#this chapter kicked my ass lmao. but i fought back

[ashlingiswriting]

do i know you? chapter four

[ 5k words ] [ prev chapters: one, two, three ] [ masterlist ] "he's actually asking you the question—you, of all people. it’s so funny, it could break your heart." richie jerimovich x reader, past mikey berzatto x reader, slow burn warning: vague conversation about assault (no actual assault happened against any canon character), organized crime activities, mild claustrophobia

when you push open the door, you expect to find richie tucked away safe from the harsh wind, leaning against the wall in his usual spot. instead, he’s sitting on the sidewalk in front of your building, his ass on the curb and his feet on the asphalt, like he’s daring the cars to run over his toes. he doesn’t look like he’s waiting for somebody, he looks abandoned.

you tuck away your latest story—egyptian history is clearly not meant for tonight—and walk over to him. what’s up? 

he says nothing. 

all right, then. you sigh and you drop into a squat beside him, both feet flat, knees under your upper arms, and arms loosely crossed.

i can do this all night, you say.

his eyes don’t so much as flicker. his big black leather jacket has always looked ridiculous, oversized, like he’s playing dress up in his dad’s clothes, but there’s a touch of pathos to the slouch of it now. there’s a weariness that has soaked into him because he’s been marinating in it over the months. there’s pain, too, so much that you can’t help but think of michael. 

it’s eva, he finally says.

the richie bad news thing? you say. it’s a wild guess but better than nothing. you have to say something, anchor him before he drifts off again.

he shakes his head. she said this man at school, he, uh. he really freaked her out today. i don’t know. 

your stomach drops. nausea sets in immediately, but you push past it. step one is to protect her, and everything else can be dealt with later. you’re horrified to discover that after all that painstaking care you spent making sure he’s never cross-contaminated with your business, now there’s no choice. now there’s a threat. whatever the cost of the method, the threat has to end.  

uncrossing your arms, you reach out and put your hand on richie’s arm, grip him firm through the leather jacket, and look at him squarely. 

he blinks, looks down at your hand—you’ve never touched him before—and then up at your face. 

slow, steady, marshaling every word of your command to pierce through the fog he’s in, you say: don’t do anything. i know a guy. 

at that, his eyes sharpen and narrow, baffled. what are you talking about? he says. ow, jesus.

you search his face hard and clutch his arm even harder, like you can wring the truth out of him by the strength of your fingers alone.

she’s okay? you say.

she’s okay.

oh. pause. when the relief hits, it hits so hard, it’s nearly grief and it’s far too late. your mouth has gone bitter and your heartbeat is like a jackhammer to cement, reverberating through your body loud and fast and unstoppable. you let go of him.

richie’s face wrinkles with confusion, and he figures it out entire minutes too late. why would you think—

because it’s always some dirty old man, there’s always—you have to stop. your voice has gone transparent and you’re helpless to fix it. swallowing hard doesn’t help. standing up so fast that you’re lightheaded, that helps a little, though you don’t like the useless swing of your arms at your sides. 

finally, you manage to say, i’m not crazy, these things fucking happen. 

these things happen, but eva’s okay. nothing’s happened to her. richie says it with a terrible gentleness you can imagine him bestowing on a car crash survivor or a starved stray dog. his hand closes over your ankle through your jeans, the touch a shockwave that goes right through you. hey, i’m sorry, he says. 

between leftover nausea and fresh embarrassment, you can’t even look at him, so stare far over his head and say, don’t.

he lets go. you wish he didn’t. 

after a while, he says, you’ve never even met her.

she’s yours, though.

and there it is. the truth. you don’t know when this happened, but somewhere along the way, your care has stopped being richie’s inheritance from michael. now you care simply because it’s richie. it’s a surprise to find that there is someone left alive you’d kill for, but it also feels completely natural. if you’re dropped in water, you will swim. if you’re hit, you’ll hit back. if eva ever does get in trouble, you’ll do what you have to do. and that’s it. 

the thought becomes so real you could touch it like a photograph in your back pocket. there’s someone left that you’d kill for. good to know.

you turn away from him, using the wind as an excuse, sheltering your cigarette and lighting it up again. richie stays sitting right where he is, as though you haven’t confessed anything. there really is a merciful streak in him about five miles wide.

the nausea abates, after a little while. the thought occurs to you that you can’t just get lost in your head again. he’s still sitting there, he still needs you.

so what’d this guy say. you keep your voice as casual as you can. the man at the school. what freaked her out so bad?

never mind, richie says. it’s okay.

i swear to god, richie, after all that, you better tell me about it. 

okay, he says, every bit as exhausted and miserable as before, but at least no longer fully bogged down in his own head. you wanna sit down?

no.

he nods. into the fraught silence, his words come slower now. he speaks like he’s groping in the dark for the shape of his thoughts, fitting his hand to each individual word, mindful of sharp edges. 

a poet visited her school today. he’d written something for them about the class caterpillar that died last week. i don’t know whose genius idea that was, but anyway. he pauses. now she’s asking me about things dying. people dying, you know. her mom. me.

after a second, you say, fucking poets, with real sympathy. 

he nods wearily. somebody shot at the beef today too. we’re fine, nobody got hurt, it’s nothing, it’s. he rubs his forehead with his hand. it was a nice poem.

yeah? you say. 

whole city’s just fucking…

he gestures once, gives up, and lets his hand dangle from his knee. 

after a second, you sit down next to him, cross-legged and companionable.

what was it like? you say. the poem.

i can’t remember the words, he says. the general idea was, like. all a caterpillar needs to do is be what it is. eat everything, dream of flying. that’s what it’s meant to do. he looks over. you know what we’re meant to do?

he's actually asking you the question—you, of all people. it’s so funny, it could break your heart. you shake your head.

me neither. when he looks back out at the street, his eyes rest on the shadows in a way that makes the shadows seem that much more desolate. i mean, i’ve done things, but not. he doesn’t finish the thought aloud. 

finally, he says, what would a poet even do with me?

a dark suspicion tries to grab onto, but it’s so ludicrous and so extreme that you bat it away. you just made the mistake of falling prey to a baseless, sick fear once. twice in one night, that’s too much.

what would a poet do with either of us? you say. but you’re not gonna die.

i might.

the worst thing about it is how quiet richie says it. it's not an argument. it's just a fact.

you’re not, you say fiercely.

richie turns his head and looks at you, his blue eyes fraught and unwavering. 

how do you know?  

ping! 

fuck. your phone shouldn’t go off now, of all times. you haven’t had to deal with so much as a simple flesh wound since little caruso got shipped to the hospital, and now is the moment you get called in? if you ignore this text while you’re supposed to be on call, you could get fired or worse. 

you ignore the text. back to the question: how do you know richie’s not gonna die? because he can’t. because you won’t allow it.

you say, if you’re not around, who’s gonna explain to your daughter that poets are all a bunch of shitheads? 

ping! ping! ping!

fuck me, you mutter, putting your phone on vibrate.

it’s all right, never mind, richie says. he looks faintly sick, or maybe that’s just the cold and the time of night. 

it’s not all right, but you open your phone anyway. as you start reading the texts, your heart rate goes into overdrive and the eerie calm of crisis descends on you. 

i’m sorry, you say, meaning it. i’m really sorry. but you gotta get out of here.

as if to drive home your point, your phone vibrates in your hand with two more texts.

at first richie doesn’t move, and you’re afraid he’ll argue, or protest, or do anything that will force your hand to choose cruelty so you can get rid of him fast. but instead, he finally hauls himself to his feet. 

you know a guy, huh, he says.

you don’t want to acknowledge the insinuation with any kind of an answer, which as it turns out is a mistake.

it’s all right, he says. i’m kind of a diy guy myself.

you look up. don’t be.

the wind is tearing at your hair, and at that angle, in shadow, his eyes look unusually dark, not one hint of blue.

i can’t track the fucking joke with you sometimes, richie says.

i’m not joking. 

your phone vibrates once again.

fuck. you have no choice. you stand up, look at him as kindly as you know how, and say, get out of here. please. 

and he does. 

.

.

.

the texts come from an anonymous number, just like always. 

> 28 ppl carbon monoxide poisoning

> 2 dead already

> no hospital

> beth can’t come

> 3 dead

> be there soon

the answer is obvious. if the poisoning has gotten so advanced that some of the victims are already dying, then only in-hospital treatment can save them. even a quick google could’ve come up with this answer, and yet it feels like it’s taking you twice as long to reason it out when half your brain is helplessly looping over and over on you’re not gonna die and i might.

when a black corolla pulls up next to you only a minute later, you yank open the passenger’s side door only to find the seat already occupied.

holy shit.

jack? you say, stunned. i thought you were in prison.

he’s big, round-shouldered and full-bearded, and he looks even bigger squashed into this small car. he’s also sweating like a motherfucker. 

i was. get in.

you hurl yourself into the backseat and the driver takes off before you’ve even managed to get your hand on the seatbelt. the sudden violence sets you back on track. who cares how the oldest caruso kid got free? what matters are your patients. 

listen, if we don’t do a hospital drop, these people are all dead, you say.

why? 

you’re so grateful it’s jack. he’s brutally competent and efficient, not a word or a breath wasted, and he’s the only caruso kid who ever actually listens to you. 

if carbon monoxide poisoning is this bad, we can’t just slap a bunch of oxygen masks on them and call it a day. that’s not enough, it won’t work fast enough. not with three dead already. 

what do we need?

your skin is practically humming. hyperbaric chamber. lay them in an airtight container built specially for the purpose, fill it with pure oxygen, crank up the pressure. this is the kind of equipment that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, so they probably don’t even have them at a place like saint anthony’s. these people need a level care of care that only northwestern-level money can buy, okay? or maybe uic. i don’t even think they’ll have enough chambers for all of them in one building, we might have to do two separate dumps, or—

no hospitals, jack says. we have orders. 

now you remember why he’s the worst of the caruso kids too. he’s the smartest, which means he should fucking know better. 

how much do these people know? you say. when that gets you nowhere, you drop subtlety and go straight for the jugular. are you really willing to kill twenty-five people just to please your fucking dad?

i’d kill you if i got orders, he says. don’t waste time.

it’s a breathtaking thing to hear, and yet, on some level, you were expecting it. after a second, you say, they’re dead, then. but tell me what we got.

no hospital raids, not around here. dad says it might fuck things up for little if a theft cranks up hospital security. but you’ve got as many oxygen canisters as you want down at the blackbird processing plant. 

and that’s where we’re headed?

yeah.

okay, you say, and it sounds like a question. but then, five minutes later, you say okay like it’s the answer too.

jack fully turns around in his seat to look at you. he’s going prematurely gray at the temples, and in the dark, his eyes look bottomless.

what do you need?  he says.

and for once, you know. what you need, what you are, and what you’re meant to do. so you tell him.

.

.

.

when you arrive, there are only a few lights on inside the factory. you and jack get on an indoor vehicle, a little white golf cart, and speed through a looming, shadowy forest of metallic machinery. 

your patients are waiting for you, all of them unconscious and laid out neatly like logs in two rows on the ground. their faces and clothes look sickeningly similar to each other, so you glance at jack and mentally add human trafficking to the long list of his family’s crimes. 

there’s also around two dozen men who all came to attention when jack stepped off the golf cart, standing silent and expectant. one of them is different from the others, a short man with the distinctive, overwhelmed expression of a civilian who just got drafted. that must be roberto, the floor manager that you talked to earlier on the phone. 

sedatives? you say, and one of the men hands you a big plastic bin full of smaller boxes. you pick one up and squint at the tiny print on the white and orange label. fuck me. 

the sedative they managed to get on short notice? it’s dormosedan. which is mean to be used on fucking horses. horses. jesus christ. yeah no, you’re not giving that to your patients. 

we’ve got ahold of ten oxygen masks, says jack. eta twenty minutes. 

you shake your head. you can see everything in viciously crisp color, time has slowed to syrup, and you can clock even the far-off horn of a distant train. oxygen masks aren’t enough. 

turning to roberto, you gesture at the massive section of piping in front of you. is that it?

i don’t think it’ll work, he says, this close to shaking. 

you speak past him to the assembled men. load them.

beside you, jack nods. with that, the men begin picking up your patients and carrying them to the wide-open hatch in the huge pipe, getting down on hands and knees, crawling, and pulling the unconscious people after them. 

you can’t do this, roberto says. we have to call the cops, we can’t just—

jack reaches for the gun tucked into his jeans and you close your hand over his wrist just in time to stop him from pulling it out. if he gives this guy a heart attack, that’s just one more casualty for you to deal with.

roberto, this is fucking happening, you say. you let go of jack’s wrist, go over, and lean in close to him, ignoring his flinch. you lower your voice. please don’t make me deal with another casualty, we’ve got enough of those already.

after a second, roberto walks away and put his password into the control pad.

when the hatch closes, there are two bodies left lying on the floor, people who are already dead and thus not worth loading. how many patients left living does that make? twenty-four? twenty-three? you’ve lost count.

flood it with oxygen and then increase the pressure, you say to roberto.

how high do you want the pressure?

double whatever the psi is right now.

you can actually see the movement of roberto’s adam’s apple as he swallows.

hey, you say warningly.

after a second, he types in the command. you can hear the humming of the machine as the pressure increases.

you want me to pause it in intervals so the pressure doesn’t increase too fast? he says. 

you have no fucking idea. no, you say. just do it.

you take out your phone and start a timer. you don’t even know how long these people should be in for, or how long the canisters will last, but you sit there with your pencil and paper, gather what you know, and get to work.

they can’t stay in for too long, because you’re terrified of one of them improving enough to wake up trapped in the dark. they’d die of a fucking heart attack, breaking into the list of the world’s top ten most miserable deaths. on the other hand, they have to stay in as long as it takes to oxygenate them, or they’ll be dead for certain. and a third consideration? if they’re in for too long, there is such a thing as oxygen poisoning. which. fucking hell.

you write out your calculations so hurriedly that you can barely read your own figures. god only knows if they’re correct. you finally come up with a number of minutes, and once that time has passed, you tell roberto to lower the pressure. in intervals this time, with pauses in between. after all this maniac effort, you’re not gonna lose anyone to the bends like they’re fucking scuba divers. no, no. you’ve entered the stage when everything is hopeful with zero basis in fact. they’re all gonna make it. every last one of them. 

this is the worst part. the part when all the decisions have been made, and all you can do is stand there and wait. you abandon your paper and pencil on the floor and begin to pace like a maniac, not caring who sees you. 

jack is texting to somebody on his phone, mountainous and intent, but when you pass by him, he says, homemade hyperbaric chamber.

are you supposed to feel fucking encouraged by that?

if they all die, you’re gonna have to kill me too, you mutter in a venomous undertone.

don’t make threats.

the oxygen masks arrive. turns out that only eight of them work, but at least they come with appropriately sized canisters. you instruct jack’s men on how to use the masks on the patients once they emerge from the pipe. if more than eight patients end up making it, they’ll have to rotate the masks between the patients in fifteen-minute intervals. somehow, you don’t think that will be a problem. 

you can hear roberto praying quietly in the background.

time disappears, and the one thing you want most in the world is a smoke, though you can’t have it, not with all these gas canisters around. just one cigarette, that would save you. not a menthol, a sapphire. or maybe just standing partly sheltered from the wind in a spot that smells of those cigarettes, drinking half a smile over a stupid joke, you want it to be over already, you want to go home—

finally, the pipe has been completely depressurized and the patients are taken out one by one and laid out once again in their two rows. you dart forward, accidentally bashing your shoulder against an unexpected bit of machinery in the dark, and kneel beside the first one you see. 

the woman is weathered and broad shouldered, somewhere in her forties, and looking as peaceful as if she’s just taking a nap. there are strands of gray in her dark hair and laugh lines in the corners of her eyes. you don’t want to check her pulse, but you do.

she’s alive. 

all around you, there are footsteps padding by you, quiet words being exchanged. survivors are being laid out, men are fixing the oxygen masks on them, and somewhere in the background, roberto is trying to argue with jack, his voice pitching ever higher with every denial he’s dealt. some of the machines are being turned on in preparation for the morning’s work, great dark monsters humming and growling at each other in the dark. 

this is not over. there is so much left to do. and yet, for a moment, you close your eyes and feel her pulse murmuring it into your fingertips: still here, still here.

.

.

.

when you were first charged with the care of these people, twenty-five of them were alive. by the time they’re carried away from the factory and you’re forced to go home, only nineteen of them are still breathing. 

it’s nineteen more than you thought you could save. it’s still not enough.

when the car drops you off at your building, your eyes go to the spot where richie should be standing, but of course he’s not there. it’s morning, not his hour. why you were expecting him, you don’t know.

you want to tell him about this night more than anything, but you know you never can and you never will. 

.

.

.

you find him laid out neatly like a log, gone cold and facing up. no blood, no wound, nobody else. at least this time they let you come and see him.

the sun comes up over the bridge and stains the cityscape as gold as good. oh, michael.

you kneel without a prayer, run your fingertips across his sweater, soft and slow as though you could still wake him up. your knuckles knock against metal, so you stop short, look down, and there it is: the gun, your gun, the ready death you try to pull from out of his fingers. 

baby, let it go.

his grip goes tight, his blue eyes open slow.

.

.

.

the sound of your evening alarm tears you out of your dreams. you find yourself clutching at empty air so tightly that your nails leave red half-moons in your palms, and at first, you remember nothing but the feeling.

it all comes back in bits and pieces jumbled together: the little white golf cart speeding through the factory floor, the sunrise over the bridge, closed eyes above oxygen masks, the rows of bodies, richie’s eyes. you’re not gonna die and i might.

you sit up fast, fully awake. a chest-crushing certainty takes hold. all the old excuses are carried away from you like paper in the wind. 

he says shit that would scare anyone into wondering if he’s okay, but then he turns around and jokes like nothing’s wrong. he has people he loves dearly, but he still comes to you for comfort that you are hardly able to provide. he has access to a gun. this time, it’ll be his own. other than that, it’s all the same as last time.

the fact that you’ve noticed the pattern is no comfort to you at all. by now, you know richie right down to the ground, from his peculiar little habits to his pet baseball peeves to his customary jewelry to the shape his mouth makes when he doesn’t want to admit that you’re funny. you know him so well.

and you’ve only ever been able to save people if they’re total strangers.

.

.

