#they're doing it !!! they're going to be friends again finally !!!

[rostekhorn]

I don't know where it stands when compared to Campbell's Hero's Journey idea specifically, but I've always loved Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (and the preceding episode of TOS, Space Seed) for going against a hell of a lot of established conventions when it comes to heroism and lone men saving the world.

Khan's entire backstory is that of a guy who thinks the hero's journey is real, and he's the hero, except life stubbornly refuses to conform to his narrative. He's literally the product of an attempt to make superheroes real, and he's internalized the idea that because he's stronger and smarter than everybody else, it's his destiny to rule over them for their own good. ... And real life keeps getting in the way. First, the stupid little muggles back in the 1990s refused to obey him and overthrew his empire. Then, he was unfrozen in the 23rd century, thought he had a second chance, only the stupid little muggles took that away from him again. Then, his attempt to build a new world from scratch on Ceti Alpha V also failed because of a freak natural phenomenon that none of his superior strength and intellect could handle. And then of course, the movie. His hero's journey keeps getting thwarted by, well, the fact that the world isn't actually a superhero movie, and he isn't actually its main character, and the more it happens, the angrier he gets.

But that's just Khan. Then there's Kirk. Who has more than a little of the same ego and hero complex that Khan does, and in this movie, it's all for the worst. His arrogance and belief that he's above the rules gets a whole bunch of his crew killed, ultimately including his best friend, who has to sacrifice himself to finish cleaning up his mess. The entire situation could have been avoided if Kirk had simply followed routine Starfleet procedure (kept the shields raised when encountering Reliant). The only thing that allows him to escape and stage a comeback is more routine Starfleet procedures (Reliant's command codes, and the "for God's sake use codes when you're on an open channel" rule). And when he finally comes back for round 2, the reason he wins is simply that deep space combat is something he's been doing all his life and Khan has never done before. The whole movie celebrates bureaucracy, training, and experience, over innate special individual ability.

If you go back to Space Seed, there's also the whole story about the ship's historian who falls in love with Khan but then betrays him once she realizes what he's about. I don't love all the gender politics that are wrapped up in that storyline, but I recognize the point they were trying to make. She's someone who's completely bought the romanticized vision of past figures like Khan, and has to learn, through exposure to the real thing, that people like that in real life aren't Campbellian heroes, they're brutal thugs. (It also softens the gender politics a little bit that Kirk, McCoy, and the rest of the humans have also swallowed a lot of the romantic kool-aid - not as much as her, but enough to seriously disturb Spock, the only one in this episode who sees clearly right from the start - which kind of foreshadows Kirk's flaws when they next encounter Khan in the movie).

In any case, color me unsurprised that when we got that thoughtful pushback against a bunch of our traditional heroic tropes, it came from Star Trek.

alright, I’m annoyed with the class that I’m taking. it’s about writing novels, and I thought it would have cool stuff about balancing your narrative and developing themes etc, but instead she spent the first class talking about how every book fits into the Hero’s Journey (the monomyth template). and I was somewhat of a contrarian, and said “can you give us examples of books that don’t fit into this template?” and she said “no. because all books fit.”

but I dunno man, I just finished reading this Korean book where the plot is just the character having a string of hookups and reflecting on them without changing in any way. I don’t know if it’s possible to contort that into the Hero’s Journey.

[edward-munson]

ice cream | E.M.

Summary: It's present day, there's smartphones, social media and Spotify. You and Eddie discover you hold feelings for each other, in a very different way. He likes to show you intimate things he sees on his Twitter and you decide to try it out. (A/N: You'll know why it's called ice cream hehe)

Warnings: SMUT! 18+ MDNI, masturbation, protected sex (p in v), mentions of slight kink

Word count: 3.8k

'*•.¸♡ ♡¸.•*'

You usually invite Eddie over before going out. It's like a ritual you've been doing over the years, and you both have a few beers as a warm-up too. Sometimes you get more excited and tend to make some drinks for yourself. Sometimes you get him to do it with you.

He's sitting in the easychair on the corner of your bedroom, scrolling through his phone as he listens to his playlist on Spotify. You're finally getting ready after taking a shower and getting dressed first before doing your makeup. Eddie doesn't bother to look at you when you're only in your lingerie, he doesn't care because he's respectful. And that's absolutely charming to you.

He shows you memes and reels in his Instagram and gets you distracted since you're both a little tipsy from the alcohol. He gets on Twitter and snorts when he sees a page that posts different sex positions every day. Sometimes, they're too awkward and maybe a little too much for him.

He's the kind of a missionary guy but he also likes to bend someone over and hit from the back. Which is something he normally doesn't do much, but it's one of his favorite things to do.

You two have never done anything, although you have a great connection and sometimes it makes people think you're together. They always think you're hooking up or going out. Even your friends think that too. It's unbelievably sweet when you're together, because he treats you well. He likes to take care of you, but not like in an older brother way.

As your best friend, Robin tells you that you should invest in this relationship, but you wouldn't wanna ruin it. You know he wouldn't ruin it, but it's been so good that way. It's hard to actually take a step further.

And then when you ask him what he just saw, he turns his phone at you and shows you the picture. "Position 187: Ice Cream" You read out loud.

The image shows a man sitting on his knees, while a woman sits on top of him, her back on his chest, her hands on his thighs as he holds her breasts with both hands. You sure have never tried that before, though. And it shows Eddie hasn't either.

"It's a cute name, isn't it?" He asks as he continues to scroll on his phone.

While you pick a fine dress to put on, you look over your shoulder and laugh. "I don't get why it's called that, but whatever suits them"

You fix the straps of the light blue dress over your shoulder and suddenly you hear Eddie clearing his throat behind you. For a second, you thought it was his dirty imagination picturing himself doing that with someone, so you don't mind him.

But when you turn on your heel to pick your makeup case, you see him looking you over from the corner of his eyes.

"Eddie, sweetheart" You call him out and he looks up at you. Puppy brown eyes trying to play dumb.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"You having a good time checking me out?" You muse, making fun of the way he was focused on looking at your curves.

Eddie widens his eyes and tries to pretend he didn't do anything. He waves you off and looks back at his phone, again, pretending he didn't do anything. But this time, the screen is off and you can't help but cackle.

"You scroll your phone with the screen turned off?"

He tries to laugh at it, but it comes off as a nervous laugh. He didn't think he was being indiscreet like that. Eddie looks up at you and bites his lips.

"Fine, I was. But, it's your fault! Look at you all gorgeous wearing that dress" He heaves dramatically.

You pick up his phone off his hand and place it over your nightstand. You don't know where you got that extra confidence, the crazy idea you just had in your mind, but you used it in your favor, sitting down on his lap.

Eddie looks at you funny, a weird expression over his face when he sees you sitting on his thigh. You wrap your arms around his neck and bring your lips close to his ear.

"Do you wanna try ice cream with me? While I wear this dress?" You ask in a whisper, fanning his skin.

Eddie holds your waist carefully, but there's a small electricity travelling through his bloodstream as you stay this close to him. He knew he was a goner for you a while ago, he just didn't want to admit it. He didn't think he would have a chance with you anyway. He just never tried. Steve and Jonathan told him you guys were a match long before, but he didn't listen.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, not feeling like he was able to speak. There's a rush in his head for a few seconds, because he feels his underwear getting too small for his ingrown bulge. You use his reaction as leverage and plant sweet and wet kisses over his neck, feeling the way his skin was shivering.

You trailed his scruffy beard, enjoying how the small hairs tickled your skin. In the background, a song by Black Sabbath filled the air that was becoming dense from the tension. He used his left hand that was free and placed it tenderly on your thigh, his fingertips grazing your skin. His fingers were just a few inches far from your groin, your own body reacting to his touch.

"I– I would love to, sweetie. But you don't think it's wrong?" He asks, holding back the urge to throw you over your bed and bend you.

You shake your head as a response, trying to make him comfortable and confident. You slide one hand down his chest, his t-shirt covering him. It's a shame he doesn't like to wear buttoned shirts, because otherwise you would've ripped it off by now. His lips are forming a thin line, like he's trying to absorb the idea, because he really wants it.

You already feel his hard cock touching the side of your leg and it makes you want him even more. Eddie doesn't want to just fuck you, because you're not just someone else to him. He wants to give you pleasure, he wants to give you a good time. He wants you to feel good and not used.

He wraps one hand around your neck, like he just figured out you liked being held that way and pulled you against him. He kisses you hurriedly for a few seconds, before clashing his tongue against yours. He tastes the beer you had, it's kind of bitter and sweet at the same time. He breathes through his mouth and forces his eyes shut.

You pull the collar of his clothing while you pull back the hair from the nape of his neck. It's a fervent and sweet kiss, you both play with your tongues as you deepen it, feeling him move a little under you.

It takes a lot of you to break the kiss, but the urgency of having him inside of you was growing uncontrollably and he felt it too. You got up from his lap and pulled his hand until you were both standing on the foot of your bed.

The hem of your dress went up a few inches and Eddie glanced at your ass for a small fraction of time. He wanted to touch it, grab it, squeeze it and even bite it if it was possible.

"How do you want it, Eds?" He felt his heartbeat quicken as he heard his nickname rolling off your tongue sweetly.

He immediately unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans, getting rid of it, feeling a small relief. You grazed his bulge in your small hand and gave it a little squeeze, making Eddie grab your face and kiss you again. It wasn't even romantic, it was desperate and lustful. You stroked him through his underwear and he buckled his hip forward in response.

"Turn around, sweetie" He asked in a rushed, husky tone and you obeyed.

You faced your bed, your knees touching the end of it. He carefully placed a hand on the small of your back and bent you over, making you lean against the mattress. You heard him groan, before giving your ass a light squeeze with both hands. He didn't even bother taking off his rings.

"Such a pretty ass, fucking God" He praised you, his voice a little deep.

He spread kisses all over your skin before surprising you with a slap on one cheek. It wasn't hard and it didn't hurt, which surprised you. You immediately felt your stomach sink as you started to feel turned on. Eddie slapped the other cheek and praised it, kissing it back. His hand was soft but you could feel his calloused fingertips stroking your skin gently.

He went straight to your bedside table and grabbed a condom. He wanted to do it right, and he knew what you kept in there because he saw it once. It wasn’t intentional but it came in handy.

He pulled his shirt off and wrapped his cock, jerking off slightly taking a step back to have a better look at you. Eddie couldn't believe he was actually doing it with you. He dreamed of this countless times but he never told anyone, not even Steve.

He kept his hand around his length firmly and stared at your ass, your cunt glistening from your arousal.

He stepped forward again before he pulled your underwear to the side. You felt your pussy throbbing for him already, you were soaking for him and you whimpered as you felt his fingers collecting your wetness.

His fingers weren't like you imagined, he softly stroked your slit and used two fingers to massage your clit, your legs started to buckle immediately and you had to prop yourself before you dropped your weight on the bed. He drew circles around you, his other hand was planted on your ass.

You mewled and had to bite your lower lip when he pushed his thumb inside of your pussy. It was enough for you to feel the roughness of his skin and how thick it actually is. Eddie pushed it further and felt your walls contracting from his touch, keeping a slow pace as he moved it back and forth.

"Oh my God, Eddie" You moaned his name and his cock jumped up to the sound of your voice.

He slapped you again with his other hand, fucking you with his fingers, stroking your clit as his thumb touched your inside mercilessly. You started to ride his fingers, gripping the sheet tightly as you felt the pleasure rising up in your body.

He couldn't help but take in the sight of you, drunk on his touches and whimpering his name. He bit his lip from groaning because he didn't want to look miserable, when in fact, he was already feeling too lost in his own thoughts.

"You look so hot from up here, sweetie" He rasped, his heart was racing and he felt his own legs trembling.

You didn't want him to stop, but at the same time, you wanted to ride him, to feel him balls deep inside of you. His fingers were fast but gentle and it was making you feel dizzy. His thumb was pressing against your most sensitive spot, giving you that blissful feeling.

You look over your shoulder, watching him shirtless, his necklace hanging over his chest and his dick hard rock almost touching your ass. Your throat left a sexual whimper that made him glance up at your eyes. Eddie licked his lip and hissed when he grabbed your ass and squeezed it.

You were exchanging a satisfying and lustful look, one that didn't make it uncomfortable to deal with. It was a knowing look, to be exact. His brain was barely functioning and when he pressed his forefinger against your clit, you didn't hold back the moan that left your mouth. He pulled his fingers back from you, they were wet and dripping over his hand.

You were still looking at him when you saw the way he didn't hesitate to taste you as he licked his fingers, pulling them inside his mouth, savoring your cunt. It was audible how he hummed in the back of his throat, closing his eyes and sucking his fingers.

You were still leaning on your knees, your cunt clenching at the sight of him doing it in front of you. You would never imagine this would happen. You would never actually imagine Eddie would be one to do such a thing, but it's just because you've never actually had an intimate relationship, not like that though.

He opened his eyes and dropped his hand, now looking deep in your eyes and he walks towards you and holds your ass with both hands.

"I'm gonna go slow, okay?" He asks, but you're in such a haze you barely understand what he's saying, just nodding.

Eddie holds his cock and pushes the tip into your pussy, the small entrance making his body rigid. It doesn't hurt for you, but it's a little bit uncomfortable because he's slightly thick. He slowly gets inside of you, and you contract your pussy around him so fast, he stopped breathing for a second.

His eyes closed forcefully, his hands gripped your ass tightly. As he felt the base of his shaft hitting you, he pulled back slowly and repeated his move. He started to thrust against you, feeling your cunt too tight against his cock. His senses were too heightened at this point, his hips pushing forward hitting your ass.

You couldn't stop heaving, crying lustfully and whimpering his name. His waist was slapping against you and the sound of his dick hitting your walls was making you moan louder.

"Fuck, Eddie. That's so good" You mewl and he thrusts harder against you in response.

"You're taking me so good, sweetie. So fucking good" He doesn't hide the way he wants to groan and vocalize his reactions and you loved it.

He slid his hand against your skin until he reached for your arms, pulling you up so you would lean your back against his chest. As the position changes, you feel him deeply inside of you. You can't express how much it makes your body shiver. He gently wraps his hand around your neck, squeezing it rather aggressively but still cautiously. He uses his other arm to hold your waist as he pounds on you.

He rests his chin against your shoulder, his breath hitting your ear. If he wasn't holding you, you would probably just turn into a puddle right in front of him. His cock fits in and you can feel his balls slapping against your skin as well.

You're both a mess of moans and grunts, the sound of the two of you mixing with the music of his playlist that was long forgotten. You're holding his forearm for support, your eyes closed as you concentrate on your pleasure.

Eddie is behind you, praising you next to your ear, fucking you senseless. His thrusts are becoming faster and you don't think you've ever felt this good before.

"You like that, huh?" He chuckles and his breath reaches your ear. His rough voice is echoing inside your head. You don't respond, you're too high. "You like me fucking you, sweetie?"

He suddenly stops pounding on you, filling your pussy with his cock until you feel the tip on your cervix. He reaches one of your breasts and grips it tightly. His other hand that's still resting on your neck, he squeezes it harder, enough for you to choke. Enough for you to still breathe. He knows how to manage it. It makes you feel more turned on for him.

You just nod, you're almost losing your senses. He kisses the curve of your neck, leaving a pepper kiss on it. He can almost taste the salty sweat of it. "You know what? I love it too"

He didn't give you time to recover, surprising you as he thrusted hardly against you, just once. "I love the way you taste, you're so sweet". One more thrust. "You look so gorgeous on your knees for me". Another one.

"Eddie, please" You plead, your voice almost faltering as you're still holding him. "Just keep going".

He likes to be dominant, but he also likes to be the bottom sometimes. But tonight, he wants to show you what he can do. It's not like he needs to prove anything to you, but he wants to make sure you have a good time with him. He wants to have all of it, he wants to enjoy it as much as he can.

"We're doing Ice Cream, remember?" He slowly asks, softly dropping his hand off your neck.

He gets on the mattress, sitting on his knees and he tries to adjust you on top of him, just like he saw in the picture. You position yourself on top of him, your knees up. You sink down and Eddie throws his head back, not expecting the sensation to be so overwhelming.

This time, you're doing most of the work. You ride him, your ass slapping against his thighs. Again, he wraps his hand around your neck and chokes you without much intensity. His other hand grips your hardened nipple and he tries to thrust up against you.

