#this fandom makes me so mad it genuinely enrages me

[the-sun-is-also-a-star]

if you people don't start tagging your anti-ship posts as anti-ship posts i'm gonna start tracking you down, and beating basic fandom etiquette into you

[xxsabitoxx]

The Pillars and their Wolf Ranking

Warning: Alpha / Beta / Omega type shit. I… yeah. No m!preg or slick tho lmfao just a causal… post hmm

A/N: this is fully meant to be a crack head canon post. The idea came to me while I was delirious at 4am… honestly I should have taken it as a bad omen but here we are. Fun fact I used to strictly write A/B/O fics for a very different fandom LMFAO 🫣

I genuinely could not take this seriously the whole mother fucking time so PAH-LEASE don’t come for me for the cringe… or maybe you like this idk I don’t judge

Tomioka Giyu

Alpha

Against his will tbh, he was hoping to be a beta

He’s more withdrawn and “timid” for lack of better words

A particular someone was enraged when Giyu turned out to be an alpha and not him

His only plus is he doesn’t have to deal with omega heats… the idea makes him a bit uncomfortable

Kocho Shinobu

Beta

She’s relieved, though she wouldn’t have minded being an alpha

Had she gotten the title of omega nobody would have ever heard from her ever again

Mama ain’t raise no bitch… cause mama didn’t raise her but anyways… she’d sooner jump off a cliff head first into a rocky ravine  before letting some alpha mate her

She can go about her life as normal

Rengoku Kyojuro

Alpha

He’s not ashamed of it, he rather likes the role

He loves to take care of people, he can command without coming off like a douche bag and people are more than happy to oblige

Plus he wants a big family so being an alpha makes it easier for him I guess

Omegas in heat do have to stay away from him though… he can’t help it… the issue being they practically throw themselves at him

Uzui Tengen

Alpha with three mated wives looking for a fourth

You’re on something if you don’t think this man is an alpha in every sense

Alpha Tengen is horny so don’t be shocked that he already has like five kids with more on the way LMFAO

That being said, Hina, Makio and Suma are obviously omegas

He’s a charmer, so along side Rengoku, people like to go to him for help and such

Kanroji Mitsuri

Alpha female

You thought I was gonna say omega, didn’t you?

Naw my girl is too damn strong (albeit emotional) to be classed as omega

Hell she was pretty shocked by it, so was everyone else. She’s so emotional they for sure thought she’d be an omega. Then again her appetite…

Luckily though the man she had her eyes on happens to be an omega

Iguro Obanai

Omega who genuinely would have offed himself if Mitsuri didn’t turn out to be an alpha

I don’t care what anyone says I totally see this man being an omega and completely and utterly embarrassed because of it

His only saving grace was Mitsuri being an alpha and tbh he finds it so unbelievably hot

While he is an omega he definitely isn’t a shrimpy little bitch and can fully handle himself

When it comes to Mitsuri though he’ll absolutely let her baby the fuck out of him and call him cute

Shinazugawa Sanemi

Omega bitch boy LMFAO

Stfu rn cause baby girl is 100% an omega and I have proof… sorta

My proof being that Gyomei said Sanemi was shy in the little “what the pillars think of each other” thingy

He’s the one that’s enraged about Giyu being an alpha, not even Obanai is that mad lmfao

Tbh it was too cliche to say he’s an alpha and honestly he just doesn’t feel like one to me

Himejima Gyomei

Beta surprisingly

He’s a gentle soul so it makes more sense that he’s a beta and not an alpha

He’s a beta that people still look towards for advice and protection

Similar to Shinobu, he’s chill with this cause he can go about living his life and not having to worry about ruts or heat lmfao

He’s not an overly horny man so…

[ihavedonenothingright]

I haven't really been a fan in a while, but hearing Zeltik say that for the film, Ganondorf should be "a deranged, monstrous warlord who wants power, and nothing else" genuinely enraged me. I need to know what the fuck would make someone think that is the best thing to do with him. I know it's what they will do—I have zero hope of nuance, or even a motivation for him—but just. God, even the Zelda manga understood what to do with him! Why do you hate depth? What is wrong with you?

I am going to be very straightforward here: making him do what he does just because he's "mad" not only makes for an uninteresting villain, it also falls neatly in to a myriad of disgusting orientalist tropes that you can't avoid responsibility for just by giving him green skin. He is the only male representative of the Gerudo we ever see, and while the games will sometimes allow them to be the "good guys" (so long as they're assimilating into Hylian culture, or working in its interest), what Nintendo created in Ganondorf and his backstory was the equivalent of one of those slave market or sexy harem paintings of the late 19th century. He's the evil-for-evil's-sake depraved and decadent man in possession of unlimited numbers of scantily clad women, and that is, beyond a doubt, an orientalist notion. But he doesn't fucking have to be.

Frankly, up until Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo was getting better about him. I still think Akira Himekawa did him best, but Wind Waker Ganondorf is beloved because of his contradictions. He's undertaking actions we would consider evil for an ultimately fruitless cause, but he's not "deranged," he's consumed by the (literal) sunk cost fallacy, unwilling to give up on a dream he's already lost. Even in Ocarina of Time, he's the product of Hyrule's own making. The King of Hyrule is the one who launched a civil war, Hyrule is the nation with hidden torture chambers and guillotines. The Gerudo weren't even thieves before the war; Nabooru is anti-Hyrule, she disagrees with him on method.

Anyway, yeah. I keep forgetting what a cesspool the fandom is out in the wild. But for the love of God, I need people to start handling this man with some care.

[andro-dino]

I think this is a good one, if you like to rant a little, what are the (in your opinion) the 5 mfb characters that get misunderstood/mischaracterized the most, by the fandom?

oh my! surprise 5 things? in my inbox? more likely than you’d think

also this is such a good one I have so much to say on this

5. Kira’s frequent mistreatment makes me sad because he’s a very interesting and complex character with SO much to explore in regards to his upbringing and trauma and how that affects his character in the present and going forward, but a lot of people tend to portray him as a very one note crAaAaAzy villain and sexualize him to some of the worst degrees just because of his character design. It’s really unfortunate because there’s so much to love about him but it is a minefield trying to find anything for him

4. I’m not gonna blame people for misunderstanding and mistreating the garcias bc the show doesn’t even respect them but I’m still gonna be upset about it. I could go on and on about why the garcias were so poorly handled but like, when you think about their characters a little harder, you can really easily understand them from a more sympathetic view and how not only their environment but the way they were treated and used by the adults around them shaped how they behave throughout the series and like. Again, not blaming anyone for disliking them or seeing them solely as static villains bc they are not well written at all but I do wish people would give them a little more nuance, yk? I’ve taken the liberty of taking sole custody over them bc I could treat them so much better than the show, so I might be on of the only people who really sees this perspective just bc of how much I’ve diluted myself with my own noncanon analysis but yk.

3. I’m gonna go ahead and lump kyomado together because while I do think people don’t treat them with the nuance they deserve on their own, it is 10x worse when it comes to people shipping them specifically. And that makes me especially mad because kyomado was one of my first ships in any fandom and I still really like them together, but Jesus Christ people take them in the worst direction possible. It’s always so stereotypical with Kyoya being the cool hot closed off and aggressive one and Madoka being sweet and kind and submissive to him and it’s like. No!!! NO‼️‼️💥💥💥💥💥 They’re characters are so interesting together in my eyes because they’re relationship is built on mutual respect and ability to stand up to each other. Yes Madoka can be sweet and caring to him, but she is in no way submissive and is readily able to challenge him and call out his bullshit. Yes Kyoya can be cold and aggressive but he is not some abusive shitty YA male lead, he’s an angsty teen who genuinely recognizes Madoka’s abilities and respects her. I think you could make a similar argument for how people treat him with Hikaru as well but I personally find it far worse with Madoka, which makes me so sad bc I love this ship but hate a lot of the shippers and content for it :(

2. Gingka i dont think is as prevalent today, but I have seen the horrors and my god are they rough. The woobification of Gingka Hagane is an actual crime and should be treated as such. Im not even that big a Gingka stan or anything but I become fucking enraged whenever I see him portrayed as some soft and submissive uwu boy because there is so much more complexity and depth to his character and yaoifying him does that such a disservice. Idfk what show they were watching because in no universe is Gingka some sweet and innocent soft boy.

1. Damian. DAMIAN 100% IS THE WORST AND IT MAKES ME SO MAD. IDK WHAT IT IS ABOUT HIM THAT ATTRACTS FREAKS BUT 99% OF DAMIAN STANS ARE ABSOLUTELY VILEEEEE AND I HAVE NO RESERVATIONS IN SAYING THAT. It genuinely makes me so viscerally upset because I love Damian, he’s one of my favorite characters and I go absolutely rabid every time I think about him but OH MY GOD the way this fandom treats him is so awful. I mean it when I say it disgusts me how much people oversexualize him and mischaracterize him as some dominant and cool sex god or whatever because it is just so far from what he actually is and HES LIKE 13 ALSO????? LIKE YOU CANT EVEN KID YOURSELF INTO THINKING HE MIGHT BE ON THE OLDER END HE IS GENUINELY PINT SIZED AND ACTS LIKE A SPOILED CHILD THAT IS A FUCKING KID. Damian is an incredibly complex and interesting character with so much depth and lore. He is a deeply traumatized child with a godcomplex who screams when he gets dirty or his worldview is challenged, he is not some sexy flirtatious guy who’s got everything together. It’s one thing to focus solely on the power scaling side of him and disregard his character, but it’s a whole nother thing to sexualize him and remove him so far from the context of his story for the sake of whatever these freaks are on about.

[dayundying]

TW: racism, sexualization of a minor, mention of pedophilia and grooming

about the straight boyz situation; there are SO MANY things wrong with the map and I hardly know where to start.

Firstly the music used for the map is by someone extremely racist and the host knew this and still continued to use it, according to them "the purpose of the map is to offend others as much as possible" and if that wasn't enough they say it's a way of criticizing how currently you can't make jokes, but I'll come back to that later.

Second of all, the map contains scenes of a French kiss between Scourge and Ashfur, it is extremely uncomfortable and awkward. Continuing in this same vein, the whole map has a strange sexual connotation that borders on feral porn, which doesn't make any sense because this is a map about a children's series about LITERAL cats. Someone on YT suggested he put an age restriction on it, and it was even polite and the host's response was smth like "if kids don't want to see stuff like that they should be on yt kids, a lot of ppl already knew what sex was by the age of 15" totally ignoring what fandom they are talking about and also that CHILDREN had parts on the map.

And third, when people started bringing this up to the host, they just called anyone "hating" the map homophobic, and being childish. "oh, so you're afraid of gay kissing"

(their response to a twitter thread calling them out)

Oh and they've been accused of abuse/manipulation and treated it like a joke.

also this

(LONG DRAWN OUT EXHALE.) This is...so much omg. Thank you for telling me of course but like 😰 holy shit. I genuinely thought the MAP would just be silly fun, no one actually considers scourge x ashfur ITS JUST!!! MEANT TO BE FUN!!! ARGHRHRGR NOW IM MAD WHY CANT ANYONE BE SILLY AND HAVE FUN WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE TO BE SO AWFUL ARGHAFAHEGSV (rolling around on floor enraged)

[nikethestatue]

Rant

For almost 1.5 years, Elriels have been berated, harassed and screamed at on every platform about the Lightsinger theory. ENDLESSLY.

We've been accused of hating women. Of hating and abusing a victim of r*pe. We've been called horrendous names. Bombarded with vile anons, telling us that we should get r*ped and killed because we are making an SA victim a Lightsinger. We've been accused of making an SA victim a 'luring' siren, and how dare we, because we are 'excusing' assault. We are giving 'approval' to men who r*pe because we are saying that it's the woman's fault.

SO. MUCH. BULLSHIT.

SO. MUCH. ABUSE.

And now, when the author giggled like an idiot in an interview and essentially confirmed that indeed Gwyn is a Lightsinger, those same people are celebrating!!! OMG! Look! Gwyn is mates with Azriel (? WTF) OMG, such a good theory!!

Am I fucking enraged by this bullshit? Yeah.

I still remember very well how I posted that the Sangravah scene was a retcon, that in ACOMAF Mor wasn't in Sangravah,a nd that SJM changed the story. That was just an observation. A pretty simple post supported by sceenshots from the books. And then I was accused of 'denying' Gwyn's SA. Of not believing women who state that they were r*ped. I've gotten like 50 anons in 2 hrs, telling me to kill myself, hoping I'd get sexually assaulted and that I am a piece of shit human being.

3 months later, the big Gwynriel accounts admitted that it was a retcon and suddenly ... silence. Oh, well, it was a retcon, no big deal. Because you know, clearly it's because Gwyn and Azriel are mates! (naturally)

I am not even mad at the moronic Gwynriels, though the ruthlessness with which they attack people for pointing out the obvious is gross and absolutely abhorrent. But I am pissed at SJM and BB for perpetuating all of this toxicity. I am really, genuinely disappointed not only with how the fandom behaves and how women treat other women, but how the author treats her fans.

But also, this is such a good, if unfortunate, lesson in how awful herd mentality is. How easy, and how devastating it is to become part of something that is ugly and bullying towards others.

[disaster-j]

So I came across a clip from an interview OffGun did a couple years ago and the interviewer's question and the way she asked it really hit home for me why so many people in BL/GL fandom spaces and asian audiences in particular are often so adamant that actors who work in same sex ships must be dating.

Like, my brain usually jumps to the the whole capitalist factors of exploiting people's interest in same sex couples irrespective of whether that interest is out of genuine love for queer representation or just finding same sex ships hot. The companies all push the agendas and particularly target teenagers who are more likely to build unhealthy parasocial relationships with these actors and their ships so of course they are to be blamed for some of the madness around it. I also think it's worth acknowledging that these kinds of invasive questions about dating and sexuality are also thrown at m/f pairs, though it's not usually as bad in comparison.

This interviewer asked OffGun if they were dating and of course they did their usual routine. The interviewer said something along the lines of "aren't you embarrassed (uncomfortable?)... if i had to film with another woman..." and it just made me think about how people just cannot fathom two people being comfortable with performing fake intimacy with same sex partners. When they see genuine chemistry between same sex duos like we see with pairs like OffGun, MaxTul, OhmNanon their brains can't comprehend that this level of closeness could exist without the presence of sexual and/or romantic attraction.

Too many people look at on-screen chemistry or even off-screen (platonic) intimacy between actors and cannot comprehend how it could exist without the presence of physical attraction. It is easier for people to comprehend this with opposite sex pairs because cishet audiences in particular assume that whether these actors ever act upon it or not they are physically attracted to each other. Because physical attraction between opposite sexes is seen as something of a default setting.

Now add homophobia to this preexisting thought process and you get huge groups of people who couldn't comprehend ever being close or intimate with people of the same sex without the presence of physical and/or romantic attraction. Not even when the intimacy is clearly faked for the screen. And of course if the actors are genuinely close in real life like the pairs mentioned above then there must be something sexual and/or romantic going on behind the scenes. Which then leads to these groups being enraged when said actors end up dating other people. It shatters this little bubble of ignorance they live in and seeps doubt into their messed up belief system and they lash out in retaliation because they don't like being proven wrong.

The point I'm trying to make is that while fetishism and the capitalist exploitation of the BL/GL genre play a big role in the toxicity of these fandom spaces, if allo and amatonormativity weren't such pervasive concepts in our society these problems likely wouldn't exist at such a large scale to begin with.

[princeescaluswords]

Okay but now thanks to you, I DO want a story exploring Lydia if she WERE to kill Peter and Derek for the trauma and havoc they wreaked upon her and her peers. That would genuinely be so fascinating.

Imagine she does it when she's forced to go to Peter for "help" tapping into her powers and the smarmy look is wiped literally off his face as her scream smashes open his skull, sending brain matter everywhere

Unfortunately, we would never get it from the production itself.

As much as I love the show, there are scenes that displease me and there are scenes that enrage me. Most of them are the scenes where the writing staff decided to indulge in the ancient Hollywood tradition of allowing white males to do whatever they want if they are sexy enough and have the thinnest of motivations. Like the one from Broken Glass (6x19) where Peter and Lydia are sparring in the animal clinic:

Peter: That is disturbing on multiple levels. What else? Lydia, don't hold back on me, I never held back on you.

You see what they did there? This is the penultimate episode of the show and Peter's savage attack in Season 1, his gaslighting and possession of her in Season 2, his insouciant attitude of Season 3A, his extortion and manipulation in 3B, and his kidnapping and imprisonment of Lydia with the help of the woman who burned his family alive in Season 4 has been reduced to this adult white male not "holding back."

And I'm not even mad that Peter tried it. He's a malignant, conniving dumpster fire of a human being. Of course he would try to recast his behavior as somehow a fair exchange between equals.

I'm mad at the writing of Lydia Martin because they though that she would let this pustulent f*cknugget get away with trying it. Lydia isn't Scott who has boundless compassion even for the people who lie to him and hurt him. Lydia isn't Stiles who gets flustered when under stress. Lydia doesn't have Derek's metric ton of guilt preventing him from rejecting his scheming slime of a relative nor does she have the pervasive hypocrisy of a corrupt sheriff. This is a person who defiantly told Kali -- a murderous alpha with no reason to spare Lydia's life -- that she needed a pedicure, and Lydia hadn't even learned to fight yet.

But she lets the man who used her like this

describe it as ‘never holding back?’  She lets him get the last word?

Her defining traits were her self-confidence, her self-possession and her intelligence, and she lets this decadent Harvey-Weinstein wannabe get the last word in? Especially since Peter is fundamentally useless in 6B. He preens, he pouts, he promises vengeance but does nothing but smarm and get turned to stone because he's distracted by his own selfish desire to turn the daughter he betrayed into his legacy. The only thing he's ever been good at is ambushing people, most of whom he's deceived by twisting the bonds of family and friendship.

