use anything, but he deliberately chose something that adds style and playfulness and corny charm to it and that also limits the damage of the explosions compared to if he habitually used something with more mass... I find it fascinating how much he’s made a story around himself with it and how deeply it shows he does have a good heart, at the end of the day, in almost a metatextual way. he doesn’t want to destroy things or people, he’s at worst (and best lol) a thief.)

- I honestly have literally no memory of white nick fury (which seems so weird now isn’t it funny) in this series from when I was a kid, he clearly did not make an impression on me lol

- mr wolverine ‘assigned canadian at birth’ x-men 

- oh man I dig the androgynity of x-23′s outfit (even tho they had to compensate with the long hair, which... kind of doesn’t make sense in-universe but does on a design level because it’s a crucial thing that she’s a female clone of logan so yeah okay fine whatever have your arbitrary gender markers if you must haha)

ooooooh that’s actually really clever, they make her gender gradually more obvious as she unravels through the episode and her outfit changes -- first the mask coming off, and then her jacket opening to show her silhouette more clearly, that’s cool!  

- my god what really sets this show apart is how much it invests in little character and relationship moments, it’s just so fucking GOOD! it gives laura looking in on those moments such depth and weight because it’s new to her but established to us as an audience, this is how you make found family devastating people (storm growing bonsai trees is so charming too haha) 

- ooof this is honestly quite harrowing 

SHE’S SO SMALL COMPARED TO HIM I’M CRYING (at least that part of his genes translated over faslkfsjdh short king, I say this with all the love and support of a fellow short monarch)  

- tabitha seems to just be running around doing precisely whatever the fuck she wants and you know what I support her even if she is an asshole her father left her a bunch of trauma and no fucks left to give 

- still thrilled about professor x explaining the spider key fuckup to magneto after the fact like ‘magnus you dumb bitch this is why we split up’ 

- awww kitty has anime and movie posters on her wall and sleeps with a stuffed toy :’)

-          remy                           rogue

                              🤝

doing completely unnecessary parkour around the brotherhood living room seemingly just for the hell of it... I’m not saying soulmates but fucking soulmates 

- fhsadkjlfhsakjldfhsadjkfhsdajkfh just as gambit’s soul-level need to be a little shit survived his bout of mind control, rogue’s deep and urgent desire to kiss gambit full on the mouth survived hers I can’t breathe

she looks so pleased with herself too GOOD FOR YOU GIRL at least get something out of this other than more trauma 

also not only the fact that he’s smart enough to figure out what’s going on (though he’s only partially right about who’s behind it. I do so enjoy gambit/mystique deep and sincere antipathy as a constant across all universes tho lmao pure wlw/mlm hostility) but also that he keeps fending her off like he’s not trying to hurt her even though she’s in nigh on unstoppable and invulnerable terminator mode... awww 

- gambit having absolutely no patience for wolverine and sabertooth’s bullshit macho-off and consistently being this little biker trio’s one brain cell is adding years to my life with every passing moment

his voice is a little different in these scenes too, a bit softer and less like he’s trying to impress someone, it’s nice

- hank: well I barely recognize any of these (completely made up) ‘ancient egyptian hieroglyphs’ but from what I can make out -- *proceeds to infodump a perfect coherent narrative* fjdhfak  

listen this whole thing is such nonsense on so many levels, I’m just turning my brain off so I won’t have to think about it okay, the compulsion to put ancient aliens in egypt haunts us as a culture 

- I am CACKLING about gambit in the snow after having to listen to these two chucklefucks ooze testosterone at each other for hours

he started out taking it in good cheer and is now reduced to ‘dieu would both of you just jump off this fUCKING mountain please’

- ah. a little oops-a-daisy there, we seem to have unleashed the apocalypse. please stand by (they really don’t pull their punches with the season cliffhangers in this show haha)

- opening the season on gambit’s merrily grinning face is the easiest way to gain my favour. yes good this season may commence 

baby u r my

 ANGELLLLLLLL

(he’s so cute here tho haha I think it shows the design isn’t unsalvagable, just get him better hair and stubble more like logan has and you’ve basically got it) 

love his exasperated eyeroll when the dude gets spooked (by his eyes? or just the general weirdness?) too

he’s just trying to keep this crazy family of evil mutants together and unmurdered by one another until they’ve managed to avert the end of the world, bless him  

- oh NO rogue’s LIP wobbles my hhhhhheart ;____; such a good animation detail to put in

- like... I know kurt is just a sad scared teenager with a lot of shit going on and all the adults are too busy averting the end of the world to help him... but buddy maybe don’t ask your sister to wake her abuser (who forced her to kickstart the end of the world!!!!!) when she feels utterly unsafe even with her statue version around huh

- ...wanda is good and I want only good things for her. and for her dad to be disemboweled for what he did to her both the first time around and when he forced her to forget I mean what 

- magneto throwing an epic satelite-slinging tantrum b/c ‘no I am the biggest sexiest strongest mutant of the pack :(’... erik fucking get over yourself 

- yes boys absolutely go along with a plan suggested by a dude who looks at you like this 

nothing bad can come of this surely asdfkhsa

- lance’s quarter of a braincell always trying to go ‘hey wait, maybe... not do this???’ and it never helps lol

- in this episode: Logan Has A Bad Day 

...some very specific bondage positions he’s held in here, I am sure this episode awakened something in someone once upon a time lol 

- logan shielding x-23 with his body... im fine it’s okay I’m not crying don’t look at me

- afsdhlsdfjasdlk those sure are some ‘scottish’ accents flsadkjhkdsjahfsd

- scott relieved to finally be able to cede the position of ‘charles xavier’s least favourite son’ to someone else fjsaklfhsajd (poor scott it’s not your fault honey)

supremely cowardly to suggest there is an ex-wife involved rather than charles slutting his way around the british isles back in the day but okay

- kurt with a cold is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. it’s okay kid it’ll get better soon

- ...is there an implication here that professor x is naturally blond. because I am losing my entire little mind about it (i mean he at least has to carry the gene, as does this lady?)

ETA: upon doing some research into this I can indeed confirm that charles xavier does seem to be naturally blond, and after this knowledge I will never be the same 

- “listen, dracula” fskdafghasd oh scott you sweet baby angel I love you

- I know jean’s abilities are a bit ‘as strong or as weak as the plot needs right now’ at this point (so you can have the setup for what’s going to happen with them eventually and she’s basically invincible ;____;), and normally I’m cool with it but god I want her to just squash lucas like a little bug

- ewwwww please don’t ever say ‘daddy’ like that again

- ...what the fuck is even going on this episode’s a mess 

like okay the split personality thing could be something but the way it’s done... what just happened lol

- MY BOY EVAN IS BACK! with a real glowup too (...though kind of weird how he suddenly looks like a grown man)

- augh scott’s eyes are so pretty oh my god ;__________________________;

- that episode in the first season where evan makes the ‘this is my new family!!’ video is so sad now (also, again, his poor poor parents) 

- time for: life affirming road trip with gambit (involuntary) faskljdfhaskjd

stunt therapist remy lebeau 

- I mean the way he goes about it is batshit insane and it’s very much secondary to what he’s actually up to but this is the first time rogue’s sounded genuinely hopeful and confident and like herself in like a season <3 

- he is disconcertingly pleased about her nearly throwing him off the train, and may I just say I agree it’s so nice to see rogue with her old fire back 

- the first time I watched this it was of course dubbed into norwegian, so I had no idea either of these characters were southern lol (though to be fair I probably wouldn’t have had much context for what it meant exactly either, I was like ten at the time and not too interested in america) I seem to dimly remember the norwegian voice actor did a little more of a ‘french’-tinged accent for gambit all over tho haha  

- you know what respect where it’s due, pyro dude knows to live his life for the lols and one has to admire his sociopathic dedication to it

interesting that he, too, seems to have fucking hated magneto -- I wonder if the implication here is that he kept all the acolytes in line with blackmail or by keeping something/one hostage? (except sabertooth maybe he’d just have to say ‘you get to fuck shit up and fight wolverine’ and that’d be enough)

- fsdakfhsd he’s so focused on her he doesn’t notice that guy about to hit him fkafhsa 

- fuck everything else except whatever the hell these two’ve got going on

- it’s weirdly cathartic to have rogue have a conversation with someone who was not happily adopted as well, I don’t think kurt like. gets it because his parents loved him unconditionally and still do 

birds of a feather motherfucker  

- fun detail: when the x-men team are on the shore and logan is sniffing around scott is stepping in something and trying to wipe it off his boots in the background

- when he wakes up after passing out from the touch he’s smiling even though she’s standing over him looking like the rage of god outlined by the moon fsajfsa well the last time he passed out like that it was from a kiss, maybe he still has some hopes and dreams in that direction lol (also he recovers from the tumble down the hill first and is checking on her before accidentally brushing her cheek with his hand, which I thought was sweet) 

and it was in that moment he knew he fucked up *passes out*

- ‘I can explain’ can u remy. can u  

- did it ever even occur to you to just. ask her. to help you. I mean I know it didn’t but like rogue’s always one second away from throwing hands with some bully and is stupidly ride or die, if you’d given her the puppydog eyes she would have crumbled immediately (fair enough I guess this entire episode is telling us he’s not from a background where he has much experience with people just helping him without a price haha) 

- his eyes glowing when he’s angry or upset or using a lot of his power is undeniably cool as all hell. I’m just saying it would be Big Sexy if they sort of flickered with light in moments of genuine vulnerability okay  

- his coat... his coat is what makes the Silhouette tm and I could not be happier about it 

- another parent of the year contestant enters the running lol “hey remy have you ever considered that you’re more of a walking bomb factory than a person? that’s certainly how I think of you hahaha c’mon kid let’s go” 

- the running joke of jean luc getting dollar signs in his eyes seeing the other mutant powers and gambit being like ‘nO!!!!’ and pulling him along is amazing haha

- from the way he looks when he touches rogue accidentally and the way he talks to his dad I’m sort of getting the feeling this gambit might actually be a bit younger than he looks?

here too -- idk why but it’s making the ‘wait is he baby???’ alarms go off in my head haha. very early twenties at most. 

- and we’ve officially seen him with all the face cards in the heart suit folks! (yes this is the sort of thing my brain notices no I don’t know either)

- poor logan running his ass off this whole episode in a panic and then she’s like ‘nah he’s fine (in several meanings of the word ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) please put him down’ hfaskfsda

- rogue without makeup!!! her eyes look so naked like this haha <3

- oooh here’s a really interesting thing that tickles my brain a bit in this specific part of the scene where gambit frees his dad -- the part where he’s leaning against the door frame waiting for jean luc, who’s about to suggest using the opportunity to ruin the rival gang from the inside rather than slipping away while they still can

from his expression here he knows what’s about to happen, what jean luc is about to say, and it’s clearly a ‘man who thought he’d lost all hope loses last additional bit of hope he didn’t even know he still had’ sort of situation. he KNOWS what jean luc is like, and it still hurts that he really, honestly can’t give him even this, can’t appreciate that remy’s already done all this shit for him when he extremely didn’t have to, without immediately (no really, it took him less than ten seconds to go there? jesus) demanding more.  

remy tells him “I’m just here for you” and jean luc does not understand it. remy seems to be sincere in this motivation -- rogue certainly thinks so, having experienced it second hand and found enough at least emotional merit in it to decide he was worth saving even after all his bullshit (lol a bit of a running theme maybe. I think it’s very telling that after she absorbed mystique she was like ‘what the FUCK you’re a fucking monster’, and after she absorbed gambit she went ‘you did the wrong thing for the right reasons’ after she got over the first wave of outrage) 

there’s also what he says as he stands there: “You don’t need me for that”, with the distinct implication that jean luc would only keep him around because he has a use for him and for no other reason -- and then jean luc shamelessly doubles down on that by specifying that it’s not even him he’s got a use for as such, just his powers. that’s some kicking puppies level of deliberately missing the point, it’s almost impressive in how cheerfully mean it is haha

this idea of using people is really important in this episode because remy’s doing basically exactly the same thing to rogue to begin with; it doesn’t really matter to his plan that it’s her that’s with him through this, just what her powers are. (I think it’s  p r e t t y  solidly implied that he does actually like her a lot outside of that too and maybe there is some comfort in having her around for this, but mostly he’s behind a smokescreen of lies through the whole thing sooo I doubt he’s even aware of it, honestly)     

but then it does matter that it’s her when she comes back for him, even after what he did. and unlike jean luc he understands what that means, that she did that for him, and that she didn’t have to. and instead of asking her for more, in return he gives her the thing it’s been established is what he considers the most valuable thing he has; his ‘last card’, the thing he’s credited with keeping him alive many a time, basically. it’s gone from using to mutuality, a tentative place of friendship, and at the end of the day he is a different man than his adoptive father, with a capacity for selflessness and love he lacks. which is of course some of the same stuff going on with rogue and mystique too, except rogue acted from a more fragile and unstable place and did something she regrets, or at least has a LOT of doubts about now, and she found some catharsis in helping someone make a different choice in a similar situation. man there’s some Stuff going on under the surface here haha

(by the way it’s a weirdly... meaningless yet intensely meaningful thing, the gifting of a symbol? of an idea? but he’s putting something very crucial of himself into her hands, is the subtext, and he expects her to understand, which she also does seem to do. at the beginning of the episode he’s proving that he’s seen something true about her -- “You’re such an unhappy girl”, knowing where she comes from, the way she’s mourning her lost confidence and autonomy with her abilities -- and here she’s proving she’s seen something true about him. :’) I wish this show had gone on long enough for this dynamic to progress, it’s really interesting and touching)   

- gambit dragging himself up onto dry land seeing someone approaching (to help?!): :D

gambit seeing that it’s logan and the look on his face: D: 

- rogue using her powers so confidently and fearlessly in this episode tho!!!! 

- *me crying* and then her FAMBILY comes to take her home and he says he’s looking out for her too and kurt still loves her even though they’re having a conflict thing between them and she’s finally able to use her powers without so much fear again and --

- ...did I just watch some baby lesbian love at first sight shit right now???  

- okay last two episodes let’s go

- HELL YEAH STORM (I love that she’s like ‘don’t give me a dumb order like that and I won’t have to disobey it’ too sdfjsaj) her voice has such command I’m usually very much not the ‘step on me’ type butttt

- y’know I feel like apocalypse’s main fault across all versions I’ve seen of him is that he’s like an immortal superpowered god king and he’s not even sexy. like at least make him hot if he’s going to be insufferable in every other way 

- also callout post for apocalypse: one time he made gambit into the Horseman of Death... and didn’t even make him sexy!!! you were handed remy lebeau, supreme bi disaster slut of the x men universe, and you couldn’t even make his brainwashed superpowered evil side hot?? a beautiful stubbled twunk with glowing red eyes and extremely charming :> face practically delivers himself into your hands and you do that to him???? I mean I’m sure apocalypse did some other bad stuff too but that was the worst one

(comics are so dumb y’all) 

- having to watch jean cry is emotional terrorism!! ;___; she has such older sister/mom energy, whenever she gets sad and helpless it hurts 

- oh, OH so PROFESSOR X you’ll make into a hunk and ~*strategically*~ rip his clothes to show off a nipple and a flawless pec in a way that makes me extremely uncomfortable because he’s like The Dad??? apocalypse you are rotten to the core this is unforgivable 

- so wait wanda never actually gets her real memories back. what the FuCk I hope that was a dropped storyline because they ended the show tragically prematurely rather than like. the plan

- why is spyke calling storm ‘storm’ show that’s his auntie o!! >:(

- as a society we need to acknowledge that apocalypse looks like a fucking clown

- ooooh yeah I have been thinking that this show’s greatest visual weakness so far has been not having a visual way to show telepathy/battles of the minds, but this is a pretty cool way to do it! better late than never

- I’m so happy rogue gets to end this herself, since she was forced into starting it against her will, it’s just nice and neat storytelling

- YEAH FUCKING TELL HER KURT AND ROGUE I AM SO PROUD OF YOU and she has the temerity to look pissed off oh my god

the only valid thing mystique has done in her entire life is be in love with destiny. literally everything else she gets up to is a travesty. like I know objectively she’s hot but my loathing for her stops me from even appreciating it. I do enjoy loathing her tho so please don’t change her haha

(a bit odd to have kurt’s attitude to her swing so much but I’m just going to assume he and rogue had a good long conversation after ‘cajun spice’ and that he understands what’s going on better now)

- this last part is such a cruel tease faskdfhsdaj ‘here are all the cool-ass things we had planned. sucks you never get to see it huh’ im devastated 

- magneto without his helmet and playing charmingly with children like charles is going ‘well at least I saved my marriage finally’ fsadkhfjsd (honestly tho I would be super interested in seeing how they’d redeem this magneto because he’s been a real bitch the whole time lol) 

there’s an interesting thing here where magneto looks down at wanda as the last thing he does on screen before this epilogue part (yeah I hope it fucking haunts you forever what you did to her erik you absolute piece of hot garbage) and the last thing charles does is look at jean b/c he knows what’s going to happen to her and it breaks his heart... Dramatic Parallells  

- just the hint of jean as the phoenix has me in full D:D:D: mode tho maybe I wouldn’t have survived it

- gambit in the last groupshot with his arm around rogue ;^) I mean I’m sure they’re headed for some turns and roundabouts along the way but what’s that thing she says as her wedding vow, that she’ll always find her way back? anyway that got me in my heart

- man I really wish this show had been given more seasons, we were barely even getting warmed up here :’(

[beewolfwrites]

And When I am Formulated, Sprawling on a Pin - Chapter Twenty-Four: And the Rest is Silence

And this is it: the final chapter! It’s been insane, but this is the only fanfiction I've ever finished before, and it wouldn’t have happened without all the support. Thank you so much!! I didn’t think anyone would read this, but seeing everyone’s reactions to each chapter has kept me going :D

I’m sorry for the essay, but I’m aware I didn’t post anything about this in the AIB tag. Yes, there will be a sequel!

I need to read the manga properly before writing it, so I don’t know when the sequel will start. But in the meantime, there’ll be a series of Chishiya one-shots of his perspective, and there’ll even be scenes that weren’t in this fic, plus an original game!

For the full fanfic, you can find it here on AO3. 

I’ll also be creating a master list, and I'll post the literature references after this for those who wanted them <3

Once again, thank you so much!! And I hope you enjoy this last chapter. 

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

By the time Kuina found us again, it was already late afternoon, and even though our visas had extended by ten days after the Witch Hunt game, there was something about the setting of the sun that felt foreboding.

We lit up the furniture shop with candles and changed into the clean clothes we’d collected. Seeing Chishiya wearing ordinary clothes felt strange. Aside from when we’d crossed paths in the Tag game, the entire time I’d known him he’d been wearing swim shorts and flip flops.

Now, he emerged from the bathroom wearing grey sweatpants and a variegated blue cardigan that suited him perfectly. When his eyes flickered to mine, I realised I’d been staring, and distracted myself with preparing dinner instead. It wasn’t much, especially since all I had was canned goods and a camping stove, but the vegetable stew kept us warm while we curled up in our makeshift living room. As evening turned to night, however, it became obvious that something was missing.

There are no games.

Kuina chewed on her lip, looking out of the window. ‘What d’you think will happen when our visas run out?’

‘It probably has something to do with the Ten of Hearts,’ I told her. ‘Maybe there’s no need for games anymore, since we’ve got all the numbered cards.’

It didn’t bode well for us. If there were no games by the time our visas ran out, there was no chance of us getting out of the Borderlands. At least not alive.