He knows his legs are going to hurt later, but he can handle the pain because it's worth it.

You throw your arm back and wrap it around his shoulders, holding him so you can easily ride him. The air started to feel damp, your bodies starting to sweat and stick to each other.

"You're so beautiful" He surprises you with a compliment and your cheeks flush. "So good to me. I wish I could've had asked you out before"

You don't know how to answer this. You're in pure bliss. Your head starts spinning and you're almost losing control of your body. He drops his hand lower until he reaches for your clit, but you stop him. You want to feel it all. You want to cum without that little help. He respects it and gets back to squeezing your breast firmly, pinching your nipple.

You're both in sync, him pounding on you, you sitting on him, balls deep. Eddie doesn't want to let go of you, but he knows he's going to cum soon. He kisses all over your skin, he savors your salty skin, he hums against it. He feels his stomach tying to a knot and he knows he's getting closer. But he wants you to go first.

"Cum for me, lovely. I want you to drench my cock" His words make you stagnant and you feel your legs squirming.

You start to roll your hips, squeezing his cock so hard he grips you harder entirely. You throw your head back as you feel yourself clenching around him, your hips stutter and your legs start shaking. He holds you closer and waits for you to come down from your high. Eddie feels your pussy throbbing against him, clenching around his dick tighter, swallowing him.

He feels your juices dripping down his cock as you tremble under his touch, you're almost convulsing. "Eddie, this is s'good" You mumble as you slowly start coming back to your senses.

He's not choking you anymore, he's not manhandling you, he's just holding you dearly for a few seconds before he starts stuttering as well.

His cock sputters cum all over inside of you, pulsing incessantly as he moans loudly against your ear. His arms squeeze you a little tight, his thighs contracting from both pleasure and tiredness. He rests his forehead on top of your shoulder, spreading lazy kisses against your skin. He stays a little longer, waiting for the buzz to slow down.

"This was so good sweetheart, you were perfect" He praises, dropping his arms down, gently lifting you up so he would pull out of you.

It's painful to leave from inside of you and he misses the feeling already. His dick still hard after a long orgasm. You don't have the energy to actually move, so you just sit there as you wait for him to throw out the condom. He puts on his underwear, crawling into your bed and sitting close to you.

He places his hand over your cheek that's still flushed and burning from the sweat. He licks his lower lip and smiles embarrassedly. "I think it's safe to say we've kinda ruined your dress".

You laugh kindly at his remark and nod. There is no way you're going to wear this to go out. And if anything, you probably need a shower. But before you get up, he pushes you closer and lays you down on your bed. He leans against his hand, his elbow resting on top of your pillow.

"Let's just take a breath for a moment, sweetie"

You agree, you just know it's going to be hard to walk now. Your legs are still shaking and they might as well feel like jell-o too. "You can still ask me out if you want, you know".

It catches him off guard when you say it. You've been wanting to go out with him for so long, it's only fair you two do it now. He smiles inwardly, looking down for a moment before he looks up at you again. He strokes your arm tenderly, going for your cheek again.

He's always been affectionate towards you, this time you think it's different and you feel butterflies fluttering around your stomach.

"I will, don't worry"

You stay like that for a few minutes, just trying to rest and relax before you decide to finally take a shower. He throws his t-shirt over his head, looking for his jeans and his socks. He doesn't even remember when he got rid of them in the first place.

You keep staring at him as he gets dressed. He has a few spare clothes in your closet, you know that. "You're not taking a shower after?"

He shakes his head, finally zipping up his pants, putting his sneakers on. "Nah, I'm a hard-rocker. We don't take showers".

Eddie shoots you the most generous smile and you can't help but giggle. You pick another dress and go to the bathroom while he just waits for you. The first thing he does is to text Steve and tell him what he just did. Not in detail, but he does. He can't rip the giant smile off his face.

This, thanks to the tweets he sees and shows you.

During the entire time you're with your friends at the karaoke bar, he can't stop looking at you. He can't stop thinking about the sex and how you trembled under him. He also can't believe he gave you one of the best orgasms you've ever had in your life.

"It's never too late, man" Steve approaches his friend, tapping on his shoulder. Eddie looks at him and nods, staring back at you.

[clarkeybabey]

❝ i wouldn't give these nobodies no sympathy ❞

# summary; somethings do really get under his skin

# playlist; luther - kendrick lamar (ft. sza)

# word count; 748

# note; ive seen some distasteful comments on our bf lately. leave my man alone, he's the chillest guy. #parasocial. lazy ending im so sorry

Arthur absolutely adores his job, who wouldn't just want to hang out with their mates all day or film themselves reacting to Reddit posts to pay their bills? None of this was on his life bingo card, but he didn't think he'd change a single thing about his current situation. That was until he started collaborating with larger YouTubers.

Their fans always found a way to make him out to be the butt of the joke 24/7. He's been on social media for a while now, and of course, he understood that being unreasonably disliked came with his job, he just wished that he could express his feelings without being seen as 'soft'. It's almost as if the more he tries to ignore it all, the more comments emerge.

Some of his friends who recently began to gain traction were nearly completely dodging the brutal comments and he couldn't figure out why. Not that he wants them to experience it, because it's awful, he wouldn't wish it upon his worst enemy, but what do they have that he doesn't?

When you return from grocery shopping, he's sat in his desk chair tapping a socked foot. You take immediate notice of the furrow in his brow he seems to be scrolling through something, "You okay, baby?" Arthur startles a bit, seemingly having not realized your presence, he hums wordlessly, not bothering to look up at you.

His lack of acknowledgment makes you frown slightly. You let your purse slide off your shoulder, landing with a thunk in a pile at the end of his desk. You place a hand on his knee, bringing his anxiety-riddled movements to a halt. Finally, he looks up at you just in time for you to speak again, "Tell me."

His reply comes out sounding almost offended, "Tell you what?" He's playing stupid, but it's not going to work, not even he's been convinced by his words. You've been to him before he even knew you were home.

Your head tilts to the side and you fold your arms over your chest and without another sound from you, he knows he lost, "Just people on the internet, that's all." He's bitter and hurt, which is very evident as he continues, "Don't think they realize I'm human too."

A glance at the glowing screen in his hands tells you what he's been doing since you left a half hour ago. You take the phone from him, setting it on top of his mousepad, taking a second to situate yourself in his lap, "Listen, I know you really wanna know how people feel about you." You pause momentarily to place a chaste kiss on either cheek, "We've talked about how bad it is for you."

"It's so difficult to pretend I don't care," He begins, stopping when he feels like his throat's going to close, uncontrollable tears dot his waterline, breaking your heart. "I wish I could understand more, but I just don't know what its like, 'm not sure if I ever will be."

Your index finger finds his stubbled jaw, stroking it as you do your best to console him, if only you could take everything he's feeling and place it onto yourself even if only for a day, he deserves a break. "Those people are nobodies, they're just jealous." He leans into your touch, "You'd think I'd be used to it all by now," he mumbles against your palm, pressing a kiss to it.

Shaking your head involuntarily as he pours out all of his thoughts, but when he says that it pisses you off, "Shouldn't have to be used to it, the internet's a joke. You're a wonderful, intelligent person with opinions and feelings that are allowed to be expressed," words tumble from your lips so fast you can't control them he just sits there, a hand on your side drawing shapes on the skin where your top had ridden up, taking in all you say.

"I'm a chronic people pleaser, but I think you have me beat," you say wagging your brows, playing with his hair, finally he cracks a smile. A sigh of relief escapes you at that, "Think we should lower your screen time."

"Yes, mum," he salutes you, and a loud laugh bubbles up through him making you giggle, he pokes your tummy, "or maybe we can just run away together," he suggests kissing the upturned corner of your mouth.

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

[sweaterkittensahoy]

Okay, so you're a Nazi because you HAD to join the party to keep your government job. That was a thing that happened. A lot of people joined the party because the Nazis made it a requirement to have a job. To have social activities. To get government assistance.

Okay.

Now. All those "Not really Nazis" also ignored and downplayed the Jew Hatred all around them. They watched their so-called friends and by-proximity neighbors get rounded up and taken away and not come back. They saw the Nazis let people in the homes of the Jews to ransack them for goods. They may have even gone in and taken a few things.

"But maybe they were keeping it safe!" I've heard argued. "Why do you have to assume the worst?"

Because we always end up at the fucking worst. Every single time a group of people has joined the fascists because they "had to" or because "it was expected" or because "it was necessary to survive," they became fascists. They took property they knew was not theirs. They didn't ask where their so-called friends and neighbors went. They walked by the ghettos and pretended not to see them. They acted like they couldn't hear the mass murder behind the walls (when they finally built the walls). They didn't do jack fucking shit to actually protect the people they claim they didn't hate.

"But they were scared!"

No, they weren't. The Nazis ruled on promises of better things. Better wages. Better jobs. Better education. Better. Better. Better. And all that cost the German people was ignoring the abuse and murder of Jews. And, once all the Jews had been shipped to the camps, the abuse and murder of whoever was next on the Nazi list of undesirables. Make no mistake, the Nazis were first and foremost about Jew Hatred and then used everything they learned about the population through instigating and worsening Jew Hatred to commit their next act of hatred.

And what they learned was that the German people as a whole didn't fucking care what happened to the Jews if they could go on a cruise and go to the cinema and get a few of the nicer trinkets from that empty house that was taken over by someone who, when those Jews came back to their own fucking house, refused to give it back. Because they didn't HATE Jews. But they didn't care that they hurt them or that they were hurt.

And the current run of antisemitism is actually worse, in my personal opinion. The Germans got material gain for giving the Jews to the Nazis and not saying anything. The current run of antisemites is hating Jews because they've decided it's the most morally pure thing to do in a fucked up world. To hate this one group and do everything to destroy them because they're horribly offended that a marginalized group refuses to accept abuse and injustice and instead stands up and fights. They hate that Jews don't want their fucking pity or their poor baby head pats. They hate that Jews looked them in the face and said, "You're antisemitic, and that's your shit to unpack, not mine to ignore."

All antisemites get now is a sense of feeling better than everyone who supports Jews because they've decided those of us who stand up and call a Nazi a Nazi are "simplifying history" or some shit like that.

That's all they want out of it: To feel like they're smarter than me and others who stand with Jews. That they understand the world better than me. That they know the big secret to understanding the world is to understand how to justify Jew Hatred so it sounds academic and important when it is, in fact, just the same fucking Nazi shit over and over again.

A Nazi is a Nazi is a Nazi. There's not a fucking one who deserves consideration for not being a "real" Nazi. You do Nazi shit, you're a fucking Nazi. And swearing that you aren't a Nazi and that people are trying to misconstrue what a Nazi is to make you look bad is super fucking Nazi.

All the people arguing that there's nuance to Nazis would have made excellent good germans.

[rekino2114]

Can you do something with fem!kaiser meeting male!reader's abusive ex before a match since she's in the team they're going against. The ex tells kaiser something about y/n that pisses her off, and that results in her and you going way harder than normal and completely destroying the team.

Also, since you said you liked childhood friends to lovers kaiser can you make that reader's parents abused him too, and that's how they bonded

Fem!kaiser meeting your abusive ex

A/n:so you know how I said I'd do blue lock post every week? Make that twice a week cause I got so many requests (I genuinely love you guys so much) and have so many ideas and I can't contain them. I chose this request cause I really liked the prompt and am in a kaiser mood this past few days

Kaiser took a deep breath as she heard all the cheers. It felt so nice to have all the people cheering for her and you, sure she stared a bit too much at the girls yelling about how hot you were and rolled her eyes at the few people who cheered for isagi. But the majority of the yells were for her and you, and she loved it. It felt so good to be loved and adored by all the fans. It felt so good to finally be someone, a sentiment she was sure you shared

As soon as your face appeared in her thoughts, kaiser started searching for you on the field, and she found you talking to isagi and Ness. Normally, she'd scoff and pull you away, scolding you for just talking with her enemy, but ever since noa announced who bastard would be playing against, you had been distant even to her. Whenever she tried to ask you what was wrong, you just dismissed it and told her it was nothing, so she didn't pry further, no matter how much she was worried about you.

She tried to go up to you but was stopped by someone tapping her back

"It's been quite a while, Michelle"

"What do you-"

The moment kaiser turned around and she saw who was talking to her, a look of pure hatred appeared on her blue eyes

"......what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to say hi to-"

"Answer me"

"So you really became as cruel as people say, I really don't see what he sees in you"

Kaiser, now fully turned towards the mysterious girl, glared at her with the deadliest glare she ever gave anyone

"I said....answer me"

"If you really have to know, I got into football too, I'm the captain of this team you know?"

"Ah, makes sense, a team of losers I've never heard the name of captained by you"

"You better watch your mouth blue rose empress, I'm here for one thing and one thing only"

"A mediocre career that will get you nowhere?"

"I think we both know what i'm talking about"

Kaiser's eyes widened as the girl's gaze started drifting away from her and going to you

"I'm here to make y/n mine aga-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, the collar of her jersey was grabbed by kaiser who now was fully killing her with her glare

"Listen here, you waste of dna. Don't you ever dare utter his name again. You don't deserve to walk the same ground he walks on. You don't deserve to breathe the same air he breathes, you just think you can walk back into his life and ruin him again? I'll admit you have guts, or more probably you're just a brainless idiot who only does what she wants without thinking of the consequences"

She let her collar go which caused her to back down a bit and look up at kaiser

"The only reason why I haven't kicked you in the ribs yet is because this is being broadcasted and I care about my reputation"

The new gen 11 member looked again at the girl like she was nothing more than a bug she could step on at any moment because that was exactly what she was to her

"Y/n is my emperor, and I am his empress. If you dare come close to him again, I will murder you. That's a promise"

The girl gulped a bit in fear, knowing that kaiser was 100% serious, but still kept her smug smile on her face

"I guess you're not so cruel with your boyfriend after all"

"Of course, I'm not you"

"Whatever"

"I'll make you a deal. If you go kneel to him right now, I'll go easy on your team, by which I mean I will only score twice"

The girl now started laughing as kaiser's annoyance grew

"Kneel? You were serious about that emperor stuff?"

"Of course"

"As if! I'm sure he'll be the one kneeling to me by the end"

Kaiser's rage was now at it's limit but instead of snapping she just smiled and turned her back on the girl

"Thank you"

"Huh, for what?"

"I really didn't wanna go easy on you, plus"

She turned her face towards the girl, grinning menacingly and with a blue light coming out of her eyes

"Seeing your crying face as all your hope is crushed during this match and you kneel to y/n will be so amazing"

The girl started sweating at kaiser's menacing words, but the empress didn't give her any more attention as she started walking towards you

"Oh michelle-"

"Listen ness. In this match I want you to pass to y/n as much as you can, even if I'm free pass to him"

"Hm ok"

"Hey wait a second, what are you trying to do shitty rose-"

"Shut up, yoichi. I have more important things to do now"

She told them to get into their positions (ness basically dragged isagi) and approached you, her expression softening as saw how worried you were

"I'm sorry for not telling you she was on the team"

"It's fine"

"I know how much you hate her, I'm still sorry for all the pain I must have caused you, choosing her over you at first"

"I already told you it's fine, I should have beaten that bitch's ass when I found out what she was doing to you. I'll just settle for doing it in football"

"No, I understand why you didn't, you had.....your own issues"

Kaiser went to grab the ball and put it in the center ready for kick off

"Hey Michelle, can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything for you schatz"

You raised your head and looked at your girlfriend with fire coming out of your eyes and an aura enveloping you

"Can you help me destroy her?"

Hearing those words, kaiser smirked and matched your energy her own blue aura coming out of her even making her tattoo glow

"Did you even have to ask?

The match was an absolute massacre. It ended 8-0, 4 goals made by you, and 4 made by kaiser.

Speaking of kaiser, she was an absolute menace during the 90 minutes. It was like her objective was not to win but to demolish everything in your name, you genuinely thought you saw the ball go on fire with how many kaiser impacts she threw.

She also kissed you every time you scored, which wasn't something new. She always does that. But this time,her kisses were much more intense and passionate than the ones she usually gave you during matches, it was like she was was trying to claim you and make your ex mad, which you 100% agreed with so you kissed her back with just as much passion, enjoying the anger on your ex's face.