I love the show, don't get me wrong, but its enabling of its show-runner's and fandom's obsession with this pathetic loser of a villain is one of its greatest detriments, and having Melissa describe him as a "a ruthless con man who always has a devious plan to hurt everyone around him." doesn't make up for the fact that they let him wander around again and again, promising murder and vengeance and helping fanatics point assault weapons at teenagers.

Especially when they turn around and tell us that Kira's story is over; that they cared so little about Liam, Mason, and Corey that they couldn't keep their ages straight; that they just couldn't find a way to fit Braeden in; that we don't deserve to know what happened to Danny or if Lydia ever made it to MIT or Scott ever got to be a vet.  Instead, they believed we'd rather know that Peter managed to con and scheme and murder his way into reclaiming his shitty family's legacy by dumping the actual hard work on the Latino teenager he bit and tried to unsuccessfully enslave and/or kill at least three times.

The problem is that they know their audience. And Lydia's self-actualization is less interesting to this gross collection of villain-worshipping fans than whether Peter manages to manipulate his daughter into forgiving him for trying to use her as an assassin or successfully sneering at a hero of color one last time.

BUT IT'S NOT RACISM.

[qitwrites]

a numbers game 

Fandom: BNHA 

Pairing: Kiribaku 

(AO3) 

Bakugou knows his personality and general rage-filled disposition towards everything, in general, isn’t winning him any favours, but the texts have made him contemplate just how shitty he must’ve been in a past life to deserve a fate like this.

Because no one - and Bakugou knows such assholes as Monoma - but no one deserves to be on the receiving end of unsolicited dick pics. From random numbers. At all times of the day. For the last 3ish months.

“I am going to throw my phone out the fucking window, I swear on all that is good and pure, fucking bull-“

“More dick pics?” Camie interrupts with a wide grin, plucking the phone out of Bakugou’s hand.

“What the fuck else?” Bakugou snaps, trying to pull his phone back in vain. Camie holds it just out of reach, eyeing the disgusting penis with a critical stare.

"Hmm,” she says, passing the phone back to him before taking a sip of her terrible grass juice that smells like a badly mowed golf course, “the lighting is bad and he hasn’t done like, any grooming at all. 3/10.”

“You’re being generous,” Bakugou huffs, deleting the picture immediately and swallowing the still raging urge to fling his phone at the nearest wall. “It’s unsolicited. And his fingernails are fucking filthy. -100/10.”

Camie rolls her eyes. “You’re being dramatic again Kitkat.”

Bakugou counts to 10 in his head, tries to find that last shred of patience he knows is somewhere deep in his dark pit of a soul and breathes out in a rush.

“I need to fucking figure this out before I actually lose it and track down one of these fuckers and choke the life out of them.”

Because here’s the thing- Bakugou has been receiving dick pics and dirty text messages like hi bby want sex? and imma dick you down gud boo – he’s positively swooning, what a lovely way to be wooed – and he has no idea how to stop it. Yes, he could cancel his number and get a new one, but all of his bank details are linked to this one. He’s had it since he first got a phone in middle school, and now all of his documents are attached to the damn thing. The very idea of going to the banks and the DMV and every other stupid establishment to get it changed makes him grimace hard enough that he decides to bear with it.

Except, every time he receives one of these horrible pictures, his urge to blow up the phone, nay, the entire world, simmers at dangerous levels.

“Cool it kitkat,” Camie croons, giving his forearm a squeeze, “you’re making your homicidal face. That cannot be good for wrinkles.”

“Like I give a fuck,” Bakugou grunts, flinging his phone away carelessly and watching it skitter around on the kitchen counter before halting dangerously close to the edge. “I just want it to stop.”

Camie puts her atrocity for a drink down and pulls the fridge open, rummaging around as she says, “I have a theory about all this.” She pulls out a jar of jalapenos and places it in front of Bakugou. The blonde yanks a fork out of the admittedly cute utensil bucket in the middle of their counter before snapping the lid off and spearing a good 3 pieces in one go. He chews on them slowly and directs a raised brow at Camie.

“Well,” she muses, picking her drink back up, “as a woman that receives a LOT of numbers from guys and gals and non-binary folks alike-“ Bakugou makes it a point to roll his eyes hard enough to knock his head back; Camie’s laughter is loud and boisterous “- I have a tactic for when I don’t know how to say no and don’t want to give my digits.”

Bakugou has another forkful of jalapenos in his mouth when he narrows his eyes at her.

Camie shrugs, “I usually change the very last digit of my number. Works like a charm. I never meet the person again, and they can’t contact me. Win-win.”

“Win-win my ass,” Bakugou seethes. “Do I look like I’m winning right now? I am this fucking close to killing someone, because of stupid tactics like yours.”

Camie finishes the last of her drink, and speaks around her straw, “You say that, but do you know how many people, and especially dudes, don’t take no for an answer? The only reason I give out any digits at all is when I can’t guarantee my safety. I know it’s not like, the perfect solution or anything, but I’m giving you facts right now.”

And Bakugou does, in fact, know that. He’s met those pushy assholes- people that don’t back down, people that don’t take no at face value, people that push and prod and get up in his space. It pisses him off to absolutely no end.

“Whatever,” he concedes. He spears another forkful of jalapenos before grumbling, “So, what the fuck do I do?”

Camie grins, minx like. “Why don’t you text the number one ahead and one behind your own and ask? I mean, in the best-case scenario you figure it out and get it all to stop, in the worst case, you get to yell at like random people. Isn’t that your second favourite pastime, right after yelling at that pigeon outside our balcony, the one with an agenda?”

“Don’t talk about that fucking pigeon,” Bakugou fumes, “fucking piece of shit bird and those dark, robotic eyes. Something is up with that; you can’t convince me otherwise.” He mulls over the rest of her suggestion before relenting, “Well, I guess I could spare a moment to yell at the fucking extras giving out my number to perverts with no manners and gross penises.”

“I find it so funny when you say the word manners,” Camie says as she walks to her room, “It’s almost like you know what it means!”

She isn’t even looking at him, but she manages to dodge the jalapeno that sails at her head. It hits the wall with a sick squelch, and when Bakugou hears Camie’s door shut, he drops his head on the counter with a loud, resounding thunk and muffles a scream into the marble.

  He forgets to send out those texts, and when he receives yet another picture, not three days later, of someone holding their disgusting penis in their hand, like it’s an accomplishment or some shit, he sends out a text message to two different numbers typed with shaky, sweaty fingers.

>> xxx-xxx-xxx6 , xxx-xxx-xxx4

I don’t know who the fuck you are, and you don’t know me, but it’s possible that one of you assholes gives out my number to random people who, in turn, send me fucking dick pics. It’s been over 3 fucking months, so knock it the actual fuck off. And in case it isn’t you, fuck you anyway.

  Bakugou wakes up from a restless sleep to sunlight sloping in through the blinds of his room, a dry mouth, and three new text messages from an unknown number.

Because his brain takes time to boot up in the mornings, he foregoes the phone entirely and makes his way to the kitchen in search of caffeine. Camie is always up before him, and he gratefully pours himself a mug of her insanely strong black coffee, the kind to palpitate your heart and make you vibrate in your seat. She calls it jet fuel, Inasa calls it death, Todoroki just blinks.

When he’s half a mug down, he finally retrieves his phone from his room and takes a seat in the balcony, surrounded by plants of all kinds. The sun is bright but not harsh, and he takes a second to enjoy it before opening his messages.

He doesn’t even recall sending the messages last night, and for a moment he’s enraged at the idea that someone sent him even more dick pics, but there’s no photos waiting for him, just three messages.

xxx-xxx-xxx4 omg omg OMG I didn’t think anyone actually used this number im sorry D:

xxx-xxx-xxx4 no really im so so sorry holy shit I was just following this idea that my friend gave me cause im terrible at turning people down but I didn’t realize they were messaging an actual other person OMG

xxx-xxx-xxx4 ofc I wont be giving your number out anymore im just so sorry bro, god, this is so damn UNMANLY of me

At least the person has the decency to sound apologetic. Not that it tempers Bakugou in any way, shape or form, but he takes note of it somewhere in the distant recesses of his mind.

Bakugou you better not give it out anymore fuckmunch. I should sue your ass for putting me under so much psychological distress.

The guy replies startlingly quickly. Bakugou opens the message with a quirked brow.

xxx-xxx-xxx4 shit can you actually do that?

Bakugou has no idea, but the key to selling anything is confidence, and he’s got enough to spare.

Bakugou try me

xxx-xxx-xxx4 IM REALLY REALLY SORRY OK TRULY D:

xxx-xxx-xxx4 and not just cuz you might sue me or anything, it was a terrible move on my part :’(

xxx-xxx-xxx4 can I make it up to you somehow??

Bakugou huffs, deflating a little. He’s angry yes, positively incensed for the most part, but the guy sounds genuinely sorry, and he’s finding it increasingly difficult to stay mad at someone that’s just being so damn decent and taking full responsibility.

Bakugou I don’t fucking know.

Bakugou just stop giving out my no.

Bakugou I swear to god if I get ONE MORE NUDE

Bakugou I will find you

xxx-xxx-xxx4 you don’t have to find me ill come to you

xxx-xxx-xxx4 cuz ill def deserve it at that point

xxx-xxx-xxx4 anyway, im sorry again. really ☹

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I gotta get some sleep, so tell me later about how I can make it up to you!!!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 goodnight

Bakugou checks the clock at the top left corner of his phone screen. It reads 8:31am.

What the fuck does this guy do for work anyway? And does Bakugou care?

He decides no, he doesn’t, because he’s really too busy to care about anything, especially assholes that hand out his number to horny strangers because they’re too chickenshit to say no.

He nods at his own conclusion, downs the rest of his death-in-a-cup, and walks back inside, ready to start another long day of work. Bakugou gives himself an hour before he puts this all behind him, fully forgotten and finally taken care of.

  Why the fuck haven’t I blocked this fucker yet, is the first thing Bakugou thinks when he gets more texts from them.

xxx-xxx-xxx4 heyyo!!!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 did you think of anything????? How can I make it up to you??

Bakugou stop texting me, that’ll be a great start

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I will as soon as u tell me how to make it up to you!!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I was being so unmanly and cowardly, I need to fix it!!

Bakugou good for fucking you, leave me alone

xxx-xxx-xxx4 y don’t you keep thinking abt it and lemme know !!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 if it helps, I can hook u up with some free drinks!! I co-own and bartend at a place downtown!!!!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 just think abt it

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I gotta get back to work, talk soon!

Bakugou stop texting me dammit

Bakugou isn’t a naïve person, but he somehow convinces himself that this will be the end of things.

  It is, predictably, not the end of things.

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I just realized I didn’t give u my name

xxx-xxx-xxx4 Kirishima eijirou!!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 and you are?

Bakugou blocking you

xxx-xxx-xxx4 aww come on man, don’t be like tht ☹

xxx-xxx-xxx4 wait, r u a man?????

xxx-xxx-xxx4 PLEASE AT LEAST TELL ME THAT I DON’T WANT TO MISGENDER U OMG

Bakugou can you calm the fuck down holy shit

Bakugou yes I’m a dude, you’re fucking fine dumbass

xxx-xxx-xxx4 oh phew!!!!!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 ok my dude

xxx-xxx-xxx4 please come down to the bar??????

xxx-xxx-xxx4 do you actually drink though?? If you don’t we still have great mocktails

xxx-xxx-xxx4 and I can whip up some awesome protein shakes

xxx-xxx-xxx4 ohhh and our food is bomb,,, I promise

Bakugou do you ever just stop talking

xxx-xxx-xxx4 NOPE :D

Bakugou Not a compliment

xxx-xxx-xxx4 what can I say

xxx-xxx-xxx4 im an opportunist

Bakugou you’re telling me

Bakugou fucker

xxx-xxx-xxx4 IM STILL SO SORRY

xxx-xxx-xxx4 PLEASE COME TO THE BAR LET ME MAKE IT UP TO YOU

xxx-xxx-xxx4 actions speak hella louder than words

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I must action you

Bakugou what the fuck 

xxx-xxx-xxx4 you get what I mean!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 <location> this is the place

xxx-xxx-xxx4 its name is RIOT, u cant miss it

xxx-xxx-xxx4 just lemme know when u can make it

Bakugou I haven’t agreed to shit asshole

Bakugou stop assuming things

xxx-xxx-xxx4 free food, free drinks, free live performance of whatever band’s performing

Bakugou …………………

Bakugou I’ll think about it

xxx-xxx-xxx4 HELL YEAH

xxx-xxx-xxx4 whats your name btw?

Bakugou like id tell you

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I need it for the reservation!!!!

xxx-xxx-xxx4 so that I don’t accidentally serve the wrong gentleman all your free perks

Bakugou didn’t say im coming yet

xxx-xxx-xxx4 im super optimistic

Bakugou I can tell, you’re giving me a headache

xxx-xxx-xxx4 so………… name?

Bakugou no

xxx-xxx-xxx4 I’ll get it out of you eventually

Bakugou try me

Bakugou fucker

If Bakugou finds himself smiling at the end of the exchange, well, that’s his business.

  “So, you finally figured out who was responsible for the penis pictures?” Todoroki deadpans around his cosmo.

“That’s wonderful Bakugou!” Inasa booms, slamming his beer down on the counter with gusto. Bakugou throws a spoon at him.

“Shut it Baldy,” he grunts, going back to chopping veggies. “And yes, I did, but now this fucker won’t stop texting me, insisting on making it up to me or some shit.”

“And this is a bad thing?” Todoroki summarizes slowly. Bakugou turns around in time to see him mouth why to Inasa before taking another generous sip of his drink. Inasa shrugs his stupidly large shoulders before asking, “Why is that a bad thing?”

Bakugou throws another spoon at him. “Because, I texted them so I could stop people from texting me. Now this person’s volunteering information to me about being a bartender and shit and constantly apologizing and it’s fucking annoying.”

“You know what’s interesting?” Camie muses, stirring her bloody mary with a long ass celery stick. “You’re getting all these text messages from this bartender, and you can like, so easily block this one number and be done with it, but you like, keeping responding. And keep, you know, not blocking.”

He can’t see it, but he knows Todoroki is nodding, the fucker.

“That is a good observation!” Inasa booms again, and Bakugou has to resist the urge to fling his entire cutlery set at the man’s thick skull. “Do you like this person Bakugou?”

“What’s there to like, I don’t even fucking know him!”

“Well,” Camie starts, takes a bite out of the celery stick, continues, “he’s well-mannered. Clearly good looking, because you got a LOT of penis pictures these past three months, and that also leads us to believe the business is doing really well, if so many patrons come in begging for a number. All good things, don’t you think?”

“I hate you,” Bakugou says, stirring the curry with barely repressed rage. “I hate all of you. I hate humanity. Fuck people.”

“Or fuck this person in specific,” Camie says gleefully. “You haven’t gotten laid in like 8 months boo, you need to get some.”

“You’re the actual fucking worst.”

“In all seriousness,” Todoroki interrupts, putting his empty glass down delicately, “why haven’t you blocked the number? It seems like an easy enough solution.” The asshole has the audacity to sound genuinely curious, if not slightly amused.

Bakugou hates everything.

“I don’t, I don’t fucking know, ok?” He finally admits through clenched teeth. The blonde kills the heat and places the curry on the counter while Camie brings out the rice and some pickled vegetables from the fridge. She pulls out a beer and twists the cap off before handing it to Bakugou, who snatches it away and takes a quick swig before continuing, “He’s actually kinda nice to me, I guess. And I like watching him be so sorry about all those penises. I may have also mentioned suing him for psychological distress.” Bakugou catches Todoroki’s gaze. “Can I do that?”

Todoroki hums, “You can try, but I don’t think you’ve got that solid a case. Plus, haven’t you deleted virtually all the evidence?”

Bakugou grips the neck of his beer bottle harder. “I fucking hate everything.”

  bartender asshole <image attached>

Bakugou what the fuck

Bakugou why are you sending me cat pics?

Bakugou also that cat is stupidly cute

bartender asshole I know right?????

bartender asshole her name is ruby

bartender asshole and id die for her

bartender asshole i just figured ud be a cat person

Bakugou ………….

Bakugou I hate u

bartender asshole :D :D :D

Bakugou ugh

Bakugou Bakugou Katsuki

bartender asshole :D :D :D :D :D

bartender asshole HI BAKUGOU SO NICE TO KNOW UR NAME

Bakugou I hate everything

bartender asshole except ruby. Its not allowed

Bakugou …………………………………

Bakugou except ruby

bartender asshole :D :D :D :D :D

  Kirishima, it turns out, is a ray of fucking sunshine. Bakugou has a distinct feeling that looking at him directly would be a blinding experience.

Not that he knows who to look for though; he has no idea what this guy looks like. He guesses that he’s buff, with all the times he tells Bakugou about the gym showers running out of hot water and beating his best weights doing bench presses, but he knows nothing else.

He does know that he’s sweet as fuck, making it impossible for Bakugou to stay mad at him. He doesn’t blink at Bakugou’s cussing, and he sends him cute pictures of Ruby.

There is a part of him, small but steadily growing, that wants to meet this stupidly nice bartender.

Bakugou hates everything.

  dumbass bartender so what do you do???

Bakugou front-end development and web design

dumbass bartender oh damn!!!

dumbass bartender so youre like smart smart

Bakugou obviously

dumbass bartender have I seen your work anywhere??