As the night wore on, Kuina was the first to go upstairs. Covering her yawn with her hand, she waved goodnight and winked at me. I tried not to blush. Not that it made a difference, anyway. Chishiya was busying himself over a scrap of paper, and barely reacted when I smushed up by his side.

I frowned at the paper in his hand. ‘Isn’t that...’

‘Ah.’ He held it out so I could see it. ‘I took it from the tagger’s pocket.’ It was a drawing of a circle with squiggly lines, clearly a rushed sketch of something. In the middle of a line, the pen had stabbed a hole straight through.

‘What is it?’

‘Well, I have an idea,’ he said, but never elaborated.

Fighting the onset of sleep, I leaned my head against his shoulder, paying no mind to the way he tensed beneath me. The fabric of his cardigan was soft as down and made for a perfect pillow. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me?’

‘And if I don’t want to?’

I pushed my face into the fabric, pretending to settle in for the night. ‘Then I’ll just stay here and annoy you until your visa runs out.’

‘I have a feeling that won’t happen any time soon,’ he said, looking out the window.

And that was when I noticed it too. Midnight had passed by only a few minutes ago, yet there were no lasers. Did that mean the Borderlands were at a standstill? Were we stuck here permanently now? I wasn’t aware of how silent I had become, lost in my own thoughts, until Chishiya spoke up.

‘I believe it’s a map.’

My eyes slid to the drawing again. ‘And that hole in the paper, do you think that’s where the others are? The dealers, I mean.’

He shifted uncomfortably and I sat upright, conscious that I might have been unintentionally hurting or bothering him. Looking at the map properly, the lines could represent different interlocking pathways. If the marked place was a hideout of some kind, it couldn’t be in the open streets; there was too big a risk that a player might stumble upon it by accident.

So where...?

As soon as the idea came to mind, the words slipped out of my mouth. ‘The subway....’

He hummed in agreement. ‘I went to the nearest subway station this morning to check it against the real map. It’s a loose fit, but it works.’

I thought back to the second tagger – the crying woman – and how she’d been forced to participate in the game, donning an explosive collar. ‘Maybe if we find the place, we’ll get some answers.’

‘Probably,’ he said. ‘But I’m curious to see if anything changes within the next few days.’

‘Do you think we’ll hear something soon?’ I asked, yawning into my hand.

‘I believe we will.’ He gave me that same half-smile I had grown so used to. ‘But right now, I think you should go to sleep.’

Chishiya didn’t complain when I crawled into his bed. Like the night before, he kept his distance, but I could’ve sworn at times, when my sleeping became lighter throughout the night, I could feel fingers lightly touching my hair, only to pull back the moment I stirred. Over the next few days, it became the norm, and every night I would curl up on my side of the bed, slipping into calm dreams under the blue light of the window.

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

Despite the sunshine washing over the grey of the city, the stairs leading into Minami-Aoyama station descended into darkness. We’d checked and double-checked the drawing against the official subway map several times, but the idea of entering an abandoned station to uncover who knows what wasn’t inviting.

‘Are you sure this is it?’ Kuina asked for the third time.

I looked at the route map hanging over the station entrance, my eyes tracing the shape of the lines. ‘Positive.’

Folding her arms, Kuina went first. I waited for Chishiya to take a small torch from his pocket before following behind. The station was truly submerged in blackness, and if not for Chishiya’s torch, we would have easily become lost. He shone the beam at the paper in his hand, then held it up against each train line.

‘This way,’ he said, and walked towards the edge of the platform.

We hopped down onto the gravel below, using the metal tracks to guide us further into the tunnels. It was disconcerting to see the subway so empty, but with Kuina and Chishiya here, I felt safe somehow.

Several minutes in, Chishiya stopped abruptly, and I almost walked into him. If he reacted at all, I couldn’t see to tell. But he seemed more focused on something else, as he pointed the torch at a door that had been busted open.

‘That must be it.’ Kuina’s voice echoed.  

Without hesitation, Chishiya disappeared through the door, leaving Kuina and I in the darkness.

Chishiya?!

I panicked, arms waving as I tried to find something to hold onto. I heard Kuina hiss as we stumbled into each other and bumped elbows. Feeling around for the door frame, we managed to make our way inside, where Chishiya held his torch at us from further away.

‘Hey!’ Kuina snapped. ‘Don’t do that again! You’re the only one with a light here.’

‘Walk faster then,’ he said, waiting impatiently as we jogged over.

He shone the beam in the opposite direction, where it bounced off something. It was still too dark to tell just what, but as we walked forwards, everything became clearer. A structure lay ahead, with tunnels and walkways all leading into a giant room. Overhead, wires were strung across the ceiling, all feeding into the same place. We entered through one of the tunnels, and my heart jumped.

Televisions. They stared, black and empty, in rows and columns up the walls. But what was even more surprising was the setup right in front of us. It was an office, with papers, pen pots and coffee-stained mugs strewn about on desks. It would have looked like any other workplace, if not for the bodies draped in chairs and across the floor.

‘What... is this?’ I crouched to inspect the body of a man in a suit. Judging from its state, he had only died recently, but more importantly, there was a singed hole running through his head. He had been killed by a laser. ‘They’re not the ones in charge of the games.’

Chishiya closely inspected a desk. ‘Evidently not,’ he said, picking up a folded piece of paper and passing it to me. It was filled with numbers, some ticked off. Whoever it had belonged to was keeping track of their visa.

They’re playing games too, I thought. Or at least, they were.

‘So, these guys were the dealers.’ Kuina gingerly held up a sheet of paper with scribbles all over it. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be odds. ‘They were betting on us,’ she said.  

A shiver ran along my skin. Of course, they had been watching us this whole time, that was expected. But to place bets on our survival was a whole other story. If the dealers were playing too, there must’ve been a separate system for them to extend their days. Perhaps how many people survived each game had some kind of impact on their visas.

A finger lightly brushed the back of my arm and Chishiya appeared beside me. ‘Momoka’s friend,’ I said, ‘she died right after she told everyone she was a dealer. And the taggers died because we won. I have a feeling their visas depended on whether or not we cleared each game... or maybe how many people didn’t make it.’

From his expression, I knew he had been thinking the same thing. ‘It doesn’t explain why they’re all dead now.’

I glanced around at the stiffened bodies slumped around us. ‘Actually, I have a bad feeling about that too.’

At that moment, a tap of footsteps echoed from the entrance. Chishiya instantly turned off his torch and tugged me into one of the tunnels. Kuina joined us and we hid, waiting. The footsteps grew louder, closer, and two torchlights waved through the darkness. I kept my eyes trained on the tunnel opposite as the footsteps paused.

‘Where is this place?’  

‘Who knows?’

With a sigh, I relaxed instantly.

Those two.

It had only been a few days since I had made peace with Arisu and Usagi, but I was glad to see them again. Arisu was cleaned up, his wounds well on the way to healing, while Usagi stared in amazement at the television screens around us.

Chishiya grazed past me as he moved out from under the shadows. ‘You actually found this place,’ he said. ‘As expected from someone I have high hopes for.’  

‘We meet again,’ Kuina said, walking around the desks to lean against the wall.

Arisu and Usagi’s eyes scanned the two of them before stopping at me. They looked visibly confused, probably wondering what I was doing with them after I’d told them I wasn’t involved in Chishiya’s setup. In an attempt at diffusing the awkwardness, I smiled and waved.

‘You guys,’ Usagi whispered. Her voice bordered on distrust, not that anyone could blame her.

I couldn’t tell whether Chishiya was trying to make things better or worse when he held up the full deck of cards and smiled. ‘Thanks to you guys, I have all the playing cards with me,’ he said. ‘Thank you.’

Arisu only looked at him cynically. ‘How did you discover this place?’

Chishiya rooted in his pocket and pulled out the drawing. ‘It took me some time to realise this is actually a map. The route map of the subway.’ He sauntered around the desks. ‘As for what happens when we collect the cards... I thought I would know the answer if I came here.’ His eyes jumped to mine. ‘But there’s something else we discovered instead.’

‘They’re not the gamemasters,’ Arisu said, eyes fixed on the bodies around us.

I stepped over a hand strewn across the floor. ‘カードを集めたので、殺された.’ Because we collected the cards, they were all killed. I struggled for a moment, trying to think of the right words. ‘There must be someone above them.’

Chishiya translated, and Usagi turned to me with worry. ‘But who?’

‘Who knows?’ Chishiya shrugged. ‘They might be aliens... or even God.’

The idea didn’t sound as strange as it should have done. We were in a world where lasers appeared from the sky, and death games were the norm. Even when I first arrived here, I’d wondered whether this was a form of judgement. Nothing was out of the question anymore.

Suddenly, the screens burst into life and white light flooded the room. I jumped, flocking to Chishiya and Kuina’s side.

Have we been caught?

Music reverberated all around us, and the screens displayed all four card suits, along with a message I couldn’t read. It didn’t matter though, as the voice that rang through the speakers was one I remembered well. My stomach dropped.

‘Congratulations to all players!’

The screens blurred until Mira’s wild eyes and subdued smile came into focus. It was now obvious why the Ten of Hearts had taken place at the Beach at the very moment things had fallen apart.

She must’ve been feeding information back, I thought. But back to where?

‘How interesting,’ Chishiya said. Seeking stability, I slipped a hand into his pocket. There was a slight hesitation before his fingers laced around mine.

Mira’s voice shook with a quiet excitement. ‘With the exception of the face cards, you’ve all cleared the numbered games and emerged as victors. It’s a sweet victory, gained by sacrificing so many lives.’ Her expression turned wistful as she stood. ‘I wonder, how many of your comrades have died. Try remembering those who were shot dead with guns.’

A single screen switched to show footage from a miscellaneous game. A group were stood, clutching their guns as they inspected the scatter of bodies across the ground.

They’ve been recording us.

‘And that girl you burned alive.’

A second display opened up, revealing several players watching on as a girl, engulfed in flames, struggled and clawed at her skin and clothes. I held my breath, Niragi’s animalistic cries ringing through my memory.

‘Those struck by lasers, and those that drowned.’

My eyes widened, and I gripped Chishiya’s hand as the inside of the furniture store appeared on-screen. The fractured image of myself flinched, quivering with shock, as the first man and Green Shirt leapt from their seats, only to crumple to the ground, lasers piercing them where they stood.

Chishiya’s fingers squeezed mine, and I gasped, blinking away the image. He must’ve seen it too.

‘Those who’s heads were blown off,’ Mira continued, dreamily. ‘Those comrades of yours, the despair you’ve felt so far, and those dying moments you’ll never forget.’

The screen changed once more, and from the corner of my eye, Arisu winced. Following his gaze, I recognized his partner from the Tag game, his neck exploding around a collar.

I’m so sorry....

Meanwhile, Mira’s expression shifted into pure, childlike delight. ‘Everyone... I’m so touched!’ She held her hand over her heart. ‘All of you players, we’d like to give you a present.’

We?

Chishiya tensed slightly. He had noticed it too. If Mira wasn’t the only gamemaster, just who were the others?

Although Mira couldn’t hear us, Kuina mumbled, ‘Are you returning us to the real world?’

It seemed too good to be true, and sure enough, it was. Mira clapped her hands together excitedly. ‘There will be new games! Let’s play more games together and fight for the face cards this time!’

Aside from Chishiya, everyone sank with disappointment and fear. Just how much more would we have to deal with before we could go home? If we were competing for the face cards, did that mean there were only twelve more games in total, or would there be repeat cards like there were for the numbered ones?

Kuina groaned. ‘New games? You’re kidding.’

‘I don’t dislike the idea,’ Chishiya murmured.

I looked at him, curious. ‘What do you mean?’

His expression was guarded, but before he could reply, Mira’s voice cut in again. ‘The next stage will commence tomorrow at noon. Everyone, let’s have fun together!’

All at once, the screens shut down, leaving us all in the darkness once more. Everything was quiet as we came to terms with what had just happened. It was Arisu who first suggested that we get out of here. Him and Usagi disappeared back through the tunnel, and with one glance at Chishiya and I, Kuina followed.

My fingers were still interlaced with his, hidden within the warmth of his pocket. He was watching me, waiting.

‘These games,’ I said. ‘They’re going to be harder than the others.’

He was silent for a moment. ‘Probably.’

‘About what you said before...’ I began. ‘Do you remember that time on the rooftop of the Beach, when I asked you if you were okay, and you told me it shouldn’t matter to me.’

I could see him thinking back. ‘I remember.’

‘What I said then still stands. You might not care about your own life, and I can’t stop you from taking part in these new games.’ I bit my lip, unable to face him as my eyes began tearing up. ‘Perhaps this is selfish of me, but you need to survive. And if you can’t do it for yourself, then....’

He sighed. ‘You cry too much.’ When I looked up, his lips were curled into that same, familiar smile, only this time, there was nothing cruel or condescending there. ‘We should find the others.’

Wiping my eyes with the edge of my sleeve, I finally let go of his hand, following him back out and through the tunnels. As we climbed the steps of the station, emerging into daylight, a series of loud bangs resounded throughout the city. The others were peering up at the skyscrapers towering over us, and the fireworks that burst like flowers against the sunlight.

‘Let’s make a new deal,’ Chishiya said, idly watching the display. ‘I’ll survive, if you return the favour.’

I looked to him, admiring the way his hair shifted in the breeze, and how the reflection of the fireworks danced in his dark eyes.

Let’s go home together.

‘It’s a deal.’

[k7l4d4]

Blood for Blood: An Owl House Story Chapter 1, Part 1

Hello all, this here is a divergence from my usual modus operandi, as today I am putting out a story based on one of my AUs! Everybody clap your hands!! ...Okay, on to the story!

To say Luz Noceda, young Afro-Dominican American Teen that she was, was currently bored, would be something of an understatement. Not much excitement tends to happen when your in school sadly, not like all those Teen High School Dramas would have you think at least, so often times, she had to make her own fun. And that’s how she ended up here.

“Ms. Noceda, I hope you appreciate the severity of your current situation,” the old(er) man currently giving her grief was her current principal, Mr. Hal if she remembered right, and while kind of a square he was usually a bit more tolerant of her... indiscretions than most. 

Luz schooled her features, not letting the teasing smirk she knew was threatening to peak out show, not when her Mami was present. Not after all she had done for her, how supportive she was, she couldn’t give her any headaches right now. 

The slight sigh to her right let her know she wasn’t fully successful. Ah well. “While I am understanding of your unique circumstances, and the fact that you have a... unique perspective on things, this latest incident is a bit beyond the pale for even you.”

Luz rolled her eyes, fondly recalling her previous schemes: the “off the books” TCG tournaments she arranged, complete with prize money and entrance fees of course, were the stuff of legends (stupid hall monitors ruining the fun, Luz didn’t care what people said, getting flying tackled to the ground and silly-stringed was NOT COOL), the candy and soda smuggling racket that brought in some premium cash in exchange for a few measly morsels to tide over the masses (she knew she should’ve double checked the recruits, otherwise it wouldn’t have been busted so quickly), and who could forget her counterfeit hall-passes!? 

Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she ever got caught for that last one actually, might need to look into that. But currently, she was at least a little confused as to why she was here. She had just finished giving her book report on the Good Witch Azura facing off against Gildersnake (that series was AWESOME, not matter what those squares said!), when the teacher hustled her over here. Huh, maybe she was getting in trouble for those hall-passes after all?

“Look, Mr. H,” She began, deciding playing it cool was the way to go,”I can assure you, I had nothing to do with those fake hall-passes-”

“What fake hall-passes?” Crap. “Ms. Noceda, you are here about the wild animals you let loose in the school.” Animals? What was he talking abou-OH. Right. Her backup snakes. 

And her original snake too now that she thought about it. But what was the big deal, they were harmless! But when she said as such- “Ms. Noceda, Luz, I can assure you, they were not, in fact, harmless. Just ask your mother.” 

Finally turning to look at her mother since she got here (she honestly wondered how they got her here so fast), she saw her Mami wordlessly gesturing out the window, where she saw several of her classmates running in a panic, snakes chasing and biting them, with one student (what was his name, Timmy, Tommy, Terry maybe?) being loaded into an ambulance, with an angry red bite mark on his hand. Okay, that probably explained how her Mami got here so fast.

“I am afraid that there will have to be repercussions for this incident, Ms. Noceda.” At that line, one she had heard way too many times in the past, Luz couldn’t contain her eye-roll.

“Okay, what is this time; staying after school to clean up after the athletes, in school suspension, OUT school suspension?” At this point, Luz had experienced just about a little bit of every kind of punishment a kid could get in school, not that it ever really did anything to curb her behaviors. What could she say, Luz did as Luz wanted, and that was it!

“Expulsion.” With that one simple word, Luz and Camila froze up, blood running cold. Luz didn’t have the neatest record in the world, far from it. After all the times she had to change schools, all the times she got into trouble bad enough to add it to her record, the number of schools willing to take her, even with her Papi’s family supporting her, was thinned down to near-nonexistence at this stage.

“W-what?” Luz hated how small she sounded, how WEAK she sounded. Her mother’s choked sobs sounded behind her; she knew what this would mean just as much as Luz did, even more so actually.

“I’m afraid so. The administration is tired of your antics, and this latest stunt convinced the last of the skeptics to push for it. Your only options are expulsion, or...” with his drawn out pause, Principal Hal pushed forward a pamphlet to Luz and Camila, and with just a single glance, Luz could tell she was going to HATE this.

[cpd5021]

Crossing Lines - Chapter One

New multi-chapter story line, starting at the end of 7x18. The first part is basically a recap of the ending of that episode, from Hailey’s perspective. And then we go into her telling Jay, something we didn’t get to see on PD. I plan on having this go for 5, maybe 6, chapters depending on how it goes. I also, shockingly, laid out a plan for each chapter so I know where I’m taking it....something I have never actually done before 😂. I plan on this fic being pretty angsty, because lets face it, that’s how I roll but there might be some fluff scattered in eventually. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!!

I sat in my car, watching the red and blue lights flashing through the channels of rain running down my window. I watched the interaction between the officers and the driver of the vehicle, confusion evident on his face. I watched as they brought out the K9 to sniff around the car. But I didn’t need to watch to know what they would find. A part of me knew this was going to far, that this was wrong. Planting drugs, falsifying evidence, was not only immoral, it was illegal. My mind wandered back to a younger me, a fresh face to the Intelligence unit, wondering what that person would say if she could see me now. That Hailey would have never so much as thought of this scenario, let alone act on it, or actually go through with it. But here I was. I guess what they say is true, time can change people. I focused on the scene before me once more, watching the handcuffs going on and confusion mixing with anger as the man who had managed to evade the law for so long was finally going down. I started my car up and pulled away slowly, knowing the chain of events that would follow. Gael would be charged and Luis would hopefully get his deal. The damage to his and Vanessa’s relationship was done, but I knew she would feel a sense of relief knowing he wouldn’t take the full ride. Maybe that’s why I had done this, maybe the soft spot that had formed over the last few months for Vanessa is what led me to tonight. Maybe trying to help out a friend was enough justification to not make this so bad. Or maybe I just didn’t care anymore. 

I came to a stop at a flashing red light, having every intention to just go home and hope my plan fell into place like I was certain it would, when my phone buzzed in the seat beside me. I picked it up, glancing down at the name lighting up the screen. That was fast. 

We need to meet. Now. 

I forced out a breath as the words from Voight settled in. I knew it would happen eventually, I just figured I’d have more time first. But apparently the news of Gael’s bust had traveled quickly. With another sigh, I made a U-turn, angling myself to head back towards the precinct. 