While you weren't as flashy as the blue rose empress, you still dominated the match too. It was simple, you just put all the hatred you felt for your ex and all the years of pain she put you through in your plays and kicks, and most of them resulted in goals.

When the referee blew his whistle and the match ended, you were immediately hugged and kissed by kaiser again. When she stopped the kiss she looked at you and grinned

"We won schatz, isn’t it wonderful? Not that I ever doubted that"

"Yeah, I never thought beating one of the people who ruined your life would feel so cathartic"

"Oh we haven’t fully beaten her yet"

"Hm?"

Kaiser pulled away from you and told you to follow her as she went on to approach your ex, whose eyes widened once she saw you

"Y-y-y/n!?"

"........how does it feel?"

"E-eh?"

"How does it feel knowing you're so inferior to us now"

"S-shut up! You just-"

"That's no way to talk to your emperor. Remember what I said before"

"H-huh?"

"Kneel"

"You seriously think i'll-"

"I don't think you understand the situation you're in"

Kaiser grabbed the girl by the hair and dropped her to the ground at your feet

"That wasn't a request or a question, kneel!"

The girl now with tears in her eyes just stayed on the ground. Looking at her now, a crying sniveling scared mess, you felt nothing but pity

"I can't believe I actually dated you and let you do what you wanted with me, you're so pathetic now, no, you've always been pathetic, I just needed someone to open my eyes"

You looked back at kaiser, who just gave you her signature grin back......and then kicked the girl in the stomach as soon as you turned your back for good measure

You went over to a bench to calm down and think about everything, kaiser immediately followed you and sat near you, ordering ness to bring you two bottles of water, when he came back kaiser handed one to you as you thanked her. When you took the first sip, your eyes darted over to your ex, who was still crying on the ground

"That was pretty brutal of you"

"Are you feeling bad for her or something?"

"No, I was just thinking that this was broadcasted. What are the media gonna say?"

"That we put another bitch in her place"

"Or that you made another girl cry. I just think you should have went easier on her"

"Schatz, I was going easy on her, you have no idea what I would have done if I ran into her in the parking lot"

"Knowing what you did to those police officers I can hazard a guess"

Kaiser giggled and started drinking again. She opened her eyes when she felt your hand intertwine with hers. She put the bottle on the bench and looked at you.....you were smiling at her

"Thank you"

"It's nothing, really"

"No I mean......thank you for loving me"

Kaiser felt your hand wrap around even more around hers

"I think you're the first person in my life to actually love me"

The blond and blue haired girl held your hand even tighter and looked at you once again. Your smile was so beautiful. It made her wish you smiled more so she smiled back at you, an equally beautiful and genuine smile

"The same goes for me"

Kaiser always knew you were the same as her. That's a big part of why she loved you so much. You two could empathize so much with each other. You were just like her, a person whose life was nothing but abuse, who wanted nothing more than to escape that hell. A person who, after years of hate and abuse, deserved to stand at the top of the world and be the best, you deserved to rule everyone else alongside her. She wanted you to be her emperor and be the best with her, because you deserved it, because even after more abuse than her, you still loved her.

She knew how much you completed each other, how much you needed each other to live and be happy, and she would never let you go, you were her emperor and if anyone wanted to hurt you ever again they would have to deal with her.

She gently pushed you towards her and kissed your lips passionately again. You obviously kissed back while your hands were still intertwined and your other arm instinctively made its way to the back of her neck

Your hands on her neck had the opposite effect of her father's. They were gentle and soft. You weren't choking her, but caressing her. It was like every touch healed her of one of the scars that piece of shit gave her. She couldn't have known it but her hands and lips had the exact same effect on you

Your lips parted away, and you smiled at each other again. In that moment, you thought the exact same thing, and you didn't need any words to communicate it

'I'm so glad you're in my life'

Kaiser already knew, maybe subconsciously, that the wishes from her childhood came true, that right now everything she wanted was right here because of you, but looking at your smile reminded her of how lucky she was to have you, because now what she spent all her childhood asking for was right on front of her.

She was free, and she was loved, all thanks to you, just as you were free and loved, truly loved, all because of her

[starlost-maniac]

I Slept with My Boss - Ch 2

Warnings/genre: SMUT, piv, pia, protected sex, one night stand, mxf, mxm, multiple orgasms, multiple partners, club/drinks, voyeurism, pet names, daddy kink, double pen, oral, color system, squirting

Pairing: ot8 SKZ x fem!reader

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS, DNI

dividers made by @cafekitsune

You were back at your place, leaving the hotel room before either of the men had woken up. It was a bit hard to get out from between them as they were both flush against you, literally squishing you between them.

You were sitting in your living room, drinking a cup of coffee, scrolling social media. You frown when you come across a picture of you and your ex that popped up in an old post. You swiftly delete the picture and sigh.

You text Yoonae, telling her you're awake. She calls you not a moment later.

"Sooo? How was it last night?" You can hear the eyebrow wiggle through the phone. You laugh.

"It was good. Like, really good. It's a shame I won't see them again honestly." You sip your coffee.

"You didn't get their numbers? Why not?" Yoonae asks, exasperated.

"You know I don't normally do one night stands. I'm only doing it to get him out of my head, which helped for the night, but I just deleted a picture of us, so he's back on my mind." You sigh.

"Well, we are going out again tonight. If the two are there again, I'm getting them back to you. If not, I'll find someone else. You deserve the world, Y/n. Great dick too." You both laugh.

"Fine. You convinced me, Yoonae. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yup, same time. I'll see you tonight!" She says excitedly. You both say goodbye and hang up. You stand up and finish your coffee before going to clean and take a shower.

——

Yoonae took you back to the same club as last night. You're back at the bar, babying another drink as you don't like being drunk. Yoonae was at the bar with you, asking if anyone you could see, interested you. You were here for about an hour. Yoonae looked around but couldn't find the two men from last night. You hum, thinking as you scan the crowd. Your eyes land on a young man with blonde hair and freckles. You point him out.

"Him. He's really cute."

"Say no more, babe." She grins and stands up from the bar. She walks over and talks to the blonde. She points you out and he looks you over, a wide smile stretching across his face. He looks at your friend and points next to him with his thumb. Whoever he was pointing to, you couldn't see as he was blocked by other people. You see Yoonae nod though. She walks back over to you, smiling.

"They're ready when you are, Y/n." She grins when you squint at her.

"They?" You finish your drink, setting the cup on the bar. Yoonae nods. Looking back at the blonde, she waves him over. You look towards him, watching as he walks over, another man following him. They stop in front of you and you finally see the other man. He had fluffy brown hair that he let just cover his eyes. His eyes were wide as he looked you over, a shy smile on his face. They were just as gorgeous as the men from last night.

"This is them." Yoonae smiles at you. "I set up a room upstairs just in case we found someone tonight." You teasingly roll your eyes at your friend and smile at her. Thanking her, you stand up and follow the men upstairs. They lead you to the room that Yoonae rented for the night. They let you walk in first, following behind you.

"We don't usually do this kind of thing, but your friend was very persuasive." The blonde says with a deep voice that doesn't match his face. He's Australian too. "I hope this is ok with you?" He asks, stepping in front of you.

"It's ok with me. He seems really nervous though, honestly." Your eyes flick to his friend who stood off to the side. The blonde looks over at his friend and smiles.

"He's just shy. Han, come over and say hi to our friend for the night." He steps to your side and places his hand on your lower back. The one named Han steps up to you and smiles shyly.

"I don't bite." You laugh softly. "Unless you want me too." You wink. Han's cheeks turn a light pink. Felix moves your hair off your shoulder, seeing the hickey that was there. He smirks and leans down, leaving featherlight kisses along your skin. You close your eyes and tilt your head a bit. Your lips separate some. Han watches his friend for a moment before his eyes flick back to you, seeing how relaxed you are, relaxes him a bit.

He steps right up to you and softly presses a kiss to your lips, deepening it when he doesnt feel you pull away. His lips were so soft. You feel the blonde shift to stand behind you. He starts to untie the back of your dress, slipping it down off your body. Han pulls away from your lips to look you over, sucking in air when he sees you in a blue lace set.

"Felix..she's so beautiful." Han whispers before he leans down to kiss across the top of your breasts. Your hands immediately snake into his hair, soft gasps leave you. Felix unhooks your bra and lets it drop to the floor. His fingers softly run across your skin as they go lower down your body. Hooking his fingers into the band of your panties, he pulls them down off you. Han kisses and nips your breasts before he sucks one of your nipples into his mouth, making you moan softly.

The blonde chuckles behind you and snakes a hand around your body as he presses himself against you. You can feel how hard he is through his clothes. He slips a finger through your folds and immediately starts rubbing your clit. Your back arches a bit, your breasts pushing into Han's face and your ass into Felix's crotch. Both men groan out. Felix slips one finger lower and into your cunt momentarily before pulling out, making you whine softly. He pops his finger into mouth.

"Let's get this beauty to the bed, Han." He pulls away, your back suddenly cold at his loss. Han sucks on your nipple for a moment longer before he pulls away. You shiver as the cool air of the room hits your wet bud. They bring you to the bed and lay you down, taking your heels off you. Both men strip and Han kneels between your knees, practically drooling as he stares at your cunt. Felix kneels by your head, slowly stroking his cock.

You reach up and gently grab the blonde’s shaft, licking the tip. He groans, watching you intently. Han moves as close as he can and slowly licks up your folds before holding them open with his fingers. He uses his other hand to prod your hole with two fingers, slipping his digits into you just as Felix pushes his tip into your mouth. You moan out around the blonde, licking his length as he slides into you. Han kitten licks your clit slowly, his fingers move at a similarly slow pace. You gently place a hand on Han's head.

"You're in good hands. I've heard Han gives the best head." Felix chuckles, his eyes flicking to his friends for a moment before flicking back to yours. Han's tongue moves from your clit to your entrance a few times, making you squirm and moan around Felix. "Fuck.." he says, a deep moan escapes his chest.

Han slowly starts to pick up his speed, fingering you deep and fast, his licks speeding up too. You can already feel your orgasm building fast. You arch your back and suck on Felix as he fucks your mouth. The blonde reaches down to play with your breasts, gently tweaking your nipples. Just as Han curls his fingers inside you, your back is arching and a loud moan comes from your throat. You've never squirted before during sex, but you most definitely did now as you came. Han moans loudly as he licks and slurps up your release, not stopping his ministrations.

Felix groans when you moan, sending vibrations through him around his cock. You grip Han's hair as he continues to finger fuck you, slipping another finger inside your clenching cunt. He sucks your clit into his mouth, moaning around it. You arch and squirm under his mouth as you feel another orgasm already starting to build. Felix moves one hand to your cheek, holding your head in place as he fucks into your mouth.

After a few moments you're cumming around Han's fingers again, squirting again as well. Han moans again when he sucks up your release. He slows his fingering while you come down from your high. Felix grips your hair a bit as he thrusts into your mouth before cumming down your throat. You swallow everything as he pulls out of your mouth, groaning softly when he sees you swallow. The blonde looks at his friend and reaches for his hand, sticking Han's fingers into his mouth to get a taste of you.

Han watches Felix with wide eyes, his chin glistening with your release. Once he has his hand back, he climbs over you and kisses you deeply. You taste yourself on his tongue and groan into the kiss. He lines himself up with you and you immediately wrap your legs and arms around him.

"Shit..condom.." he mumbles against your lips. You whine and release him. Felix chuckles and passes him one. Without breaking the kiss, he opens the wrapper and rolls the condom on before lining up with you again, pushing into you fast. You arch your back, breasts pushing into his chest. He places one hand on your breast, the other on your hip and fucks into you fast, not really giving you time to adjust.

He fills you up well, pressing against your gummy spot inside you every time he thrusts into you. He pulls away from the kiss and bites onto your neck. He sucks on your skin, leaving a decent sized hickey. Felix sits next to you both and watches, a grin on his face. The blonde gently cards his fingers through your hair as Han fucks into you fast and hard, quickly pulling another orgasm from you. He groans loudly against your skin as you clench around him. He fucks you through your high before cumming in the condom.

You breathe hard, holding the man on top of you as he continues lightly thrusting into you, pressing soft kisses along the spots he left marks on you. You look up at the blonde who just smiles down at you.

"How are you feeling?" He continues carding his fingers through your hair, shifting on the bed so his face hovered over yours.

"I'm feeling really good." You gasp when Han thrusts into you hard. Felix chuckles and kisses you deeply, slipping his tongue into your mouth.

"She feels so good, Felix." The dark haired boy mumbles against your skin. He groans when he feels you clench around him again before slipping out of you. Han gets up and discards the condom before slipping back in bed. Felix has you lay on your stomach on top of Han, laying between his legs, as he slips his own condom on. He carefully straddles your legs as Han gently grabs your ass, gently kneading as Felix lines up to your sensitive entrance.

"Are you ready, beautiful?" Felix asks, placing a hand on your lower back, the other holding his cock, prodding your entrance with his tip. You moan out a 'yeah', closing your eyes. Felix smiles and slowly slides his aching cock inside of you, still straddling your legs. The position you're in makes you feel so much tighter. As Felix stretches you, you both moan out, Han groaning against you. Once Felix is in you as far as he can, he stills to let you adjust, Han slipping a finger to your ass, gently running his finger over the hole. You moan softly at the feeling.

"Such a pretty girl." Han whispers. Felix mumbles out in agreement as he slowly starts to thrust into you. Han slips a finger inside your ass, slowly finger fucking you as Felix thrusts into you at a steady pace. Han watches as Felix fucks you, carefully sliding another finger inside you. You moan and squirm a bit, making Han wrap his other arm around you, holding you against him.

Felix groans and grips your ass with both hands, spreading your cheeks as he fucks into you faster. You clench around them as your release comes quick. You moan loudly into Han's neck, both boys not stopping. You feel Felix let go of one cheek, another finger prodding at your ass. You gasp and moan as Felix adds one of his own fingers into your ass, making it a total of three.

"Fuck, beautiful. You feel absolutely amazing and you are doing so well." Felix moans out. "Can we get one more out of you tonight? Think that's possible?" The blonde grinds into your cunt slowly. You moan out a loud string of 'yeses', Han groaning, his head thumping back against the headboard of the bed.

Han moves his hand a bit, moving it into a slightly different position. Felix slips another finger into your ass as he fucks into you hard and fast, wanting to make you cum again. They both coo at you as you start to look fucked out, eyes rolling back.

"One more, beautiful. I know you can do it." Felix says, fucking you as fast and hard as he can. You moan loudly again as you cum hard around Felix, your body clenching hard around them. Both boys groan out. You feel Han cum between your bodies, his cheeks flushing. Felix grunts low as he fucks you through your high before cumming into his condom. He slows his thrusts, breathing hard as he fills the condom. You can feel him twitching inside you as he empties into the rubber, their fingers stilled in you as well.

Felix leans down and peppers your back with kisses as Han does the same to the parts of your face that he can reach. Both of them coo and praise you for how well you did. Carefully sliding out of you, Felix discards his condom and goes to the bathroom to wash his hands and to get a clean rag for you and Han. He comes back to where you were still laying on Han, the dark haired boy still has his fingers in you, teasingly fingering you slightly. You whimper softly at the overstimulation. When he sees Felix, he smiles softly and takes his fingers out of you.

Felix passes Han the rag and carefully helps you off his friend and onto your side on the bed. Han cleans your stomach before cleaning himself, tossing the rag towards the bathroom.

"How are you feeling, jagi?" Han scoots down the bed, turning on his side as Felix climbs in behind you. You smile, sleepily.

"Very tired." You yawn and stretch a bit. Both men chuckle.

"We weren't too rough with you, were we?" Felix asks from behind you. You shake your head some. "Ok, good. I'd feel bad if we hurt you." He peppers your shoulder with kisses again as he moves to be flush with your back. Han moves closer to be flush with your front, giving you a few soft kisses on your lips before letting you get comfortable. You fall asleep and the men hold you close, passing out themselves.

——

You woke the following morning to Han between your legs, lazily eating you out. Felix half hovering over you, softly sucking on one nipple and gently thumbing over your other. You moan sleepily and both men freeze momentarily when they hear you. Your hand that was closer to Felix moves up to his head, gripping his hair softly, your hips moving some to try and get Han to continue. You aren't sure how long they've been going at it, but you don't really care after last night.