.

by the time richie strolls up to your building, it’s occurred to you that somewhere in the haze of grief and touch starvation and whatever words a shrink would use to describe the feeling of twenty-five lives depending on you, maybe, just maybe, you’ve gone a little fucking crazy yourself. 

jack won’t return your texts or calls, so you have no idea how your patients are doing, and that is so deeply fucking upsetting that you swerve right back to richie. 

maybe richie’s not deeply depressed. maybe it’s like the time—literally yesterday—when you assumed eva got hurt and psyched yourself up to request permission from old caruso for a full-on murder. 

also, and this cannot be emphasized enough: you only slept for two hours. 

so, mustering the last bit of mental strength left at your disposal, you head downstairs early and decide not to bring up your batshit theory unless you’ve got actual evidence that you’re right. 

richie seems a surprised to find you waiting for him, and he approaches a little awkwardly, his hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets. the sight of him alone is enough to calm you a little, the reality of his stained shirt and haggard face. 

hey, you say, in your very best imitation of a normal person. 

yo, he says. last night was.

yeah, you say. then, as casual as you can, you good?

he shrugs. i am if you are?

you nod. in the silence, you can feel the awkwardness draining away, so you give it a little while before you finally say say, so what’s the story, morning glory?

his nose is running a little and he’s as tired as ever, but the smile is real. you wanna see something crazy?

always.

he gets his phone out of his pocket and flips through a blur of emoji-studded texts to find the thing he’s looking for. 

my buddy tim got video of this crazy fight on the l this morning. looks exactly like that one with the nerd. like, same fucking thing, i swear to god. 

he turns to you and catches you watching him close, soaking him up. he’s stubble-cheeked and grinning, he’s standing solid, he’s completely fucking fine. he has to be.

what one with the nerd, you say, a little too late. noticeably too late, so you add an explanation. i didn’t get much sleep last night.

yeah, i wasn’t gonna say, but. he raises his eyebrows, tilts the words playful enough so they’re not a threat. secret agent?

you hum a bit of the james bond theme song, then point at his phone. you’re gonna have to show me the nerd one first, cause i don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. 

you’re gonna love this, he says.

you shake your head as you get out your pack and your lighter. you have no idea what it’s gonna be, but you’re smiling already. am i actually gonna love this, or is—

no, you’re actually gonna love it, he says.

cause you remember the one with the fuckin poacher trying—

well, maybe my tastes are a little too eclectic for you, a little too avant fucking garde, but—

avant—you burst out laughing. you bruce springsteen motherfucker, don’t talk to me about avant garde. 

bruce springsteen is the man, was that supposed to be an insult? before you can say a thing in your defense, he interrupts. shh, it’s starting. 

you lean against the wall and watch. you’re not gonna cry, but there’s something in the way his body protects you a little extra from the wind. he’s okay. he’s okay, so you must be too.

the video turns out to be exactly the opposite of what you expected, because the nerd wins. in detail, a meathead picks a fight with a skinny little twentysomething redhead, and the redhead retaliates so fast and dirty that even the meathead’s friends seem impressed when they arrive on the scene drag the redhead off him.

right? richie says, when the video ends, supremely satisfied. it’s so funny to you that he loves that video, because between meathead and nerd, you wouldn’t have guessed him as identifying with the nerd. rather than ask him about it, you settle for a childish little poke. you’re too exhausted to do anything else. 

that’s a nerd to you? you say.

he’s wearing fucking glasses, what else do you want.

everyone wears glasses, numbskull. you flick the screen with a finger. that’s not a nerd.

richie splutters. and he’s short!

everyone’s short to you.

richie half turns to you and leans a little into your personal space, looming in a way that makes him occupy your whole field of vision. you stand your ground on instinct.

yeah, you’re short to me all right, he says.

well, you’re fucking… 

he’s so tall, and that’s terrible, and yet you kind of wish he was even taller so his face wouldn’t be so close to your face. there’s really nothing you can think of to say. you’ve well and truly lost the plot.

richie bursts out laughing.

…a pain in my ass, is what you are, you say. rick. 

so you got no sleep last night, he says, still laughing but moving back a fraction, letting up. 

you shake your head ruefully. like none.

then what are you doing vertical?

good question. technically, it’s against the rules for you to sleep while you’re on call, but at this point you’re pretty done with the carusos and their fucking rules and you really only got out of bed this morning so you could see richie. 

you shrug and raise your cigarette, half hoping he gets it and half hoping he doesn’t. 

he does, of course. you can tell by the way he says, go, then. go take a nap.

you should be grateful that you’ve gotten through the conversation without making an utter fool of yourself with your little conspiracy theory, but being with him right now feels so easy, you don’t want to leave it behind. 

you good? you say.

i’m fucking golden, baby. 

so you leave. as you wait for the elevator to come down and get you, you look back at him one last time through the glass of the apartment building’s doors. he’s standing there watching one of his videos, totally engrossed, totally delighted, his fist pressed to his mouth.

sleep should be safe for you now, right? sleep should be safe for you now.

.

.

.

[ chapter five ] [ masterlist ]

.

.

.

@garbinge, @narcolini, @drabbles-mc, @beingalive1, @eternallyvenus, @cerial-junkie — if anyone else wants a tag, let me know.

[riddlerosehearts]

getting very very close to the end of baldur's gate 3! of course, i plan on doing many more playthroughs of this game, but--not counting the things i finish up in this post--i only have a handful of things left to do in my first playthrough and it feels so weird. i'm excited to be done with it but at the same time i don't want it to be over for some reason akfjsgsdf

went to go fight orin, completing the dribbles quest on the way and getting some gloves that apparently used to give a really OP bonus to magic missile but don't anymore?? well, the description makes it sound like they should not work with magic missile, so i guess that was a bug which was patched... but in that case i don't know if i want to bother with finding dribbles in the future lol, doesn't feel worth it for all the trouble you have to go through. anyway, i have not fought gortash, but that's okay because it was extremely easy for my tav to just straight up lie to orin about it!

god i missed lae'zel so bad, she's honestly become one of my favorite characters over the course of this playthrough. in my next playthrough i need to make sure someone else gets taken so i'll get to hear her reactions to all of the things she was gone for during this one. also, minsc did have a lot to say about her and about githyanki in general! i still wish i could've gotten him to talk about shadowheart, not sure why he wouldn't comment on her.

i'd say i can't believe raphael wrote an entire 100-chapter novel that’s nothing but descriptions of different scenarios of him being crowned and coronated as archdevil of the hells, but i can absolutely believe it. i mean, this guy literally has an incubus that's basically a clone of himself--and not only does haarlep tell you raphael is a bottom, but i've also heard it's possible to get him to tell you raphael is bad in bed LMAO?!?! he is so over-the-top arrogant and vain and for what? his own incubus to roast him and reveal his secrets?

anyway, i have loved exploring the house of hope, but now it's time to go kick raphael's ass!

...okay i was super surprised when not only did yurgir show back up, but my tav was able to persuade him to join them in the fight?! i meeean not that i'm complaining but they kind of persuaded him to kill his minions and himself before, so. i guess maybe he respects their cunning and/or feels like their hand was forced by raphael, or maybe he just doesn't give a shit since defeating raphael is more important now. and it was a DC 30 roll to persuade him. but that is still pretty wild lmao, i kind of wish someone had mentioned it.

raphael's final act goes so hard that it almost feels like a waste of talent to kill him. and at the same time it is hilarious that this overdramatic fucker who has 666 HP is also singing his own battle theme. i keep imagining my bard tav clapping back with their own song about what a loser he is, with gale and wyll forming a backing chorus and lae'zel making some snarky comment before very reluctantly joining in.

makes me so sad that otto's irresistible dance incapacitates him but doesn't make him actually dance :( i'm a little confused though because i'm unsure whether i'm encountering a bug or i'm misunderstanding the game mechancics... raphael has a buff called inevitable resolve which says it makes anything that incapacitates him only last one turn, which holds true when i have gale cast hold monster--he breaks out of it on his next turn. but otto's irresistible dance didn't trigger that for some reason and he stayed in it for several turns before my concentration got broken. well, not that i'm complaining!

i found mol's contract in the house of hope, and went and told her we killed raphael. not surprised that she was all mad about it--she's a kid, and kids love to think they can do anything they want without consequences lol. we can only hope she'll grow up and be grateful later.

the order of events during act 3 has honestly been a bit confusing for me and i'm not sure which is the "best" or most logical way to do the whole steel watch/iron throne/killing gortash set of quests in, or if it even matters, but... i stumbled upon the way to get to the iron throne while doing the avenge the drowned quest, so i guess that is where i'll be going next!

[bonsai62]

I just realized something... I was talking to this person one time on a post before and as I was typing that’s when i realized something:

This is for my fellow Nobamaki & Itafushi shippers! If you guys don’t ship it then it’s okay! This is just like a small analysis in my eyes and the way I read things! I can be wrong or just love reaching on a shit ton of things but this is all for fun and I love sharing with you guys!

Let’s get started! Also, this contains spoilers!

Do you guys realize that Nobamaki/Itafushi actually parallel to each other? Let me explain in shitty English and basic grammar and vocabulary lol:

As I watch and read Jujutsu Kaisen I see a lot of parallels between characters; Gojo with Megumi or Yuji, Getou with Megumi and Yuji or Nobara and Maki... but what I want to parallel between characters is:

Yuji & Maki

1. Raw strength:

Both are hella fucking strong and for people who don’t have cursed techniques, they know how to kick fucking ass. What made me realize that both of them are the same is honestly during the baseball game. I like how we were able to see Maki and Yuji making a home run... okay well Momo fucked up Maki’s groove! Haha! But during the Tokyo vs Kyoto event, Maki and Yuji go ham on their enemy.

Yes, Maki used weapons but still, we can’t deny she got good speed and strength that is similar to Yuji’s. That’s why I wish I can see them both doing a bad ass duo fight together.

I have a small headcanon that Yuji actually enjoys training with Maki the most because I feel like he can understand someone who shares similarity in natural raw strength and speed. And Maki feels the same way and it’s a good excuse to bully Yuji as a joke. I would honestly love to see that! Lol!

2. Their story:

Yuji and Maki honestly have it bad. Yuji loosing his only family member (his abuelo) and becoming Sukuna’s vessel which leads him to a future execution. For Maki is the fact that her family treated her like garbage and having to leave her sister behind and eventually her sister dying.

Both Maki and Yuji share that same pain when it comes to loosing someone. We saw Yuji with Junpei and in the Shibuya Arc with Nanamin and Noabra. Again, Maki the same with Mai.

I think what made me even realize it MORE on how alike and how they parallel with each other are these images right here and how they worded their final saying:

In the Shibuya Arc, Yuji lost it. He lost it with Nanamin and Nobara (but luckily for Todo, he was able to pick his feet back up).

If I was Yuji, I would’ve reacted the same way because imagine having the idea you want to save people no matter what but people keeps dying around you or by you? It’s tiring and I would’ve had a mental breakdown too.

After kicking Mahito’s ass, Yuji says there is no reason anymore. For me, when Maki’s arc came it really reminded me of this:

When Mai died and was killed by her own dad. Her dad took away someone who was precious to Maki no matter how much they didn’t get along. Maki really wanted to create the Zenin clan just for Mai to be safe and free.

Again, same with Maki, I would’ve killed the whole clan too because of how in general the Zenin clan is and how they treat people.

3. Having a “curse”:

Nanamin to Yuji: “You’ve got it from here”

Mai to Maki: “destroy everything”

I don’t necessarily mean a curse curse but it’s more like final words that someone important to them said before dying.

For Yuji, he won’t die because Nanamin believes that Yuji can move forward and save the world.

As for Maki, Mai tells her to destroy everything in order for things to change (I might be wrong). It’s for the Zenin clan to start fresh. That is another way I kinda Interpreted (again, I can be wrong). Maki still isn’t done with destroying things plus she is going to move forward just like Yuji. 

I have a thing that if the higher ups find out about Maki, she would be on the verge of being executed as well. So imagine both Maki and Yuji together being executed.

Now on to the next pair!

Megumi & Nobara

Again, this is just me analyzing. But if you ship Itafushi and Nobamaki, you can actually see another pair that parallels to each other but so far I haven’t seen anyone compare them yet, or it’s just me lol!

1. No rivalries:

I think what I love about these ships so damn much is that there is NO RIVALRIES. Even if you don’t ship them you have to admit it is amazing seeing a m/m or f/f getting along without being damn rivals. I’m glad Gege decided not to do that especially towards the women because it does get so tiring that two women don’t like each other for no damn reason or fighting over the main guy or other main guy. At least when Nobara didn’t like Mai or Momo, she had a reason for not liking them.

And don’t get me started with Megumi and Yuji. I was so happy to finally see two boys be friends instead of the usual, boring rivalries. I’m a be honest with you, I was pretty shocked that Gege was able to make Megumi and Yuji be so close and trust each other as friends. It’s a breath of fresh air for the two ships like omg I was happy not seeing the basic shonen bullshit with the f/f and m/m relationship.

2. Hyping up their pairs:

What I mean by hyping them up, I’m talking about the potential that Maki and Yuji has that Nobara and Megumi sees from them. Nobara since the start acknowledge that Maki is strong and vice versa with Megumi with Yuji. What made me see that Nobara knows that Maki is just amazing and strong was during the baseball when Maki was able to hit almost a home run. Nobara just knew that Maki would be able to make that home run but again Momo ruined her moment! Lol!

As for Megumi, we see while the Tokyo students came up with a strategy to win against the Kyoto students, we see him saying that Yuji can actually beat all their asses without curse energy or energy(one of those). Megumi reassures to people that Yuji can take care of himself and is very useful. Another time Megumi reassured that Yuji is strong is when he was in his bed healing from Hanami’s attacks and when they fought tiger against that one dude (forgot his name)

3. Thinking about them/defending them:

Now… this is really what made me think why Nobara and Megumi parallel with each other

It’s becasue I feel like they’re the ones who are more attached and over protective with Yuji and Maki than how Maki and Yuji are with them.

Now, I’m not saying it’s vice verse with Maki and Yuji. But I’m talking about how Nobara and Megumi expresses it. Let me explain:

While reading and watching JJK, we see how Nobara is with Maki compared to anyone else. And no, I’m not saying that Nobara isn’t overprotective with Megumi or Yuji but just the way she is towards Maki. I would honest love to see how these girls got along and how they became close!

Ever since Maki and Nobara had that deep conversation about why Maki choose to be a sorcerer, that is when I actually started shipping them because of how much respect Nobara has towards Maki and it continues to develop more and more with the two of them. We saw how Nobara got super defensive when she fought against Mai (First time) and started dissing Mai. The second time was with Momo, when she was straight up talking shit about Maki.

I love how when Nobara was talking about Maki and Yuji when fighting against Momo. However, I felt a different vibe towards it as well. What I mean by that is that I got more of a “big sister vibe” toward Yuji and a “I love and respect Maki”

But again, I feel like Nobara had some sort of feeling and attachment toward Maki ever since that fight with Momo and more than anyone else too. However, that is just me though! You do t have to agree with my reaching!

For Megumi and Yuji… First of all… Megumi would not hesitate to pull a trigger if anyone is trying to harm Yuji. What made me see that was against Kamo and the Kyoto students. I swear that day Megumi was literally about to commit murder.

Yeah, Nobara got pissed but she went easy on them, but Megumi didn’t. Oh no, he was about to commit a felony. He wanted all the smoke. He wanted that curse. I swear I even felt how pissed he was. I just feel like every time and separates, shit goes down the wrong way and everything goes wrong.

For me, shipping Megumi and Yuji is a whole ass different post but I won’t do that lmao same with Nobamaki because I can write a whole ass essay why I love how compatibly/perfect for each other lol

Bonus:

But guess what… during the Kyoto and Tokyo event, same shit happened with Megumi like Nobara: Megumi was thinking of Tsumiki and Yuji. And again, I felt like it was still different when Megumi was thinking of Tsumiki and Yuji. I find it crazy how Nobara and Megumi were thinking about two people during that event:

Nobara: Maki & Yuji Megumi: Yuji & Tsumiki

This is my personal favorite image of Nobara and Megumi. *wink wink* it’s basically the same image on who is important to to them.

Again, for Nobara and Yuji’s relationship, I just love the way it is. She gives me “big sister” energy towards Yuji and vice verse. Yuji and Nobara are those chaotic siblings that are the hyper ones while Megumi and Maki are the chill ones that can actually keep them down. There has been one occasion where both Megumi and Maki calms Yuji and Nobara down because of how they were acting and I’m not gonna lie it’s kinda cute lmao:

4. Not leaving them:

During the Shibuya Arc, Maki and Nobara separates but at one panel, Nanamin was telling Nobara and Nitta that he was going to join the Zenins. Nobara quickly picked her head up and suggested that she wanted to join him in order for her to be with Maki (this is a stretch but hey Iike being dramatic) however, Nanamin quickly declines her and tells her that it’s too dangerous. I think she was disappointed that she couldn’t go, but hey, Nanamin is a gentleman and he knows when a child is gonna end up getting hurt. I thought it was cute that she was super worried about Maki and just doesn’t care and wanting to join her.

Now, up the recent chapters, Megumi really shows us that he doesn’t want Yuji leaving him or he wants to stay by his side. Those few chapters really made my heart feel some type of way because it just the way Megumi is for Yuji and I can honestly feel how much he cares for him. As I mentioned above, I feel like everything goes to shit when those two aren’t together and I hope that they develop more and more. There has been two more occasions where Fushi doesn’t want Yuji to be left behind; one during when they were in prison and the second during the fight against Hanamin. The eyes that Fushiguro gives Yuji is full of trauma and careness.

In conclusion, I can’t wait for Nobamaki and Itafushi to develop more and more in future chapters. Again, you guys don’t have to agree with me on this. This is just for fun and sharing is fun too! If I’m overreaching then I’m sorry I just can’t help it :(!!

I hope you guys enjoyed my lil analysis! I’m sorry for the bad writing, I’m not very good at translating my feelings as I’m typing because my brain goes all over the place lol! But please, feel free to comment or give me an ask! I’ll be happy to elaborate more for you guys!

Stay safe y’all! And good night or morning!

[bungou-stray-haikyuu]

Angry Kenji vs FTTS Chuuya - Who Wins?

Okok hear me out- We all love wan!Chuuya and Kenji’s wholesome interactions and one day I swear I’m gonna write smthn wholesome about Chuuya taking Kenji out for his first drink

BUT

The latest chapter has made me wanna see a Kenji vs Chuuya fight SO BAD.

I can’t say what I wanna say without spoiling, so I’ll add a keep reading.

CH100.5 SPOILERS BELOW

So we’ve got Chuuya, who controls gravity and also has a literal god inside him. He’s OP as fuck. And we’ve got Kenji, who we now know has the power of unrestrained raging nature. Pretty damn impressive if you ask me. Nature is scary.

Normal Kenji vs FTTS Chuuya

Normal Kenji vs FTTS Chuuya we’ve incredibly briefly seen back during The Guild arc, though they only really got a couple swings at each other, so it’s not much to go on for analysis purposes. I do think, however, that FTTS Chuuya would win an all-out fight against Normal Kenji.

Kenji himself said he might not be able to win his fight against Tecchou, and before he went god-mode, he was definitely losing. Now, Chuuya hasn’t fought a Hunting Dog, so there’s no direct comparison we can use, but so far, he’s been pretty much undefeated apart from his little brains-over-brawn run-in with Ranpo and Poe. I think we can safely say Chuuya would stand on even ground with the Hunting Dogs, though (and this may be my Chuuya bias showing) I’m pretty sure he’s stronger.

Either way, this puts FTTS Chuuya above Normal Kenji and thus Chuuya would win.

Angry Kenji vs Corruption Chuuya

I mean, this’d be end-of-the-world levels of destruction, that’s for sure. But I think, again, Chuuya would come out on top here.

Angry Kenji is stupid powerful. He kicked Tecchou’s ass with ease. He punched a hole in a literal mountain. Unrestrained nature is a force to be reckoned with and Kunikida is absolutely right that no human can stop that.

But Chuuya isn’t human. (shh I’ve read Storm Bringer I know I can’t state this as fact but let me be dramatic) Chuuya’s got a whole-ass God inside him. FTTS Chuuya can play with gravity, but Corruption Chuuya can straight-up manipulate gravitons. He can create mini black holes.

Now, the unrestrained force of nature can do a hell of a lot of damage, but it’s child’s play compared to the destruction a black hole can do. Nothing escapes a black hole, so once Chuuya’s pulled his trump card, not even Kenji can stand up to him.

Though, on a side note, if Kenji could hold out long enough for Chuuya’s body to tear itself apart...then in theory he could win. And on that same side-note, the fact Kenji’s body doesn’t tear itself apart is probably a nice way to say ‘you’ve got unrestrained power...but not unrestrained power’ lol.

Angry Kenji vs FTTS Chuuya

Finally, to the real question. Would Angry Kenji be stronger than FTTS Chuuya?

Let’s think about it. FTTS Chuuya is pretty much the same as any other gifted user. A human with a supernatural power. Arahabaki is dormant. It’s not available to him.

So we essentially have Kenji using 100% of his ability vs Chuuya using....not 100% (idk what an accurate percentage would be lmao). We know Angry Kenji can punch a hole in a mountain...but could FTTS Chuuya?

We’ve seen Corruption Chuuya put instant holes in Lovecraft using gravitons (black hole perks amirite?) and pull a whole-ass skyscraper out of the ground to shove into a dragon’s mouth. Corruption Chuuya could absolutely put a hole in a mountain. (Though how many times? He makes mini-black holes, not size-of-a-mountain-side black holes. It takes time to increase their size and they seem incredibly short-lived so their influence wouldn’t extend that far...yeah that’s a question for another post moving on-)

But, more-so referring to the skyscraper, we’ve never seen FTTS Chuuya do anything on that scale. If shit gets big, he uses Corruption. He had to use Corruption on the dragon because FTTS just wouldn’t cut it. Ignoring Lovecraft’s external invincibility, Chuuya still needed to use Corruption to (not quite) defeat him once Dazai had blown him up from the inside. Lovecraft’s big, but he’s not mountain big.