The drive there was a blur as I steeled myself for what was to come. Voight, out of everyone, would know that something was off. Gael was too good at what he did to make a stupid mistake like this. And Voight was smart enough to know I was somehow involved, whether he knew the full extent or not. I parked my car and quickly got out into the cool Chicago drizzle, not wanting to linger any longer on this than necessary. As I trudged up the steps into the 21st, the reaction I received from Trudy should have been my first indication of what was to come. The second she laid eyes on me she turned her back and feigned interest in something on her computer. My head jerked back slightly at her reaction but I didn’t have time to push the issue. I quickly jogged up the steps and buzzed my way in. 

Without any delay, I strolled right into the bullpen, making a beeline for his office. Just as I reached the door frame, I forced myself to slow down, setting my shoulders back and wiping my face of any emotion before stepping in. 

“You wanted to see me?” 

Hank, who was leaning forward with his head resting against his palm, immediately sat up and shifted back in his seat to get a better look at me. 

“Shut the door.” 

Ah, so this definitely wasn’t going to go well. With a slight nod of my head I did as I was told, steeling myself for the conversation to come. I remained standing, hoping to keep this as quick as possible. 

“Sit down.”

Voight wasn’t having it and saw right through my attempts to keep this informal. I sat with a slight sigh, pursing my lips and trying to keep my emotions stoic. 

“I just heard from Becerra. Patrol found two keys of dope in the trap of Gael’s car. And she’s gonna use our wire to build the case. Should be a slam dunk.” 

I nodded slightly as he spoke. This is not information I should already be aware of, I briefly considered feigning surprise at his words, but I knew he would see right through that too. If I was here he already knew what I had done. I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. 

“Oh, and Luis, he’s gonna get the one year deal in exchange for corroborating evidence, so...”

Voight trailed off, watching my face closely. The later part of what he had just said was new to me. I had hoped that Luis would get the break but it wasn’t a guarantee. I gave a slight smile, one I knew didn’t reach my eyes and took a small breath before responding. 

“That’s great. Finally caught a break.”

I could play along with this charade for as long as he would allow it. A part of me hoped we could just leave it at this, but I knew I wouldn’t get that lucky. 

“Yeah.” 

Hank nodded in agreement, our facade continuing. We were nearing a breaking point though and I knew he wasn’t done with me yet. A silence filled the room as he continued to study my features. I stared right back, unwilling to waiver and back down from this battle. 

“So this is something we’re doing now?”

There it was. I knew we weren’t done. I knew he had figured it out, but I still wasn’t sure if he had put all the details together yet. I tilted my head questioningly, not trusting myself to speak, unsure if my voice would betray me. 

“Planting dope? Creating evidence?”

Nothing, and I mean nothing, got by Hank Voight. I knew this as a fact but it was still a calculated risk I had taken. 

“If product was found in his car, it was his own product.” 

I tried to justify my actions without fully admitting to them, hoping we could finish this little dance soon. 

“And you think that makes it better?”

He leaned forward now, closing the distance between us and causing me to swallow hard at the increased tension. 

“Gael got off easy. Luis deserved the deal.”

Once again, I defended my actions, coming closer to admitting what had occurred without actually voicing the words. I didn’t need to say it out loud, he already knew. He dropped his head, processing what I had said. 

“Hailey, I understand why you did it. I’m not stupid. But do you understand you crossed a line?” 

He understood because there was a part of me that had become more and more like him. I thought back to the younger Hailey once again and how far I had ventured away from that person. 

“Do you?” 

He pushed, waiting for my response. I didn’t have one, I couldn’t find the words to reply. So instead I let out a shaky breath, fighting to maintain my composure. 

“Hailey, the problem with crossing lines...you cross enough of them, you forget where they are. You don’t see them anymore.”

His words were hitting a nerve within me. Maybe because I knew he was right. Maybe because a part of me had become concerned about those lines myself and the fact that they had already blurred. 

“I’m seeing just fine, sir.” 

I spoke quietly, unsure of whether I was trying to convince him or myself. 

“Yeah, okay. Well take a look at this, New York’s FBI task force is looking for a loan out officer. I just signed you up.”

Of all the ways I had imagined this meeting going, all the things I had rehearsed in my head that he would say to me...that was the last thing I had expected. 

“What?”

I spoke before I could stop myself, before I had even fully processed what he had said. 

“It’s an assignment for a few weeks. Believe me, they do things different there. The lines, they are real clear.”

What he was saying, what he was doing, finally registered and something inside me clicked. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, be thankful I still had a job and that I wasn’t being arrested. But the thought of being sent away, from Intelligence, from Chicago...it broke something inside me and I exploded.

“I did the same thing you would have done.”

There was a part of me that hated what I had just admitted out loud. I never in a million years could have predicted that I would be in this situation, that I would have crossed the lines to get me here. I knew how Voight worked, hell, I respected it. His ways weren’t always straightforward or morally sound, but he brought justice to situations when the system failed. Before I could continue, although I wasn’t sure what would have come next, Voight exploded in front of me. He stood abruptly and shoved the contents of his desk onto the floor. I immediately felt the panic set in, the tightness in my chest and the struggle to breath. I wasn’t afraid of Voight, no, but the scene in front of me was one that was all to familiar. I instantly traveled back to my childhood, feeling less like a hardened detective and more like the scared little girl I once was by the second. I knew what was coming next, throwing things usually preceded yelling in my experience and, try as I might, I couldn’t get my walls up fast enough before it started.  

“I don’t want you to be me! That’s my job! Your job is to be you!”

He towered over me now, face reddened and veins throbbing along his neck. I felt myself shutting down, burying myself deep down into the hole I had fought so hard to crawl out of. I couldn’t speak, could barely breathe, and it was taking everything in me not to show my emotions. Luckily, after years of abuse, I had learned to hide them well. But his sudden outburst was pushing my limits to the brink. 

“Hailey, I’m starting to wonder if you can do it.” 

He spoke softer that time, his eyes drilling into mine. I scrambled to keep myself together, to keep my walls up. I refused to break down in front of him, to let him see what he had just broke inside of me. I focused on my breathing and swallowed down the burning in my throat. He gave me one last glare before shaking his head and moving to stand behind his desk. 

“Alright, Platt’s got the details. Flight leaves tomorrow. Have a safe trip.” 

And with that I was dismissed. I took a moment, trying to steady the trembling within me before I stood on shaky legs and made my way to the door. I pulled it open, my body functioning on autopilot, and walked quickly through the bullpen. I could feel the burning in my throat increase and knew I was on the brink of losing control. I swallowed hard as I approached the steps leading me back to Platt. I didn’t need to say anything for her to know why I was lingering. With a somber look, she reached under her desk and pulled out a manila envelope, handing it to me without a word. She looked like she was considering saying something, but the look in my eyes must have been enough to make her rethink it. I nodded my thanks and turned to walk out the doors. I kept my pace steady, one foot in front of the other, as I made my way to my car. I hit the key fob, illuminating my headlights in the slight drizzle and then climbed in, tossing the envelope onto the seat beside me. I gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, my chest tightening once again. I forced another deep breath into my lungs, wincing as they burned in protest and started my car. I wouldn’t let myself loose it here. I could make it home first. 

I made it about two blocks before my body took over. Tears began to stream down my face and they quickly transformed into sobs. Through blurry eyes, I navigated off the roadway into a parking space along the sidewalk. My breathing was coming out labored as each inhale sent a fire coursing within me. I held onto the steering wheel for dear life as my emotions crashed over me, my body shaking with the force. I couldn’t breath, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t gain control over myself no matter how hard I tried. I gave in eventually, realizing I wasn’t going to win and let the sobs rack through me. After what felt like an eternity, they began to slow. My breaths began to come easier and I no longer felt the tears running down my face. In fact, I felt nothing. My body had now shifted into autopilot mode. I was numb. I sat there for a few more moments, regaining the rest of my composure. I wiped at my face with my sleeves, glancing at my red rimmed eyes in the rear view mirror. My goal had been to make it home but suddenly that’s the last place I wanted to be. I debated my next location and a thought popped into my head that almost made me loose control again. Jay. I needed to tell him that I was leaving. I had watched first hand the mess he had been when Erin left and I refused to do that to him, even though they had been romantically involved and we were just close friends. I pushed down the thoughts that came racing to the forefront of my mind when I though of him, Vanessa’s words from the waiting room replaying in my head on repeat. No, that was definitely a line I wouldn’t cross. As if on cue, my phone buzzed once again from its spot beside me. I hesitantly glanced down at it and let out a breath when I saw Jay’s picture lighting up my screen. I took a deep breath and prayed my voice wouldn’t give me away before I answered it. 

“Hey..” 

Shit. My voice was hoarse and there was no doubt I had been crying. 

“Hailey? You okay?”

He was concerned. Of course he was. The man seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to reading me..well, most of the time anyway. 

“Yeah yeah...”

I tried to play it off but I knew he wouldn’t buy it. I could hear commotion in the back and hoped maybe he would be too busy to push the issue. 

“We’re all at Molly’s celebrating. Gael got popped, did you hear?”

Oh if he only knew. I debated agreeing to come up for drinks but I knew there was no way I would be able to play this off in front of my entire unit. And frankly, I didn’t have the energy for that anyway. But, I thought quickly, if I told him there then I would have an excuse to bail right after and he wouldn’t be alone. Plus, maybe his slight buzz would be enough to curb the edge of the bomb I was about to drop. 

“Sure, sounds good.”

I agreed and then quickly ended the call. With a deep breath, I shifted my car into drive and pointed towards the bar, rehearsing my conversation the entire way. I pulled into the lot and my bravado instantly faded. I couldn’t bring myself to go in so instead I pulled my phone back out and sent him a text. 

Hey, I’m in the lot. Can you come out?” 

This was weak, I knew it was. But there was no good way to deliver the news I was about to tell him and this seemed like the easiest option. His reply was instant and I got out to stand in front of my car as he came jogging towards me from the bar. His face held a smile that quickly faltered as he took in my appearance. I’m sure my face was still red from my breakdown and I could tell my eyes were a dead giveaway. He slowed as he approached, closing the gap and moving to lean beside me against the hood of my car. He crossed his arms, looking down at me and waiting for me to speak. 

“Hey Jay...”

My brain scrambled to find more words to say but the look in his eyes was throwing me off. He knew I was about to say something bad, he just didn’t know what. 

“Hailey...what’s going on?” 

He pushed, slightly impatient with the suspense I was unwittingly creating.  

“I’m going to New York.” 

Well...I could have done that better. Try as I might, I couldn’t form a better way to say it so instead I just blurted it out. I didn’t say it sadly, or harshly, in fact, my voice had been damn near monotone. But still, I watched as my words settled in, crushing him. He didn’t say anything and I let the silence hang between us for a moment before I continued. 

“Voight’s sending me. It’s a few weeks. But I’ll be back.”

I tacked on the last part as I watched him shutting down, shutting me out. I was sure I knew what was racing through his mind right now. Thoughts of Lindsay leaving and the destruction that had come in that wake. 

“Why?” 

His voice was hoarse and I knew he was holding something back. His tone was a mix of hurt, anger and confusion. All something I could easily identify with at the moment. 

“FBI task force needs a loan out officer.”

I dodged his real question, hoping that would be enough. It wasn’t. 

“Why?”

He repeated again and I knew what he was pushing for. Voight didn’t just send people away without reason and Jay was smart enough to put that much together at least. 

“He thinks....he thinks my lines are blurred and he wants to set me straight.”

I admitted weakly, shuddering as I said it out loud for the first time. Jay was someone who would always have my back and I knew if I gave him the full details that he would receive them without judgement, but I couldn’t bring myself to let him in on the full story yet. 

“What did you do?” 

His voice was quieter this time, his tone matching my monotone one from earlier. His question, or rather, the way he delivered it, threw me off though. There was a hint of accusation in his voice that struck a nerve within me. 

“What did I do?”

I repeated, shifting off the hood to face him directly. I thought Jay was someone who would have my back no matter what, but suddenly that was a fact I was doubting.

“He’s punishing you so it must have been something big. What did you do?”

Jay’s tone had shifted and he moved off the hood as well, lingering over me. His tone was angry now and it had me throwing up my walls for a second time tonight. 

“Nothing he would’t have done.”

I challenged, crossing my arms over my chest and squaring my shoulders back. I knew that his anger wasn’t directed at me per say, he was angry I was being made to leave, angry at Voight for sending me.

“Damn it Hailey...”

He trailed off, shaking his head. This was not the response I had expected and I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Suddenly, I felt as if we were at a turning point and if we both weren’t careful there would be some serious dents in our relationship afterwards. 

“My flight leaves tomorrow.”

I relayed that detail when I couldn’t find anything else to say. His eyes bugged out slightly as the new information settled in. He paced in front of me, avoiding my eyes as he looked anywhere but my direction. I let him have his moment, finding myself once again swallowing down the burn in my throat. 

“How long?”

He asked, movements stopping but still avoiding my eyes. I wasn’t oblivious to the distance his pacing had put between us but I didn’t want to push it.

“Um, three weeks, I think...I haven’t read the packet yet.” 

I all but whispered my response, watching his face change once again. The anger was gone now, but nothing had taken it’s place. His face was void of all emotion and the sight made the panic feeling return to my chest. 

“Okay. Have a good trip Hailey.”

And with that he turned away, slowly making his way back to the bar. I was frozen by his words and his abrupt end to the discussion. He was halfway across the lot by the time I could force anything from my mouth.  

“Jay.” 

I said, loud enough that he should have been able to hear me but if he did he didn’t respond. 

“Jay!” 

I tried again, practically yelling this time as the back of his figure came to the bars entrance, pausing briefly before dipping inside. As soon as he was out of sight, all the emotions I had shut down earlier came racing back. Now not only had I lost Intelligence, even if it was only for a brief period of time, but I also just lost Jay. Or at least, that’s what this felt like. Something in his eyes before he looked away told me I had hurt him by leaving, even though this wasn’t my choice it was a direct result of my actions and therefore definitely my fault. I came to the realization as my emotions came crashing back over me, that I would loose Intelligence in a heartbeat before I would lose Jay. Although it seemed as if, in one fell swoop, I had just lost both. I debated going into the bar after him but there was no way I was going to be able to compose myself any time soon and I couldn’t bring myself to walking in there in front of everyone, looking like a mess as my world crumbled around me. So instead, I climbed into my car and drove myself home. Once there, I dragged myself up the stairs, stripping my clothes off as I went, knowing Vanessa wasn’t home, and then stepped into the shower. I turned the water as hot as it would go, letting myself fall apart completely on last time before promising myself it wouldn’t happen again. 

[has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong]

Just Another Day in Fuyuki

Follows the events of Fuyuki’s 5th Holy Grail war from the perspective of an ordinary student.* (also lmao i put it on ao3 too)

*(This idea was based off a hilarious YouTube comment I read)

The first time she realized that something was rotten within the town of Fuyuki was on a cool, midnight blue night. It was a night like no other, ivory rays of moonlight dancing atop her skin as she took a casual jog past the all-too familiar gates of Homurahara Academy.

It should’ve been a normal night, yet the streets were much more silent than usual. Before she could spin to the side to cross over to the next junction; a powerful array of red lights assaulted her eyes, darting around like spirits.

‘WHAT?’ As she looked back, she saw that the red lights were emanating from none other than Homurahara Academy itself! That was strange, she had never witnessed such an event before.

‘Looks like we’ve got a case of delinquents at our place as well, huh?’ All it took was a split second for her to turn her back against the bizarre sight, regarding it as no more than a minor prank. Well of course she did. It’s not as if anything exciting happened within Fuyuki, anyway!

Little did she know that such an action may have saved her very life...

‘Good morning. Recently we’ve been sighting reports of multiple gas leaks and bloodless murders. In addition to this, there’s recently been an online trend of blurry pictures of people wearing suspicious cosplay being shared online. Many sources suggest that...’

As the local Fuyuki news blared yet more macabre news surrounding recent incidents, the young girl slipped on her wood brown loafers, as she patted down her coffee brown school jumper.

The young girl’s name was none other than Sakaki Ayane; a student of Homuhara Academy. As she jammed her plain, homemade bento filled to the brim with Strawberry Cream Sandwiches and Fried Chicken Cutlets into her extremely ordinary school bag, and switched off the plain television with a bland remote, a singular thought passed her mind.

‘It really is just another normal day in Fuyuki today!’ Sure, the news was terrifying- but hey, as long as her daily peace wasn’t disturbed, she was fine! Slamming the door to her basic house closed, she skipped through the mundane streets of her hometown, warm sunlight beaming down on her face, as she bowed politely to  fellow shop-owners and neighbors.

See, her life was totally fine! There was no need to worry about the news, or that time she witnessed giant fireworks at her school, after all! Everything was definitely all-ok!

As she prowled past numerous mounds of identically-emblazoned students, and sat herself right in the middle of Fujimura Taiga’s homeroom class- students guffawing at their sensei’s top-notch sense of humor- she breathed a sigh of relief.

However once lunchtime passed, Ayane was shocked speechless by a minor change to her daily lifestyle. Just as usual, her orange-haired classmate- Emiya Shirou- had caught the entire hall’s attention, due to his lively interactions with a twin-tailed genius named Tohsaka Rin. Ayane was pretty used to their interactions by now- Emiya would bust out into an awkward show, whilst students would gasp, their faces marred with awe and jealousy. As for Rin, she knew next to nothing about the beautiful girl, except for the fact that she’d sometimes catch her mid-conversation with Emiya, using rather surreal vocabulary such as ‘holy grail’ and ‘mages’.

Thinking it was nothing much, Ayane was convinced that Emiya and Tohsaka were a bunch of Roleplayers or something. She didn’t know much about the genre, but found it to be quite fun to imagine scenarios such as being a mage fighting over holy grails, and fighting dangerous beasts- such as skeleton armies. ‘I mean, why else would they talk as if they’re in the middle of a quest?’ Taking another humongous munch out of her sandwich, shock finally settled into her pores once she noticed that something was a little off about their interactions this time.

‘Where’s Shinji?’ That greasy-seaweed-haired, smug little man’s features were very prominent in Ayane’s mind. Based on her assumptions, he was the kind of idiot who kept on trying to interrupt Emiya and Tohsaka’s Roleplay sessions- much to both their chagrins.

However, this time- he wasn’t here at all?! Where had he gone off to? ‘I guess they finally kicked him off their Roleplay club, once and for all.’ Ayane heaved a sigh at that. She had no idea why they’d accommodate such a selfish guy in the first place; seeing as he always kept on trying to centre their Roleplaying on topics concerning himself instead! ‘If I was a Roleplayer, I definitely wouldn’t want him on my squad!’ Incredulously tapping her feet against the linoleum flooring; she tried to think of various reasons as to why Shinji was kicked out of the gang.

But it was to no avail. Slamming her head against the tea brown shade of her desk, she groaned.

That was it! There was no choice but to catch the latest gossip! Packing up her lunchbox, she rushed out of the classroom like a blur of wind; leaving bemused classmates in her wake. Running as if her life depended on it, she leapt onto the school roof; caught sight of the local gossips- and pulled out a spare sandwich.

“I’ll offer you this sandwich! So, spare me the news, what’s going on with Shinji?!”

A bunch of confused girls, smack bang in the middle of a game of cards- looked up at Ayane, their faces confused.

“Shinji? Who’s Shinji again?” A girl with blonde hair and piercings shrugged her shoulders.