Bakugou I recently redid the website of that protein powder company you don’t shut up about

dumbass bartender ????????????????????

dumbass bartender that’s amazing!!!!!!!!!

dumbass bartender I just revisited the website, it looks so cool

Bakugou duh

Bakugou im the best

dumbass bartender I don’t doubt that!!! :D :D

Bakugou don’t you have work?

dumbass bartender aww bakubro are you looking out for me <3 <3

Bakugou call me that again and I will fucking end you

dumbass bartender before the free drinks??? That you are yet to redeem? ?? at my wonderful establishment?????????? :D :D :D

Bakugou I hate everything.

dumbass bartender D:

Bakugou except RUBY DAMMIT

dumbass bartender :D

  “Just to recap,” Kaminari says with an incredulous look in his eyes, “this guy cusses like a sailor, is constantly insulting you, never initiates conversation, and you still like him?”

Kirishima’s answering grin is bashful. “I mean, when you put it like that it sounds not so great, but he’s really not that bad! He’s super funny and confident, and he LOVES Ruby. Plus, I don’t like him like that, I just think he’s cool.” Kirishima picks up another glass from the washer and starts carefully drying it with his dishcloth before saying, “And, you know, I did put him through a lot by giving out his number. His behaviour is kinda warranted if you ask me.”

“I mean, in the beginning maybe, but haven’t you guys been texting for over a week now?”

“Denki, are you forgetting that giving out another number was your idea?” Kirishima mutters, narrowing his eyes at his best friend. “I’m in this mess because of you.”

Kaminari suddenly seems to find the glass in his hand a lot more interesting. Kirishima’s laugh echoes around the empty bar.

‘What’s so funny?” Ashido muses, bringing a crate of bottled beer behind the counter.

“Kirishima is going gaga over angry dick pic man.”

“I’m not going gaga, what the heck-“

“I think it’s cute,” Ashido says with a big smile. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you actually be interested in somebody; it’s really cute!”

“I don’t like him like that,” Kirishima stresses, though his cheeks are a little warm. He can blame that on the lack of air conditioning, he thinks. 

“We talking about angry dick pic man?” Sero asks with a shit-eating grin. “10 bucks say he’s actually a middle-aged guy with a cheese fetish.”

“That’s so random-“

“You’re on!” Ashido yells, slapping her hand into Sero’s. “I think he’ll be a hottie.”

“He hasn’t even said he’ll come,” Kirishima says, eyes downcast.

“He’ll come,” the three chorus, going about doing their tasks. Kirishima shakes his head fondly and finishes up with the glasses. Just as he’s put all the shot glasses away, he feels his phone vibrate.

Bakubro just finished a massive project

Bakubro could use a drink this weekend

Bakubro know any good spots?

Kirishima’s face breaks into the biggest smile as he rushes to answer.

Kirishima I know a bar that serves free drinks with your name on it!!!!

Kirishima amazing food, dope music, the bestest drinks

Kirishima ive heard the bartender is a great guy too

Bakubro way to toot your own fucking horn damn

Kirishima :DDDDD

Kirishima bt seriously

Kirishima please? ???? ??

Kirishima PLEASEEEEEEEEE??????????????????

Bakubro ugh

Bakubro fine.

Bakubro Friday night at 8

Kirishima looks up from the screen and calls out, “Denki!”

“Yeah?”

“Switch shifts with me, I’ll do Friday.”

“Um, ok, why though?”

Kirishima doesn’t respond, just goes back to texting, his heart thudding in his ribcage.

Kirishima YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Kirishima cant wait :D

Bakubro I’m bringing my stupid friends btw

Kirishima wait

Kirishima you have friends???????

Bakubro I am going to end you

Bakubro you know what? Fuck you im not coming

Kirishima BAKUGOU NO

Kirishima IM SORRY OFC U HAVE FRNDS

Kirishima please come

Kirishima how big a table should I reserve????

Bakubro don’t bother

Kirishima IM SORRRYYYYYYYYYY

Kirishima <image attached> <image attached> <image attached>

Bakubro bastard

Bakubro you playing dirty by sending me pics of Ruby

Kirishima need to weaken your guard somehow

Kirishima pls tell me it worked

Bakubro ugh

Bakubro ill be there

Bakubro reserve a table for 4

Bakubro your stupid bar better be worth it

Kirishima I promise it will be!!!!

Kirishima whoops in joy, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He looks up to see three sets of eyes looking at him with varying degrees of amusement.

“You get a really mushy look on your face when you’re texting him, it’s almost gross,” Sero points out with a laugh.

“Hush you,” Ashido admonishes, whipping her dishcloth at him. She walks over to Kirishima and gives him a big hug. “I think it’s very, very precious.”

“What did he say?”

“He’s coming this Friday!” Kirishima beams, holding Ashido closer against his side.

The three giggle.

“10 bucks say Kirishima messes up the drinks at least once.”

“HEY!”

Ashido squeezes around his middle. “Hon, I love you, but I’m not dumb enough to go against that.”

“HEY!”

They end up laughing and fibbing at each other for the rest of the prep time, and Kirishima feels his heart absolutely soar.

  Friday brings with it crunch time, running lines and lines of code, having a mini-breakdown because the stupid text block keeps floating around on the webpage like it’s in outer fucking space, being forced into one of Camie’s ridiculous vlogs and having an existential crisis about what to wear on a non-date get-together with the guy that ruined Bakugou’s life for close to three months.

Camie spends most of the day laughing at him. Bakugou throws more condiments at her.

“Fucking help me at least, you useless wench,” Bakugou growls, shifting to clothes as he throws a pair of jeans at her. Camie dances out of the way and doubles over, laughing till she tears up from the force of it all.

“I can’t, I just can’t,” she wheezes. “Did you just say wench? What era are you from babe?”

“FUCK OFF,” he roars, leaping towards her. Camie shrieks and ducks away, making a beeline towards his closet.

“Ok, ok, let’s get you dressed! What kinda look are you trying for?”

“Fuck if I know,” he grouses, feeling oddly out of his depth. He wants to look good, but he has no idea for what.

That’s a lie, he knows why. He just won’t admit it.

“Well, why don’t we pick something simple but flattering? Plus, if it's in your style, you’re bound to be more comfy.” Camie pulls out a pair of black jeans that are ripped at the knees, a black fitted round-neck tee shirt, and some black boots. While he’s changing, Camie pulls out a silver chain, some bands for his wrists and a collection of rings.

“Do you want me to do your eyes?” she offers, holding up some mascara and an eye pencil. Bakugou shrugs and sits on the edge of his bed. Camie’s smile is soft as she stands between his thighs, gently but efficiently applying his make-up. When she’s done, he walks over to the mirror to look at himself, and he has to admit- he looks good. Always one to take care of his body and his figure, Bakugou is lean muscle packed into a 5’10” body. His blonde hair is as messy as ever, but the combination of his make-up, the accessories and his clothes give him an edgy look like no other. Camie throws a dark fitted jacket at him before sauntering over to her own room.

He continues to reply to some work emails when his phone buzzes.

dumbass cant wait to see you!!!

dumbass just ask for me at the bar

dumbass or I might be the one to greet you!! :D :D

Bakugou I know dumbass

Bakugou what, are you nervous or some shit?

dumbass I mean, kinda????

dumbass it’s our first time meeting afterall

dumbass I don’t even know wat you look like!!!!

Bakugou blonde wearing all black

dumbass redhead wearing a shirt with the riot logo!

Bakugou whatever

Bakugou ill be there at 8

Dumbass cant wait <33333

Bakugou dumbass

Bakugou scoffs, his own nerves calming at the thought that he’s not the only one that’s a bit out of sorts. It’s nice to know that sunshine Kirishima is jittery about all this.

Also, interesting to know that he’s a redhead. Bakugou can’t quite imagine it, but in a few minutes, he won't need to.

His stomach roils with anticipation, and Bakugou hates every single thing.

Camie pops out of her room at half-past 7 in a maroon romper that cuts above her mid-thigh, hair done in a loose bun, makeup absolutely perfect. Her heels put her at a height taller than Bakugou, but he’s gotten used to being the shortest in their stupid posse. Doesn’t piss him off any less though.

She gets a phone call just as she pushes a tube of lip gloss into her purse.

“We are downstairs!” Inasa’s voice rings through her speaker, stupidly loud.

“Can it, baldy,” Bakugou grunts with a roll of his eyes, “we’ll be there in a sec.”

“See ya!”

Before Bakugou can usher Camie out the door, she pushes her clutch into his hands and walks over to the kitchen cabinet, pulling out two shot glasses and a bottle of tequila.

“Wha-“

“Liquid courage, my dude,” she says, pouring two generous shots and pushing one at Bakugou. She picks her own glass up and gives him a devilish smirk, “Bottoms up bitch!”

Bakugou picks the glass up with a resigned sigh but smirks back equally devilish. They cheers, smack the glasses against the counter and drain them smoothly. Camie puts the glasses in the sink, places a smacking kiss on Bakugou’s cheek and laughs brightly as she dances out of the way of his rage.

They finally load up in Inasa’s range rover, Todoroki plays classical Japanese music over the speakers and Bakugou regrets everything.

  Riot is apparently something of a beloved establishment in its neighbourhood, and Bakugou growls when he sees how long the line leading to the bar is.

“Holy moly, that’s a lot of people!” Camie points out helpfully as she disembarks from the car.

Todoroki straightens his two-tone denim jacket and runs a hand through his hair as he says, “We have a reservation, so I think it’ll be fine?”

“Yes, I agree with you Todoroki,” Inasa beams, locking the car behind him as they walk towards the building. The outside is made of exposed brick and neon lights, and the RIOT sign is a deep red colour, eye-catching and beautiful.

They bypass the people in the line and walk up to the bouncer, who eyes them warily. He’s built like an absolute tank, broad and block-like, and his silver hair shines in the artificial light.

“Can I help you?”

“Bakugou, table for 4,” Camie says cheerily. The bouncer looks immediately enamoured with her before his eyes go wide.

“Wait, Eijirou’s Bakugou?”

Bakugou’s ears burn at that.

“I’m not fucking anybody’s!” he snaps. The bouncer immediately looks at him, and his face breaks into an even wider grin.

“Well, I’ll be damned! Can I see some ID real quick?”

Bakugou cusses colourfully under his breath but pulls out his license, and after a quick check, the bouncer, whose name is Tetsutetsu, steps aside to let them in.

“Have a good time!” he says happily, almost too happily. Bakugou feels his hackles rise.

“What the fuck?”

“It appears that Kirishima talks about you at least as much as you talk about him,” Todoroki observes, walking next to Bakugou.

“I don’t talk about him, fuck you!”

Todoroki’s delicately raised brow makes him want to punch something. Or someone. Preferably both.

“Fuck you all,” he reiterates before stomping inside.

Now, Bakugou is a relatively creative soul – his job kinda demands it – so it’s not his fault that he’s actually quite captivated by the interiors of this stupidly popular bar co-owned by a stupidly nice person.

The inside has exposed brick as well, and most of the furniture seems to be retro. There are large pipes and barrels behind the bar, made of what seems to be pure copper. Black marble covers the bar tops, and the lights are a mix of neon and muted whites, bright enough to see but still bathing the room in an alluring aura. There’s music thumping through the speakers, loud enough to dispel any silence but still at a bearable volume.

“Swanky,” Camie whistles, taking it all in.

Bakugou nods begrudgingly before setting his eyes on the bar.

“I’ll go get us a fucking table,” he mutters before walking over, hands digging deep into his pant pockets. He sees a lanky black-haired guy and a girl with tan skin and pink hair behind the bar, talking animatedly with the patrons as they serve them drinks at a dizzying pace.

When he finally gets a spot at the counter, the pink-haired girl finishes up with a customer and bounds over to him.

“Hi,” she greets, smile wide and happy, “haven’t seen you around before! What can I get you?”

“Kirishima,” Bakugou says because apparently, his brain to mouth filter has decided to abandon him in his time of need. The girl tilts her head in confusion and Bakugou feels the life drain out of him.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m fuckin here because of dumbass Kirishima,” Bakugou barely grits out, fingers digging into his palms painfully. “The name is Bakugou, table for 4?”

He sees it all in slow-mo- the way her mouth goes slack, the way her eyes light up like firecrackers on New Year’s, and then the way her smile becomes positively blinding. He hates her already.

“Holy shit,” she breathes, “of course! So glad you’re here! Oye, Sero?”

“What?” the black-haired guy says without looking, topping up a perfectly poured glass of beer.

“You owe me 10 bucks.”

This gets his attention- he hands the drink off and looks at her, “Why would I-“

The girl just gestures at Bakugou and winks, “It’s him.”

Sero – or plain face, Bakugou’s brain helpfully supplies – immediately looks at him, his eyes widening. “Shit, seriously? Aw, man.” His smile becomes mischievous. “I’ll get Kirishima.” He opens the door behind the bar and disappears.

“What the fuck was that?” Bakugou snaps, beyond irritated to be so out of the loop.

“Nothing, nothing,” Pinky sings, raising her hands in a placating gesture. “Kirishima will show your party to your table. Do you want anything in the meantime?”

“… a beer,” Bakugou concedes because he’s not dumb enough to not get a drink before he sees Kirishima if he can help it.

“Coming right up!”

He waits at the bar, watching as his group of dumbasses ooh and ahh at the place, looking delighted. A bottle of cold beer hits the counter with a satisfying thunk, bringing his attention back to the bartop.

“Enjoy!” Pinky still has a stupid smile on her face but before Bakugou can say anything, the door behind her is thrown open and plain face steps out.

“The restocking can wait, literally the only thing you’ve talked about for the last 3 days is finally happening.”

The guy following him is all tanned skin and thick muscles under a fitted deep red tee shirt. His hair is a bright unnatural red, pulled into a high pony with a few strands still framing his face. His eyes are a softer red than Bakugou’s own, his cheeks sharp and high, and when his eyes meet Bakugou’s, a zip of electricity races down his spine and along his limbs till he can feel it in his toes.

When the man makes his way over, Bakugou also notes how damn tall he is- easily around 6’4”. His smile is shy, and he smells like sandalwood.

“Bakugou, hi,” he breathes, hesitantly holding his hand out. Bakugou takes it in a daze, still amazed by just how stupidly beautiful this stupidly kind bar owner is.

“Heyyo, you disappeared fam, how’s it going?” 

Bakugou hates everything.

He reluctantly slips his hand out of Kirishima’s warm, firm grip and turns to Camie with venomous eyes. “I literally just met him Cam, shut the fuck up.” He turns back to Kirishima, “Can you show us to our table?”

Kirishima shakes his head once before his smile turns blinding, and Bakugou finds himself fighting the urge to shield his eyes. “Of course,” he says in a voice that’s deep and warm and honey-like, “right this way!”

Bakugou snags his beer off the counter and takes a quick swig before Camie steals it and takes a few sips of her own. He growls at her but otherwise behaves, watching Kirishima’s back as he leads them through throngs of people engaged in cheerful conversation.

“Ok, well, he’s hot,” Cam says around the lip of the bottle. “Total beefcake. Whaddya think, boo?”

“I think you should fuck off,” Bakugou hisses, his face burning.

“If you wanted to go on a date, you probably shouldn’t have invited us,” Todoroki says, taking the offered bottle from Camie. 

Before Bakugou can explode in their faces, Kirishima stops and turns around. “Here ya go!” He gestures to a table behind him, tucked into a more private corner of the bar. It’s large and cushy, and when Bakugou gets in after Camie, he’s surprised at how soft the material is.

“So?” Kirishima says, eyes trained on Bakugou.

“Fuckin what?” Bakugou snaps, voice lacking any heat.

Kirishima laughs, head thrown back to reveal a long, thick neck and Bakugou is so damn weak.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

Bakugou clicks his tongue before gesturing at each of them, “Camie, marketing expert by day, YouTube beauty vlogger by night, pain in my ass always. Todoroki, environmental lawyer and a soba obsessed weirdo. Inasa, physiotherapist and resident dumbass.”

Kirishima gives them all a wave before saying, “Kirishima, co-owner of Riot and the reason why Bakugou saw more unwarranted penises than strictly necessary in a lifetime.”

“Asshole,” Bakugou grumbles, earning him another laugh and a bashful hand ruffling the back of Kirishima’s head.

“Still so sorry about that man,” Kirishima offers, “everything’s definitely on the house for you all! Speaking of ordering-“ Kirishima moves on to explain their ordering system-

“You can scan the code with your camera app,” the redhead says, pointing at the barcode on the centrepiece of their table, “and it pulls up our bar and food menu. Just enter your order and your table number,” he points at the large digits on the side that glows a bright 15 back at them.

Inasa pulls his phone out to order. Before he leaves, Kirishima says, “Can I get your drink order before I go?”

Camie asks for a LIIT, Inasa gets a Soju bomb and Todoroki starts off with his usual- a cosmo.

“You good on that beer?” Kirishima asks Bakugou warmly, his eyes dancing with mirth.

“I’m fine,” he grumbles, sliding lower into his seat. “Maybe get me another, your choice?”

“Coming right up,” Kirishima beams before stepping away, and Bakugou’s heart splutters around his chest at the sight of sharp white teeth and cheek-aching grins.

“He’s so cute!” Camie squeals, stealing the last of his beer. “And he’s totes into you too.”

“I have to agree, he’s very attractive,” Todoroki says impassively.

“Certified hottie,” Inasa rounds up, flashing his own biceps for some reason.

Bakugou is so done, and they’ve been here all 5 minutes.

  “Kirishim- Kirishima, the beer is overflowing,” Ashido says, pushing him away and taking over. “God, you’re so gone for him, it’s almost embarrassing.”

Kirishima snaps out of his stupor and moves to take the glass back. Ashido hip checks him away.

“You’re being a little stupid, go help Satou with plating and take the food to lover boy’s table.”

“He has a name, you know,” Kirishima mumbles, but Ashido simply laughs, and Kirishima feels his neck and ears go warm.

Because who let Bakugou walk into his bar looking like that? Looking so damn gorgeous in his all-black get up and his perfect eye make-up and that fierce scowl?

Kirishima’s heart had pretty much stopped at the sight of him, and it was yet to regain its usual rhythm.

The redhead rests his forehead against the wall and mumbles, “I’m so screwed.”