So, could FTTS Chuuya fight the unrestrained rage of nature head-on? Could FTTS Chuuya beat Angry Kenji?

Well...I actually don’t have a clear opinion on who would win this fight. Gravity is incredibly powerful and I do think it’d even the odds out significantly, but just look at earth with its g=9.81:

Us tiny humans can escape the earth’s gravitational pull by setting a few chemicals on fire. Volcanoes toss massive boulders into the sky. Tsunamis flatten small islands. The tectonic plates create literal mountains and trenches. There’s a lot of defying gravity going on there and I bet doubling, tripling, even increasing the gravity tenfold wouldn’t stop it completely.

Gravity rules all, but nature still does as it pleases.

Sooooo.....maybe. Maybe Angry Kenji would kick FTTS Chuuya’s ass. Maybe he’d fall just short. I can’t say for sure, so I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourselves.

Whatever the outcome would be, I think we can all agree it would be one hell of a fight though.

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 294: A Half-Assed Escape

Previously on BnHA: Mirio was all “SURPRISE I’M BACK THANKS TO OUR RESIDENT SEVEN-YEAR-OLD WHO RECENTLY EARNED HER BACHELOR’S OF BEING A TOTAL BADASS.” Kacchan was all, “you know what, Dabi’s been trending long enough, time to remind the fandom what a real G looks like,” and he blasted his little bleeding body back into the fray and was all “FROM HERE ON OUT CALL ME DYNAMIGHT!!” Mirio was all, “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... oh, you’re serious,” and Kacchan was all “!!”, and so that’s the story of how my son got murdered twice in one day. Meanwhile in the Todoroki Drama Zone, Deku was all “STOP MURDERING MY FRIEND” and Dabi was all “THAT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS” and fandom had a whole big debate about Whether Or Not Dabi Trying To Murder Deku’s Friends And Mentors Is Any Of Deku’s Business, which went exactly how you think it went. Anyway, so then Deku yelled at Dabi, and Endeavor was all moved by his manly words and randomly went to go uppercut Machia in the chin. And, seeing as how the Momoserum finally chose that exact moment to kick in, Machia is now down for the count.

Today on BnHA: The Miriosquad handles the Nearly High End Noumus, freeing up Jeanist to jasphyxiate (okay that one doesn’t really work so well) the rest of the League. Compress is all “TIME FOR THIS MILD-MANNERED SIDE CHARACTER VILLAIN TO SHINE”, except that by “shine” what he actually means is “use his quirk to punch a literal hole right through his own ass to free himself.” The rest of the chapter is basically just a back and forth between him and Jeanist, with Jeanist trying to recapture him, and Compress repeatedly thwarting him by chopping more holes out of himself because HE’S FRESH OUT OF FUCKS, AND THE ONES AT THE STORE ARE ALL SOLD OUT, MOTHERFUCKERS. Anyway, so with Compress basically dying and all, Horikoshi is all “you know what that means”, and delivers a freshly-baked villain flashback revealing that Compress is a descendant of Harima Ouji, a.k.a. the Peerless Thief, a.k.a. some famous guy whom Gentle mentioned this one time for like two seconds back in the day. The chapter ends with Compress finally demasking himself and dumping Tomura back onto the ground, a.k.a. The Worst Possible Place For Tomura To Be. ( •﹏•)

WHY IS CRUST HERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD

-- OH WAIT, SHIT. OH

AIZAWAAAA you’re alive and receiving medical help thank GOD. HOW MANY EYES DO YOU HAVE. AND MIRKO!! HOW MANY LIMBS DO YOU HAVE, OMG

so is this Aizawa dreaming about Crust’s final moments, then?? jesus. with All Due Respect to Crust’s memory, does Aizawa not already have enough misplaced guilt on his conscience as it is?? “nope, we’re gonna keep piling it on. that’s all he is now. three limbs, an indeterminate number of eyes, sexy hair, and Guilt” well shit

motherfucker y’all really out here placing an oxygen mask on Gran Torino’s corpse. fucking shounen characters. each one comes with a lifetime warranty

DAMN YOU HORIKOSHI WHY DO YOU KEEP SHOWING THESE CLOSE-UPS OF HAWKS’S UNCONSCIOUS FACE ALL WHUMPED OUT AND EXHAUSTED. HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS ARE WE GOING TO GET. ARE YOU PLANNING ON KILLING ME WITH THE UPCOMING CONVALESCENCE ARC, BECAUSE IF SO, AT LEAST HAVE THE DECENCY TO TELL ME AHEAD OF TIME SO I CAN MAKE A WILL

for a moment I considered going back and checking my previous recaps to count how many times I’ve already made a joke about Dabi’s fire incinerating Hawks’s wings but not touching so much as a hair on his five o’clock shadow, so that I could calculate whether or not I could possibly get away with making that same joke one more time. but then I realized I could just do it in this kind of roundabout way I’m doing right now instead. so there you have it

FFFFFFFMT LADY AND MIDNIGHT NOOOOO

PLEASE BE ALIVE. PLEASE RESPECT THE SIGN ON THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. THE ONE THAT SAYS “NO LADY CHARACTERS ALLOWED TO DIE”, WITH THE FINE PRINT AT THE BOTTOM “AT LEAST NOT UNTIL HORIKOSHI GIVES US LIKE TWENTY-SIX MORE OF THEM FIRST IF THAT’S THE WAY HE WANTS TO PLAY IT.” IT’S A GOOD SIGN, PLEASE RESPECT ITS WISHES!!

so anyway though, Jeanist is giving a speech about how god knows how many people all worked together to bring Machia down. and now RHA is getting in on those fabric puns too, I see. “A SINGLE STRAND MAY BE THIN BUT TOGETHER THEY FORM A STRONG ROPE” oh so you think you guys are funny eh? I’m a frayed knot

MEANWHILE EXCUSE ME BUT WHY ARE YOU FUCKING CRYING BLOOD, HOLY SHIT

fffffff. so much for him taking over as the Number One once all this is over. so let’s just recap real quick, because Horikoshi has long since made it clear that one of his plot goals for this arc is to wipe out every single member of the Billboard Top Ten. so how we doin?

Endeavor - was just figuratively eviscerated in front of the entire nation by his homicidal zombiepunk son. also burnt half to death and possibly down a lung. will almost certainly be forced to retire after this one way or the other

Hawks - lying prettily in a medical tent. wings status: gone. hair status: still perfect

Jeanist - WELL I THOUGHT HE WAS FINE BUT APPARENTLY HE’S OUT HERE DYING, JESUS CHRIST

Edgeshot - MIA, last seen fighting Re-Destro. I really want him to have kicked RD’s ass because fuck that guy, but realistically they probably fought to a draw at best

Mirko - alive but in critical condition and missing something like 1.5 limbs

Crust - dead, currently haunting Aizawa’s traumatized dreams. now he’s gonna be triggered the rest of his life by people giving him the thumbs up, THANKS A LOT

Kamui Woods - was set on fire which is His Weakness. thoughts and prayers

Wash - last seen floating hospital patients to safety as Tomura’s wave of decay descended towards him. probably dead ffff

Old Man Samurai - haven’t seen this fucker in a hot minute, who even knows where he’s wandered off to

Ryuukyuu - currently being treated for her wounds, looked pretty bad off. but it’s hard to tell how hurt she is since most of the injuries were acquired in her transformed state. SHE BETTER GET WELL SOON

anyways, so yeah. so much for the top ten. guess that’s another reason Horikoshi brought Mirio back now, huh

so there’s a big panel of everyone fighting the Noumu while Machia lies there all “blurgh.” good riddance my dude. it took like twenty chapters and a hundred people to stop this guy so I really fucking hope he stays down. you’ve had your fun

anyway so Jeanist is sending another steel thread towards Dabi! and he’s all “just a bit more!!” fklklj this is gonna go real well isn’t it

meanwhile Mirio’s fighting a Nearly High End with all of these weird rock formations jutting out of its skin. go on and kick his ass then, Mirio

“each of these guys is probably just as strong as the Noumu from Kyuushuu” hold on I thought Ujiko or Tomura or someone said that wasn’t the case? not that Mirio would know I suppose. anyways let’s just hope he’s wrong cuz if not these kids are probably screwed

kLSDKFHLSKHGLKLK OH MY GODDDD

IIDA FUCKING TENYA YOU’RE A PEACH. THINKS THE NAME IS OUTRAGEOUS, CHECK. USES IT ANYWAY, CHECK. “JUST BECAUSE I DON’T UNDERSTAND DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T BE SUPPORTIVE.” WHAT A CLASS ACT

AND KACCHAN IS RESPONDING WITH AS MUCH DIGNITY AS HE CAN MUSTER

WOW, SON. IT’S ALMOST AS THOUGH YOU HAVE A HOLE IN YOUR TORSO, OR SOMETHING!! although listen up, real talk, the fact that Kacchan of all people can’t muster the energy to yell at someone questioning his ability to kick ass is HIGHKEY troubling and we may be in need of an intervention here soon :/

now Jeanist is finally turning his attention to the League! was... was it not already on the League. omg

ACTUAL SCREAMING AHHHHHH FUCK FUCKLK LK AHHLKHKFFFF

hey so um. what the actual fucked up hell. my soul left my body. imagine if you saw the reflection of this panel on your bedroom window. you would never sleep again

OKAY RHA TRANSLATORS ARE YOU HAVING YOURSELF A LAUGH AGAIN

THIS CANNOT BE WHAT HE’S ACTUALLY SAYING RIGHT. BUT IT’S RIGHT IN THAT UNCANNY VALLEY OF NOT BEING QUITE SURE, THOUGH... (　ﾟдﾟ)

(ETA: just a next-day clarification here, apparently my sleep-deprived ADHD word-skipping brain completely skipped right over the “a” in that last panel, so what I read was, “and Shigaraki’s limp noodle.” so yeah, the moral of this story is always read the speech bubble carefully before you start making running jokes throughout the rest of your post, folks.)

oh wow he’s really freaking out lmao

to be fair though, I’d argue that Dabi has gotten pre-tty close at this point :’) thrilled for him, really I am

but anyway, well then figure something out you big dramatic robot-armed fiend. didn’t you just say you could touch your own ass? can you not just Compress yourself to break free?? does it not work on you? or would you be stuck afterwards lol

(ETA: I was picturing him compressing his entire body at once, not just chunks of it. ghhhlkh.)

um

holy shit Jeanist. are you stupidly trying to cut off their air, or are you going for more of a sleeper hold (jleeper hold??) thing instead. the latter would be way smarter and faster and probably safer as well just saying

but unless Spinner is just being super dramatic, it sure looks like he’s fucking strangling them djslkjlk. this will certainly cement his popularity among the villain stans. good thing you’re not running for office any time soon bud

anyway so I have no idea what these guys are trying to do now. what is this

do you even have till the count of 5 at this rate. I mean

OH MY GOODNESS

HE’S REALLY FUCKING DOING IT!! HE’S COMPRESSING HIS BUTT!! OMFG. TOMURA HIDE YOUR NOODLE!!!

WHAT THE FUCK

DID YOU COMPRESS A PIECE OF YOUR OWN ASS. FUCKING WHAT. PUT THIS MAN’S PICTURE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO THE WORD “LOYALTY”, HOLY CRAP

HOLY SHIT COMPRESS

“HOLY SHIT DID THAT GUY JUST PUNCH A HOLE THROUGH HIS OWN ASS IN ORDER TO SAVE HIS VILLAIN PALS. FUCK IT, HE DESERVES TO ESCAPE”

jeez, talk about... A HALF-ASSED ESCAPE ATTEMPT :D :D :D hahaha. but real talk though, Horikoshi has clearly never tried to leap twelve feet straight up in the air multiple times in succession with only half his glutes though. everyone, I regret to inform you that this panel right here on the left may be slightly unrealistic

also where the hell is he going to go?? did you pack a jetpack away in one of those little marbles sir. and what about Dabi?? and Skeptic too, I guess, but we don’t really care about Skeptic

(ETA: at this point I had to stop reading for about two hours because I had to go out and take care of something; that’s also why this is being posted later than usual lol. anyways so where were we.)

oh my lord

the existence of a translator’s note here implies that the earlier line about Compress being able to reach Tomura’s junk was not, in fact, ad-libbed. hmm. hmmmmmmmm

anyway so now he’s grabbing Compress again because OF COURSE HE IS, so now we’re right back to square one! except now Tomura and Spinner are secured inside of little marbles, and presumably Compress is the only one who can release them

oh nevermind he’s just maiming himself again instead, SHEESH

Skeptic a man is dying please have some goddamn respect

so, uh. is he gonna die, though??

I really can’t tell wtf is going on here, this is the most confusing the art has been in a while. Horikoshi put all of his spoons into that creepyass close-up panel earlier, that bastard

OMG WHAT ARE YOU SERIOUS

DON’T FUCKING TELL ME THE “COMPRESS IS RELATED TO THIS THIEF GUY FROM OLDEN TIMES” THEORY IS ACTUALLY TRUE WHAAAAAAT. OH SHIT

so apparently Harima was a Robin Hood type guy who stole from... heroes?? wtf. are heroes the 1% in this scenario. y’all didn’t have any Fortune 500 CEOs to steal from?

THAT’S THE BLOOD THAT FLOWS THROUGH YOU, OH SHIT. and in a related oh shit, the fact that we are getting a Compress flashback now of all times doesn’t bode super well for him. ffff

MEANWHILE THE TODOROKIS ARE STILL TODOROKI-ING

listen here boy if you touch one freaking hair on Shouto’s candy cane head I swear to god --

WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY!!!

SHOUTO NOOOOOO. WTF YOU’RE LITERALLY THE ONE GUY WHOSE WEAKNESS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FIRE. DABI YOU SHIT, YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF!! I’M PRINTING OUT A COPY OF THAT COMPRESS PANEL!!! KEEP AN EYE OUT ON THAT BEDROOM WINDOW YOU PUNK!!!

SO NOW POOR SHOUTO IS UNCONSCIOUS AND FALLING!! SOMEONE SAVE HIM!! WHO CATCHES THE CATCHER

COMPRESS LITERALLY HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE RIGHT NOW, WHAT IS HAPPENING

PLEASE DON’T CALL TOMURA LEADER OF THE “PLF” YOU KNOW I CAN’T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY WHEN YOU DO THAT. ARE YOU DYING. ARE YOU JUST A FUCKING HEAD NOW WTF

(ETA: “masks are removable, makeste” you know what it’s been a long day okay lmao. or I suppose Compress is really the one who is lmao.)

GASPPPPPP

okay. okay. looooool okay then

WHY WERE YOU COVERING THIS SEXY MOP OF HAIR UNDER THAT HOOD YOU TOOL. IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED SO GOOD WITH THE TOP HAT. I’M SO MAD AT YOU RIGHT NOW

as if it wasn’t enough for him to demask himself, he also had to get all shirtless and then do this weird attempt at a sexypose too huh

hard to say exactly how much of his torso is currently missing, but safe to say that’s proooooooobably not good. :///// fuck

on the other hand, Kacchan also has a torso hole and he’s still flying around like he just drank a dozen red bulls, so

this man lost his ass and he’s still out here monologuing like it’s the last two minutes of The Prestige. one might say he is monologuing his ass off

so he let Spinner and Tomura free, but is Dabi still trapped in his marble?? wasn’t he all on fire and stuff?? hopefully he can still turn off his quirk in there because if not that’s a pretty fucked up way to die. somewhere out there Snatch’s ghost is all “YEAH I’LL SAY.” oh how the turntables

last but not least, sooooooo. Tomura. back on the ground. that’s. um. ...shiiiiiiiit

[the-acid-pear]

Scarface was too fucking boring, didn't make it past chapter 3, but that's good, because that means Baki-Dou time 😍

Time to read the fourth book in this series! Excited to see Musashi <3

Chapter 1

COLORS

Baki please stop flexing

A FELLA SAYING THE SAME I SAID WHEN YUJIRO PULLED HIS SOB STORY, FR GO TRY SOMETHING ELSE! What happened with that whole "i don't care about fighting" eh Baki?!

Chapter 2

HOHO ALI JR???

ah no :/

HOLY FUCK is this quality bad!

He wants to taste defeat i see

TOKUGAWA PLEASE STOP SMOKING

Oh they removed the... Egg in the back of the neck, nice

God this guy's tits so fat 🥵

FINALLYYY HOW LONG SINCE WE SAW A FIGHT IN THE ARENA? A PROPER FIGHT I MEAN

Chapter 3

He doesn't even know 🐍

DON'T BRING THAT FELLA HERE RETSU KICKED HIS ASS IN TIME. RECORD

Oh i saw fanart of this scene

Baki, it's your fault that you are bored, you fucking teen

This shit boring ME

Chapter 4

Oh, goroukou is a title

I like how the prime minister is becoming a recurrent character

I thought he said babe for a sec-

That little "oh~" is a bit sus, are the old men... No, it can't be 😳😳😳

I'm fucking choking fuck

GOD ALMOST READ THAT AS JOHN CENA 😭

"yes <3"

These ppl never learn

Chapter 5

What a way to go, a la gamzee /j

This dude so weird lmao

FAHDGAHDH king

Dude he has huge round eyes tf you talking bout?

IGDUFSUEASEUURSS he's such a freakkk 😭😭😭

This is the most wtf thing Baki has pulled, remember when this was about fighters fighting? I don't know enough about science for this shit either man

Okay so their hug wasn't Tokugawa being touchy like he is, this guy is even worse, se juntaron el hambre y las ganas de comer HSHAFSFG

Chapter 6

Baki's dead

Katsumi about to kill get killed by my grandpa i see

ALSO KATSUMI OG HAIR WOOO

Katsumi bro don't be so happy over nearly killing him-

I love seeing him get better tho

Uwaadgsgsjdga 😍😳🤤 twisting my hair irl,,, 🥴

Finally Motobe remembered he was a character here 😐

FSGSHDAHDA KOSHO PLS

I LOVE that they got dark lips again

IM SORRY GOUKI HOW DO YOU KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT EVERYONE?! LTDKFsjyrd 😭

Jack's scar looks cool ngl

Retsu living the good life lmao

AND HOW DO YOU KNOW, GRANDPA?

Hana just doesn't care, smartest Baki character lmao

Idk what they talking bout but good for em <3

Cum basement

Chapter 7

SHOW US MUSASHI'S COCK

Obsessed he thought his heart was failing 😭

Dude you can just hear the heart beat of your friends/opponents just like that? 🤨

Notice Gaia in the top left 🥴

WHY CAN HE RECOGNIZE EACH OF THEIR HEARTBEATS AAHSGA

Thick 🥵

Unironically built different

Chronic back pain if you ask me, that's how I stand to relieve my agony

Did. Did you just call him a femb-

STOP SHOWING ME PANELS FROM VAGAMOND

I love John sm lmao

Mr Musashi has 2 (3?) dads

Chapter 8

HAIRY LEGS 🥴

Those things look like boobs

Bet you would know eh SHAFADB

They jerked off the mummy?

Reminds me of eye surgery

AFjshAFDGAJAHAF

Mf came out the tube ripped af 😭

Chapter 9

Everyone is so feminine lately good ol Kureha fell behind 😭

I like his bandana tho it's cute

OH HE TOO? AND HE'S NOT EVEN THAT STRONG

Fat tits 🥴

Eheojeudkshs 😖😳👉👈

JACK STOP YOU ARE BIG ENOUGH ALREADY

HOLY FUCK

You know like i understand Baki, he is at the highest he can be rn, NO ONE can defeat him, but the rest? Like c'mon y'all just beat each other up or something

Ah, the miracle of birth 😍

Chapter 10

I love how all these two do is hang out together in bars, boybosses

TF IS UP WITH THAT ICE? AHDHS

I love what they have

Hana thinking of getting his 4 limbs broken again i see

WOOO!! Nice cock Mr Musashi 😳

HANAYAMA PLEASE 😐

Chapter 11

I love those freaks

I just now I'm seeing the little scars on his cheeks from the fight with Spec ☺️

I love the fact that Musashi has hair in his legs BUT not his arms like ??? Okay king

Heated scientist moment

HOHO POGGERS 👀

Chapter 12

UTSURAARSDFAFA sibling goals

GIRLBOSS 😍

URAURUSYRSAESGA IN LOVE???