Han continues to lazily eat you out, not in any rush to make you cum. Han looks at you from his position, seeing your eyes closed tight in pleasure. Felix continues to suck on and nibble your nipple, making it very sensitive. He switches his actions between your nipples, sucking your other nipple into his mouth. They continue this for a while before you're a whining mess, wanting them to fuck you again before you go your separate ways.

——

You're talking to Yoonae on the phone once you're back home. You were wrapped in a fluffy towel, having taken a nice hot shower before you called her. You looked over your visible skin that you can see in the mirror, seeing the fresh marks from the last two nights escapades.

"You woke to them on you, Y/n? Damn, girl." She laughs. "I told you you're irresistible." You scoff out a laugh.

"They were probably just horny. You know how most guys are in the morning." You gently touch a few of the purple marks on your neck and collarbone.

"Uh-huh." Your friend laughs. "When do you start your new job again? Was it next week or the week after?"

"Two weeks. Thankfully it's a job I'm comfortable in." You sigh. You grab another towel and start drying your hair with it, trying to get most of the moisture out of your hair.

"So, two more weeks I can take you out. Got it." You snort at her comment.

"I would like to stay home a few nights too, ya know." You toss both your towels into the laundry hamper, getting dressed right after.

"I know, but it's nice to see you happy. The guys you've seen the past few nights seemed like they were nice and you sound happier."

It's true. The four men you were with the past two nights were very sweet to you. Making sure you were well taken care of. The two from last night even offered to get you breakfast after the morning session you had. And they all definitely made you forget about your ex.

"I know, but let's go out in a few days though. My body needs a rest." You laugh softly.

"Fine." Your friend teasingly sighs. "Oh, I found this new gym and an art class you might like. I know it's been a while since you did any kind of art, but I miss your pieces, and I know the last gym you went to wasn't very friendly. They're 24 hours too, so you can go as early or late as you want. I'll send you the locations."

You thank her and talk for a little bit longer as you clean around the house and get laundry done. Once she has to go, you hang up the phone, deciding to look into the gym and art classes. You decide to sign up for memberships online. Taking the rest of the day to just laze around the house.

Taglist:

@honeyybbuubblleess @gnabnahcbby @skzittomebabyuhhuhx3 @kenia4 @sweetprincessleah

[allthingssteddie]

Steve Harrington gets into a fight with Tommy after Tommy and his friends are giving Steve a hard time for presenting as an omega. Steve, tired of Tommy's bullying, punches him, but in the chaos, he accidentally punches Eddie Munson, who tries to intervene, in the face. As Tommy leaves huffing that it’s not worth it. Steve apologizes to Eddie but tells him he didn’t need an alpha to step in to help him. But Eddie tells him he just couldn’t watch Tommy hit him. Steve is about to ask why but notices the blood leaking from his nose. And brings him to the nurse, he asks if there is anything he can do and Eddie says the only thing that would help if he went out on a date with him. Steve agrees. After that they spend more time together, they grow close despite Steve's parents disapproving, they are now inseparable. They can't be pulled apart and are constantly together. This was both their first love after all.

As sophomore year ends, they spend the summer together, hanging out with Eddie's friends. One night, they're all drunk from Gareth parents liquor and messing around by the quarry. Eddie is dared to dive in, and despite Steve's warnings that it's not a good idea, Eddie brushes him off not wanting to back down from a dare. But when he dives, he ends up hitting his head on a rock and suffers a brain injury.

Steve is devastated and waits months anxiously waiting for Eddie to wake up. Wayne tells Steve that the doctors are saying Eddie might not make it, but Steve insists that Eddie is strong and will pull through. To make matters worse, Steve finds out he's pregnant.

Months go by, and Eddie finally wakes up, but his head injury is bad enough that he's disabled. When Steve goes to see Eddie, he's freaking out and throwing things at the nurse. Wayne sits Steve down and tells him that Eddie can't be a parent to Steve's and Eddie’s baby, and the doctors told Wayne it's best for now that he sends him to assisted living. Steve tells Wayne he can take care of Eddie, but Wayne insists he can't. Heartbroken, Steve agrees.

Years go by, and Eddie is released from assisted living. Wayne takes Eddie in, but doesn't tell Steve, knowing it would break his heart. That eddie has no idea who Steve is.

Steve and Eddie's daughter is now eight years old. And when Steve and her go to a grocery store, and she runs off, finding Eddie trying to buy groceries but struggling because he's short. Their daughter saves the day, giving Eddie some of her money. Steve sees Eddie and their daughter talking and laughing, he freezes not believing his eyes.

Steve offers Eddie a ride home, and as he’s driving he looks into the mirror . Eddie looks like his eddie smiling and laughing with their daughter. Steve can't help but feel nostalgic for their past relationship.

When they arrive at Wayne's trailer, and Eddie gets out the car and hugs their daughter, Steve walks him up to the trailer door and when Eddie goes in Wayne and him argue outside about being able to see Eddie again. Wayne agrees to let Steve invite Eddie to dinner.

[actinidiafruit]

Okay so i just recently watched the lighthouse again and a lot of things are becoming more clear to me.

Contains spoilers so uh, if you haven't watched (pls do), then don't read.

There's so many things to talk about and this post will probably come across as a crazy man's ramblings, but so be it.

Tom's role is interesting to say the least. Like, at first you kinda just think that he's being a dick for the sake of being a dick and he's just doing that classic old man shit. But then you get these little glimpses.

This is just my interpretation, but the way he mentions how his former second went crazy and was hallucinating mermaids and shit. It kinds plants the seeds into (for the sake of clarity I'll just call him Winslow) Winslow's head. And during their sober run together (before the bird + storm incidents), they're acting relatively normal. Of course Tom gives Winslow a hard time, but that's just him being Tom. Abusing his power as the elder a bit. But the way he morphs in the later half of the movie (especially now that they're both abusing alcohol). You see his intentions more clearly. The way he gaslights Winslow, tries to turn things on him, the way he wrote bad things about him in the log book(?). He's a mean old guy. But why? I still can't figure out why he's done this. Why he killed his former second (which he totally did, even if he didn't spill his beans about it). Is he protective of the light? Is that it? God knows.

And te way the mermaid is presented is... it makes you think. In my first two watches, I didn't understand why or why. But I think now it's a symbol for Winslow's sexuality (at least in some scenes). The way he'd use the charm in the shed. The way he had that hallucination on the rocks. The time he caught Tom having a private moment in the lighthouse and then hallucinated tentacles. Towards the end, when he's beating Tom on the floor and Winslow hallucinates him turning into some sort of sea king type creature.

Of course something must've happened between the two. That one scene where they're drunkenly holding each other, swaying, then go to kiss before breaking out into a fight. The whole master/dog thing. There's a lot of Winslow reflected in Tom. And of course he'd eventually spill his beans, want to be intimate, etc. They've been alone together for god knows how long. It's a very human thing to want to reach out and connect.

It's just so indicative of the human condition and the way that we connect. I feel like I need to watch this movie another 20 times before I fully get it, but my eyes were opened to quite a bit.

And the scene where Winslow looks into the light and laughs/screams. It gives me this sense of triumph (he finally got to see the Forbidden thing!) but also bittersweet. The laughter is triump, the bittersweet screaming is Winslow coming to grips with the fact that it's just a light. There was no point to why Tom guarded it like he did. It's like Winslow finally realises that he let himself be led to madness by some old, lying idiot and can't help but scream at his foolishness. The pointlessness of it all. And maybe that's why he lets himself fall down the stairs and ultimately die. His sins cannot be undone (done-bun can't be undone), so therefore he rots, being eaten by the very things that kickstarted his whole downfall.

Finally, just ugh. The cinematography. The unreliable narrator aspect. The way it's so open ended to interpretation. This movie has so much to give, I just wish my friends liked it even a little lol.

updated this list btw

RULES:

at least one of the pair MUST be over 50

20 year MINIMUM age gap OR they BOTH have to be over 50

has to be conceivably reciprocal (s.exually, no necessarily romantically)

[anonymous-dentist]

Blood Moon

The rain, supposedly, is made of blood near the Vampire Castle.

Honestly? Bullshit, the rain is rain, and the moon is the moon, and Roier is going to die, and it's all normal. The grass is just as green as the grass back home is. The stars are the same; Roier waves goodnight to the same sun he's known his entire life when it sets every night.

It's kiiind of disappointing, t-b-h. Roier wants blood. He's going to the Vampire Castle: he wants blood.

The castle itself isn't that disappointing, at least: its tall black stone towers almost seem to touch the stars, and the roofs are the color of freshly-spilled blood.

It's all red: roofs, trees, gates, windows. The flowers planted along the path leading to the castle's broken bridge are red. The ragged banners hanging from the parapets are red. The dim, dying lanters dangling from the trees' skeletal overhanging branches are red.

Castelo Arabutã: the Vampire Castle.

Roier looks at the bones scattered among the road's ruined pavestones, and he smiles.

And then he looks back at the destroyed bridge in front of him, and his smile falls.

(A small hand tugs on the back of his coat impatiently: "Come on, Apa, you're too slow! I'm bored!")

The sun continues to set, complaining its way behind the horizon even through the growing storm clouds. The rain continues to fall. The wind continues to blow, tossing the tails of Roier's headband about like an impatient child.

There's a single light on in one of the castle's towers. It dances, laughing, and Roier is just a little homesick.

But, he figures, he can't die the way he wants back home.

So: onwards!

The bottomless pit beneath the bridge beckons him.

Roier tightens his backpack's straps and reties his boots. He cracks his neck and adjusts his headband.

He waves one final "Goodnight!" to the sun, and he silently asks it to watch over its mother for him.

And then he cracks his neck, lets out a breath, runs, and jumps.

-

The castle's front doors are easily the size of three Roiers stacked on top of each other. They're big and red and imposing and Quackity would probably be pissing himself at the sight of the literal actual gruesome murder scenes carved into the wood: there's a decapitation, two separate dudes getting sawed in half via the asscrack, a spike getting shoved up a different dude's ass... all that and more just on the square meter or so directly in front of Roier's face.

The door's knocker is a screaming skull cast in black iron.

Roier's hand only briefly hesitates over the knocker before grabbing it and, well, knocking.

THUNK-THUNK-THUNK

The moon starts to rise, cutting silver through the storm, and Roier, finally, is ready to die.

Every child in the Federation knows about the Vampire King. He was born out of blood in a battle thousands of years ago, back before the Federation was even formed. His name was discarded when his humanity was; he's hardly anything more than a bloodthirsty tyrant these days, plotting to destroy the Federation and restore his fallen kingdom with absolutely no considerations aimed towards the common people outside of what blood types they might have.

Famously, the Vampire King kills anyone who visits his castle: vampire hunters, lost travelers, curious historians. Idiots.

Roier knocks again, knuckles white.

THUNK-THUNK-THUNK

Roier's abuelo was a vampire hunter, now forcefully retired and in prison for treason. Roier's best friend (..."friend") is still a vampire hunter. Roier has gone through the training himself, and his son was supposed to start it in the upcoming fall.

Once upon a time, Roier was supposed to be a hunter. Then he met Jaiden.

Now, he's doing what every Federation citizen knows not to do, and he's knocking on the Vampire King's front door.

Thunder rolls, and Roier drops his hand from the knocker and slips it into his coat pocket. His fingers wrap around a loose coin and start flipping it between themselves idly as he waits.

And, oh, he waits.

Nobody knows what the Vampire King looks like. Paintings back home portray him as some tall skinny old man with cheekbones sharp enough to cut a steak with. Roier's abuelo said that he looks like how a cat would look if it was turned into an ugly man by an evil wizard. Cucurucho never spoke of him, probably because they've always been pissy about their twin brother having a huge embarrassing crush on Roier.

What Roier does know is this: the Vampire King is apparently really bad at answering the door.

(Besides, it doesn't matter what he looks like. All Roier cares about is how sharp his teeth are.)

Lightning.

Roier jumps and swears as it strikes a tree back across the bridge and catches it on fire.

He turns to look at it, eyes widening as the tree's leaves all seem to shake the fire off of themselves like a dog coming in from the rain.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of his neck starts to stand on end. His abuelo always told him that he had good instincts, so-

The door opens with a rush of wind and a screamed CREEEAK!! and a cold hand grabs Roier by the back of his coat and then, suddenly, abruptly, suddenly, he's getting dragged inside the castle by a force so strong that it has to be otherworldly.

Roier fights and kicks and reaches out on instinct towards the door even as it shuts, closed by an unseen force.

And then he stops fighting because he remembers, right. He's here for a reason.

He goes limp just in time to be let go and spun around by a hand on either one of his shoulders.

He blinks a few times in surprise as he comes face-to-face with... a guy.

A very pathetic-looking guy.

"Please tell me that you're the babysitter," he begs, a faint accent to his voice that clues him out as distinctly not from the Federation.

His fingers curl into the red fabric of Roier's coat desperately- black painted nails, bitten short.

"Um," says Roier, looking vaguely over the very stressed man's shoulder for the guy supposed to kill him.

The inside of the castle is... nice? Large throne in the middle of the room with a toy bear on the seat. Professionally-done paintings alongside childlike sketches. Crayons and pieces of paper scattered across the floors. A couple of miniature toy cows next to an unpolished, bloody suit of armor.

(His heart clenches, and he fights back tears. It won't do to cry right before dying, that's sad as hell and not how Roier wants to go out!)

There's a faint crash from upstairs and a laugh, and the extremely tired-looking man in front of Roier sighs and hangs his head.

He's... nice? Nice looking. Definitely someone Roier would be more interested in looking at if he wasn't two seconds away from his planned demise: slightly curly hair with a rather charming white streak in it, pierced ears. But then there are the circles under his eyes and the scabs on his lips and-

"I will literally give you a hundred sovereigns if you can get him to go to sleep," the man pleads, looking Roier right in the eyes.

-and the fangs.

Roier is still holding onto his coin, somehow. He squeezes it until the grooves on its sides dig into his palm.

"I don't even care if you're the babysitter," the Vampire King groans, backing off and scrubbing his face with his hands. "I'm just- Richas!"

He snaps his head up and shouts at the ceiling. Roier doesn't know what he's saying, and he definitely doesn't know what the... what the child in the room above them is saying back- are they speaking Purtuguse? Does Roier know Purtuguse?

The Vampire King has a nice side profile. His sleeves are stained brown with long-dried blood, and his vest is stained with blue paint.

Roier wants to cry.

He lets go of the coin and swallows a lump in his throat.

He offers the Vampire King a very charming smile and says, "Lead the way."

(Because he may have come to the castle to die, but he will never subject a child to the sound of someone's last moments.)

The Vampire King looks about ready to cry out of relief as he flips his cape and starts walking towards a side hallway and a red brick staircase leading up, up, and away.

Roier follows. What else can he do?

The Vampire King rambles as they walk, "I don't actually sleep, Pac probably already told you about this, but Richas does, but I don't know how to get a human to sleep anymore, and he won't sleep, and I can't work until he's asleep, and..."

And he keeps talking. He doesn't even seem to realize he's doing it, he's almost delirious in his exhaustion. (Because that's what he has, exhaustion, Roier was a soldier for long enough to know the signs when he sees them.)

Roier tries not to think about the fact that the Vampire King does not, in fact, look like an old man or a cat man or however Cucurucho imagines him. He looks like somebody Roier would have met at Maxo's tavern on a Friday night, or one of the army's reject drafts.

He's short. He's wearing heeled boots, and Roier is still taller than him. Not by much, but! The Vampire King!

The stairwell is long and winding and decorated with dark sigils and painted smiley faces.

The door at the top of the stairwell is bright blue and definitely cleaner than the rest of the castle seems to be. It's... new. Roier thinks. New, and blue.

The Vampire King stops right in front of the door and knocks once, says, "Richas, the babysitter is here."

"Fuck the babysitter!" the child inside shouts.

The Vampire King shoots Roier an apologetic look. His eyes don't look like they're... all there. He's seeing, but he isn't seeing. He's tired, and Roier almost feels bad for him. Almost.

"His other dad always puts him to bed," the Vampire King softly explains. "But Felps is..."

His eyes start to drift, and, for a moment, he actually looks like he's about to cry.

Roier, not willing to watch his future killer have a depressive breakdown, walks right past him and opens the door and walks right into the kid's room with absolutely no thoughts in his head.