“We know buddy,” Sero says, patting his back sympathetically, “we know.”

  For all that Bakugou hates outings and people and outings in places filled with people, he finds himself having a moderately good time.

Because the food is delicious if lacking a little heat, the alcohol is mixed perfectly and the music is fantastic, filtering through old rock classics with some alt stuff mixed in.

And then there’s Kirishima- tending the bar with ease, laughing along with his co-workers, and sending Bakugou wide, happy smiles that sets his entire face on fire.

“This place is awesome,” Camie whoops, banging another shot glass on the table before knocking it back with ease. Todoroki joins her, his impassive face not so much as twitching at the taste of strong tequila before he bites into a lime. Inasa is already beer drunk, cheeks dusky as he hums along to the music.

“Insufferable,” Bakugou mumbles around his 4th-ish beer. He likes to keep up his grumpy act till his last shred of dignity melts away cause of the alcohol, and he’s probably pretty hit already because he lets Camie pull him into her side with her arm around his shoulder, his nose suddenly privy to the scent of her mellow perfume.

“I love you guys,” Camie beams, picking up her beer and waving it in front of her. Todoroki and Inasa clink their drinks against it, and Bakugou silently waves his own bottle around before downing it.

“You guys good on- oh my god, are you Camie? THE Camie?”

It’s Pinky at their table and her eyes are so comically wide that Bakugou can’t help his snort of laughter. He feels Camie straighten up, but her arm around him stays, holding him close.

“Define THE Camie,” she says with a smile in her voice.

“The beauty blogger that I’ve only been following for the last 3 years, holy shit I love your videos.” And then suddenly, her eyes narrow on Bakugou before she snaps her fingers. “NO WONDER YOU LOOK FAMILIAR! You’re the angry blonde in all her videos!”

“Haan? You wanna go pinky?” Bakugou growls, moving to stand up. Camie keeps him firmly by her side, her laughter shaking them both.

“That’s us!” Camie says. Bakugou finally fights his way out of her grip and throws her a withering look, or his drunken attempt at one anyway. She winks, and he fake gags. “I don’t get recognized in public all that often LOL, this is fun.”

“Did you just say LOL in a verbal fucking conversation?”

“What do you mean you don’t get recognized; you literally have like 3.2million subscribers.”

Camie ignores Bakugou and shrugs at Pinky. “I guess my primary demographic aint here fam. Speaking of which,” she thrusts her hand out, “what’s your name?”

“Ashido Mina,” she says, taking her hand firmly. Camie introduces her to the others, and Bakugou looks back at the bar, disappointed to see that he can’t find Kirishima.

“Can I top you guys off?” Kirishima says, suddenly right next to their table, effectively startling the shit outta Bakugou.

Camie chirps an affirmative, Todoroki asks for a water and checks to see if Inasa’s breathing as the big olf continues to sleep, curled up in the corner of the booth.

“And you Bakubro?”

“Don’t call me that,” Bakugou frowns before adding, “I should probably stop, I’m already kinda tipsy.”

“Lightweight,” Camie teases.

Bakugou gives her the stink eye. “Woman, the one time I tried keeping up with you, I ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning and you didn’t have so much as a hangover, so fuck off.”

“Seriously?” Kirishima says, eyes wide.

“That’s amazing,” Ashido murmurs, her smile crooked and dangerous.

Bakugou. Hates. Everything.

“He had no lasting liver damage, we’re all fine,” Camie reassures before diving into a conversation with Mina about beauty hacks and good mascara brands and global warming.

Kirishima leans close to Bakugou, bathing him in that warm sandalwood scent. “How about I get you some water and one last beer? A Hefeweizen?”

Bakugou turns to look at him, and his breath hitches in his throat when he notices how close they are, when he sees just how red Kirishima’s eyes are, how the heat seems to radiate off his skin. He exhales in a rush and looks away, answering with a jerky nod.

Kirishima gives his shoulder a friendly squeeze – he’s so warm, his hand is fucking huge – before walking to the bar and picking their stuff up.

When pinky finally meanders away from their table to serve other customers, Camie leans her head on Bakugou’s shoulder and says, “We’ll leave soon, ok?”

Bakugou nods again, leaning some of his weight back into her. Todoroki catches his eye and flashes him a warm, tipsy smile, and if he returns it with one of his own, well, he’s drunk out of his skull and has approximately no fucks to give.

  Long after putting Bakugou and his posse in a cab, before which they insisted on paying pretty much the entire tab since they ate and drank a LOT, Kirishima and the rest are cleaning up when Ashido whips him with her cleaning rag.

Kirishima looks at her with betrayed eyes, “Wha-“

“Ei, you better text him again.”

“About what?” Kirishima says glumly. “I did what I said I would do, and I promised to leave him alone after that.”

“Boy please,” Ashido scoffs, roughly wiping down one of the tables, “ya’ll made such gooey eyes at each other all night, plus I’m pretty sure he paid the entire tab just so you could keep up whatever façade you guys have going on to cover up the fact that you have INSANE chemistry with one another.”

“Yeah, the tension was palpable bro,” Sero chimes in, throwing an arm around his waist. “I think you should text him too. He seemed really amusing, and his whole group was a riot.”

Kirishima rolls his eyes at the pun but smiles at them, feeling a new burst of energy in his limbs.

“You guys are absolutely right! Worst case, he blocks me. At least I won’t have any regrets.”

“Yeah boy, get it with that optimism.”  

  Bakugou wakes up to a slight headache, a mouth that tastes like ash, and a profound sadness that settles atop his sternum, weighing him down and pressing him into his mattress.

He sees the glass of water on his bedside table with ibuprofen placed neatly next to it and downs them both without so much as a second thought. As his brain slowly comes back online, he takes a moment to finally navigate his messy feelings and comes to a crushing realization-

Kirishima doesn’t have to text him anymore.

The redhead had said that he’d leave him alone after making it up to him, and yes, it was Bakugou’s standoffish nature that got them into that situation in the first place. And yes, Bakugou had paid the tab mostly because it was too high a bill to be footed by the bar and Bakugou made bank, but also because a small, minuscule part of him hoped that the gesture would make Kirishima insist on another outing or something to ‘make it up to him'.

The blonde doesn’t even bother to acknowledge the fact that he forgave Kirishima almost two days into texting him.

He almost avoids his phone out of fear alone and makes it through a whole cup of coffee and 3 chapters into a novel recommended by Deku before finally picking up his phone to check for emails and notifications.

He expects none from Kirishima.

So, of course, there are 3 from the redhead.

Bakugou’s heart leaps to his throat and he can’t seem to unlock his phone quite fast enough.

fuck he’s cute hi Bakugou, thank you for coming last night!!!

fuck he’s cute it was actually really cool 2 finally meet you. U didn’t have to pay the tab tho :’D

fuck he’s cute bt since u did, I still owe u. can we figure it out later??? Also, what did you think of the place???

Bakugou dumbass

Bakugou you’ve got a swanky place, I’ll give you that. Food was fucking good too. could be spicier.  

Bakugou you got cam completely hooked

Bakugou and yeah, you better make it up to me later. Asshole.

Kirishima replies a few hours later, just as Bakugou finishes up a yoga routine that stretches out his back in the best way possible.

fuck he’s cute :D :D :D :D :D

fuck he’s cute can’t wait

fuck he’s cute <image attached>

fuck he’s cute ruby says hi

It’s a selfie this time, not a picture of just the kitty. Bakugou can appreciate how cute the mutt is, but for once, he has no attention to spare her. Not when Kirishima’s eyes are crinkling around the edges from how hard he smiles up at the camera, not when he’s wearing a tank top with relaxed arm holes, showing off bulging muscles and hints of ink, and not when just the mere thought of him makes Bakugou’s stomach flop around uncontrollably.

He barely manages to reply coherently.

Bakugou the only bright spot in this shitty world

He presses his phone to his forehead and quietly contemplates just how gay he is. Camie pets his head on the way to the kitchen.

  It takes Bakugou some time to get used to waking up to Good Morning texts and a stream of random thoughts from Kirishima all day. The flutter in his stomach disappears a few weeks into talking to the redhead, instead replaced by a bone-deep warmth that always manages to make him feel a little better.

dumbass kirishima GOOOOOOOD MORNING :D

dumbass Kirishima someone threw up on my fave shoes last night

Bakugou HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Bakugou suffer

dumbass Kirishima y u so mean to me ☹ ☹

Bakugou cause its fuckin hilarious

dumbass Kirishima ☹

Bakugou ugh

Bakugou <image attached> [it’s a picture of Bakugou’s balcony, and all his plants look vibrant green as the sun hits them just right]

dumbass Kirishima :D :D :D

dumbass Kirishima legit felt my serotonin just spike

dumbass Kirishima thxxxxxx

Bakugou whatever

Bakuguo dumbass

 ---

 Bakugou if I plan a murder can I count on your stupid muscles to help me move the body

dumbass Kirishima D:

dumbass Kirishima at least take me out to dinner b4 involving me in your crimes

dumbass Kirishima what a lack of manners

Bakugou stfu

dumbass Kirishima :”D :”D

dumbass Kirishima youre joking right?

dumbass Kirishima right??

dumbass Kirishima RIGHT?????

dumbass Kirishima BAKUGOU THIS IS A BAD TIME TO LEAVE ME HANGING BRO DO NOT DO THIS

Bakugou don’t call me bro

dumbass Kirishima THAT IS NOT THE POINT RIGHT NOW

Bakugou lol I didn’t do shit dumbass don’t worry

Bakugou or did I?

dumbass Kirishima BAKUGOU NO

 ---

 dumbass Kirishima <image attached> [it’s a gym selfie; Kirishima is crouching in front of the mirror shirtless, hair pulled into a bun atop his head. He’s glistening with sweat, and he’s got a more serious look on his face. He’s not actively flexing any muscle, but the pose makes his thighs, calves and biceps bulge. One hand holds the phone, the other is resting on his bent knee]

dumbass Kirishima working on deez gainz

Bakugou what time do you usually workout

dumbass Kirishima depends on my schedule actually

dumbass Kirishima I prefer the morning, but when I take the late night shift I usually go be4 work the next day

Bakugou hmmm

Bakugou let me know

Bakugou maybe we can go together

dumbass Kirishima :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Bakugou ugh I changed my mind

dumbass Kirishima :D :D :D :D

dumbass Kirishima no takebacksies

Bakugou fucking fantastic

dumbass Kirishima :D :D :D

 ---

 “So, let me get this straight- you guys gym together at least once a week, you talk every day, your stomach flutters at the mere thought of him and Cam swears he’s making googly eyes at you all the time, and you still haven’t asked each other out yet?”

Bakugou flips his phone off, “Fuck off Deku, don’t be a little shit.”

Midoriya’s face morphs into an amused smile on the other end of their facetime call, “Are you being bashful Kacchan? That’s adorable.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“NOOOOO,” Midoriya bemoans dramatically. “I can’t believe I’m missing all this.”

“Yeah, well, who the fuck told you to teach kids English halfway across the world dumbass?”

“I miss you too Kacchan,” Midoriya beams, making a heart with his hands.

“I truly loathe you.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Midoriya puts a few papers away before sighing. “So?”

“So what?”

“So, are you going to make a move? How do you plan on doing it?”

“I don’t,” Bakugou ruffles his hair and ducks his head to hide his rapidly warming cheeks, “I’m not asking him out Deku, fuck that.”

“Why not?” the asshole whines, eyes wide and innocent. “You deserve happiness Kacchan. Plus, he seems like a really nice guy.” Midoriya leans forward and adds in a whisper, “I’ve heard he has a fantastic butt.”

Bakugou rolls his eyes and flips him off again, “Fuck off, you can’t say that without actually meeting him.”

“I’ll be back before then. You guys better be dating already when I get there.”

“Stop telling me what to do, shitty Deku!”

“Never Kacchan, that’s what you do for the people you love.”

“Ugh, how are you so gross when you’re so far away, I hate you.”

Midoriya’s laugh sounds tinny over the phone speaker, lacking its usual body and warmth. Bakugou huffs again before picking his novel back up to read.

“Hi Zuku,” Camie calls out from over Bakugou’s shoulder. “You need to come back soon and help me with Kitkat, he refuses to make the first move!”

“Butt out of my fucking love life, you freaks!”

“Can’t butt out of something that doesn’t exist Kats,” Camie deadpans.

Bakugou feels extremely justified in flinging a stress ball right at her. The kitchen fills up with raucous laughter, from his phone and from the person standing in front of him, and Bakugou thinks that adding a deeper, warmer laugh to the mix, coming from a specific redhead might not be the worst thing in the world.

  Kiri bakugouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

Bakugou what?

Kiri just wanted to say hi <3

Bakugou wth

Kiri we still on fr the gym tomorrow?

Bakugou obviously you dumbass

Bakugou I need you to spot me

Bakugou im beating my personal best tomorrow or im going to die trying

Kiri so manly :O :O :O

Kiri I’ve got you bruh

Bakugou don’t call me that

Bakugou and I know you do

Kiri <3 <3

 ---

 Bakugou <link>

Bakugou that playlist you were asking about

Kiri u da bomb katsuki

Bakugou katsuki huh?

Bakugou getting cocky I see

Kiri I mean, weve known each other for like 4 months now???

Kiri ur one of my closest pals

Kiri I don’t have to, I just thought ud like it more than bro

Bakugou I do like it more than bro

Bakugou eijirou

Bakugou I guess ur not terrible

Eijirou ????

Eijirou did you just?? pay me????? A compliment??

Eijirou who r u and wat have you done to katsuki?

Bakugou fuck you

Bakugou just fuck you

Eijirou <3 <3 <3

  Bakugou wakes up one morning, approximately 5 months after meeting Kirishima for the first time, with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

His work goes smoothly. The coffee tastes potent and fresh, his body feels fine, his plants are thriving, Camie is busy with her own deadlines and therefore not bugging him, even the sun is mellow and warm; the perfect weather.

The pit in his stomach worsens with every hour.

It doesn’t help that all of his messages to Kirishima have gone unanswered; he hasn’t even been online all day. In the months that they’ve communicated, he’s never gone a day without texting the man, and now it’s like he fell off the face of the Earth.

When it gets closer to 6 in the evening, Bakugou decides to call if Kirishima doesn’t get in touch himself. Because the pit in his stomach is making him nauseous, and he needs to know if the redhead is ok if only for the sake of his own damn health.

He gets a call from an unknown number at 5:20 in the evening. The pit in his stomach becomes a yawning chasm as he picks up the call.

“Hello?”

“Bakugou, it’s Ashido, from the bar.”

Bakugou pulls in a deep breath. “Where is Kirishima?”

“Um, there was an incident last night, at Riot.” She sighs deeply before continuing, “Kiri got jumped in the alley outside by a bunch of really drunk homophobic assholes that saw him turn down some guy’s number. He actually fought them off for the most part, but he’s sustained a broken nose and some fractured ribs. We’re at the hospital right now.”

Bakugou sinks to the ground, his stomach plummeting with him. “Are you fucking serious right now? Fuck-“

“I’ll text you the hospital details, ok? I’m sorry we didn’t call sooner, between talking to his moms and the hospital folks, it slipped my mind.”

“I’ll be there,” Bakugou says, standing up on shaky feet and stumbling back to his room. “Just don’t leave him alone.”

“Never in a million years.”

They hang up and Bakugou changes, hails a cab, and gets to the hospital in a complete daze.

His affection for the redhead, brimming and spilling from every crevice, makes itself evident when he lays eyes on him in the hospital bed and feels a surge of protectiveness. He wants to kill the people that did this, he wants to gather Kirishima in his arms and hold him tight, he wants to crawl into bed with him and talk about stupid shit and see him smile again.

“He’s pretty high on pain meds right now,” Ashido says from somewhere behind him, pointing to his IV lines, “so he’s been saying really funny stuff. The doctors did a full evaluation and said he should recover completely in 5ish weeks.”

Bakugou nods and swallows thickly. Ashido squeezes his arm before leaving the hospital room, shutting the door behind her softly.

Kirishima hasn’t seen him yet, so Bakugou approaches his bed carefully before placing a hand on the guardrail. The noise pulls Kirishima’s attention towards him, and Bakugou’s gut tightens when those large, warm eyes go completely soft at the sight of him.

“Kassaki~” Kirishima slurs, his smile large and dopey.

“You absolute dumbass,” Bakugou chokes out, his hand moving from the rail to grip Kirishima’s tightly. Kirishima’s fingers twine with his own with practised ease and his smile turns gooey.

“Hi Kats, you look beautiful today.”

Bakugou half-laughs, half-sobs and rubs his eyes fiercely. Kirishima’s face is a bit bruised, and there’s a huge bandage on his nose, but he doesn’t look nearly as bad as Bakugou had first feared. The pit in his stomach finally calms, slowly loosening until he can breathe normally again.

“Shut up Eiji,” Bakugou grumbles, sitting down on the chair beside the bed. He leaves his hand in Kirishima’s.

“Ok,” Kirishima agrees easily. It takes 10 seconds for him to break the silence again.

“Hey Kats?”

“What?”

“Are we dating?”

Bakugou startles at that, eyes snapping over to Kirishima’s. He doesn’t look accusatory or hurt or weirded out or anything- merely curious.

“No, we’re not.”

“Oh.” Kirishima frowns, “Why not?”

Bakugou huffs out a small laugh, “Because we’re both idiots.”

“Oh,” the redhead says, then nods. “That kinda tracks.”

“HEY!”

Kirishima’s smile becomes dopey again, eyes crinkling in the most endearing way.

“I really like you Kats. You’re so smart and funny and you always smell like fabric softener, and you’re just like. Really pretty.”

Bakugou feels his face heat up completely, his grip on Kirishima’s hand tightening.