Holy shit she's amazing

Chapter 13

And his ass is very thick too 😳

Those fucking sunglasses, obsessed

Debatable, he got struck by lightning :/

HE WAXES HIS HAIR? OMFG OBSESSED

WHY IS HE WEARING THAT LMAO 😭

Nooo they censored the cock again 😔😔😔

DO IT QWEEN 💅

STOP SAYING SHE'S GONNA FUCK THE CLONE

"I'm exciteddddd" "ok."

Chapter 14

You just hate seeing a girlboss win

She truly is amaizing

Also i just realized spirits have been showing up since the first book so this isn't so crazy lol

MF HOW IS THAT GONNA HELP 😭😭😭

THE LITTLE BUBBLES AND SPARKLES... I BET HE DID 🥺

Chapter 15

WHY ARE HIS TITS SO ROUND AND FAT GODDAMN IT,,, 😳😖

Glad seeing some things never change

He looks so much like Jun

IGSITSURAURZES EPICCC

Someone question if Yujiro knew how too write obsessed,,,

Chapter 16

Goddamn it you got even older in the past 3 or so chapters bro

Mouth to mouth soul transference

OHHH

HIS EYEBROWS FELL HOW IGDUTSITDIYDIGD

Some mf got turned on by this HELP 😭

Chapter 17

I love how Yujiro and Hana are still getting ready to throw hands while this happens lol

Okay yeah that was super disrespectful honestly, guy is having a chat :/

HAHAGSJAHA obsessed

God i thought it was Hana the one grabbing some random lady for a second AFDJSJSSJS

He cute af ngl

POOR GUY MUST BE SO CONFUSED OMFG,,,

Fsr I'm surprised he can talk, like it should be obvious but in all the fanart i saw he never said a word, also, he's so damn respectful 😍

Chapter 18

Idk he was never that clever /hj

Hehehe blood

I love how John can only sit that way

The size of his balls lmao

Coward won't even fight with his dick out smh :/

God he mad cute-

Chapter 19

I MISS THE DEATH ROW FELLAS FUCKKK

Hm i think this random tiny bald man is not Tokugawa but someone that looks awfully similar to him

YEAH NO SHIT I FEEL SO BAD FOR HIM, HE MUST BE SO DAMN OVERWHELMED

Apparently there was a cameo, i don't know enough about anime to know or care

Chapter 20

He's tripping balls

Tokugawa should have gone a bit slower with this poor guy, this is like a lot to process at once <:/

Nvm he's doing better than me

Oydirsusefs look at himmm

WAIT A FUCKING SECOND OMFG DIDN'T DOPPO FIGHT THIS GUY?!

SOMEONE ELSE RECOGNIZED HIM HE ISSS

Chapter 21

OHDIRAYEASURRSUURS HE DOESN'T KNOWWW FFS

Musashi be like °_°

LOOK AT THAT SMILE LMAO

He's just chilling, mentally killing this dude

Murder baby

Chapter 21

The way his eyes are drawn is so cool

YRAURSUFSIDTGA

And he jokes too! Wow I'm in love 😍

(nsfw) CAN YOU HANDLE DICK LIKE THAT TOO? 😍

WOW

I TAKE BACK THAT QUESTION

I remember a show where you would bring your own knives and swords and go thru a bunch of test, Musashi should have been one of them

Mf truly is like :]

I love how he didn't buy it

I can't wait for him to fight Yujiro 😍

Chapter 23

He truly is 😌

ATFJAIDQYSF OBSESSED

He was happy this time at least, 5 times he lost already btw

Tokugawa truly in unhateable lmao

Chapter 24

IM SORRY, HIS LEG???

Oh I forgot Musashi does that

JAGSKSGSKSGS HIS FUCKING FACE I CAN'T 😭

I miss when translators would add notes i don't want to google shit myself :/

"I'm hard as rock" /j

Chapter 25

Look how happy he issss

MUSASHI POG MUSASHI POG-

I love how Tokugawa can't believe he got it first try and it's trying to lie now sjdakdyv

This mf is actually making me insane what the actual fuck i don't know what he has but he's gonna make me act up 😳

Mf be shadow boxing too dammit /j

Baki please

Chapter 26

OLD MAN JUST WANTS A PUBLIC TO SEE THIS LMAO

Look at the size of Baki's eyes holy fuck lmao

He's gonna yeet him!

OH NOOOO

FIRST HIS DAD NOW MUSASHI, THIS GUY CANT CATCH A BREAK LMAO

Chapter 27

How little time passed? They have barely moved

Yeah you did it last book too Baki

King shit

Chapter 28

AKSGSKGSJSGS KING

I love how he only now realized

Okay no he has a point

I love how he just calls him boy

Look at that smug face

I trust Musashi but at the same time he, really should be walking around this new world alone. Now, if i were to accompany him... 🥴/j

Baki please

Chapter 29

I love how soft the artstyle suddenly got, like if done big a big brush

Yujiro you just insulted every single anime character in history

Baby Baki's just like "Ok."

I like how Yujiro looks here

AUGHHJF HE'S SO BABY 🥺

HOHO badass

Chapter 30

He died 😔

Idiot hasn't even beat he 0.5 reaction seconds lmao 🤣

HOHOOOOO?!? 👁️👁️

"my curiosity exceed my fear!!" I RESPECT THIS MAN SO MUCH??

Chapter 31

AMAIZING HONESTLY

Fighter to fighter communication

SHIT LOOK AT THE STATE OF THAT HAND

He's just gone now LMAO

I honestly don't mind Baki being weak against this, he never fought against a two handed swordman, this is new territory

Chapter 32

Oh his really tripping balls now this is why he shouldn't be alone

NVM HE'S STILL DOING BETTER THAN ME ON A DAILY BASIS, I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN FROM THIS MAN

I just now realized he's barefoot

Nice ass king

The policemen are quite nice

He's very cooperative but i can't blame the cops either

Chapter 33

Yeah no shit that must be so insane

IF YOU HADN'T DROPPED OFF SCHOOL THEN...

That's kinda funny but idk man he's right i think

He's just like :3

I love how he isn't picking up a fight out of malice but rather just instinct like, he can't understand shit that is going on

YOU ARE SO RIGHT BAKI IT ISN'T BORING FOR ME EITHER

Chapter 34

Don't you fucking dare shave him Itagaki

It's funny how it took 2 books and a half for Baki to start being a protagonist

Holy fuck did Baki add height or is Miyamoto that big?

Wow how perfect i ran out of space just now!! Having fun with this book ngl :]

[wetalkinboutbooks]

New Year, New Review 🤩

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

Summary: The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life--and love--he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save--or destroy--all that he knows. (Taken from Goodreads)

Our Ratings:  

 → Geena:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 → Kae: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: The final instalment of the Ember Quartet had us crying in the metaphorical club. It’s exciting, terrifying, and probably the horniest book in the series and we loved it!

~Spoiler-full discussion below~

The Good:

→ Elias and Laia

Geena: In the final instalment of the Ember quartet, Sabaa deprives us of an Elias POV and slaps us with the Soulcatcher instead… He’s very much an ‘emotions are bad’ type of dude, the opposite of Elias who always had so many… but both of them are so angsty? The Soulcatcher really likes to beat up trees when his memories from when he was Elias resurface which was so emo to me. Despite being possessed by Mauth he is also such a coward, especially around Laia, because Elias’ feelings for Laia scare him and every single time he is like *running emoji*. We were surprised that Sabaa let him remain the soulcatcher for so long, every chapter I was like ‘Okay, maybe this is where Elias breaks through…’ but no.. Elias remained buried UNTIL their night in the cabin… the Soulcatcher was like ‘k I’m out’ but ONLY for ONE NIGHT and that still makes me scream.. The Soulcatcher was like ‘you kids are too horny for me, I’m gonna take a nap for a bit and let Elias take over bc Jesus.’ 

Despite it all, the Soulcatcher’s chapters were enjoyable albeit painful because this man was so duty bound, like even Elias wasn’t that dedicated when he was a Mask. But near the end, when we finally get the chapter that starts with Elias…. Ngl I cried a little, and immediately wanted to reread the whole series (I feel like Sabaa did this on purpose to torture us). I want to fight Sabaa though, like she did an amazing job showing how Elias’ conscious and the Soulcatcher’s conscious were constantly fighting one another, and how Elias’ memories of the people he loved ultimately fuelled the Soulcatcher’s actions… even though the Soulcatcher was like ‘I’m doing this for the ghosts’ like okay… no ghost told you to keep protecting and kissing Laia but you still did it…  

Kae: Okay, so Geena summed up my boy Ilyaas pretty damn well. Also, we LOVE HIS ETHNIC NAME IN THIS HOUSE. But um, YES. Elias was a sad boy ™ the whole time while fighting his emotions and ultimately losing. It was so PAINFUL as a reader, seeing all of  his chapters except the ONE say ‘Soulcatcher’. But when it finally said ELIAS again, I too, started to cry. Because he was BACK. 

You can all thank the power of Laia’s determination to seduce Elias back to himself, because our girl was NOT giving up. She said ‘you gonna get this coochie, dammit’ and in the cabin, Elias was like ‘well i’ll be damned. I sure as hell am. I am BACK BAYBEEEEE’

Geena: Sabaa Tahir said horny rights like ksjdnfdsjknfsdk

Kae: AUFVAHLHVKJ. BUT YES. In the end, love won. And so did sex because everyone was doin it or TRYING to do it. I guess when the world is ending, you only get one last time to uhh…. Have a good time. So they made sure they did lmao 

Now, let’s get into Laia. 

Laia. My sweet little cupcake. My mug of tea with too much honey. This girl has been through literal hell and back, and yet, she kept going. She NEVER gave up. Laia woke up in book 4 like ‘Today i will commit crimes. Helene and I crave violence’ and they both just started kicking ASS and I LOVED THAT. I was really happy to see the progression of Laia and Helen’s friendship and how they genuinely grew to like one another and see each other as besties. They both deserved a girl friend and I’m glad they found a friendship within each other. 

Laia is the bravest character in this damn book. She went from poor scholar, to slave, to hero and she was brave because she had to be. Laia is strong and took on their entire world. She had help, but she did a lot of it alone and that takes some real guts. She is the most genuine, sweetest, bravest girl and I love her. <3 

Laia also single handedly brought the Ilyaas back from his Soulcatcher shit. During this whole book she was just like ‘You know what? I think I’mma go mess with Elias’ emo ass today to see if I can get him to kiss me or something’ THEN SHE PROCEEDED TO SHOW UP AT THIS MANS HOUSE (realm or whatever) BUTTASS NEKKID. And he saw her and immediately flew the hell out of there it was TOO MUCH and he LIKED IT but couldn’t admit it. 

Geena: You know what I love about that whole scene was like earlier she was like ‘He’s a lost cause idc’ and then Darin was like ‘Elias wouldn’t give up on you if that happened’ and Laia was like ‘you’re right, he would show up stark naked and try to seduce me back to my body’ and she did just that...

Kae: SHE DID. SHE SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT! Like, her entire mission was to bring Elias back while also planning on taking down the Nightbringer. But she was straight up like ‘okay but not before i get my man back through SEDUCTION’. Ugh, the mango scene?  Superb. 

Geena: Laia is hands down one of my favourite book characters to exist. Her journey from the first book being a scared girl with a missing brother, to being the face of a revolution… like the GROWTH. Like Kae mentioned, she and Helene end up as BESTIIEESSSS, and I was surprised at how natural they seemed. Because we went from them hating each other to close friends, but despite not seeing their development, it came off so natural? So, I loved that! 

Kae covered Laia’s character pretty thoroughly, she was both a horndog and a bad bitch. Like this girl has pretended to be a Slave for the Commandment to travelling a desert by herself and facing off a squad of Jinn… In retrospect, Laia is a unique case, she’s allowed to be kind and caring and doesn’t have to be a fighter type to be strong. She’s not the chosen one, which this book made clear, it could’ve been anyone to fight the Nightbringer… but only Laia was strong enough to love him AND defy him. And I just love her a lot… she was very much an anime protagonist with the power of love, family, and friendship… anyways I love her and that’s all I have to say

→ Helene 

Geena: The way I ended up liking and rooting for Helene this book? Came out of left field. To be honest, in previous books I didn’t feel much for her other than ‘stop chasing after Elias and Laia pls.’ But this book I wanted her to win, especially with the fight against the germanic-esque invaders. She goes through substantial development, no longer seeing Scholars as slaves and taking their opinions seriously.. Like Laia, Musa, and Darin were all a part of her crew. A stark difference from Book 1 Helene, who thought Scholars only had one role in the world and that was slaves. 

Helene… like Laia… really has the Ember equivalent of hot girl summer with Harper… all the time she spends denying it she is like *jumps on him the chance she gets*. The bath scene… Helene’s power was turning her tortuer into her MAN… But also Sabaa said that ‘yes she has changed, but she has to repent for her sins’ and that’s why Helene is basically left alone at the end (save for Laia, Elias, and Musa). 

Kae: So not gonna lie, I never actually disliked Helene. I saw her as the flawed character she was in the beginning. During her cat and mouse chase with Elias and Laia in the beginning, she would piss me OFF because like, that’s your BEST FRIEEEEEND. JUST STAAAAHP. But also, it was him or her and her family's death, so I get it. But I always saw potential in her to be better. And thank GOODNESS she went through all that character development. Because she was a damn menace in the beginning. 

Also like Geena mentioned; Helly and Harper finally hooking up? I swear the heavens opened up in that moment because EVERYONE could feel their tension. LIKE JUST DO IT ALREADY. You can’t fight love, baybeeee

Watching Helly grow as a person was really rewarding as a reader. Like Geena said, she went from hating scholars to being like ‘hmm, maybe my opinions are shitty?’ and straight up changed.  I also feel for her because she lost her ENTIRE family and like, honestly? I would’ve given up. BUT SHE DIDN’T. She’s a literal fighter, bred for this shit. So she FOUGHT. And I was really scared she was gonna get murked because y’all know Keris’ tiny evil ass doesn’t have a chill button. And when they were fighting? I was like LAWD PLS DON’T  TAKE HELLY. But instead he took Harper *upside down smiley face* SO THAT WAS FUCKED UP AND I WASN’T READY FOR IT. But a piece of me knew it was coming. 

The Bad:   

→ Darin and Harper

Geena: As Kae mentioned… Harper kicked the can in this book :’( His eventual fall came from loving and caring for Helene too much, which left him open and gave Keris the chance to stab him. Harper was basically Helene’s heart outside her body, and when he went down so did Helene. I had had a feeling when Book 3 ended that Harper wouldn’t make it, but I WASN’T HAPPY ABOUT BEING RIGHT FOR ONCE… Harper had finally met his brother (Elias) and hadn’t even had a chance to meet the real Elias and talk to him about their father or other sibling stuff. LIKE OF ALL CHARACTER DEATHS… AND THERE WAS A LOT… The other one that came out of left field was fucking Darin of Serra… DARIN… THE ONE DUDE WE SPENT TWO WHOLE BOOKS SAVING… DEAD WITH A SNAP OF HIS NECK!! I WAS SO MAD

LIKE SABAA HAD US THINKING HE WAS GONNA BE SAFE, SHE GAVE HIM A LIL GIRLFRIEND AND EVERYTHING BUT THEN SHE GOES.. AND KILLS HIM?? JUST LIKE THAT?? Then we had to read the scenes where Elias helps both Darin and Harper pass over into the afterlife and I was just *cries angrily* 

Kae: Well, THAT was sad. Have you ever just like, felt your heart break into a million tiny irreparable pieces? That’s how I felt when Darin and Harper died. Because like, they were both trying to save the women they loved. Darin to Laia, (foolishly so against the Nightbringer) but I would do it for my little sister too. And Harper with Helene against evilass Keris. Dude, that shit just sucked. It hurt to read. It hurt to imagine the girls feeling the pain of their deaths. They were both such good men. And DARIIIN. 

Darin didn’t have to go out like that, man. It was such a harsh death. No last words. It was just over and his body was just gone. I wish Laia would’ve been able to talk with him at The Waiting Place at least one last time. But it is what it is. I hated to see both of them go. Especially since Darin pretty much sparked this whole series. 

Sure, Laia, Helene, and Elias were the main characters. But Darin was the spark that started the fire. And he didn’t even get to see it’s flames extinguished. 

Geena: He was the ember in the ashes… literally like Sabaa uses that for Elias and Laia but it applies to Darin the most

Kae: LITCHRALLY gonna get teary eyed over here. Our boys deserved better :( 

Conclusion 

Geena: This was not at all a disappointing end to the series we’ve followed closely for so long. The different plot points and character arcs were tied up nicely, and Sabaa Tahir showed us once again why she’s one of the best fantasy writers on this side of the Milky Way. We didn’t even bother including a ‘The Ugly’ section because we loved it too much ksfmsd. The only qualm I’d have with the end was the empire remaining, Helene recognized the Scholars as equals but centuries of pain isn’t easily forgotten you know? SO THAT’S WHY I THINK WE DESERVE A SEQUEL SERIES… BUT I DIGRESS… OVERALL, I loved this book and the ending for all the characters ESPECIALLY FOR OUR GIRL LAIA <3

Kae: YES. I AGREE 100% WITH GEENA. It was such a beautiful end to the series. Sabaa is  GENIUS and her storytelling is phenomenal. I loved every little surprise she’s hidden in all of the books. ESPECIALLY WITH COOK BEING ALIVE? I DIDN’T SEE THAT SHIT COMING AT ALL. LIKE HOLY SHIT? So Laia had some remaining family afterall, and I think that’s very sweet. I’m really sad to see the series be over with and Geena and I are both *~HOPIIIING~* for an epilogue or some little crumbs or SOMETHING with the gang and how their lives ended up into middle adulthood or something. 

Geena: I would literally take a single paragraph… Ms. Tahir…. Blease…

Kae: But yes, in conclusion, Laia has a heart of gold and we LOVE HER. She’s brave and strong and smart, and was the only one out of THOUSANDS to stick for herself and defy the Nightbringer, and save the whole world. Helene has come a long way and she developed beautifully as a character. And Elias. Ohhh, Ilyaas. His continued self sacrifice and bravery and love still helped him live in the end and I think that’s beautiful. 

[highqueenofelfhame]

acowar reread thread

so i think i’ll update this post every few chapters unless anything super major happens that i want to immediately react to, that way you get my commentary but i’m not totally flooding and flooding and flooding your feed with a super super long post. i think i’m going to edit it under the cut and reblog it every time it gets updated and i’ll also number every update so it’s easy to find where i left off. if you guys prefer the other way i’ll transition back to the other way for acofas.) this is super fun i’ll start doing this for more books if you’re interested, including books i read for the first time. (after acofas, crescent city is next and it’ll be my first time reading it!)

UPDATES UNDER THE CUT.

1) chapters 1-5 I’ve read up through chapter five and so far my favorite thing is just how DONE feyre is with literally everyone in the spring court. the amount of times she’s had to like look away and not roll her eyes is just hilarious, her dry inner monologue, she just made a comment about having to remind herself to laugh and not strangle tamlin while they were dancing at the summer solstice and it just is so funny to me. 

i miss rhys. but the few times they’ve spoken through the bond is enough to tide me over. he told her he loved her once and i sighed out loud. i’m such trash for this bitch. 

feyre hijacking the summer solstice ceremony is COMEDIC GOLD. like you kNOW ianthe was fuming and furious and trying to save face the best she could but like hats off to feyre man. her character development from book one to where we’re at in book three is fantastic. she’s not a simpering little girl anymore, she’s a bad bitch and she kNOWS she’s a bad bitch and it’s just.. fucking great. 

i also, as much as i don’t want to, feel for lucien A LOT. i think a lot of his behavior is heavily influenced by how he’s been treated by tamlin for most of his life and i feel genuine remorse from him and the fact that he can like tell something is up but isn’t saying anything just shows, to me anyway, how much remorse he’s genuinely feeling. 

also alis knowing that something is up is just a testament to how attentive she is as a faerie and a friend and i really love that about her.