He easily dodges a squishy horse toy thrown at his head and leans up against a little wooden desk, hands slipping into his pants' pockets. He looks the kid, stood on top of his bed in a pair of bright yellow pajamas, up and down.

"Hey," Roier says.

He ducks his head to the side to avoid a cow to the head.

The Vampire King slips into the room and closes the door behind him, probably trying to avoid an escape attempt.

The kid points at him accusingly. "You're locking me in here!"

"You need to sleep," the Vampire King sighs. "See? The babysitter agrees."

He nods towards Roier, who just sort of goes along with it, because what else can he do? He doesn't care about anything anymore, what's wrong with going along with the bit?

The kid huffs and flops down so he's sitting criss-cross on his bed. "I don't know him."

"And I don't know you," Roier shrugs. "Doesn't mean I can't get you to go to sleep. I have my ways."

The kid narrows his eyes. "If you touch me, you're dead."

(Gods, he's just like...)

"I don't need to touch you," Roier says. "See, I'm not just a babysitter. I'm also a monster hunter, and I just saw a monster outside."

To the kid's credit, he doesn't super react. But he's also a literal child, and Roier is a literal dad; he knows how to read a kid's face better than he knows how to read a damn book.

Roier pushes off of the table and starts pacing, looking around the room as if looking for a monster.

"It was tall," he continues, voice dropping slightly in volume as he decides to play this shit up, "and its eyes were made of glass. It was looking up at your window and licking its lips because it's the most dangerous monster of all."

He looks around some more before dramatically leaning in and whispering to the kid, "El Mariana."

The child gasps as if he knows what that is.

The Vampire King bites his lip to hold back a smile.

Roier nods, dead serious (pun intended, thanks.) "Mhmm. It's outside waiting to get in and eat you, but! I'm sure you know this, but it can't see you if you can't see it."

The Vampire King adds, "He's right. I saw it, too, that's why I brought him inside. And you know I hate guests."

The kid shuffles slightly towards his pillows and blankets, all piled on top of each other at the end of his bed.

"The best way to trick El Mariana is to close your eyes," Roier explains. "It'll think that you're asleep, and it won't eat you."

The child looks up at the Vampire King. "But it won't get into the castle, right?"

The Vampire King sighs, "I don't know, Richas. Normally, no, but I haven't been able to get Bagi here to fix the wards. Anything can get in."

"I know I'm going to go find someplace to sit down and close my eyes in until morning," Roier says. "I don't wanna get eaten, thanks."

There's an awkward silence as the child looks up at Roier, eyes narrowed in thought.

And then, thankfully, he nods and starts to lay down and adjust his pillows until they're comfy.

"Fine," he grumbles.

He looks up at the Vampire King and adds, "You better get the magic fixed before Pai Felps gets back. He won't taste very good."

The Vampire King nods. "Of course, I'll write to Bagi as soon as the monster is gone."

With one last unhappy grunt, the child closes his eyes, and the room's candles immediately, magically dim.

The Vampire King lets out a relieved breath and slips out the door, leaving it open for Roier to follow.

As they make their ways back down the tower, Roier awkwardly says, "Uh, so..."

The Vampire King nods. "Right, the sovereigns. Give me a..." (He yawns.) "...a minute and I'll get them to you. But you shouldn't leave until the morning, it's a little nasty outside."

On cue, lightning flashes outside so brightly that it turns the vampire's skin translucent.

The Vampire King yawns again, showing off his fangs.

Roier gulps, out of sight behind him.

Who else does he trust to murder him but the most murderous guy on the planet? No one else will get the job done. Everyone else has morals. The Vampire King, famously, does not.

The Vampire King, apparently, is near delirious from exhaustion.

He wont be a good killer now. Roier... should wait until he's more awake. Then, he might even be violent about it.

Casually, Roier shrugs and says, "I dunno, I might stick around for a bit. You need a babysitter, right?"

The Vampire King turns his head to look at him, and Roier just smiles.

Who knows? Maybe he'll get lucky and get slaughtered in his sleep.

(Maybe then he'll get to tuck his own son into bed again...)

[skylarsblue]

.•° ✿ °•. "Best Friends" .•° ✿ °•.

𖥔 Love & Deepspace... ❥Tara! <Summary: What was supposed to be a girl's night out between MC & Tara was ruined by Wanderers downtown. While it was their night off, there were no other available Hunters in the area. With all the enemies killed, but the metaflux still high, it's against protocol to leave the area until their replacements arrive. Why not relieve a little tension and try to save the night from being a complete waste while they wait?> [Content: Light smut (they're clothed and I don't go into great detail), some vague description of the MC mostly in differentiating her from Tara: ie; implied to be curvier than Tara, a vague outfit description, she's said to be shorter than Tara even in heels, and implied to be at least somewhat muscular. Skin/eye/hair color is not mentioned. I use MC in the place of Y/N. Not beta read and written in a haze between 23:00 & 00:35, so mind mistakes.] -Divider by @elfbar-baby , thank you <3-

Panting and annoyed, MC watched the last Wanderer in sight flicker out of existence, lowering her gun. Silence stretched on for a while. A few minutes went by, and enemies didn’t appear, but a quick glance at the wristband she wore showed the metaflux in the area had only gone down a bit. The streets were empty and the asphalt was wet from rain earlier that day. Leaving the fluorescent signs and street lights to glimmer off the puddles. “I cannot believe our luck.” Tara’s voice broke through MC’s annoyance. She turned and watched Tara put her own daggers away, adjusting her dress with a pout. “We can always plan another one, T.” MC sighed, looking down at her own appearance, clicking her tongue when she saw a tiny rip in the bottom of her dress. They were supposed to be having a girls night out. They had the night off, at the same time, and there was a bar in between both of their apartments that sold novelty drinks. They’d come out with a zodiac menu, so of course Tara was excited to try it.

They’d only gotten one drink each, and both of them barely finished glad before they got an urgent call of Wanderer’s in the downtown area. No other hunters were available, for some reason. Of course it had to be them. It not only annoyed MC that a night with Tara was wasted, it was also annoying having to fight in the outfit she had. She didn’t often dress for clubs or bars, but it was fun to feel sexy every now and then. But platform heels and a bra with only thin, clear straps to keep her bust in place was not ideal. It was a strapless dress, and shorter than the other clothes she typically wore. The material wasn’t very stretchy either. It was a miracle she hadn’t busted it at the seam with all the movement required for the fight.

Tara’s outfit seemed to come out unscathed at least. Dressed in a dress as well, a cute off shoulder one with a skirt that had a little flow to it. Kitten heels that tied up her legs like ballet slippers. She’d just bought it, and now, it was wasted on wanderers. She’d been so excited to wear it too. She’d called MC when she bought it, going on about how she finally found a dress her size that took into account her height, and in her favorite color too.

“Do you hear any more?” Tara asked, pausing MC’s staring. “No, I don’t. But the metaflux is still too high for us to leave.” She replied, holding up the reading. She placed her hands on her hips and frowned with sympathy when Tara dramatically deflated, bending at the waist with a groan. “I can’t believe my cards lied to meeee.” The brunette whined while standing back up. “Your tarot cards?” MC questioned. Tara nodded, pushing the short strands of her bob out from being stuck on her lipgloss. “The cards I pulled said I’d overcome hardship and live with enjoyment. Things would come to fruition! This definitely doesn’t feel like I’m living with enjoyment.” The woman crossed her arms. MC smiled with a little breathy chuckle. She looked around again, and there still had yet to be Wanderers. Her eyes trailed back to Tara. 

Recently, she’d had a complex bout of feelings for her best friend and favorite coworker. Tara had always been cute to her. And she’d never been shy about admitting to herself when she found a woman attractive. But Tara had always been only a friend to her, until about a month and a half ago. She could recall the exact moment her feelings changed, but it really had been a build up.

Tara bringing her coffee, a few reassuring pats when MC had been working too hard, the bubbly conversations and cheerful encouragement. Cute giggles when whispering gossip, shared perfume and chapstick. It all led up to a day where MC had wandered into the file room and caught Tara being…reckless, because she’d never use the word foolish, even if that was truly accurate.

The brunette stood precariously on a ladder and two boxes to try and reach some of the tallest shelves. It was unstable and she was wobbling when MC walked in. Of course, MC couldn’t help but gasp and feel an adrenaline spike at the sight, and the sound made Tara whip her head around. That motion caused her to lose her balance and fall backward. Naturally, MC would’ve never let her fall to the hard ground. It was all pure luck that she caught Tara safely enough to only bruise her own sternum, but the act proved worth it.

She’d caught Tara in a rough princess carry, but then the motion made MC wobble, so in a few milliseconds, she’d braced the rest of Tara’s fall with her body. Which meant Tara’s elbow went right into her breast bone and knocked the wind out of her. She was sure she’d made a sound. Probably something like a dying chicken. When she opened her eyes though, Tara had scrambled to push her weight off of her wounded friend, placing her hands on either side of MC’s head.

She was apologizing profusely, voice frantic with worry. But she looked so pretty. Hair falling to frame her face, square shoulders defined in her uniform, soft round cheeks and warm brown eyes wide. It was only plain office lights to illuminate her but it looked like a halo at the time. Now any time MC looked at Tara, she stared. Ogled, actually. It’d probably become noticeable to others but Tara hadn’t said anything about it. But even now, her eyes wandered along Tara’s figure and face. She was just…

So god damn cute.

“I’m tired and my feet hurt.” Tara complained as she looked sadly at her shoes. They were adorable but not ideal for standing, or martial arts. Tara looked over as MC chuckled. “Well, let’s find a place to wait until either more wanderers show up or our replacements.” She walked to Tara calmly. Tara held a lot of respect for her. She really excelled in so many aspects, especially combat. She mastered so many kinds of weapons, she’d seen MC slam a claymore into the bodies of enemies with one hand. Even now, in heels taller than her own and a tighter dress, she didn’t seem put off by the fighting. She didn’t even seem tired.

Tara passed the same exams, and she knew she wasn’t a bad hunter. But she didn’t see anything wrong with admitting there were those better than her, and desiring to be more like them. Even with all the combat training, she’d remained fairly slim. All her muscle mass seemed to be hidden unless she was actively flexing, and she knew she had a baby face. But MC was the same age and yet she operated wiser than Tara. At least the brunette thought so. In the strapless dress MC wore, her biceps were impressive, even if she wasn't necessarily bulky like someone who trained for looks, she was visibly strong. And her aura alone held so much influence.

“Being out in the open might be a bad idea. If there’s more Wanderers, they could sneak up on us far easier out here. I’d like to not be taken by surprise.” MC looked around and then stretched. She sighed and then held out her hand to Tara, making a ‘grab’ motion at the girl. Tara raised an eyebrow but stepped forward and took her hand. “So, should we hide somewhe-oh!” Tara let out a noise of surprise as MC pulled her and lifted her, perching her on one arm. Tara kept herself steady by keeping her hands on the hunter’s shoulders, and indeed, they were strong.

MC walked calmly. She was silent the entire time, not because she was thinking, but because the scent of Tara’s perfume was making her go insane. Tara tended to wear the same perfum everyday. It was sweet, sugary. Something like sugar cookie, though admittedly, she didn’t actually remember the name on the bottle, despite Tara telling her. This perfume however, MC assumed, was used for special occasions. It was heavier, but not like a cologne. It was just less sweet like sugar and more like the sweetness of fruit, more like a well balanced wine. Something a deep red color and full bodied. And as put together as MC was, she felt perverse at how the scent made her mouth water.

Tara was carried to an alleyway, set down carefully near the opening of it. It wasn’t that wide, wet stone dimly lit by a distant streetlight in between two brick buildings. MC settled somewhat in the middle and used one of the walls to lean her back against, sighing as she sank against it. Tara moved in further with her. She swallowed as she watched the light shade MC’s face, her hair falling gracefully against the brick. 

“Why are we in an alley?” Tara whispered. She didn’t need to, again, the streets were barren. Like a ghost town. The only company they might’ve had was maybe the occasional bird or stray cat that’d been too nonchalant to care about the metaflux in the air. But it just felt right to whisper. MC glanced over and shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, I don’t think we’re allowed in one of the buildings. But being out in the open feels like a bad idea.” She snorted. Tara couldn’t help but giggle at the answer and leaned on the opposite wall. There was just barely enough space for them both. Even standing upright, they were touching. Just faintly. But enough for MC to notice. 

“Besides,” she spoke up again, making Tara look at her. “We’ve got more privacy this way. I can hear you here, unlike in the bar.” She hummed. And it was a true statement, but she said it with some kind of softness that made Tara’s chest feel strange. “I guess we should make the most of it, since the girls night out idea is kinda ruined.” She admitted. MC looked over Tara again, eyes slowly tracing up and down. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, then shifted in place, so that she stood directly in front of Tara. 

Tara looked down slightly at her. She was taller but only by a few inches, thanks to MC’s heels. She swallowed seeing MC’s breathing. Her dress was strapless, tight to her bust and fitted everywhere else. And Tara watched the subtle shift in her coworker’s breasts from her breathing, and the narrowness of the alleyway made it to where Tara could feel the heat of MC’s body. It was, of course, impolite to stare at a woman’s cleavage, even if she was your best friend. But Tara wasn’t really thinking while she did it.

A giggle, not a laugh, but a breathy and quiet giggle made Tara snap out of it. She was met with the half lidded gaze and a slightly smug grin from MC. “Like’em? Made’em myself.” She patted the sides of her chest and Tara’s face exploded in red up to her ears. “Oh my gosh!” She covered her face, but she also couldn’t help but laugh. The air didn’t get awkward because they both found it funny. “I’m so sorry, I was being so obvious!” Tara dropped one of her hands and the other covered her mouth as she laughed. She always felt so comfortable with MC, it came with the best friend title.

They’d helped each other countless times with wardrobe malfunctions, in dressing rooms, the occasional bra hook mishaps. Of course Tara has seen her friend’s body, and vice versa. But in that moment, Tara felt the air change, and not the way it did when Wanderers were on the way. The electric buzzing feeling that signaled danger. It was something else as she watched MC tilt her head and shift.

She raised her hand and gently tugged Tara’s hand away from her face, holding it carefully. A beat of intense silence remained. “You’re gorgeous.” MC said earnestly. Tara’s breath hitched. It was different from past compliments, she didn’t know why it just felt different. Intense. And maybe it was because the way her best friend was looking at her, like a cat about to pounce on prey. 

Tara had begun breathing shakily, and the gap between them seemed to lessen by the second. Pushing the brunette into the wall and the dichotomy between hard brick and soft curves was something that made her feverish.

“You’re…you’re really pretty too.” Tara said, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. MC’s gaze broke from Tara’s lipgloss covered lips and up to her eyes again, long enough to smile. “You’re sweet.” She cooed quietly. Tara audibly shivered. A few centimeters and she’d have her mouth stained with MC’s lipstick shade. She almost went to ask a question, she wasn’t entirely sure which one, but it didn’t end up mattering.

Tara sighed and her knees buckled a bit when the other woman pressed a deep, impassioned kiss to her mouth, still holding one of her hands so delicately. The brick wall kept her from sliding to the stone path below. She was so warm, and so soft. Tara had what she called a boyfriend and a half in the past. Juvenile relationships that didn’t really go anywhere, and she couldn’t bring herself to be sad about it when she reminisced. It just never gave the spark she’d heard from other’s experiences or the romance books she loved so much. 

Every time she asked her tarot cards for romance advice, she’d pull some that told her good things were coming her way but she’d need to be patient. But she also always, every single time, without fail, pulled The Empress, upright.

The Empress, upright, was a feminine card. In both the divine world and the material one. Associated with what was womanly. The birth of new experiences, the fruitfulness of creation, fertility blessings, creativity, and new opportunities. It also represented maternity and abundance. Oftentimes, when pulled under the question of romance, it represented a deep commitment from a sensual, supportive, and nurturing partner. One that'd be quite in touch with their feminine side. 

That one always perplexed her but also made her excited for the mysterious lover the universe apparently had planned. Someone certain to be everything she sought in a partner. When she was a teenager, she’d admittedly dreamed of it being Captain Jenna. The way a lot of girls loved or lusted after celebrities or teachers sometimes. She still had a little girlish crush on her commander. 