“You know, that rich guy? That one that has cash leaking outta his pockets.”

“Oh, that guy? Have no clue.”

“A friend of a friend of a friend dated him. Said he’s a pain in the butt to be around.”

“Yes, that’s the one!” Ayane pointed excitedly, as she plonked herself in between the girls, her body heaving with laboured breaths. “So, what happened? When did he disappear?”

“If you want details like that, you’re gonna have to offer more than a sandwich,” The blonde-haired girl whined. “You’re always asking us for gossip these days, Ayane.”

“A-ah, is that so?” Anxiously wiping sweat off her forehead, Ayane rummaged through her bag: oodles of paper; pretty rocks; textbooks and other strange materials clattering onto the stone ground. Eventually, she uncovered a small talisman from her bag, eyes gleaming with excitement. “How about this then? I’m sure this is worth quite a bit of yen!”

“Dude, my sister bought that for 500 yen the other day. No dice from me.”

“It’s pretty cute, though...I’ll take it!” As one girl happily exchanged it with Ayane, the others spun their heads in horror.

“Kikuo! You damn betrayer!”

“You can’t be human, accepting such a cheapskate offer!”

“Damn, though...I can relate. Who can resist cute things, amirite?”

As they began to squabble, Ayane laughed. Nothing beat a good gossip session!

The school day had finally ended, with only the loud cheering and yells of various school clubs filling the now empty halls of Homurahara Academy. As she pulled out her loafers from her metallic gray shoe locker; a conflicted expression crossed her face, as she recalled the events of her gossip session.

“Ah, that Shinji? Well, it was really odd, but he pissed off right after a major incident hit our school!”

“W-what happened?” Ayane was more or less right in the other girl’s face, her eyes bulging with curiosity.

“E-erm, well...” Blushing awkwardly, the girl scratches her face. “I mean, weren’t you there? It was kinda unforgettable.”

“Actually, I decided to take a day off school that day.” Ayane’s directness was like a major slap in the face for the others. “School can be really boring sometimes...”

“I had a feeling you’d say that...” Another sighed. “Well anyway, some HUGE shit happened. Like we were all sitting in class one second-”

“- and then there was this weird- ass red light-”

‘What is it with our school and red lights?’ Ayane’s gut instinct could tell that something was strange about this story. It felt unreal.

“-Yeah, and then like everything just blacked out. Like the only memory I have is of me waking up the next day or something.” The other girls nodded in assent. “It’s like some freaky curse possessed the shit out of Homurahara Academy or something!”  None of them were able to fill in the missing blanks about what happened; eventually blaming it all on poison gas.

“Well, anyway; Shinji disappeared from that day onwards. Not like that’s a bad thing, mind you.” And that was it.

As Ayane exited the gates, a heavy cloud permeated her mind. Time was certainly out of joint, for them to not even be able to recall what happened! ‘Maybe Shinji was possessed by a ghost...’ Strolling by the courtyard, she caught sight of a familiar purple-haired student.

It was Matou Sakura. Because Ayane was such a nosy student, she recognised her as that one shy girl who’d label her classmate-Emiya, as her senpai. As she passed the girl, she bowed ever-so-slightly in respect, as Sakura embarrassedly bowed back. Watching after her back, yet another terrifying wash of surprise crawled across her back.

Didn’t Sakura usually meet up with that one super-glamorous, plum-haired model-like lady on her way home? It was strange to see Sakura walking home alone.

‘Shit’s really hitting the fan now...’ Ayane mused, as she turned in the opposite direction. She needed an emotional escape to purge herself of the encroaching force of dread threatening to engulf her body. ‘Ah, that’s it! Let’s go to the harbour!’ Regaining her previous sense of joy, Ayane more or less sprinted to Fuyuki Harbour. Aside from a few guests, people going fishing- and the odd seagull- it was often quiet, making it the perfect place for silent contemplation!

She more or less flew towards the harbour, breathing in a deep gulp of the fresh sea air once she arrived. The harbour was like heaven, drifting clouds trundling overhead. Pointing exuberantly at that one special lighthouse perched far away, she grinned. ‘This is the best- OH?!’

Before she could release a scream of joy, she caught sight of something.

It seemed as if she wasn’t alone at the harbour, after all. Shielding her eyes from the billowing wind, she caught sight of a rather fit man in skin-tight black pants; and a figure-hugging white shirt. But what really caught her off-guard was his bold blue locks of hair.

‘Hey, wait a minute!! Why does he remind me of those blurry pictures of people wearing suspicious cosplay?!’ Clamping a hand over her mouth, she prayed to all of the gods and deities in the world to disguise her presence. Seeing as the man was looking so intently at the sea, she didn’t want to disturb his peace time. ‘What a shame...’ One of Ayane’s favourite hobbies was to scream at the harbour, where nobody else could hear her. However, she would be cordial to this visitor today. ‘You better watch out, blue hair!’ She declared in her mind; fists clenched. ‘I’ll be considerate today, but won’t be next time! If I see you again, you’ll definitely have to put up with me screaming at the sea!!’

As she moonwalked as silently as possible away from the sparkly man, a major thought hit her mind. ‘There sure have been a lot of beautiful people with stunning hair colours hanging out in Fuyuki lately...’ It made her somewhat excited yet terrified at the same time to see just how much her daily life was changing.

Oh well, there was no choice but for her to release her pent-up emotions somewhere else instead. As a rather detailed map of Fuyuki appeared within her mind, a lightbulb popped in her brain. ‘The Fuyuki City Centre!’ Nothing was better than throwing one’s emotions at a cup of ice cream. ‘I’m a genius,’ Ayane twirled down the road, pattering rays of sun following behind. After screaming at the sky in the park (startling a few children); and buying the biggest matcha sundae that she could afford, she was all set for the day and ready to go home.

Although today had been quite suspicious, things were finally settling back to normal. Or so she thought. All peace instantly came to a halt, as she bumped into something quite long. ‘Oh crap!’ Raising her head, she came face-to-face with none other than a human wearing a... strange combination between a... biker outfit and school uniform? ‘Never seen an outfit like that before.’ As she bowed in apology, a piercing gaze reminiscent of death itself froze her body to its very core.

“The humans of this era are such pathetic mongrels...” The voice trailed off, as the harsh man’s presence all but disappeared.

‘Err...What?’ Once he was out of sight, her legs buckled; as she fell to the ground- passer-by's sparing her disgruntled glances. ‘I’ve never felt a presence that scary before...’ Clutching her heart anxiously, the shadow of death curled itself around her chest; suffocating her breath. It would take until the pitch black of night for her to regain her composure again. As she trawled back home within the dark, Ayane exhaled painfully, clutching her head.

What a weird day this had been! ‘I’m so glad I’m home now.’ Relieved, she withdrew her jangling keys from her bag; overjoyed to be right in front of her basic house again!

“Yay, I’m home-?!!!!” The ground beneath her rattled ominously, as she toppled to the ground- her eyes rattling wildly. Powerful tremors rippled around her, warping Fuyuki into the most demonic rollercoaster ride she had ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!!!’ Idealistic images of the bland, mundane Fuyuki that she loved were shattering, right before her eyes. As a mere human she was blissfully unaware of the blood-curdling terrors lurking right beside her, in this cursed town...This was the fate of those unaware of the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

THE END

(lmao Ayane is the weirdest original character EVER. However, I do wonder what random passers-by think about all of the strange crap occurring in Fuyuki!)

[perspective-series]

Pet Perspective (9/19)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: mmm not sure, collar talk I guess

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 Patton woke up the next morning with a grin on his face, thanks to last night's events. He got out of bed and quickly got ready for the day before gently tapping on Logan’s room. “Logan? Time to wake up and start the day!”

“No.” Logan’s voice was muffled into the pillow, and he smiled pleasantly with the knowledge he could refuse at all.

 Patton chuckled. “You have to wake up eventually you know.” Patton said, keeping his tone light.

“I am awake.” Logan sat up. “But being an early riser is not one of my- yawn- interests.”

 “I can see that.” Patton giggled. “Alright, how about you get ready for the day while I make breakfast. Any preferences?”

“Something with less sugar than yesterday.” Logan cringed in memory of the syrup to accompany the pancakes.

 Patton hummed in thought. “How does...Oh! How does some eggs and toast sound?” 

“I have not had those before.” Logan explained, picking out clothes from his closet. “I have only eaten the meals you’ve given me. Before it was only tiny feed.”

 Patton winced. “You had to eat that disgusting slop all the time?”

Logan sadly nodded. “It was unpleasant, most definitely, but there is the logical pull of requiring nutrience no matter how bland.”

 Patton sat up straighter. “Well, I promise you, from now on, you’ll only get meals that taste delicious!” Patton started towards the door. “I’ll get started on that and be back up here in about 15 minutes, okay!”

“Confirmed!” Logan called back, heading into the bathroom to change.

 As Patton was scrambling the eggs, he watched as Virgil hurried down the stairs. “Whoa! Kiddo, where’s the fire?” He chuckled but Virgil moved past him, putting his shoes on.

 “Sorry, Pat but I just remembered I had an exam today, so gotta run, bye!” Patton blinked as Virgil ran out the door before popping his head back in a second later.

 “Uh, can you feed Roman for me?” He asked and Patton chuckled.

 “Course I can, kiddo. Now go take your test! I’m sure you’ll ace it!” Virgil gave him a thankful smile before leaving for real this time.

 Patton finished up breakfast before heading up to grab Logan. “Logan? All ready for the day?”

“Yes, I am dressed.” Logan confirmed, peering through the large window and waiting for Patton to open the enclosure. 

 Patton grinned and pushed the button, unlocking Logan’s enclosure. “Oh! Uh, did you still want to use the carrier or...would it be okay if I carried you there in my hand?” Patton asked.

Logan considered this. “This is by no means a blanket statement of consent, but I think for this morning I would be comfortable with being carried.”

 Patton nodded. “I understand.” Patton was just happy he had agreed this time. He held out his hand, waiting patiently for Logan to climb on himself.

Logan smiled a bit to himself, climbing on. “You seem to do that frequently.” Or at least, more frequently than had been expected.

 “Well, I try my best.” Patton admitted. “Understanding you is one step in making you comfortable after all.” Patton chuckled. He stood up and headed out of his room but instead of going downstairs, he turned into Virgil’s room.

 “Quick pit stop, we have to get Roman for breakfast today since Virgil had to leave.” He explained to Logan.

“Wait, Virgil left?” Logan blinked. “Where did he go? Why? How long is he gone?”

 “He had to take an exam but he should be back in a few hours.” Patton said before gently knocking on the large enclosure. “Roman? Kiddo, time for breakfast.”

Roman blinked, startled by an unfamiliar voice. “Patton?” His tone was confused, rolling out of bed and peering out. “What’re you doing here?”

 “Virgil had to leave in a hurry to take a test for school, so it’ll just be the three of us for the next few hours!” Patton exclaimed, holding Logan up for Roman to see.

“Ah...good morning.” Logan greeted with a small wave.

“Oh.” Roman blinked. Perhaps this could be used to his advantage… so long as Logan didn’t interfere again. After all, Patton seemed a lot more gullible than Virgil.

“Yes, of course, I’ll be right out.” Roman assured Patton, carefully picking out one of his more practical outfits and throwing it on in the bathroom. 

 Patton nodded and unlocked the enclosure, waiting for Roman to come out. “This’ll be fun, right? The three of us hanging out.”

“Oh, most certainly!” Roman agreed, all smiles as he climbed into Patton’s hand, sitting away from Logan while remaining safe.

“Strange.” Logan narrowed his gaze. “You sound enthused, and yet I was under the impression you didn’t like me.”

Roman ignored that statement, instead focused on Logan’s neck. “Hang on, where’d your collar go?”

 “I took it off of him.” Patton explained as he lifted his hand and started moving towards the kitchen. “It was a shock collar of all things, can you believe it? The nerve of that store…” Patton grumbled. Which reminded him, he still had a call to make.

“What, you didn’t know?” Roman was beginning to think escape would be easier than he thought if Patton was that unobservant. “But now wait a moment, how come he gets to go collarless and I don’t?”

 “Well...that really isn’t up to me.” Patton admitted. “You’ll have to ask Virgil once he gets back.” He set the two down on the table before handing everyone their servings.

“Well it’s not my fault Virgil ran off.” Roman huffed. “Why should I be punished for that?”

“It’s not a punishment, it’s the absence of a reward.” Logan corrected.

“Oh can it, boy who cried wolf.” Roman crossed his arms, pulling his own portion away from Logan’s. 

“No.” Logan said firmly, not sure exactly what Roman meant by that insult.

Roman paused, glancing at Logan. “You really think you’re hot stuff without that collar now, huh?”

 “Hey you two, no fighting.” Patton warned gently. “We’re supposed to be getting along.” He ate a bite of his eggs. 

“I’m not fighting; who said I was fighting?” Roman dug into his own food.

“Insufferable.” Logan huffed, but besides that no other insults were thrown between them as the two scarfed down their breakfast.

 Patton sighed in relief as they both stopped and turned back to his own meal. “So, any suggestions on what to do today? I’m all ears!” He asked, looking between the two borrowers.

“Oh, how I do miss the sunlight.” Roman sighed dramatically. “Perhaps we should go outside! A little adventure might be a wonderful way to pass the time.”

 Patton hummed. “I don’t know, it could be dangerous…” He turned to Logan. “What do you think, Logan?”

Logan blinked. “Well, on the one hand, I am inclined to turn down any and all of Roman’s suggestions for my own safety.”

“Traitor.” Roman growled.

“On the other… I have never been outside.” Logan admitted. “Not truly, at least. If it would be safe, I am very curious.”

 Patton blinked. “You’ve...never been outside?” Patton nodded, determined. “Alright, then we’ll go outside! I’m sure there’s a little park around that’ll be safe enough. As long as you guys stick close by, of course.”

“Naturally.” Roman assured him. “Wouldn’t dream of anything else!”

Logan gave a nod, deciding not to bring up the couch incident just yet.

 “Great!” Patton stood up. “I’m going to go grab a few things, then. Be right back!” He dropped his dish into the sink before running upstairs. Leaving the borrowers to finish their breakfast.

Roman turned to Logan, glancing briefly back at the stairs. “Do you want to get out of here?”

“I- what?” Logan seemed startled by this query.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Roman insisted. “I mean, not right now, the window’s too tight, but in general. I thought you were all trained, but you seem pretty sassy unleashed, and you did mention going outside-”

“What on earth are you prattling on about?” An exasperated Logan interrupted.

Roman glanced back again, leaning closer to keep his voice down. “You, me, freedom. Escaping. Busting out.”

“What?” Now Logan just looked confused.

“We don’t have to be all collared, Logan.” Roman explained, jingling his tag for emphasis. “We can live our own lives, away from all the humans.”

“We can?” Logan leaned closer, intrigued. “But how? Why?” 

Roman paused, hearing footsteps trotting back down the stairs. He cursed. “Not a word to Patton.” Roman warned, painting that smile back on his face.

 Patton hopped the down stairs, slinging a small bag over his shoulder and smiling at the borrowers. “Alright, I think I got everything! You guys ready to go?”

“We’re all set!” Roman grinned, throwing his arm around Logan’s shoulders to emphasize how they were getting along.

Logan squirmed, removing Roman’s arm. 

 Patton grinned, clapping his hands together. “Awesome, now let’s see…” Patton thought for a moment. “Did you guys want to be transported in a carrier or would my pocket be fine?” Patton asked. The walk there wasn’t too long either way.

“Carrier.” “Pocket.”

The clashing answers were simultaneous, the two borrowers turning to give each other a look.

 Patton blinked, looking between the two. “Er...well, I could always do both?” He suggested.

“Yes, that seems like the best compromise.” Logan agreed, standing up.

“No no, I can be the bigger borrower, I’ll take the carrier as well.” Roman offered, standing as well.

 “Are you sure?” Patton asked. “Because it’s no problem to do both if the pocket is more comfortable for you.” Roman might not be his borrower but that didn’t mean he didn’t care.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me Patty-Cake.” Roman assured him. 

 Patton blinked before his eyes shined. “Aww, okay, sounds good! I’ll be right back then.” Patton ran up the stairs, grabbed the small carrier, and came back down. “Alright! All aboard!”

“Choo choo!” Roman laughed, finding himself hilarious as he climbed in.

Logan gave him a strange look, following at a slower pace.

 Patton closed the carrier and gently held it as he made his way out the front door. “I think this will be a lot of fun! And you’re right, it will be nice to get some fresh air.” Patton made conversation as he walked down the sidewalk to where he knew the park was a couple blocks away.

“How far away is it?” Logan called out.

 “Not too far. In fact…” Patton grinned as he pointed to a structure coming up in the distance. “There it is!” He could see children playing and running around and he couldn’t help but smile.

Roman tensed, hearing the sound of children screaming growing louder, and he began to think this was a very bad idea.

“Are you certain this is safe?” A trepid Logan grimaced, hearing the same rokus.

 Patton hummed, looking down at the two. “Oh! Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll set up a little spot for us in the grass away from all the kids.” He didn’t want any of the children accidentally hurting the borrowers while playing, after all.

“I think you underestimate a child’s exuberance.” Roman shuddered, knowing how eager they could be to get their hands on a borrower.

 “It’ll be fine, I promise. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Patton went far away from the kids before settling on a little shady spot underneath a large tree. He set the carrier down before opening his bag and taking out a blanket. He unfurled it onto the grass and took a seat before opening the carrier for the borrowers. “Here we are! Oh, I can’t believe this is your first time outside. I hope you enjoy it.”

Logan poked his head out, eyes widening at the sight before him. “It’s so...green.”

“Well go on Specs, get a closer look!” Roman huffed, shoving Logan forwards. He was never going to make a good Outie if he spent five minutes staring at grass.

Logan let out a small yelp, glaring at Roman briefly before walking closer to the edge of the blanket. The surface beneath him felt uneven and the borrower could feel all the blades of grass forced down by the fabric.

 Patton couldn’t help but watch with wide eyes as Logan took in everything around him. He was just so cute. He turned to Roman. “Have you been outside before?”

“...a couple times.” Roman easily lied with a shrug, taking a glance around at their surroundings. While it’d be ideal to make a run for it outside like this, he certainly didn’t envy the fool stupid enough to make an Outie camp in a park close to a human playground.

 “Oh! Then maybe you can show Logan the ropes.” He giggled. Now this was bound to be adorable.

“Actually, that sounds like a wonderful idea.” Roman murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Hey Logan, want to learn how to make a grass basket?”

“Hmm?” But Logan was hardly paying him any attention, having reached the edge of the blanket. He reached his hand up, tentatively stroking one of the blades of grass to get a feel of its smooth texture. He peered through the forest of blades, not able to see very far due to how close together they grew. How strange, knowing that the playground was in that direction but only able to catch a glimpse when he jumped or stood on tip-toe.

 Patton blinked, intrigued. “A grass basket?”

“It’s a basket made of grass.” Roman explained.

 “Well, yeah, but how do you know how to make one?” Patton asked, head tilted slightly.

“Ah...self-taught.” Roman figured it wasn’t a complete lie, but he wasn’t eager to continue the conversation. “LOGAN!”

Logan jumped, startled out of his staring. “Yes?”

“We’re making grass baskets.” Roman explained, stomping over to join him at the edge. 

“Why?” Logan asked, but Roman ignored him, instead frowning down at the stalks.

Roman let out a groan. “Ugh, nevermind, I forgot a knife, we can’t.”