“I was the nightmare” YAS BITCH. FUCKIN YAASSS.

2) chapters 6-10 feyre is so goddamn clever. the entire time she’s bringing down the spring court she’s witty and fierce and clever and really just iS THAT BITCH, HUH? 

i don’t like jurian but the fact that he still has compassion within himself for his kind despite being literally insane for being just AWAKE and aware for like 500 years is... nice and pleasantly surprising because i feel like you wouldn’t think that of him being that he’s siding with hybern so that he thanked feyre when she tried to get the children of the blessed out of there... i don’t know why i’m bringing this up, it’s just something that stuck out to me and that jurian also vouches (to feyre) about rhysand’s character and how decent of a person he found him to be. it’s just very interesting and i feel like speaks leaps and bounds about rhysand as a person. 

feyre pushing tamlin to explode again... just CHEF KISS. like she really thought of everything. she thought of everything to internally make his sentries doubt him and then completely hate them by orchestrating the ianthe vs sentry debacle. she made herself seem very compassionate and kind and and showed tamlin and ianthe for what they were by doing genuinely so little. like all she did was make them show their true colors on their own and it didn’t take tOO much manipulation. idk feyre is just incredible in the spring court. 

forcing ianthe to hurt herself and molding her mind to make her think she’s always afraid is so much better than just outright killing her.. (if i remember from my last read, it doesn’t hold up, but the thought is there and it’s genius) I also think that this shows a lot about feyre and her character because despite everything she couldn’t just leave lucien alone with ianthe and the unwanted advances. she stayed and fought for her friend (and by extension her mate) even when lucien wouldn’t really fight for her and so feyre is just a fuckin real one like... she’s the kind of friend that you want in your corner. 

killing the hybern twins: glorious. such badassery from lucien and feyre both. 

and i think it’s nice that she let lucien come along with her on her journey back to the night court despite maybe not wanting to but i also think that she knew if she left him behind he could get in serious trouble or wind up dead and so again, i think it says a lot about her character as a person. 

3) chapters 11-15 i’m kind of reading and recapping every 50 pages or so which typically ends up being 4-5 chapters and it’s a good system so far so we’re gonna keep it up! 

the first thing of like, real substance to comment on is lucien saying his father will kill feyre for wielding his power but feyre just responding with “he can get in line.” like her sass is sO GOOD In this book, especially in the spring court chapters.

uhhh big fuck you to eris, i don’t know why people want him to have a redemption arc, he is literally a fat sack of shit that deserves to burn and i’m not sorry for saying so. he’s abusive and cruel and doesn’t deserve like, anything at all. although i will say good on him for balking a bit when feyre revealed she’s high lady. 

CASSIAN AND AZRIEL SUPERHERO LANDING ON THE ICE AND KICKING ASS!! I remember vividly the relief i felt when cassian showed up and was able to fly and i still felt so much victory when it happened again. it’s one of my favorite moments of the book so far and just really gets me. also feyre just dropping the “I’m high lady of the night court” bomb is DELICIOUS and i can’t get enough. i read it like six times. because you know as soon as the illyrians yielded to her that the autumn bitches were like “shit.”

“My love.” kILLS ME. you guys, i’ve only read this book once but i’ve reread their reuniting multiple times because it’s just so soft. rhys is so goddamn soft. he loves her so fucking much. i want rhys to call me my love and lick my tears away. goddamn. 

something i think about a lot is how in acotar when tamlin had feyre alone after months of torture he just tried to fuck her despite knowing things weren’t safe. however, knowing she was home and safe, rhys didn’t try for that immediately. like yes, they kissed, but there was so much conversation before they fucked that it just, says a lot about their relationship. tamlin also always demanded to know everything about feyre’s visits as soon as she was back, not even bothering to kiss her hello but rhys was like ‘that shit can wait’ AND THEY’RE ABOUT TO GO TO WAR. rhys loves her so wholly that he wanted to make sure she was okay before he ever bothered to ask about the spring court and how everything unfolded the last few weeks. idk i’m trash for rhysand, y’all. let’s make that a shirt.

the way that rhys threatens lucien, “i won’t bother to explain it again, and i will rip out your fucking throat.” is so sexy. like how casual it was, so sexy.#ripmythroatoutrhysand

amren being a bedtime story but irl is just a cranky aunt lmao.

nesta’s ferocity is, yes, frustrating, but also so heartbreaking to me. for a very long time i had a really rough relationship with my sister and i can see my own sister in nesta (who, by the way, would murder me if she found out i said this so, kara, if u see this, i love u endlessly and i love nesta with my whole heart) especially nesta’s behavior more so in acofas which i’ll talk more about when we get there. but i just, i feel for her man. she’s been traumatized and life as she knows it has been ripped away from her and some people respond to trauma with bite. and i know it doesn’t make it right or okay but it still just makes me feel for her.

cassian and nesta’s banter just gODDAMMIT SLAYS ME. i cannot wait for an entire fucking book of this shit and an entire book of their back and forth. i think nesta loves him and doesn’t know what to do with it because she’s scared so she’s acting like a cornered animal. like nesta is a snake that will strike when cornered and threatened and i just god i can’t wait for their book. 

elain... broke my heart a lot more than i remembered. as someone in the midst of my worst depression i find myself able to relate to that hollow and empty feeling like...all too well and it struck a cord and i almost cried at how empty she was. 

4) chapters 16-29 there is the whole meeting at amren’s apartment and cassian defends nesta, saying that he understands her actions, her snark, why she is the way she is, and it just honestly reinforces my love for cassian. i don’t have much to say about it but that i just really love the respect that he has for others. more cassian things: feyre brings up again how even broken and literally bleeding out and on the ground with his wings completely shredded he was still crawling toward nesta and reaching for her and trying to get to her. “because i can’t stay away.” fucking cracks my heart open every time. 

i love everything about the first family dinner back together. i love all the banter, i love that nesta sat in and even contributed to dinner conversation a little bit. lucien being so uncertain of the dynamic is hilarious. amren like opening herself up in a way to nesta and telling her that they’re the same, and to make sure her eruption is felt across worlds, i love it. i’m marking a lot more from amren than i thought i would. cassian at one point, he points to az and says “don’t try to blend into the shadows” and it actually made me chuckle to myself because hE DOES THAT. and it’s funny that cassian calls him on it. 

i don’t think nesta gets enough credit (for like anything, we all been knew i’m a slut for her and stan her with my life) but even as broken and angry as she was she did still offer to help explore magic that she doesn’t want and got as a result of trauma so that she can try to help. she isn’t completely useless. and i like that she has backbone and isn’t just a pushover little bitch. (that isn’t directed toward elain. like i previously mentioned, i’m finding that i relate a lot to her in her current state.) i just mean that i’m glad she sticks up for herself and doesn’t just like, do what people tell her to do. ya know?

rhys being so open to feyre pushing back on him about things like, again man. tamlin erupted and got angry, rhys is like “hell, i deserved it.” just, the differences in their relationships and the toxicity that comes from tamlin and the devotion rhys has for feyre is (say it with me) DELICIOUS.

i also like that just because feyre is high lady that the IC doesn’t just like flop over and bend down and take shit (i’m looking at you, spring court.) like cassian isn’t afraid to be like “you pissed me off by sacrificing yourself.” because he cares. LIKE, AGAIN WITH HIS DEVOTION. his loyalty is just so pure. it isn’t blind but it is pure and i just, god i love it. 

also everyone forgets that azriel has a dry ass sense of humor and i don’t see any of y’all writing it into your fics. “In order to fly, you’ll need wings” he said drily. IT’S DELICIOUS. dry humor is some of the best. and i like that feyre is learning more and getting to spend more time with him. 

5) chapter 20-27 this one will be a bit of a dump because i accidentally read too much today so far to try to catch up from my lack of reading yesterday so... oops. 

“Let’s see what names you call me when my head is between your legs, Feyre darling.” ugh. i wish a mans would say that to me. not really. i wish rhys would say that to me and only rhys. maybe rowan. or aaron warner. or cassian. or -- you get it. 

amren is SO FUCKING FUNNY without doing it on purpose. like genuinely hilarious. “she’s fine. stubborn as an ass, but as you’re related, i’m not surprised.” rOAST THEM. also amren makes nesta almost smile and she makes her laugh all in the span of like ten seconds AND nesta almost smiles when amren brings up cassian. coincidencE? i tHINK NOT.

again with rhys soothing her nightmares. like god it’s so good i dont even have to say anything else abt it.

feyre realizing that the bone carver is her and rhysand’s son. SO GOOD. like SERIOUSLY SO GOOD. and this doesn’t matter at all rn but i think that rhysand’s son has the potential to be more powerful than even him but that’s a thing to get into for another time.

EVERYTHING THE BONE CARVER SAYS ABOUT NESTA. also that it’s directed at cassian is very interesting and i think the bone carver knows they’re mates. like i wonder if cassian is seeing what feyre sees: his own son. WOULDN’T THAT BE INTERESTING. “How she calls to you.” also the comment about “what did you wake that day in hybern, prince of bastards?” what did cassian wake. the wording here is interesting and i have... a lot of questions. does anyone else just also really fucking enjoy the bone carver as a character? like he’s excellent i’ve never read anything quite like him.

“nothing about nesta could frighten me” UGH MY NESSIAN HEART CAN’T FUCKING TAKE IT.

also cassian stepping it later when nesta is furious with rhysand about the flying. like, one when he sighs and says she’ll never fly again is just... funny and adorable but how nesta was charging for rhys and he casually stepped in front of her and he talked her down. “It was amren’s fault, of course, but no one believed me. and no on dare banish her.” like just babbling a bit to bring her back down to earth. absolutely fascinating and delicious that it worked, wouldn’t you agree? ;)

court of nightmares is always a pleasure. fuck eris. 

also later at the town house when amren and mor and rhys are kinda going at it a bit and cassian gets nesta’s attention and nesta sidles over to him without questioning it... like. god if they aren’t endgame i’ll never read an SJM book ever again and i wholeheartedly mean that.

so i’ve seen the posts about amren being an angel i’m not sure if you guys have but yeah i think that’s a really solid theory. i think she very well could be a biblical angel because she mentioned that according to some they were perfect, that they laid waste to twin cities (sodom & gamorrah if this theory is correct) and she also mentioned yielding her grace and that she would fall. she also says she was a messenger and soldier assassin for a wrathful god ruling a young world and all of that, in my opinion, lines up with a lot of what is in the bible and what christians believe to be true. so i really really like this theory, i doubt it will ever be outright confirmed, but i think this is going to be my canon tbh. 

elain is.... out of her mind. it’s fucking weird everything she says is so cryptic and odd. like it’s just weird. i don’t think she’s insane and i can’t remember exactly where elain’s storyline goes in this book but like... rn it’s just weird and cryptic and a little unsettling and also interesting that she only really responds directly to azriel because everyone else she kinda ignores but she talks to him. interesting. 

6) chapters 28-49 clearly i accidentally read A LOT so we have a lOT Of ground to cover. 

NESTA WAS TOTALLY CHECKING CASSIAN OUT AND THAT’S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT.

azriel has fucking jokes, man. page 303 (hardcover us edition)  “That pine tree wasn’t there a moment ago.” “Judging by its size, i’d say it’s been there for ... two hundred years at least.” feyre even notes that he has a dry sense of humor and it comes out more when they’re alone. i can’t get enough of it. i wish he talked more. 

“Cassian finished the muffin, licking his fingers. I could have sworn nesta watched the entire thing with a sidelong glance. He grinned at her as if he knew it too.” i just love nessian so much i’m going to point out all of their cute reactions this is turning more into a nessian reaction thread SUE ME.

I think that nesta has a lot of regret and guilt over her life.over how she treated feyre because it comes out when nesta brings up to feyre that she didn’t know she couldn’t read (and again at the high lords meeting when she says they would have starved if it wasn’t for her.) i think she feels deeply and just doesn’t know what to do with it, doesn’t know how to express it. 

When they almost get taken in the library, and cassian gets there and nesta “launches herself at him.” my heart. she was scared and she didn’t care she was just so relieved. like fuck me up that’s the shit i like.

nesta asking where cassian is the moment they get back from the battle in adriata and she was worried and scared for him. later when she does see him i think this is when the mating bond clicks into place. it’s page 398 and she says “You didn’t come to -” and then cuts herself off. they have a really fucking intense moment. cassian takes her hand and laces their fingers and they don’t really say anything for a beat until he says “Next time, emissary, i’ll come say hello.” but his voice is low and rough when he says it. “The world seemed to go utterly still at that interrupted sentence, nothing and no one more so than cassian.” i think this is when it clicks for him. maybe not for nesta but definitely for cassian. 

RHYSAND RIPPING TAMLIN’S ABILITY TO SPEAK AWAY LIKE YES WE STAN A MOTHERFUCKING KING. fuck tamlin. fuck eris. and fuck beron. also nesta defending cassian in the high lords meeting (page 438, because beron calls him a bastard.) again, i’m just saying, she’s defending her fucking mate i can’t deal. feyre also exploding in the meeting and rhys just being like “You’ve proved your point, my love.” SO DELICIOUS. “I made her high lady because i love her. her power was the last thing i considered.” like fucking hELL that is how you treat your woman.

after the meeting, helion being like “You handing eris’s ass to him will be my new fantasy at night, by the way.” DELICIOUS. fucking hilarious. 10/10 recommend helion as a high lord and a mans we love to see it. 

also cassian being so concerned when nesta starts to have that feeling about the cauldron being used before the wall gets shattered.he didn’t doubt her feelings for a second, i mean no one did, but he was completely unyielding when he sensed her fear and immediately looked for any sign of an immediate threat.

nesta saying she’s never worn pants and cassian saying “i have no doubt you’d start a riot if you did.” he’s thinking bout that ass. also cassian giving her a quick lesson in defense before they yeet off to the human lands to see graysen and his family. IDK I REALLY LOVE NESSIAN OKAY?!

7) chapter 50-the end. i accidentally finished the book. oops. 

super intersted in nesta’s powers and if she is a witch. i can’t remember acofas at all and if nesta’s powers manifest in that book but i’m eager to see if the fracturing of the cauldron didn’t effect whatever powers she took from it. i think that could also be part of what ultimately is wrong with her on top of all the trauma. 

nesta helping cassian after that first battle when his wrist is hurt. she didn’t take no for an answer and helped him and it was just really soft until mor showed up and cassian pulled his hand away. i’m conflicted about what it means to be totally honest. what it means for his feelings for nesta and what it means where mor is concerned. i don’t love how morrigan treats nesta and cassian’s... relationship? but i don’t dislike mor. i think she’s dealing and coping and has her reasons that we will likely find out about. 

“Only you can decide what breaks you” is something i’d like to get tattooed. i dont really have anything else to add to it. 

i was sobbing during rhys’s battle speech to everyone. i dont rlly have anything else to say about it other than i’m emo. 

nesta saving cassian. again i don’t have shit to say about it other than like it makes me so emotional.  she just started blinding screaming, hoping that he would come. i can’t even begin to think what his death would have done to her.

the bone carver smiling at feyre before he did hits a very specific piece of my heart and i’m not sure why or what but i had chills all over my body. 

cassian telling rhys to let him return the favor/repay the debt. HURT. another thing i cried over. like shut the fuck cassian AIN’T NOBODY DYIN TODAY. 

tHE Nessian moment to end all nessian moments when they would die together. like big fucking wow. you can’t tell me they’re not mates. that they don’t love each other despite how complicated all of it is. like cassian is so soft in the most unique way for her because he knows she bites and he lets her and he bites back and i just think it’s what he needs.

“tell the high lord to leave out a cup for me” AMREN SHUT UP. like fucking christ i teared up then too because i really really love her character. she’s unique and funny and dry and cranky and i just love her so much. 

i’m tired of rhys sacrificing himself. there, i said it. i cried like a fucking baby and of course he woke up being a snarky little shit.

i love the end of this book. i don’t know what i’ll do with myself until january when the next one comes out. i’ll probably go back to the other format for my next read through because it’s easier and less longwinded and i think you guys liked the other way better. anywho, thank you for coming along on this lil journey!!

[padawanchesha]

Mandalorian Chapter 1 Discussion

Putting this under a read more cus I know these are gonna get long, but basically, I’m going through and re-watching each episode to tide me over until Chapter 8.

I know this show is supposed to mirror stereotypical cowboy westerns, and I love westerns so I really appreciate how Mando is introduced

God this dude talking about the bounty’s glands is so uncomfortable and weird (are the glands a delicacy? like... for perfume???)

Mando didn’t even spill this guy’s drink, he’s just ready to fight

Mando: if I make a dramatic entrance I will surely draw attention away from my bounty

Honestly, from the beginning of this episode that Mando was going to be an extremely quiet protagonist and I’m glad he isn’t

He could’ve absolutely let that guy go and didn’t need to cut him in half but I suppose he’s not quite as forgiving before he meets Baby

PEDRO’S VOICE WHEN HE SAYS HIS FIRST LINE IS FUCKING HHGHGHGHG

“I can bring you in warm.... or I can bring you in cold..... but you’re going in the cold”

When I first watched this episode, Mando saying “no droids” came across more like “I don’t trust droids driving” like he was cool with them but he just thought having a bounty with a droid might be a problem

I also had no idea why the bounty was complaining about Mando’s Razorcrest because I didn’t realize he’s essentially driving a beat-up old pickup truck that’s falling apart

Like the bounty brings up it being pre empire and all, but it still never occurred to me that Mando might not be the best with keeping his ship updated. He wants it running smooth and correctly but in the end its an old ship with old parts and he most likely isn’t the most skilled mechanic

Mando is just so unnerving when he sits there silently while someone tries to talk to him

It dawned on me that Mando’s ship is the way it is (no sleeping quarters, open backtube, tight spaces, different weapons/storage compartments) because it was most likely some kind of war/transport ship that wasn’t meant to be lived in

Ah yes, the first time Mando horror movie stalks his opponent

God, I always loved the practical effects Star Wars did with their characters, even the background ones. All the makeup and costumes for even the background characters are chefs kiss

Mando has no guild friends!

Lmao even Greef knows Mando is fucking dramatic

Does Mando just... constantly take jobs even if he’s not fully aware of how much the bounty is? He goes one after the other with no breaks. I suppose maybe it’s to keep busy because he has no one to go and hang out with, no real home to relax in either

I want to bite the calamari flan

did that jawa have a LEG

Weird observation but I noticed they shoot from that alley perspective several times, whether it’s to emphasize the fact he’s in a slum area or if it’s to foreshadow the fact that Mando will use that passage

I love that this show is making a point to tell the viewers either verbally or visually that by this time the Empire and the Stormtroopers are all but myths/black market people. In the movies, they’re always a strong power but we’re also always seeing it from the jedi/rebellion perspective, here it’s from the perspective of people who were never in the front lines of the war and were never taught what the force was or how it worked

i love Mando’s little orange fingers

Foreshadowing their fucking ass-kicking

So how do these pucks and tracking fobs work? by dna??

I wonder how much beskar the Empire still has. Obviously the Mandalorians are struggling to find it, and much of it is in Imperialist hands so it makes me wonder if other tribes have been more fortunate, or if all the tribes are still fighting to get back whats technically theirs

BABY MANDOS

So is that ram thing a Mandalorian symbol, or specifically the Armorer's signet??

Just how close are the Mandalorians to each other? they’re a tribe but they’re forced to live underground, hidden, and only go up one at a time. They care for each other and the foundlings, but how far does this care extend?