“Just rest, you dumbass,” Bakugou says weakly, his entire body too hot for comfort. He watches Kirishima’s smile become something warm and loving in a way that hits his heart, and he doesn’t let go of the redhead’s hand, right up until the end of visiting hours.

When he exits the hospital alongside Ashido, he feels the last of his energy drain.

“I cant believe we didn’t get to him sooner,” Ashido mumbles, rubbing at her eyes fiercely. “The bar was noisy, and he just wanted to dump out some trash. Hanta noticed he was gone a while before we went out back and found him punching the last dude.”

Bakugou purses his lips. Truth be told, he cant believe Kirishima had gotten so badly hurt so close to his own bar, and he’s pissed as fuck that the idiot brigade had even let it happen, but the sincerity in Ashido’s voice tugs at his chest painfully.

“I’m sure he’ll forgive you.” Bakugou laughs humorlessly. “He’ll probably say there’s nothing to forgive in the first place.”

Ashido’s laugh is hollow, “That’s our Eijirou.” She looks at Bakugou again. “You coming tomorrow?”

He flashes her his best sneer. “You best believe I’m going to come by every single fucking day till he’s discharged.”

Ashido’s smile becomes a little more genuine, a little more well-rounded.

“I’m really glad he has you.” Her voice goes all soft and gross as she continues, “You mean a LOT to him, in case you didn’t already know.”

“Fuck off,” Bakugou mumbles, before waving her off and walking away.

Because he does know.

He also knows he’s falling madly in love with him, and that he’s completely and utterly screwed.

And he finds that he really doesn’t mind all that much. Some people, he rationalizes, are worth the horrible butterflies and the too hot too cold feelings down the back of his spine.

Some people, he realizes, are worth loving with everything you’ve got.

  It takes Kirishima five weeks of house arrest to recover completely. Bakugou spends every weekday and a few of the weekends with him, staying over more often than not. He fusses over the redhead, forces him to take his medication on time, and cooks him everything under the sun.

“You’re spoiling me,” the redhead whines when Bakugou serves him what smells like the best mapo tofu he’s ever going to have.

The blonde grins triumphantly, “You’re damn right I am.”

They bicker and banter constantly, but they also curl up and marathon old bond movies at night. Kirishima goes over the bar’s paperwork while Bakugou works off his couch, and they take turns making the coffee. Ruby falls in love with Bakugou and curls up on his chest every chance she gets, and Bakugou laughs at Kirishima’s look of betrayal. The redhead’s couch is ridiculously comfortable, and he leaves his memory foam pillow with the blonde.

“You refuse to take my bed,” he grumbles, “so you damn well better accept my stupid pillow.”

Bakugou’s neck thanks the redhead profusely.

It’s new and weird, living with someone for the first time. Kirishima’s posse are in and out through the day, and Camie comes by just as often, bringing a change of clothes and gossip with her. Todoroki drops in with some high-quality tequila sometimes and Inasa brings his infectious energy, and through all of this, Kirishima remains in high spirits, even if he goes a little stir crazy sometimes.

It’s new and it’s weird, going from casual touches to more loving ones, more comforting ones. It becomes commonplace for Bakugou to rest his head between Kirishima’s shoulder blades on the days that he has a bad time at work. It’s normal for Kirishima to place his head on Bakugou’s lap while they watch shark documentaries. It’s easy for them to bump knees and press their calves together while enjoying their morning coffee.

It’s new and it’s weird and it’s amazing.

Because Bakugou finds himself falling in love with the little things. The way Kirishima sticks his tongue out when he’s smashing the PS5 controller during an especially intense game of Mario party, the way he makes the coffee with a sleepy smile on his face, the way he hums off-key to a song that’s stuck in his head, the way he can understand Bakugou- can differentiate between his frustrated fuck, his bashful fuck, his angry fuck, his sleepy fuck.

And how he accepts it all without so much as a hitch in his step.

Bakugou watches himself fall in love, slowly, and then all at once.

  “How is it that he lived with you for almost 5 weeks and you STILL didn’t ask him out? Or kiss him stupid? Or something?”

Sero has a finger pinching the bridge of his nose, the other flexing loosely in front of his chest as he tries to fathom the stupidity of two people that could not be more into each other if they tried.

“I, I uh-“ Kirishima hangs his head, “I have no excuse.” He sighs deeply. “I was scared he’d give me a pity answer cause I was injured and everything.”

Ashido looks over her shoulder with incredulous eyes. “Are you kidding me?”

“What?”

“Eiji, I know you love us so like, if any of us were hurt like this you’d take care of us till we were better too. But do you think someone like BAKUGOU would practically move into someone’s house to make sure they were ok if he wasn’t nuts about them? Really?”

Kirishima’s face flushes, and he waves her away. “I don’t want to read into it. He’s just a really, really, really good guy. And what we have is good, it’s great! We’re bros. Pals. Friends. It’s all good.”

Ashido continues to stare at him for another moment before throwing her hands up and yelling, “BOYS!” She stomps into the kitchen to help Satou with prep for the day.

They continue to stock up the bar, Kirishima assigned to prepping limes and the ice machine, when the door opens and someone steps in.

“Sorry, we’re not op- Bakugou?”

And there stands the blonde with the biggest bouquet of flowers – chrysanthemums and sunflowers – that Kirishima has ever seen. The redhead distantly hears the sound of a door close behind him, and suddenly they’re alone, the tension positively stifling.

“Bakugo-“

“Go on a date with me.”

Kirishima sucks in a startled breath, his heart hammering in his chest.

“Go on a date. With me,” Bakugou repeats, his neck and ears tinging the loveliest shade of red. “The romantic kind. Where we dress up and get food and drinks and fight over the bill and walk each other to the door and get super awkward before we kiss. All that shit.”

Kirishima isn’t sure how it happens- one moment he’s on this side of the bar, the next, he’s jumping across and gathering Bakugou into a tight embrace, mindful of his newly healed ribs but still unwilling to release the blonde until Bakugou returns his hug, burying his face into Kirishima’s chest.

“Is that a yes?” Bakugou mumbles when they finally pull away, his hands fisted in Kirishima’s shirt.

“In every possible language out there,” Kirishima answers, ducking down to softly kiss Bakugou on the cheek. He laughs as the blonde cusses and shoves him away and laughs even harder when Bakugou’s own smile covers his entire face, bright and open and oh so breathtaking.

That smile is Kirishima’s and Kirishima’s alone.

  Eiji hiiiiiiiiiiii

Bakugou I swear to god Ei

Bakugou if you’re late for our first date I will find you

Eiji and give me a kiss? :*

Bakugou I don’t kiss people that don’t have good time management

Bakugou so fuck off

Eiji still so mean to me ☹

Eiji I want that kiss tho

Eiji so ill be ready

Eiji promise

Bakugou good

Eiji  <3

Bakugou <3

Eiji :D :D :D :D :D :D

Eiji YOU LIKE ME ENOUGH TO SEND EMOJIS HU H <3333

Bakugou it will never happen again

Bakugou so fuck right off

Eiji :”D

Bakugou im outside

Eiji be right there

Eiji <3  

[hela-avenger]

poison & wine- part 32

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 1482

Summary: Prince Loki of Asgard is in need of a date to take back home. That’s where you come in with a task of your own to make the whole trip with an insufferable prince worth it. Too bad that things don’t always go as planned and you end up giving more than you can take. Fake-Dating AU.

A/N: Thanks for your comments, everyone! The last update certainly brought the drama and I know I broke some hearts but it will be resolved! I promise! Only three parts left! With some bonus scenes too! 

poison & wine masterlist

Loki had told you to leave. In fact, he yelled at you to leave. As if you had been a hindrance to him and perhaps you are for having convinced him to continue with the lie to this exact point. 

You’re stupid. 

Incredibly stupid to have thought that this could ever work. 

Loki did not love you. Maybe he cared, but he did not love you. You mistook his friendliness for love and now you were suffering the consequences.

You’re humiliated and worst of all you’re alone in a random hallway of the palace far away from the home that you know and love. A home that hadn’t made you suffer like your time spent in Asgard. 

Yes, you’re a half-breed, a demi-god, a girl split between two realms.

You’re also an orphan. A traveler with no sense of direction. A flower with no roots. 

Most importantly, you’re a heartbroken fool who thought that a royal prince could ever find you worthy of his love. 

You didn’t know where to go. You don’t know where you were meant to go. You were too focused on trying to keep the tears at bay to formulate a plan at the moment. All you desired at the moment was to leave this realm once and for all and forget everything that’s happened here.  

So why not? Why not leave the realm once and for all? It was what Loki desired just a day ago and for good reason. He had tried to spare you the heartbreak and you had still asked for it. 

You pick up your silk skirt once again and start to run. 

You somehow manage to find yourself back at the royal stables but any luck you had, which was not much to begin with in the first place, is all gone as the Lady Sif looks up at you in clear surprise.

“What are you doing here?” you ask. “Shouldn’t you be at the celebration like everyone else?”  

“Someone has to keep guard,” she answers before glancing at your gown. “What’s your excuse? Isn’t it for your honor?”

You don’t know how to respond. You may be upset but you weren’t ready to let all your feelings out to the first person you found. Especially to someone who showed her clear distaste to the man you loved. 

“I had to get out of there,” you answer. “I just… It’s not what it turned out to be.” 

“So you came to the stables?” she asks, confused. 

Your impromptu plan was falling apart all because of a nosy knight. 

“Look, I just came for a ride so if you don’t mind…” 

You try to move past her but she’s quick to catch your arm. 

“You’re very upset,” she notes. “What did Loki do?” 

“Why do you think he had something to do with this?” 

“Because I know him.” 

“Well, it’s clear that you don’t,” you argue. “He… He did nothing. This was all me.” 

You let out a sigh knowing you wouldn’t get anywhere without revealing the truth. 

“I fell in love with him, and he didn’t,” you confess. “My heartbreak is my own to blame.” 

Surprisingly, Sif relents and lets you go. 

“I understand,” she whispers. “The princes have a certain allure, don’t they?” 

It takes you a second to realize who she’s referring to.

“Oh,” you answer. “You and…” 

“Yes, and we don’t have to speak about it,” Sif remarks sharply before softening. “I’m sure you don’t.” 

“I don’t,” you agree. “But I love him and he doesn’t which is why I can’t be here anymore. I have to get out of here.” 

“So where do you wish to go?” Sif asks as she pulls her horse out of the stable. “I’ll take you.” 

“The Bifrost,” you state ignoring her obvious surprise. “I wish to go home.” 

The moment you left the royal hall, Loki turned to his enraged father. He did not dare to offer an explanation until you were far enough away from the scene. Loki hated himself for having to raise his voice at you but it was better than the alternative. You didn’t deserve to be caught in the aftermath of his lie. You didn’t deserve to be hated by Asgard and incur Odin’s wrath because of him. 

“Tell the musicians to start,” Loki orders the nearby servant as he hands the case holding the apple for him to take. “And keep the guests away from the throne room.” 

With that order done, Loki turns to his silent and angry Odin. 

“My father and I wish to discuss in private.” 

Odin refrains from snapping at him as Frigga comes into his vision. Just a gentle touch from his wife seems to bring him back from the brink of disaster and allows for Odin to be led into the nearby throne room without uttering a word.

“Now, son,” Frigga begins calmly. “Please explain to us why you’ve caused such disruption on a day like this?”

Loki looked between his mother and Odin unsure of how to speak the truth he had evaded and ignored for so long. 

“I lied,” Loki states simply. “I’ve been lying to you this whole time. The courtship and now this engagement…” 

Loki pauses and looks at Odin with a sigh. 

“You were right,” he whispers. “I made a deal with her to fake a courtship with me and she accepted.”

He can’t help but laugh now, bitterly. It drove him mad trying to figure out when things had suddenly gone wrong. At what moment were fake emotions became real and true. 

“And now… Now, things have become such a mess,” Loki exhales as his dark humor fades away. “Such a mess and I have no idea how to fix it because I love her. I love her with my entire being and she doesn’t even know. She doesn’t know that I would follow her till the end of the universe if it meant I could be by her side always.” 

Loki turns away from them, his hands shaking, and he doesn’t know why he's confessed more than he had to. 

“I love her,” Loki whispers. “And because I love her, I couldn’t force her to take a bite from the Apple of Idunn. She already detests time for having taken her away from her family, a home, and… love. How could I let her take a bite of that apple when it is the last thing she wishes for herself?”

“It was not your decision to make…” 

Loki is surprised by this calm response from Odin prompting him to turn around to finally face him. His father’s wrath was gone, replaced by gentle understanding. As if the patient wisdom that Odin’s always described with finally made itself known in Loki’s presence. 

“The gift I offered was for the Lady Y/N,” Odin continues. “She should have been the one to accept or reject it, not you.” 

Loki opens his mouth to argue but Odin raises his hand to stop him before he could even utter a word. 

“No, no, it’s time for you to listen to me now,” Odin interrupts him. “I’ve known all along the game you were playing, Loki. The timing of it all was too convenient to be true, but the lies and stories you wove to explain it all were convincing. They were convincing because in brief moments of clarity you two were speaking the utmost truth about the way you perceived and felt for each other.” 

Odin glances over to Frigga who offers him a small smile. 

“When I spoke to Lady Y/N after the incident of your tournament match, a tactic I hoped to unveil the trickery you were pulling, she met me strong and unafraid. She further revealed the loyalty and trust she held for you as she defended you quite strongly.” 

“I already know this,” Loki tells him. 

“I know you do, but what you don’t know is what she told me afterward.” 

Loki waits for Odin to tell him but the Allfather remains silent. 

“What? What did she tell you?” 

“That, my son, is something you will have to hear from her,” Odin answers with a hidden smile. “I have spoken more than enough on her behalf. I believe it is time you have an audience with her. Tell her how you feel and allow her to do the same.” 

Loki doesn’t trust Odin’s genuineness in the situation but a glance to his mother reveals that he should as Frigga nods for him to go. 

“We will make excuses for you and Y/N’s absence in the hall,” Frigga tells him. “Go after her!” 

Loki doesn’t need to be told twice as he quickly runs out of the throne room in search of you. There were many places you could be hiding in, but Loki doesn’t get the chance to look at any of them as a flashing of lights on the horizon catches his attention. 

The Bifrost. 

You were already gone.

poison & wine tag: @damalseer @just-the-hiddles @jessiejunebug @nonsensicalobsessions @smollest-soybean @assassinoftheworld @readerbandit @doyoufeelikeayounggod @strangemcuvlogs @ha-tep @i-dont-know-eiither @gene-king @day-dreaming-fox @bn-studies @is-it-madness @devilbat @victor-criss-bish @skinny-macncheese @musicconversedance @baby-bunnyxn @fandoms-allovertheplace @marvelloonie @jinxjinxednova @queenmuahaha @accio-boys @eternalqueensworld @umlvk @roger-the-reindeer @punkrockhufflefluff @your-local-abyss @horsesandwolvesaremyanimals​ @rogerrhqpsody @imsad420 @pandacookieowo @justnerdystuffs @hanoi15​ @oneprolificqueen​ @nikki-who-likes-coffee​ @fandomrelative​ @nikki419ninja​ @onedollarduck​ @help-i-need-a-social-life​​ @ephemeraljade​ @catsladen @amwolowicz​ @captainmarvelnerd​ @thegirlbeyondtheuniverse​

Loki Tag: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @thesilentbluesparrow @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @sadwaywardkid @wolf-lover74 @sizzlingbarbarianglitter @sigyn-njorddottir @aoirohi​ @defunctcherrybomb​

All Works Tag: @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @steve-rogers-personal-hell @buckybarnesyard @not-zari-tak @strangersstranger @thefridgeismybestie​ @moonlightprime

[sweet-sammy-kisses]

The Annual Shipping Polls

Fandom: Batman/DC Pairings: Dick/Tim, Bruce/Diana, Roy/Kory/Jason, Stephaine/Cassandra, mentions of fandom Kon/Tim, fandom SuperBats Summary: Dick is brooding, Jason is amused, Tim is confused, Damian is annoyed, Stephanie and Babs want to knock some heads, and Cass and Diana are all-knowing. Author notes: This is my first time writing Dick/Tim and I owe a huge thank you to @iphoenixrising who’s amazing Tim stories got me longing to write my own Tim stories. 

Like many things Jason will claim that it was all Roy’s fault he discovered it first and after laughing for several moments sought out Jason.

It was the annual shippers poll that happened once a year where fans of superheroes would vote for their favorite ship as they went head to head to see who would win. There was favorite slash, female slash, het, poly and superheroes, and their villains.

When it was first discovered an amused Lois sent the links to Clark.

Diana had been amused.

Bruce grunted and glared.

Clark feared just a little for his life.

SuperBats had won favorite slash pairing while WonderBat had won for favorite het pairing and The Trinity had won for favorite poly pairing.

It stayed like that for many years until other heroes started appearing Wally and Dick to their amusement learned that they were a much loved BirdFlash and one of the few that could give SuperBats a run for their money but sadly always came a little short of beating them. Nightwing/Starfire was a much-loved pairing and one year managed to defeat WonderBat only for the WonderBat fans to come back next year and claim their crown.

To Barry Allen's shock and Leonard Snart amusement, ColdFlash was undefeatable as the fans' favorite hero/villain pairing. No one was really surprised when those two actually did end up together.

Roy had been checking to see where the Outlaws ranked and was pleased to see that they had won favorite poly pairing. "Finally, good to see that people have some good taste."

Continuing on Roy fought back the laughter when he saw that Nightwing/Red Hood had made it pretty far. "Oh, this is priceless." Roy printed out he wondered how long it would last before Jason used it for target practice.

Moving up the list Roy was waiting to see that once again SuperBats was named as the top slash pairing only to stop and stare. "No way."

But it was there SuperBats was in second place.

"JASON! SOMEONE BEAT SUPERBATS!" Roy shouted with glee.