 “Oh, you don’t need a knife.” Patton said, having listened in. He reached over and grabbed a handful of the grass, setting it down on the blanket next to them. “There you go!”

Roman’s eyebrows raised, always forgetting how efficient humans could be. “Well, that’ll work. Come on Logan let’s get started.”

“You have not informed me what we are doing.” Logan deadpanned.

“Yes I have- grass baskets.” Roman said offhandedly, beginning to pull the stalks carefully apart into smaller strips.

 “Ooooo, can I try too?” Patton asked, bouncing up and down on the ground in excitement. “It looks fun!”

“I think your fingers might be a bit big there, Pat, but if you gather your own blades I don’t have a problem.” Roman agreed.

“What. are we doing.” Logan insisted.

“Sit down, Eager Beaver, you’re stressing too much.” Roman sighed. “Just follow my lead, we need a whole bunch of long strips.”

 Patton, wanting to try it anyway, grabbed his own pile of leaves and started to follow Roman along.

“Alright, now you’ve got to weave them together, like so.” Roman instructed, taking some from his pile and beginning to weave the strands together.

 Patton tried his best to follow Roman’s lead. He had grabbed leaves hoping it would be easier since they were bigger, but he was still having a tough time with them.

“I do believe you will require something longer and thinner, Patton.” Logan saw the human struggling, just as he himself attempted to get the technique down.

 Patton sighed, giving up on the leaves. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I just thought it would be easier since it was bigger.” Patton grabbed a handful of grass, and then got to work to catch up with where they were. It was difficult but he seemed to be managing.

“You have to get better control of your plants there.” Roman instructed Logan, watching the borrower struggle. “They’re bending wherever they want, you’ve got to make them bend where you say.”

“I’m trying.” Logan insisted, giving a loud noise of frustration when rather than bend the piece snapped in half.

“Oooh, rotten luck.” Roman hissed through clenched teeth.

 Patton seemed to be having similar luck as most of his blades of grass ripped. “I think I’m too big for this…” Patton said, disappointed.

Roman raised an eyebrow, looking at Patton’s ‘creation’. The holes in the weaving could easily fit Roman’s hole arm. “...yeah, you are.” Roman confirmed.

 Patton sighed and threw it out behind him. He looked down at Roman’s. “Yours looks really good though!”

“Why thank you!” Roman had a very pleased expression, holding his creation up higher so Patton would marvel at it.

“Wait, hold on a moment, I think I may be beginning to understand this exercise.” Logan murmured, hunched over and focused on his craft.

 Patton leaned forward to see Logan’s basket. “Oh! Yours looks good too!” Not a well made as Roman’s but solid for a first try.

“Thank you.” Logan replied, his eyes still narrowed and his tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.

“Now we’ve just got to test them.” Roman hefted his basket. “Hey Patsy, are there any berry bushes nearby?”

 Patton blinked and hummed as he looked around. He stood up and went around the tree, grinning as he found a few blackberries. He picked a few and brought them back, sitting back down. “Will this do?” He asked, setting them down near the borrowers.

“Perfect, thank you ever so much.” Roman gave a bow for extra emphasis, walking over and putting the berries into his basket. He gave a triumphant grin, lifting the contraption to see there were no leaks. “Huzzah, it works!”

 Patton’s eyes lit up and he clapped his hands. “Wow! That’s so cool! Where did you even learn that?”

Roman paused, lowering the basket slightly. “Ah, self-taught, actually.”

“But how did you engineer the design?” Logan asked, following Roman’s method to test the blackberries in his own basket. There was minimal leakage.

“Jeez, why all the grilling, Bunsen Burner?” Roman gave an awkward laugh. “I just liked experimenting with patterns. I was bored. Had too much time on my hands. Sue me, okay?”

“I apologize.” Logan put his palms out, not sure why he was apologizing. “I did not intend to offend.” Nevertheless, Roman’s behavior what quite...odd.

 Patton was thinking similarly to Logan, unknown to either of them. But he decided not to ask about it. “Well, you sure are one smart cookie for figuring all that out.” Patton said instead, with a grin.

“Thanks.” Roman said, but it was clear his heart was not in it. He shook his head lightly. “Sorry, I don’t know what came over me. Guess I’m just a little defensive of my process.”

 “Hey, no, it’s okay.” Patton reassured the borrower, reaching down to rub at his back slightly. “I know! How about we get a little treat to cheer you up? Who wants ice cream?”

“What is ‘ice cream’?” Logan tilted his head.

 Patton blinked, turning to Logan in shock. “You’ve...You’ve never had ice cream!?”

“Logan, you poor sheltered soul.” Roman put a hand to his chest.

“Both of you over exaggerating my lack of knowledge does nothing to inform me what it is.” Logan said irritably, feeling a bit mocked.

 “It’s a dessert! It’s made of milk and sugar and frozen. It’s perfect on a nice hot day!” Patton did his best to explain. He never thought he would have to explain ice cream to someone.

“It’s cold?” Logan crinkled his nose. “I thought the intention of food was to be heated.”

“Not when it’s sweltering.” Roman fanned himself dramatically, although the heat was bearable. 

 “There are a few things that people actually eat cold and ice cream is one of them.” Patton, determined, set his hand down in front of Roman and Logan. “Now we definitely have to go get ice cream.”

[rwby-nwbe]

Just Finished RWBY Volume 2...

...and HOLY HECK IT GOT BETTER.

[Warning: Spoilers for Volume 2 and Long Post.]

New antagonists! More huntsman action! More characters and interactions! And the fights, tho. THE FIGHTS!

*Ahem* Okay, clearly I just need to start from the beginning...

Episode 1

We start the new season by being reintroduced to our new antagonists, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. They may be villains, but they're also obviously teens (Mercury radiates prick energy) and they're dynamic is entertaining. Also, RIP Tukson, he seemed like a nice dude...

We then cut back to Team RWBY and JNPR, who are apparently on break at the moment. It's also nice to see Sun again, and we also get to meet Neptune. Anyways, someone throws a pie in Weiss face, and you know what that means...

FOOD FIGHT!!!

Seriously, THESE KIDS ARE CRAZY. Ruby can apparently surf on lunch trays! Weiss used ketchup and a freakin' swordfish like Myrtenaster! Blake used baguettes and a sausage link like Gambol Shroud! Freakin' YANG was punching things with TURKEY! JAUNE... threw a melon, that was cool; nice to see that he's losing the noodleness of his body. NORA RIPPED OUT A PIPE, STUFFED IT TO A MELON, AND CALLED IT MAGNHILD! Note to self: never challenge Pyrrha to a fight near a vending machine (or anytime, really). Ren can kick WATERMELONS, and fight with LEEKS. HOW CAN THEY EVEN DIGEST ALL THAT FOOD!?

RIP Neptune's hair though, I hear grape is hard to wash out...

Then we cut back to the White Fang and Torchwick, who are then met with Mercury, Emerald, and later the great Cinder Fall herself. I'll admit, Mercury's funny but a jerk, and Emerald... I'm pretty sure I was mentally screaming "YOU'RE BEING MANIPULATED" when I saw her and Cinder. First she doesn't give Emerald a hug, then she tells her to not think and just obey? RED FLAGS. RED FLAGS EVERYWHERE.

Oh, speaking of Cinder, while she does radiate boss energy, I'm glad that I don't personally like her. I don't know what it is, but it might be the fact that she's treating everyone else like her pawns (and considering she used a chess piece later in this volume, I wouldn't be surprised). I mean, good villain, but like any good villain, I want her to get roasted, though that might not work given her Semblance.

Also, Roman Torchwick, you beautiful jerk, never change. I love ya, but I also love seeing you get dragged, which is what Emerald did to you at the end of this. Yep, I'm on board for this season!

Also, the new opening. I thought nothing could top "This Will Be The Day." I was wrong. Haven't listened to all of it yet, but "Time To Say Goodbye" SLAPS.

Episode 2

So, several things. There's board games, insert Yu-Gi-Oh reference here... Yang has too much power. Also, if I remember the lingo right, then this is also the episode where the White Rose shippers got crumbs, the White Knight shippers were once again denied, and where the Iceberg shippers were born (while the rest of us were titling our heads in confusion with Jaune). Jaune continues to be a social dork (what's with the blonde boys blowing Blake's secret? Don't think I've forgotten about Sun...). Blake is being consumed with the burden of RESPONSIBILITY. I feel that Blake. Oh, and the ending...

Why do out villains have to be clever enough to infiltrate the actual school!? And Weiss' "We're doomed." I hope that's not secret foreshadowing...

Episode 3

Jaune fails yet again at wooing Weiss (at least Yang comforts him at the end), and the gang begins their espionage. We meet Penny again, Weiss deals with her past, albeit briefly, and Penny... oh boy. She's hiding something, and the hiccups make it obvious. What could it possibly- oh...

Episode 4

Most of us had our suspicions, what with Penny's awkward demeanor and ludicrous super strength, but yep, she's a robot! Aw, get yourself a real one like Ruby. Oh, and Neptune's useless with Yang around. Speaking of, HEY, good to see you again, Junior! So Blake and Sun intercept the White Fang rally and... oh fudge they got giant robots. BAIL! We also get to see Neptune's weapon and Sun's semblance (before they nope off the road and leave the rest of the fighting to RWBY, while they go off and get ramen, the jerks...). Also, nice to see that they have team attack names (I believe some of them double as ship names), and this is where we get to meet the Ice Cream Queen Neopolitan (not to be confused with the now officially dubbed Ice Queen Weiss Schnee. If even the villains are calling you that, then congrats, you have a new title)! Neo then proceeds to give them the slip, and I personally believe that Yang only disliked Weiss' pun because it highlighted her failure.

C'mon Yang, at least she's TRYING!

Episode 5

Pyrrha is a combat queen. 'Nuff said. Suck it, CRDL.

Oh no. Mercury is both a smart aleck AND smart. This will not end well.

Blake, take a break. No, seriously, working yourself to death just because you think you can doesn't mean you should. You will only feel worse. TAKE A BREAK.

Well Jaune, mission failed. You'll get her next time.

Pyrrha Nikos. Sweetie. We're talking about Jaune Arc here. He's not gonna get the hints you're dropping unless that "hint" is a full blown irrefutable confession so obvious that even he can't screw it up. I know you want to help him because you like him (and yes, even like like him), but it's clear Weiss isn't interested, at least not now. Capitalize on that!

And our villain group continues to be dastardly. *Chuckles* We're in danger.

Episode 6

The dance draws near, and it seems that both Blake AND Jaune could use a pep talk!

Poor Blake. It appears your faunus trait makes you more cat-like than just the ears.

Also, poor Ren. He just wants a nice bath, but alas, the power of bromance.

Oof, tough love from Yang. Pretty good flashback, though. Also, Pyrrha, your selfless nature will be your undoing, listen to Nora.

...oh God, if I'm saying "listen to Nora" when the world isn't ending, we might ACTUALLY be in danger.

Aw, the dance looks fun. Poor Jaune, tho. Don't worry, at least Yang, Blake, and Sun are having a good time (and this is the part where I realize I'm becoming a SunnyBee shipper, crap). Poor Ruby, having to wear heels. Don't worry, Ozpin will keep you company.

Oh crap, the villain kids are here! What are you up to!?

Episode 7

This one gets the runner up for my favorite episode. Alternatively, I give it the title "Team Leaders Know What's Up."

Jaune, you may be a dumbass, but you're the rare "Surprisingly Competent Dumbass With A Heart Of Gold," and you get my respect for that. Being socially awkward with Ruby? Comedy gold. Putting things into perspective for Neptune? Props, my dude. Comforting Pyrrha? Friendship goals (even though it should be more than friendship goals, but hey, you put on the dress, I'll give you that). Nice dance moves, by the way, JNPR.

As for Ruby... drinking Jaune's punch? Iconic. Noticing Cinder sneaking away? Nice. Fighting her in heels of all things? You, my dear red reaper, are on another level. A shame that Ironwood couldn't get there faster and that Cinder had to bail, but oh well.

Also: Penny continues to be heckin' adorable. I will never NOT stan.

Episode 8

HEAR YE, HEAR YE, THE NOBLE DOG ZWEI HAS GRACED US WITH HIS ADORABLE PRESENCE. Tremble before his ability to fit in boxes and melt Weiss' heart. Oh, and RWBY gets exposed to Ozpin, but surprise! Even Ozpin doesn't have to play by the rules! Though that could get him in trouble with Ironwood later...

Why does this show keep showing me characters that I want to get to know better in record time!? Team CFVY looks so interesting, and it's nice to see Velvet again! Ooh, I hope we see them more later...

Also, Professor Oobleck, I know we saw a bit of you in Volume 1, and I wish we got to know you better. You seem delightful.

Episode 9

Okay, my previous statement of DOCTOR Oobleck still stands. I love this chaotic fast man.

He's both funny AND deep! His reaction to Zwei? Comedy gold! Him picking apart RWBY's motives and the Grimm? Disturbingly thought provoking, but enjoyable. Also, Ruby, you're great, but you're not entirely a genius, you're just a little bit lucky.

In conclusion: there are a lot of characters to stan in RWBY. Dr. Oobleck is one of them.

Episode 10

We learn about WBY's motivations, now excuse me while I go crying in the club right now.

OH NO, RUBY GOT KIDNAPPED! AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE HER SCYTHE! FRICK, it's a mindset kind of deal! Without her scythe, she thinks she's useless! Oh, and Roman's there too, that's not good.

...that is REALLY not good, Oobleck! Get down there, all of you! Wait, is your thermos... your WEAPON!? HOW THE FU-

(Sidenote, I looked up the name, since most weapons have them and I'm impatient for them getting name dropped. "Antiquity's Roast," eh? Fitting...)

Episode 11

So... this episode.

Poor Ruby. She failed to fight back, she almost ran away but then it turns out Melodic Cudgel is also a GRAPPLING HOOK. Thank god Yang and company finally busted their way in.

...why are Roman and the White Fang going kamikaze with those train car bombs? Oh right, the Grimm. Crap, that ain't good.

Ah, Oobleck. You may have accidentally repeated Ruby's line, but a swig of your thermos/club/flamethrower and then using it to bat Zwei into a cannonball of death redeemed you!

So Neo's back. She's skilled, sassy, has something going on with her eyes... Oh boy, Yang's getting outclassed by a pipsqueak. That's gotta suck.

Does every faunus (baring Blake, Sun, etc.) hate the SDC? Seriously Weiss, what did your father DO!?

Roman, do not get flirty with Blake. Junior tried something similar with Yang way back in the Yellow Trailer, and he got socked in the face. You deserve that kick in the head.

Oh look, Yang's mom is here! Nice, now Neo can't kill her (don't you dare, you little ice cream, I swear...). Oh. OH. That's a big sword. Yeah, ya better run, Neo. You ain't winnin' this fight. Great, now I want to know what Yang's mom's deal is. Figures she just warped away afterwards...

And now the Grimm are above ground. Yeah, seems like a good time for the season finale.

Episode 12

Now THIS is my favorite episode.

Look at that, Jaune's getting good instincts! And it's nice that Team JNPR was able to help RWBY. Also nice that Jaune can actually kill a Grimm now. Good job, man. You earned Pyrrha's smile of approval.

As much as I'm wary of the antagonist trio, I'll admit, they can fight good. Especially Emerald, her guns are sick. Why am I warming up to her so fast? What is this magic!?

...CFVY. CFVY. WHY ARE Y'ALL SO BADASS? Seriously, Yatsuhashi's carying an entire sword and a half. Fox just pulled a Ren and caused a Grimm to explode. Coco... God, Coco- WHY DOES RUBY HAVE SO MANY QUEENS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!?

"You just destroyed my favorite clothing store. Prepare to die."

I-FREAKING-CONIC!

And she just murders Grimm with a BRIEFCASE. That turns into a GATTLING GUN. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT'S ALSO A GUN. (BTW, Gianduja is a really cool name for it.)

And now I want to know Velvet's weapon! It doesn't look like much now, but apparently it took a semester to build. And we know that Velvet can fight based on what we saw with her and Fox, so how does she ADD to that!?

THAT TRACK IN THE BACKGROUND, TOO! "CAFFEINE~" HELL YEAH!!!

Ooh, Port and Oobleck teamup! Oh no... THE GLYNDA IS MAD PEOPLE. I REPEAT, THE GLYNDA IS MAD! SHE HAS NO PATIENCE FOR YOUR GRIMM BS!!!

Welp, Roman got handled, though I doubt it's for long... Yay, RWBY finally gets a break! Oh boy, trouble brewing between Ozpin and Ironwood, that ain't good.

...bull man's back. Uh, guys, Adam's back! And he's helping the bad guys! THIS IS REALLY NOT GOOD.

...oh, so your name is Raven? And that's what you look like under the mask. There's the resemblance... Oh boy, where have you been all of Yang's life?

...

So all in all, Volume 2 was even better than Volume 1, in my opinion. It's like they took the first volume and amped it up to 11. Longer runtimes, great comedy, great action sequences, great CHARACTERS. It's just a complete trip! 10/10, would ride again. Welp, it's getting late, so I can't immediately start Volume 3. But what Volume 2 gave us is good enough to tide me over.

...I am so glad I started this series. Well, this is goodbye for now. Cheers, internet!

-Mathewton, the RWBY Newbie (22 March 2020)

[sibyl-of-space]

havent angsty long-posted on here in a while lol it’s like i am in 3rd year of college all over again

Well, no thanks to fast and reliable testing, I am at least fairly sure I actually do have Covid. I still haven’t gotten my test results and it’s been a week, but I have a headache typing this because I over exerted myself by performing the highly taxing tasks of... taking a shower, cooking something, and sitting upright instead of lying in bed (as I have been largely doing for the last 2 weeks). So at the very least I’ve been able to communicate with my workplace and am now at an understanding that I should just take this week off too because if sitting upright for extended periods of time makes it hard to breathe, that is perhaps, slightly concerning.

So instead my anxieties now are about the fact that literally contracting Covid was actually in the long run beneficial for my mental health because I’ve been able to just... rest, and play some video games, and rest some more, and sleep, and edit photos, and watch other people play video games. I’ve gotten to just. Relax. I haven’t had the chance to relax since before the pandemic started, because I work at a nonprofit that helps homeless people and that shit doesn’t stop being necessary in a crisis. And it’s compounded by the fact that I work in IT and we had to basically throw together enough band-aid and duct tape solutions to get everyone set up to work remotely, which was hard as fuck to do, and now we are still going in part of the week to help serve meals shifts because we don’t have any volunteers.

(That is like 90% definitely how I contracted it, a few weeks ago I worked a meals shift with someone who was not-so-subtly coughing into his mask next to me and it was not the phlegm-y cough but the ‘ah i am just clearing the old airways’ cough. Why are you working a meals shift to serve the homeless if you have symptoms OH MY GOD. Anyway.)

My workplace is not organized in the best of times, which made it interesting but lively and was largely endearing even if it was somewhat frustrating. But now, it is just driving me up the wall. I have felt at the end of my rope mentally for about 2 straight months with no end in sight. And now the more literature that comes out indicates it could be YEARS before the USA is able to approach anything resembling normal because of this, and I do not think I am mentally capable of handling this kind of environment for that long.

My team is GREAT. I love them. This organization put out the only legitimate IT starting position that did not require 3-5 years of previous experience, paid me MORE than a fair starting wage, and is just all around great at treating me like a person and I’ve learned so much from them. I am so thankful. But the organization as a whole is managed like, well, basically a shit show that makes me honestly miss the well-oiled shitty corporate bureaucracy that was my first job out of college. I’ve been considering applying elsewhere for ages now, but... well first of all I feel like I need to at least have worked a full year here before moving on (it’s been about 7 months presently) for it to count for anything, and also, well it has been very nice actually being treated like a person in a 9-to-5:30 office position and I don’t know how much I’ll be seeing that if I sell out and work for some tech startup or whatever the hell.