I LOVE THE MUSIC THAT PLAYS AND THE ARMORERS WHOLE LOOK

I hope we learn more about what a signet means

While I want to delve deeper into just what happened to Mando, I’m happy with how they did the flashback montages. It doesn’t feel out of place, it doesn’t slow anything down, and it shows us just enough to understand some of who Mando is and how he came to be where he is

The bluurg’s are such good wrinkly girls

ASDAJHJ I never noticed before but when Mando starts punching the bluurg he makes a weird-ass noise

this also marks the first time Mando gets his ass kicked

When Mando says “thank you” instead of “I had it handled” that's when I started to feel like mando might not end up like all the other alpha male types that are out there

Mando’s sass!

I love how he sits back after Kuiil says “I have spoken” hes surprised and maybe a little confused but he doesn’t try to argue

and then hes thrown on his ass

WHAT IS A MYTHOSAUR AND WHEN CAN MANDO RIDE ONE

why didn't mando try the calm, gentle approach first? It makes me wonder if mando was so focused on his bounty he never really thought through his strategy. Like, obviously its a blow to his pride to be called out for not being able to ride a bluurg but also Kuiil manages to get Mando to step back and try a different approach rather than trying to brute force it

THIS MUSIC FUCKING SLAPS

Kuiil’s speech to Mando makes me sad knowing what I know

the bare wrist folks!!!

Mando: *gets flung into barrels after getting shot* hOW DARE YOOOU

what does a bounty hunter droid do with the credits

the beat of silence before IG tries to get mando to answer kills me

my last two brain cells after I’ve had a long day

really though, I’m glad that the writers chose to make Mando work with someone to get to the baby because we get to see what mando is like when he’s working with someone, he talks more and he’s not super stoic, he’s a bit sarcastic

despite Mando’s feelings toward droids, he still takes the time to ask IG if he’s ok, and i think it’s really telling of who Mando is, or can be, as a person

MY LITTLE SON, MY SWEET BABY, LITTLE GREEN BEANA SDGYAGDSA

I said it once and I’ll say it again: Pedro Pascal does a wonderful job at conveying emotion through body language!

Even before Mando stops IG, we can see him tilting his head at the baby, observing it and taking it in. He’s most likely having multiple trains of thought at once “Should I kill it?” “it's so cute” “its 50?” “what do I do?” etc. And then he makes the decision: he's a man of honor and this is a child. He shoots the droid who he literally just fought next to and asked if it was alright, all while watching the child. His eyes never once leave it, and then his head tilts and he reaches out, wiggling a finger to the baby. He has no idea what he’s going to do, but he knows that this child deserves more than death, and maybe it’s because he gets a bigger reward for it alive, or maybe because he was once a foundling! Either way, Mando is captivated by the child and honorable.

[pettyprocrastination]

I Don’t Think Were On Earth-65 Anymore Cop!Frank Castle x Spider!Reader

@jarvis-ismy-copilot @wolfmothar @marvelobsessedteen @majorcdanvers Summary: Jitterbug’s plan on getting home hits a few snags because of a vigilante that is all too familiar but also shockingly different. 

Chapter ten

“This is the place.” 

Jitterbug looked through a dingy window to see a group of men walking around, multiple crates scattered in the warehouse. From what she could see one of them was open and full of high-tech machinery and weaponry. “You got a plan?”

Daredevil nodded, she still couldn’t believe it all. Working side by side with the doppelganger of a man who made her life a living hell. Well, she’ll have time to process the absurdity of it all when she got back to her dimension.

 “You go through the roof and web them up using your speed.” He explained. “And then I-” Suddenly Matt froze, his head tilted to the side as he listened to something she couldn’t hear. Jitterbug’s body went into overload and her hair stood on edge, the tell-tale sign of her spider-sense.

“Hey buddy, you wanna tell me what the hell is going on?” She looked around them and saw nothing, but she knew something was off.

Matt groaned. “Damnit Castle.”

Multiple gunshots rang throughout the building. A man had burst in and opened fire on the gang who quickly retaliated, turning it into a full blown fire-fight.

“New plan!” Jitterbug kicked in the window and sped into the building. “Stop everybody from killing each other!”

Jitterbug zipped into the building just in time to tackle a crook to the ground and out of gunfire. She narrowly avoided being shot by the man herself. Soon enough the gang was no longer focused on the mystery man, but her as well.

“What the fuck is that!” A thug screamed at her webbed mask.

She brought her fist down on his face, knocking him out instantly. “Save the dramatics mate.”

Daredevil ran over to the man and kicked the gun from his grasp. “Frank stop!”  At the name her head shot up to stare but Matt kicked him back, facing away from her and hiding his identity. “We have it handled.”

Jitterbug went around, immobilizing each criminal and dancing around the bullets as Matt fought the unknown assailant. She shook the thought from her head. There was no way, it just wasn’t possible! 

She looked over and saw them both still fighting. Matt was doing well to defend himself, but the man was better. He was taller, bulkier, and faster than the catholic vigilante. He definitely had training.  

The Matt from this dimension was completely different than the one she knew, so maybe...

“Hardly.” The man’s voice was rough and deep. It was one she’d heard every week, one telling her to leave it to the police, telling her to stay to fill out a police report and telling her to be careful.

She turned and shot a web at him, connecting his raised fist to the giant crate right next to him. He tried to wretch his hand free but to no avail. Matt set his hands on his hips and grinned, watching the man try to tear himself free with no success.

“You know, I could get used to this.”

The breathe was stolen right from Jitterbug’s lungs at the sight of Frank fucking Castle, covered in bruises and staring her down with harsh eyes. This Frank was stockier, covered in more scars but the same face and bulldog-frown. He wore no police uniform, but all black clothing and a vest with a white skull painted on that was now riddled with bullets.

“Frank?” She said his name so soft, so scared and confused that it shocked both men.

The Frank Castle she knew was an officer of the law, one who’d defend the justice system with his last breathe and criticize the masked heroes that help him in the same sentence. He openly dismissed vigilante justice as a nuisance and believed in the system he worked for.

Now she felt like she stepped right into an episode of Twilight Zone.

“Your girlfriend alright red?” Frank noticed how the masked woman tensed up when he looked at her. She shook herself out of her stupor, she had no time to stand and gape over the vigilante. (Even calling him that made her feel wrong.)

“I’m fine.” She snapped before walking right past him and to the crate he was connected to. “You aren’t my issue, that’s all him.” She waved a hand in DareDevil’s direction and Frank snorted.

“Well ain’t she peachy.” Christ, it was the same voice and everything.

Matt shot him a dirty look. “You’re lucky we got here when we did Frank. We had it covered and you-”

Frank rolled his eyes. Clearly the severity of the situation meant nothing to him.  Jitterbug noted the nicknames and first name basis the two were on. The banter between the two as they fought about their ideologies. 

I guess they've been through this with each other before.

“All you do it beat ‘em up and-” Frank looked around him and froze mid sentence.“Alright, that’s new.”

Each criminal was tied up tight in a cocoon of webbing, unconscious, immobilized and stuck to a wall.

“You're welcome for that, by the way.” Jitterbug ripped the top off the box with a single hand, something both Frank and Matt gaped at. She didn’t have time to get caught up on the fact that this dimension’s Frank didn’t blink an eye at killing. She needed to worry about getting home. “Now if you boys are done with your little dick measuring contest I have to-” She looked at the open box which was now full of shattered materials and bullet holes.

“Youve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“What?” Matt rushed to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” She laughed mockingly before turning to face Frank with a nasty scowl. “What’s wrong is that your Frank Castle is an ass who just ruined my chances of getting home because he’s fucking trigger happy!”

He clenched his fist and let out a slow breathe, as if keeping his temper from snapping. “You want me to apologize for keeping those guns from hittin’ the streets? For keepin’ those criminals from killing more people?”

She groaned and pointed in his face. “No jackass, I want you to apologize for sending me to an early grave you-”

She remembered Gwen telling her that “glitching” felt like “being tazed naked in a snowstorm.” Which as odd as it sounded, was actually spot on to the agonizing pain she felt in that moment as her body distorted and burned. She didn’t know what the loud piercing sound was until she realized it was her own screaming. She stumbled to the floor and Matt caught her, ripping off her mask and looking at her groaning form.

“Jitterbug?” He pressed his fingers to her pulse and she patted his arm, letting him know she was find, well...as fine as she could be in the situation.

“Hey!” Frank tried to rip his hand free and run to her aid, but he was stuck as stuck can be. “Hey! What the hell is going on?!” As the sight of her screaming in pain, Frank went from anger to concern for the now unmasked heroine. “Red what the hell did you do!?”

“Me?” Matt shot back. “This wasn’t me at all. If anything your violent actions could have been the one to cause-”

“I’m fine.” She pushed herself out of Matt’s arms and upright, facing both men with a grim expression. “Just my atoms reacting to being in another dimension is all.”

Frank looked between her and Matt. “Your what?”

“We need to find a way to get me back, or else I’m gonna keep doing that.” She explained. “And eventually I wont get back up from it.”

“We will.” Daredevil promised her. With that she went to one of the boxes to see what she could salvage. Maybe she could put something together? All the materials were there, albeit dented and riddled with bullets but maybe she’d be able to get it to work just enough to return her home.

As Jitterbug pondered a plan Frank fisted daredevil’s costume in his hand and yanked him close, rage clear on his face.

“Start talking. Now.”

Me? Back from not posting for legit months? It’s more likely than you think folks. Anyways I’m terribly sorry for no posting for the past few months, school has been hell and then I’ll be starting more classes in like three weeks so I’m trying to get into the habit of posting once more before I accidentally go ghost again lmao. So I am going to start posting jitterbug chapters everyday until the entire fic is out on this blog for you all to read !!<3 still taking requests and still doing fics, I got a request for one about a child reader and frank with a PLATONIC found family type fic which is definitely in the works! Along with other things!!

[eottoghe]

Little Boxes - Eleven

A Jeonghceol Domestic AU where they live in suburbia with their six year old son Chan. Jeonghan is an active member of the PTA, a soccer dad and chauffeur, and a supportive parent all around. His loving husband cares deeply for his passions and will follow him to the end of the world if it keeps him and his family happy. Follow their journey as they get caught up in fun and zany adventures when they fall outside of the guide lines of your average neighbor. Don’t really know where I’m going with this, but I want to see how many different domestic prompts I can get out of this AU before I run out of steam.

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

NOTE: This takes place before all the holiday stuff. I just can’t plan for shit and write too slow lmao.

Autumn begins to settle in quickly. Warm sunshine accompanies a light breeze. The leaves start to change color and ever so slightly dangle from their branches, ready to fall. It’s sweater weather and warm tea time, but not quite cool enough for fluffy coats and mittens yet. With the sky being so clear and the temperature being just right, Jeonghan decides to take Chan to the park. Other parents in the surrounding area have noticed the scenic day and have brought their own kids to the playground as well. It’s relatively full. Not too much so that he couldn’t easily keep an eye on his kid, but enough to where the other kids could keep Chan company. Once too many has Jeonghan gotten stuck on a slide because Chan just insists on racing with him. He watches from the sidelines and lets him be a rowdy six-year-old for once.

Of course, it doesn’t take long for Jeonghan to garner some unwanted attention, so he puts on a fake smile to greet a parent that frequents this area. She’s rather distracting and he couldn’t remember her name if he tried, but she doesn’t seem to notice. He doubts she even realizes how annoying she is. Or if she does, she probably finds it charming. Apparently, she is in the PTA too but is a little more reserved so maybe that’s why he doesn’t remember her. He cuts his eyes between her and Chan (they call him overprotective, but he says its just diligence). She mentions something about saving pictures in her phone about some hot dad from the bake sale. Before Jeonghan can effectively pry into her gallery, he hears a shout that sounds all too familiar.

His heart stops, stomach drops, and he hurriedly hops over some children just to get to the source of that scream. He starts panicking once he sees his son on the ground in front of the swing sets. He’s got a skinned-up knee and a bloody palm and his crying echoes through the park achingly. Jeonghan runs over and immediately picks up the boy, checking his face for any life-threatening injuries. He sighs when he sees none. A flurry of questions and hushes come out of Jeonghan, instantly soothing the boy.

“What’s wrong baby? What happened?” He’s bouncing Chan on his hip and through broken cries and hiccupping he hears him say something about a girl pushing him. He connects the dots and sees some long-haired child around his kid’s age swinging merrily back and forth. Once Chan sees her again, he begins to cry more, burying his snot covered nose into Jeonghan’s shoulder. The dad knows he should just take the younger home to get him all cleaned up, but not before giving this brat a piece of his mind.

“Excuse me. Can I speak to you for a moment, sweetie?” It’s clear Jeonghan is a bit upset but tries to keep a calm demeanor so as not to trigger the parent that is sure to be lurking. If they are not monitoring their child like they should be, he’ll take that step for them. If they won’t discipline them, he will. A good scolding is necessary otherwise they’ll never learn. The girl continues to swing but does at least look at him with a bored expression. Kids can be so rude these days. “Now I know you probably didn’t mean it...” Even though Jeonghan knows damn well she is old enough to know better, “ …but it’s not nice to shove others aside to get what you want. Pushing someone off a swing is unacceptable behavior.” She has the nerve to yawn, “I’m sure you wouldn’t want your mom or dad to know what you’ve been up to, but I think it’s best if I talk to one of them.”

Before Jeonghan can even ask for the kid to point out their parent, he hears a vicious voice bark out, “Why are you harassing my daughter?"

Jeonghan is so offended because he’s not the one doing the harassing! “Harrassing?” he begins to tell them off, but when he turns around, it’s like the whole world comes to a full, screeching halt. Fate is on some fuckshit today.

 Jang Doyoon. Age 28. Number 19 on Jeonghan’s hit list.

Don’t be fooled. Just because he’s 19, does not mean there’s any less of a loathing for him. In fact, Jeonghan’s list is quite long so he’s still somewhere around the top 20%. It’s just Jeonghan’s luck that he runs into him after so long. It’s a small world (and at this moment he wishes he was on the opposite side of it).

Once, long before, Jang Doyoon seemed hellbent on ruining his whole life. He’d transferred to the same university as him and maybe it was some kind of territorial defense mechanism that had Doyoon making every encounter absolutely terrible. Jeonghan almost fought him once the other “accidentally” bumped into him with a freshly brewed cup of coffee in his hands. Even more, he didn’t even say sorry after staining his blouse and causing minor burns. Oddly, Jang Doyoon vanished after that. Jeonghan never questioned it, just closed that chapter in his book. Jeonghan hadn’t thought anything else of the boy.

That is… until now.

The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. He mentally rolls up his sleeves, pulls up his big boy pants and prepares to stand up to the bully he never had the chance to.

“When my son was using the swing, your kid pushed him off.” His tone remains polite yet challenging. Jeonghan is a cordial man with a short temper. His soft exterior shields unsuspecting people from his true wrath.

But Jang Doyoon has accepted the challenge. “Well did she have reason to do so?”

Jeonghan is like a cauldron of molten lava now. His brain stutters, not believing the audacity this man has to ask a question like that. “What did you just say?” He raises an eyebrow.

“If your kid is hogging the swings, don’t you think it’s only fair to take turns?” Jeonghan can tell his cattiness has remained intact all these years later.

“I guess delinquency runs in the family.” Jeonghan leans in real close and his voice gets real low. “If you or your spawn of Satan ever comes anywhere near my child again, I will personally hand your ass over to you on a silver platter.”

Jeonghan makes sure he has a firm grip on Chan, the six-year-old still clinging tightly in his hold. He makes a dramatic exit, not once glancing back at the man who triggered his inner Mama Bear. There’s a cloud of dust in his wake and a couple stunned parents fishing for new gossip. If Jeonghan were to retell the story, be sure to expect explosions in the background, fire—lots of it, and a man quaking in fear.

On the walk home, he’s speaking sweet words to the child easily winding him down. Chan’s still shaken up, never really having been the focus of a bully’s rampage. His bawling has now turned into slight sniffling. He’s just too kind for this world. Jeonghan feels awful that someone so mean could target his precious baby. He hopes Chan never has to see her again (and that he never has to see her father).

He sits Chan on the counter of his bathroom once they get home. Chan knows how it feels to get cuts cleaned. It makes him want to cry all over again at the memory of it. It was too similar to his bike accident a few months ago. He never wanted to go through that again, but here he is. His dad reaches toward him with a cotton ball. He knows it isn’t water soaked through it because water doesn’t burn. And the smell is never that strong. He flinches each time it gets closer.

“I need you to be still, baby. It’ll take longer to clean if you keep moving around.”

“But it huuurts…” The pout is so much like Seungcheol’s that Jeonghan has to refrain from rolling his eyes.

“I know. I know. But it’s the only way to make it better. Can you be a big boy for me?” That seems to do the trick as Chan stops fidgeting on the counter and sits up a little straighter. His eyebrows flatten out into a line as he mocks what he thinks determination should look like. He’s already cried so much today. He wants to be a big boy who doesn’t have a fit when the stinging, burning water like thing gets too close. He nods.

But the contact makes all of that go out the window. He yelps and kicks his leg in surprise. His pout has returned and his wide eyes swell with brimmed tears. Thankfully Jeonghan catches his leg before he gets kicked. Holding it in place, he dabs the wounds a few times and fully cleans up any remnants of pebbles and blood. Even when Chan starts crying again and trying to shy away, he holds fast and tries not to let it affect him as much. It’s hard though. Seeing Chan cry and knowing he’s the one causing the pain makes his own heart wrench. He feels so guilty that he wasn’t able to protect his baby in the first place.

“I’m almost done. I’m so so sorry.” Jeonghan croons. The six-year-old’s fists come to tighten in the collar of Jeonghan’s shirt, an attempt to distract himself.

Jeonghan finishes up with Spiderman decorated band-aids. It’s the only good thing of this whole ordeal because Chan finally smiles seeing one of his favorite superheroes. They don’t have any plans for the rest of their day so Jeonghan thinks it’s a perfect time to watch cartoons and let Chan eat snacks and ice cream before dinner for once.

Next Chapter

[nikowldrabbles]

soul or black☆stat !

Hello ! Thanks for sending an ask !

…Which is VERY hard one btw—damn, I love these two ! *-*

I kinda ranted for a REALLY long time about this so uh, read under the line if you’re interested to see my entire perspective lol

Spoilers for both anime and manga !!

Also some cursing lmao

I’m going with… Hey, it’s pretty obvious, he’s my display picture—Soul Evans ! Blackstar is great and all, I love his personality despite him being the best annoyance in the series. Also, I still believe he has a soft side. I will not give that up.

Soul, though, he’s very complicated… He’s a lot of things all at once—grumpy yet soft, scary yet kind, stable and unstable. He loves music and hates it just as much for certain reasons. But… The best thing I love about Soul is his loyalty. I mean, hell, he can be fucked up in the head and soul with madness but he never left Maka in the dark—despite her making bad choices sometimes. If he did want to leave the sync, it was only because he didn’t want to drag Maka along with the black blood. He may disagree with her on a lot of things, but he still follows her lead.

A great example of this would be when they were in that sloth chapter in the Book of Eibon (manga)—that was pretty dumb of Maka, isn’t it ? Well—I mean they were feelings but still—

Anyway, Soul didn’t kick her around for it. He still saved her. Even when she refused to fight, he followed her lead—he didn’t know what was up with her and yet he let her be. He fought for her, still. Anyone else would throw a lot of shit but Soul sucked it up and went, “Okay, that’s what you want ? We’ll go with that.” Then proceeded to kick some ass to protect her.

Another one would be when Soul got contaminated with black blood. He almost died taking that hit from Crona, yes ?

Did he hate her for it ? Or blamed her for it ? Nope. Not once. Not ever.

And the fact that he decided he was prepared to die for her the second he knew she fucked up by engaging with Crona, man, that is solid loyalty. Even I myself would hesitate in a situation like that.

He also knew they were in deep deep shit, but he didn’t really push Maka to make a decision, did he ? He offered advices according to her judgement—he didn’t even understand why they engaged and yet there he was, assisting her every move. 