Jason was at Roy's side in a second all but shoving him out of the way he was a little bummed to see that Bruce and the boy scout were no longer number one, he loved using it to annoy Bruce. Jason loved the little twitch Bruce developed when Jason brought it up. "Who beat them?" Jason growled out. "It better not be me and Dickie!" Jason could do so much better than Dick. 'So could replacement but for some reason, he is hooked on him.'

Roy's body hummed with amusement, "A new version of SuperBats."

For several moments Jason could only stare at the computer screen as he processed what he had just read. “Oh, this is just too good.” Forget teasing Bruce this was glorious.

+*****+

Diana Prince -Wayne wasn't at all surprised when Jason breezed into the cave a mischievous look on his face. She knew that she shouldn't play favorites and she did her best not to but Jason out of all of Bruce's partners had a special place in her heart. "I take it that you have seen the outcome of the latest results of the annual polls?" She knew that Jason loved to tease Bruce about the fact that people loved the Batman with Superman he had even gone as far one year to cover the cave in fanfics and fanart of the couple and even got Babs to have the bat computer play Superman's theme for every little thing.

A small smile appeared on Jason's face she was one the few people that he genuinely liked to see. Personally, Jason thought Diana could do better she is fucking Wonder Woman after all! But for some reason that Jason couldn't understand she had fallen in love with Bruce. 'Bruce is one lucky son of a bitch.' "I did indeed but I am going to wait until everyone is here to tell the wonderful news."

"Just go easy on Dick, he is still in denial." Diana already knew she was curious about the outcome of these polls and she knew what had Jason so happy.

Jason knew that Diana had a point, he wasn't blind he saw the glances Dick tossed Tim’s way when he thought no one was looking, the longing and desire to fix things. Jason knew that Dick’s feelings for Tim were far from brotherly but he wouldn't act on them. Dick still carried guilt when he made Tim think that he wasn't wanted anymore when he took Robin from him and gave it to Damian, Tim was just starting to come back to realize that they did want him and Dick wouldn't risk Tim running away again.  

"Alright, I won't tease Dickie too much," Jason promised.

"That is all I ask of you." Diana smiled serenely at him before pulling out a copy of a much loved Jane Austen novel, "Something to keep you entertained until the others get here."

Taking the novel Jason pressed a kiss on Diana's cheek, "And this is why you are my favorite."

+*****+

Dick Grayson stepped one foot in the cave and saw that Jason was already there, the grin on his face promising a good time for Jason and humiliation for anyone but him. Dick knew what day it was today but he never cared much about it, unlike Jason who loved it, mostly because he loved to tease those who won.

Jason grinned at the look of dread on Dick and Tim's face, the grin that grew as Bruce looked even more gloomy than normal.

Stephanie's hand in hand with Cassandra entered the cave with a bounce and a wide smile on her face, "Guess who won favorite female couple?" She beamed at Cass who returned it with a small smile.

Tim smiled at them, he was happy his favorite sister and Stephanie had found happiness with each other. "Like there was any doubt."

Stephanie preened, "It just shows that people have good taste."

Tim did not like the look on her face, it matched the one Jason was wearing.

“It would seem that after many years ranking at the top SuperBats has been at last defeated!” Jason announced.

Bruce grunted he didn't understand why people shipped him and Clark together but he was curious as to who finally dethroned them. ‘Maybe this will finally stop Hal and Barry from sending me SuperBats fanfiction and artworks.’

An unholy gleam appeared in Jason's eyes, the look that he aimed at Dick and then Tim before pulling up the article on his phone, “Yes folks, it has finally happened the long regaining SuperBats has been defeated by another that has been gaining on them for years. Congratulations Superboy and Red Robin.”

“WHAT?!”

Dick’s enraged bellow sent bats flying as Tim could only stare at Jason.

"Kon and me?" Tim could understand why people shipped them, best friends to lovers was a very popular trope but he didn't think that he and Kon had that big of a following. He felt kinda flattered even if he never thought of Kon like that. No his heart belonged to only one person.

An annoyed look appeared on Damian's face, he didn't understand why Todd and Brown made such a big deal about these foolish polls. "Ridiculous, if anyone should have defeated father it should have been Grayson and Drake they have been pining over one another for years it is sickening."

Dick and Tim both paled, both had been so sure that they hid their feelings for each other so well that no one else in the family knew, let alone their crush.

"Silly." Cassandra moved away from Stephanie coming to stand between Dick and Tim she took their hands in hers.  "Love each other. Stop denying it."

“I couldn't have said it better. Everyone is tired of the two of you pining for one another." Babs voice echoed around the cave, no one was surprised that she hacked the comm system.

Rising gracefully to her feet Diana took Bruce's hand in hers. "I think that we should give them a few moments alone."

Never one to deny his princess Bruce led Diana from the cave. 'At least now I don't have to put up with Jason decorating my cave with all that artwork of Clark and I.'

Dick and Tim avoided looking at one another as the cave emptied as their family left them alone.

"Do I need to worry about you going after Kon with a chunk of kryptonite?" Tim found himself asking the last thing he wanted was for Kon to be in danger.

'Now that is an idea.' Dick was tempted, oh was he ever tempted to take some and hunt down Kon and ask him what his intentions were towards Tim. 'No Tim would be mad at me.' Dick forgot the idea right away.

Dick looked at Tim and was once again blown away at how beautiful Tim was. "All I want for you is to be happy and if that is with Kon then so be it."

"Kon and I are friends, best friends but just friends." Tim wanted to say, 'How can I be in love with Kon when I am in love with you?'

"You're in love with me?"

Tim's eyes widened in horror as he realized he had just said that out loud. Slapping his hands over his mouth Tim took a step back.

Only Dick followed his moves smooth and seductive until he had Tim pinned between him and a workbench. "Answer me baby bird. Are you in love with me?"

Tim was tempted he could nerve strike Dick and high tailed it out of the cave but he knows that Dick will just follow him. "I have been for so long. Before I even knew what love was."

Reaching out a hand Dick cupped Tim's face and nudged his head up to look him in the eyes, "I love you too, pretty bird. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to push you away not when you have just returned to us." Dick explained.

Tim was sure that his heart was pounding so loudly that Dick could hear it. "Kiss me?" Tim pleaded softly.

Dick's face lit up in a smile, "Nothing would make me happier, pretty bird." Dick had dreamed of his moment for so long and nothing he had imagined was like the real thing. Tim fit perfectly against him like Tim was made just for him.

+*****+

Jason grinned as he heard Bruce mutter about "slideshows" and "protection" this turned out even better than he thought and if Dickie got one his nervous he had tons of Baby Bird and Superboy artwork saved away for revenge.

[cold-neon-ocean]

Let’s talk about Ronan and Crystal for a hot second please

Y’all it astounds me how much this fandom grossly mischaracterizes Ronan and sleeps on his relationship with Crystal like... have any of you read the comics??? Do you not know what an absolute love-struck doofus this man is?????

The War of Kings and Realm of Kings comic runs were are first REAL look at Ronan’s character. Prior to he’d been mostly an antagonist figure who was slowly evolving into more of an anti-hero. But we hadn’t spent any significant time getting to know him outside of the Annihilation run (and even there it was still limited). How he behaves with Crystal is a showing of who he genuinely is and how he naturally behaves. The Kree are in a very difficult spot in their history at this time, being unable to evolve, but despite this Ronan never has a short fuse with Crystal, never raises his voice at her, he’s never once in his whole character run even REMOTELY angry with her of his own mind, even when Medusa pushes him to his limits. He never takes out any of his frustration on her, and is only ever respectful and understanding. Coming from all the previously known info about Ronan, painting him as nothing but this difficult, aggressive, blood-thirsty, conquest hungry, warlord, to THIS, a very caring individual capable of loving and loving purely, giving his 100% devotion to this one woman was very surprising to say the least. 

I could get into all my thoughts about Ronan as a character as he’s my end all be all single favorite fictional character and has been for the past... almost 6 years now~ but I’ll save it and get into beginnings of his and Crystal’s relationship! 

I’m gonna start from the beginning of Realm of Kings, after the complicated war with the Shi’ar just so I can get to the meat of their budding romance and just how much of an absolute dork Ronan is (I’ll touch on the preceding events in War of Kings and some stuff after Realm of Kings a little in this too but I’m gonna save most of it for a separate post!) For context, the Kree are now being ruled under the Inhuman Royal Family. Ronan and Crystal were arranged to be married as a political symbol of the two races’ newfound unity and it was meant to be just that. Their relationship was a pretty slow burn that neither of them, or anyone, expected.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 01 ] So from the get go Ronan is just,, PROTECC even tho at this point their relationship is SUPPOSED to be purely political he’s still so sweet and polite with her just out of seemingly sheer natural instinct. This guy isn’t used to relationships okay, he’s literally only ever been in one other one his wholeass life and it didn’t really go very well. He’s very much just trying to do the chivalrist thing and doesn’t demean her in any way, or at least he very much doesn’t mean to, nor does he think she’s incapable he’s just naturally trying to be a gentleman.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 01 ] Their growing relationship is very subtly hinted at in the early interactions between them, as they’re both very polite with each other. Crystal’s genuine kindness towards him REGULARLY catches Ronan very much off guard as he’s just... not used to that kind of interaction with others?? He’s so used to being approached with hostility or fear or an uncomfortable worship like respect that when someone is just.. genuinely nice to him he can hardly process it.

Crystal would visit him in the hospital after the Shi’ar attack on their wedding (where Ronan nearly died) and Ronan was probably so surprised to see her there like “I forced her to marry me so I could maintain some political status over the Kree which I already felt bad about, then our wedding was laid waste to by the Shi’ar but she came to visit me in the hospital??? Why would she do that, doesn’t she hate me?????” But no she doesn’t hate him, and not only does she visit him to keep him updated on how the Kree were fairing she’d go so far as to just take him outside for some fresh air and a break from staring at nothing but four hospital walls all day. She doesn’t HAVE to be doing any of this, she doesn’t HAVE to care about the Kree or him but she does, and Ronan is just unable to understand why because all he ever receives is hostility; the Kree abandoned, tried to wipe out, then tried to re-enslave the Inhumans, he was well aware she didn’t want to marry him, and yet here she is- caring about all of the Kree, caring about him. Even the Kree people themselves have been shown to be quick to turn on him, despite his lifelong devotion to them; but SHE, despite having no reason to, is genuinely compassionate and caring with him so how could he not start falling for her just a little?? 

Alrighty so this is gonna be a LONG ONE so I’m putting the rest under a cut for the sake of your dashboard :’D 

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 02 ] More big protective husband mode. I love that she keeps having to remind him that she’s fine but his brain is just in constant “PROTECC WIFE MODE” he’s a disaster. A total and utter disaster of a man. Also Crystal casually calling him “husband” kasjdfashf meanwhile he’s not sure if it’s okay for him to refer to her so casually (even tho it is you blue dumbass) so he just calls her either “my lady” or “Lady Crystal” respectfully or just by name. He called her “my wife” once before this in WoK but he was talking to Medusa as he said it and not addressing Crys directly.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 02 ] By far one of my favorite single comic panels in existence. STILL BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY REALIZE AND GIVE IN TO THEIR FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER, he get 1(one) kis for checking in on her after they run into Pietro (who is an absolute garbage man btw I could talk about him too). Look at his face. He is on cloud nine right now, he could die happy right here. He got kis and frankly he deserves u3u (I’ll talk more about this panel later!)

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] (sorry if this is a little hard to read) Look at him confess to her at how genuinely impressed he is with her. Not because of how she treats him, he’s of course leaving his personal gratitude out because he’s already been told their relationship is supposed to be political, but because of how she’s gained respect from the Kree people- more so than her family has! Because why? Because Crystal has shown actually cares, wow! The Kree aren’t exactly what one would call “popular” among other races in the cosmos, and they don’t particularly care, so Crys giving a genuine care about them (especially given the Inhuman’s personal relationship with the Kree) is astounding. The fact that she has any room in her heart for them and assumes her responsibility over them maturely and with and honest desire to do right by them~ Ronan is so grateful, especially given that she’s pretty much the only one aside from himself advocating for the well being of the Kree to Blackbolt and Medusa.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] Another of my favorite Ronan moments because.. just.... GOD! It’s Zarek’s insult to his patriotism that sets him off because he’s been through plenty of that before, but you DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT INSULT HIS WIFE! It’s the insult to HER that enrages him. Let’s face it, if Crystal hand’t asked him not to, Ronan would have ceased this man’s whole existence in an instant.

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] But of course, she still appreciates the sentiment! Also Ronan’s deadpan “Just about” makes me wheeze aloud ever time. He wanted to eviscerate this dude for insulting her but didn’t because wife asked him not to. He’s so fucking mad tho look at him akjsdhfa wife please let me destroy this man in your honor

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] And then he goes and lets his feelings slip! Which she’s actually kind of amused by, as she’s been picking up on his affections for a little while now (he’s been totally subtle about it /s). But her last marriage didn’t end well at all so no doubt she was probably withholding to see just what kind of man Ronan is (spoiler alert: he’s a grade-A husband turns out and a really genuine guy when you get to know him. Or should I say when he lets you get to know him lol!). He also very subtly calls her ‘fine’ here which, I mean.. she is let’s be real. 

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 03 ] (again, sorry this is hard to read! tumblr really didn’t want to work with me on these pics akjsdh) Probably one of my top two favorite Ronan and Crystal moments. She calls him out on calling her “beloved” and this ABSOLUTE DUMBASS first tries to play it off like he has no idea what she’s talking about then is just like “oh uh.... well I mean... it was... the heat of the moment......” Excellent cover, my good sir, no one suspects a thing. But of course Crystal isn’t gonna let him get away with that so easily. And in a moment of pure bad bitch energy she THREATENS TO KISS HIM if he keeps it up. And he’s just AGHAST, SCANDALIZED, HOWEVER COULD SHE HAVE FIGURED OUT HIS FEELINGS FOR HER??? HE WAS SO SUBTLE, SO RIGID IN HIS COMMITMENT TO KEEPING THINGS PURELY POLITICAL. SHE MUST BE SOME SORT OF PSYCHIC! (insert metal gear solid exclamation point sound effect on Ronan’s face in the last panel someone help this man)

Crystal: “You said you liked me.”

Ronan, the pinnacle of Kree dignity: “.......... No I didn’t..”

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 04 ]  Crystal is nothing if not a lady of her word and it doesn’t take her long to cash in on that threat~ When Maximus mind controls Ronan and tries to force him to kill himself (Bioshock 2 style) Crys figures this is the perfect way to snap him out of it, and she was very correct. Ronan’s face I just sob lol, he’s always so lost for words when flustered bless this adorable soft man. He’s not used to kisses. (Also Crys putting a hand on his chest is my favorite thing, and just wait until they start holding hands)

And from this moment on these two are pretty much all in on this relationship. No more hiding, no more denying their feelings for the sake of politics. There’s of course a lot more in War of Kings about the very beginnings of their character dynamic and their arranged marriage but I’ll get to that in a separate post (if you made it this far I appreciate you so much and apologize profusely)! 

What I’ve always loved about their relationship and why it’s my all time favorite is just how pure and genuine it is, and how much they benefited each other and how much they grew as individuals through each other. Ronan from the beginning felt bad about their arranged marriage, he didn’t do it for any other reason than needing to maintain a seat of authority when handing over leadership of the Kree to the Inhumans in the hopes the Inhumans would help them with their stagnant evolution. He never tried to solicit anything from Crystal, and maintained a respectful space, never overstepping any boundary unless SHE invited him to do so, but always offering himself should she need. The relationship only ever moved at the pace she wanted. Ronan valued her input and views and demanded nothing but respect for her from others (I mean look at what happened to Zarek when he called Crystal a “pink-fleshed lab animal”).

[ Above - Realm of Kings: Inhumans 02 ] (spliced this page for the sake of posting) Jumping back in the timeline a little bit, this particular moment is one I find very important. Crystal defending Ronan in front of her ex-husband Quicksilver (who sucks) while also subtly hinting at her own growing affections for him. She says that Ronan is actually “rather sweet”, so his constant protectiveness is clearly something she takes no offense to. Not only that, but when Quicksilver asks if Ronan makes “her feel the same way he used to”, Crystal ADAMANTLY says that Ronan does not and the’s grateful that he doesn’t. She told him that she doesn’t need to justify anything to him yet she makes a point to be very clear that Ronan has shown himself to be better of a husband than Quicksilver was. Remember, Crystal and Quicksilver’s marriage didn’t end well (I’ve personally never liked how lightly Marvel has taken it and how things seem to smooth over rather unrealistically. The things Quicksilver did should be unforgivable.) so not only is Crystal going to let Quicksilver show up and interrogate her on her new marriage, she’s definitely not going to let him down-talk her new husband, who frankly, she’s surprisingly happy with and who’s treated her better and valued her more than Pietro ever did. Also to clarify, this is the conversation where Ronan comes in and checks on Crystal afterwards, asking if she’s alright and insisting he’s not trying to pry (and getting that kiss on the cheek from her); he doesn’t butt in on the conversation at any point and gives them space. I don’t think he’s aware of their previous marital status, that subject might be a bit too heavy for Crystal to share with him so early on, but he clearly senses the tension and makes a point to ask Crystal if she’s okay when he’s able. I think Crystal saying aloud what it is about Ronan that sets him apart from Quicksilver, and how he’s turned out to actually be a really good husband is what maybe flipped that final small switch in her, like hearing it out loud made her think “huh he really has been nothing like I expected, maybe he is someone I can be happy with~” thus prompting the kiss on the cheek even tho she hasn’t yet confronted him about his feelings or made her own clear to him. She’s just very grateful to him, of how kind he’s been, how he’s listened to and valued what she has to say more than Quicksilver or her own family seems to, and of course she’s just endeared to his surprising gentle and sweet nature.