But this had to be what the cards meant. Feeling her closest confidant’’s body heat soak into the fabric of her dress, a delicate grip from strong hands that was encouraging her to lean in more. Sliding down her ribs and to her hips, MC’s thumbs delicately rubbing over the seams of her dress.

Tara whined subconsciously when the other woman pulled back to let them both breathe. Pulse wild as MC looked up at her with wide pupils and heavy breaths, her chest pushed against Tara’s upper abdomen, and the way they pushed against her made Tara struggle not to drool.

“Sorry, T, I couldn’t resist.” Despite the apology, MC didn’t look all that sorry. Her smile was sweet but also lined with something mischievous. She leaned up again and pressed a shorter, but no less intense kiss to Tara’s mouth, groaning quietly at the cherry flavoring. “Been wanting to kiss you for months.” She admitted against the woman’s mouth, leaning to peck the corner of Tara’s mouth this time. Tara placed her hands on MC’s shoulders as she leaned into a kiss left on the soft, squishy part of her cheek. “R-really? Months?” She asked. “Mmhmmm~ Probably longer, but I only noticed it recently.” MC hummed as she kissed down Tara’s cheek, to her jaw. 

She trailed one hand up Tara’s side, the touch so light it made Tara shiver. Finally MC’s fingers pushed some of the soft, short hair out of her way, in order to place a kiss on the space just below Tara’s ear. Unable to bite back a smile when Tara let out a whimper. The brunette had admitted one night during a sleepover, during a game of twenty questions, that one of her weak points was her ears. It had been a cute and silly story. The woman explained how she wore clip-on earrings for so long because she’d squirm away too much from any piercing gun until she was nineteen.

“H-hey! No fair!” Tara hiccupped when she felt teeth delicately nipping at the cartilage of her ear, which was flushed a bright red. “Who said I needed to be fair?” MC replied quietly with a little laugh, trailing her hand back down Tara’s body, this time following the line of her spine until she reached the woman’s waist. Spreading her fingers to get a steady hold, pulling Tara closer, if even possible. Taking advantage of the off shoulder cut of Tara’s dress to peck a little mark on the brunette’s shoulder. A tiny scar from a childhood event.

“You’re- you’re really bold all of a sudden.” Tara acknowledged, but her arms had moved to wrap around the other’s neck. Her body was essentially supported by MC’s strength and her upper back against the building’s wall. “Hard to hold back, especially with you all dolled up like this.” MC said as she left more kisses along Tara’s shoulder and collarbone. Technically, this was risky. They were out in the open, in an area with high metaflux readings and Wanderer sightings. And to top it off, the association was likely going to be sending other officers to take over for the two women. 

They both knew that. And despite that, Tara still ended up whimpering and moaning into heavy kisses given to her by…was best friend the term to use now? A question for later, she supposed as MC’s hands came down to her thighs, keeping her steady as MC’s leg came to rest between hers. Not only for stability, since Tara’s legs had gone weak and useless now, but clearly for Tara’s enjoyment.

MC smiled as she pressed a kiss to Tara’s skin, just above where the fabric of her dress hid her petite bust. Watching the taller woman outright moan at the, quite frankly subtle, pressure applied to her core. “Sensitive are we?” She whispered, also out of breath and fevered. “Don’t tease!” Tara complained between clenched teeth, her breath hitching when the pressure from MC’s leg grew harsher. As if it represented permission, Tara got more handsy in response. Pulling MC by her face for more kisses, before quickly pushing her hands down to cop a handful. Clearly something she’d been clearly craving to do. She got an appreciative groan for her efforts.

It dawned on Tara in the midst of her lustful haze that the attention had been rather one sided. So she tried to move, and return the favor. She felt the other woman hum appreciatively when her knee slid in between, mimicking MC’s actions as best she could. Tara hissed between her teeth and whined loudly when she felt MC nip at her shoulder, leaving an obvious hickey no doubt, as if that’d distract from MC’s right hand sliding under Tara’s skirt to palm over her thigh and hip.

“Shh shh shh, can’t be too loud, baby.” MC cooed, kissing the line of Tara’s jawbone. “It’s not my fault! You’re so-“ She groaned again when teeth met her skin, grinding her hips more aggressively into MC’s knee. Everything was tense and tight, burning and she couldn’t tell if it was the metaflux or just her that made the air feel like a live wire.

“Someone sounds like they’re about to finish. You can go ahead, sweetheart.” The new pet names made Tara throb even worse. Her pulse was running wild and it wasn’t just thumping in her chest or the side of her neck. “N-not yet not yet.” Tara shook her head and began peppering MC’s cheek and temple on damp kisses. “Awww you don’t gotta worry baby, you know what? Mm, as soon as we’re done? I’ll take you back home, okay?” The huntress promised as she gripped Tara’s waist, aiding her along, even if the girl had left a visible wet patch on her thigh muscle. The promise made Tara’s knees buckle again, much to the other woman’s amusement.

“Uh huh, I’ll take you up to my place.” MC kissed along Tara’s neck as she kept talking, all words and no thought. “We can take it slower, and I can see you all bare and proper. God, what I’d give to taste you. Could I do that, huh? Would you let me?”

Tara nodded frantically as she tried to kiss MC again, though her heavy panting and moaning left it a bit moot. “Aww aren’t you sweet. You wanna return the favor, baby? Huh?” The thought alone made Tara push her head back against the wall and sob. MC let out a breathy laugh against Tara’s neck, kissing up the line of the brunette’s throat. “C’mon sweetheart, c’mon. Lemme see it, lemme see you break. I wanna know I’ve done right by my favorite girl.” She encouraged, praising and kissing until Tara’s body began to twitch and her noises grew quicker and quicker.

Til Tara tipped over the edge, and the sudden snap of it made her go almost completely limp. Her muscles had been so strained from fighting and then the treacherous wait for bliss. Because it had been just barely not enough for so long. Having her selfishly wanting more the entire time, knowing she couldn’t have it. But she got a piece of relief and she was once again so grateful for her coworkers strong arms, keeping her from falling to the dirty ground.

Tara let out a sleepy noise when she felt butterfly kisses against her cheeks, whispered praises and loving caresses of her hips and sore thighs. She blinked lazily as her vision came back, looking down to MC, who was already smiling up at her. Settled against her breastbone. “Hey pretty girl, welcome back to earth.” She teased.

“…s-so we go to your place?” Tara slurred. She couldn’t help but smile tiredly as MC tossed back her head in a laugh, genuine and full of love. “Yeah, yeah baby. We go back to my place, as soon as our replacements get here.” The reminder of work made Tara complain via a whine and a scowl. “I knoooow I know, it’s not fun.” Her partner replied, gently coaxing Tara into standing on her own, adjusting the brunette’s clothes as she went. 

“My head hurts.” Tara mumbled. “You kinda thumped your skull toward the end there. I’ll take a look when we get back to the apartment.” MC said, being extra gentle when fixing Tara’s hair. Smiling and cooing affectionately when the woman hugged her tightly, returning the gesture.

By the time their coworkers showed up to cover the scene, they were out of the alley and instead on a bench. Which probably would’ve been a better place to rest in hindsight. Neither of them had a car, but MC did have a Hunter Association bike. She’d met Tara at the bar after the girl took a taxi. Now, Tara got the privilege of a free ride back to the bar, being carried by MC in one arm, her heels hanging off of the woman’s fingers, until she was set on the back of the bike.There was only one helmet but Tara could not, despite her valiant effort, convince MC to be the one to wear it. 

She held onto her partner’s waist tightly as the bike zipped down the road to MC’s apartment. Giving her some ample time to think. She stayed in her thoughts even when they were in the elevator, and she only spoke once in MC’s apartment, watching the woman lock the door. “Sooo…” Tara started, clasping her hands behind her back. MC turned slowly and came to rest her hands on her hips curiously. “Sooo?” She mimicked. Tara rocked her weight from her heel to the balls of her feet a few times as she thought of what to say.

“What does this make us?” She asked, a bit shyly. But her insecurities simmered down to nothing when MC smiled. “Well, it’s definitely more than coworkers. And best friends can be close, but I don’t know if best friends are usually uh…cum on your thigh in an alleyway close-” "Oh my gosh.” Tara put her face in her hands, listening to a jovial laugh. Warm and gentle hands delicately encouraged her to show her face again, met with a sweet smile and a hopeful gaze.

“There’s a word I’m thinking of. And I mean, friend is part of the word.” She said. Tara snorted and giggled. “Is it…girlfriends?” She asked. MC gasped and picked Tara suddenly up by the waist. 

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner! She’s a winner ladies and gents!” The woman declared, all while Tara laughed. She was let down gently, keeping her arms around MC’s neck, and the MC’s hands around her waist. A moment of blissful and joyful silence passed between them, before Tara bit at her lip. She gently turned a dangling earring between her index and thumb as it hung from MC’s ear, slowly pulling her gaze to her girlfriend’s. “Second question.” She whispered.

“Go for it, pretty girl.” MC replied. “Sooo, about your plan about what we would do when we got here…something about doing it uhm, right?” Tara teased. She let out a squeak and a laugh when she was suddenly pulled over a sturdy shoulder. She kept laughing when she was gently tossed on top of a plush mattress, only stopping when the weight of her girlfriend came up on top of her, pressing a kiss to her mouth again. “Hey Tara?” MC whispered.

“Hmm?” “Remember to thank your cards after all this.”

[muninnhuginn]

also throwing out a few wild thoughts here after watching the new ep:

why is everyone so weird when hearing cwm's name? as we've seen cwm's thing here seems to be that he 'wants to do better by these kids' (let's ignore the safeguarding issues about saying he wants to be their friends when a teacher a sec). so, speculation: cwm deliberately takes the fall for the actual arsonist who'll likely be either xia fei or wang qing?

and yeah as everyone has picked up on cxs knows way too much to survive this loop - not sure how they're gonna play his death or if they'll specifically tie it up to s2 finale but only a week to go now

lu guang is the subtlest wdym. 'yeah like if we high five we can probably share powers' bestie what. (on a related note, his bit about 'powers are just like traits' vibed really mob psycho to me. I wonder if it's what past cxs 'taught' him about his powers after he'd grown up thinking of them in a less positive way)

said this already in another post but "what's the point in waiting if there's no hope?" is definitely a thematic string to pull on

cheng xiaoshi gets the speech/verbal understanding language module of whoever he possesses but not the written understanding. this is pure trivia, but still interesting to know. we know from his later interaction with vein that he sure doesn't retain the language knowledge after the fact

lu guang and cheng xiaoshi losing connection again during the dive. the show always make a point of highlighting when this happens. was trying to figure out if any other powers could be interfering here as happened with the twins, but touch-wise at least, it seems... unlikely? (though can't rule out other power interference entirely) but if anything, the way lu guang was sweating when we got the focus back to him after the connection rejoined makes it seem like this was an issue on his end (one which ig resulted in cxs having to improvise and therefore get caught from a show perspective). lu guang being ill affecting his powers tracks with what he said pre-twins dive in s2 though. even though the connection itself was likely lost due to the twins, he was still struggling to see everything that happened in the photo before that. I wonder if we'll return to this as a plot point at any point, the idea that lu guang being ill or injured can mess with his powers - there was a post the other day (I think by @ sunslants) about it being neat if lu guang fainted in yingdu because his whole body is giving out under this power, and whilst idk how *likely* that is in canon, it'd definitely add a new deadline to things, if lu guang has to resolve everything before his whole body just gives out

oh yeah seems like vein knows whatever it is that xia fei also knows about the arson. not super surprising but potential motive forming ig?

cheng xiaoshi getting out his feelings to his dad in the form of wang qing was very good but the whole time lu guang was like "yeah sorry I didn't give you a heads up" I was there head in hands like "lu guang. please. this is your MO at this point"

still no answer about cxs' mum and why she followed after cwm then *also* vanished (tbh even the fact cwm up and went full no contact with cxs has me like ??? but I can't tell if we're meant to just let that be or question it further). it feels like there's way more to this, but hard to see how that plus everything else is getting resolved in the one episode we have left

"You're a total control freak" "That's because of you." Lu Guang....

Basketball halo'd Lu Guang when he asked Cheng Xiaoshi to do ibuprofen together....

Cheng Xiaoshi wanting to get revenge on the bullies and Lu Guang instantly responding along the lines of "well, hey, they're all gonna die soon" cracked me up. Was probably meant to be more of an "oof" but. I laughed.

[arthur-lesters-frontal-lobe]

Oh boy do i have the AU for you

Instead of facing the king in season two, Arthur decides to run away and live in the dreamlands. Trauma ensues yada yada yada and after ten years he is captured by the king one final time. He spends the next four years being tortured and starved. Eventually the King decides to put him out of his misery and let him bleed out. And well... i'll let you read the rest

“John?”

“Arthur- Arthur- you- fuck oh fuck Arthur. Oh- Arthur- you're- we need to- We need to get your bag. There has to be something to stop the bleeding. You're- there's so much blood. Arthur-”

Arthur knew he was a lost cause, he knew he'd die, but John wouldn't give up, he'd do everything he can. And- it feels nice to be cared for, it's nice to not be at each other's throats, only talking so Arthur knows what's happening around him. “Okay- where is it-t?”

“Its a few feet to your right, we need to crawl there, your legs are- they're- unusable- to say the least.” Arthur laughed, John was trying to soothe him, to convince him everything was okay. “I'm going to get us there. I'm going to get us there. Okay?”

“Okay John.” He strained. “On 3, 1.. 2.. 3..” John dug his nails into the dirt bellow, groaning as his broken hand had a full body to drag. Arthur tried to roll on his stomach so John could have more leverage, putting pressure on the femur jutting out of his thigh. He whimpered, he wanted to scream at the pressure, but he just nodded when John told him he's going to move forward. As he did, it felt like the bone shifted further out of his thigh, “JOHN JOHN- STOP STOP! PLEASE- JOHN.”

“What happened? What's wrong?”

“My- my leg- the femur. John- it hurts it hurts so damn much. I can't- we can't get any farther- it hurts. It's so painful to move. John- John- Fuck” Arthur whimpered, going back into a fetal position. He heard John gasp and try to hide a sob, as his mutilated hand rested on his chest again. “Arthur you need to stay awake. We need to stop the bleeding-”

“It's no use John- we- we both know I’m going to die. I appreciate you always caring for me, fixing me up when I do something stupid. But we both know this is it” Arthur stated.

“But there must be a way, Arthur. Arthur- please- you can't die now-” John sobbed.

“Okay. Just- give me a moment. I- I feel light headed- I’m exhausted. I'm so fucking exhausted.”

Arthur couldn't tell if it was his or John's tears rolling down his face, it very well could be both of them. This pain was nothing he ever felt before, this was hell, his skin burned as the wounds all stung like venom. He took his mask off to better intake air, but even still, it hurt to breath, his lungs pressing up against his broken ribs. “Are you okay? Is your hand-”

“I’m fine Arthur. My hand has broken like yours, and the pinky- it was ripped out. But it's fine. Its nothing compared to what you're feeling.”

Arthur felt so horrid for John, for what he had to endure. “I'm sorry.”

“Arthur?”

“Yes John?”

“You- you can sleep now. There are no more miles we need to travel. You can rest now.”

“But I promis-”

“I know. I know. And you did. But there's nothing we can do about that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, Arthur.”

John situated them so that Arthur was covered by his cloak, so he was at least somewhat comfortable.

“Rest now Arthur, you deserve it. And I’ll see you when you wake.”

“Okay John.”

“Good night- friend, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Have a good sleep, this too shall pass.”

i hope malevolent ends with arthur laying down for a nice long sleep. i want the last few words to be 'goodnight john' and 'goodnight arthur'. i hope the silence is sweet and peaceful. i dont even care if anything else goes well or not. i dont care if john gets his own body or arthur gets faroe back. i just need him to lower himself down for one last time, just for one good sleep. its the only ending i want for him.

[spikeface]

hiiii hello if you would ever like to rant about teen wolf s6a please do <3 i'm like five episodes in on my rewatch and i'm constantly oscillating between peeking at my phone like a proper zoomer and repeatedly asking myself where is theo my friend enemy theo.... i know he's here where is he...

Omg okay I will but you have to understand that this is the distillation of years in this fandom, the once loose coal of my irritation compressed into a diamond of haterism. There are parts of this season I love, and I've made peace with some of the stuff I complain about here. 