She wanted to fight ? Sure. Here’s ways to kick Crona’s ass.

She wanted to flee ? Well, we fucking can’t, not together at least. Here’s something to make sure you get out safe.

He also told her that he’d follow her even to the ends of the Earth in the manga. I don’t know about you but that’s big ass love loyalty to me lmao

All in all, Soul is very loyal and trustworthy. When he says he has your back, he fucking has your back and ALL of your sides as well. He’s mainly stereotyped as the stupid, reckless one in the pair but to be honest, it’s kinda the other way around to me.

ask meme !

[julystorms]

Manna what do you think of the latest chapters of snk? They make me so depressed because there seems to be no way to end Ymirs curse without all the Eldians dying. Like my beloved characters and their people and whole bloodlines need to go extinct for a 'happy' ending and the SC's work and sacrifice ultimately didn't mean all that much in the grand scheme? :( Help me I'm sad

I don’t really even know what to say about this series at this point.

Like, part of me has ascended by now, you know what I’m saying? Almost all of my big favorites are dead. And of those who aren’t, maybe two have a shot at not being dead by the end of this thing. So a big chunk of what passes for a soul in my flesh prison has already decided that I don’t give much of a damn about what happens in this godforsaken series because I’m still going to feel like my favorites died for all the wrong reasons.*

Anyway, I think the rest of me feels largely as you do: that this isn’t a world worth saving, or at least, these people aren’t. I’d almost root for another nation to come in, guns blazing, and just take Marley and all the Eldians out--not because I want the Eldians to die, or even everyone from Marley, but because we have a hundred+ years of like, WWII-esque ghettos going on over in Marley, and 100+ years of prejudice from other nations against Eldia. I’m all for change and shit but I want to feel like these characters have a chance to actually enact change. And if the theme of this story is, in the end, freedom isn’t what you think it is/haha good fucking luck convincing the rest of the world they shouldn’t bomb the hell out of your island, then...I don’t want anything to do with it? I want these guys to be able to frolic through a fucking meadow without worrying for once. I want them to be able to raise families if that is their wish, or study plants they’ve never seen before. I don’t want them to take out Marley just to find out that the rest of the world hates them, too.

The only way I think to lift Ymir’s Curse might be to combine all nine titans in an effort to like, “give the gift back” so to speak. But that would require a titan shifter eating...all the other shifters. Considering we are looking at protags Eren and Armin, logically speaking one of them would be doing the honors, and frankly...it isn’t pretty. At least it doesn’t involve sacrificing all the Eldian people?

But...the opinion of them and the fear--that isn’t entirely unwarranted, I mean...these other nations have seen titans and heard the stories!!--that is still there. And for all surviving characters who have fought so long and so hard...it might just...be almost too much to bear, especially if other nations start moving in to go to war with Paradis.

(That said, no way has Paradis caught up to the rest of the world in only four years. Maybe Hange has made strides but she alone can’t compare to teams of researchers who have been doing nothing else all their lives. At least, IMO. Plus, and here’s the worst part, she’ll be armed for fighting titans more than armies. What will happen when the rest of the world shows up?)

But long story short there will probably not be a “traditional” (read: easy) happy ending for this series. That’s all right, imo. I don’t really expect one. I was just hoping for something a little less bittersweet than “the rest of the world wants us dead.” Which probably won’t dissipate with Ymir’s Curse...even if they do manage to get rid of it.

As far as how I feel about the latest chapters... Goddammit I’m...torn. On one hand: give me my main characters back!! I want to see how they look now!! On the other hand: whatever I don’t even care anymore give me 83 more panels of Gabi at a rave while Zeke continues to make distinctly Grisha-like faces in the background.

I mean damn I hardly have any characters I’m invested in deeply who are still alive. I’m not really in a hurry to see them kick it? And it’s hard to be as invested in the plot with my mega faves almost all dead. Blargh. (My stupid ass is in it until it ends anyway...)

*shut the fuck up in advance @ people crying “but that is the point of the series! that people just lol die and lmao it doesn’t matter!!!” i’ll buy this when the series actually fuckin’ manages to write it that way haha [insert passive aggressive smiley face here]

[captnbarnesrogers]

Better For Me (Part Two)

Pairing/Characters: Bucky x Reader, Steve x Natasha (Reader sometimes calls her Natalia), Sam Wilson, let’s just say everyone in the fuckin compound lmao

Warnings: Swearing, cocky!Bucky, sexual tension, eventual smut, it’s a slow buuuurn

Summary: You meet one of New York’s richest Bachelor’s. He’s hot, he’s rich, and he’s an absolute fucking asshole. Luckily for you, you’re an asshole too and you could take a challenge any day. Within the first 24 hours of knowing each other, you’ve already pushed each other over breaking point. But when something comes up, you’re both forced to try and get along. Can it be possible?

Word Count: 3011

Chapter Notes: Bucky apologises to Y/N but being the self centred prick he is, he makes her snap, making her push him to his breaking point. Does she really think he won’t go down until he’s pushed her to her breaking point?

A/N: The start is pretty filler-ish, all the nice stuff is near the end <3

<<<PREVIOUSLY ON BETTER FOR ME

You opened your eyes to the sound of the chirping birds and of course the goddamn trash truck on your street. You’d remembered the night before and scoffed. How could Steve stand to be friends with this guy? He was an absolute dick! You tore yourself away from the warmth of your covers and made your way into the bathroom, brushing your hair and brushing your teeth. It was a slow morning and you didn’t have a class until noon, this meant you were going to get on your laptop and binge watch whatever TV show you’d left on. You heard three patterned knocks at your bedroom door, indicating it was Natasha. You opened the white frame and she hung her head low.

“Y/N, I am so sorry! He was so nice when I was around! I didn’t know he would be such an asshole, I didn’t-” You hushed her panicked apology,

“Nat, it’s seriously, fine, I’m just happy I didn’t stay longer than I did.”

“You’re not gonna kick my ass?”

“I want to… So bad but I’m really nice, you know that.” You gave her a wink and walked over to the kitchen to make yourself some coffee,

“I don’t know about nice, Y/N.” You laugh at her and playfully shove her as she comes closer to you.

Today you decided to walk to campus, thinking about everything. Christmas was coming up and you still weren’t entirely sure if you wanted to go home to your mom, to your sister… your step-dad. As always, it would be a mess of a holiday and you didn’t want to be spending it in torture. You walked into class, your professor greeting you with a smile and an invite to sit down, starting his lecture on the importance of public law.

The lecture today was quite boring, just a recap of what you’d learnt last class. You walked out as the last person in the lecture room with your laptop pack clutched under your arm and your backpack slung over one arm. You look down and check your pockets for everything you needed, keys, phone, student ID card- You bumped into crinkly plastic. You looked up to find a devilish smirk and the clear blue eyes you’d swam in for nearly seven minutes the night before.

“James?” You asked in a surprised manner, you rolled your eyes and shoved shoulders past him and the flowers he held in his hand,

“This place is really… not that great.” He laughed, following behind you,

“What do you want? Are you here to irritate me?” You sighed, stopping in your tracks and taking a look at him,

“I’m here to apologise.”

“Oh, really?”

“Not entirely true.”

“I should’ve known.” You turn back around to start walking but he grabs your hand to stop you,

“I mean, yeah, Steve sent me here to apologise,”

“But?”

“Christ, would you let me finish? You lawyers always gotta be ahead of everybod-”

“You’re not making this look better for yourself.” You shook your head and laughed,

“Right, well, anyway, these are for you,” He hands you the flowers and you sneered at them,

“Did you sprinkle these with poison or something?”

“You really aren’t that bright, princess.”

“And you’re an asshole, don’t call me that.” You take the flowers and take a smell, the pleasant scent surrounding your senses, “You have really good taste in flowers.”

“Anyway, Steve sent me here to apologise but I thought about the flowers and uh,” he rubbed the nape of his neck and looked on the floor, “Take you out to a late lunch?”

“You gonna bust my ass again for my choice of career path?”

“You really are a lawyer… So many goddamn questions.”

“And you’re really a soldier, always gotta be in control.” He took a step closer to you and looked into your eyes, his eyes flickering down to your lips,

“I love control in all of its aspects, sweetheart.” You lifted your head to lightly skim your lips against his,

“I respond to control in all of its aspects, James,” You smirked at him your eyes looking up innocently into his, “Lunch?”

“Uh.. yeah, lunch.”

“Great.” You walked away, leaving him breathless, he didn’t know how you did it. He wasn’t usually like this, he was always the one to leave them breathless. He followed closely behind you, soon realising that the way you fought back made him want you more than he’d care to admit. You arrived to your favourite café, greeting the waiter that was always at the door and he seated you both at your favourite table near the window, looking across the busy street of New York. The table always seemed to be available to your convenience when you needed it.

“This is uh… quaint.” You rolled your eyes at his judgement,

“Right, a rich guy like you must always be eating at places in Lenox Hill and shit, so you can’t exactly appreciate the gorgeousness of a café like this, a place where you can think.” He laughed and nodded, he looked at you and studied your features, the way your baby hair loosely fell against your face, the way your nose would scrunch when you smiled, his scan was stopped as soon as it started when you asked, “do I have something on my face?”

“Nothing that I’d be fond of,” he lied, coughing his way out, “So, what’s so great about a place like this anyway?”

“The food and coffee is great here and it’s not as loud as the city, you can get a state of peace here,” You gave him a small smile, “this is actually where Steve and Natasha met, you know… I reckon they’ll be the first to get married.”

“That’s so stupid.”

“What is?”

“It’s so cliché! They probably fucked first.” He laughed,

“Not everyone is like you, Bucky, believe it or not, people do fall in love, there is love at first sight.”

“There is no such thing as love, it’s just temporary infatuation… They all end up falling apart anyway.” It hit you like a tonne of bricks, you remembered when your parents fell apart, how your entire world came crashing down, the heat in your eyes clouded your sight but you pulled yourself together, put on a tough face,

“Some of us can hope you know? Some of us want to feel loved, Bucky.”

“Then stop hoping, Y/N, go find yourself a good fuck and call it a night.”

“Who fucked you up so bad that you have to shit on love like this?” You scorned at him, looking at him intently, trying to study his face, “Did a girl break you, Bucky? Is that why you’ve got a bitter distaste for love?” Something snapped in him and his fist clenched,

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” You leaned forward and stared at him with a smirk,

“You seem to love games, Bucky. You’ve figured out that we’ve started a game, haven’t you? I can fight against you and no one has ever done that.” Your finger softly trailed against his jaw before whispering, “Did you lose a game like this before?” He roughly pushed himself away from you and stands up, his face looked defeat as yours took an expression of victory, “You don’t play fire with fire, Buck… Well in this case, you’re going against lava, baby.”

For once in his life, Bucky felt a pang of rage in his stomach but it wasn’t an angry kind of rage, a humiliated kind of rage. It confused him. How could he have made you feel so weak? Did you know something about him? You couldn’t have. No one knows about that except for Steve… Who could’ve told Natasha, who could’ve told you.

You threw your keys on the counter top and chucked your shoes on the floor, never minding where they’d landed. You made your way into the lounge, finding Natasha and Steve sitting together. You threw yourself on the other side of her and sighed, laying your head on her arm. She knew what this meant.

“How was your class? Did Professor stares-at-your-tits give you shit again?” She asked, making Steve laugh,

“I just came back from lunch with Bucky.” They both looked at each other and sat up in surprise “If you could even call it that.”

“Yes and?”

“What happened?” Steve asked,

“Your friend is a bitter asshole so I kind of… Maybe… Dragged him.”

“Y/N!” Natasha exclaimed,

“He was being a dick, Nat! He was no better than he was last night!”

“Baby, maybe he did deserve it?” She explained to Steve whose eyebrows were furrowed, “This one’s only an asshole when she needs to be, she’d never do it on purpose. Sometimes.

“I’ll go call him.” Steve excused himself and grabbed his phone, dialling up Bucky’s number. Natasha turned to you, something unexplainable shaded her face. She bit her lip and fiddled with her fingers,

“Nat, what’s going on?”

“Y/N, please, just please make it work with Bucky, he’s Steve’s best friend and you’re my best friend-”

“What does that have to do with anything, Natasha?” She took a deep breath and took something out of her pocket, your eyes widened as she slipped the small thing onto her finger, “Natasha!”

“He proposed. Last night, in front of everyone.” You gave her a breath constricting hug,

“Oh my god! Congratulations! I can’t bel-”

“There’s something else too and this is why I’m gonna need you to be nicer to each other, please.” You nodded your head reassuringly at her, “I’m pregnant.”

“You’re getting married because you’re pregnant?”

“No, no! We’ve been together for a while and I’m sure that he’s the one I wanna spend the rest of my life with, it was kind of planned, it was planned for after I graduate but guess it wanted to come early.”

“I’m going to try, Nat, okay? But I can’t promise I won’t fight back when he’s being an asshole.” She laughed and nodded, “So what do you think it is? A prince or a princess?”

“We’re hoping for a princess but I guess all we can do is wait.” Your fits of giggles and discussions of planning were cut off when Steve made his way back into the room, he played with his phone in his hand and sat back down next to Natasha,

“Bucky’s making his way over, I hope that’s okay with you, Y/N?”

“What can I do, Steven? I want to keep my promise and if it takes trying to be civil with the biggest asshole on Earth, so be it.” He chuckled and thanked you, You stood up and started to clean the place up, even cleaning yourself up, not so sure as to why when it was just the guy you really hated.  The doorbell rang and you knew who it was, you subconsciously straightened yourself out and opened the door to reveal the man of the hour. He gave you forced smile as you gestured him to come in. Steve greeted him and sat him down, you followed suit and sat down near him.

“Okay so, here’s the plan, we really want you two to get along and we were thinking that maybe you two could spend some time here, maybe get to know each other better?”

“What?” You and Bucky said in unison while Steve and Natasha began to giggle, running to the door. Natasha grabbed the keys off the counter and ran out the door, slamming it shut,

“NATALIA!” You sighed and turned back to Bucky who has the same confused look that was on your face a second ago, he walks past you and tries to open the door, “There’s no use, we’re locked from the outside-in.”

“No shit, Sherlock!” He said, “What do we do now?”

“Well, I promised to be nice, so we could talk or… we could ignore each other.” 

“The second option seems to be the better option.” He rolls his eyes and makes his way back to the lounge, plopping himself down on the couch. An hour of silence passes, he sat on the couch and you cleaned up the house a little bit. He couldn’t help but stare at your ass when you bent down to grab something, making your smirk. Suddenly, all you hear is the sound of vocal raspberries. He kept pushing air out through his lips, slowly irritating you. “So uh… How old are you?”

“I’m twenty and you?”

“Wow, I would’ve said eighteen...”

“Lucky I didn’t ask.” You said snarkily,

“Well, I’m twenty-two.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you could count up to twenty.” He laughed at your teasing joke,

“Now you know.”

“So the Army?” You ask curiously, he moved his feet so you could sit next to him,

“What about it?”

“Why the army? And which field do you work?”

“I don’t know… I work in the Infantry field and it’s not exactly the work I would’ve chosen to do.”

“What did you want to do?”

“I wanted to work in the business industry but my family wanted me to carry on the ‘family legacy’ you know?” He explains, putting up air quotes,

“I know what you mean.”

“You seem like the perfect daughter, Y/N, I’m sure you don’t.”

“Do you always just assume things like that?” You stood up from your spot,

“Like what?” He looks up at you confusingly,

“Like people’s lives, Bucky!… Not only you go through shit. Not only you hurt. The world doesn’t revolve around you.”

“Tell me what you’ve got to hurt about, doll. Huh? You go to NYU, studying law, your mom and dad probably still sleep in the same bed, you’re a fucking golden child, sweetheart!”

“You don’t know shit, Bucky! You really, really don’t, so don’t talk about it like you do!” He realised how deep it had cut you, he saw it in your eyes, he had just brought you to a breaking point and so he smirks,

“This is exactly how I felt after the stupid shit stunt you pulled in that lousy café of yours.” Before you could think, your fist connects straight into his nose. He clutches his nose,

“Fuck!” He pulls his hand away and you scream after pulling your hand away from his face, definitely leaving a bruise on your knuckles, “Christ!” It took you a minute and you realise that he was bleeding, you suddenly felt bad. What was happening? You’d never felt bad before, you would usually let off with a snarky comment but you actually felt bad this time,

“Shit, James!” You sat him down and rushed to the kitchen, grabbing the first aid kit and a hand towel, “You have to admit you deserved that.” You say, making him look up at you and cleaning his nose,

“Just as much as you deserve that bruised knuckle.” You laugh at him,

“I’m really sorry… For the cafe and your nose.”

“Me too, I mean- I’m sorry for last night and everything else.” You nodded at him, he winced when your grazed over the new bruise on his nose, “You know, you’re actually really pretty when your mouth is shut.”

“So are you.” He lifts up your hand,

“Holy… You should get some ice on that.”

“I’ll be fine, but you,” You walked over to the freezer and grabbed some frozen peas, gently placing it on his nose, “you need to keep that there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“So the Infantry, are you getting deployed any time soon?”

“Why? You gonna miss me?”

“For a person I just punched, you getting a bit too cocky for my liking.”

“I like it when it hurts, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, it sure looks like it.”

“No, I don’t think I’m getting deployed any time soon.” It made your heart warm a little bit and you didn’t know why. You absolutely hated him but yet, you felt so connected, he wasn’t telling you something. Something you felt strongly for.

“So, your family? What are they like?”

“Assholes. All of them.”

“I can see where you get it from.” He laughs, “Have you got any siblings?”

“Yeah, one, my little sister, Rebecca.”

“How old is she?”

“She’s ten, she’s actually just my half sister but I do love her.”

“You said love doesn’t exist.”

“Family ties are different.” There was a moment of silence as you studied his face, his eyes. He was telling the truth, his eyes seemed to lighten up when he mentioned Rebecca,

“The tin man does have a heart, which side is she from?”

“Rarely.” He smiles, “My mom’s, my dad left us when I was five, she got married again when I was seven, divorced that same year, remarried again when I was nine, divorced again when I was eleven and then settled when I was twelve with some rich French guy, Paolo, and POOF; Hello Rebecca.”

“We’re more similar than I thought.” You whispered,

“What?”

“Nothing.” You gave him a soft smile and he grabs your hand, placing the bag of frozen peas on it, “I told you to keep that on your face.”

“I didn’t say I would listen.”

“From what I recall, you said, and I quote,” You put on a deep voice, mocking him, “’Yes, ma’am.’”

“You are so funny.” He says sarcastically,

“I know, I mean if we need to be civil then you’re gonna have to put up with it.”

“You are just something else.” He looks at you, trying to read your face, “What about your family?

“Well, uh… I don’t really communicate with them, my mom- she um… She’s- she’s got problems and my step-dad, we just don’t get along.”

“Don’t get along?” You nodded and turned away, “Hey… You don’t have to tell me everything. I’m sorry for saying ehat I did, y’know, about your parents.”

“Um, thanks, I-” Before you could finish your sentence you heard the door unlock,

“Children, we are hoooommmmeee!” Natasha turned the corner with a smiling Steve, “Oh my god, what the fuck happened!?”

“Uhhh we can explain?”

MASTERLIST FEEDBACK/REQUESTS

TAGLIST (OPEN): @acklesdowneyandhiddles-ohmy @stevette60 @marvelous-fvcks @douleu-passion

BETTER FOR ME TAGLIST (OPEN): @randomchick555-555

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TAGLIST GUIDELINES CLICK HERE TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST

PART THREE>>>

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 181: 9:59 A.M.

Previously on BnHA: Gentle continued to rassle with Deku and asked him why he wanted to be a hero. Deku said it was because of everyone who helped him and supported him and believed in him; he wanted to make them proud and “show them a brighter future.” The two of them bonded in that shounen way, and meanwhile La Brava sprinted into the woods trying to hack U.A.’s network. Unfortunately she ran into Hounddog and a bunch of Ectoplasm clones. Realizing the jig was up, she went back to warn Gentle, only to find him lying defeated on the ground, having just fallen victim to Deku’s latest Shoot Style move, St. Louis Smash. La Brava was all “let him go!!” and ran up to Deku and started adorably beating on him with her lil fists. Gentle belatedly realized that he had put her in this situation and made her into his accomplice even though she was innocent. In an attempt to get her sentence reduced, he flung Deku into the air with his quirk to try and make it look like the battle never occurred. Ecto and Hounddog then came out of the woods, and Gentle surrendered.