It’s a real shame that Marvel erased all of this in the MCU, Ronan has shown a few minor hints of what could be a personality similar to this in the movies but we all know that didn’t last long. Ronan’s a surprisingly deep character, and a rather sad one when you look at his history, it’s just a lot more subtle than a lot of the big name Marvel characters. Crystal was probably the first truly good thing to have ever happened to him, and aside from her daughter of course, he was probably the same for her as well. The writing of their relationship is my absolute favorite due to how mature and subtle it was. Ronan never tried to win her over so that their marriage would seem more like a desirable thing to her like you’d expect characters in a situation like this to do. He gave her space and respected her boundaries and was just genuine and kind (something we didn’t know he was capable of up until this point), and in doing so she just naturally gravitated towards him. They were both always mature, no petty relationship drama like jealousy or miscommunication like so many couples in fiction are written for the sake of making things interesting (which they never do in my opinion, it’s just annoying) and then is dragged out unnecessarily. None of that cliche “they could easily sort things out if they just talk to each other!” or “person A is jealous of person B just talking to their ex even though there is no reason for them to be”. Crystal and Ronan are both too old and have been through too much to deal with petty nonsense like that. They see each other for their true and genuine selves and love each other for them and that’s all that matters. Like I said, Ronan was willing to defy the whole of the Kree empire, the empire he’s given his life to, for her without a shred of hesitation; and when the Inhumans decided to leave Hala and return to earth, Crystal chose to stay with Ronan (all moments I’ll talk about in a separate post at some point!) 

There’s so much more I could say about just these early stages within Realm of Kings alone but there’s even more within War of Kings and following comics like Fantastic Four and others I want to touch on in another post as alas I don’t have the room for all the images I want to share :’D 

But thank you for reading this far if you did! These two are so special to me and I could talk about them endlessly ;;

[its-a-swift-kloss]

The death threats towards Karlie from 2015-2018 happened but not that frequently, but after 2019, it's gotten really, really bad.

It's bad, there's been several attempts on Twitter in the last two years to doxx Dr. and Mrs. Kloss by Sw*fties who want to kill Karlie's dog Joe to "punish" her, some have even made threats about hurting her parents instead of Joe.

I wish I was kidding but I'm not, Taylor has so many deranged fans that it's not even funny, it's not only Karlie that's in danger when things like this happens, Karlie's parents and dog, and now daughter, are in danger too whenever Sw*fties get agitated like this.

It's not just Sw*fties attacking her on Twitter right now anymore, some if the GP has caught on to what the Sw*fties are saying about Karlie and they're joining in on being horrible too, this shitshow has the potential to snowball really badly. Karlie needs to stay away from the internet and stay home where it's safe, I wouldn't be saying this stuff if I wasn't genuinely worried about both her mentally and physical health and safety being in possible danger right now.

I'm... I don't even know what to tell you. This is truly sick. Whoever has it in them to write death threats to any DOG, but especially a small and cute one like Joe Joe at that, needs to seek professional help or be in jail. I do worry about her family seeing this - her sisters must be absolutely enraged bc they can't respond. I don't visit Twitter all that much bc it mostly makes me annoyed. But I had never seen anything like this. But I believe you. I'm more worried about her mental health, bc I won't go further than this. I can't. I'd be worried sick. She's protected, anon. She's at home, safe and sound, and it's the weekend, remember? She's most likely out of here already. If she has a decent team, they won't let her touch her sm right now. I hope Tree is working around this at the moment, bc I've seen Karlie's fan pages mad at this - as they have every right to be, honestly - and a war between their fandoms the last thing they need now.

[dalekofchaos]

Rachel’s Story, Life Is Strange:The Storm

I think what we need is a game that tells us Rachel’s story. After watching Twin Peaks:Fire Walk With Me, it made me think we need Rachel’s story told. What happened to Rachel was tragic, but it needs to be told. So here are things I want to see in a hypothetical LIS game where we play as Rachel Amber.

The best way to continue the story of Arcadia Bay. It would be the next logical step. Playing as Rachel would give us a new fresh angle, and set the stage for the original where we play once again as Max. It would be a fitting end to this LiS/BtS story and give us closure to Rachel’s character. And honestly, Chloe works better as a supporting character because Deck Nine did not understand Chloe Price.

Rachel’s ability. Where Max has the ability to rewind, Chloe can backtalk. I think Rachel's will be to fit into place and to convince everyone to do what she wants. It’s perfect for her and her personality.

Set Rachel’s character in line to the original game. Rachel Amber has charisma, intelligence, beauty and a lot of attitude, which would make the game full of action and dynamic. Her past is still mysterious, and playing as Rachel would be the right choice.

Make it clear that Rachel has completely severed ties with James and Rose. Telling Rachel the truth is the canon ending. Choosing hide the truth is completely stupid, the fact that hide the truth has a higher percentage with the fandom is laughable. Rachel has no good relationship with her parents by the events of LIS anyway. So what I will do is this. Rachel has completely severed ties with her parents and only chooses to be in contact with Sera. We will find out that Sera chose to go into rehab one final time for Rachel. This is why James and Rose refuse to believe that Rachel is even missing and the DA doesn’t even orders a search looking for his daughter.

Continuing our relationship with Chloe. Have it mentioned that Rachel and Chloe have been in a relationship since 2010. Show them kissing more, show Chloe and Rachel setting up Chloe’s room, show them partying, show them dancing, show them having sex and just showing them declaring their love for each other and showing them in love. Rachel was Chloe’s Santa Monica Dream. They loved each other, and I want their relationship to be shown more.  

Let it finally be about Rachel helping Chloe. Rachel helping lift Chloe through the worse point of her life. If Rachel had stopped Chloe from committing suicide… as was the commonly believed interpretation to what happened between Chloe and Rachel up until BtS, then Chloe’s ”“she was my angel” would have meant it was truly special and real.  Chloe and Rachel together having fun rocking out and Chloe starting to live again and show that Chloe Price loves Rachel Amber and Rachel loves Chloe.

Rachel’s antagonism with David and David’s paranoia for Rachel. Once again I have to make it clear. Chloe and David do not and should not have a good relationship and Joyce normalizing an abusive step-father is not a good thing. David does not understand nor does he care about Chloe’s depression and grief for losing William and Max moving away. Show that David physically, mentally and emotionally abuses her. Joyce normalizes it. So what I would have happen is this will be the first official time David will catch Chloe with weed. David slaps Chloe and Rachel is there to see it. Rachel has had it. Rachel puts her fucking foot down. “IF YOU EVER LAY YOUR FUCKING HAND ON MY GIRLFRIEND EVER AGAIN, I WILL CALL MY DAD, THE DA AND ARREST YOUR ASS FOR CHILD ABUSE. DON’T EVER TOUCH CHLOE AGAIN.” Rachel was so mad, she threatened to pull the James card. This is what enrages David to the point of installing cameras in his own home without Chloe or Joyce’s consent and getting a job as Blackwell’s head of security. He does not trust Chloe and Rachel and thinks because she dared to defend Chloe, that Rachel is “a bad influence” Stop trying to make us feel bad for this abusive piece of shit and make Chloe out to be the villain for not giving this asshole a chance.  He emotionally, mentally and physically abuses her and joyce normalizes it, violates her privacy. David makes Chloe feel like a prisoner in her own home. The safe home that Chloe has lived in all her life is no longer safe  the “safe” home that Chloe should have had was in fact a place where she didn’t feel safe, did not have privacy, and was harassed whenever David was home. She frequently would go to American Rust to sleep (because whatever happened with Rachel, it wasn’t safe to stay with her). She couldn’t even rely on her teachers to report child abuse because the police were sympathetic toward David and refused to act… and then David ended up getting a job as a security guard at Blackwell Academy and that one last safe place, school, was now the domain of her abuser. So Chloe would get herself expelled just to get free from David.  Whenever he is around she does not feel safe. He makes her so afraid that she feels like she’s living with a Nazi. They are not meant to have a good relationship. And it really sent an awful message that “you must be nice to your future abuser just to make your mother happy” What kind of abuse apologetic bullshit was that? The worst part is that Joyce chose her own happiness for the safety and well being of her own daughter.  Joyce enabled an abusive stepfather and ignored her daughter being hit and verbally abused (and there is a word for that: culpability. Joyce is guilty of child abuse. If we do not back up Chloe in episode 1 and we tell Joyce David hit Chloe, Joyce just brushes it off like it’s not a big deal. Joyce betrayed her own daughter by always choosing David over her. She never stopped the abuse. The only time she did anything is when Max was a witness and even then she doesn’t see it as a problem, more of an inconvenience. When she finally does kick David out, it’s not because David abuses her daughter, it’s because David put up cameras without her permission. “I just want us to be a family” if anything show us that Rachel was the only one who was truly there for Chloe.     

Make it clear everything Rachel was doing with Frank and Jefferson is so Rachel could’ve escaped to LA with Chloe. Rachel was looking for a way out of Arcadia Bay. She first thought both her and Chloe can escape to LA together. But over time she did not think that was possible anymore. Chloe dodges her car payments and her family is in debt and Chloe is in debt to Frank. She still wants to leave with Chloe, but Rachel needed an alternative way so she and Chloe can escape. So that’s when  Rachel turns to Frank, she used him for his money and drugs because as  time goes on, Rachel turns to drugs to numb the pain. She parties with The Vortex Club and as Nathan said “Rachel partied like a fiend on her own.” Hell, she was so desperate to leave Arcadia Bay she even asked the trucker to take her to LA. But I believe everything she was doing, she was doing so She and Chloe can get out of Arcadia Bay. The vibe I got from the first game is that Rachel and Chloe have this very important and special bond. But Rachel just wanted to be free of Arcadia Bay by any means necessary. Rachel would go far to get what she wanted. Someone who is willing to lie to the people she cared about to satisfy her own needs and goals. Personally, I see Rachel as being okay with manipulating everybody BUT Chloe, which gives everybody a foothold to try and gaslight Chloe and Max about her, trying to get them to doubt that Rachel genuinely cared about Chloe. And she did. Rachel Amber loved Chloe Price and had genuine feelings for Chloe and wanted to escape together.

Explore Rachel’s connections. Explore Rachel’s connections in Blackwell. Her rivalry and falling out with Victoria. Show that Victoria has respect and adoration for Rachel, but as Jeffershit showed more favor and adoration for Rachel, than her, then Victoria turned on Rachel. Evidence of the graffiti in Blackwell shows that Victoria bullied Rachel Amber and spread rumors about Rachel. So Rachel decided to be bigger than the Vortex Club to spite Victoria.  Rachel and Nathan’s relationship. I think they had a close friendship. Nathan harbored feelings for Rachel, but he knew she loved Chloe. I see Rachel as the one good thing Nathan had in Arcadia Bay, the closest thing he had to a good connection since his sister Kristine. She made him feel good about himself and soothed him without the need of hearing whale sounds. Rachel was Nathan’s safe space. As for how they both got involved with the Dark Room. It started out innocent. They both saw this as a private photo project and Rachel’s chance at being a model. It turned dark. I believe that Nathan tried to help Rachel and in doing this, resulted in Jeffershit overdosing Rachel and dosing Nathan and posing Nathan with Rachel’s dead body as punishment and was planning on pinning Rachel on Nathan. But it turned dark. When Rachel disappeared, Nathan lost it. When he saw Max in Rachel’s clothes, he hoped it really was Rachel, but he knew it wasn’t her. Rachel and Frank. I believe Rachel was just using Frank for money, Frank was obviously attracted to Rachel on their first meeting, but they never interacted and Rachel only wanted to find Sera. I think they first became close because Frank saved Chloe and Sera. Rachel isn’t the manipulative monster some people make her out to be. Rachel only wanted to escape Arcadia Bay with Chloe, she had no intention of leaving her behind, Rachel loved Chloe Price. She only wanted money out of Frank. What Nathan says is more likely. Rachel was only there for the stash and gave him photos in return. “everyone knows Frank is a liar and loser, even Rachel did” and there was a falling out between Frank and Rachel, plus Frank’s blood oath for Rachel must have creeped her out. And in her letter, Rachel ended it. “Frank, That was not cool what you did. And don't blame the drugs. You actually scared me and I thought you'd never chill out. I've never seen you act that way and the next time will be the last. I'm a Leo and we don't look back. I care about you, us, so maybe we need to break our routine.“ Also when the meeting with Frank goes wrong, Chloe will say she loved Rachel and she knows Rachel loved her. Frank will act hostile and possessive of Rachel “Chloe, you don’t know shit. You were part of her problem. Always trying to take her away from me… Always!”  I believe that Frank had an unhealthy attachment to Rachel and Rachel did care for Frank, but Rachel just wanted a way out of Arcadia Bay for her and Chloe Then, Rachel meets Mark Jefferson. Jefferson was Rachel’s teacher. This video explains Rachel and Jefferson perfectly.  Rachel saw him as her way to LA. She wanted to have her pictures modeled by a professional, which he was, but Rachel never saw him for what he was. A sheep in wolf’s clothing, a monster. He saw her as the perfect subject. A human chameleon with many visual possibilities and he felt they had a connection. Manipulating her into believing that he is the father figure that James never was for her. Rachel wrote a letter to Chloe in the shack but discarded it. She feels that he changed her life but the discarded letter shows that she felt ashamed about the whole relationship. "C. You can tell how much I want you to read this letter since I've been dragging my ass to give it to you. Maybe I just want you to find it when I'm not around so we never have to talk about it. And I don't want you to hate me. Where to start?I met somebody recently who's so different from the lame Vortex Club snobs. I know you'll have a meltdown when I tell you and think he's gross, but I swear he's wise and unconventional. Kind of scary, not in a "bad boy" way. He's just experienced some serious shit. Yes, I'm kinda obssessed (sic). I won't blame you for freaking.Maybe I know you're right and this just has to be my secret.I hate not sharing this with you except I know you'd give me that stink eye and grill me for every stupid detail. If I even told you that last night we hooked up near campus (...)" Her shame indicates that she was apart of the Dark Room as a consenting subject. At first she just saw it as a big photography project outside of school, but then Rachel started to look into Jefferson’s past models and figured out something was terribly wrong. In Jefferson’s own words “Not like Rachel, who was always looking in the wrong places. Poor Rachel.” Jefferson of course finds out because The Dark Room is under 24 hours surveillance. So out of fear of Rachel telling everyone, Jefferson kills Rachel, doses Nathan and poses Nathan’s unconscious body with Rachel’s lifeless body.  Stella believes they had sex, but I think it is more than likely that Jeffershit dosed her and raped her. He said “Rachel was in love with me” but how is there any truth to that? All Jefferson has done the entire game is manipulate and gaslight. There was no love, there was just Jefferson’s sick and twisted perverted Dark Room project. Rachel wanted a way out and she thought she had her way out, but in the end she played with fire and got burned. He killed her and blamed it on Nathan. But since Sera was meant to have powers, I believe that Rachel had powers passed down to her. I believe that Rachel’s death is what causes the storm. The storm is what Chloe said, Rachel’s revenge.  And in my opinion somehow her spirit gave Max the powers to save Chloe cause she wanted to destroy the town but she wanted Chloe to be safe so she gave the powers to Max so she could save Chloe from the storm.

Rachel is the storm. The death of Chloe caused Max to get rewind powers. When Rachel gets emotional enough. She has the power to unleash destructive weather controlling power. The thing is though, it turns out that her father wasn't involved with just some random mistress. More importantly though, we know of an event that is emotionally traumatizing enough for Rachel to unleash this kind of power. Because something unfathomably, fridge horror worse, happens to her than simply witnessing her father cheat. She gets kidnapped, sexually humiliated, drugged, and killed. Like the other victims of Jefferson, that is some dark side of reality shit right there. So it's very appropriate. An innocent girl gets violated tremendously and murdered, but this time, it's one with supernatural power. Hence supernatural consequences. This would mean that to whatever extent Chaos Theory was relevant. It had very little to do with anything Max did. In actuality it was more to hint at a string of consequences brought on by Jefferson and the Prescotts. In fact this was already pretty obvious in the first season, except it makes infinitely more sense now. Just with the first season alone, one was left to think this was some sort of Indian voodoo shit and that Chloe was just some sort of sacrifice to appease the Gods. But now we know, it's because of the original victim central to this story. Rachel Amber. The reason Chloe dying seems to appease the storm is because it results in retributive justice against Rachel's abusers. See another thing this ties in, is the Prescott family's impact on the environment. Something so strongly lathered on in the first season, with no inexplicable explanation when we are otherwise led to believe that the storm is caused by Max specifically. If the Prescott family essentially gets banished from Arcadia Bay right from the beginning. They don't influence the environment in exactly the way Rachel needs to harness the kind of power she does. So even though Rachel may still desire revenge against Arcadia. The forces of nature do not afford her such destruction if the Prescotts are busted early on. It's most likely a combination of her powers, and the forces of nature being contorted enough by the Prescotts polluting the environment, that creates the hurricane. Think about it. We are not even remotely told that simply, Chloe dying is what appeases the storm. Rather specifically what we are really told is that Max opens up certain options by the end of the first season. After finding out everything, she can go back and be a witness to Chloe's murder. Allowing her to bust Nathan Prescott, and Jefferson. If it was the other way around, it doesn't make sense. Because why would Nathan or Jefferson get in trouble at all if Max wasn't there? Nobody would know who killed Chloe, there would be no evidence. As well especially, Jefferson would have never got caught in the slightest. So ultimately, Max essentially strips Rachel of her venom so to speak. By time Nathan and Jefferson face consequences in the timeline where you choose to save Chloe. The chain of events have already led up to the Storm forming. So it can't be stopped. The environment has been polluted, etc. In fact there's no reason to believe that Rachel herself can STOP the storm. What we see with her powers is that she can unleash... chaos. Particularly of the weather variety. But she probably couldn't stop that forest fire if she had wanted to. It was most likely set in stone during the moments when she was being violated by Jefferson. That's when she probably experienced enough trauma for something like that to be set in motion. But after having passed away, she probably can't reverse the trajectory of things herself. That's where Max comes in, because she's a living participant. So she can mitigate Rachel's domino effect. Like a "Shield of Time", Max can simultaneously protect Arcadia Bay from Rachel's wrath, while simultaneously appeasing her by bringing justice to those who wronged her.