But we're not here for peace. :)

Never Say "Pineal Gland" Again. The Ghost Riders are fun as a plot device. People being kidnapped and forgotten, a mystical train station, that's fun! Teen Wolf loves monstrous, seemingly unknowable villains, and does great with them in two ways, both of which 6A fails at:

The first option is to get inside their heads. The alpha of season 1, the kanima, the darach, the nogitsune, the Dread Doctors—all are introduced as deeply alien creatures whose inner lives and personal connections to the main cast are slowly revealed. 6A seems like it's going down that route, because the crew spends a lot of time trying to figure out and talk to the Ghost Riders, but there's no payoff: they just want to hunt forever and that's that. No personal history with anyone, no connections beyond a willingness to mind control Parrish and a bit of nervous shuffling around Lydia.

Which might still be fine, because the second option with characters like these is to make them window dressing for a charismatic villain, a la the oni with the nogitsune or the berserkers with Kate. This framework would be great for 6A if not for the fact that the villain in this case is Garrett "Brain-Eating Nazi Lion Wolf" Douglas. 

Douglas does not get enough hate. I get that he's so forgettable, what else is there to say besides "blech," but we can do better. Teen Wolf has such fun villains: they're dramatic and camp, while also intimate and personal. They have deep connections with the main crew and almost always have a sympathetic side to them. Even the nogitsune, the most alien of the main villains, has an almost plaintive moment where it reminds Noshiko that it's only doing what it was created to, what she summoned it for.

Nothing about Douglas is challenging or charismatic or sympathetic or aesthetically appealing or well acted. Davis had a bad habit of hiring wooden blonde hunks as far back as the mechanic of season 2, and now there's one as a main villain. Douglas's closest connection is to Theo—their scene in the shed is easily Douglas's most engaging, though that doesn't say much—but their connection is superficial. How would Douglas even know who Theo was if he spent those years floating unconscious in a vat? 

His final showdown is deeply unsatisfying. By the time Scott faces him, they've barely interacted so far. What does it mean for Scott to challenge him? What does he mean to Scott? How has Scott grown to be able to face him? Why does Douglas want this power anyway? Why would this Nazi be telling a Mexican-American that he'd be a fine Hitler youth? What the fuck is happening here? 

In the end, Peter rightly points out that a brain-eating Nazi is such a low bar to clear that taking a stand against him is almost meaningless. Douglas is a mockery of the complex, charismatic, intimate, high-stakes villains of previous seasons. Damnatio memoriae is too good for him; we need to remember how bad he sucks.

If Only We Knew Someone With Lightning Powers. Dropping Arden Cho unceremoniously was gross. Following that with a season of lightning villains is gross. Having Kira's only legacy be a sword that is then given away and broken, after everything she sacrificed for it, is just foul.

Would It Kill You To Let Them Go To Prom? Teen Wolf is only sporadically interested in high school life. Sometimes, it's part of the show's appealing silliness, but 6a's indifference just gets to me. This is the final semester of senior year for Scott and co., but we get absolutely nothing. Stiles misses that final semester and apparently, so do we! There's no classes, barely any lacrosse, and definitely no prom or graduation or college acceptance letters, nothing that acknowledges this season as a rite of passage. Any hints to the characters' future are condensed into a few lines at the end. C'mon, man.

It goes beyond the expectations of a teen show. Davis is so indifferent to his characters that in the next season, he makes all the characters who should be juniors into seniors, just to add on a flimsy narrative about things ending. It's lazy. 6A, to me, also really brings out how little Davis has invested in the world of Beacon Hills. Beyond Coach, there are so few consistent background characters. The high school class, lacrosse team, hospital, and sheriff's department are all prime opportunities for recurring background characters, but the show only bothers with a few (e.g. Brett&Lori, Sydney, Danny until they dropped him without even telling the actor). Nathan, Gwen, and Phoebe are all new characters, rather than people who have existed in the background before this, and after this season, they disappear again. There's very little sense of the world of either the high school or the town in general, and it stands out in a season where the whole town is being targeted.

The Newest Werewolf. Hayden was a minor character in season 5, but still had a lot going on: a close relationship with her sister strained by the supernatural; having to work a shitty job to afford the medications for her life-threatening condition; being targeted by the Doctors; being pursued by a boy she's not sure if she likes; trying to flirt when she's naturally competitive and sarcastic; DYING; being revived by Theo and then exploited by him; fighting the Demon Wolf's attempts to get in her head; deciding to help her friends; walking a fine line to survive the Beast when she's kidnapped by him; discovering Tracy's body. Her life is rich, and ends with a groundbreaking moment where she's the first person onscreen that becomes a werewolf with fully informed consent.

In 6A, she's flattened into Liam's love interest. Almost all of her scenes are with him, and her decisions are almost entirely about him. Many of her lines are about reassuring him. The exception is her dynamic with Gwen, which is much more engaging, and to me only shows how much more they could have done with Hayden if they just let her cook. Why is Liam the only one to get scenes alone with Theo? Surely she and Theo would have stuff to say to each other. Or what about her relationship with Scott? Why is Liam the only beta to have an arc with him? Where's her relationship with her sister??

The Wailing Woman. This should have been such a good season for Lydia. The groundwork is all there! Banshees have a special power over the Ghost Riders, and to placate them, the Ghost Riders create a facsimile of someone the banshee has lost.

Hmm, whom has Lydia lost recently? Whose presence might give her a vested interest in ignoring evidence of the Wild Hunt? 

Allison would have been perfect as the deceptive product of the Wild Hunt, and would have matched the framework the show established far better than Claudia. Part of the reason the Hunt falls apart is because Lydia is instantly suspicious of Claudia, and has no emotional investment in her. With Allison, Lydia would get to say goodbye to her in a way that matches the season being set in the final semester of high school. 

This would also have built on season 5 in fruitful ways. Lydia's power makes her a target in season 5, but she has almost no agency over her power. She's driven to blow Valack's head off without any control over it. 6A could be about Lydia realizing that this fake Allison has been created for her because the Wild Hunt is afraid of her power, but only if she chooses to use it.

And with respect to Allison, Lydia has more grieving to do. She's been struggling to process her death since it happened. She spends all of season 4 trying to find a way to help people as a response to Allison's death, but then is locked in a basement for the finale. In season 5, she has to be told by Stiles about Allison's role in defeating the Beast. Lydia deserves a season in which she can properly grieve Allison. She's literally the wailing woman! Let her wail!

As a final note, I'll add that I was frustrated with the way Stydia was done in this season. I dislike it strongly but waffled on including it because I've never been a big Stydia shipper, and so I worry that this criticism will seem motivated by my disinterest in the ship, rather than my frustration with its execution. My issue, though, is not Stydia itself but how little the show explored Lydia's subjectivity. 

Imho 6a substitutes Lydia remembering Stiles for her liking him, and prioritizes exploring his feelings over hers. It's clear from the first episode that Stiles is still in love with her, even if he's accepted they'll never be a romantic couple—which is one of my favorite things about Stiles, and a great part of O'Brien's portrayal. But when it comes to Lydia liking Stiles, the show focuses on how she's the one to remember him. But that's also, apparently, because she's a banshee? They focus on that at the expense of her personal feelings for him, and when the scene is most explicitly about their connection—in the memory landscape sequence of "Memory Found"—the focus is on Stiles' feelings for her. It just didn't seem like it was about Lydia in a meaningful way. The previous season, she'd been into Parrish, which is a pairing I despise and don't want to see more of, but the fact remains it was important to Lydia. The lack of exploration of how Lydia had ended it or moved on from it felt like more dismissal of her experiences. Stydia seemed like it was ultimately about making sure the audience knew Stiles is important, at the expense of a real exploration of their dynamic, which I discuss more below.

You Don't Have To Stop But Could You. So, okay, stay with me on this one. I loved that Theo returned, and thought they did some great things with him, BUT that's not why we're gathered here today. Despite enjoying a lot about Theo's dreamscape sequence, I was really frustrated by the way it framed Tara and what its impact was clearly intended to be.

I really loved the first scenes of Theo's return: he's dirty, angry, confused, and biting. He looks exhausted with his own bullshit, but instantly attacks Liam and Hayden and then threatens to kill everyone, and lies by omission about Douglas (and his own powers?), reflexively playing his cards close to the vest. He's looking out for himself and averse to personal risk. I thought they did a good job of presenting a Theo who has the potential to change, but hasn't yet. He's not really ready to see Scott and Malia again, and reverts to flippancy. 

We also get a scene in “Ghosted” of how deeply Theo hurt Malia. She hallucinates his betrayal in connection with her guilt about her own family; both of them are still deep wounds for her. It makes sense that she would lose control at the sight of Theo suddenly showing up in Scott's living room with a little "you aren't still upset about the whole shooting thing, are you?"

But then the episode ends!

And the next one starts with the Tara dreamscape.

Again, I don't want to sound like I disliked this sequence full stop. I've written meta about its relationship with Scott's dreamscape sequence and what it says about Theo, but I remain frustrated with how the basic impact is about generating sympathy for Theo. Tara is the victim the viewer knows least (vs Josh or Tracy or Scott), her death the most ambiguous (we only see Theo watching in what could be a daze, like the one pre-resurrection Tracy was in), and her only role in this sequence is to hurt Theo. She doesn't have any subjectivity beyond that: she's not Theo's sister, betrayed by her little brother's violence towards her, ready to explain her point of view. She's a gory ghost who barely reacts to Theo, a walking prop.

Theo, meanwhile, is there to be pitiable. When he was pulled under, he was powerful, and attacking everyone, and wearing shoes. Now he wanders barefoot through the hospital, and at the sight of Tara, he just runs. Beyond some frustration with the door, there's none of the vicious anger he showed in season 5. 

To be clear, it's not that I think Theo shouldn't be pitied or doesn't have this vulnerability, and Cody Christian does a stellar job with this scene, which is also beautifully atmospheric. But in terms of the impact of the scene on the viewer, it's there to create pity for Theo at the expense of grappling with any of the violence he did. It frustrates me because the sequence easily could have addressed his violence while still making him look sympathetic.

Theo was trapped in and perpetuated a cycle of violence. The viewers don't know the full truth about Tara, but we do with Scott, Josh, and Tracy. Theo killed them. What's more, we know all three tried to have a connection with him: Josh followed him post-resurrection despite the fact that Theo had been the one to kill him the first time; Scott wanted Theo in his pack, trusted him, and tried to be there for him; and Tracy was in love with him, trying to help him, without judgement, even when he was at his lowest. It would have been much more meaningful to have Theo face them instead of Tara, or at least in addition to her. 

It also would have been more meaningful to have Theo reckon with his capacity to do violence, rather than his fear of suffering it. We all know Theo is scared of being hurt; Theo knows most of all. He's even honest about it: "I don't want to be one of the bodies, it's that simple." What he has more trouble with is confronting how he perpetuates a cycle of violence, or even that he's in one. The dream sequence as it is does have Theo confront the idea of an endless, unchanging cycle, but it would have been much more effective to have that cycle be about the violence Theo did.

Think about how it would have looked if, once Tara dragged Theo down, Theo went on to reenact any of the violence he did, over and over and over. He could push Tara off the bridge over and over, but it'd be even more impactful to have him kill Josh over and over. He already killed him twice, but now he has to do it forever.

Scott stands there, barely on his feet, betrayed and weary, and says, "Now you have to kill me yourself." 

And Theo does, over and over. 

Tracy tells him, over and over, "You're hurt. You need time to heal." 

And Theo kills her for it, over and over. 

You'd get the same progression towards despair, but now it would be much more about Theo confronting what he did. It would still be a sympathetic depiction of a lost kid, shaped and trapped by brutal forces, while addressing his own choices, and why Malia might be so upset to see him.

As it stands, the sequence undermines Theo's history and Malia's reasonable reaction to him. We get her flashback/hallucination, Theo's inflammatory return, but then an episode break, followed by an extended sequence in which Theo is nothing but helpless and pitiable, finally followed by Malia's rage. Her reaction is divorced from the catalysts of the previous episode, and the scene of her anger even contains a callback to the dreamscape ("you don't have to stop"). I've made my peace with it, but it remains frustrating as a choice from Davis, who wrote this episode.

Malia Middle Name Tate.* Again, there's a lot I love about what they do with Malia in 6A, but now is not the time for love. So much of Malia's screentime is about Stiles and Peter at her expense. Those are both huge relationships for Malia, but they're not explored on her terms. 

The last we saw of her and Stiles, they'd broken up over a complicated situation. Stiles ends things at a self-destructive moment, as Malia tells him she would accept him even if he did kill Donovan. In some ways, I think Stiles is punishing her for this acceptance out of self-loathing, but it's also about the fact that Malia's acceptance is clearly tied to her own desire to kill the Desert Wolf. She accepts what might be Stiles' violence because she wants him to accept that she plans to kill Corinne, and Stiles isn't cool with that. The two never speak about it again, though, even though Malia subsequently doesn't kill Corinne. By season 6, the two obviously have baggage, as seen in their clash over the senior portrait. 

Once Stiles is gone, we see that he's still her anchor. I thought this was an interesting choice, because Scott and Allison's breakup was what forced Scott to be his own anchor. It would have been interesting to see that for Malia, or for her to decide that she still wants Stiles to be her anchor as a friend, or any sort of arc where she processes the breakup or her own feelings or makes decisions about Stiles for herself. Instead, the anchor concept seems to exist to remind the viewer how important Stiles is in general: he's Malia's anchor! Look how lost she is without him! Stiles simply must be rescued from the Wild Hunt! Malia isn't the one to break through the veil, however, and after he's back, there's still no sense of what this means for Malia. Her subjectivity re: Stiles is just ignored. After he comes back, she doesn’t even get a scene to greet him.

It's even worse with her "arc" with Peter. The last we see of those two is in the finale of season 4, when Peter betrays her. After going out of his way to get close to her, he literally tosses her aside and tries to kill her friends. Season 5 begins with Malia confirming that she's Malia Tate, not Malia Hale. She then forgets Peter until he returns from the Wild Hunt, when she goes to take his pain and is suddenly struck with the memory of his betrayal. That's the entirety of their relationship. 

Meanwhile, Peter is busy carving the biggest revenge spiral of his life in Eichen, suggesting he hasn't changed much from the end of season 4, before he's swept away by the Wild Hunt. I didn't dislike his scenes with Stiles at the train station, but to the extent that it's about his relationship with Malia, it cuts out Malia. Stiles' contempt for how alone Peter is as a result of his actions is good, as is his desperate plea for Peter to help his daughter, if no one else—but Malia sees none of this. She goes to Peter after his return only because he seems marginally less horrible than Theo, and still doesn't trust him. And why would she? Why would the viewer? We saw how big that revenge spiral was. 

Peter does go on to sacrifice himself for Malia, but these moments are always about Peter and what he wants, and they lead to one of the most abhorrent moments of the show. The fact that Malia is forced to call him "dad" despite obviously not wanting to is just gross. It's all about what Peter wants, and honestly, why would he even want this? It's meaningless because it's forced, and it's especially foul that Lydia is written to be the one telling Malia to do this, given Peter's history with her. I hate it!!

Meanwhile, where is Henry, the father she chose? Was he kidnapped by the Wild Hunt? Did she ever tell him she's a werecoyote, or about the Desert Wolf? 6A won't tell us. We see in "Ghosted" that her mother and sister's death still haunts her, but does the season do anything with that? No.

The last grump I'll add re: Malia's treatment is how little she gets with Theo. I've already talked about how I disliked how her anger at Theo is framed, and it was especially frustrating that it wasn't followed up with anything beyond an angry quip in the finale. Liam gets a series of scenes (good ones!) where he works through his anger at Theo, and it's incredibly frustrating that Malia, after having a much more intimate dynamic with him in season 5, gets so little. I despise the writers' choice to ignore them.

*This is a tiny thing but in the birth certificate prop for Malia in season 4, you can see that her name is written as Baby Malia. So. Technically. Malia is her middle name. Baby: a beautiful name for a baby.

Mieczysław. You knew this was coming. My frustration with how Stiles was handled this season is about the ways in which it's done at the expense of other characters, and even of Stiles himself.

The premise of 6a was to work around O'Brien's absence by making it a plot point. Stiles becomes the focus of the season, but theoretically, characters could have space to work through their relationships with him, and potentially plenty more for dynamics with other characters. 