Up until now I have had a sort of... promise I’ve kept to myself, where if I am not fulfilled and start to actively dislike and resent my job when I wake up for it in the morning, that I will move on from that job. I have held on to that. My first job out of college was an excellent source of stability for me as a recent college grad, but when it reached a point it was stressing me more than it was supporting me, I moved on. I then worked minimum wage (note: minimum wage was $15/hr at this point so my income was only actually decreasing by $4/hour because administrative assistants do not get paid what they are worth. Now bay area cost of living is fucking stupid, but minimum wage in this circumstance was actually livable for me with the bonus of having my parents’ health insurance.) at a fabric store - I stayed there for 2 years, longer than I’ve ever held a position, and while partly I left because I had more or less finished learning what I had hoped to learn from my coworkers, the store was transforming away from that kind of community DIY vibe it started out as and turned into a kind of etsy wine mom vibe that didn’t click with me as much anymore, and also I was turning 26 and would lose my health insurance through my parents.

So I took the next several months taking my first real break from constant responsibilities/employment since pretty much ever, focused on speedrunning Tales of Symphonia and eventually started studying for a baseline IT certification so I could try and get a job that was more appealing to me than administrative bullshit, which I hated so much. My closest friends I made in my first corporate job out of college were people in QA and IT, so I decided to try and make that a reality. I studied my ass off for a couple solid months, took both tests for the A+ certification, passed, and started applying to jobs. And now here we are.

My frustration stems from the fact that I want to continue working with the people who took a chance on me when I was very green and had no experience, just 2 tests under my belt and a willingness to learn. I really do want to continue learning and growing here. But the environment, through no fault of anyone’s, has been just grating on me. I honestly believe that if I quit they would all completely understand, but I don’t WANT to - I want to stick it out, partly out of pride (this organization has such high turnover, I have already outlasted over half of the new users I’ve onboarded.....), partly to repay the team that has invested in me and treated me like a human being, and partly because I know more experience is necessary if I want to land another job anywhere else.

But boy, am I drained. I was literally hoping I had Covid because it meant I could get 2 weeks off work. And here I am, finally got Covid, am taking 2 weeks off work, and yet I still feel bad about it because a damn test hasn’t come back making me feel validated about it and I’ve still partially convinced myself I’m being a drama queen.

And this break from work is just making me dread the prospect of YEARS of this kind of uncertainty. It’s been so nice just kind of being able to do things at my pace, but it took me actually contracting The Plague to actually get this kind of relief.

Anyway, a few bright sides... first, my tortoise is adorable and doing great, so there is that. (Just looked over and saw her doing something cute. I love her.) Second, I will continue to rest this full week, and next week there is a good chance I will feel more empowered to tackle a workday with the perspective of fresh challenges as opposed to just some monotonous daily grind, after having this time off. Third, if I continue to feel nothing but dread and frustration regarding work, I think I should stick to that promise to myself and give a deadline to when it’s time to start looking elsewhere and move on, because no organization is worth my mental well-being. And lastly, I’ve re-visited OoT for the first time in a really long time (handhelds are about all I can do at the moment), and that was really special.

I’m still fucking pissed that there is pretty much no chance I’ll be able to go to France this Christmas with my roommate and girlfriend. I was so excited to have a paycheck where I could afford to do something not just for myself but for the people closest to me, I routed our flights so we had layovers that would let us connect on the main flight together and paid extra so we could sit together, I was SO excited about this because I spent almost EVERY Christmas in France as a kid because of my family and I miss it SO MUCH, I was so so so excited to share these intimate memories with people I really care about, but the USA is a fucking dumpster fire shit show so who knows when I’ll be able to actually do that now. I haven’t cancelled the flights yet but I’m coming to terms with the fact I’m going to have to do so. Hopefully I can get a refund and we will just have to go next Christmas, but I’m still really fucking upset.

Not even going to comment on how much of a shit show the USA is in general. I feel completely helpless. Another 4 years of Trump is literally a catastrophe we can NOT permit but the current DNC platform looks like it is going to fix about, oh, FUCK ALL, so at this point it feels like there is no hope unless we literally start busting out the guillotines. Every time I see an Elon Musk fanboy on Twitter some of my remaining faith in humanity crumbles. Then I think about how people have been protesting EVERY SINGLE DAY for the right of Black people to LIVE and NOTHING is being done about it. It’s both exhausting and terrifying.

In conclusion, I would like to stop living through a major historical event, please and thank you.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

The opposite of your last post for the ask meme! Like 1, 5, 9..

thank you lol sorry it took me a minute to get to posting these answers......i also skipped a couple that got asked previously via answering all primes lol

1: What inspires you?

hm well just basic stuff like “being in a good mood” lol or “being hyped up by friends” or “having reason to be particularly excited about something” which is all like, factors that Contribute Energy......learning about stuff / trying something and discovering like oh i’m Into this thing, or that for whatever reason something turns out to be more within reach / doable than i might’ve thought, like, hey i wanna get on this maybe.......~creatively~ it’s great to like, see other ppl’s art, and while i’ve sure been Inspired by professional artists, overall i’m more like, influenced and motivated by seeing the styles / specific works of Online Randos like me.......i also Draw to create [self-indulgent (usually fairly) niche fanart which is also probably gay and is all the time of characters i like] so like, the Stuff I Wanna Make Fanart Of (which has Whatever characters i specifically would like to draw lol) is sure directly Inspiring in that way. i’d say i never had that experience of like, ppl being kids and seeing some [distributed work in a certain art medium] like oh i want to make my own [distributed work in a certain art medium] as in like, i wanna publish a book, i wanna make movies, etc, but i guess i Did b/c i was like elementary school age in the early-to-mid 00s and experienced some instances of online fanart like :o :o wow damn ppl can do that?? just be a rando drawing fanart and sharing it w/ other people online???? and today i am living that dream, so good for me lol. and also i’d like to shoutout marge simpson anime, which is a particular piece of Online Art (technically fanart even lol) which was like, unusually Motivating as a single work of art lol, i made a notes app fanart like immediately and then a way more “painterly” piece of fanart that was v directly inspired by it lol.......and i was sure Drawing It Up last last winter when bmc 3.0 was impending / happening, b/c i got into like Just in the dec before, so that was Fresh, and then bam the Content is happening concurrently and as soon as we even just learned that jeremy has glasses i immediately spent like honestly 25 consecutive hours making fanart for that exact Inspiration. we didn’t even know abt the hello kitty shoes yet!!! and naturally im not out here for stats or clout but it is Inspiring when ppl enjoy the stuff i make and let me know one way or another. [tag comments that express enthusiasm in any way.....Appreciated]

9: Do you trust people easily, or do people have to earn your trust?

i have to say i am wary! that’s in part just like, a default anxiety defensive mode lol. but it takes me a hot minute (aka weeks....or months.....) to realize when someone like, would like to be friends or something, so while i can be Friendly and Outgoing w/ people like, immediately, i’m not picking up relationships left and right that are close enough that i’d particularly talk about “trust” or whatever. i’m not necessarily Distrustful either lol, it’s more just like, again re: the constant wariness thing. it is not unlike a cat lmao i vibe with them lol i Get that [approach]....and there’s been times i’ve been like “hmm i sure do Not vibe with this person ever and am not comfortable around them / interacting with them to any extent beyond occasional casual interactions that i don’t super enjoy. that’s me being overly anxious and failing to be personable i guess!!” and then that person Does give that reason down the line like oh, actually, that eternal uneasiness was warranted :/ damb

21: How does someone become friends with you?

yknow i was like “didn’t i Also answer this one previously” but it turned out the question i was thinking of, which i Had answered, was “how does someone become important to you” lmao.....same diff

tbh it’s kind of an arduous process lmao like. first of all i am Bad about initiating shit, and a lot of times will like, be wary of Directly Interacting with people for a while b/c i am also Bad At not being too passive / unwilling to assert anything so like, if someone’s regularly interacting with me but i’m not into it / Eventually Realize i’m not into it, it’s that thing again where my main strat is [v gradually sidle away] lol and just find it difficult to extricate myself from interactions / relationships and so that plays into me really feeling like i have to have some real confidence that i’d get on with / vibe with someone Before i start significantly interacting with / getting involved with them which....is also difficult natch lol like. can’t rly get a great feel for what someone’s like w/o talking to them.......but then if i Distance myself at all at any point will that be taken as rejection or whatever.......and then anyways say i Am talking to someone, then it’s like, also i’m just not fantastic at casual conversation always and that stage where you don’t know someone too well and talking is mostly a Polite Ritual and it’s like oh god don’t mess up, respond Normally lmaoo......i am nervous. and i also have a tendency to just naturally try to make an interaction go smoothly than immediately prioritize / feel comfortable busting out My Personality lmao.....so then even if ppl are responding well enough it’s like ah jeez i know we’re all performing always but have i shown them What I’m Actually Like to any significant degree, am i just masking it up / mirroring the crap out of how they talk?? and also it then takes me quite a while to put together “if someone keeps talking to you / choosing to interact with you for like, weeks, it probably means they want to / are interested in doing so” lol.........and then i’ll take ages more of trying to consciously Be More Myself without *also* feeling like this is too much of an act lol, and gradually picking up like oh they’re still not like, annoyed or disinterested or something..............what i am trying to say is it sure takes a minute lol

also when i Am attempting sometimes to like [initiate interaction] with people my version of being Active is still not all that active lmao i will be like [occasional Like] or [even more occasional reply] or [tag comments or no comments coz it’s twitter and im rt-ing stuff] and it’s like oh wow if we’re not having more regular interaction i suppose i’ve failed or something?? does this mean anything further lol, did i do anything.....but welp gotta have that perspective that Not Necessarily lol and i’m not the only person in the world who might not make friends or even friendly acquaintances easily / at the drop of a hat and u can’t necessarily read way into shit that hasn’t Actually been communicated to you.......naturally though it is easier to have some ~perspective~ and Serenity about all this sort of thing when you do already have some Friends lmao........been feeling (and consciously nudging myself towards feeling) More Chill about say like, friendly acquaintances i have who aren’t raring to interact with me on the reg.......ppl i’ll go months or half a year or more between having a convo with and then we’ll be like trading dm’s for a couple days and then it’s back to not really talking, and that Is What It Is, not necessarily a tragedy, and really it feels “rude” to acknowledge to myself like oh i’m not sure that me and whomever even Vibe well enough that *i’d* be raring to talk all the time either, but hey, it’s also true, i don’t have to be Validated by ppl who know me having me in their friend circles in any significant way......i be out here on the peripheral / outer orbits and i can appreciate that for what it is, even if, again, easier to be more Cool with that when i’m not Only in ppl’s periphery...........i appreciate the pal i have who like, 99% of how we Communicate is occasionally sending each other pics of our cats, not very intimate but also back when i was offline for months on end they eventually went out of their way to find someone to get in touch with to verify i hadn’t like died or anything lol........i appreciate the Gestures of Caring that ppl have and do extend, even if we do not actually talk regularly. 

and like also i’m bad at like. idk the main way i talk is again, At Some Length and often about real specific shit lol so im like woop aware that many ppl are not into that, or they might be down for having an exchange like that for a day and then they’re done.........not at all like wholly Against more lol Conversational conversations but i gotta say that’s more of a struggle lmao..........so let’s say befriending me takes some Patience. i kinda operate on [cat] rules. jellicle

25: How do you stop yourself from going back to toxic people?

i absolutely am Refraining from launching off on a ted talk of a tangent that is also me being the [the guy about to throw down a card on the pile on the table and that card pile is like “any conversation” and the guy is labeled “me” and the One Card about to be played is labeled “it’s capitalism” or smthing like that and also it’s all in spanish].jpg.......

anyways idk just try to keep things in perspective, right......i generally am pretty Passive about gradually sidling away from relationships that are bad and so by the time i Have exited them it’s pretty overdue lmao and i get to be quite confident that it was The Right Thing........and just when looking back on stuff it’s like, well if you remember the Good or “Not That Bad(tm)” parts maybe consciously think about the whole of it And specifically the Bad parts / the reasons for peacing out.......also the other day i was mulling over some standard [conflicted / complicated feelings about having cut certain ppl out entirely] and it also occurred to me that a lot of the [conflicted] feeling part came from sympathy for them, whereas from the perspective of Entirely My Own Feelings On The Matter minus that “how do/would they feel about it” consideration, the thought of never interacting w/ these ppl is like. fine with me lol........stuff like this is always Complicated and Individual and there’s certainly no like, one-stop simple Guide To Navigating All This Kind Of Thing, Cmon It’s Easy........another consideration i saw the other day via a graphic on twitter, which is probably most relevant re: say, controlling / abusive Partners, was how like, to think about how someone is acting if they’re saying you should Take Them Back b/c they’ve Changed their behavior, but to pay attention to if they’re trying to guilt you into it / justifying or downplaying their previous behavior / shifting blame and otherwise manifesting the inherently harmful and controlling patterns that are supposed to be gone now........anyways yeah complicated stuff and also just p.s. (and what would’ve been the jumping off point for the It’s-Capitalism tangential essay lol) ppl shouldn’t be blamed if they do choose to let someone back in their life like oh now they’re responsible for bringing their mistreatment upon themself.....no better than blaming someone for, say, having a harmful / controlling romantic partner in the first place like oh well they should’ve known better than to have gotten involved with this person..........ppl are in control of their own abusive behavior and shouldn’t be considered Forces Of Nature no matter how intransigent they are

33: Do you have someone you know you can always rely on?

tbt question 9 lol there’s defo some people that i do trust! love it....

45: Do you consider yourself creative?

another #tbt to question 1 lol.......i mean Yes i am creative in ways but like, who Isn’t, really.......think sometimes “creativity” means “do you like, do Art things” which, yes i do, but then within that there’s art that’s deemed more ~creative~ or w/e......not to mention that i don’t think something has to be definitively labeled an Art to be creative. like, for example, Science and Art aren’t opposites / the antithesis of each other, and anytime defines ~science~ as like, people just memorizing and outputting Facts and Numbers and considers this a distinction from Being An Artist.....wild and i Will fight you lmao. i tell you i can v much remember times i have had to completely disengage to keep from losing my cool at people arguing about “why i respect science but could only be an artist :’|” or “why Art is actually harder than Science and also we’re the underdogs b/c society values science so much more :’|” like.....mf...........anyways scientific pursuits may certainly have a different Methodology (see: scientific method) than art but lbr it still requires creativity and science and art are friends you fucking fools................and then also just zooming in on the Art-Making business here, i also like, have never had any interest in coming up with Original stories / characters and the like, and i don’t enjoy trying and it just really is not my thing, and it’s Funny or something when people wanna say that creative fanworks have value b/c they let ppl cut their teeth for what really matters, inevitably making their own original content(tm)......that isn’t inevitable for me lol and certainly is nothing i aim to do ever, and when there’s the suggestion that if you’re Good enough at ur medium you gotta manifest some of that original the character do not steal shit.........anyways i’m not pressed to claim i am an Artist(tm) or Creative(tm) lol like i guess technically i am both but i have no professional aspirations and my brain does not Do [generate original content] so it’s all like, i’m just out here.........s/o to this time i was trying to do my fuckin thing drawing on a tablet in a cafe and some random annoying guy is trying to talk and i happen to mention like “lol i don’t exactly call myself an artist really” and Guy goes “OH REALLY??? WHAT’S WRONG WITH ARTISTS? WHAT’S YOUR ISSUE WITH ART” like please cool it lmao but god p sure it was a guy who was just. very Around and very annoying in general

49: Do you feel like you’re a good person?

yeah i think i’m alright but really what is the use in like considering there 2 be achievable Good or Bad Person Statuses for everyone........let’s say it’s an ongoing, active state to be in the process of consciously choosing to be Good and working towards Better. especially considering that We Live In A Society which tries to teach everyone and continuously imbues our existence with Bad Messages about how to perceive and engage with other people, and being A Good Person is a lifelong effort and it’s unhelpful to feel that if you’re already Good or well-intentioned enough you can just dust off your hands and be like “well my work here is done” and be unprepared to examine your beliefs/actions or deal with the might-as-well-assume-it’s-an-inevitability that even if u have some noble-ass beliefs you’ll fail to live up to them at some point/s.......so like yeah lol again i feel like i am a pretty good person but can always be better and ought to be aware of / willing to work on that at any point

[kira-7]

Do we like... Hold hands now?

Most of the time, when babies are afraid, they tend to hold their mama and/or papa's hand to ask them help and have support. Peter saw this scene in every movie, even in his shows, when a fake vampire hissed at the audience and babies screamed and cried for help and sometimes he smelled piss, tsk! That's disgusting! Why the fuck were children so emotional, or better: why were their parents so fucking stupid to let their children saw his shows?!

He noticed Charlie and his girlfriend holding hands when they faced Jerry, he had a lump in his throat and felt his hands itchy but he justified his upset mood as a bloody desire to kill that real bloodsucking, to revenge his parents and he tightened his grip on his gun and killed all the fucking vampires. His fear was gone but the gun could not hold Peter's hand to reassure him.

A couple of years passed and a new enemy came in front of the vampire hunter, a member of an Italian clan, the Volturi, but not a simple one, of course fucking not, but one of the three most important members, with long dark hair and a couple of ruby eyes, his stench smelled of death and blood.

"Very well. I heard of you, Peter Vincent. You killed that unpleasant vampire years ago."

"What the hell do you want!," he shouted while he looked for something to hold and toss towards that fucking monster.

That vampire observed him with a strange light in his eyes, his mouth was a bit open, and he slowly rubbed his hands with anticipation.

"Just to thank you for eliminate a real problem. That guy was a nuisance as a pebble in the shoe."

"Oh yeah! Yeah, yes, of course--" Peter nodded and still searched on the table and he found something rough and rectangular, good!, "I-I did it with all my pleasure! Let me say how my plan worked!," then, he grabbed that thing - a book? - and throwed it to that vampire to run off the hotel's suite, even if he was wearing his black silk bathrobe.

Alas, a cold and marble grip stopped him, Peter barely breathed and tried to scratch that hand with zero results; in that moment, when the human thought it was his end, he wished to hold just more time his parents' hands; to his surprise nothing happened, but an annoying feeling of invasion in his memories, as if a stranger could see all his life.

"So it was that young boy, Charlie, to kill Jerry Dandrige, instead you were near to become one of us."

How the fuck did he realize it? Nobody knew what happened in Jerry's house, just the three of them, unless--

"If y-you... Hurted Ch-Charlie or... His girlfriend, I--"

"Dare I say it could be hilarious if you became the same creature that killed your parents."

That was their first meet, that vampire named Aro didn't suck his blood and, Peter learned, he had the power to see through a person's memories with a simple touch, and if it wasn't scary to know that man was a bloodsucker, certainly his ability terrified the illusionist.

_________

At least once a month, Aro got used to visit that human to check if he could pose a threat to his species, but the more Aro saw him the more he desired to know him, and it's totally a bullshit if someone like Peter didn't want a vampire's company; "Don't you have someone else to bust their balls, suck their blood, do vampire things?"

"I'm certain that my beloved brothers can arrange even without my constant support. My presence is required elsewhere away from my home."

"Here?!"