Rachel is the Doe. In the final moments of the game. After Rachel’s death, we would see a scene similar to the nightmare scene in episode 5. But it’s basically Rachel relooking over her life and finally passing on. Rachel would pass on as the Spirit Doe, to guide Max and Chloe to the truth. The first official time we see the Doe, we see it in Max’s nightmare. In the nightmare whenever we see it, the storm rages on. The first normal time we see the doe, we see the Doe where we find Rachel. Rachel guides Max multiple times. She doesn’t manifest for Chloe… only Max. Max’s rewind power does not work on the Doe, meaning that it is a spirit. Rachel was able to manifest to Max in a form Max would not find threatening. But however or whyever Rachel chose to manifest as the Doe to Max, what we definitely know is that the Doe was guiding and helping Max - both to lead her and Chloe to her grave, and then afterward in the Nightmare to bring Max to a place where she could escape.   And then, we see Chloe finding Rachel’s remains. Chloe grieving for her lover and best friend, and the Doe looks sad and finally disappears and finds peace.

[lovelykhaleesiii]

I understand... (Part 4)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Stark!Reader

Words: 1219

Summary: You’re the daughter of Tony Stark, and after meeting the Avengers for the first time, you begin to fall for the one who your father despises most...Bucky Barnes.

Warning: Fluff, romantic Bucky, story takes place after Civil War, but the Avengers remain intact all of them reside in the Avengers Tower, but Tony still holds a grudge against Bucky, especially, angry!Tony, a little swearing.

Sorry if the dialogue is shit, working on it 😩

Tags:

@fandom--0verdose

@m4shtyx

@impalatobakerstreet

__________________________________________________

You had awoken up smiling, pure joy escaping your face. You’d figured the events of last night were out of the blue, but were inevitable. You thought long and hard, since your dad was a no show to check up on you. You thought about the risks you were taking by committing yourself to Bucky & him to you, and you had considered your father’s potential reaction if he ever found out. But you had prepared yourself, in the end Tony always wanted what was best for you, why should that change ?

Making your way to the kitchen for breakfast, you arrived to see everyone sitting in their little groups apart from each other. You’d scanned the room and immediately found Bucky sitting by Steve, Thor and Sam. You found him already staring at you, with a small smile growing on his face, giving you a swift wink making you smirk. Thankfully your quick instinct told you to look away, for your dad today was present. You knew that he had been awaiting for you to join, seeing as he had already prepared a small meal for the both of you at the counter.

“You still mad at me?” You utter, as you made your way towards him, standing opposite of him, as he read the newspaper.

“Maybe... Frankly, I’m just a little shocked, and disappointed.” He retorted, taking a quick glance at you before he continued to read on.

“Dad, it was seriously nothing” you lied, attempting to lower your voice that only Tony could hear exclusively... “We got comfortable I will admit, but nothing more. You shouldn’t hold a grudge anyways... Bucky’s a friend, and a good one too. You need to accept that -“

“Don’t you dare give me a pep talk about him! Don’t you dare! I’ve seen what his done, and its fucked up Y/n... I don’t want you part of this.” Tony yelled. He had dropped the newspaper and slammed his free hand onto the counter. You were take aback. You’re father never retaliated against you like this before, mainly because you had always done as you were told with him. You were infuriated. You knew convincing him about Bucky was more difficult than expected, but you weren’t going to give up... For Bucky’s sake.

“Are you kidding me? You’re going off at me, telling me you don’t want me part of something because of a little grudge you’re holding?” You shouted, attempting to suppress your anger had also proven difficult.

Your father sighed, looking down at the counter realising what he’d done. He’d quickly looked up and directed his eyes towards Bucky’s direction.

“I need to cool off...” he exclaimed, leaving the scene without another word.

Before you could even comprehend what had just happened, Natasha placed her arm gently onto your shoulder asking “Is everything alright?”

You had completely forgotten that the Avengers just witnessed the argument. You felt completely embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry you guys had to witness that. I’m hoping it won’t happen again.” You utter, looking completely guilty.

“It’s fine... But who’s Tony talking about?” Bruce questions you, a curious look on his face.

You couldn’t look at Bucky... You’d both made your promises not to mention this relationship, but you couldn’t just give Bruce “no-reply.” Before you could answer, Bucky immediately intervened.

“It’s me... I’m the guy Tony’s mad about.”

Looking from Bucky to the rest of the Avengers, many were surprised by this new romance.

“The other day, Y/n and I were watching a film and things kind of escalated. Tony found us and of course, he enraged... Y/n and I want to see each other, but unsurprisingly Tony disproves this so he doesn’t know that we are in fact seeing each other... We want to keep it that way, until we find a way to convince him.” Bucky exclaims. You could see that the burden of secrecy fell off of his broad shoulders, just as his revelation did on your behalf...But would the group also be willing to uphold their end of the bargain?

“I know I’ve only just met you guys, but I know how you all are...You’re heroes & from what I know heroes help those in need and protect those in need. Right now, Bucky and I could do with those? I beg, just please don’t tell Tony anything before us...He needs to hear it from us.” You add, whilst making your way over to Bucky, who wraps his bionic arm around you. You observe each of them individually and see that they all are aware of Tony’s ‘grudge’ against Bucky and how exhausted they were of it. Everyone had gotten along well with Bucky, except for Tony, and that was agitating for your behalf. The one person who you loved most, the one person you most wanted their acceptance of was the one person who couldn’t stand the site of you two together, even as friends.

“Please” you whimper.

It seemed as though they all had come to an agreement mentally, as Natasha spoke on behalf of the group “You have our word. We’ll help if we can, but for the love of God... Tell Tony before he figures something’s up and discovers the truth himself.”

You nod and agree excitedly, both you and Bucky exhale as if you’d both held your final breaths.

“Well then if we’ve gotten that out of the way... Congrats to the new couple of the tower!” Natasha cheers, sincerely smiling at the two of your holding hands.

“Hope the trouble’s worth it.” Sam sarcastically retorts from behind. You being busy being congratulated by Wanda, Bruce and Vision, were unaware though Bucky met his comment with an unforgiving glare.

Soon enough Steve made his way towards you two as well, hugging his best friend, relieved that his friend had finally found someone to love again.

“Make sure you kids stay out of trouble... I’ll try to convince Tony as much as I can, Buck like I always have.”

“Can’t promise anything, but we’ll try” Bucky laughs, giving you a playful wink. “But thanks Steve, we appreciate your help, as always.” Bucky smiles, as he grabs the side of Steve’s arm as a reassuring gesture.

“Well you guys need to make it official, give us some proof that there is something between you two. I say... Give us a kiss!” Clint jokingly shouts. Soon enough all the other Avengers begin to egg on Bucky to make the first move, though before he does so Natasha intervenes “Wait! Now before you guys have a make out session - F.R.I.D.A.Y is Tony on premises?” She questioned, wanting to make sure another fallout was avoided.

“Miss Romanoff, Mr Stark left the premises exactly 10 mins ago for a quick trip to Stark Industries. Is this all the information you’ll be needing?”

“That will be all” she remarks, continuing to reignite the cheers.

A complete yet genuine smile appearing on your face, as you turn towards Bucky, his bionic arm around your waist, you stretch up as he leans down to give you a quick yet passionate kiss. It felt right... You felt complete with Bucky and at this point you could have cared less about your father’s expectations of you. It was time Tony had changed for you.

[sol1056]

S7 data cronch pt2: get the hot dogs, the fandom’s on fire

Before I jump into the more tangled datasets, there’s something interesting I want to call out, and that’s the vlogs. 

In September of last year, DW released vlogs for Coran, Keith, and Allura. A month later, we got vlogs for Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. Shiro’s vlog finally arrived on June, this year. That final vlog now shows a July date, but when it was first discovered, its posting date was 6/28. (I have no idea why it was changed. Ask @ptw30.) 

In the first part, I mentioned audience engagement. The vlogs are a good object lesson. If we take the number of views divided by the number of days since posting, we get an idea of the daily ‘value’ of each vlog. 

Shiro clocks in at 6877 views per day, while the next closest, Keith, has 4796 per day. Hey, so maybe that’s just everyone excited after waiting almost a year. 

So, how about this graph?

Shiro has 4,293 comments. The next closest are Allura and Hunk, with 692 and 976, respectively. All told, Shiro got 1.5 times as many comments as all the rest of the characters together. Now that is audience engagement. 

Alright, now that you’ve got a bit of data on which character clearly gets the fandom engaged and talking, let’s see what else we can learn about S7. 

Hop to, behind the cut. 

so about that twitter debacle

There’s no way to fully illustrate just how incomprehensibly bonkers twitter was for awhile. I know there’s a toxic side to the fandom that weaponizes twitter, but... in general, the VLD fandom isn’t noisy, compared to other fandoms. Daily counts range from 30-100 tweets. That makes it harder to tell when things go dead quiet, but it sure makes it easy to tell when things explode. 

So let’s go back to the Sunday after S7 landed. For this season, I included sentiment analysis. At first I searched on #voltron, then I realized one of the trackers lets me go by keywords, so I did a comparative search on ‘voltron’. Hashtag use seemed to be for being seen by others, while keyword seemed to be more for conversation, reassurance, and reflection.  

That’s... pretty strong, for both. And I honestly had never seen a twitter stream get a sentiment analysis as negative as the one on the right. After working my way through 11,889 tweets (from Aug 10th to the 25th), I can tell you one thing for certain.

Everyone was angry about something. 

One group, predictably, was angry at being denied their long-awaited affirmation. A second was furious at the queerbaiting; that group overlapped with a third enraged at the Bury Your Gays trope. A fourth dismissed the BYG trope yet were angry at the lack of explicit relationship beyond a single break-up scene; that caused a few flare-ups between the 3rd and 4th groups for the latter treating Shiro as queer purely on his facebook status. A fifth group (oddly, calmer voices, for the most part) was upset at VLD’s treatment of Shiro in general, from his isolation to his tokenization. 

On the other end of the spectrum, the majority of positives loved the season but were angry that others didn’t or wouldn’t. A much smaller percentage took their own shots: insisting children don’t need LGBT+ rep, calling LGBT+ fans entitled, telling DW not to pander, or complaining DW/Netflix had mixed politics and entertainment. (There’s an answer to the last one, but that’s for another post.)

I believe the technical term for Aug 10th-25th would be clusterfuck. 

going deeper for context

Getting a clearer picture than the donut chart meant considering the context. In other words, for every seemingly-neutral tweet, I’d open the feed, and majority of the time I found threads voicing bitter disappointment, frustration, and hurt. These deeper threads almost never tagged anyone, and they tended to be more nuanced, compared to upper-level mentions loaded with easily-classed negative or positive keywords.

Here’s a snapshot of the twitter stream on August 10th, which includes metrics for those deeper contextual threads.

There’s just no way to spin that much of a backlash. By the end of the first day of release, the signs were already there that --- at least as far as the majority of the internet-based fandom was concerned --- S7 was an unmitigated disaster.  

it’s just twitter, no one’s paying attention

That sounds like something a Boomer-aged exec might say. They’d also be wrong (not to mention ignorant).  

Note: I used two different analysis apps. Both were rather blunt-force, rating “S7 wasn’t half bad” or “brutal but what I wanted” as negative, while "go to hell, I loved VLD but not anymore" was rated positive. One of the two apps let me re-evaluate, but it only allowed for negative-neutral-positive. (Lesson learned: set up a twitter scrape ahead of time, so I can run it all against a good AI.) 

For this part, I used the second tracker and manually evaluated the values for ‘voltron’ mentions. Unfortunately, I had to rely on the tracker’s value for most non-English tweets. I designated ‘positive’ for explicitly pro-S7, and ‘negative’ explicitly con-S7. For any mentions that were ambiguous, incoherent, or personally-directed, I defaulted to neutral. My goal was to measure who was or wasn’t happy with the season itself, and not attacks on or support for the staff, DW, Netflix, or other people in the fandom. 

With that madness done, here’s the entirety of August.   

On the day of release, a total of 1853 mentions created a social media reach of 1.46 million. My next question was: is this low-influencer unhappiness vs high-influencer happiness, vice versa, or something else? This next chart is the data filtered down to influencers with a score of 7 or above (based on followers, retweets, and replies). 

That’s 78 negative mentions, 16 positive, and the remainder neutral. All told, 194 mentions had a social media reach of 1.36 million. That’s a lot considering the voltron keyword usually has a social media reach of 50K, tops.

This was a groundswell reaction. The reach was driven by big voices, but the bulk were individuals unhappy for any of a variety of reasons. Any apology --- after four days of fever pitch --- was going to have an uphill fight to calm the crowd, no matter how gracefully it was written.

On the 14th -- when news outlets began reacting to JDS’ apology -- we got a second spike. 1573 mentions with a social media reach of 1.3 million; the new megaphones in the stream were news outlets promoting articles. (Also, most of their tweets are strongly click-bait in tone, compared to the actual article titles.) 

If you googled ‘voltron legendary defender’ on the 14th, you got these results: 

Voltron Showrunner Apologizes to Fans Following Outrage over Gay Character’s Storyline [Syfy Wire]

Voltron Showrunner Pens Open Apology Letter [The Mary Sue]

Voltron Showrunner Apologizes for Series' Handling of Gay Relationship {CBR}

Voltron's Complicated, Imperfect LGBQT Representation Is Tearing the Fandom Apart [In-Depth-Gizmodo]

Joaquim Dos Santos Shares Letter About Voltron Queer Representation [The Geekiary]

The ‘Voltron’ Showrunner Apologized For Making a Mess of the Show’s Gay Representation [Hornet]

Of course, Josh Keaton got sent out to calm the anger, too. 

'Voltron' Star Josh Keaton On Season 7, Shiro's Sexuality, and How a Leader Grieves [Comicbook.com]

Shiro Voice Actor Responds to 'Voltron' Season 7 Controversy [Inverse]

Exclusive: Josh Keaton talks 'Voltron' season 7, Shiro's new arc, love and loss [Hypable]

You had to scroll past all that before you could get to anything remotely like a positive news item (and nowhere near the usual post-release deluge of compliments to the creators). 

On Aug 15th, more articles: 

Voltron: Legendary Defender’s Showrunner Offers a Genuine Apology to the Fandom [Gizmodo]

Voltron's Complicated, Imperfect LGBQT Representation Is Tearing The Fandom Apart [Kotaku Australia] (reprint)

Either these were latecomers, or DW was pulling out all the stops to hit every possible venue. Didn’t matter; the furor wasn’t dying down. Josh wasn’t sent out again, either. DW may’ve realized that ship had sailed (so to speak). 

On Aug 16th, these articles appeared: 

Voltron creator addresses fans over season 7's queerbaiting controversy [Polygon]

How “Voltron: Legendary Defender” Queerbaited Its Fans [NewNowNext]

Voltron showrunner apologises to fans after backlash over treatment of gay character [DigitalSpy]

Voltron: Legendary Defender showrunner apologises to fans after killing off gay character [PinkNews]

Why 'Voltron' fans are furious after season 7 [The Daily Dot]

Voltron Showrunner Apologizes for Season 7's Treatment of Gay Couple [ScreenRant]

'Voltron' Shiro: Stop Preemptively Outing Gay Characters To Generate Buzz [Inverse]

And it kept going through Aug 17, 2018.

Voltron: Legendary Defender Showrunner Joaquim Dos Santos Apologizes For Alleged Queer-bating Of Fans Over Handling Of Shiro’s Sexual Orientation [Inside Pulse]

Who's Sorry This Week? Lindsay Lohan, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other public apologies [Mic]

Meanwhile, as of the 18th, the predictive algorithm for #voltron (the actual hashtag) was estimating +6% for the upcoming week, and +6% for the month. Not even half what S6 had in its first week after broadcast, but remember, the majority of S7′s traffic wasn’t happening on the hashtag. It was happening in mentions. 

You might think from the above that things quieted by the 19th. You’d be wrong. It’s still going on. Keep in mind these pie charts are cumulative by month. On the left are the totals through the morning of Aug 22; on the right, the totals through the afternoon of Aug 25.

Midday on the 22nd, we had another spike, one large enough to offset that these are monthly totals, not daily. (The most likely culprit is the DW marketing gif that showed the scene where Adam dies, thus kicking the hornet’s nest all over again.)

As we entered the third week, the predictive algorithm for #voltron dropped to -1% for the month, and -5% for the week; for #vld, it’s -2% for the month and -6% for the week. 

In fact, almost every related hashtag is predicted to drop in popularity and use over the next week or beyond. That includes: 

voltronlegendarydefender, -2%

keithkogane, -8%

keith, -3%

shiro, -9%

lance, -6%

lancemcclain, -1%

takashishirogane, -20%

allura, -5%

princessallura, -10%

hunkgarrett, -6%

lotor, -4%

katieholt, -5%

Even ship names: 

klance, -2%

shadam, -8%

adashi, -3%

plance, -2%

pidgance, -5%

sheith, -2%

lotura, -10%

kallura, -1%

The exceptions? allurance (4%) and pidge (1%). 

It took a bombshell EP interview to knock S6 off its upward rise. This time around, the fall looks more like people tiring of the fight and checking out.

one more part coming

Thanks to the additional manipulations I did on twitter this season, this section took more words (and I cut it down from walking you through every agonizing step, no need to thank me for sparing you). I’ve also added a new dataset, and that pushed the total word count beyond even my long limit.

I’ve broken the last part out, where i’ll cover the long-term impact and possible fallout of S7.