Today on BnHA: There is a not-as-tense-as-they-try-to-make-it-seem scene where we wait and see if the festival is going to be cancelled due to Gentle’s shenanigans. Apparently the heroes have been instructed to start the evacuation process upon “confirmation of hostile intent.” But Gentle says he is not hostile. He says he’s committed a lot of crimes, but that La Brava is innocent and was brainwashed by him, and he asks them to pardon her. Deku then comes out of the woods and the heroes ask if he fought with Gentle. Deku white lies his way out of the situation, saying that Gentle was trying to pull a prank and that the two of them had “a small dispute.” Apparently Hounddog is satisfied by that, because he reports back to the other heroes that the situation is fine, and then he and Ecto apprehend Gentle and La Brava and take them to the police. Meanwhile Deku hurries back to get cleaned up and changed, and makes it back with only moments to spare. The concert begins, with Eri watching excitedly from Mirio’s arms.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 207 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

we’re opening on a “moments earlier” flashback of Ecto being informed via his headset that a student went out shopping earlier and hasn’t come back

and now Hounddog is contacting him and saying that something’s going on near to where he is, and he’s going to borrow a few of Ecto’s clones to go check it out

Ecto’s asking if it’s an emergency, and Hounddog is giving him a ton of detail based on scent alone omg

wow Hounddog, you’re pretty cool aren’t you. “three people, not moving any more, and they’re all freaked out and sweaty”

and look how scary he is

I freaking love him omg

OH THANK GOD

so because the intruders have no hostile intent, the festival can still go on! what a stupid loophole! I’m so glad they exploited it lmao

you know, if this was in any way a serious villain operation, this kind of shrugging-your-shoulders approach would definitely get a few more students kidnapped and/or killed. nice to see U.A. hasn’t learned a damn thing lol

Ecto recognizes Gentle from his Youtube vids as “that villain that’s only quick to run away”

now Hounddog’s grabbing him by the collar and asking where his comrades are

Gentle says he has none

Hounddog is all “what about those injuries and the general mess in the vicinity indicating that a battle has recently taken place?”

and Gentle says he “had a stumble”

lmao. “one heck of a whoopsy-daisy there. good thing I have Life Alert”

Hounddog’s asking if it was just the two of them and Gentle says yes

oh snaaaaaaaaap

I wonder if he knows which student? he should learn how to identify Deku’s scent specifically since it’s always him getting involved in these things. would save some time

meanwhile we’re cutting back to the student in question who is landing now

and he’s thinking back to what Gentle said earlier and he’s figured out that he was trying to protect La Brava and spare her from the full consequences of all this if possible

meanwhile Gentle is telling Hounddog, “if you’re looking for the boy, he’s just over there...”

oh have you finally learned a life lesson then

Gentle gained +500 self awareness points! too late! but at least he got them lol

I hope Aiba has the sense to keep her mouth shut

he’s asking them to pardon her

she’s so little and cute, I’m sure they will omg

meanwhile Aiba is sobbing and clinging to Gentle and thinking no, he didn’t brainwash her, she really loves him

eh, a little of column A, a little of column B...

now Hounddog is asking Deku if he fought Gentle

well, aside from it being obvious at a glance, I’m sure he can probably smell it too

wow Deku

look at this little green punk and his smooth white lies

anyways, so he says it’s all right now

Aiba is still clinging to Gentle and sobbing

getting the feeling these guys can see right through Deku’s bullshit, but at the same time they can kind of figure out why he’s not being 100% truthful, and they don’t want to ruin the day for the kids and bring a storm of negative PR raining down upon U.A. either

so The Sheriff -- who we haven’t seen a while, how you doin bud -- is asking for a report!

AND OH MY GOD

FUCKING CALLED IT. LOOK AT THIS GUY. JUST A BIG SOFTIE IN THE END ARENTCHA

so he says they’ll continue to keep their guard up, but for the time being they can stand down

and they’re taking Gentle into custody and telling him he can explain the details to the police

and as they lead him away, Gentle is telling Deku that he was once enrolled in a hero course, and that he became a criminal due to the despair of having to drop out

look how fucking massive Hounddog’s arm is oh my god

and also! yes, that’s very sweet, very nice, catharsis, etc. etc. everyone understands each other yay

fsdfkhlk now Ecto is stepping in and suddenly unleashing an array of powerful dad moves!!

telling him All Might was worried! seeing Deku look panicked when he realizes the time, and reassuring him that he still has time to get back! telling Deku they’ll go together to pick up the things Deku lost! ECTO YOU ARE GREAT AND SO UNDERRATED OMG. DARK HORSE MVP

MEANWHILE ONE OF DEKU’S ACTUAL DADS HAS JUST FOUND OUT HE’S MISSING AND HE’S REALLY PISSED OFF

getting the feeling that Aizawa would have never signed that permission slip. it was pretty irresponsible of All Might tbh. just, statistically the data shows that you don’t let Deku go off on his own. you just don’t. you don’t, All Might

and apparently the shirts say “A Band”! even for the kids who aren’t in the actual band! I wonder who came up with that name. sounds like the work of Todoroki “my hero name is Shouto” Shouto to me

(ETA: as we now know, it was actually Yaoyorozu “Shouto and I have a lot more in common than you know” Momo)

now we’re following Deku on a brief journey to pick up the bags he dropped, while he thinks to himself about how similar he and Gentle were, and that they both fought for others

okay but let’s not pretend Gentle was fighting for La Brava’s sake until the very end, though

anyway, the bags weren’t where Deku left them, but thankfully an old lady picked them up and they found them around 9:35!

AND GUYS LOOK AT THIS OMG

KAMINARI DENKI YOU TRULY KNOW NO FEAR HUH. that Kacchan thing really emboldened him. he came out of it alive and was all, “wow I can really get away with anything, huh?”

AND HE CAN! WHAT A REVELATION

(ETA: okay but for real, I know BakuDeku and KiriBaku are the #1 and #3 most popular pairings in the series (going by AO3 anyway), but after reading this arc, I can’t help but feel like KamiBaku is being slept on. Kaminari’s Little Bro Energy and his willingness to test boundaries put together with Kacchan’s frankly shocking levels of compliance make for an amazing combo. the cuteness potential here is off the fucking charts)

so people are milling around and wondering what class A has in store and saying they’re excited

and of course they are, because class A famously kicks ass as we have all realized by now

and now Eri is shyly tugging at her big bro Mirio’s sleeve and asking if Deku is going to dance

YOU BET HE IS, ERI. HE’S GOING TO DANCE YOUR SOCKS OFF

and All Might is running up to Aizawa, presumably to tell him they found Deku and everything’s hunky dory now

look at all these people!

SO LET’S BE SURE TO GIVE EM A SHOW, EVERYONE

holy shit it’s 9:59 and still no Deku in sight. fucking kid always has to make an entrance

AHHHHHHHHHH

I’M MORE EXCITED THAN THIS WHOLE FUCKING CROWD PUT TOGETHER OMGGG

WHO IS THAT SHOUTING “YAOYOROZU” OVER ON THE LEFT?? DID I SOMEHOW GET TRANSPORTED INTO THIS MANGA AND DIDN’T REALIZE

(ETA: apparently these are all of her fans from the commercials she did with Snake Hair Lady and Kendou. not my preferred way for Momo to get a following, but I can’t say I object to her having a following. what can I say, these people know perfection when they see it)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS IT OH MY GOD. THE ANIME BETTER KNOCK THIS OUT OF THE FUCKING PARK

BUT OH MY GOD, EVEN THOUGH IT’S JUST ONE PAGE I’M FUCKING LOSING MY MIND

(ETA: oh my god I’m so glad we got more in the next chapter though. I was prepared to take whatever we got, but for a moment I genuinely thought this was gonna be it, and after all of that buildup I’m so happy we did get the full performance and each of the characters got a little moment to shine)

MOMO’S HARDCORE CHEERING SQUAD!! EITHER THAT OR JIROU ACTUALLY WROTE A SONG THAT CONSISTS OF NOTHING BUT MOMO’S NAME OVER AND OVER, AND THEY ELECTED TO PLAY THIS AS THEIR OPENING ACT. I KNOW THIS ISN’T ACTUALLY WHAT’S HAPPENING, BUT IT STILL CAN BE CANON IN MY HEART

MIRIO HOISTING ERI UP TO SEE

THIS IS THE CUTEST PANEL WE’VE EVER HAD IN THIS MANGA. SUCK IT, ALL YOU OTHER PANELS

BAKUGOU PLAYING THE SHIT OUT OF THOSE DRUMS! FUCKING MURDER EVERYONE WITH YOUR SOUND BOIIIII

AND ERI SMILING

I’M DEAD. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. THIS IS SO FUCKING GREAT. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU, MANGA. I’M PLAYING “Y CONTROL” ON REPEAT, FUCK YEAH

YOU DON’T NEED A BONUS, JUST ENJOY THE MAGICAL MOMENT

[the-acid-pear]

Tumblr refuses to let me reblog the post again, so this is the second part of me reading the second btg book! ☺️

Still Chapter 211

Son on son violence

Chapter 212

This dude pretty cute ngl

Shit, rip

AAWW HIGH 5 🥺🥺

It's almost like they are a regular father and son 😭🥺💔

Chapter 213

Look how thigh those shirts are hehehoho 🥴

OYXITSITDITDLTD

Ooooh there goes my man Jyaku ready to kick some ASS

🥺😭💞

Baki really just forgot his mom eh, thought you were getting stronger for HER smh

Oh Jyaku vs Retsu? Nvm Jyaku i can only hope Retsu is nice w you

I like how most are like, confused over who to cheer for lmao

I know he won't make it but I'm cheering for Jyaku btw i like him more <33

Chapter 214

Love that title, can't believe Jyaku is gonna ask Retsu out 😍 /j

He really is just honest Igari

I love that he apologizes

Chapter 215

OJFOYDITDISTOTDG

HIS FACEEE THIS FUCKING CLOWN 😭😭😭

THIS IS JUST SO FUCKING FUNNY

Chapter 216

Burgir

GHZJDUDDRHD THEY ARE SOOO MAD

That smile so cute...

Jyaku is a king

Love it when Retsu throws that pose, though y'all know why

HDGSSGSGF you are coming to Japan wether you like it or not 🔫

Chapter 217

Finally Jyaku got serious too

WITH HIS TOES 😭

King is just obsessed i luv him

HEHE HAIRY LEGS

It does seem like Jyaku is trynna confess his love jfnshdshdf

Chapter 218

I remember i almost laugh cry with my dad when we saw this

His damn beard... 💔

THE HAND OF THE TRAITOR

He has a good point

They be calling my man Jyaku a masochist noooo yfjdhdgs

Chapter 219

Okay seems kinda into it <:/

Old man? He doesn't look that old Baki :/

That was so smart 🥺

Chapter 220

Retsu calm down please you are gonna break his back

Oh my god Retsu, oh my god.

He did apologize at least

Chapter 221

Damn dude be a little more gentle with him

Oh, get was picking him up, okay

FR FR

🥺🥺🥺

FARHDHDYFTH THE KINGGG

Chapter 222

I love how everyone completed him (except Yujiro but not surprising), these warriors are such a good team

I want to eat an apple too now

That was fast

I got distracted watching a vsauce react video sorry

Okay I'm glad a comment actually mentioned Sik

Chapter 223

Had to take a uh idk 5 hour break bc lights went out :/

Feet be fuming lmao

Ohhh that's a cool analysis

Chapter 224

What a good punch

That "please",,,

Poor Li man, having to see his brother DIE /j

No, Viêt Long, i have not been hit by a truck before.

Chapter 225

It's so funny how Jyaku lost bc he fought a main charac and only those win

Sad day for the Chinese citizens

Mf got tits in his back

This is gonna be so goodddd

Chapter 226

Look at the size of his tits, the slut

INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER POSE WOOO

These two are cool fighters

Chapter 227

Old man showing skin

His smile is so fucked up lmao

Chapter 228

Baki what the FUCK are you wearing?

I just remembered when Hana did a flip, that was so good

Retsu babey 🥺

I love how confused Yujiro looks

Chapter 229

Hey, i recognize that name...

Kaku just too op

Yujiro you are gonna pop your testicles if you do that with your leg

Chapter 230

God that's such a good threat

Love Retsu's confusion

Damn bitch you saying we gotta keep up w this whore cuz you were too slow? Ffs Kaku 😢

I love when you can tell someone is still hanging around just quietly by seeing their response in a comment

Chapter 231

God this just feels so good, to see Yujiro actually scared 😍

YOOO THAT'S POG

Chapter 232

I wanna finish this book and start the next one grrr

This fight is so satisfying

That last bit is so cringe but whatever that's okay

Fight so controversial comments were deactivated

Chapter 233

Itagaki hincha de boquita el más grande? 😳 /j

Okay yeah it IS just rude

Hohoooo shit getting nice

Chapter 234

This asshole lmao

Yuji-chan really went "how many times do i have to teach you this lesson, old man?!"

Mfs be doing Jojo references in the comments lol

Chapter 235

GTFO WITH THAT LOGIC RETSU IM SORRY CHINA IS LOSING BUT GET LOSTTTT AJSGAJGS

Ffs Kaku you are doomed 😢💔

Yujiro so strong my mouse disconnected

Chapter 236

Abs in his back...

Crying and shaking that is NOT true

DON'T FEED HIS EGO, KAKU

LIONS CAN BE KILLED BY TIGERS TOO!!!!

I thought Yujiro was bleeding for a second there smh

Chapter 237

OKAY YEAH IT IS HIS BLOOD ITS COMING OUT OF HIS NOSE ITS NOT MUCH BUT HE BLED

THE HEAD APPLAUSE

HE'S SO UPSET LMAOOO

Yujiro surprised is good shit

GSJDUFTHSTD

KAKU YOU LEGEND LMAO

Kaku has boyboss energy

Chapter 239

This cover almost gives me a stroke

I love how they all just shat their pants

These minor Chinese characters were so good tbh, sadly i don't think they will ever return

Don't worry Retsu, we the viewers have seen a man revive before

King i don't think any of us understands

It really is

CAN MEN IN THIS FRANCHISE JUST OPEN BOTTLES REGULARLY?!

Oh my god i though Yujiro was sitting on the air for a second i almost cry 😭

Coca cola must have paid Itagaki /j

Chapter 240

Oh so the Kaioh part takes the name, not the surname

...is Yujiro wearing a floral shirt? 😭

I LOVE THAT ENDING SO MUCH 🥺😭

Jyaku has his eyes fixated on Retsu eh, proud of having him come to Japan lmao

Chapter 241

HORRIBLE fit Baki

CHILDHOOD SAGA PART 2? 😰

Jk though i do miss Yuri 🥺

Oh hey Jr

You gonna fuck his girl, bro?

Chapter 242

So straight forward lmao

I'm starting to appreciate Baki's feminist ass every day even more

AAAA GRANDPAAA 🥺🥺💞

This page didn't allow me to call two mfs virgins smh, 1984

Chapter 243

Grandpa they shrunk you

Chapter 244

Kings idc about this

Okay true but also he's 70 dude pls... Though idk if this guy will go thru worse than Jack lmao

Such a nice lad

Chapter 245

Baki being such a feminist icon is so meaningful considering how his parents were,,,

MY MAN IS BACKKK AND AS DAPPER AS EVER

Doppo he's called Ali Jr how are you surprised?

OH MY GOD I JUST REALIZED HIS EYE PATCH HAS A PATTERN THAT'S SO COOL 🥺🥺😢💞

These men love throwing their glasses eh

Chapter 246

If only Igari and Toba had done this lol

OKAY THATS COOL I LIKE THAT

Me lo re devaluaron a mí pelado eh

HEHE OOOOH NICE 😳

Scenes that give me a boner

CHU...

Such a good callback...

Chapter 247

My man got serious, sweet

Doppo has been trying out his luck a bit too much like he's been betting with his life an uncomfortable lot like king do you need to talk? Are you okay? First asking Gouki to kill him now this like, is everything alright Doppo?

YEAH A BIT FUCKED UP TO THINK ABOUT

I love that blocking technique

OSHWOWHIWWH "gay ass Orochi, out of option so he touching dick" SHUT UPPP 😭😭💀

I really wish he got kicked in the nuts again see if he's still using his technique

Chapter 248

Poor guys thought he was bout to get murdered

A kiss? 😏 /j

When i saw this in the anime i actually thought Orochi was going to die, i was gonna get sooo angry

Chapter 249

What a way to cockblock em

Feminist icon

Jack is that the only sweater you own?

Chapter 250

I have been thinking of that scene of him eating the whole steak a lot

Jr like 🥺

Imagine being stupid enough to tease Jack like, i get he defeated two masters but they are NOTHING compared to this monster

Imagine jack just smoked some weed right there lmao

Jack needs to bite people more

Chapter 251

My shitty ass son gave me parkinson's

Jack that's not how human anatomy works what the fuck did Kureha do to your body spine?

Chapter 252

DAMN JR WHAT A FAT ASS

Looked like Jack was going for a handful

Those techniques must fuck your neck up so bad

Okay Jack you are going a bit far now don't cha think?

Chapter 253

You are tempting your luck sunny boy

Look at that, you pissed him off!

You cannot just know out jack hanma bro

HHH

This was so stupid yet, unironically, iconic

Chapter 254

Bruh i thought it said Pog 😭, ain't manslaughter poggers Mr Hanma?

OKAY THANKS JACK

Such a simp he downed that coffee cup

Grandpa put here cockblocking

Chapter 255

"no he didn't >:/"

These two masters are a pair of fucking idiots like understand this i love my grandpa and i love my man but mfs have to take the L for this one time sksgwjgshgw

Gouki bro my senses gonna shut down if you put your sucks against the dirt again OUGH sensory hell 😭

FOR FUCKING REAL JR

STOP ENABLING THE OLD MAN!! WKSGKSGSJSHDD for once I'm on Viêt's side 😭

Chapter 256

Hoho Gouki out here getting a panty shot 😳

Grandpa i love you but this was unnecessary

Chapter 257

Kozue should wear a Korn tshirt

GET HIS ASS KOZUE

OWHWLWGISGSJWG 😭😭 MF JUST STANDING THERE LIKE A FREAK I LOVE HIM BUT I HATE HIM SM!!!

Love how consistently round his hands are, king got no knuckles

HEY DONT CALL MY MAN A FREAK KOZUE

King hasn't changed his clothes ever since i see

His shoes look so nice...

OKAY OKAY HE HAS A POINT AT LEAST, HE AT LEAST ACCEPTED HE LOST BUT HE'S STILL BUTTHURT FROM IT SKSGAJGS BUT HE ADMITS IT!!

Doppo i love you but shut UPPP you lost get over it!! You are just going for the rematch bc you have the higher ground against a injured guy!!! Like Shibukawa didn't have time but you were already getting serious!! Hhhgrrrrrr doppo i love you but I'm going to bark

Hehe nvm he still hella fine... keep talking king 🥴

This was so mean of him sjsgwjwg

Chapter 258

Low-key starting to believe these two mfs plotted against Jr sjshsj

THAT FACE AKSGWJGS just 😐

If i didn't know you would get your ass handed in a plate i would be a lil mad he's planning on being that savage

He has been thru worse, sunny boy

Niceee

Tbh. I don't care anymore. Doppo is in the wrong, but GOD I'm a simp and i love seeing him fight 😍😍🥴

Yeah a comment mentioned it, we all were on Jr side until he threatened to kill Doppo Orochi like, even if not everyone here is as horny as me we all like an og fella

I also love how the prisoners really changed them all, the scars (both physical and mental) those 5 left will be remembered lol