"I assume that amount of liquor makes you more perceptive, my dear."

"Pffft--" Peter smirked at his glass full of alcohol and then glanced with scepticism at his unwanted guest, "You don't say, asshole."

In a millisecond, Aro was near him and took off the glass, he could eventually broke it, but he didn't want to smell like a drunk peasant.

"Bring it back!"

"I'm afraid not."

"Bring--" the vampire hunter tried to reach the glass, "That fucking glass--" another failed attempt, "Back, you dirty old bastard!"

"And I may presume your lovely parents didn't teach you how to respect others."

"Fuck off bloodsucker!"

In a fool effort to take that glass back, or attach the vampire only with his bare hands, Peter run towards Aro but the illusionist was thrown against a wall, his back and his head ached, the human cursed all the monster being; Aro without any problem raised Peter up, he could listen that fast heartbeat, it called him as a demon tempted an angel to disobey God's plans. That alive jugular vein was pulsating under his fingers, just a bite was necessary and finally Aro could taste that human's luscious blood.

"I can assure you that alcohol is not the answer, my dear boy."

Unfortunately, he didn't want to finish immediately that life and he resumed playing cat and mouse; meanwhile, Peter never gave up, he desperately tried to get that hand off of him, he didn't wish another psychological session from a monster.

"You don't know a fuck about me!," he said looking at the bloodsucker with a threatening look. Aro didn't seem moved, on the contrary, that human was making it even more interesting to his perspective.

"Oh, instead I think I do, my dear Vincent. I know you want adventure, that's why you're here standing in front of me without any hesitation." His free hand caressed Peter's cheek. "You want to rebel like everyone else, like the virile man you want people see you, but with a still fragile and afraid soul," he whispered near the human's ear, while the vampire hunter swallowed with difficulty. Aro left a little to observe the reaction of his speech: the man in front of him had his eyes closed and his mouth opened as if he wanted to say something that never came.

The vampire leaned and continued to talk calmy, and softly, and temptingly, "You want mystery, passion, and romance... And perhaps even a small piece of..." One of his fingers touched Peter's lips and the man thought of bite it as a warning, to Aro's surprise, that human could make the things more interesting to his perspective and the vampire smiled at this conclusion, "Danger."

_________

Peter was not into those... Ngh... Affection demonstrations... Cuddles, holding hands, hugs... No, absolutely not, they're not things for him, he wasn't a child anymore, he didn't need all those fancy, sugar candies and various sweets, yuck! However, one day during his tour in Europe, he was drunk, very drunk, totally drunk, and he started to pick a fight with someone, he had no idea who he was, Peter was sure he's a vampire and he's not in a friendly relationship with the Volturi. Something said by this man drove the illusionist crazy and he started that fight; that bloodthirsty bastard was about to break his neck when he was screaming because of a strange pain, what the hell was happening?!

"I have to correct what I said a while ago. The amount of alcohol makes you impulsive and without a shred of reason."

Oh, great Jesus Fucking Christ! He really needed to listen that irritating voice! Peter turned and saw Aro with two others vampires, a female and a male, wow! He didn't know he'd stumbled on dead bloodsuckers' party! He was fucked!

"Jane, Alec. Please take care of our... Beloved friend, while I will think of the naive human."

"'xcuse me?! How the hell did you call me, asshole?"

Aro didn't listen him, and neither did Jane or Alec, he picked Peter up and led him in a few seconds to his hotel room, gently laying him on the bed and ready to go away.

"Hey! I didn't finish yet! Did I ever, before, just once, say you can help me? I had the situation under control."

"Oh, of course, dear boy, until that vampire couldn't break your neck and drink your blood."

"... Is that sarcasm?"

"I prefer to call it irony, Vincent."

Peter hummed something to not call him with his surname and when Aro was ready to leave, the vampire hunter stopped him again.

"Where the fuck do you go."

Aro was answering, but Peter asked him to stay because it was so hot and he didn't know how to lower the room's temperature, with too much surprise in Aro: since when a prey asked to their natural predator to stay with them for the night?

"Young Vincent, you don't know you are signing your death."

"Neither you do, marble corpse!"

Aro couldn't help but smirked at that appellation, and he asked with so much interest and curiosity what Peter intended; the man showed him a stake under his pillow and smiled maliciously, "It was blessed with holy water from an archbishop, a friend of our wonderful Pope. Ah! Checkmate, you bastard!"

Aro saw Peter quietly and without saying a single word, then he looked up looking for the strength to not laugh coarsely, he had manners after all, and approached the human: he grabbed Peter's wrist and guided him to his chest, there where it was his dead heart, "Well, you can use it right now, young Vincent."

In a few seconds, Peter stopped to smile and his expression became uncertain, then afraid, and after that a little pissed, "Don't you even give me the fun of killing you?!"

"Will you enjoy my death?"

Peter frowned, the closeness to that vampire was dangerous, and certainly not from the fear of being bitten, his cheeks were red, he was breathing heavily, all of that was because of the alcohol he drank, yes! It was all its fault!

"Don't you answer, Peter?"

A lock of Aro's long black hair caressed Peter's face, the vampire could feel the adrenaline, the expectation of his human and he didn't want to disappoint both of them; the vampire hunter wasn't sure if it's wiser to look at the vampire's lips or his eyes, Peter's grip on the stake gave way and the man thought it was better to tighten those fucking black hair, stood up and took possession of that mouth.

Savoring the moment, Aro's other hand began to caress and interlace his fingers with Peter's hand, but it was interrupted by the man.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"You don't have to worry, I have my gloves, I can't--"

"Just..." Peter breathed in and watched something on his left, "Not my hands."

"They're not well cared, in fact you have calluses, but what's wrong with them?"

That human was a tangle of emotions that was hard to break.

"Don't-Hold my hands, ok? Is it quite difficult to understand it?"

Aro observed Peter, he preferred to not look back, then the vampire kissed the human's forehead, "All right, then. I wish you good night, my dear Vincent. I'll stay with you to make sure no other vampire will try to behead you."

_________

"Ok, this is the last time!," Peter, quite angry, said shortly after risking a heart attack, and he was young, very young, "Why the fuck are you coming-Here!-When you understood months ago!-That I'm not a danger to your stupid and lousy species! Beca-Because I think y-y-yu-you are quite clever to understand that I'm just an illusionist! I killed that bloodsucker because he killed my parents! And tried to kill my friend Charlie, he turned his girlfriend into a bloodthirsty corpse, I was risking to become one of... Mhg! Ahhh! Why the fuck I'm talking to you about this... Anyway, g-get out from here. I don't want to see your impassive and stoic face anymore. Get away."

Aro continued to look at him, that incomprehensible smile still on his face, then he took a breath, rubbed his hands and walked in the direction of the human, "Young, young, Vincent. I'm pretty sure my stupid and lousy species, as you like to call us, is safe with you. Or at least I don't consider you so ingenuous to come to Italy, with a couple of totally useless weapons, and try to kill hundreds of vampires all alone, am I wrong?"

Peter denied with a nod of his head, he absolutely didn't want Aro to find out that he had thought of doing something like that. "Th... Then... Why..." he had not the strength to continue his question and sighed, looking away and turned his back to that vampire.

"Listen... I-I don't think... This... Would work..." the man turned again with an expression of despair and frustration, "Look at us! We... Oh man!," he used the plural now!, he was fucked, "You are a vampire and I--"

"I can understand the difference between us, my dear."

"Then you too think that this is a totally crazy idea!," Peter approached Aro, to let him know he was serious, for the first time, or second, he didn't remember well, what he was sure of was that a few times in his life he was serious, and this situation had to be inserted in those few memories; the proximity of the two bodies almost made the man go mad, his instinct told him to take advantage and kiss the vampire, his spirit of survival screamed him to run away because one single bad word and he could die, while his mind intimated him to remain calm and resolve the problem, but the illusionist couldn't, he couldn't, he just... Leaned his forehead on that bloodsuc--Aro's shoulder, and closed his eyes... Peter didn't mind the smell of blood or the feeling of resting upon something hard like a stone.

The vampire tried to not listen that heartbeat, or to not breathe, Peter's smell could lead him into a black tunnel where he couldn't control his insatiable thirst, and perhaps for the first time in his long life Aro would regretted to take away the life of a human being; young Vincent was right, they couldn't be happy together, both of them were so melodramatic, or so masochist, then a rude and a bit gentle touch took his hand, removed the glove that covered it and laced their fingers together, Aro smirked.

"Do we... Like hold hands now?," he asked with an amused and teasing note in his voice.

Peter didn't admit he was smiling too, "Maybe... Or maybe this is just a way to grab your hand, so it's impossible for you to move and I can take the chance to definitely stab you," he answered with a trembling voice, finished the sentence with a laugh and, after that, he bit his lip... How in the Bloody Hell was it possible for him to feel safe near a vicious vampire? This was unnatural, insane...

With so much caution, Aro raised slowly his other hand to touch Peter's back.

"You can use your fucking power on me," the vampire hunter whispered, making Aro really worried.

"I don't see the necessity to do something like this now."

"Just do it."

After some minutes, Peter felt again that sensation of invasion inside his mind, but he didn't care for once; he only hoped Aro was reliving the moments they had passed together, the way they fucked so hard against the wall after he bit Aro's thumb, the way he felt when they were kissing upon that hotel's bed, or the many times he masturbated thinking of that vampire (somehow, it could be quite romantic, not many people jerked off thinking about one single person, he would love it if someone did the same for him). Instead, Aro visited Peter's childhood, that little boy so brave, so happy, and a little afraid of things that usually were scary to children, but his parents gave him their hands to hold, to make him felt safe and loved; Aro saw the moment when his parents were killed, he could ear his Mamas and Papas said between sobs and tears while he tried to hold their hands, but they were cold and motionless; the vampire visited the many times in which he refused to hold hands, or when he mocked when he saw that gesture between two people, the envy and jealousy he used to attack them all...

"Are you finish? I don't want you see all my life, it isn't interesting for someone who lived for how long? Millennia?"

"Centuries, to be precise."

"Oh yeah, of course. So--" he turned his head to look at Aro's profile, "Did you see it?"

Peter never mentioned what he talked about and Aro never asked, so the vampire's answer was a simple "I did."

The two men stood there for a lot of time, when Peter got close to Aro's neck, he shifted the collar of his jacket and tried to bite it, surprising the vampire beside him, humans could be very astonishing in their total naivety.

"Shit! There's no fun doing it if it's like you're biting a disgusting piece of marble! Ugh! This is useless!"

"Do that again."

"What? Are you insane?!"

Aro stared with his hungry red eyes at Peter's browns, "Your urge to bite me is insane, I can barely feel your teeth. But it's so fascinating to see a butterfly acts like a spider."

Peter couldn't hide the blush on his cheeks, "Fuck you!," he cursed.

"I'd rather be me to penetrate you, young Vincent."

"Fuck me, for Hell's sake, fuck-me! You need to update your vocabulary if you want to keep up with the times, old bastard!"

"And you should learn some good manners by seeing the obscene ways you express yourself."

"Then, next time you will give me a copy of Galateo."

"No, it's too sophisticated for you, you need a simpler version to begin with."

"Are you saying that I'm stupid, thou withered white-livered codpiece?"

"Quite the contrary, I'm just stating that you're not ready for a book like Il Galateo, and insulting me as if you are Shakespeare doesn't make you high born, young Vincent."

They stared at each other, until their mouths met halfway, Aro slowly and Peter urgently. They were both fool: none of them wanted to point out that they had arranged to meet again, although they both agreed that they should stop seeing each other; instead, they preferred to kiss more and reach the bed as soon as possible, where they would give vent to the libido that consumed both of their bodies and souls. It could have been a dangerous encounter, they both knew it from the first time they touched each other, but they both loved the risk, they both love mystery, passion, and romance... And perhaps even a small piece of... Danger.

[murfeelee]

Alright, I’ve been talking about The Witcher TV show for months and months, and now I’ve FINALLY seen it.

I've skimmed through the books here and there, but really I’m a diehard fan of the video games, particularly The Witcher 3 (I’ve played TW1 and TW2 as well). Because of all the hype, attention and love the TW3 got over the years, with even Henry Cavill being a major fan of the video games, Netflix went and made this tv show, with Cavill as Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher.

MY THOUGHTS

It was GOOD! \(^0^)/ I really liked it!

Alright, don’t get excited, I think this show had some serious problems. But we’ll start with the good before getting to the bad and the ugly.

THE GOOD

THE ACTING

Everyone was top notch, and did a fantastic job. I freaking LOVE Grandma Calanthe, omg. I wanted more of her, and Mama Tissaia, and the different sorceresses (when Sodden started I was like hooo boy, I know how this goes; the finale is WORTH the price of admission, folks).

I even liked Eclipse-Princess (her name escapes me, my bad; I was calling her Arya 2.0 in my head). Don’t think I effing missed how they threw in a nod to the Eclipse Princess from Blood & Wine; that was awesome, featuring the Black Sun “curse” again.

I already knew I was gonna HAVE to tune in to see Yennefer’s story, and it was every bit as superb as I suspected it would be. Dare I say it was THE most interesting story arc of the three? Caught me tearing up a few times. I still don’t see book/game/Polish Yennefer with her, but she did a GREAT job, nonetheless--her emotions and delivery and everything was excellent.

She sounds so dang young though, which throws me off with the timeline, cuz when exactly does Yenn’s story take place in all of this? It’s hard to match her with the more...well....matronly/mature persona we’re more familiar with in the games. But I guess she develops that over time, after getting to raise Ciri. Though this does put in better perspective why she was so mean to Ciri at first, calling her ugly and everything. She wanted a child so badly, and Geralt just...gets one by surprise, and she was feeling bitter, I see it now.

THE ACTION

And I gotta give it to Cavill. Boy can MOVE. My favorite moments with Cavill were when he was sword fighting; whoever choreographed all that needs a frikkin award. I imagined the Butcher of Blaviken just tearing up mofos, and that’s exactly what we got. And he was WERKING them pants! XD

Except we never really saw my favorite sign, Igni. Oh well. And I hate that he doesn’t have cat eyes. And the Toxicity ISTG makes him look like a vampire and makes no effing sense, but whatevs.

And sometimes he was sounding WAY too Batman or demonic with this really deep and gravelly voice -- I appreciate that he was trying to give us that gruff and sandpaper dry video game Geralt, but when they’d make him yell or be mad I was like JFC NOT TODAY SATAN. But an attempt was made, and I appreciate it. ^_^ He was fine for the most part. More than fine, even. As I said, the acting & action was great, and they played to Cavill’s strengths.

THE SPECIAL EFFECTS

I also thought the CGI was fine--not the best, no, but I’ve seen way worse in shows with bigger budgets. The dragons...eh.... And that kikimore.... Well, I’m just remembering the Polish tv show, the Hexer--BIG improvement. Trust me. O_O The practical effects were excellent. Even though they messed around A LOT with the Striga plot from TW1, and what it looked like, I did like that they stayed pretty faithful to the fight. 

THE STORIES & CHARACTERS

IMO, the best episode was E04, with Pavetta & Duny. It was just REALLY well done, and the one I was LEAST expecting. My favorite episode was E06, with the dragon, because of course. Reminded me of Hercules the Legendary Journeys, IDKY. The finale was really good, too; I love the sorceresses and all the magic. And E07 when all the plots and flashbacks come together was great.

And now for MY COMPLAINTS

THE BAD

#1) OMG WTF WAS UP WITH THE TIMELINE?

I feel BAD for anyone who’s watching this show fresh, who’s never played the games, read the books, seen the Polish Hexer tv show, played Gwent, or anything related to the Witcher world.

I was thrown off several times, as they shot from Ciri running for her life or Geralt fighting a Striga in the present time; to Yennefer learning magic in the past. Geralt & Dandelion go on adventures Shrek & Donkey style--I ASSUMED in the present, with the Sylvan, Djinn & Dragon, until an episode or two later they’re in Cintra together in the PAST, and Ciri’s not even born yet, and we’re seeing a drunk Ermion/Mousesack and young Crach an Craite (I squeed, my dad~!! His accent was on point!), and Ciri’s mom and grandma. (And WOW, the lady they got to play the mom looks just like the actress playing Ciri--are they related?)

And they do this over and over again over the episodes--present day with Ciri, eff knows when with Geralt or Yennefer. Especially since you know from the books/games that they’re both almost 100 years old. Yenn keeps throwing out “it’s been decades“ this and “years” that. But W H E N though!?!

I mean, I could follow along, sure, but they REALLY needed to make it clearer SOONER for people who have NO idea who TF these people or which kingdoms are which, that some things are happening YEARS apart from each other. Pay attention to how many times GoT shoved those maps of Westeros and Essos in our faces. Or how different shows use color filters for flashbacks or something. Properly situate the audience in time AND space--we’re not Cirilla, who can travel willy nilly between both. They bounced back and forward between past and present with the toss of a frikkin coin.

And speaking of coins...

#2) THE MUSIC WAS...Well.

Oh, Dandelion. XD

Anyone who knows me knows I fangirl HARD over the Witcher video game OSTs. And unfortunately, the music on the tv show was just...alright. :\ And for a franchise so closely connected to iconic music like the band Percival, it’s a crime against nature that the tv show never had a single track that made me go YES. Give it up for POLAND. The end credits song is okay, but I only started getting into it at like Episode 6, soooo... :\

And no, I didn’t like Toss A Coin to Your Witcher in this show. It didn’t sound like part of this medievalesque universe AT ALL, but something kinda pop/country, aimed at I don’t even know who. Sure, the dude playing Dandelion can sing. But so can Ed Sheeran, and when GoT got him to sing on the show, he sure AF didn’t bust out with the next Billboard Top 40 on us in the middle of nowhere.

#3) THE CHARACTER BONDING?

The acting was top notch...it was the plot/writing I didn’t like. Or rather, the relationships between the characters. I felt more for Yennefer & Istredd, and Geralt & Roach, and Ciri & the Elf boy (and her grandma), and even Pavetta & effing Duny/Emhyr (that royal piece of sh!te) than I did for any other characters on this whole show. And that’s a bit of a problem.

First off, I HATED how they made it seem that TEENAGED Ciri had no idea who TF Geralt was. TV Ciri’s gotta be what? 15? Geralt said something about it having been 12 years since Pavetta & Duny, but even that’s too old. Book!Ciri met Geralt IN the Brokilon or whatever forest with all the water drinking and the dryad queen and mess.

They were already obsessed with each other before the fall of Cintra even happened! Ciri was like 10 already when Geralt took Ciri to Kaer Morhen to start her Witcher training, but this girl on the show’s way older, and effing clueless. They don’t even meet til the final few SECONDS, wtf!! It’s just Destiny~! Destiny~! Child of Surprise, but we never even have a scene together~! Destiny~!

Speaking of children, we have Yennefer and Geralt, which was better, but again, WOAH with the pacing. I felt effing BAD for Istredd! :( I don’t really GET why Geralt & Yenn fell so hard for each other; I don’t really feel that connection. Geralt had just as much bonding time with that eclipse-princess! They only had the Djinn episode, really, and by the end of the Dragon episode it was already over!