But in practice, the writers clutter the season with repeated empty claims about Stiles' importance that stifle exploration of Stiles' relationships. Yes, he's Malia's anchor, but what does that mean now, after season 5, and how does it change over the course of the season? Yes, he's Scott's best friend, but again, what does that mean now? How does the season help them grow and develop? A lot of screentime is given to the sheriff, who gets long soliloquies about Stiles' importance, but there's no sense of development in their relationship or even any context. We don't, for instance, get any sense of what it means for the sheriff to have forgotten his own son, or how this revelation relates to things like refusing to believe him about the supernatural in 3a. On top of all of that, the sheriff's consistent presence and the primacy of his relationship with Stiles only emphasizes how marginalized every other parent-child relationship is in 6a: Scott&Melissa, Lydia&Natalie, Malia&Henry, Liam&Dr. Geyer, and Hayden&Valerie get almost nothing. I wonder if Noshiko has any thoughts on the importance of your child being remembered.

Some of the references to Stiles are poignant—the Jeep, for instance—but their impression overall is that the writers thought that Stiles could be replaced with cardboard cutouts. We get a parade of props, disconnected anecdotes and lore, the useless introduction of Elias (never seen before or after and gives them no new information<3), and of course, my worstie, Claudia.

Claudia's presence is a reference to Stiles, but not meaningfully about him; Stiles only finds her at the very end, and instantly rejects her. The biggest arc re: Claudia is the sheriff's, and while I'm not, like, against the idea of him grieving Claudia, it's done at the expense of Lydia's arc. To the extent that Lydia focuses on Claudia, the show seems to be trying to suggest that Stiles is important to her, but the message is undermined by the cheap cipher. Is she thinking about Stiles because he's important to her, or because there's a fake lady in his house right now? Is her relationship to him about her feelings for him, or her role as a banshee?

And again, all of this is at the expense of something like Lydia's grief for Allison.

If we needed to pad Stiles’ absence with proxies for him, why not at least give us characters who explore his dynamic with the pack? Why not, say, a flashback scene of when baby him met baby Lydia? We have actors for both their younger counterparts. Or, better yet, why not scenes between Stiles and Scott as little kids? Again, we have the actors, and it would allow for more exploration of their relationships. It’d be especially meaningful for Sciles, given their anxieties this season, but I have more thoughts on that below.

The Alpha of Beacon Hills. The extent to which Scott is shut out of arcs and relationships is bananas. There are things I like (Scott&Liam, Scott&Lydia&Malia as besties), but we're here for the parts that frustrated me, which were numerous:

His future and dreams. This builds on my frustration with Davis's general disinterest in the characters' lives, which I discussed above, but it was an unresolved plot point for Scott last season and gets worse this season. Season 5 (last semester) made Scott's future more tenuous than ever. His dream is UC Davis's prestigious vet science program, and he's working his ass off to get into it: he's got school, extracurriculars, his job, and the constant life-or-death chaos of people trying to kill him or wreak havoc he's told he's duty-bound to stop. Season 5 Scott seems despairingly resigned to things always getting worse, but also throws himself into things like AP Bio, despite his friends' lack of faith in him (hated that scene) and his teacher's negging. Then, of course, Theo and the Dread Doctors show up, and the last we hear is that Scott has missed a deadline for a scholarship. In 6a, he's excelling at his psych elective (AP Psych?), but is still stressed about how much class he's missed.

Then we get nothing until the very end of the season, when Stiles asks in passing: "Real question is, how did you get into UC Davis?" Why is this such a tiny moment? Why is Stiles so uncharacteristically snide about this achievement, when he's been one of Scott's biggest cheerleaders, and this season is meant to be a Sciles season? Wtf?

Scira. Not one word about Scott dealing with Kira's absence. Not one word!! Everyone jail forever!

Scott&Peter. This could have been such a juicy arc. Scott's last interaction with Peter was the season 4 showdown, but Scott still has hope for Peter—a hope he's committed to even when it causes friction with his best friend. Peter's return and his tentative interest in connecting with his daughter would have been a great basis for exploring what it means for Scott to have this hope, or just an exploration of Scott and Peter in general. Peter is Scott's first supernatural villain and his own supernatural origin story, and Scott forgets him. The show gives us a beautifully devastating scene where Scott goes to help a seriously injured man and, in taking his pain, discovers that this was the man who caused him some of his own worst pain! Scream!

But then… nothing? Scott and Peter barely have interactions, never mind a meaningful dynamic. It could have been so powerful. Such a waste.

Scott&Theo. Some of this was really good! The moment when Scott walks into his house and suddenly sees the kid who murdered him standing in his living room, seemingly have once again convinced Liam to believe him! I loved it! We get a very rare moment of Scott being at the edge of his rope, ready to snap, and we can see Theo's shock. The last time he saw Scott, Scott was angry but also desperate to get away, shaking when he got close to him, staring at him with big sad eyes. But now things have changed! You can see it hit Theo. That's so good, and there are elements of the Sceo arc in this season that I adore.

But after that dynamic return, Scott and Theo split up, and we don't get any of the charged conversations and confrontations that Liam and Theo get—why not? It would have been so good!

What moments we do get prioritize Theo's perspective. In the finale showdown with Douglas, for example, he mocks Scott that a lone wolf never survives. At that point, Theo makes his entrance to declare: "He's not alone. He's got a pack."

This is so significant! It directly recalls the murder, when Theo trapped Scott alone and told him he didn't have a pack. Beyond that, Theo's risking his life in a seemingly impossible fight, just to back up Scott, without even claiming he's part of the pack, and in facing Douglas, he's confronting a demon from his own past.

But that's the point. This moment is mostly about Theo. We barely get Scott's reaction, beyond the shock of Theo's arrival, and then the tone changes with Malia and Peter's arrival. We don't get Scott's perspective on that moment, or Theo at this point, or anything else with them. Blech.

Scott&Melissa. I could go on about how their dynamic was dropped about halfway through season 2, but I'm gonna try to keep it to 6a here so please know I'm exhibiting great restraint! Anyway, they get so little. There's that devastating scene in "Ghosted" when Scott hallucinates that his mother's been murdered and doesn't yet realize it. So haunting, and potentially so resonant to their relationship: does he worry that being a constantly targeted werewolf has doomed her? That he can't protect her? That he's already lost her in some sense? How does it tie in to the fact that she's then taken by the Wild Hunt, and he's seemingly doomed to lose her, that he's lost her already? We barely linger on that moment.

We see him teach her to use a weapon, but the moment's gravity is ignored for the joke of her electrocuting her son. Melissa's arc with Chris is half-played for laughs, even though it represents a significant move on her part to become more involved. Why now? What does it mean for her? For that matter, what does it mean for her to date the man who once treated her son like a rabid dog? Does she even know about that? Does her son have any feelings about their relationship? We don't know. 

Scott&Stiles. Omg, ok, where to begin. This should have been the Sciles season, and its faults had nothing to do with the acting—the love and loss was palpable for Posey and O'Brien, and I think that gives their arc the poignancy people love about this season. They act their hearts out around some really awful writing.

The writing starts off well. It seems like the season is going to address some of the fallout and unresolved communication issues of season 5. Stiles, who's still petrified of losing everyone, is obsessed with being "needed," while Scott, who's been shackled to a nightmare since he was bitten, is desperate to no longer be required to fight. This recalls a lot of the tension of 5x01, which was never really addressed, and it's a great theme for the final semester of senior year.

The two also struggle to articulate how much they mean to each other, which seems like a lingering issue from s5. By the end of 5b, they'd affirmed that they were on the same page, in the same pack, and needed each other, but hadn't articulated their anxieties about losing each other. A season in which they're separated is the perfect way to explore it, and at first, it seems like they're going to. Scott uses his psych class to guess at how Stiles' anxieties are manifesting, as if it's been on his mind. He asks nervously if Stiles wants to split up (to look for clues), and seems relieved when Stiles refuses, as if the question is about something deeper.

Stiles, for his part, answers with meaningful intensity. He's clearly trying to express that he doesn't want to lose Scott, in the same way that his obsession with being "needed" is about not wanting to lose people, and being convinced that a crisis is the only way to hold on to them. Scott, meanwhile, sees crises as what get between him and his connections to people—they're what take people away from him, and him away from his life with them. This is a great theme to explore for Sciles, because the answer to both issues is the fact that their friendship has always been bigger than supernatural crises—older than Scott being bitten, bigger than the Wild Hunt. Scott could assure Stiles that he's never going to lose him—not because Scott needs his help, but because he wants his friendship. He'll never draw away even if it means tearing apart the Wild Hunt. Stiles, for his part, could assure Scott that no matter how many crises there are, how often Scott is forced to be the true alpha, he'll always be Stiles' friend first: "You'll always be human to me." Both significant statements after s5!

At the very least, the season seems like it's going to make these two articulate how much they mean to each other. In one of my favorite moments of the season, Stiles realizes he's going to be taken and tries to talk to Scott. O'Brien's acting is so good here, because you can see that Stiles is beyond trying to explain what the problem is. He just wants to tell Scott something like goodbye, how much Scott means to him—but he can't. There's no way he's saying goodbye, and his love for Scott is too big to articulate.

And Posey's reaction is soooo good. You can see Scott take in that Stiles is clearly struggling with something, and that this struggle is significant in the same way as the one from the previous season. He won't push Stiles to talk right now, and wants Stiles to know he isn't drawing away: "Tell me later." At the same time, he's holding Stiles to actually come talk to him, instead of stewing like he did in s5: tell me later.

But then Stiles is gone! Scream!

And then, once Stiles is gone, Scott struggles with how to articulate how much Stiles means through the hole his absence creates. All he can say is that it feels like he's missing a limb, and when it comes time to remember Stiles in "Memory Found," he gets so overwhelmed with how much Stiles means to him that he almost dies. 

All of this suggests that the payoff for this struggle is them finally articulating what they mean to each other--in the most basic way! They're traumatized eighteen year old guys, no one is expecting speeches. Just something about how their friendship answers some of their most existential worries: "I still got you."

But instead we get:

SCOTT: They still need us. STILES: They'll always need us. And, you know, I... I need you. You know that. SCOTT: I need you, too. I'm gonna miss you. STILES: No, really, I need you, though. Uh... I lost my license in the Hunt, so you have to drive.

Why is Davis so allergic to meaningful expressions of love in the context of characters leaving? So many characters disappear with no goodbyes (Jackson, Isaac, Danny), or only the briefest one (Kira, Derek). O'Brien and Posey do their best with this scene—both of them seem near tears—but the writing's joke-y tone works against them at every turn. It's Stiles' final scene before the finale, and the capstone to Scott's greatest relationship in the season and arguably his greatest in the show, and it could have been so much stronger if Davis weren't an infuriating mix of apathetic and cowardly.

This concludes this episode of Spikeface’s Sundry 6A Snipes! Thank you for letting me rant<3. 

[sinnabarmoth]

what kind of deres r the guys (+ explain?)

This is where being an anime nerd is finally helpful! (BTW some of these dere types usually are associated strictly with only women but I feel that is limiting so everything is unisex!)

Zayne: The best fit I could think of for Zayne is a Rindere. Rinderes are described as being this really reserved, dignified, and mature person who has a kind of cool and distant attitude. People look up to them because they're super calm most of the time but they do act more outwardly loving when with their love interest. And if that does not perfectly describe Zayne I don't know what does! Zayne is a very mature personality and he is always trying to be very dignified when talking to people. The only person he ever seems to show a more emotional side to is MC, even if he starts treating her cooly at the beginning he opens up more as the story goes on and has a playful personality in memories.

Xavier: I was actually stuck between w for Xavier. My initial reaction was to classify him as a Nemuidere. Nemuidere are people who are just super sleepy and only care about sleeping, their love interest is like the only person that can wake them up and keep them awake. It was just too perfect not to at least mention it for our chronically sleep guy. But if I had to pick a more serious one I'd go with a Dandere who are said to be very quiet and stoic characters who only come out of their shells and act more talkative and cute when with their love interest. Which given how in Xavier's anecdotes and stuff he's described as not being very social and keeping to himself a lot of the time also works for him.

Rafayel: I feel like I'm shitting on him a little bit but Rafayel is a Shundere. A shundere is known for being very sad when their love interest does not pay attention to them. Full on pouty and lost baby boy. They do not want to be alone and will give their love interest a very sad cute face to guilt them into staying with them. That's Rafayel to a tee! This man got upset when you didn't come visit him in the hospital sooner to the point he pretended to have amnesia because of it. He checked himself into the hospital over a sprained ankle just for the drama of it. He's also been waiting hundreds of years to be with MC again so yeah, he's gonna be really sad when not with his love interest.

Sylus: Sylus was actually really hard to place but in the end I had to go with my gut. Sylus is a freaking Smugdere if there ever was one. Like the name suggests smugderes are super cocky, they love teasing their love interests, and they have a signature smirk that they flash at their love interest just to get a rise out of them. They act super composed while teasing them and are more joking and sarcastic about it than actually feeling some kind of superiority or entitlement. Look me in my eyes and tell me that isn't Sylus. Sylus loves teasing MC and keeps up his composure while doing so but I feel like it is done out of humor rather than any kind of actual malice.

Yizhou: I simply do not know enough about this man to give him anything other than Osadere. Osaderes are the childhood friend who either always loved their love interest or grew up and realized they were in love with them. Yizhou gives me big, they were always in love with MC vibes but didn't say anything because he didn't want to jeopardize their friendship in case she didn't return his feelings. I wish there was more for me to say but that's really all I got for the guy.

[clickety-clacker]

Do you think Click Clack tried to be a sort of mentor for Cobigail when she first ascended since he was the next youngest after her or do you think maybe one of the other gods took up that role?

Ooooh, now that is a very interesting thought.

I think, personally, Click Clack would want to... in theory. But, as he's proved multiple times over in-game, he's not exactly the pinnacle of communication. He can be a bit dense, a bit extra, and more than a little full of himself (see: living in a golden penthouse and referring to himself with adjectives like 'handsome'. Who does that).

I think this would... clash, a bit, with Cobigail. She's a teacher (someone who has to take no shit from people), she's a country lady, and she clearly has some crazy self confidence to pull some of the pranks she's done.

On first meeting I really think that those two personalities combined would lead to Click trying very hard to be a 'cool and awesome mentor' but coming off a bit... snobby? Where Cobigail is very 'yeahhh i dont need any of that. I want, like, a coworker to show me the ropes, not a Boss'. This leads to her sort of on purpose fulling away from him, even when he does have good advice.

Enter: Thespius.

Thespius is what Cobigail wants in a "mentor", so to speak. He's kind, also loves music, and treats her more like an equal than Click (at least, how it's perceived. I will once again reinstate I don't think Clicky is trying to be bossy or full of himself, he can just come off that way easily if you don't know him well).

They hit it off very quickly- and I think they became fast friends. They have a lot of shared interests, and even a lot of shared aesthetics (plants/flowers, similar cloudlike domains, music, etc). This is even shown in game, where Thespius mentions having talked to Cobigail before you even arrive in Hobbyhoo. They're good friends!

Anyway, back to fresh baby-god Cobi timeline- while they still have some unresolved pining, Click Clack and Thespius are still very, very close. They're not 'avoiding each other' kind of pining for those 100-something years. They're the kinda guys to share the same bed and go 'haha thats what friends do right' kinda repressed. Anyway.

By virtue of being close friends with Thespius, he's the one that helps Click and Cobi get along better. She realizes that Clicky isn't trying to be so snobbish, and Click finally gets it into his dense little head that he's trying too hard, and makes an effort to... not do that.

And it's at this point that they also become friends, and wow, yeah, Click Clack does have a lot of good advice and knowledge, especially being the god of teamwork- something that overlaps heavily with her own domain.

(Of course, with all of this being said, all of the gods help mentor her in their own way. Bauhauzzo is probably one of the best gods for actual knowledge and advice, Huzzle Mug for solving problems, and Mitternacht for comfort- it was just Thespius that Cobi ended up drawing to because learning from him felt more like hanging out than getting a 'lesson'.)

[imogenkol]

KINCADE PACK 🐺 (original works) — “The name goes back centuries, and all Miranda cares about is making sure it lasts for many more”

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