I mean, yeah, in the books/game they have A LOT of ups and downs, but come on; we’ve already wasted so much time on Geralt & Triss (that homewrecking wench, I’m glad her airtime was minimal), and I just want more BAMF battle couple parents Geralt & Yenn raising Ciri already! >_<

Same with Geralt & Dandelion. Geralt’s kinda mean to him, which is fair; Geralt hates everyone. But I don’t feel where they’re friends at all, and they part at the end of the season on NOT great terms. I kinda feel Geralt doesn’t really like Dandelion at all. :( Even with the whole comedic relief Shrek schtick,

THE UGLY

#4) THE LENGTH

I dunno what’s up with all the 8 episode miniseries lately (GoT, Mandalorian, Witcher, etc), but it REALLY isn’t enough to really flesh out a story. Especially not one as convoluted as The Witcher, AKA the GoT of Poland.

Again, I REALLY feel for the casuals watching, who probably don’t know what the Conjunction of Spheres Istredd keeps referring to is, or what exactly a Witcher is, or why Ciri’s so dang special -- was Lara Dorren or the Elder Blood ever even MENTIONED???

We know Yenn’s got elf blood, but it’s waaaay more than that with Ciri -- though I don’t think they mentioned her elf blood, either, just that Calanthe’s grandmother or someone had their Banshee powers before Pavetta & Ciri.

BTW, wtf with Ermion/Mousesack? That’s gotta be a red herring or something. Cuz we know this dude’s old AF and thriving in Skellige, sooo....? TF. Why the Doppler? Why?

TBH this felt like Season 1A, if anything. I don’t feel the plot really progressed much at all, other than us getting Yennefer’s story. Ciri & Geralt finally meet (cliffhanger supreme right there), but jfc this felt like a prequel -- so much of the season was dedicated to backtracking us in a roundabout way up to the fall of Cintra, then skipping ahead to the Battle at Sodden Hill.

And why the heck did they wait so long to get to get to Vigelfortz!? That’s what I was sitting here WAITING for! You mean I gotta wait for Season TWO to see my Hanse in full force!? :( URGH. Reeeeeeeegiiiiiiiis~! :(

Maybe cut out some of the unnecessary nudity every frikkin where and tell the full frikkin story, hmm? (Yenn’s boobs look great, we got it the first 5 times. Meanwhile these cowards won’t even have a dude’s left testicle be shown on screen, but whatever.)

So yeah, those are my 4 biggest complaints.

Well, and that wig’s hard AF hair line, jfc.(I was DYING during the Pavetta & Duny scene, when Cavill was holding on to that wig for dear life. XD XD)

Otherwise, I really liked the show! B+!

[iwriteficsandmore]

How to Measure Love

Ho~ I’m not dead yet! I’ve come back with a vengeance! And a cute little oneshot for you all :) This idea came to me with reversed roles actually (you’ll know what I mean when you read it). I think I like how it came out better like this. It’s always great to write from Hawks’ perspective :3 Enjoy, peeps ♥

======== 

Hawks couldn't believe the awful dilemma he was in.

Ever since you came to work at his agency as recent two-year PR graduate, you'd swept everyone off their feet with your charm. It wasn't like you were trying to either. Hawks could spot a liar and superficial ass when he saw one, and after spending hours on end at work with you, he could tell you weren't that kind of person. Young and sweet, more like it, and quite the space cadet at times. It always amazed him how kind you could be and that it came from a genuine desire to help others. You should've been a hero—one that, unlike many he knew and heard of, would care more about the people that about herself. And he liked that about you. 

You were easy to talk to, easy and a pleasure to just be around with, and the way you worried in a way that wasn't pushy but sincerely caring was endearing. It seriously took less than the short months of you working at his agency for Hawks to fall for you.

But that wasn't the problem. Fraternizing wasn't something prohibited in his agency per se. All that he asked was that it didn't happen at the office and that it didn't interfere with their work. Otherwise it was a-okay with him. No, that wasn't the problem.

What actually was...

"That’s sweet." Hawks perked up at hearing one of his sidekick's words as they walked through the agency while heading out. 

Amber eyes caught sight of the large bouquet in your hands just freshly delivered by the look of things. Bright, colorful flowers brushed against your skin as you leaned in to take a deep inhale of their scent. The light tint of rose on your cheeks and the chirpy compliments and comments from the receptionists that must've gotten the gossip told him exactly who those were from. Your boyfriend.

"Ladies," Hawks couldn't keep from speaking up as they passed the PR office. All of them, yourself included, jumped a little at being busted fanning over the bouquet. 

"B-Boss?!"

Giving them all a tight-lipped smile, he eyed each and every one chidingly until he came to you. Though flustered, you couldn't quite put into a words any sort of excuse. 

"Lovely flowers, y/n," he complimented. "They'll need a vase if you want them to live long. I'd do that fast if I were you."

"A-Ah, yes, of course!"

You scamper off your seat, rounding your desk and dashing out of the office with the rest of the women. The smile left him as he watched your receding back and turned back to glare at the bouquet. 

"Boss, we're gonna be late for patrol!"

"Coming."

Hawks met the lucky bastard once. You had stayed behind at the office doing damage control on an absurdly and obviously fake tabloid. He'd done the same, needing to finish paperwork that he'd let pile up after weeks. Coincidentally both of you finished at the same time and met at the lobby. Hawks praised his good luck, fully intending to use the chance to the fullest. You were talking like nothing, settling into a calm that he loved, when he asked if he could take or walk you home. Like always, you grew a little flustered and stumbled on yours words.

For some reason, Hawks thought that you'd say yes.

"A-Actually, I'm getting picked-"

"Y/n!"

But hearing another man's voice call your name as he approached quickly shot that down and his hopes with it. Hawks' expression turned nonchalant at the way he'd so clumsily gotten to you and rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry about the wait. Got out late from work too."

"It's alright," you interjected, a smiling coming to your lovely lips as you turned towards Hawks. "Hawks-san, this is my boyfriend. He's taking me home."

"Oh." Not wanting for you to see the way those words pained him, Hawks feigned a grin, shaking his hand when he offered it. "Well, guess you'll be fine getting home then. See you tomorrow."

It'd been the punch in the gut of a lifetime. He was in love with someone who already had somebody else. Fuck... What shit luck he had. Despite knowing this though, he couldn't help feeling the way he did about you. He knew how stupid it was to be in love for someone who couldn't reciprocate back. Being that what it may, Hawks wasn't one to just let go of things. He wouldn't interfere, but it would certainly take a while for him to fall out of love. Especially when you saw each other on the daily. 

Hawks was out on a walk—pouting about this exact thing after being reminded when your boyfriend sent you yet another bouquet to the office—when he saw it. It was a restaurant that he frequented because he liked their food and also because they kept a low profile regarding who they served. Hawks was on the other side of the street when he saw them come out. Your boyfriend—but it wasn't you who walked by his side. It wasn't you who he was chatting with a little too amicably. And it definitely wasn't you who he was kissing. 

He promised himself he wouldn't interfere. It was your love life. Not something he had any say in. But this? 

Fucker's got something coming.

Blood boiling, Hawks swooped down before the couple of them, his wings brandished off as he smirked lopsidedly at him. At recognizing him, your shit-excuse of a boyfriend blanched while the woman with him gawked in awe at the No.2 hero. Feigning a smile that he knew got through quite menacingly depending on who saw it, Hawks tilted his head to the side. 

"Well, hello there. Fancy meeting you here. On a date."

Fucker tried every excuse on the book, taking his arm off from the woman even. But it was all too little, too late. Hawks knew what he'd seen. And he knew exactly what he was.

"This isn't what it looks like."

"No?" Hawks chuckled, turning to the lady that had been accompanying the bastard with a candid smile. "Sweetheart, did you know that the man who just took you to dinner has a girlfriend?"

She exploded almost instantly. "What?!"

"Yep!" Amber eyes glinted with mischief and delight at seeing him squirm. "If I'm not wrong, they've been dating for five months already.”

"You!" She spun livid, red-faced at the news before hitting him a couple of times. "I fucking knew it! You've been cheating on me!"

Hawks felt that sink in heavily and saw red for a moment. You weren't his actual girlfriend. You were the ass's bit on the side. Fucking idiot. Though he enjoyed how pathetic the guy was trying to excuse himself when the lady left, Hawks' business wasn't with her. All he wanted was to leave one thing very clear.

"Look here, buddy," Hawks drawled, emphasizing acerbically the last word to make himself clear. "I don't care what you do with your life. You could go jump off a cliff and I'd be glad to watch. What I won't stand for is you two-timing y/n."

"Y/n? This is about her?"

"Yes, dumbass, it is. Now," Hawks unfurled his wings to their full span, stepping closer and grabbing the guy by the collar of his shirt. "You're going to go see her, tell her the truth, and fucking pray that I don't feel like hunting you down after you hurt her 'cause be-lieve-me," his feathers tensed, sharpening at the rabid rage coursing through him, "there won't be shit left of you when I do."

======

Hawks swore he blew a gasket the moment he saw the bouquet of roses on your desk the next day. By the content expression on your face it was than clear that the coward hadn't said a thing. Bastard. Hawks didn't know why he trusted he would. He didn't understand how the threat of obvious bodily harm by his hand didn't do the trick. But it hadn't. And you were still none the wiser of what the bastard was doing to you. Hawks avoided you the rest of the day. What he knew wasn't something for him to divulge, no matter how much he wanted to. No, this wasn't his place despite how much he wished it were. He almost went the whole day without talking to you—a torture in and of itself—when you caught him as he was just leaving his office.

"Hawks-san, can I have a moment to speak to you?" He almost declined. He'd been this close from saying no to you. "Please?" That utterly broke him.

He took you in to his office, offering you a seat which you deftly declined yourself with a wave of your hand and a smile. For once, he felt nervous. He couldn't tell what you wanted to talk about and that set his panic off. But when that usually cheerful demeanor of yours changed to a rather solemn one behind a tight-lipped smile, Hawks could tell what this was about almost instantly. 

"You ran into h/n yesterday, didn't you?"

It didn't really sound like a question. More like a suspicion that she wanted verified. And because Hawks wasn't one to hold back, he answered her truthfully.

"I did."

"You saw him coming out of a restaurant...with another woman?"

"Yeah."

"I see." You took a deep breath and wiped your face and tears away with the back of your hands. "Thank you for being honest with me."

"It's the least I can do," he replied. Silenced for a moment, Hawks tried to reach out to touch your shoulder, "Are you—"

"I knew he was cheating on me."

His fingers and feathers twitched at the sudden declaration and he stared at you befuddled. "You did?" You nodded still wiping tears that streamed down your face. 

"I-I guess I kind of suspected it—ever since we started dating, actually—that I wasn't really the only one he was seeing." A weird smile came to her lips even though her tears were still rolling down her reddened cheeks. "But I let it be. I told myself not to mind it. Because, really, he was the first to ask me out. I...I hadn't really gone out with anybody before that, not really. And he asked me out, you know? He's made me feel real special and I-I'm happy..." The moment you choked on your words as a sob broke from you lips, you trembled obviously not believing the blatant lie spilling from your lips.

"Y/n," Hawks spoke softly, and gently took your arm to lead you to seat down as he crouched before you to better look at you. "You can't tell me that like this and expect me to believe that you're really happy with someone who doesn't love you?"

"But he does love me. He always sends me flowers. He always texts me that he loves me. He always makes dinner for us at home."

Hawks didn't know who you were trying to convince anymore. 

"I don't want to be a downer but have you ever asked yourself why he never brings the flowers himself? Does he call you to say it too? Does he ever take you out in public anywhere?"

The questions seemed to only prove what they both already knew for a fact. And yet... 

"I thought it'd be fine if I just ignored it." She chuckled, but it sounded muffled behind her sobs. "Because I didn't want to confront him. I didn't want to lose him. No one's gonna love me like that—I don't deserve it."

Not true.

"That's not true." He didn't know what spurred him to speak. It didn't matter though. He wasn't going to keep quiet any longer. "I love you."

You scoffed at his response, the incredulous gesture sounding rather off putting coming from you. "No, you don't. You just feel bad for having been the one to unearth all this."

"You don't get to laugh at what I feel, much less tell me what it is." Hawks reached his hands up and held yours in his gently as his thumbs soothingly stroked the back of your hands. For once, those teary eyes gazed at your joined hands before lifting it up to meet amber eyes. "I love you, y/n. And I have ever since I met you." Finally, realization settled in your eyes. You shook your head over and over again despite the tint of red starting to color your cheeks. Hawks nodded his head trying to get it through yours. "But it doesn't matter who loves you and who doesn't. Not if you don't love yourself first."

"...w-what?"

"Don't ever think you don't deserve to be loved or to be happy. You do. Everybody does. Regardless of what shit life hits them with or what you think of yourself. Because none of it is true. You deserve more than that bastard or anybody can give you. Hell, I don't even know if I can give you what you deserve, but I'll be damned if I don't at least try." Hawks squeezed yours hands and you could feel just how true his words were from the intense yet adoring look he gave you. "But none of it will matter unless you care about yourself first, y/n. And you have to care enough to realize when something doesn't make you happy. Enough to kick that shit that doesn't make you happy out on the curb and care about yourself first. 'Cause I don't think anybody will love you as deeply or as sincerely as you will ever love yourself."

Your eyes wandered as his words sunk in. Hawks felt your fingers grip his hand tightly then. A smile came to your lips, a more sincere one than before as you broke his hold on your hands to wipe your face clean of dried tears. 

"Thank you, Hawks. I...I think I get what you mean to say."

"That's great to hear." A small, cautious smile spread across his face at hearing that. "Are you going home?" You nodded while still wiping away. "Let me walk you then. It's kind of late."

Hawks didn't know what to expect when he walked you home. You thanked him when you got to the front gate, bouquet of roses in your arms, before telling him you'd see him tomorrow. Giving you a wry smile, he dismissed himself and took flight but stopped only feet above where you wouldn't see him. Hawks waited with bated breath as you walked the length to your front steps and stopped. It was obvious how petrified you were to walk through that door and meet the one who obviously parked his car on the curb. Hawks was too. But relief settled through him and he smiled at you when you walked to the trash can, lifted the lid, and dumped the roses inside before walking into the house. 

Seeing you do that gave him hope. After that, he trusted that you would do what was right for yourself.  

===========

You called in sick the next day. Worried, Hawks called your home just in case but was relieved to here that you were fine, just taking the day off, and the weekend following that, to move out and get a small apartment. It gladdened him to hear that and joked around with you for a bit, saying that if you needed help to just give him a call and he'd go flying.

After that and as the days rolled by, Hawks could tell how you slowly returned to your former, cheery self. It was hard at first. No more flowers coming almost every other day got the receptionists at the front desk gossiping but it wasn't nothing he couldn't stop with a stern look and a mild offhand comment. You thanked him with a smile anytime that happened. As you took your time, Hawks did his best to simply go back to the way things used to be between you two. Just a simply employer-employee relationship. It was hard for him, to say the least. He'd confessed—poorly timed, yes, but did so all the same. And though he would've loved an answer, he knew that you came first. It didn't seem like that fact went over your head though. Hawks noticed from time to time just how flustered you would get around him, and that gave him a little bit of hope. Enough to wait around for as long as needed. Days became weeks which became months. Soon the end of the year came and Hawks threw a little party for all the employs of the agency. It wasn't anything much, just a little potluck for everyone where all those who went could bring something. Though you weren't up to it at first, he and some others, those who eventually found out about your break up, convinced you to join and spend the night having a little fun. 

It was barely ten when Hawks decided that it'd be a good time to go for the seventh beer. Though he wasn't much a drinker, he supposed that celebrating once a year like that wasn't too bad. You caught him mid-sip when you called out his name after having followed behind him. Choking a little from the startle, Hawks chuckled in an attempt to hide the clearing of his throat.

"Y/n? What's up?"

"Nothing, just wanted a little fresh air," you said, cupping your hands and covering your mouth a little to blow warm air into them. Puffs of white floated away each time and Hawks grinned before going back to drinking his beer. 

"Fresh is an understatement," he added. His wings unfurled behind him before one settle back and the other curled around you to keep the cold breeze from crashing too hard against your back. "Too much party for you?"

"Hardly." You chuckle taking a peek over your shoulder and through his feathers at the party still going on behind closed doors. "I'm having fun, actually. Just that they wanted to play some drinking game and I kind of have to drive home."

"Could always get a cab," he offered as he lowered the can from his lips and held it out before him for emphasis. 

"Okay, maybe I don't want to drink that much."

Coyly, you reached out and took the can of beer before Hawks knew it. Bringing it to your lips, you took a gulp of the bitter beverage and your face scrunched up a little at the taste before you gave it back. 

Hawks raised an eyebrow, sloshing the remaining beer around in the can. "What happened to 'I don't want to drink'?"

"I said 'much'. I don't want to drink much," you reiterated. That brought a chuckle out of him and you returned to the blissful quiet that he enjoyed about being with you, even now after a year of what happened. The calming talks, the chill silence, and just your presence was enough to put him completely at ease. And though it still ached a little, Hawks never could forget about you nor about the way you made him feel. 

"Um...Hawks-san?"

"Yeah?”

"I know it's been a long time and you probably don't remember but I want to thank you again. For what you did when I joined your agency."

Hawks knew perfectly well what you meant. Not a day went by that he didn't think of that and how strong you've been to let go and put yourself first. 

He raised his can, toasting to that. "No need to thank me. You did all the work, after all. I was just the cute cheerleader on the sidelines."

"No, you were more than that." Heavy as you were breathing, bigger and bigger puffs of white, cool air escaped your mouth. The nip in the air got reddened your face too, nipping at your cheekbones, ears, and tip of your nose. "You're the reason my life's been so much better. And I've been wanting to thank you everyday for that."

"You're a great PR agent, y/n," he chuckled, his own face starting to go a little numb from the cold. "That you keep outta trouble is more than enough."

"I don't mean as your PR agent, Hawks-san. I mean—oh, boy, how do I put this? I...think that what I want to say is...I like you, Hawks-san."

Hawks almost dropped the can of beer but held it tightly to avoid that travesty, denting the aluminum a bit. Laughing a little and feeling the warmth crawling over his face, Hawks instantly crouched down and wrapped his wings around him like a safety cocoon. Worried out of your mind, you kneel closer, crying out that you were sorry about surprising him like that. That just made him laugh a little more but he refused to unravel himself yet. 

It wasn't until your fingers poked deep enough through the feathery curtain and parted it that his amber eyes met yours. 

"Are you okay?" you asked timidly.

"Yeah," he mumbled, running his hand over and over through his hair and messing it up worse each time. In the end, his wings unfurled to reveal him as he crouched down and looked at you with a simple turn of his head. "It's just that I've been waiting such a long time to hear that that it took me by surprise."

"Really?" you perked up, curious. "Since when?"

"Since the day I confessed to you."

Your face turned bright red, this time it surely wasn't from the cold. Scooting to be as close as you could be to him, you waited as he sat back on the cold concrete before speaking.

"I'm sorry for making you wait so long for an answer."

"Don't be." Hawks chuckled before reaching his hand to cup your cheek. You didn't pull away as the warmth of it pooled against your cheek. Instead you savored it with a smile. "Not unless you intend to say that and leave it me hanging."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is if that confession means anything else. Like you wanting me to be your boyfriend, for example.”

"I-I—yes," you replied, after a momentary stumble, your eyes glinting briefly. "I-I'd love to be your girlfriend...Hawks. If you'd be okay with me."

Hawks chuckled before leaning in and bringing you closer by his hold on your cheek. Before you knew it, his lips brushed against yours. Barely even a whisper. But as he began to pull away you jumped forward again, stumbling into him and deepening the kiss at the same time. He laughed into your kiss but followed suit with your approach until you pulled back. Snorting a little, he kissed the tip of your cold nose before brushing his thumb over your cheek.  

"Believe me, there's no one I'd rather be with than you."